1348+-+1455

toc
 * 1348 (The Plague) - 1455 (Gutenberg's Printing Press)**

**The Black Death**[[image:6698-004-ED43A4B8.gif width="245" height="164" align="right"]]
First appearing in 1348, the **Black Death** was a epidemic that brought **demographic disaster** to Europe by killing about **1/3 of the population**. The disease was introduced into **southeastern Europe** by rats on Crimean ships, but eventually spread **northward by trade routes** once it became communicable by human contact. While the Plague encouraged a culture centered on death, pessimism, and fear of God's wrath, long-term demographic changes brought about **better economic opportunities** for **individual workers** and ushered in the Commercial Revolution.

**Commercial Revolution**[[image:http://emsnews.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/picture-112.png?w=550&h=512 width="220" height="207" align="right"]]
After the Middle Ages, the Commercial Revolution took place as a revival from the Black Death. By taking advantage of its geography, **Italian cities** became the **wealthiest city-states** in the **15th century**. Due to Italian city-states being the **crossroads of the East and West**, it spurred economic growth which created the Commercial Revolution by **creating several banking families** such as the Medici of Florence. Trade came to a point where the **economic foundation** was **strong enough** to **survive** from the deaths of the Bubonic Plague. While the prosperous trade created economic stability, a bigger picture was being formed that would be known as the Italian Renaissance.

**Italian Renaissance**[[image:http://www.hoylelamps.com/home%20images,%20asst%20others/Creation%20of%20Adam.jpg width="336" height="153" align="right"]]
As the Commercial Revolution stabilized the economy, new remarkable changes, intellectual, artistic and cultural life, ushered Italy into a **new golden age** called the **Renaissance** or "rebirth." The **rebirth** was led by many of the aristocrats, and as Giorgio Vasari stated it was the work of, "**rare men of genius**." One of the significant traits of the Italian Renaissance was the **self-consciousness of the Italians** who were living in the era. **Human beings** were **no longer a worm in the "cesspool of sin"** but played a bigger role of **being God's image**. But due to only a small percentage of people being affected by the Renaissance, few were revolutionized, such as the Medici banking family.

**Medici**[[image:http://emsnews.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/picture-112.png?w=550&h=512 width="220" height="207" align="right"]]
As the **Italian renaissance called for a more realistic life**, focusing on the "here and now", merchants started to **trade** with the world. Because the flow of money created a need for **bankers**, some **merchants** like the **Medici** from **FLORENCE** went into banking and made massive amounts of **money**. **Around 1397 -- 1494**, the Medici family dominated the area of trade. Since the Medici became so popular, the gold florin of Florence became the normal trading currency in Europe. The Medici often held political power through their wealth and often founded wars and bribed others to get more political influence.The Medici revolutionized trade and banking which helped reinforce the trade demanded by the renaissance.

[[image:http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51W32WAR90L._SL500_.jpg width="257" height="291" align="right"]]
In the **Italian states**, the best of life was in the court of rulers. **Baldassare Castiglione, a Italian diplomat (1478-1529) [upper class]** describes the way a courtier [or a person in the court] should act in his extremely popular book "**The Book of the Courtier**". In this book, Castiglione describes how a Renaissance man should act. Castiglione claims that the man must be of **noble** birth, and must persue **virtue** and **education**. The courtier should be very **talented** and sharp. **A women "ought to be very unlike a man" in that she is very soft and delicate, always trying to act proper, and must never surmount her husband.** Castiglion's book has spurred a lot of debate, although it was generally expected at that time. Castiglione only talks about the upper class which is a very Italian Renaissance thing to do because the Renaissance was not for the common man, but of the elite.

**Humanism**

 * Humanism** is a term that emphasizes humans, their achievements, their interests and their capabilities. Humanists themselves studied human nature through older Latin texts. This "ism" gained a lot of momentum throughout the **Renaissance**. It is expressed through the many different writings and paintings in the Renaissance that **glorify humans** and their achievements. Many Renaissance humanists not only glorified humans through works of art, but also **opened schools** promoting their ideas. These humanists also promoted **individualism**, which stressed personality, genuis, and individual capabilities/talents. Along with the humanists in the Renaissance in Italy, there were **Christian Humanists**, northern humanists (from England, Germany, France ect.) who used Italian humanist's ideas.

Check out this **wordle** of Petrarch's letter to Boccaccio...great example of Humanism. What is most important to Humanists?

**Classicism**
//See// French Classicism