01:360:401 Lecture 12: 12
21 May 2018
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Identifications (Chapter 12-The Renaissance)
1. Renaissance
The French word for rebirth, this was a period with indistinct boundaries
between 1350 and 1550 CE. This was a period in which secularism, emphasis
on man’s ability, and socioeconomic change flourished, although religious
sentiment maintained a presence. Interest in the Classical (Graeco-Roman)
world increased as Europe recovered from the Black Death and the other
calamities which befell the fourteenth century. The Renaissance originated in
Italy, but soon spread to the rest of Europe. Importance: The Renaissance
was, in some ways, a continuation of the Middle Ages’ societal
mechanisms, but it can be differentiated by the belief in humans’
abilities and potential as well as a series of artistic and intellectual
accomplishments achieved during this period. Social philosophy also
saw a revolution during this era.
1. Jacob Burkhardt
A Swiss historian and art critic who wrote The Civilization of the Renaissance
in Italy, which was published in 1860. He portrayed Italy during this time as a
place where the culture of antiquity was restored, individual potential was
encouraged, and secularism set the region apart from the rest of Europe. The
latter two were somewhat exaggerated and the religious aspect was
underplayed. Importance: Burkhardt set a basis for what modern
scholars interpret as the Renaissance in Italy and later on, the rest of
Europe.
1. Leon Battista Alberti
A fifteenth-century Florentine humanist and architect. He held a high regard
for human dignity, worth, and potential. He also wrote the treatise On the
Family. He wrote about the social ideal of the universal person, capable of
achieving in many different facets of life. The treatise also addressed families,
which suffered from a lack of male heir, allowing the family name to die out, a
common problem in Renaissance Italy. Importance: He helped formulate
and explain the idea of a universal person and his work provides some
context for the issues that plagued Renaissance families.
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1. Hanseatic League
A commercial/military alliance formed of Northern Europe’s coastal towns that
existed as early as the thirteenth century. It exceeded 80 cities by 1500 and
monopolized the Northern European trade in timber, fish, grains, metals,
honey, and wines. The southern city of Flanders was a crucial meeting place
for Hanseatic and Venetian merchants. In the fifteenth century, Bruges began
to decline and took with it the Hanseatic League. Importance: The Hanseatic
League was an important step in Europe’s economic recovery from the
decay left by the fourteenth century.
1. House of Medici
A family that brought Florence back to its primacy in banking. Originally
involved in the cloth industry, the Medici family expanded into banking,
business, and real estate. It was, in the fifteenth century, the greatest
European bank, due to its many branches in Italy, Spain, France, England,
and central Europe. It maintained its control in the cloth industry, and added
alum mining to its interests. The House of Medici also served as the bankers
for the papacy. This gave the Medici further influence and affluence. At the
close of the fifteenth century, the Medici bank declined due to poor leadership
and loans. The French eventually ousted the Medici from Florence and seized
its property. Importance: The Medici enhanced the prestige of Florence
and served the papacy.
1. Castiglione’s Book of the Courtier
This book served as a manual for European aristocrats. In it, he detailed the
basic attributes of the ideal courtier: fundamental endowments, participation in
military exercise, and a life adorned with the arts. Courtiers should have
excellent conduct and grace in showing their accomplishments, while
maintaining a modest nature. Castiglione also explained the aim of a courtier:
to serve his ruler honestly and effectively. Importance: The book set a
standard for court life and brought the ideal of a universal person into
eminence as a key quality of the exemplary courtier.
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1. condottieri
The leader of a mercenary band. Condottieri sold their services to the highest
bidder, which were sometimes city-states of Italy. Some foreigners that went
to Italy during ceasefires in the Hundred Years’ War became mercenaries
and condottieri. Importance: Condottieri helped city-states gain power.
1. Francesco Sforza
A leading condottieri in 1447. He seized the duchy of Milan after the final
Visconti ruler died by turning on his Milanese employers and taking over the
city. Importance: He, like the Visconti, was extremely successful in his
taxation and generated immense revenues for his regime. He also
exemplifies the idea of a condottieri turned ruler.
1. Cosimo de’Medici
A member of the house of Medici who took control of the Florentine oligarchy,
which itself was surreptitiously controlling the Florentine republic. Cosimo
de’Medici did this in 1434. The family maintained a façade of republicanism,
but controlled the government through extravagant sponsorship and
cultivation of strong relationships with political allies. Importance: Cosimo
de’Medici essentially took over Florence, although he continued
pretenses of a republic. He and his grandson controlled Florence while it
was the center of the Renaissance in Italy.
1. the Papal States
States in central Italy. Technically, these states were under the control of the
papacy, but due to the split of the church (in Rome and Avignon), single cities
and territories like Urbino, Bologna, and Ferrara became independent of the
papacy. Importance: Popes of the fifteenth century later tried to
reestablish control of these dissenting states in another struggle.
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