Chapter 12 Flashcards
What does Renaissance mean?
A French word-meaning rebirth
What is Patronage?
Financial support of a writers and artists by cities or individuals to create works for them
Where did the Renaissance begin?
The renaissance began in Northern Italy, supported by a huge merchant presence
What made Northern Italian cities such good trading centers?
These cities had advances in shipbuilding which allowed for faster travel and for their ships to sail year round
What was a commune?
Sworn associates of free men in Italian cities led by merchant guilds that sought political and economical independence from nobles
Who were the popolo?
Disenfranchised common people in Italian cities who resented their exclusion from power
How big was the population of Florence?
Florence had a population of 80k, double that of London
What was citizenship in communes based on?
- Property qualifications
- Years lived in the city
- Social connections, meaning
- Only a small percentage of the male population could become members of the commune
Besides Europe where did Florentine bankers dominate?
North African Cities
What occurred during the popolo uprisings of the 13th century?
The popolo took over and created republican governments with the people holding the power, these did not last long for they failed to establish order and merchant oligarchies took back power using condottieri
Who were the Condottieri?
Powerful military leaders who had their own mercenary armies
What type of government did many Italian cities become?
Signori
What does signori mean?
A government that is ruled by one man
What was a court?
Magnificent households and palaces where signori lived, conducted business and supported the arts
What did signori create in the center of their cities?
Courts
What hindered Italy from uniting into one unified country?
- Nationalism in individual city states
- When one city-state amassed a great sum of power, smaller ones around it would band together against it to balance out the power
What banking family ruled over Florence?
The Medici Banking Family
What did the Italians invent to have representatives of other city states in their city?
Embassies
Why did France invade Italy in 1494?
Florence and Naples went into agreement about acquiring Milan and Milan called upon France for backup, France invaded Italy under the command of King Charles VIII
Who was Dominican Friar Girolamo Savonarola and how was he significant?
- A friar who preached sermons in Florence to large crowds, he said that Italians would be punished by God for it’s corrupt leadership
- Citizens of Florence saw the French invasion as the friar’s prophecy being fulfilled so they kicked out the Medici Dynasty
- Savonarola took power, becoming the political and religious leader of a new Florentine republic
What did Friar Girolamo Savonarola do while in power?
- Reorganized the government
- He had new laws passed against same sex relations, adultery and drunkenness
- Ordered a group of young men to patrol the streets looking for immoral dress and behavior
- Held “bonfires of the vanity,” where luxuries were burned in the main square of Florence
What occurred during the downfall of Savonarola?
The Florence people wildly loved him until they got tired of his moral denunciations and the Pope excommunicated him and he was burned at the stake at the same spot the bonfires had been conducted, after this the Medici Family returned as the rulers
What were the The Habsburg-Valois Wars?
Battles between the Holy Roman Empire and France
What made Italy a target for foreign invaders until 1870?
It’s inability to unify