The Renaissance

I. The Renaissance: New Forms of Thought and Expression

A. Renaissance Humanism

1. Humanism and the Revival of Classical Latin — During the Renaissance period, elements of the classical past were revived by Europeans disillusioned with the present. Humanism sought to recover texts from the classical past and revive Latin and Greek, as well as classical values and sensibilities. Humanism began in the Italian city-states, where humanists wrote texts patterned on classical models, especially Cicero. Most humanists combined sincere Christian piety with their appreciation of the pagan past.

2. The Career of Francis Petrarch — The first humanist was Francis Petrarch (1304–1374), from Arezzo. Petrarch was educated at Avignon, where he fell in love with classical literature, gave up the study of law, and devoted himself to writing poetry in Italian and Latin. He saw humanism as a vocation.

3. Representative Humanists: Lauro Quirini, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, and Christine de Pisan — Lauro Quirini (1420–1475?), educated in law at the University of Padua, wrote essays and corresponded with other humanists. A merchant on Crete for the last half of his life, Quirini worried about the fate of Constantinople’s libraries under the Turks and tried to save books written in Greek. Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463–1494) was a more flamboyant humanist. Born near Ferrara to a noble family, he learned Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic, and attempted to reconcile Jewish mystical writings and the scriptures. The church found some of his ideas heretical. His Oration on the Dignity of Man summed up the humanist sense of man as a creative individual with unlimited potential. Christine de Pisan (c.1365–c.1430), a young Venetian widow, wrote poetry inspired by classical models and obtained aristocratic and royal patronage.

B. The Arts

1. From Agora to Piazza — Patronage strengthened the arts in this era. Unplanned medieval cities developed into planned urban spaces, imagined as places of order and harmony. Florentine architect Leon Alberti (1404–1472) worked to harmonize buildings and public spaces, and in Renaissance architecture the piazza, or plaza, became an important part of cities. Court architecture emphasized the same themes. Duke Frederico’s new palace at Urbino contained spacious courtyards and studies to be filled with books, and Roman temple forms were integrated into some Renaissance churches.

2. Sculpture and Painting — Renaissance artists used classical models for their work, but also mined the ancient world for subjects. Good examples are Ghiberti’s door sculpture of the Sacrifice of Isaac and Botticelli’s painting, The Birth of Venus. Perspective became more important, and developed in part out of military engineering, as demonstrated by the career of Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519). A northern Renaissance took place as well, outside of Italy. Portrait painting at the court of Burgundy emphasized the individuality and dignity of the subject, reflecting Renaissance values.

3. New Harmonies in Music — Music added glamour to Renaissance courts and musicians were heavily patronized. Some musicians served as chaplains, and some court musicians set humanist or classical poetry to music. Church-sponsored music, especially choral music, increased as papal courts proliferated. Josquin Desprez (1440–1521), the duke of Ferrara’s chaplain, was typical in his addition of classical elements to traditional musical forms to enhance music’s power.

II. Consolidating Power

A. New Political Formations in Eastern Europe

1. Bohemia — The shape of Europe changed a great deal from 1340 to 1492, with the Ottoman empire supplanting the Byzantine Empire. Bohemia gained new status as the seat of the Holy Roman Empire under the Luxembourg dynasty. Bohemia experienced religious and political crisis as the nobility, both Hussite and Catholic, clashed, and most of Europe considered Bohemia a heretic state.

2. The Hanseatic League — Cities were powerful in the Baltic region, especially the Hanseatic League, a loose federation of mostly north German cities established to protect trade and for mutual defense. The league linked the Baltic coast with Russia, Norway, Britain, and France, and defended itself successfully against Denmark and Norway.

3. Poland and Lithuania — Poland and Lithuania developed as two new monarchies. Poland, dominated by its nobility, expanded in the fourteenth century, partly through Jewish emigration. Lithuania was the only major holdout from Christianity in eastern Europe, until it expanded into southern Russia and its Grand Dukes flirted with both Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christianity. When its Grand Duke Jogailo married Queen Jadwiga of Poland, the states were united and he accepted Catholic baptism, promising to convert Lithuania.

B. Powerful States in Western Europe

1. Spain — Four states dominated western Europe in the fifteenth century as powerful monarchies. In the Iberian peninsula, decades of violence ended when Isabelle of the more powerful Castille married Ferdinand of Aragon in 1469 and restored law and order. The king and queen ruled jointly over their separate dominions, which retained traditions and laws. Progress toward a united Spain began, and Isabelle and Ferdinand consolidated their central power through taxation, bureaucracy, a compliant cortes, and ideology that glorified monarchy.

2. Burgundy — The Duchy of Burgundy was created when the duke of Burgundy, a member of the French royal family, married an heiress of Flanders in 1369. The rise of this state was due to military power and statecraft. Land was acquired in the Netherlands and the state grew in the area between France and Germany through purchase, inheritance, and conquest. Burgundy was a multi-ethnic patchwork of laws and traditions. Flourishing cities and rich farmland strengthened the state, which had no natural borders. Philip the Good (r.1418–1467) and Charles the Bold (r. 1467–1477) were strong rulers determined to enhance dynastic prestige and security through power and its careful, often theatrical projection. When Charles was killed at the battle of Nancy by the Swiss, Burgundian power came to an end, with the state divided up between France and the Holy Roman Empire.

3. France — France recovered quickly under Louis XI (r.1461–1483) after the Hundred Years’ War, expanding territorially to include Burgundy and inheriting control of Southern France after the Anjou dynasty died out. Louis promoted commerce and industry, imposed effective taxes, and built up the military. Through the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, the French kings asserted influence over the French bishops and set the stage for Gallicanism, or French control over church appointments and revenue.

4. England — In England, the Hundred Years’ War led to a civil war (the War of the Roses), which ended with Henry Tudor becoming Henry VII (r. 1485–1509). The English economy grew despite the conflicts, especially the cloth industry and wool exports. Farm and land rents increased, population grew, and general prosperity strengthened the monarchy.

C. Power in the Republics

1. The Swiss Confederation — Traditions of both self-rule and powerful leadership thrived in parts of the West. The Swiss Confederation was made up of cities from the Alpine regions of the Holy Roman Empire, who formed long-standing local alliances for defense and trade. By the end of the fourteenth century, they formed an effective political force. Tradesmen and merchants dominated the confederation, which remained fiercely independent.

2. The Republic of Venice — Venice, built on a lagoon, ruled an extensive empire, and its merchant ships were active everywhere. In the early fifteenth century, Venice took over many neighboring city-states. Its struggle with the powerful state of Milan for control of Northern Italy ended with the peace of Lodi in 1454. Venice was ruled by the Great Council, which was dominated by traditionally important families, with a leading magistrate (doge) elected by the council. The geography of the city fostered community and cooperation and may have helped prevent rebellion. Venice was influenced by humanism and by Byzantine art and architecture, and art was widely patronized by the church and lay confraternities.

3. Florence and the Medici Family — Florence was a republic dominated by the Medici family from 1434. Cosimo de’ Medici (1389–1464) used the Medici bank, which handled papal finances, to gain political power and to direct a broad consensus that he built among the ruling elite. His grandson, Lorenzo (1449–1492) bolstered the regime’s legitimacy and patronized the humanities and arts. Although driven from Florence in 1494, the family returned in 1512, and finally declared themselves the dukes of Florence in 1530, ending the republic.

D. The Tools of Power

1. New Taxes, New Knowledge: The Florentine Catasto — States increasingly exercised power in this era. An example of their growing intrusiveness is the Florentine catasto, a detailed inventory of households that was conducted in 1427. The catasto showed how wealth was divided and revealed a great deal about household size and child-rearing practices.

2. Driving out Muslims, Heretics, and Jews — More powerful monarchs and states were better positioned to persecute and oppose their enemies. Ferdinand and Isabella in Spain made efforts to impose religious uniformity and purity. They persecuted Jewish converts (conversos) by strengthening the Inquisition to investigate them on behalf of the crown, treating them as heretics and decreeing in 1492 that all Jews needed to convert or leave the country. Perhaps 150,000 fled and scattered. Ferdinand and Isabella also determined to rid Spain of its last Muslim stronghold, Granada. They conquered the city in 1492 and forced Muslims to convert or emigrate.