Book 2 Unit 1 - The Renaissance: A Period of Change

1 What are the Dark Ages?

The Dark Ages came just after the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 when much of the Greek and Roman civilization was destroyed. The art and science of ancient Greece and Rome was forgotten.

2 Where did many "new" ideas come from during the Renaissance?

Many of these new ideas came from the ideas of the ancient Greeks and Romans.

3 What caused the Church to lose power on the eve of the Renaissance?

From 1378 to 1414, the Church had two popes --- one in Rome, supported by the Italians, and one in Avignon, supported by the French. These two popes quarrelled for leadership of the Church and this made people lose confidence in the Church.

4 What caused feudalism to decline around 1500?

The main reasons are:

Kings began to take back power from the nobles.

Towns grew quickly with the increase in trade. Many peasants left the manors and went to work in towns.

The growth of trade made many tradesmen rich. These tradesmen supported the kings to take back power from the nobles.

Knights were no longer important as fighting men. the invention of guns made cavalry tactics less certain of victory.

5 What effect did the growth of trade have?

The growth of trade made towns and cities rich. The wealthy merchants became very powerful in politics and society as well as business. They used their money to help scholars, artists and writers by paying them for their work.

6 Where did the Renaissance begin?

The Renaissance began in the city-states of northern Italy, especially Florence.

7 How did the rich merchants in the Italian city-states help artists?

The rich merchants in the Italian city-states became patrons, or sponsors, of art.

8 How did Italy's past help increase interest in art and learning?

Italy had been a cultural center in the Roman Empire. The rich Italian cities had Roman remains all around them. The people who lived there became interested in the art and learning of the ancient Greeks and Romans.

9 How did the fall of Constantinople help learning in Italy?

In 1453 when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks, many Greek and Roman scholars escaped to the Italian city-states, bringing their learning and their manuscripts with them.