Prototype of the Modern World

Characteristics Growing national consciousness Political centralization Urban economy Organized commerce & capitalism Lay and secular control of philosophy &

culture

Two Interpretations

Burckhardt thesis: “full, whole nature of man” Ancient learning, new secular and

scientific values replace traditional religious beliefs

Kelly thesis: Christian humanism Earlier renaissances (12th cent.) had

already focused on Greek and Latin, and the appreciation of individual creativity

Why Italy?

Cities located in northern Italy such as Milan, Florence, and Venice had become very prosperous around the end of the Middle Ages. These cities were located between western Europe and

the eastern seaside of the Mediterranean. Northern Italy was able to lead the Italian Renaissance

due to the Mediterranean, the central location for trade.

They controlled trade with Asia mostly through the silk road. From Asia, northern Italian cities imported spices, dyes, and silks which were not enough or new in Europe.

Thus they were sold expensively, and northern Italian cities became rich.

Become the bankers of Europe

Economic Factors that promoted growth the reduced population was much wealthier,

better fed, and, significantly, had more surplus money to spend on luxury goods like art and architecture.

new demand for products and services, and the reduced number of people able to provide them, put the lower classes in a more favorable position.

Social Classes of Florence1. Grandi – old rich2. Popolo grosso “fat people” – new

rich- capitalist, merchant

3. Middle-burgher – shop owners, guilds…

4. Popolo minuto “little people” 1/3 of Florence have no asset value

Communes Northern Italy

Genoa, Milan, Florence, Pisa Sworn associations of free men seeking

complete political and economic independence from the nobility Guilds

They won their independence They built new city walls, regulated trade,

collected taxes and kept the peace The nobility seeks to reestablish itself in

the communal cities They sought to marry into the commercial

families and in the process created a new social class The new social class protected its power by limiting

citizenship to those who owned property, residence in the city, and the right social connections

The Popolo The disenfranchised and heavily

taxed people who were denied the right of citizenship in the Communes They wanted to be included in the

government and equality in taxation Ciompi Revolt (1378)

They used armed force and violence to take control

Feuding between old and new rich Social anarchy from the Black Death Collapse of banking institutions Ushered in despotism

De Medici’s Cosimo de Medici takes power in 1434

Manipulated elections and the signoria (powerful guild representatives)

Lorenzo the Magnificent (g-son) Totalitarian rule (brother’s assassination by

rivals and Pope made him distrustful) Uses mercenary troops Ambassadors in foreign courts

Reps, negotiators, spies, and observers

Wealthy bankers/merchants become patrons and compete with others…

Venice

Venice supported by a large merchant fleet and powerful navy became rich on trade.

Venice also profited from the sacking of Constantinople at the end of the fourth crusade

These Horses of Saint Mark are a replica of the Triumphal Quadriga captured in Constantinople in 1204 and carried to Venice as a trophy

Genoa and Milan

Two additional Italian port cities Genoa and Milan also benefited from trade because their geographical position as the natural crossroads for trade between the middle east and northern Europe

Examples of trade

Italian merchants purchased English Wool directly from the point of manufacture in England and transported the wool to North Africa

Italian merchants purchased spices and silk in the Middle East and transported it to the ports of Genoa, Milan, and Marseilles for resale in Northern Europe

The profits from this trade made Venice and to a lesser degree Genoa and Milan fabulously wealthy The profits were

continually reinvested to earn even more profit

Florence

Two Industries turn Florence into a Major power despite the fact it was an inland city Wool

Banking – Florence became the bank for the Popes and dominated banking throughout Europe The money from this business made

Florence the financial capital of Italy

Florence

In the mid- 14th century Florence faced two economic problems Edward III of England refused to repay a

large debt forcing some bankers into bankruptcy the collapse of the Bardi and Peruizzi banks would

open the way for the Medici to rise to prominence in Florence

The Black death killed half of the population and Florence face labor unrest. The poor property less workers revolted (1378)

The labor unrest caused a shake up in the political establishment but the Florentine economic structure survived the trouble and remained stable

Changes in the world of Art It was during this period of instability

that the first Renaissance figures, such as Dante and Petrarch lived, and the first stirrings of Renaissance art were to be seen in the opening half of the fourteenth century, notably in the realism of Giotto. Paradoxically, some of these disasters would help establish the Renaissance.

Competition for Power

Northern Italy was divided into a number of warring city-states, the most powerful being Milan, Florence, Pisa, Siena, Genoa, Ferrara, and Venice.

Northern Italy was further divided by the long running battle for supremacy between the forces of the Papacy and of the Holy Roman Empire: each city aligned itself with one faction or the other,

Constant Warfare

Warfare between the states was common The first part of the Renaissance saw

almost constant warfare on land and sea as the city-states vied for preeminence.

A system of Alliances is developed to create a balance of power An important result is the development of

modern diplomatic elations which included the use of ambassadors to make commercial contracts, and provide a direct contact between governments

Who won

By the end of the 1400’s Venice, Florence, Milan, Naples, and the Papacy possessed the greatest wealth and power However this success had come at a high price

for the Italians city states could not see a way to cooperate or unite in order to defeat foreign forces and Italy was invaded by the Austrians and French

Italy would be an occupied land until the late 19th century and never become a powerful colonial nation-state like France, Spain, or England

Savonarola

Girolamo Savonarola was an Italian priest and leader of Florence from 1494 until his execution in 1498. He was known for his book burning, destruction of what he considered immoral art, and hostility to the Renaissance. He vehemently preached against what he saw as the moral corruption of the clergy, and his main opponent was Pope Alexander VI

What Savonarola Said

Savonarola returned to Florence in 1490. There he began to preach passionately about the Last Days, accompanied by visions and prophetic announcements of direct communications with God and the saints The first disaster to give credibility to Savonarola’s

apocalyptic message was the Medici family's weakening grip on power owing to the French-Italian Wars

The second disaster was the appearance of syphilis (or the “French pox”), possibly brought back by sailors from the New World, which was a running epidemic and as deadly as the plague

Finally, the year 1500 was approaching, which brought about a mood of millennialism. In minds of many, the Last Days were impending and Savonarola was the prophet of the day.

Who he attacked

he preached that Christian life involved being good, practicing the virtues, rather than carrying out displays of excessive pomp and ceremonies.

He did not seek to make war on the Church at Rome. Rather, he wanted to correct the transgressions of worldly popes and secularized members of the Papal Court. Lorenzo Medici and his son Piero also became

targets of Savonarola’s preaching

What he did

In 1497, he and his followers carried out the Bonfire of the Vanities. They sent boys from door to door collecting items associated with moral laxity: mirrors, cosmetics, lewd pictures, pagan books, immoral sculptures (which he wanted to be transformed into statues of the saints and modest depictions of biblical scenes), gaming tables, chess pieces, lutes and other musical instruments, fine dresses, women’s hats, and the works of immoral and ancient poets, and burnt them all in a large pile

What happened to him

On May 13, 1497, the rigorous Father Savonarola was excommunicated by Pope Alexander VI, and in 1498, Alexander demanded his arrest and execution. He was charged with heresy, uttering

prophecies,sedition, and even other crimes, called religious errors by the pope.

tortured on the rack. He signed a confession degraded as “heretic and schismatic", and given

over to the secular authorities to be burned. He was hanged in chains from a single cross; an enormous fire was lit beneath him; he was thereby executed in the same place where the "Bonfire of the Vanities" had been lit,