A+Renaissance+Begins+in+Europe

=Unit 2: A Renaissance Begins in Europe=

Key Words

 * renaissance:** rebirth
 * humanism:** a movement that stressed the wisdom of the classics and the dignity of humans and human potential
 * guild**: an association of people, usually merchants or craftsmen, who set work standards and protect their interests
 * city-state**: an independently ruled city and the land around it
 * manuscript**: a handwritten composition or document
 * florin:** gold coin minted in Florence
 * friar:** a member of a religious order dedicated to teaching and serving the poor

Lesson 1: Europe Reborn: Rediscovering Greece and Rome - Part 1
media type="youtube" key="rzKxQCJ95wU" width="560" height="315" During the fourteenth century, western Europeans developed a renewed interest in the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. The "rebirth" of interest in classical learning sparked a period of tremendous creativity that lasted until the early seventeenth century. We know that period as the Renaissance. Italian geniuses like Dante, Giotto, and Petrarch forged the way with innovative ideas that gave Europeans a new understanding of human worth and potential.

Lesson Objectives

 * Define the Renaissance as a period of artistic and literary achievement in Europe from the late fourteenth to the early seventeenth centuries, inspired by new interest in the classics.
 * Explain that the word //renaissance// means "rebirth"
 * Identify Giotto as a fourteenth-century Italian painter who introduced lifelike figures to painting
 * Define //humanism// as a movement that stressed the wisdom of the classics and the dignity of humans and human potential
 * Describe Dante's //Divine Comedy// as significant for introducing realistic characters to literature and being written in Italian, rather than Latin
 * Identify Dante as the fourteenth-century Italian poet who wrote //The Divine Comedy//
 * Identify Petrarch as the fourteenth-century Italian scholar known as the father of humanism
 * Review historical events


 * 1) Renaissance Art Review the art of the time period and watch short video
 * 2) Read Chapter 1, from the beginning to "Petrarch Seeks Classical Wisdom," pages 24-29, and complete the Day 1 section of the Reading Guide.
 * 3) Giotto Review the paintings and video's regarding Giotto's work
 * 4) Review the books //Dante: Poet, Author and Proud Florentine// and //Giotto//

Lesson 1: Europe Reborn: Rediscovering Greece and Rome - Part 2
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 * 1) Read chapter 1, from "Petrarch Seeks Classical Wisdom" to the end, pages 30-33, and complete the Day 2 section of the Reading Guide in your History Journal.
 * 2) Petrarch lived in a time when scholars were rediscovering classical texts that had been lost for hundreds of years. He was fascinated by the ancient texts. His work as a priest allowed him to travel throughout Italy. As he traveled, he searched for ancient Roman manuscripts. Petrarch was discouraged by the corruption he saw in society and the church. He became convinced that the classical thinkers of Greece and Rome possessed the wisdom to restore the light of virtue and learning to a corrupt Christendom. Petrarch often wrote letters to Homer, Virgil, Livy, Cicero, and other Greek and Roman writers. One of Petrarch's letters in sin your book, on pages 34-35. Use the letter to complete the Document Analysis: Letter to Cicero sheet.

Lesson 1: Europe Reborn: Rediscovering Greece and Rome - Part 3
Dante, Giotto, and Petrarch were three men from the late Middle Ages who were "ahead of their time." All three looked to the classical past for inspiration. All three realized that classical art and literature provided insight into human abilities and potential. The changes they embraced helped usher in the Renaissance.


 * 1) Which of the three men interests you the most as a representative of the idea that the times were changing? Write a letter to him. In your letter:
 * Introduce yourself and explain that you have been reading about the beginnings of the Renaissance
 * Inform him that you believe he represents the changing times in Italy in the late fourteenth century very well, and explain why
 * Describe the medieval attitudes and beliefs he challenged and some of the ways the ideas of the classical world influenced him. Be specific. Use examples.

=Lesson 2: Cities Spur Change Part 1=

Look at the map of the Italian peninsula at the dawn of the Renaissance. What does it look like to you? It reminds many people of a jigsaw puzzle of a boot. Each piece represents a separate city-state. Some city-states were big and powerful and others were tiny but important. The people in all of the city-states considered themselves Italian and spoke one Italian dialect or another, but each city-state ruled itself. Powerful merchant families ruled many of the city-states. As these powerful families competed, fought, and intermarried, the political map of Italy shifted.

Lesson Objectives
> Explain that Italian city-states were often republics led by powerful merchant families. > Explain the social significance of the printing press. > Identify Johannes Gutenberg as the fifteenth-century inventor of the modern printing press. > Identify on a map major city-states including Venice, Florence, Rome, and the German city of Augsburg
 * Define manuscript and explain why manuscripts were very expensive
 * Describe major characteristics of some of the city-states and identify some of the important individuals associated with them
 * Describe Renaissance cities as catalysts for change at the close of the Middle Ages.
 * Describe the role of guilds in Italian city-states.


 * 1) Read Chapter 2, from the beginning to "Gutenberg and the Printing Press," pages 36-45, and complete Day 1 of the Reading Guide.
 * 2) Complete the City States worksheet

Lesson 2: Cities Spur Change Part 2
media type="youtube" key="Y1vl2j24Mtk" width="420" height="315"


 * 1) Read Chapter 2, from "Gutenberg and the Printing Press" to the end, pages 45-49, and complete Day 2 of the Reading Guide.
 * 2) Complete the Venice worksheet.

Lesson 3: Genius in Florence Part 1
media type="youtube" key="Uhd-uwFonog" width="420" height="315" Florence wasn't the biggest or most powerful city-state, but its citizens were very successful in business. Florentines turned gold into the world's finest jewelry, made the best leather goods, and wove beautiful wool that was prized by nobles all over Europe and beyond. The Medicis made a fortune in textiles, an then turned to baking, becoming the richest and most powerful family in Italy. Then, without lifting a paintbrush or touching a chisel, without writing a single book, or designing even the smallest building, they made Florence a center of classical learning and fabulous Renaissance art.

Lesson Objectives

 * Identify Florence as the birthplace of the Renaissance
 * Describe the source of Florence's wealth and power as trade in luxury goods
 * Explain how Renaissance art differed from medieval art
 * Give an example of the controversy created by humanism and other Renaissance ideas
 * Identify the major Florentine artists including Donatello, Brunelleschi, Masaccio, Botticelli, da Vinci, and their achievements
 * Identify the Medici as the most powerful family in Florence, owners of the most powerful banks in Europe,and patrons of the arts and learning

Renaissance Connection Lives of the Artists by Giorgia Vasari


 * 1) Read Chapter 3 from the beginning to "Bonfire of the Vanities," pages 50-59, and complete Day 1 of the Reading Guide.
 * 2) Complete the Renaissance Florence Sheet.
 * 3) Visit the Renaissance Connection website and become a patron of the arts by playing the Be a Patron of the Arts game.

Lesson 3: Genius in Florence Part 2
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 * 1) Read Chapter 2, from "Bonfire of the Vanities" to "Leonardo da Vinci's Early Years," pages 59 to 60, and complete Day 2 of the Reading Guide.
 * 2) Visit Lives of the Artists and read excerpts. Use this source to complete the Renaissance Art and Architecture sheet.

Lesson 3: Genius in Florence Part 3
media type="youtube" key="7VSM7Qu4zIs" width="560" height="315"
 * 1) Read Chapter 2, from "Leonardo da Vinci's Early Years' to the end, pages 61-65 and complete the Leonardo da Vinci chart.
 * 2) Watch Mystery Files: Leonardo da Vinci on Netflix (it is on your playlist)

=Lesson 4: Rome Revived Part 1= media type="youtube" key="5lXgG88Xx8Q" width="420" height="315" By the late Middle Ages, Rome--once the heart of classical civilization and center of the Christian Church--had fallen into ruins. Ancient temples housed filthy markets. People had taken stones form the Colosseum to build their own homes. When the papacy returned to Rome after years of exile in France in 1417, the pope was dismayed at what he saw. Could the popes use their wealth and power in Rome the way the Medici family had in Florence? Churches, statues, paintings, gardens, libraries, aqueducts....Rome would be Rome again, and Italy's greatest artists would be called on to make it happen.

Lesson Objectives

 * Describe Rome in the early 1400s and explain the reasons for its condition.
 * Analyze art to gain understanding of Renaissance thinking.
 * Describe the role of the popes as patrons of art and literature and restorers of the city of Rome, and how they financed the work.
 * Give examples of the achievements and weaknesses of the Renaissance popes.
 * Identify Michelangelo as the great Florentine sculptor and painter whose work includes the Pietà, David, the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and the dome of St. Peter's Basilica.
 * Identify Raphael as the Renaissance painter known for paintings of Madonnas and frescoes.
 * Recognize Rome's historical significance to the Christian Church.


 * 1) Read Chapter 4 from the beginning to "Raphael: The Prince of Painters," pages 66-75, and Michelangelo and Julius: A Stormy Relationship, pages 75-76. Complete Day 1 of the Outline.
 * 2) Michelangelo

Lesson 4: Rome Revived Part 2
In 1508, Michelangelo was commissioned by Pope Julius II to repaint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. At first, Michelangelo tried to refuse the project because he thought of himself as a sculptor and not a painter. Julius would not listen to him and eventually Michelangelo agreed to paint he chapel ceiling.


 * 1) Michelangelo Visit this site and watch the videos about Michelangelo. Concentrate on the information regarding the Sistine Chapel. complete the Sistine Chapel worksheet.

Lesson 4: Rome Revived Part 3

 * 1) Read Chapter 4 from "Raphael: The Prince of Painters" to the end, pages 75-79, and complete day 3 of the Outline.
 * 2) National Gallery of Art View some of the magnificent artworks in the Raphael collection.
 * 3) Web Gallery of Art Analyze Raphael's //The School of Athens// painting
 * 4) Complete the Analyzing Art activity

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