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CHAPTER PREVIEW Birth in the Renaissance
In this detail from a fresco of the birth
of the Virgin Mary in the Church of
▪ How did political and economic developments in Italy San Michele al Pozzo Bianco in Ber-

shape the Renaissance? gamo, Italian painter Lorenzo Lotto
depicts a birth scene that would have
been common among upper-class

European Society ▪ What new ideas were associated with the Renaissance? urban residents in Renaissance Italy.
The birth occurs at home, with lots
in the Renaissance of women bustling about, including
servants, dressed simply, and female

– ▪ How did art reflect new Renaissance ideals? relatives, in fancier clothing. A pro-
While the Hundred Years’ War gripped northern Europe, a new culture emerged in fessional midwife sits by the side of
southern Europe. The fourteenth century witnessed remarkable changes in Italian
intellectual, artistic, and cultural life. Artists and writers thought that they were living 135–155 the bed, and the mother looks quite
Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers.
▪ What were the key social hierarchies in Renaissance Europe?
in a new golden age, but not until the sixteenth century was this change given the ▪ What were the key social hierarchies in Renaissance Europe?
label we use today — the Renaissance , derived from the French word for “rebirth.” content, a sign that this has been a
Renaissance, and ambitious merchants gained politi- Worth Publishers.
That word was first used by art historian Giorgio Vasari (1511–1574) to describe the
art of “rare men of genius” such as his contemporary Michelangelo. Through their CHAPTER 2 | European Society in the Renaissance
works, Vasari judged, the glory of the classical past had been reborn after centuries 46 In this detail from a fresco of the birth successful and fairly easy childbirth,
Birth in the Renaissance
CHAPTER PREVIEW
CHAPTER PREVIEW
of darkness. Over time, the word’s meaning was broadened to include many aspects of the Virgin Mary in the Church of this sample.
San Michele al Pozzo Bianco in Ber-
of life during that period. The new attitude had a slow diffusion out of Italy, so that the ▪ How did political and economic developments in Italy gamo, Italian painter Lorenzo Lotto which was not always the case.
How did political and economic developments in Italy

▪ How did nation-states develop in this period?
▪ How did nation-states develop in this period?
How did political and economic developments in Italy
Renaissance “happened” at different times in different parts of Europe. The Renais- shape the Renaissance? been common among upper-class
depicts a birth scene that would have
shape the Renaissance?
sance was a movement, not a time period. ▪ What new ideas were associated with the Renaissance? urban residents in Renaissance Italy. (Photo © Mauro Ranzani/Bridgeman Images)
The birth occurs at home, with lots
What new ideas were associated with the Renaissance?
Later scholars increasingly saw the cultural and political changes of the Renaissance,
of women bustling about, including
along with the religious changes of the Reformation (see Chapter 4 ) and the European servants, dressed simply, and female
relatives, in fancier clothing. A pro-
voyages of exploration (see Chapter 3 ), as ushering in the “modern” world. Some histori- ▪ How did art reflect new Renaissance ideals? fessional midwife sits by the side of
How did art reflect new Renaissance ideals?
shape the Renaissance?
the bed, and the mother looks quite
ans view the Renaissance as a bridge between the medieval and modern eras because ▪ What were the key social hierarchies in Renaissance Europe? content, a sign that this has been a
What were the key social hierarchies in Renaissance Europe?
What were the key social hierarchies in Renaissance Europe?
it corresponded chronologically with the late medieval period and because there were
1450Uncorrected proofs have been used in
many continuities with that period along with the changes that suggested aspects of the successful and fairly easy childbirth,
which was not always the case.
modern world. Others have questioned whether the word Renaissance should be used at ▪ How did nation-states develop in this period?
(Photo © Mauro Ranzani/Bridgeman Images)
How did nation-states develop in this period?
all to describe an era in which many social groups saw decline rather than improvement. they acquired control of papal banking. Florentine
The debates remind us that these labels — medieval , Renaissance , modern — are intellec-
tual constructs devised after the fact, and all contain value judgments. ■ he magnificent art and new ways of thinking in mercantile families began to dominate European
Tthe Renaissance rested on economic and polit- banking on both sides of the Alps, setting up offices in
ical developments in the city-states of northern Italy. major European and North African cities. The profits
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Economic growth laid the material basis for the Italian from loans, investments, and money exchanges that
by Bedford, Freeman &
poured back to Florence were pumped into urban
teenth century the city had about eighty thousand
used their money and power to buy luxuries and hire
The question-driven narrative cal power to match their economic power. They then industries such as clothmaking, and by the early four-
creates a convenient outline for talent in a system of patronage , through which cit- people, about twice the population of London at that
time. Profits contributed to the city’s economic vital-
ies, groups, and individuals commissioned writers
each chapter. Each main heading and artists to produce specific works. Political lead- ity and allowed banking families to control the city’s
ers in Italian cities admired the traditions and power
politics and culture.
in the chapter is a question. in Spain For review purposes only. Not for redistribution.
of ancient Rome, and this esteem shaped their com-
By the first quarter of the fourteenth century, the
missions. Thus economics, politics, and culture were economic foundations of Florence were so strong that
interconnected. even severe crises could not destroy the city. In 1344
King Edward III of England repudiated his huge debts
Copyright © bankruptcy. Soon after, Florence suffered frightfully
to Florentine bankers, forcing some of them into
Trade and Prosperity
from the Black Death, losing at least half its popu-
Northern Italian cities led the way in changes in busi-
lation, and serious labor unrest shook the political
ness procedures and a growth in trade, a transformation
TIMELINE of the European economy often called the Commercial establishment (see “How did the plague affect Euro-
Revolution. By the middle of the twelfth century Ven-
1400 Distributed 1500 1550 1600 pean society?” in Chapter 1 ). Nevertheless, the basic
Florentine economic structure remained stable, and
ice, supported by a huge merchant marine, had grown
ca. 1350 1478–1834 enormously rich through overseas trade, as had Genoa the city grew again.
Petrarch develops ideas and Milan, which had their own sizable fleets. These In Florence, Venice, and other thriving Italian cities,
of humanism Spanish Inquisition operates wealth allowed many people greater material pleasures,
cities made important strides in shipbuilding that
Use the Timeline at the
1492
1434–1737 allowed their ships to sail all year long at accelerated a more comfortable life, imported luxuries, and leisure
beginning of each chapter
Medici family in power in Florence speeds and to carry more and more merchandise. time to appreciate and patronize the arts. Merchants
Spain conquers Granada, ending
Another commercial leader, and the city where the
reconquista; practicing Jews and bankers commissioned public and private build-
to orient yourself in history
expelled from Spain
1440S Renaissance began, was Florence, situated on fertile ings from architects and hired sculptors and painters to
Invention of movable soil along the Arno River. Its favorable location on decorate their homes and churches. Despite the massive
and keep tabs on key
1494
metal type the main road northward from Rome made Florence loss of life in the plague, the rich, social-climbing resi-
Invasion of Italy by Charles
events.
VIII of France
1563
1455–1471 a commercial hub, and the city grew wealthy buying dents of Venice, Florence, Genoa, and Rome came to
Wars of the Roses 1508–1512 Establishment of first formal see life more as an opportunity to be enjoyed than as a
academy for artistic training
the Mediterranean — grain, cloth, wool, weapons,
in England and selling all types of goods throughout Europe and
Michelangelo paints
1469 ceiling of Sistine Chapel in Florence painful pilgrimage to the City of God.
Marriage of Isabella of armor, spices, glass, and wine.
1513
Castile and Ferdinand Florentine merchants also loaned and invested Communes and Republics
Machiavelli writes
of Aragon money, and toward the end of the thirteenth century
The Prince
1477 of Northern Italy
Louis XI conquers Burgundy The northern Italian cities were communes , sworn
Renaissance A French word meaning “rebirth,” used to describe associations of free men led by members of mer-
the rebirth of the culture of classical antiquity in Italy during the
in Italy began in the twelfth century to seek polit-
fourteenth to sixteenth centuries.
the northern Italian nobility and the commercial the right to rule to his son. Some signori (the word chant guilds. Like merchants elsewhere, merchants
patronage Financial support of writers and artists by cities, groups,
elite created a powerful oligarchy, a small group is plural in Italian and is used for both persons and ical and economic independence from the nobles
and individuals, often to produce specific works or works in specific
that ruled the city and surrounding countryside. forms of government) kept the institutions of com-
Yet because of rivalries among competing powerful munal government in place, but these had no actual who owned the land. In contrast to nobles else-
styles.
families within this oligarchy, Italian communes power. As a practical matter, there wasn’t much differ- where who maintained their social distinction from
ence between oligarchic regimes and signori.
were often politically unstable. Commercial Revolution The transformation of the European economy merchants, those in Italy frequently moved into
as a result of changes in business procedures and growth in trade.
Unrest from below exacerbated the instability. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the signori the cities, marrying the daughters of rich com-
Merchant elites made citizenship in the communes in many cities and the most powerful merchant oli- mercial families and starting their own businesses,
communes Sworn associations of free men in Italian cities led by
xxxii dependent on a property qualification, years of resi- garchs in others transformed their households into often with money they had gained through the
dence within the city, and social connections. Only a
courts . Courtly culture afforded signori and oligarchs
merchant guilds.
signori Government by one-man rule in Italian cities such as Milan;
tiny percentage of the male population possessed these the opportunity to display and assert their wealth and dowries provided by their wives. This merger of
qualifications and thus could hold political office. The power. They built magnificent palaces in the centers
also refers to these rulers.
common people, called the popolo, were disenfran- of cities and required all political business to be done
courts Magnificent households and palaces where signori and
chised and heavily taxed, and they bitterly resented there. Ceremonies connected with family births, bap-
other rulers lived, conducted business, and supported the arts.
their exclusion from power. Throughout most of tisms, marriages, and funerals offered occasions for
the thirteenth century, in city after city, the popolo magnificent pageantry and elaborate ritual. Cities
used armed force to take over the city governments. welcomed rulers who were visiting with magnificent
01_howsap14e_48443_fm_i_HTS-18.indd 32 entrance parades that often included fireworks, col- 17/10/23 3:15 PM
Republican government — in which political power
theoretically resides in the people and is exercised by orful banners, mock naval battles, decorated wagons
their chosen representatives — was sometimes estab- filled with people in costume, and temporary trium-
lished in numerous Italian cities. These victories of the phal arches modeled on those of ancient Rome. Rul-
popolo proved temporary, however, because they could ers of nation-states later copied and adapted all these
not establish civil order within their cities. Merchant aspects of Italian courts.
oligarchies reasserted their power and sometimes
brought in powerful military leaders to establish order.
These military leaders, called condottieri (kahn-duh- City-States and the Balance of Power
TYER-ee; singular condottiero), had their own merce- Renaissance Italians had a passionate attachment to
nary armies and sometimes took over political power their individual city-states: they were politically loyal
once they had supplanted the existing government. and felt centered on the city. This intensity of local
Many cities in Italy became signori (seen- feeling perpetuated the dozens of small states and
YOHR-ee), in which one man — whether condot- hindered the development of one unified state. (See
tiero, merchant, or noble — ruled and handed down “AP® Viewpoints: Venice Versus Florence,” page 48 .)
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