Transcript The Renaissance 1485-1660

The Renaissance
1485-1660
The Renaissance
Beginning in the late 1400’s, the English
Renaissance marked changes in people’s
values, beliefs, and behaviors.
The word renaissance means “re-birth”. It
refers particularly to renewed interest in
classical learning: Greek language, reading, art.
There was also a renewal of the human spirit –
curiosity and creativity. Today we still use the
term “Renaissance person” for an energetic and
productive human being who is interested in
science, literature, history, art, and other
academic subjects.
Italy
I.
Italy
A. The Renaissance began in Italy in the 14th
Century and lasted until the 16th Century
B. Most people were wealthy from banking
and trading with the East
C. Important people:
1. Leonardo da Vinci – artist
2. Michelangelo – artist
3. Christopher Columbus – explorer
4. Galileo - scientist
Italy
D. Religion –
1. Catholic
2. Catholic church was rich and powerful,
even in political affairs
3. Many popes were lavish patrons of
artists, architects, and scholars.
4. Pope Julius II – hired Michelangelo to
paint scenes from the Bible on the ceiling
of the Sistine Chapel: the creation, the
fall, the flood, etc.
Humanism
II. Humanism – An intellectual movement
dealing with academics.
A. The people continue reading and found
answers to age old questions through
Latin, Greek, and Christianity.
B. They tried to harmonize the Bible and
the classics.
C. The Humanists learned the aim of life
was to attain virtue, not success, money,
or fame.
Humanist
D. Desiderius Erasmus – Dutch monk who
lived outside the monastery and loved to
travel. He taught Greek at Cambridge,
where he met Thomas More.
E. Thomas More – Wrote Latin poems,
pamphlets, biographies, and Utopia. He
held many important offices, and was
knighted as Lord Chancellor, one of the
king’s prime ministers.
*Both these men helped shape European
thought and history.
Technology
IV. The printing press
A. Transformed the way information was
exchanged – Johannes Gutenberg
B. Few books had been available because
they had previously been written by hand
C. Latin Bible printed in 1455
D. By 1500 inexpensive books were
available throughout western Europe
Reformation
V. The Church
A. People rejected the authority of the
pope and the Italian churchmen
B. By the 1530’s, an open break from the
church could not be avoided
C. Patriotism and national identity made
the English people resent the financial
burdens imposed on them by the Vatican,
pope.
Reformation
D. New religious ideas were coming into
England from the continent, especially
Germany
1. Martin Luther had founded
a new kind of Christianity
2. It was not founded on what the
pope said, but what the Bible said
King Versus Pope
VI. King and the Pope don’t agree
A. Henry VIII wanted to get rid of his wife of
24 years, but divorce was not allowed
B. Henry tried to persuade Clement VII to
agree because Catherine of Aragon had been
married to his brother Arthur, which had
been against the law in the first place
King Versus Pope
C. Henry had two reasons for wanting a
divorce:
1. Catherine was too old to have
children and had only had a girl
2. He was in love with Anne Boleyn,
Henry’s favorite; Henry had earlier
seduced her sister
D. The pope could not grant the divorce
because he was controlled by Catherine’s
nephew, the emperor of Spain
King Versus Pope
E. Upon the refusal of the pope, Henry VIII
simply declared himself head of the
church in 1533
F. He appointed a new archbishop of
Canterbury who gratefully declared his
marriage invalid, although Catherine
would not agree
G. Henry closed all of England’s monasteries
and sold the building and land
King Versus Pope
H. Sir Thomas More, now Lord Chancellor of
England, could not agree with his friend,
Henry, being head of the church. So,
Henry had him beheaded
I. This began Protestantism in England and the
beginning of the Protestant Reformation
England’s Lineage
The Tudor lineage
A. Henry VII (1457-1509) – He was a shrewd,
patient, and stingy man who restored peace
and order to the kingdom
B. Henry VIII (1509-1547) – He was ruthless.
He had six wives, to all of whom he was
unfaithful. Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard
were beaheaded for suspicion of infidelity. He
did, however, create the Royal Navy.
England’s Lineage
C. Henry had three children:
1. Mary, daughter of Catherine of Aragon
2. Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn
3. Edward, son of Jane Seymour
D. Edward became king at age nine. He died of
tuberculosis.
E. Mary took over after Edward’s death. She
was determined to get revenge for her
mother’s death, so she restored the pope’s
power and hunted down Protestants. She
burned 300 of her subjects at the stake,
which earned her the name “Bloody
England’s Lineage
F. Elizabeth came to power in 1558. She
reestablished the Church of England and
took power away from the pope. Elizabeth
became known as “the virgin queen” after
rejecting every marriage proposal
throughout her life. Her intelligence and
independence made her reign one of the
most successful in English history.
Historical Turning Point
A.
B.
C.
King Phillip of Spain, Mary’s widower,
invaded England
In 1588, the English Royal Navy defeated
the Spanish Armada.
This victory assured England's
independence.
Decline of the Renaissance
A.
B.
James VI of Scotland, son of
Elizabeth’s cousin Mary,
became ruler after Elizabeth’s
death.
James wrote books in favor of
the divine right of kings,
against tobacco, he
patronized Shakespeare,
sponsored a new translation
of the Bible, and a peaceful
ruler.
Decline of the Renaissance
C. Charles I, his son, was beheaded by his
subjects.
D. For 11 years England was ruled by
Parliament.
E. The last great write of the period was John
Milton.
F. By this time, political and secular values
were beginning to challenge religious
doctrines.
Shakespeare’s Theater
The Birth of the English
Playhouse
In
1558, there were no
playhouses in England.
The Puritan city council disagreed
with the “play-acting,” claiming it
was an act of idolatry.
In 1574, acting was banned from
London.
The
actors bought land
nearby and created their own
acting company, building a
playhouse.
The Globe
 Built
in 1599, the Globe theater
was home to Shakespeare; it was
the “re-birth” of theater.
 Henry V was the first play to be
performed at the theater.
 Scholars
believe that the Globe
was a circular structure, formed
by three tiered, thatch roof
galleries that served as seating
for the audience.
Lords and Groundlings
 Plays
were usually performed in the
afternoon before a diverse audience
of about two thousand.
 Galleries: Members of the nobility
and upper class.
 “Groundlings,” lower class, could
stand and watch from the courtyard
for only a penny.
 Groundlings
did not hesitate to
shout comments to the actors on
stage, good or bad.
 Vendors
sold snacks throughout
the play as well.
Theatrical Conventions
 Most
of Shakespeare’s characters
speak in blank verse, unrhymed
lines of iambic pentameter.
 Each line is divided into feet, with
the stress falling on every second
syllable.
Acting was seen as to indelicate
for women, so female roles were
played by boys.
 Costumes were colorful and
elaborate versions of regular
Elizabethan dress.

 Scenery
was nonexistent.
 The beginning of the play was
announced by a blaring trumpet,
and the start of a new scene was
signaled by the entrance of the
appropriate character.
 Scholars
estimate that a typical
performance of Shakespeare's
lasted only about two hours.
The Globe’s Comeback
 The
original Globe Theater was
destroyed in 1613, when a
cannon set off to mark the
entrance of the king during a
performance of Henry VIII
accidentally set the thatched roof
on fire.
 1614,
the Globe was rebuilt and
stood until 1644 when it was torn
down to clear land for new housing.
 A replica of the theater stands on
the bank of the Thames River; it
opened in 1997, its first production:
Henry V.
Project: Due November 25
Create the Globe theater in 3-D:


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Popsicle sticks
Wood
Paper Mache
Must include
 People (toy figures, created figures, etc.)
 Curtains and stage
 Tiers and thatched roof on part
 Exact replica (use notes and research)