CHAPTER 7.2 CLASS NOTESNew Ideas and Literature

I. Renaissance Humanism1. Humanism was based on the values of the Greeks

and Romans. Humanists believed the individual human was important and they stressed a balance between religion and reason.

2. Italians began studying Greek and Roman books, which had been preserved by Christian monks and Arab scholars (Crusades), as well as statues, and buildings.

3. Francesco Petrarch encouraged people to search for Latin manuscripts in monasteries and new libraries were built, including Vatican Library.

*What does a “balance between faith and reason” mean?*How did the Muslims contribute to the Renaissance??

*How did Petrarch contribute to the preservation of Roman knowledge?

4. Humanist scholars studied: plants, anatomy, medicine, astronomy and mathematics.

5. Brunelleschi used math and engineering to build the dome of the Florence cathedral, and new weapons based on gunpowder were invented.

6. Leonardo da Vinci was a scientist, artist, inventor, and engineer. Leonardo imagined machines long before they were invented (helicopter).

*How did Renaissance thinkers use ancient writings?

Brunelleschi’s Dome

7. Cartography, art of making maps: by studying ancient Greek geographers and the Arab geographer al-Idrisi, Europeans produced better maps.

II. Changes in Literature

1. Writers began writing in the vernacular, or everyday languages.

2. Dante Alighieri wrote The Divine Comedy, an epic poem, in Italian (about the afterlife). In England, Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales (about a group of pilgrims).

Canterbury Tales in Old English:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E-0PaK4RtI

Johannes Gutenberg

2. Johannes Gutenberg developed a printing press that used movable type. The press could print books quickly, so more books became available. Gutenberg’s Bible was the first European book printed. The printing press helped spread new ideas fast.

Clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phD0pEaczzg

3. In England, great works of theater and literature were created. William Shakespeare was an actor, poet, and playwrite. He wrote tragedies, comedies, and historical plays.

4. Cervantes, a Spanish author, wrote Don Quixote de la Mancha.

Shakespeare