The Late Middle Ages And the Renaissance

1. The Late Middle AgesAnd the Renaissance

2. The Black Death • loss of 1/3 of European population (mostly in cities) • Causes: bubonic plague carried by fleas on Asian black rats; poor sanitation, overcrowded homes, poor health, poor hygiene, poor housing • Results: Severe impact on European economy; in some areas workers enjoyed higher wages; • Best of clergy died (staying behind to help the sick); Jews blamed; serfdom ended in many areas; first enclosure of fields in Britain

3. Crisis in the Catholic Church • Early Criticisms of the church • Marsiglio de Padua: Defender of Peace – Church should be subordinate to the state Church should be governed by a council of laity and priests superior to pope. • John Wyclif (1320-1384): church should only follow Scripture; English translation of Bible; his later followers were Lollards • John Huss (1369-1415): ideas similar to Wyclif; nationalist party in Czech (Bohemia) • Hussites: followers of Huss who staged large rebellions in 14th century.

4. Crisis in the Catholic Church • Babylonian Captivity (1305-1378): 7 successive popes resided at Avignon, France. Damaged papal prestige (esp. in England & Germany); Rome’s economy damaged • Great Schism (c. 1378-1417): Further conflict led to election of two popes—one in Rome, one in France; further hurt prestige of church. • Conciliar Movement (1409-1418): Council of Pisa and Council of Constance, ended schism; failed as movement to put power in a church council; pope’s power still supreme

5. Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) • Cause—English lays claim to large areas of French land. • Three phases: • Early English Victories: Crecy (1346) and Poitiers (1356) • French reclaim territory and stalemate • English victories: Agincourt (1415), French regain lands • Joan of Arc: led French army to victory at Orleans during crucial stage of the war • Results: France kicks England out; creation of modern nation states begin (“New Monarchs”). Innovations in war technology: longbow, cannon, infantry. Decimation of landed nobles.

6. Northern Italian Economy • Cities developed international trade: Genoa, Venice, Milan. • popolo(middle class) took power in 13th century; republican gov’t short-lived • signori (despots) or oligarchies (rule of merchant aristocracies) by 1300 • commenda: Contract between merchant and “merchant-adventurer” who agreed to take goods to distant locations and return with the proceeds (for 1/3 of profits)

7. Italian City States, 1454

8. Politics of Italian City-States • Republic of Florence (Included Republic of Genoa) – Medici family • Cosimo De’Medici (1389-1464): allied with other powerful families of Florence and became unofficial ruler of the republic • Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449-1492): lavish patron of the arts

9. Politics of Italian City-States • Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498) – theocracy in Florence 1494-98; (predicted French invasion due to paganism and moral decay of Italian city-states); burned at the stake Charles VIII (1483-1498), French invasions of Italy; Italy became battleground for international ambitions

10. Politics of Italian City-States • Duchy of Milan -- Sforza family (Caterina Sforza (1463-1509), great art patron) • Rome, the Papal States – papacy (“Renaissance popes”) • Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Venice, Venetian Republic • Isabella d’Este (1474-1539): most famous Renaissance female ruler (ruled Mantua) • condottieri: leaders of private armies hired by cities for military purposes

11. Humanism • Humanism -- Revival of antiquity (Greece and Rome) in literature • Individualism/ secularism: “man is the measure of all things” • virtú: the quality of being a great man in whatever noble pursuit • Education: (emphasis on Latin and Greek)

12. Humanism • Petrarch—(1304-1374) “Dark Ages” metaphor; “father of humanism” and 1st modern writer, literature no longer subordinate to religion • Dante – Divine Comedy • Boccacio – Decameron: aimed to impart wisdom of human character and behavior. • Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494) Oration on the Dignity of Man; Platonic academy • Baldassare Castiglione(1478-1529) – The Book of the Courtier

13. Humanism • Leonardo Bruni (1370-1444) – wrote history of Florence; division of historical periods; narrative form; civic humanist; first to use term “humanism” • Lorenzo Valla (1407-1457)—On the False Donation of Constantine (1444); study of Latin • Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) -- The Prince (1513) – Cesare Borgia

14. New Artistic Styles • Look to Roman and Greek influences. • Use of realistic perspective in depicting scenes. • Portrait painting becomes popular. • Depiction of Renaissance ideals. • New dignity of the individual

15. Early Renaissance • Florence the leader in Renaissance art esp. in quattrocento (1400s) • Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) – architect of cathedrals (il duomo in Florence) • Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472), architect of cathedrals. • Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455) -- sculptor: bronze doors for Florentine baptistry • Donatello (1386-1466 – sculptor: David (in bronze) • Masaccio (1401-1428) painter: nude human figures • Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516) – Portrait of a Condottiere • Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1574) – goldsmith and sculptor

16. Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337) • Considered to be the Father of the Italian Renaissance • Broke with linear style of Middle Ages. • First to us chiaroscuro. • Reputed to be a shrewd and witty character. • Praised by the poet Dante.

17. Giotto - The Mourning of Christ

18. Sandro Botticelli (1444-1510) • Spent almost his entire life in Florence. • Only significant journey was to Rome to work on Sistine Chapel. • Died in obscurity and his fame was not reestablished until the 19th century.

19. Botticelli-Primavera

20. Botticelli- Birth of Venus

21. High Renaissance • “High Renaissance” centered in Rome (1500-1527) – cinquecento (1500s) • Most worldly of Renaissance popes – Alexander VI (1492-1503); Julius II (1503-1513); and Leo X (1513-1521), funded great art projects • Characteristics: classical balance, harmony, restraint

22. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) • Painter, sculptor, architect and engineer. • Often left work unfinished. • Conducted extensive scientific studies. • Invented the armored tank and designed aircraft.

23. Da Vinci – The Last Supper

24. Michelangelo Buonarotti (1475-1564) • Sculptor, painter, architect, and poet. • Tormented genius who was rarely satisfied with his talents. • In painting and sculpture his work focused mainly on the nude human form.

25. Michelangelo – La Pieta

26. Michelangelo – Sistine Chapel

27. Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520) • Child prodigy in the world of art. • Patronized by the popes and named Papal Architect in 1514. • Died of fever at age 37.

28. Raphael – Three Graces

29. Raphael – School of Athens

30. Printing Press (c. 1456) • Johann Gutenberg – spread of humanistic literature to rest of Europe. • By 1480, 380 printing presses in Europe (1000 by 1500)

31. Christian Humanism • Attempted to find a balance between religious and secular concerns • Rejected the “otherworldliness” of the Middle Ages. • Emphasis on early church writings for answers to improve society.

32. Christian Humanist Writers • Desiderius Erasmus (Erasmus of Rotterdam) (1466-1536) – In Praise of Folly; most famous intellectual of his times, criticized the church: “Erasmus lay the egg that Luther hatched” • Thomas More (1478-1536) – Utopia – creates ideal society on an island; but to achieve harmony and order people have to sacrifice individual rights

33. Christian Humanist Writers • Jacques Lefevre d’Etables (1454-1536): leading French humanist; produced 5 versions of the Psalms that challenged a single authoritative Bible. • Francesco Ximenes de Cisneros (1436-1517): reformed Spanish clergy and church, Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition

34. Northern Renaissance Arts • Low Countries (Dutch Republic, Flanders and parts of Germany, etc) produced especially important artists. • Jan and Hubert Van Eyck • First successful use of oil painting • Worked mainly in Ghent, Belgium.

35. Peter Brueghel (1520-1569) • Focused on lives of ordinary people. • Painted great landscapes • Also worked on religious subjects • Completed most of his work in Antwerp and Brussels

36. Peter Brueghel – Peasant Wedding

37. Albrecht Durer (1471-1528) • German – foremost northern Renaissance artist • Famous for woodcuts and engravings. • Paintings include a number of self protraits

38. Albrecht Durer – The Last Supper

39. Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543) • Son of Gothic artist. • German painter who studied in Italy • Painted portraits of Erasmus, Thomas More, King Henry VIII, his wives, and Mary Tudor

40. Hans Holbein – The Ambassadors

41. Domenikos El Greco (1541-1614): painter: mannerism • Painter in Spain (of Greek nationality) • Famous for unique style known as mannerism. • Subjects depict religious mysticism of the period in Spain

42. El Greco – Death of Duke of Orgaz

43. Vernacular Writers • France • Francois Rabelais’ (1494-1553) Gargantua and Pantagruel • Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) Essays relativist in religion and morality

44. Vernacular Writers • England • Edmund Spenser (1552 – 1599)composed romantic epic Faerie Queen • Christopher Marlowe (1564 – 1593) skilled playwright and poet • William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) poet and playwright. Wrote plays that best exemplfied the varieties of human experience. • Ben Jonson (1572 – 1673) poet and dramatist who created plays in the Greek style.

45. Vernacular Writers • Spain • Miguel de Cervantes (1547 – 1615) Wrote Don Quixote. Regarded as one of the great novels of the period. • Felix Lope de Vega (1562-1635) wrote in every major literary style. Created over 1500 plays, of which 500 survive.