The Renaissance

Answers
Topics
A. The period of European history at the close of the middle Ages and the rise of the
modern world; a cultural rebirth from the 14th through the middle of the 17th
centuries. Some characteristics are art, science, math, and religion.
B. In Italy there were architectural remains, statues, coins, and in scriptures. A
wealthy and powerful merchant class further promoted the cultural rebirth. These
merchants exerted both political and economic leadership. They stressed education
and individual achievement. They also spent lavishly to support the arts.
C. Italian artists focused on perspective. They incorporated humanist concerns
(individual achievement). Also tried to make their paintings very realistic. Also
incorporated religious figures in their drawings.
D.
E. Details were very important. Greater emphasis on intense religious feeling. They
were devotional to art.
F. Intellectual movement at the heart of the Italian Renaissance that focused on
worldly subjects rather than on religious issues. It focused on the individual
potential and secularism. They stressed the study of liberal arts: grammar, rhetoric,
poetry, ethics, and history. The most important humanists were Erasmus and More.
G. People looked to the past for models. Humanists turned to ancient classical ideas.
Religious reformers were inspired by the bible and early Christian times. The
leading theory was the heliocentric theory introduced by Copernicus. Many
experts didn’t believe the new theory because all scientific knowledge and many
religious thinkings were based on arguments developed by classical thinkers. Most
experts rejected his heliocentric theory, for if he was right, the whole system of
human knowledge might have been called into question. Galileo was one of the
famous people during the scientific revolution. He supported Copernicus’s
heliocentric belief. Another famous thinker was Newton, who proposed that a
single force keeps planets in orbit around the sun: gravity.
H.
I.
Possible Identifications
A. The doctrine emphasizing a person's capacity for self-realization through reason;
rejects religion and the supernatural. A very important humanist was Erasmus who
called for the translation of the bible into the vernacular. The humanists were
important for they stressed education for all the people.
B. Lorenzo de Medici was the ruler of Florence for some time. He held Florence
together during the difficult times. The Medici Family had an enormous impact on
the Renaissance because they were generous patrons of the arts.
C. An famous Italian painter during the Renaissance. He was a painter whose many
paintings exemplify the ideals of the High Renaissance. One of the three great
artists of his time (Michelangelo and Leonardo) He is best known for painting the
Madonna.
D. A person who provides financial support for the arts. One very important patron of
the arts was The Medici Family. Patrons were important because they were what
kept art alive.
E. Niccolo had served Florence as a diplomat, and observed kings and princes in
foreign courts. He wrote a handbook called the prince which identified what the
ideal ruler should be like and how to gain and keep power. In the handbook eh
compared his ideas to real rulers which was one of the first times they had done
that. Said to be inspired by the devil.
F. The Italian city states became the centers of economic, political, and social life
during the Renaissance.
G. The study of subjects taught in Ancient Greece and Rome, such as grammar,
rhetoric, poetry, and history. Humanists stressed on the humanities, believing it
stimulated a person’s creativity. These humanities stressed by the Humanists
flourished knowledge and increased knowledge throughout the Renaissance.
H. A good friend of Erasmus and an English humanist. He wrote the book Utopia in
which there is an ideal society, everyone is educated, and justice is used to end
crime, not the criminal. Today, the word Utopia describes an ideal society.
I. They portrayed townspeople and religious scenes in their art. Their detail was very
realistic. They developed oil paints which lasted a lot longer than previous paint.
J. A Spanish author during the Renaissance. The writer of one great work Don
Quixote, which was an entertaining tale that mocks romantic notions of medieval
chivalry. The novel is said to be one of the greatest of all time. He greatly
influenced the Spanish language.
K. An English Poet and playwright. He is very well known thanks to his tragedy,
Romeo and Juliet. He vastly influenced the English language, for more than 1500
words appeared for the 1st time in his works.
L. The Polish scientist that proposed the heliocentric theory, in where the sun was at
the center of the universe, not Earth, for the first time. Most experts rejected his
heliocentric theory, for if he was right, the whole system of human knowledge
might have been called into question.
M. An Englishman that stressed experimentation and observation. He wanted to make
the world fit with the teachings of the Church. He wanted science to make life
better for people by leading to practical technologies.
N. A genius that used mathematics to show that a single force keeps the planets in
their orbits around the sun. He called this force gravity. He also helped create an
important new branch of mathematics: calculus.
O. A process that is the basis for scientific inquiry. The scientific method follows a
series of steps. It still holds strong today as a method to minimize the bias or
prejudice in the experimenter.
P. An Italian Renaissance Philosopher.
Q. One of the earliest Renaissance humanists. He assembled a library of Greek and
Roman manuscripts. His works greatly influenced later writers.
R. A very famous artist and a very creative man. He is very well know for painting
the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper. Not only was he a painter, but worked in the
categories of botany, anatomy, optics, music, architecture, and engineering.
S. One of the many geniuses during the Renaissance. He was a very famous sculptor
that sculpted very realistically. He is very well know for sculpting David, the one
who killed the Goliath at almost 20 feet tall.
T. A technique used in painting that was created during the Renaissance. Perspective
made a painting seem like it was 3-D. This was one factor that helped make a
renaissance piece of art look very realistic.
U.
V. The classical ideas and classical views.
W. A priest that strived for equality not only in writing (the same language), but in the
church as well, for he believed it was very corrupt at the time. He wanted to
translate the bible into the vernacular. This would harm the church for it would
reveal that the Church had lied about indulgences and would lower the Church’s
power.
X. Sometimes called the “German Leonardo.” He employed the techniques of the
Italian masters in his paintings, especially in his engravings. Many of his
engravings portray the religious upheaval of his age. He helped spread the Italian
Renaissance ideas in his homeland.
Y. Northern Humanist were greatly influenced by the Italian. Some of the main
figures in the North, like Erasmus, were very important in the spreading of
humanism to the north. The northern humanists stressed education and emphasized
religious themes. Change was driven by religious reform, the return to Christian
values, and the revolt against the authority of the church.
Z. The inventor of mechanical printing. He printed the first complete edition of the
bible using the first printing press and printing inks in the west. This helped more
people learn to read, and gain knowledge faster, and own a copy of a bible.
AA.The everyday language of ordinary people. A very important humanist was
Erasmus who called for the translation of the bible into the vernacular. This
translation of the Vernacular would reveal the lies and corruption of the Church,
possibly bringing the power of the Church to an end.
AB.A famous Italian that assembled an astronomical telescope. He concluded the
same things that Copernicus came up with as well, and as a result, caused uproar
because his results contradicted ancient views about the world. He was going to be
sentenced to death if he did not take back his words for at the time, the heliocentric
theory was thought to threaten all of human understanding.
AC.A Frenchman whom emphasized human reasoning as the best road to
understanding. He tried to discard all traditional authorities and searched for
provable knowledge. He is often recognized by his famous quote, “I think,
therefore I am.”
AD.The theory that puts the Sun at the center of the solar system. Copernicus first
introduced this theory, and then Galileo followed. If the Heliocentric theory was
 true, experts though back then, then the whole system of human knowledge might
have been called into question
AE.An ideal society. Thomas More wrote the book Utopia in which there is an ideal
society, everyone is educated, and justice is used to end crime, not the criminal. I
believed the Renaissance was the closest we’ve ever gotten to achieving Utopia.
AF. A French humanist that had a varied career as a monk, physician, Greek scholar,
and author. He uses his characters in his books to offer opinions on religion,
education, and other serious subjects.