Key Figures of the Renaissance

Powerful ruling family from FlorenceKnown for presiding over the Italian

RenaissanceRose to power through Cosimo de MediciHeight of power with Lorenzo the

MagnificentBank of the Roman Catholic ChurchAdvocates and patrons of the arts

Artists including Donatello, Botticelli, Michelangelo

Medici family

c. 1340-1400British writerThe Canterbury TalesTroilus and Criseydeused English when most works

were in LatinBuried in Westminster Abbey

Geoffrey Chaucer

1564-1616“The Bard of Avon”English poet and playwrightFamous worker of The Globeworks are the second most read in the world154 SonnetsRomeo & JulietHamletJulius Caesar

William Shakespeare

Italian family of Spanish descentprominent in religious and political affairsTwo popes, many political/church leaders, one saintKnown for treachery, corruption, murderFour most-famous

Alfonso de Borgia (1378-1458): established influence in Italy; Pope Calixtus III in 1455

Rodrigo Borgia: cardinal of Roman Catholic church, then Pope Alexander VI; fathered children with mistress

Cesare Borgia (1475/76-1507): politician; tried to establish a secular kingdom in central Italy

Lucrezia Borgia (1480-1519): patron of the arts; skillful at political intrigue

the Borgias

1469-1527Italian philosopher, politician, writerThe Prince (1513)

Guide to the exercise of raw political power over a Renaissance principality

Character or skill of leader that determines success of a state

Various ways of acquiring and maintaining stateSuccess by any means. The end justifies the

means.The Art of War (1520)

Procedures for the acquisition, maintenance, and use of a military force

Niccolo Machiavelli

1492-1549Marguerite d’Angoulême, Queen of Navarrepublished authorHeptameron

based on Boccaccio’s Decameron

collaborated with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V for the safe release and return of her brother,

the King of Francegrandmother of Henry IVencouraged church reform

Marguerite of Navarre

1483-1546German theologian, professor, pastor, church

reformerInspired the Protestant Reformation with

publication of 95 Theses Attacked Church’s sale of indulgences

Remission of temporal punishment due for sins that have already been forgiven

Advocated theology that rested on God’s grace rather than in human works

complete translation of Bible into German

excommunicated by Pope Leo X

Martin Luther

1473-1543Polish astronomerThe Sun, not the Earth, is at

the centre of the universe. Earth rotates daily on its axis;

revolves yearly around the sun. Planets circle the sun.

De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres)

seen as initiator of the Scientific Revolution

Nicolaus Copernicus

1452-1519Italian Renaissance artist, sculptor, engineer,

scientist, inventorwrote and drew on geology, anatomy, flight,

gravity, optics, and many morewrote in left-handed mirror script“invented” the bicycle, airplane, helicopter,

parachuteLa GiocondaThe Last SupperThe Madonna of the RocksThe Vitruvian Man

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci

1483-1520Italian Renaissance painter, architect,

designerCelebrated for grace and serenityFrequently commissioned by Pope Julius II

and Pope Leo XThe Stanza della

Segnatura fresco in Vatican palace

Sistine Chapel tapestriesmany Madonnas

Raphael

1480-1521Portuguese explorerfirst European to cross the Pacific OceanCommander of the expedition that was first to

sail around the world Out of 250 men, only 18 survived

Killed in battle between rival Filipino groups; did not see

the end of his trip

Ferdinand Magellan

1377-1446Italian goldsmith, sculptor, clock maker,

architectLost competition for commission of the new

Baptistery doors to Lorenzo Ghibertireceived commission to execute dome of

unfinished Santa Maria del Fiore Used no centering Two domes in one

Pioneer in perspective

Filippo Brunelleschi

1475-1564Italian painter, sculptor, architect,

poetClose to the Medici familyDavidCommission by Church for the ceiling of the

Sistine Chapel The Creation of Man

Michelangelo Buonarroti

1383-1466Florentine sculptorGoldsmith apprentice of Lorenzo

GhibertiAccompanied Brunelleschi to RomeDeep understanding of classical artDavidSt. John the Baptist

Donatello

1304-1374“Father of Humanism”Wrote hundreds of poem to Laura

Canzoniere

Poet laureate of RomeEpistolae metricaeDeveloped idea of laurel symbol

Poetic and literary immortality

Inventor of Petrarchan sonnetworks as basis for modern Italian

Francesco Petrarch

1509-1564French theologian and pastor during the Protestant

Reformationdeveloped Calvinism

Total depravity Unconditional election Limited atonement Irresistible grace Perseverance of the saints

Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536) Introductory textbook on the Protestant faith God’s total sovereignty Attacked the teachings of the unorthodox, particularly Roman

Catholicism

John Calvin

ca. 1400-1468Invented the printing press with

replaceable/movable wooden or metal letters Fostered rapid development in science, arts, and religion

through transmission of texts

Gutenberg Bible First book to be published in volume

Johann Gutenberg