Renaissance Ideas
What does the word "Renaissance" mean?
Rebirth
Who is known as the “Father of Humanism” and helped revive interest in classical texts?
Petrarch
What technique did Renaissance artists use to create the illusion of three-dimensional space?
Linear or geometric perspective
Who invented the movable-type printing press in Europe?
Johannes Gutenberg
Name the three core motivations for exploration.
Gold, God, Glory
What region did the Renaissance begin in?
Italy
What Roman orator did Petrarch admire for his support of the republic and eloquent Latin?
Cicero
How does Michelangelo’s David reflect both classical ideals and Renaissance humanism?
Idealized anatomy + expression of human potential and civic virtue
What key innovation made Gutenberg’s press revolutionary compared to earlier methods?
Movable metal type, which allowed faster and cheaper reproduction of texts
What was the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), and how was it enforced?
A papal-mediated division of the New World between Spain and Portugal; enforced mostly by naval dominance and colonization
What classical cultures were "reborn" during the Renaissance?
Greek and Roman
What Christian humanist wrote In Praise of Folly to criticize the corruption of the Church while still remaining loyal to Catholicism?
Erasmus
Why was Brunelleschi’s dome a major architectural breakthrough?
It used a self-supporting structure without Gothic buttresses; revived Roman engineering methods
How did vernacular texts printed during the Renaissance challenge clerical authority?
Enabled laypeople to interpret texts themselves, weakening Church monopoly on knowledge
Why did Europeans want to bypass Ottoman-controlled land routes to Asia?
To avoid high tariffs and gain direct access to luxury goods like spices and silk
How did the Renaissance shift ideas about religious vs. secular authority?
It promoted secular inquiry and diminished reliance on Church dogma as the sole source of truth
How did civic humanism connect classical ideas with political life in the Italian city-states?
It argued that educated citizens should actively participate in public affairs to promote the common good
What feature in Raphael’s School of Athens demonstrates the Renaissance blending of art and philosophy?
Central placement of classical thinkers in a realistic, symmetrical architectural space
In what way did printing democratize access to education?
It allowed broader segments of the population to read texts formerly limited to elites and clergy
Explain how the Columbian Exchange transformed the European economy and diet.
Brought in high-calorie crops like maize and potatoes, leading to population growth and agricultural diversification
How did contact with the Islamic world through the Crusades contribute to the Renaissance?
Reintroduced classical texts preserved in Arabic translation
What was the main idea behind Castiglione’s The Courtier regarding the ideal Renaissance man?
A gentleman should be well-educated, eloquent, physically capable, and morally virtuous
Why did wealthy patrons like the Medici family fund art, and how did it serve their political goals?
*Note that the Catholic Church was still #1 in patronage of the arts
To project power, prestige, and legitimacy through cultural achievement
How did printing influence the Protestant Reformation and nationalism at the same time?
It spread vernacular Bibles and reformist ideas while helping define national languages and cultures
What was the encomienda system and how was it justified by Spanish authorities?
A labor system that granted land and native laborers to colonists; justified as religious conversion and protection