The+Renaissance

Describe the following movements of the Renaissance era.
 * Classical revival was the bringing back of art styles of Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, such as the mythological themes and relaxed poses.
 * Humanism was the belief that humans were not wicked and servants, but the strongest most intelligent creatures on Earth and should act like it.
 * Individualism was the idea that people should show off the individual __god given__ talents to better their time on Earth because each person is different from the next.
 * Secularism was the idea that people should enjoy their time on Earth without being burdened by only focusing on religion.

Explain the reasons why the Renaissance started in Italy.
 * Political- The growing political power of the Self- governing city states and great population expansion were the political causes of the Italian Renaissance.


 * Economic- Over seas trade by a large merchant class in Venice got the ball rolling for what was to become the biggest trading nation in all of Europe during that time period. (Italy) Also after the 12th century many great artists surfaced and brought a lot of attention and money into Italy.

How did the Renaissance conception of man and his place in the universe differ from the medieval conception?

In the Renaissance it was believed that man was a magnificent creature who was the most intelligent thing on Earth. Each man received a skill set from God and should use those skills to enjoy their time on Earth while still being a good enough Christian as to receive salvation after death. In medieval times man was thought to be a disgusting parasitic creature that disrespected all that was given to it by God, they were seen as a sinful people and as long as you were alive you were just a vessel of God. he only thing you had to worry about in the medieval times was gaining salvation. So the views of man in these times were basically opposite.

What brought the Italian Renaissance to an end? (Consider both political and economic reasons.)

Political- Eventually the build of Italy, self-governing city-states, became its downfall. The states were not unified and therefore couldn't protect against foreign invaders. Raids and attacks happened a lot in Italy by places like France and Spain, these could not be defended against so eventually territory was lost.

Economic- The shift to the Atlantic Ocean as the biggest trading area made the Italian Renaissance wane as that was Italy's biggest source of wealth. With no money coming in the economy plummeted causing the end of the Italian Renaissance.

Describe the differences between the Italian Renaissance and the Northern Renaissance.

The Northern Renaissance was mainly focused its reforms on Christian ideals and its humanists were also more Christian. Secularism, which was popular in Italy was not as taken in by Northerners who still upheld Christian values. Classical revival was also not as popular up north along with art in general. Much of the Italian renaissance was about art while the Northerners focused more on literature with authors such as Erasmus. Christian Humanists mixed Christian ideals with classic ones instead of becoming more secular like Italian ones.

Explain the contributions of each of the following to Renaissance thought.
 * Baldasarre Castiglione was the author of __**The Book of the** **Courtier.**__ This book is the most famous piece on Renaissance education of its time. This book described how to be the ideal "Renaissance Man" through manners, education and social skills.


 * Pico della Mirandola was the author of the book __**Oration on the Dignity of**__ **Man.** This was one of the most famous works on the nature of humankind. It said that humans were made by God and therefore had amazing potential for being great, however they could choose negative paths because God also gave them free will.


 * Leonardo da Vinci was one of the most famous artists and scientific minds of the Renaissance and is still credited today with being a genius well beyond his time. He painted the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper which are two of the most highly renowned paintings in all of art history. He was a model for the idea "Renaissance Man"


 * Niccolo Machiavelli wrote __ **The** **Prince** __ which was one of the most respected political treatise of its time. Within it was said that leaders should be feared rather than loved. Also it said that rulers must be cunning and polite while also being aggressive and ruthless. This piece influenced European leaders for centuries to come.
 * Johannes Gutenberg was the man who invented the Printing Press which is one of the most important inventions in human history. Documents and humanistic pieces of literature could now be printed and sold at astonishing speeds instead of having to be handwritten. More people were learning to read which meant they could interpret the scriptures for themselves.


 * Desiderius Erasmus was the most famous northern Renaissance humanists. He wrote __**Praise of** **Folly**__ which was a best seller, being outsold only by the Bible until 1550. He was a devout Catholic who wanted to reform the church and berated the leaders of the church for their corruption and hypocrisy. He "laid the egg that Martin Luther hatched."