How the Renaissance transformed the written word….

Writing for a New Society

How the Renaissance transformed the written word…

Reflected Renaissance curiosity and interest in

the humanities Wrote works on philosophy and scholarship Developed guidebooks for men and women to

become successful in the Renaissance world

Italian Writers:

Wrote The Book of the Courtier Describes the manners, skills, learning, and

virtues that a member of the court should possess.

Ideal courtier- well educated, well mannered aristocrat who mastered many fields(poetry, music, sports, etc..)

Baldassare Castiglione

Castiglione's Ideal Person

Men

1. Athletic2. Good at games3. Plays musical instruments4. Knows literature and history

Women

1. Pretty

“outer beauty is the true sign of inner goodness”

Wrote a guide for rulers on how to gain and

maintain power Did not discuss ideals, but looked at real rulers

in an age of ruthless power politics Stressed “the end justifies the means” Urged rulers to use whatever methods were

necessary to achieve their goals

Niccolò Machiavelli

Machiavelli saw himself as an enemy of

oppression and corruption Critics attacked his advice, said it was too

cynical Machiavellian- came to refer to the use of

deceit in politics Give an example of a modern leader who

follows Machiavelli’s advice.

Machiavelli continued…

A Revolution in Printing

Before the printing press:1. A few thousand

books throughout Europe

2. All books were hand written

3. Books were expensive

After the printing press:1. By 1500, 20 million

books had been printed

2. Books were cheaper3. Books were readily

available4. More people

learned to read

Johann Gutenberg

1455, in Mainz, Germany, printed the first complete edition of the Bible using a printing press with movable type

Renaissance writers still wrote in Latin,

however, many writers began writing in the vernacular

Vernacular- everyday language of the people

How does the vernacular revolutionize reading and writing?

Vernacular

Important scholar of his time Used his knowledge of classical language to

produce a Greek edition of the Bible Helped spread Renaissance humanism Wanted the Bible translated into the

vernacular

Desideratum Erasmus

Pressed for social reform Wrote Utopia His book described an ideal society where

men and women lived in peace and harmony

Sir Thomas More

Monk, physician, Greek scholar, author Wrote Garantua and Pantagruel About the adventures of 2 gentle giants On the surface was a funny tale, but it also

tackled serious subjects such as religion and education

Rabelais was deeply religious, but had doubts about the organized church

François Rabelais

English poet and playwright His genius was in expressing universal themes

in everyday, realistic settings He is responsible for the creation of over 1700

new words Wrote 37 plays that are still performed today

William Shakespeare

academe accused addiction advertising amazement arouse assassination backing bandit bedroom beached besmirch birthplace blanket bloodstained barefaced blushing bet bump buzzer caked cater champion circumstantial cold-blooded compromise courtship countless critic dauntless dawn deafening discontent dishearten drugged dwindle epileptic equivocal elbow excitement exposure eyeball fashionable fixture flawed frugal generous gloomy gossip green-eyed gust hint hobnob hurried impede impartial invulnerable jaded label lackluster laughable lonely lower luggage lustrous madcap majestic marketable metamorphize mimic monumental moonbeam mountaineer negotiate noiseless obscene obsequiously ode olympian outbreak panders pedant premeditated puking radiance rant remorseless savagery scuffle secure skim milk submerge summit swagger torture tranquil undress unreal varied vaulting worthless zany gnarled grovel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geev441vbMI

Shakespeare continued…