英美文学史Lecture 4 (1)Renassaince.pptVIP

Lecture 4 The Renaissance What was the Renaissance? What was the Renaissance, and where did it begin? How did the Crusades contribute to the Renaissance? The Renaissance The Renaissance lasted from 1350 until 1600 Western Europe experienced a cultural awakening Europe was moving from the Middle Ages into the Modern Era People began to develop new ideas about the world around them The Italian Renaissance The Renaissance began in Florence, Italy Italy was in an ideal location to be the birthplace of the Renaissance Close to the old Byzantine Empire Center of trade in the Mediterranean Italian scholars began to take lots of interest in the classical writing of the Greeks and Romans This increased interest in the classics is called humanism Humanists studied Greek and Latin works, old manuscripts, and even tried to copy the old works Humanists began to admire much of the ancient Greek and Roman Culture Humanists adopted many Roman and Greek beliefs 1.) seeking fulfillment in daily life 2.) all people have dignity and worth 3.) the ideal person—one who can do almost anything (the Renaissance Man) Humanists began opening schools to introduce the classics to people The humanist schools taught 4 subjects: 1.) History 2.) Philosophy 3.) Latin 4.) Greek Humanism brought about new types of writing—moving away from religion People wrote about daily life and feelings Petrarch彼特拉克—introduced the Sonnet A new way to express ideas in poetry Machiavelli—wrote The Prince The Prince was a book about Italian government Machiavelli supported the idea of absolute power In order to keep power, a ruler must do some evil The Humanists began to challenge many long held beliefs Humanists also began to question the Catholic Church Italian City Life Feudalism was easily thrown away in Italy Most Italian cities were wealthy and self-controlling Italian City Life A new social order was created in the Italian city-states because money and wealth were more important than land ownership