Transcript The Northern Renaissance

The Northern Renaissance
In the 1400s, northern Europeans
began to adapt the ideas of the
Renaissance that began in Italy.
The Northern Renaissance Begins

Merchants from Italy
began to carry the
ideas of the
Renaissance as they
traveled into western
Europe. Scholars
were impressed by
the humanist ideas
and artists began to
study in Italian cities.
France and England

The ravages of the Bubonic Plague had greatly decreased
the population of western Europe.

The Hundred Years Was had devastated the land. As a
result, there was a shift from rural to urban life.

Cities grew rapidly, merchants became wealthy and the
traditional feudal system was broken.
The Monarchs and the Renaissance

At this time, both France and England were
unified nations under single monarchs where Italy
was a combination of independent city-states.

It was the rulers of France and England that
sponsored the artists emerging in Northern
Europe. They sponsored many Italian artists.

The royal courts played an important role in
bringing the Renaissance ideas into northern
Europe.
Secular and Non-secular Renewal

The northern Renaissance, while inspired
by Italy, took a different path. The Italian
Renaissance was based on humanism (the
expression of human achievement) while
the northern Renaissance remained devoted
to Christian values.
Artistic Ideas Spread

In 1494, a French king claimed the throne
of Naples and launched an attack through
northern Italy.

As a result of the turmoil, many artists and
writers left Italy for a safer life in northern
Europe. They took their artistic ideas with
them.
Germanic Painters

Albrect Dürer produced
woodcuts and engravings
that portrayed religious
subjects.

He also created prints that
portrayed classical myths.

He emphasized realism in
his work.
Hans Holbein

Holbein produced
paintings with nearly
a photographic
quality. He
specialized in painting
the portraits of nobles
and kings.
Flemish Painters

Jan van Eyck began to
use oil-based paints so
he was able to blend his
colors more easily.

He created a variety of
subtle colors in his
paintings. This
technique then spread to
Italy.
Eyck’s Realism

Eyck’s paintings
displayed
unusually realistic
detail and
personality of their
subjects.
Pieter Bruegel

Bruegel produced
paintings that portrayed
everyday events
including peasant life,
weddings, dances,
harvests and the
changing of the
seasons.

His paintings often
illustrated proverbs or
moral lessons.
Northern Writers Try to Reform Society

The reform attempted in northern Europe
differed from that of Italy in that the
reforms were based in Christian values.

The reformers in northern Europe became
known as “Christian Humanists”.
Christian Humanists

Desiderius Erasmus, of Holland,
wrote a book, The Praise of Folly,
that poked fun at greedy merchants,
heartsick lovers, quarrelsome
scholars and pompous priests.

He believed that Christianity
dwelled in the hearts of man, not in
the ceremonies performed in the
name of Christianity.

He believed that society would
improve if people would read and
live according to the Bible.
Thomas More


More was concerned
with the flaws he saw in
society.
He wrote a book,
“Utopia”, where greed,
corruption, war and
crime were weeded out
of society.
Francois Rebelais

Rebelais provided an
alternative to More and
Erasmus. He wrote about how
humans are by nature good but
that they are quickly made to
feel guilty about seeking earthy
pleasures.

He believed that people should
live by their instincts rather that
by religious rules.
William Shakespeare

Shakespeare was a famous
English playwright who had an
uncanny understanding of human
beings.

He revealed the souls of men and
women through his dramas and
tragedies.

He also used comedy to poke fun
at the flaws in society.
The Elizabethan Age

Queen Elizabeth I was an
educated woman who
could speak French, Latin,
Italian and Greek.

She was a poet as well as
head of state.

She embodied the
attributes of a Renaissance
Woman.
Printing Spreads
Renaissance Ideas

In 1045,
movable type
was invented in
China. Through
contact with
Asia, the
Europeans were
exposed to new
printing
techniques.
Johann Gutenberg

In 1440, Gutenberg adapted
the Chinese movable print
techniques.

He invented the printing
press, a machine that presses
paper against a tray full of
linked movable type. This
invention allowed for very
quick printing of multiple
copies of text.
Gutenberg Bible

The first book that was
mass produced on
Gutenberg’s printing
press was the
Gutenberg Bible in
1455.
Printing Spreads Learning

The printing press revolutionized learning in
northern Europe because the press made printing
inexpensive.

Regular people were now able to afford to buy
books.

By 1500, over 10 million books had been printed
and sold throughout Europe.
Writing in the Local Language

Ideas began to spread
rapidly as writers wrote in
a language the local
people could understand.

People began to educate
themselves in reading and
writing.
Interpretation Leads to Conflict

The best seller even back in the 14th Century was
the Bible. It was written in many local languages.

As people began to read the Bible, which before
this was read to them in Latin by the priests, they
began to interpret the Bible for themselves.

This lead to criticism of the Church and the
clergy and eventually led to major religious
reform.