History: Renaissance & Reformation

Italian Renaissance

A period of European history that began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe; a renewed interest in the classical learning of Greece and Rome

Francesco Sforza

Conquered the city of Milan and became its Duke. He Led a band of mercenaries who fought for the highest bidder.

Cosimo De Medici

Took control of Florence. His family ran the government and banking industry

Lorenzo de Medici

Led Florence to its height of wealth and culture; he used his power and wealth to become a great patron of the arts.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Florentine diplomat & historian; His greatest work is The Prince, a book of political advice to rulers in which he describes the methods that a prince should use to acquire and maintain political power. This book was used to defend policies of despotism and tyranny. Machiavelli wrote that a ruler should take any action to remain in power, or that "the ends justifies the means."

Humanism

Intellectual movement based on the study of the classics, the literary works of ancient Greece and Rome (grammar, rhetoric, poetry, ethics & history)

Petrarch

The father of Italian humanism; wrote sonnets to an imaginary woman named Laura

Chaucer

He wrote the Canterbury Tales in Middle English

Christine De Pizan

A Frenchwoman who is best known for her works written in defense of women. Wrote The Book of the City of Ladies

Fresco

Painting done on fresh wet plaster with water-based paint

Raphael

Italian Renaissance painter commissioned by the Pope to beautify the Vatican; he painted frescoes, his most famous being The School of Athens.

Michelangelo

Painter, architect, and sculptor who painted the ceilings and walls of the Sistine Chapel. One of the most influential people of the Renaissance period

Jan Van Eyck

Among the first to use and perfect oil painting technique ; painted Giovanni & and his bride

Albrecht Drurer

Artist greatly affected by Italian Renaissance; painted the Adoration of the Magi, self-portraits. The "German Leonardo"

Martin Luther

German monk who became one of the most famous critics of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1517, he wrote 95 theses, or statements of belief attacking the church practices. He led the Protestant Reformation.

Desiderius Erasmus

Best known Christian Humanist who wrote satires making fun of monks. Wrote in Praise of Folly

Indulgence

Pardon or release from all or part of the punishment for sin

95 theses

Document written by Martin Luther and posted on a church door in Germany that listed 95 things that Luther saw wrong with the church

Edict of Worms

Prohibited the sale of Luther's works and made Martin Luther an outlaw in the Holy Roman Empire

Charles V

The Holy Roman Emperor (Hapsburg) who ruled an empire consisting of Spain and its colonies, Austria, Hungary, the L:ow Countries, Naples, Milan; spoke French and wanted to keep his lands Catholic

Peace of Augsburg

A temporary settlement to the religious wars in Germany;

Treaty passed by Charles V in 1555 which said that German princes determine the religions of their states and Lutheran states have the same legal rights as Catholic states

Ulrich Zwingli

Swiss theologian whose sermons began the Reformation in Switzerland

Predestination

Eternal decree that meant god had predestined some people to be saved and others to be damned. Supported by Calvin, rejected by Luther

Geneva

An example of a theocracy

Ignatius Loyola

Founded the Society of Jesus known as Jesuits

Dante

He wrote the Divine Comedy, a three-part allegory about a soul's journey towards God

Perspective

The illusion of depth; objects in the foreground appear larger than those in the background

Massaccio

He painted in frescoes; first painter to show realism and depth

Brunelleschi

Architect inspired by the classical buildings of Rome as shown in his design of the Church at SanLorenzo

Gutenberg

Invented the printing press from movable type

Patricians

wealthiest townspeople from trade, industry & banking. Sponsors of great works of art

Florence

Powerful city-state ruled by the de Medici family in Tuscany. Considered the epicenter of the artistic Renaissance

Milan

One of the richest city-states in Italy because of it location on the northern trade routes

Renaissance

French word meaning "rebirth"

Mercenaries

Soldiers for hire

The Prince

One of the most influential works of the Renaissance describing the government of the day & how rulers aquire and keep power

da Vinci

Known for painting the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, a polymath and one of the 3 greats of the High Renaissance in Italy

Joann Tetzel

Dominican monk who sold indulgences to raise money to pay to rebuild St. Peter's Cathedral

Protestant Reformation

Luther's break with the Catholic Church in 1521; he was excommunicated as a heretic

John Calvin

The leader of the Protestant movement in Switzerland who believed in predestination

Theocracy

A government claiming God's authority to rule

Anabaptists

Forerunners of the modern day Amish, Mennonites and Baptists who did not believe in infant baptism. Considered at the time to be dangerous radicals by both Catholics and Protestants

Jesuits

Society of Jesus; organized like a military & stressed education

Council of Trent

Church leaders reaffirmed the teachings & doctrines of the Catholic /church

Zwingli

Swiss priest who was the first leader of the Protestant movement in Switzerland; was killed in battle

The Modern Devotion

a movement that downplayed religious dogma and stressed the need to follow the teachings of Jesus

Consistory

a special body for enforcing moral discipline. Powerful entity put into place in Geneva by John Calvin

Girolamo Savonarola

Dominican friar whose major goal was the reformation of the Catholic Church. Excommunicated and later executed in Florence in 1498

Christian Humanism

Encouraged people to read the classics (Greek and Roman) and especially the basic works of Christianity. In doing so, they would become more pious. This inner personal reform would lead to change in both the church and society