The Renaissance
  • The Renaissance was a re-birth of culture which started in Italy.
  • Art, architecture, and literature all flourished during the Renaissance.
  • It started in Italy because Italian city-states were making a lot of money through trade (you need a lot of money to finance art).
  • Renaissance artists and thinkers looked back to the golden age of the Greeks for inspiration.
  • Humanism was a big part of the Renaissance - artists celebrated human achievement and form (think statue of David).
  • The Renaissance was mostly a "secular" (non religious) movement.
  • "By any means necessary" - this famous quote by Malcolm X is taken from the ideas of Machiavelli's book "The Prince".


Sample Regents Questions:


1) In Europe, a major characteristic of humanism was

1. a belief in the supremacy of the state in relation to individual rights
2. a rejection of ancient civilizations and their cultures
3. an emphasis on social control and obedience to national rulers
4. an appreciation for the basic worth of individual achievement



2) One factor that enabled the Renaissance to flourish in Northern Italy was that the region had

1. a wealthy class that invested in the arts
2. a socialist for of government
3. limited contact with the Byzantine Empire
4. a shrinking middle class








Answers:
1) - 4
2) - 1