The Renaissance

1
The Renaissance

• Cultural AwakeningChurch Response

2
Foundational Concepts

• Name Renaissance
• Implies a rebirth
• Locus
• Broadly 1350-1650 in Western Europe
• Narrowly 14th Century in Italy

3
Foundational Concepts

• Nature

Theo-centric concentration Anthropocentric view of life
Corporate-sacred focus Individualistic-secular focus
Pessimistic(fearful/superstitious) Optimistic way of living (experimental/hypothesizing)
Futuristic thinking Present thinking


4
Foundational Concepts

• Sources
• Economic transformation
• Centralizing governments
• Rise of Italian merchant cities as independent
  republics
• Proliferation of written materials
• Nominalism replaced realism as philosophical
  foundation

5
Renaissance and Humanism

• Tendency to place humans (humanity) at the center
  of the universe
• In 14-16th c. humanism implied a literary
  methodology
• Term evolved to mean the study of the
  humanities

6
Expressions/forms of Humanism

• Literary
• Scientific
• Classical
• Italian (cultural/artistic humanism)

7
Contributions of Humanism

• New curriculum in universities
• Preserved classical literature
• Textual criticism emerged as important
  science(Lorenzo Valla)
• Historical Awareness
• Literary form and style
• Revolutionized science (Galileo)
• Repositioned foundation of cultural morality
  (Machiavelli)

8
Figures of Italian Renaissance

• Petrarch (1304-1374)
• Founder of Renaissance humanism
• Boccaccio (1313-1375)
• Launched Greek classic revival (Decameron)
• Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499)
• Director of Platonic Academy in Florence
• Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494)
• Wrote The Dignity of Man

9
Renaissance flowering in arts

• Giotto (1266-1336)
• The Death of St. Francis

10
(No Transcript)
11
Renaissance flowering in arts

• Giotto (1266-1336)
• The Lamentation of Christ

12
(No Transcript)
13
Renaissance flowering in arts

• Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
• Last Supper

14
(No Transcript)
15
Renaissance flowering in arts

• Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
• Mona Lisa

16
(No Transcript)
17
Renaissance flowering in arts

• Raphael (1483-1520)
• Julian Apartments at St. Peters

18
(No Transcript)
19
Renaissance flowering in arts

• Michelangelo (1475-1564)
• Sculptures
• David, Moses, Pieta

20
David
Moses
Pieta
21
Renaissance flowering in arts

• Michelangelo (1475-1564)
• Paintings
• Sistine Chapel

22
(No Transcript)
23
Renaissance flowering in arts

• Michelangelo (1475-1564)
• Structures
• St. Peters Basilica

24
(No Transcript)
25
Renaissance flowering in arts

• Michelangelo (1475-1564)
• Clothing
• Papal Swiss Guard

26
(No Transcript)
27
Renaissance flowering in arts

• Bernini (1598-1680)
• St. Peters Chair, Baldacchino
• St. Peters Square Colonnades
• Palazzo Senatorio
• Ecstasy of St. Teresa

28
(No Transcript)
29
(No Transcript)
30
Baldacchino
St. Peters Cathedra
31
(No Transcript)
32
Ecstasy of St. Teresa
33
Renaissance Papal Ambitions

• Nine Infamous Popes of the Renaissance
• Nicholas V (1447-55)
• Calixtus III (1455-58)
• Pius II (1458-64)
• Paul II (1464-71)
• Sixtus IV (1471-84)
• Innocent VIII (1484-92)
• Alexander VI (Borgia) (1492-1503)
• Julius II (1503-1513)
• Leo X (1513-1521)

34
Renaissance Adaptation Northern Humanism

• Links bridging two expressions of humanism
• Foreign correspondence of Italian humanists
• Printed books, originating in places like Aldine
  press in Venice
• European scholars

35
Renaissance Adaptation Northern Humanism

• Three Ideals
• Concern for bonae litterae (good/fine literature)
  
• Emphasized religious program directed towards
  revival of the Christian church
• Struck a pacifistic note in most areas

36
Key Figures Northern Humanism

• John Colet (1467-1519)
• Thomas Moore (1478-1535)
• Johannes Reuchlin (1455-1522)
• Erasmus (1466-1536)
• Handbook of the Christian Soldier (1503)
• Praise of Folly (1511)
• Greek New Testament (Lorenzo Valla influence)
  (1516)
• Colloquies (1518)
• On Free Will (c. 1524)
• Laid the egg that Luther hatched

37
Renaissance Resistance Mystical Alternative

• Quest
• Direct contact with God / Practice the presence
  of God
• Two Forms
• Psychological emotional union
• Philosophical essential union
• Causes
• Reaction against scholastic excesses of
  rationalism
• Nominalisms emphasis on individual and limits of
  reason
• Protest against troubled times in the church and
  society

38
Influential Mystics

• John (Meister) Eckhart (1260-1327)
• Father of German mysticism
• Julian of Norwich (1342-1423)
• Greatest woman mystic of middle ages
• Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)
• Latin mysticism (emotional) at its best
• John of Ruysbroeck (1293-1381)
• Influenced mystical movement in Holland
• Gerard Groote (1340-1384)
• Modern Devotion movement / Brethren of Common
  Life
• Thomas AKempis (1380-1471)
• Imitation of Christ

39
Consequences of Mysticism

• Emphasis on subjectiveness of Gospel message
• Tended to substitute inner authority for the
  Bible (minimized doctrine)
• Could become too passivistic -- no outward action
  to match inward reflection

I saw in his hand a long spear of gold, and at
the iron's point there seemed to be a little
fire. He appeared to me to be thrusting it at
times into my heart, and to pierce my very
entrails when he drew it out, he seemed to draw
them out also, and to leave me all on fire with a
great love of God. The pain was so great, that it
made me moan and yet so surpassing was the
sweetness of this excessive pain, that I could
not wish to be rid of it. The soul is satisfied
now with nothing less than God. The pain is not
bodily, but spiritual though the body has its
share in it. It is a caressing of love so sweet
which now takes place between the soul and God,
that I pray God of His goodness to make him
experience it who may think that I am lying.
The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus (1515-1582)
40
Renaissance ResistanceUltra-Conservatives

• Garolano Savonarola (1452-1498)
• Background
• Ministry Career
• Political entanglements
• Penitential city of Florence
• Burning of the Vanities
• Downfall and death (May 23, 1498)
• Message in his life and death

41
Published Photos ViaSacred DestinationsSelect
Photos via Public Domain Wikipedia
Free use for schools and churches Teachers and
students may use any image of our images for
class presentations, projects, lectures, homework
- basically anything directly school-related -
under Fair Use. Churches, synagogues and other
non-profit organizations may also use our photos
free of charge within the church or organization,
such as in sermons, Bible studies, presentations,
etc. It is not necessary to ask permission for
these uses, but please be sure to cite the source
for the photo as Sacred Destinations, including
the URL (www.sacred-destinations.com).