Bourgeoisie
• “Townspeople” new middle class
• (merchants, bankers, craftsmen)
• Time and money to spend on culture
• Became patrons of the arts
Vernacular language
• Dante-Italian Vernacular poet, author of the Divine Comedy.
• Geoffrey Chaucer- English Vernacular poet who wrote the Canterbury Tales
• William Shakespeare- English playwright who wrote many famous plays and poems
City states were dominated by the bourgeoisie and not feudal lords
• Oligarchy• Group of merchants that comprised the ruling
body of any number of Italian city-states.• The Medici family controlled Florence in an
oligarchy manner• Gained power through banking• Medici bank was one of the wealthiest banks
of all of Italy and Europe.