Name: ______
Date: ______Period: ____
The Renaissance Begins 17-1
Directions: Filling in the Blanks Reading this section and completing the sentences below will help you learn more about the beginning of the Renaissance period. Refer to your textbook pages 609-615 to complete this activity.
The period of time between the years 1350 and 1550 is called the (1) ______, meaning “rebirth.” During this time period, many Europeans showed a renewed interest in (2)______and learning. They began to believe in the importance of the (3)______and became more (4) ______, which means more interested in this world than in religion and getting to heaven.
The Renaissance began in (5) ______for many reasons. First, it had been at the center of the (6) ______. Second, its cities were very (7)______. Finally, the region was divided into small (8)______, which created competition among them in the arts.
Because of Italy’s location on the (9)______, it became wealthy due to (10)______. The (11)______also helped the Italians by giving them contact with the Arabs. Additionally, the (12)______united Asia into a great trade network. Asia was of great interest to Europeans because of (13)______’s book, which told of his travels there.
At first, many of the city-states were (14) ______, meaning that they were controlled by the people. Eventually they were governed by the head of state. The city-states learned (15)______to deal with the city-states around them.
Introduction to the Renaissance Video 8:00
Pre-video DiscussionWhat period of history takes place before the Renaissance?
1. Why is the Renaissance a “rebirth” in learning?
2. Judging from the images that you have seen in this video what types of things do you think will be influenced or affected by the Renaissance?
People of the Millennium
Marco Polo Chapter 17-1
MARCO POLO AND THE MONGOLS
Marco Polo was a thirteenth- century Italian from the city of Venice. He became famous for his travels in Cathay or China. Marco’s father and uncle were diamond merchants who had traveled to China. There they met the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan, who was Genghis Khan’s grandson. He invited the Polos to return to China.
In 1271 the Polos left on another trip to the Far East. This time they took 17 year-old Marco with them. They sailed to a port in Palestine and then traveled the rest of the way by camel. Three years later, they reached the summer palace of Kublai Khan.
The Polos stayed in China for 17 years. Kublai Khan gave them jewels, silk, and other valuable treasures. Marco became an aide to Kublai Khan and even acted as governor of a Chinese city for three years.
Kublai Khan sent Marco on many tours of the Mongol Empire. Among the places he visited were Burma, Indochina, Malaya, and India. During the tours Marco took detailed notes so he could report to Kublai Khan.
The Polos left China in 1292. When they reached Venice three years later, they found the city at war with Genoa, a rival Italian city.
Marco became the commander of a Venetian galley, or ship propelled by oars. He was captured by the Genoese and spent a year in prison. With the help of another prisoner, Marco used his time in jail to have a book written, called Description of the World.
The book told about the Mongol Empire, the largest in the history of the world.
It stretched from the Pacific Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. Within its borders lived hundreds of different peoples.
The book also described Kublai Khan and his court and the cities of China. It told of the great wealth in the Far East and of luxuries far beyond the imaginations of any Westerner. Marco also described the customs, habits, and life styles of the people.
Marco Polo’s book gave Europeans some of their first ideas about the Far East. Europeans who read it became interested in trading with China. Mapmakers later made accurate maps based on descriptions in the book. A young captain named Christopher Columbus read the book and later decided to seek a sea route to the Far East.
1. Where was Marco Polo from? ______
2. What business was the Polo family involved in? ______
3. What was China known as in this time period? ______
4. Who did Marco Polo meet in China? ______
5. How long did Marco Polo stay in China? ______
6. Name the areas of the Mongol Empire where Marco Polo traveled.
______
7. What topics did Marco Polo describe in his book?
______
8. What influence did Marco Polo’s book have on Europeans?
______
People of the Millennium
Primary Source ReadingThe Prince
Niccolo Machiavelli Chapter 17-1
About the Selection
Niccolo Machiavelli was an important political leader in
Florence. From his position as defense secretary, he worked to
strengthen Italy. When the Medici family returned to power in
Florence in 1512, he was dismissed. Machiavelli wrote The Prince in 1513. In the excerpt from this work below, he describes how the ideal prince will do whatever is necessary to keep power and protect his city.
The Prince, 1513
byNiccolo Machiavelli
Upon this a questions arises: whether it is better to be loved than feared or feared than loved? It may be answered that one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with.
1. According to Machiavelli, should a prince seek to be loved or feared?
______
______
Because this is to be asserted in general of men, that they are ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, covetous, and as long as you succeed they are yours entirely; they will offer you their blood, property, life, and children, as is said above, when the need is far distant; but when it approaches they turn against you.
2. Why does Machiavelli believe that a sense of obligation is not enough to keep men loyal?
______
And that prince who, relying entirely on their promises, has neglected other precautions, is ruined; because friendships that are obtained by payments, and not by nobility or greatness of mind, may indeed be earned, but they are not secured, and in time of need cannot be relied upon; and men have less scruple in offending one who is beloved than one who is feared, for love is preserved by the link of obligation which owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserved you by a dread of punishment which never fails.
Nevertheless a prince ought to inspire fear in such a way that, if he does not win love, he avoids hatred; because he can endure very well being feared whilst he is not hated, which will always be as long as he abstains from the property of his citizens and subjects and from their women.
3. Why is fear stronger than love according to Machiavelli?
______
4. Machiavellian-the employment of sneakiness and deception in government or in general conduct. Do you know someone who is Machiavellian? Explain.
People of the Millennium
Johannes Gutenberg Chapter 17-2
In 1400 Johannes Gutenberg was born in Mainz, an important German city. His father was a well off merchant. Gutenberg trained as a goldsmith, but little is known about his early years.
Experiments in Printing
Gutenberg started to experiment with printing in 1438. About 1450 he set up a printing press. This was a huge step forward in technology. Before the printing press, books were copied by hand. Moveable type let printers make more copies in a few weeks than hand copiers could make in a lifetime.
The printing press was also a huge cultural step. Producing books and other literature was now inexpensive. Common people—not just the clergy and nobility—could read ideas, plays, science, and politics, from all over the world. The inexpensive books allowed the ideas of the arts of the Renaissance to spread.
The Gutenberg Bible was printed around 1456. That meant that many more common people could afford to buy a Bible.
Directions: Answer the questions below in the space provided.
1. What did Johannes Gutenberg invent? ______
2. How were copies of manuscripts made before printing was developed?
______
3. Why was the printing press a huge cultural step?
______
4. WritingIf you were Gutenberg today and could choose an important book to print on printing press, which book would you choose? Why?
______
5. Connections to Today What modern day invention (invented within the last 25 years) is comparable with the invention of the printing press and why?
Vocabulary Activity 17-2 (pages 618-626)
New Ideas and Art: Words to Know
Building Academic Vocabulary
Directions: Study the definitions for the academic vocabulary below. Then read pages 618-626. Then complete the activity that follows.
individual,noun, a person or human being
perspective,noun, a method that makes drawing or painting look three-dimensional
proportion,noun, the size of an object compared to other objects
technique,noun, method or procedure
1. What did humanists believe? ______
2. What is the vernacular?
______
Directions: Fill in each blank below with the word that best completes the sentence. You will use words from the box below and up above. Words may be used more than once.
(1) ______was a new way of understanding the world that developed in the 1300s. According to this new approach, the (2) ______
And human society were important. (3) ______was based on the values of the Ancient Greeks and Romans.
Italians studied early Greek and Roman works of art and literature. Artists studied the (4)______of the ancient statues to understand why they looked so perfect. Painters used (5) ______to make objects in a scene appear to be at different distances from the viewer. This (6)______created a more realistic image. Artists also used another (7)______called chiaroscuro to make their paintings more realistic.
During this time, writers began to use the (8)______, or the everyday language of a region, instead of Latin. Dante Alighieri and Chaucer were two writers who wrote in the (9)______.
People of the Millennium
Leonardo da Vinci Chapter 17-2
Analyzing Fine Art-As you read in your textbook, artists during the Renaissance modeled their art on that of the Ancient Greeks and Romans. In doing so, they attempted to portray the human figure much more realistically than had medieval artists. Leonardo da Vinci even dissected corpses to learn about the human body. This was done partly to aid in his rendering of the human figure and partly to satisfy his scientifically curious mind. In his Treatise on Painting he wrote: “The painter who has acquired a knowledge of the nature of the sinews, muscles, and tendons will know exactly in the movement of any limb how many and which of the sinews are at the cause of it, and which muscle by its swelling is the cause of the sinews contracting.” Look at the sketches below and answer the questions that follow.
1. How did da Vinci’s attention to anatomy reflect Renaissance ideals?
______
2. Look at the production of the Mona Lisa on page 622. How could drawings like these help da Vinci when creating that painting?
______
3. Today, computer programmers use virtual reality (video games) to try to allow observers to experience a simulated three-dimensional reality. Animated computer images are used to mimic the real world. How does this modern technology compare to the Renaissance approach to art?
______
4. Leonardo’s curiosity fueled his creativity and interest in science. What invention created in the last 100 years do you think would impress Leonardo the most? Why?
______
People of the Millennium Michelangelo BuonarrotiChapter 17-2
The Medici and Michelangelo Video Segment #1
1. What was Michelangelo’s connection to the Medici family?
______
2. What did Michelangelo’s David mean to the people of Florence, Italy?
______
______
Art Debate! Which work of art is better, Michelangelo’s David or his work on the Sistine Chapel? There will be pictures on the smart board and some additional information below to help you come to a conclusion.
David- In 1501, 25-year-old Michelangelo Buonarroti begins working on his colossal masterpiece, the 17-foot-tall marble David. From a huge block of marble that had been abandoned decades earlier by another sculptor, Michelangelo takes on the challenge of living up to Donatello and other precursors who had sculpted the same heroic figure. The David, portrayed in the Bible as a young shepherd who slew the giant Goliath and went on to become a valiant and just Hebrew king, is a fit symbol of courage and civic duty to guard the city of Florence.
The David is considered a masterpiece, an ideal male form combining heroic strength and human uncertainty. It was erected in 1504 in the public plaza of Florence, the Piazza dellaSignoria. In 1873, the original was moved to the Accademiadelle Belle Arti, where it is better protected for posterity, and a copy of the work was erected in the plaza in 1882.
The Sistine Chapel-
How big is the ceiling?
It's about 40 meters (131 feet) long by 13 meters (43 feet) wide. These numbers are rounded off just a tad, but don't detract from the fact that Michelangelo painted well over 5,000 square feet of frescoes.
What do the frescoes depict?
A lot! The main panels down the center depict scenes from the Book of Genesis, from the Creation, to the Fall, to shortly after Noah's deluge. Adjacent to each of these scenes, on either side, are immense portraits of prophets and sibyls who foretold the coming of the Messiah. Along the bottoms of these run spandrels and lunettes containing the ancestors of Jesus and stories of tragedy in ancient Israel. Scattered throughout are smaller figures, cherubs and ignudi. All told there are more than 300 painted figures on the ceiling.
How long did it take Michelangelo to paint these?
It took him a bit over four years, from July of 1508 to October of 1512. Michelangelo got off to a slow start, not having painted frescoes before.
3. Which work of art is better, Michelangelo’s David or his work in the Sistine Chapel? Explain your answer.
______
People of the Millennium
William ShakespeareChapter 17-2
William Shakespeare was a playwright and poet he is thought to be the greatest writer of the Renaissance, and his plays are still popular today. William Shakespeare's plays were performed at the Globe Theater in London. It could hold about 3,000 people. Plays were performed every day of the week except Sunday. Performances occurred during the day, since the theater had no lights.
1. When did the Renaissance spread to northern Europe and England? ______
2. Compare and Contrast When you go to the theater to see a play (or even a movie) how does it compare to plays that were put on at the Globe Theater? How are they the same? How are they different?
______
THE REFORMATION BEGINS17-3
Directions: Filling in the Blanks Reading this section and completing the sentences below will help you learn more about the beginning of the Renaissance period. Refer to your textbook pages 633-641 to complete this activity.
I. The ideas of ______led to the events that changed the Catholic Church; this change was called the ______.
A. A Christian humanist, ______, wanted to translate the Bible into the ______so that everyone could read it.
B. Many Catholics became dissatisfied with the Church’s focus on ______and were especially angered by the sale of ______.
II. A Catholic monk, ______, disagreed that the ______
Could decide what a person had to do to get into heaven.
A. He prepared a list known as the ______against indulgences.
B. The pope ______him from the Catholic Church.
C. His ideas led to a new ______, or organized branch of Christianity
called ______. Followers of Lutheranism believed that:
1. salvation was not due to good works but faith in ______.
2. the ______is the source of truth about God.
3. the ______includes all believers not just ministers.
III. The ideas of another man, ______, led to Calvinism, which became the basis of many ______churches.
A. Calvinists believed in ______, which means that God plans the outcome of people’s lives.
B. They also believed that ______should not control their church, but that the congregations should choose their leaders.
1. Define indulgences (page 634)- ______
2. Define predestination (page 640)- ______
People of the Millennium
Martin Luther Chapter 17-3
Martin Luther began the Reformation when he nailed his 95 arguments against indulgences, called the Ninety-Five Theses, to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral. Read excerpts from the following primary source document and answer the following questions.
95 Theses Martin Luther
2. Only God can give salvation - not a priest.
6. Only God can forgive -the pope can only reassure people that God will do this.
8. Canon law applies only to the living not to the dead.