THE RENAISSANCE ERA

Mrs. Eckman Wissler

English 12

Holt McDougal Literature: British Literature Grade 12. Orlando: Houghton

Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. 2012.

MIDDLE ENGLISH: LANGUAGE

Word endings changed b/c scribes became lazy

This caused the change in pronunciations

Language was no longer masculine or feminine but NEUTRAL

The Norman Conquest introduced French into England

French was used for law, gov’t, education & by the upper class

England was now BILINGUAL (used both French & English

1362 English became the official language of England

Some borrowed French words are:

*Baron * Duke

*Castle *Noble

*County *Government

RENAISSANCE LITERATURE:

Pastoral Poems: “a poem that portrays shepherds

and rustic life, usually in an idealized manner” (Holt

McDougal 299).

The poems were not written in the voice of a common

shepherd- they used courtly language, formal poetic

meter and rhymes.

The English Sonnet during this era surrounded Nature;

became known as the Shakespearan Sonnet

John Milton’s “Paradise Lost” and Sir Thomas More’s

“Utopia”- famous works

THE RENAISSANCE PERIOD:

1485 - 1660

Definitions:

1. Renaissance- rebirth

2. Renaissance Man- someone who is interested in science, art, literature, history and other subjects. Example: Henry VIII or Thomas Jefferson

3. Utopian- a perfect society

4. Humanism- Renaissance writer’s who were part of an intellectual mov’t which combined traditional Christian thought with Latin & Greek classics to teach people how to live; to study themselves

5. Reformation- The rejection of the Pope & church; to change the church & it’s politics

THE RENAISSANCE ERA…..

…..during the previous era, life surrounded religion and

the afterlife.

…..people became more curious about the world around

them and life itself rather than the afterlife.

.....literally meant the “rebirth” or “revival” of the nation

with the changes in people’s values, beliefs and

behaviors.

…..began in Italy in the 14th Century; moved to England

under Henry VIII and blossomed under Elizabeth.

THE HUMANISTS

People moved away from “church” literature to

Humanist literature to study themselves.

Humanists studied human nature; the importance of

the individual.

They studied Art, Literature, History and Philosophy-

studied the Greek and Latin classics including the

Bible

FAMOUS HUMANISTS

Erasmus was the most famous Renaissance

humanist. He was a Dutch monk who studied Greek

and Hebrew; religion and philosophy

Sir Thomas More was another famous humanist

who wrote “Utopia”- a perfect or ideal society on an

imaginary island

Both Erasmus and More helped shape European

thought and history.

The Gutenberg Press helped spread Humanist

writing.

Before the press, all books were hand written and

hand copied.

The press (with movable type) was invented by a

German named Johannes Gutenberg around

1455.

The first book he printed was the bible (in Latin).

By 1530, over HALF of England’s population could

read thanks to the Gutenberg Press

WHAT NEW TECHNOLOGY HELPED BRING

ABOUT THE RENAISSANCE PERIOD?

THE REFORMATION…..

….was a movement to REFORM the corrupt

church & Pope.

….forced people to question the Catholic Church’s

authority.

....made people object to the financial burdens

placed upon them by the church.

THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION

The Roman Catholic Church’s corruption

spread throughout Europe

In 1517, a German monk, Martin Luther, wrote

a 95 argument edict demanding a reform to the

church and posted it on a church door.

Word of this spread and his edict was copied

and circulated throughout Europe.

This eventually split the Catholic Church and

led to the formation of the Protestant Church.

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND (ANGLICAN

CHURCH)

Formed due to Henry VIII’s dispute with the

Catholic Church over his want of a divorce or

annulment since divorce was non-existent

during this time.

Formed in 1534 so Henry could marry his 2nd

wife- Anne Boleyn.

THE TUDORS

In 1485, Henry Tudor took the throne as Henry VII

He was known as a shrewd leader, negotiated

contracts, built up the merchant fleet and financed

expeditions to America

Arranged for his son Arthur to marry Catherine of

Aragon (Spain)- created a treaty with England’s

biggest rival, Spain

When Arthur died suddenly, the church (Pope) allowed

his younger brother Henry to marry her.

Henry later became the king….Henry VIII

HENRY VIII

…started the Reformation movement

because he wanted a divorce from

Catherine of Aragon because he wanted a

male heir.

…was a true Renaissance Man.

…created the Royal Navy which led to the

spread of England’s rule.

THE WIVES & CHILDREN OF HENRY VIII

Henry had 6 wives:

1. Catherine of Aragon –divorced; mother of Mary

2. Anne Boleyn

-beheaded; mother of Elizabeth

3. Jane Seymour

-died naturally; mother to Edward VI

4. Anne of Cleves

-divorced

5. Catherine Howard

-beheaded

6. Catherine Parr

-only survivor

AFTER HENRY VIII….

1st Edward VI or the “Boy King”:

-only male son of Henry (& Jane Seymour-she died

12 days after his birth).

-became king at the age of 9 but his relatives ruled

for him.

-died at age 15 from TB.

-under Edward, the Puritans formed, believing that

the Protestants needed further reformation or

purifying.

-He was followed by……

AND THEN….

“Bloody Mary”!

-1/2 sister to Edward; daughter of Catherine of Aragon.

-devout Catholic, returned power back to Pope & Catholic church.

-earned her “name” b/c she hunted down and killed Protestants (Henry’s followers) including burning over 300 people at the stake.

-Married the King of Spain (England’s biggest enemy at the time).

- ruled England for 5 years.

-died of a fever in 1558.

LAST OF THE TUDORS

The “Virgin Queen”….

-Elizabeth I followed Mary.

- was the last living heir of Henry VIII.

-1/2 sister to Mary and Edward VI; daughter of Anne Boleyn.

- ruled from 1558 – 1603.

-never married; had no children or heirs.

.

UNDER ELIZABETH:

A RETURN TO REFORMATION….

Returned to her father’s policies, restored the Church of England.

Was intelligent & independent

Supported the exploration of new worlds with Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh

The Renaissance Era flourished under her rule

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A ROYAL

POWERHOUSE:

executed Mary, Queen of Scots, for attempting to have her killed. Mary was married to King Phillip II of Spain and wanted to gain England’s throne. (Remember that she was a cousin to Elizabeth).

Under Elizabeth, the Royal Navy defeated the Spanish Armada which secured England’s independence from ALL Catholic nations in the Mediterranean (The Spanish Armada was sent by Phillip II in response to Elizabeth executing Mary, Queen of Scots).

The defeat of the Spanish Armada established Elizabeth and England as a true military power.

THE RISE OF THE STUARTS…

Elizabeth I died in 1603.

James VI- son of Mary Stuart or Mary, Queen of Scots

Became known as James I

Followed the Church of England even though his mother was a devout Catholic

Guy Fawkes plotted to kill him – this became known as the Gunpowder Act of 1605.

The struggles between the Catholic Church, Church of England, Protestant Church and Puritans grew.

NEXT IN LINE….

Charles I (son of James) took over in 1625

1629 he dismissed the Parliament which was Puritan dominated so he could have more power

Began to persecute his enemies- the Puritans began to flee and many emigrated to America

Scotland rebelled when he began to persecute the Presbyterian Church (Church of Scotland)

Charles was forced to reinstate Parliament to help fight the Scots

They stripped him of his power

By 1640, England was thrown into a civil war

THE DEFEAT OF THE MONARCHY

The Civil War was between

*The Royalists: Catholics, Anglicans &

supporters of Charles

*The Parliament: Puritans, Middle Class &

small land owners

Lasted until 1645.

Charles surrendered his monarchy 1 year later

and was eventually beheaded for treason. His

son, Charles II fled to France.

NEW RULE

General Oliver Cromwell led the Parliament

supporters and took control upon the defeat of

the Royalists.

He titled himself “Lord Protector” and

established England as a Commonwealth.

The Puritan dominated government closed

down theaters & many other forms of

entertainment- declared Sunday as a day of

prayer

3 YEARS LATER AND THE RETURN OF A KING….

Cromwell died in 1648, his son inherited his

title of Lord Protector but could not control the

country or its people like his father did

1649 – 1660 Parliament ruled w/o a monarch

In 1660, Parliament conceded and asked

Charles II to return and take over the throne-

again establishing the monarchy

His return led to a new era…The Restoration

THE 5 MAJOR CHARACTERISTICS OF THE

RENAISSANCE PERIOD….

1. People expanded their worlds by reading classical Greek & Roman writers rather than Christian doctrine.

2. Spread of Humanism- focus on the here & now rather than the “eternal life”.

3. The Gutenberg Press.

4. A growing Merchant class (Middle Class).

5. The spread of scholarly Latin made the sharing of ideas possible.