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AP European History AMSCO Guided Notes

1.2: Italian Renaissance

AP European History
AMSCO Guided Notes
1.1 Contextualizing Renaissance and Discovery
1.2 Italian Renaissance
1.3 Northern Renaissance
1.4 Printing
1.5 New Monarchies
1.6 Technological Advances and the Age of Exploration
1.7 Rivals on the World Stage
1.8 Colonial Expansion and Columbian Exchange
1.9 The Slave Trade
1.10 The Commercial Revolution
1.11 Causation in the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery

AP European History Guided Notes

AMSCO 1.2 - Italian Renaissance

Essential Questions

  1. How did the revival of classical texts contribute to the development of the Italian Renaissance?
  2. What were the political, intellectual, and cultural effects of the Italian Renaissance?
I. Revived Interest in the Classical World

1. What role did monks play in preserving classical texts during the Middle Ages, and how did Renaissance scholars approach these texts differently?

A. Italian Renaissance Humanists

1. What is humanism and how did humanists break away from medieval scholasticism?

2. How did humanists' emphasis on secular values and individualism differ from medieval Christian scholars' priorities?

1. Shift in Ideas about Religion

2. Petrarch

1. What were Petrarch's major contributions to humanism and how did his work with classical texts influence later scholars?

2. What is philology and how did Lorenzo Valla use this method to challenge the Catholic Church?

3. Marsilio Ficino

1. How did Ficino's study of Plato and Greek philosophy contribute to Renaissance humanism?

4. Pico della Mirandola

1. What was Pico della Mirandola's goal in 'Oration on the Dignity of Man' and how did his education enable him to achieve it?

II. New Connections, New Challenges

1. How did Islamic scholars preserve classical Greek texts during the Middle Ages, and what role did the printing press play in spreading these texts?

A. Changes in Education

1. What subjects were emphasized in Renaissance universities compared to medieval universities, and why did humanists create secondary schools?

2. How did the availability of printed books affect the dominance of universities and the Catholic Church over intellectual life?

B. Challenges to the Catholic Church

1. How did popes' focus on political and financial power affect their spiritual authority during the Renaissance?

2. What did Christian humanists, especially in northern Europe, advocate regarding the Catholic Church and its practices?

III. Revival of Civic Humanist Culture

1. What political structure characterized the Italian peninsula during the Renaissance, and how did this affect the development of civic humanism?

A. Greek and Roman Political Institutions

1. What aspects of classical Greek and Roman government attracted humanists, and how did they seek to apply these models in their own era?

B. Baldassare Castiglione

1. What qualities did Castiglione describe as essential for the ideal courtier and courtier in 'The Book of the Courtier'?

C. Niccolò Machiavelli

1. How did Machiavelli's observations as a diplomat influence his political writings, particularly 'The Prince'?

2. How did 'The Prince' differ from medieval political teachings in its approach to morality and the use of power?

3. What does the phrase 'the ends justify the means' mean in the context of Machiavelli's political philosophy?

D. Francesco Guicciardini

1. How did Guicciardini's background and views on human nature compare to those of Machiavelli?

IV. Renaissance Ideas in the Visual Arts

1. How did Renaissance artists' approach to painting and sculpture differ from medieval artists' emphasis on religious symbolism?

2. What are naturalism and geometric perspective, and how did Renaissance artists use these techniques?

A. The Medici Family and Florence

1. What role did the Medici family play in making Florence a center of Renaissance art and architecture?

2. How did Filippo Brunelleschi's design of the Church of San Lorenzo reflect Renaissance ideals and classical influences?

V. Italian Sculpture and Painting

A. Donatello

1. What innovations did Donatello introduce to sculpture, and how did his work differ from medieval sculptural traditions?

B. Leonardo da Vinci

1. What was Leonardo da Vinci's range of talents and interests, and how did he encourage artists to move beyond realism?

2. How did Leonardo demonstrate his mastery of geometric perspective and psychological insight in 'The Last Supper'?

C. Michelangelo

1. What did Michelangelo's sculptures and paintings reveal about Renaissance ideals regarding the human form and divine qualities?

2. How did papal commissions of Michelangelo's work, such as the Sistine Chapel ceiling, serve the pope's political goals?

D. Raphael

1. How did Raphael use Renaissance techniques in 'School of Athens' to convey principles of harmony, balance, and order?

VI. Architecture of the Italian Renaissance

A. Leon Battista Alberti

1. How did Alberti's book 'On Painting' transform visual arts, and how did he apply classical inspiration to his architectural designs?

B. Andrea Palladio

1. How did Palladio adapt classical Roman architecture to meet the needs and materials of his own time period?

Key Terms

Renaissance

classical era

humanists

secular

individualism

Petrarch

Cicero

vernacular

philological

Lorenzo Valla

Marsilio Ficino

Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

Leonardo Bruni

city-states

democracy

representative government

civic humanist culture

Baldassare Castiglione

Niccolò Machiavelli

Francesco Guicciardini

naturalism

geometric perspective

Filippo Brunelleschi

Donatello

Leonardo da Vinci

fresco

Michelangelo

Raphael

Leon Battista Alberti

Andrea Palladio