I. “One of the tasks of women’s history is to call into question accepted themes of periodization”
a. a sexist renaissance during the renaissance
i. Men had more social power and options while women’s options grew sparse
ii. Women were supposed to live in a more domesticated area while men led superior lives
iii. There are 4 ways to realize the loss in power for women in the renaissance
1. The regulating of female sexuality
2. Women lost economic and political power
3. The cultural roles of women were confined to their home
4. Ideology about women
iv. The renaissance brings about an oppression of women and of female freedom/participation in society
II. Medieval women…c. 13th century
a. Courtly love
i. Women were able to express themselves through courtly love
ii. A feeling of equality between lovers was attained
iii. Sometimes, if a wife wanted to be loyal to their husband they would have a courtly love to separate the passion from their marriage and to fulfill their needs.
iv. Chivalry was also important. A lover would revere his partner as a beautiful statue and more than anything else
v. Women, even if they had a son, when their husbands were gone, would preside over the court
vi. People didn’t care who was a legitimate child
b. Medieval Literature
i. Women were key in troubadour poetry
1. Countess Beatrice of Die
2. Marie de France
ii. There are 2 types of courtly literature
1. Romantic
2. Lyrical
iii. In Andreas Capellanus’ Art of Courtly Love he says that a man can take a peasant girl by force but if the woman is a noblewoman the man must do whatever he thinks will please her
iv. Chretien de Troyes writes Lancelot, a book about chivalry and courtly love
v. Women shaped all of these things because they had the power to do it.
III. The renaissance woman in politics and culture
a. Women lose power
i. Women didn’t have any political influence anymore and their lives were restricted to a domestic life
ii. The most influence a renaissance woman could have is to marry a noble and commission works of art
iii. Castiglione wrote The Courtier about the way renaissance love and manners should be
iv. Male tutors taught the girls as well giving them a male outlook on history
b. Renaissance women
i. Caterina Sforza
1. She used virtú, fearlessness and ambition to save the power of the duchy of Milan
2. Leads an army against the invaders and she wins
3. Takes power when her husband is assasinated
ii. Elisabetta Gonzaga
1. Ideal duchess that The Courtier describes
2. She had no interest in hunting or fighting
3. She busied herself with domestic life and with no interest in gaining power
iii. The women had completely different approaches to the renaissance and both were very strong female figures of the time
IV. Chastity
a. Castiglione says that men should have sexual freedom and that women shouldn’t
i. This presents a problem because women need to have sexual freedom for men to
b. If women are the more beautiful image of God they should be revered and loved even more than men
c. Joan Kelly argues that the theory about love is reversed and that women have to take care of and serve the men as opposed to him serving her
V. Conclusion
a. The relationship between the sexes in the renaissance was not one of equality. There was a lord and servant relationship and it was because of the demotion that women lost so much power
b. All the advances that the renaissance has to offer show women as an object to be attained, not as another human being trying to attain the same thing.

In our readings about Renaissance ideas and philosophies, the word areté does not seem to appear. The idea, however, more commonly known as virtú, played a pivotal role in the transformation of European ideas and values from those of the Middle Ages to those of the Renaissance.
Areté means virtue, excellence, or goodness in Greek. Originally used by Homer, it was associated with bravery and effectiveness. Later, Socrates extended the term to refer to knowledge.
As life in Europe shifted from manors and villages to towns and cities, people became more exposed to a greater range of political and economic issues. This caused them to think about the effectiveness and morality of human actions in new ways. In earlier centuries the Church had been the source of moral standards. Virtues such as piety were highly valued. In the fourteenth century, however, the Church was in turmoil during the Great Schism; war and plague devastated Europe. People began to rethink issues of morality and turned to Classical Greece and Rome. The idea of areté was recovered and adopted as a virtue. During the Renaissance, a distinction was made between two types of virtues: the “moral” virtues, preached by the Church, and the “non-moral” virtues, which were considered forms of areté or virtú.
The use of the Greek idea of areté can be seen in the works of important Renaissance writers. Dante, following Aristotle, argued that something is virtuous when it does what it was created to do. Therefore, speech, for example, is virtuous when it properly conveys an idea, not when it merely is full of grandeur. Perhaps the best known use of virtú as a translation of areté is in the works of the political theorist, Machiavelli. Machiavelli was not interested in the moral virtues of the Church, but with the effectiveness, the virtú or areté, of a ruler. He also used the word virtú very often to describe the military capabilities of a person or city. Of all the Renaissance writers, Machiavelli was the one who came closest in his use of virtú to the Greek idea of areté. His conception was fundamentally secular.
Areté originated as the Greek word for virtue that was tied to the idea of effectiveness. This idea of effectiveness became very important during the Renaissance when people began to shift away from the Church ideals of moral virtues and towards the more secular ideal of areté (virtú).

-Obama proposes middle-class tax-cuts.
-McCain promises fiscal responsibility that will lessen people’s tax burdens.

II. “Before all else, be armed.”
and
“For among other evils caused by being disarmed, it renders you contemptible; which is one of those disgraceful things which a prince must guard against. ”

-McCain=military man, very good combat reputation, talks about bombing/deterring Iran.
-Obama tries to hedge against this advantage McCain has by supporting striking Pakistan via India.

III. “I’m not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it.”

-Both candidates claim to be “change” candidates; both say they are “postpartisan” and different from others who came before them.
-McCain is not doing a very good job at this–he is perceived as very similar to Bush.

IV. “A prince… must seem to be all… religion”

-Sarah Palin chosen to appeal to fundamentalist christians.
-Backlash against her proves that we no longer live in an age like machiavellli’s; religious faith perhaps no longer paramount. However, patriotic faith still emphasized by both campaigns.
-Both candidates profess that they are very faithful in their authobiographies.
-”obama is a muslim”/”terrorist fist-bump”=republicans trying to destroy people’s belief that Obama shares their faith & values.

V. “One must… be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to recognize wolves.”

-Obama seeks to “avoid being swiftboated”; fox

-O also is charismatic speaker, appealing to people’s anger about the war and about Bush; lion.

-McCain goes to Washington, avoiding debates on Friday; fox.
-Celebrates his reputation as a “maverick”; lion.

-Ad bashing palin-bashers actually used pictures of wolves to represent the liberal media.

-Both candidates claim they are post-partisan, rarely attack each other, but there are external organizations on both sides which put out quite vitriolic attack ads; fox.

Quotes are from machiavelli’s “the prince,” courtesy of our machiavelli packet, and of http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/n/niccolo_machiavelli.html

A. Introduction
a. Definition of Renaissance- a rebirth or remaining of roles/ life
b. Explain the differing ideas on topic- Kelly/ others
i. Kelly- no Renaissance because they weren’t emancipated
1. Dispute over her definition of Renaissance with relation emancipation.
ii. Others thought that there was a Renaissance women’s.
c. Thesis- while women greatly shaped the culture of the Renaissance the actual period was not, for them a Renaissance.
B. Medieval Women
a. Courtly love
i. Freedom between lovers- equality between sexes (sexual freedom)
ii. Women NOT subservient to man- vassalage- entering into the service of a woman.
iii. Also benefits the man so it was accepted by society.
b. Powers of women
i. Inheritance and administration over land
ii. Power during husbands absences (which were often)
iii. Power was accepted because the men sometimes need the woman’s dowry/ land
iv. Women had the freedom to take part in “unladylike” tasks- horseback riding, using weaponry etc.
c. Presence in art- art is the most prominent feature of Renaissance
i. Literature of courtly love
C. Renaissance Women
a. Shaping the culture- family life
i. Old husband, young wife
1. the husband was older so he died sooner and his wife inherited the land. She had control over the property and children so was not pressed to marry.
ii. Women’s values
1. imparted on her children
iii. The renaissance man
1. cultured, appreciated the arts, not unlike the courtly lover
b. But not benefiting from it
i. Reduced liberties
1. Severe decrease in power of women politically
2. Women were expected to remain away from power
3. Castiglione- a woman’s job is to be charming not perform unladylike tasks. A woman’s place is the home a man’s the world
4. Weren’t in control of their education
5. Chastity- limiting women’s sexual freedom
ii. After a husbands death is she really free?
1. Can she really do whatever she wants?
2. Even if she doesn’t have to remarry?
D. Conclusion
a. Because women were not emancipated they did not have a renaissance.

HUMANISM: Christianity

BASIC CONCEPT: The humanists of the Renaissance were primarily Christians advocating secular value. The Northern humanists found these values consistent with the essential aspects of Christianity and used the critical methods of humanist study to contemplate the Bible.

Accredited as the founder of Renaissance humanism, Petrarch (1304-1374) is known primarily for his time spent applying the lessons of the Greco-Roman world of antiquity to the questions of Christian principles. By contrasting the Renaissance concept of Virtue and Christian virtue one creates a paradigm between enjoying one’s life now and pursuing Art or waiting on the promise of paradise. When compared like this the two perspectives could not be brought together, essentially they could not use the classics to strengthen their hold on religion.
As humanism spread north, northern Europe developed its own Renaissance of sorts with Christianity as a central figure. Though most Italian humanists did not part with their religious morals, they did find that they could not consider the conflicting aspects of Christianity and the classic world. It was the northern humanists who chose not to secularize the scholastic achievements of their time. It was the Dutch humanist Erasmus (1466-1536) who fused together classic and Christian values, writing of the great similarities between the ancient Greco-Roman wisdom and that of the essential teachings of Christianity. John Colet (1467-1519) used the humanist methods of critical analyzing and applied them to the study of the Bible. Erasmus in his 1509 “Colloquies and Praise of Folly” argued that the clergy and other such bodies were at a stage of corruption that could not be easily turned back. They believed that the solution would be to return to the roots of the organized church, thus bringing on the Reformation of the Church.
Martin Luther (1483-1546) accused the papacy of being far too corrupt for Reformation or redemption and challenged its authority as the spiritual center of the Roman Catholic Church. Luther maintained that Christianity had to be brought back to its essential tenants; first that the Bible is ultimate, that the people can commune directly with God, and lastly that to be rid of their sins the people must truly believe in Crucifixion.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

A History of the Modern World.
Palmer et al.

Erasmus of the Low Countries, chapters 3-4.
James D. Tracy

The spread of humanism from Italy to Germany and France was very distinct. The humanists used their understanding of medieval history and language to build a “purer, more scriptural Christianity” [Perry, 317] compared to that of the Middle Ages. Two very important Frenchmen of this era were Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) and Francois Rebelais (c. 1494-1553), both of whom exploited humanist ideals in a radical direction, writing reactions to the religious wars which resulted from the Reformation of Europe. Montaigne “advocated political quietism and acceptance of Christianity on faith” [Perry, 318]. He also argued that belief should be entirely liberal, and no one should be treated unfairly, especially punished, for what they think, except the religious dogmatists. Their certainty and self-righteousness got in the way of the fact that reason cannot be solely relied upon, especially in matters of religion. Due in part to Montaigne, a shift was caused in the Renaissance thought of this time- a shift that retreated from the idealism of humanism. The other Frenchman, Rabelais, similarly focused on the individual and their right to be independently minded and untied to a fearful and vengeful God. Rabelais said that, “Once freed from dogmatic religion, people could, by virtue of their native goodness, build a paradise on earth and disregard the one dreamed up by theologians” [Perry, 318].

Humanism throughout England contrasted with Spain whose church hierarchy gained such power that they were in control of all humanist learning and thoughts, exploiting it for their self purpose. The humanist views that spread across England were developed by secularists, including men in the government who were opposed to authority and tradition. Many members of the society attacked private wealth as the source of pride, greed, and human cruelty [Perry, 319], including an extremely influential humanist, Sir Thomas More (1478-1535), who argued that “an acquisitive society is by nature both unjust and unprosperous” [Perry, 319].

The Christian view of history before humanism influence observed history as an “unfolding of God’s will (Western Civ. Packet Sixth Edition, Pg 309). However, as the shift towards secularism and humanism swept over the Renassaince, the way history was viewed was brought into a new light. Humanists stressed the importance that history was shaped by human actions and human will, which was the primary factor in shaping historical events. This idea of individualism remains consistent with humanist thought.

Humanists used their new knowledge of Greek and Latin language to read documents from the Classical Antiquity. From this Greco-Roman history, humanists adopted Aristotle’s view of history being like a cycle. In addition, even though history is viewed as cyclicle, there is still some forward movement and progress. Humanist scholars saw the classical period as a time of light an the Medevil period as a time of darkness, which remains consistent with their idea of a cycle–with ideas of darkness and light, ignorance and illumination, and decline and rebirth.

This cyclicle idea had several implications for the humanists. They viewed their time as the period of rebirth, and the preceding time as one of decline. The humanists believed in studying the classics of Greco-Roman history, and this led to the recovery of classical widom and ideals.

Bibliography

Palmer, tenth edition: pages 61-65
Perry,Western Civilization: Page 309

Magus and the Mastery of nature

During the medieval period, the church had complete power. It was believed that the lives of humans were to be determined by the divine will of God. It was not until the renaissance that this general idea was greatly opposed. As the religious power of the church began to dwindle, the world was viewed from more of a scientific point of view. These views looked at the world in a more literal way. It was because of these views that people began to pursue things such as science, mathematics, literature, and art more actively. In the scientific realm, many great discoveries were made. Copernicus theorized that the earth revolved around the sun, and Leonardo Da Vinci began to illustrate the human anatomy in great detail. It was from discoveries like these that the image of the magi and the mastery of nature arose. With this knowledge, humans would not only be able to understand nature, but control it as well. It was with these views in mind that drove many scientists and mathematicians to search for a greater understanding of human nature, and its role corresponding with nature.

A History of the Modern World R.R. Palmer et. al
Western Civilization Mavin Perry et. al