• textbook --> pp. 412 - 421.
• chart --> "Characteristics of the Renaissance".
• doc. reader --> pp. 9 - 11.
• reading --> an excerpt from Baldassare Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier.
• atlas --> pp. 36 - 37.
• DBQ --> "Did Women Have a Renaissance?"

1. Fill in the CHART on the characteristics of the Italian Renaissance.
2. How did the Italian Renaissance differ from the Renaissance of the 12c?
3. Why did the Renaissance first begin in Italy?
4. In what ways did the European world experience an economic recovery in the 15c?
5. Why was Florence at the heart of the early Italian Renaissance?  What role did the Medici family play in Florence?
6. What was the social structure of most Italian city-states during the early Renaissance?
7. List the qualities of a "Renaissance Man", the l'uomo universale.
8. According to Castiglione, what are the basic attributes of the Renaissance courtier?  How did the values of this courtier influence the development of a modern aristocratic class in Western Europe?
9. What was the nature of slavery in Western Europe during the Renaissance?
10. What were the characteristics of the Renaissance family?  What power did the father have politically and legally?
11. Was there a "Renaissance Woman"?  What role was the woman expected to play in Renaissance society?

                          ASSIGNMENT 2:

• textbook --> pp. 421 - 426;  442 - 448.
• doc. reader --> pp. 12 - 15.
• atlas --> pp. 36 - 37.

1. What were the general characteristics of the merchant-oligarchies of northern Italy during the Renaissance?
2. How was the Kingdom of Naples different from these northern Renaissance states?
3. Why was Federigo da Montefeltro not a typical Renaissance merchant-prince?
4. Why was Isabella d'Este a unique aristocratic woman?  What do the letters on 
   pg. 424 reveal about her character?
5. How did the concept of ambassador change from the late Middle Ages to the Renaissance period?  What new political statescraft {practices} did the Italians contribute to Europe?
6. Why did Machiavelli write The Prince?
7. What was the goal of government and leadership according to Machiavelli?
8. Based on The Prince, what is more important--to be loved or to be feared?  Explain your answer.
9. How was The Prince a reflection of the political milieu of the times?  Is it of use to politicians today?  Defend your position.
10. The major characterstics in the development of the 'new monarchies' was the expansion of central authority in the areas of economic, political, judicial, military, and religious policy.  Create a chart which supports this statement in regard to England, France, and Spain.
11. How was the statement in question 10 different in Eastern Europe?  Give specific examples to support your answer for the Holy Roman Empire, Poland, and Russia.
12. What was the nature of the new Ottoman Empire as it solidified its power in the mid-15c?

                         ASSIGNMENT 3:

• textbook --> pp. 426 - 434.
• doc. reader --> pp. 5 - 11.

1. What are the characteristics of humanism?  How was it different from medieval scholasticism?
2. Why is Petrarch considered to be the "Father of Humanism"?
3. Why was Cicero a favorite classical figure of Renaissance humanists?
4. What is meant by the term "civic humanism"?
5. Answer the review questions 3 & 4 on pg. p [Sources].
6. List the basic beliefs of Neoplatonism and Hermeticism.
7. What was the goal of a "liberal arts" education?  What were core subjects taught?
8. If you were a pupil in a Renaissance school, how would the curriculum differ from that of a modern school?
9. According to Pico della Mirandola [Sources, pp. 10-11; review ques. 1 & 2], what is the "dignity of man"?  Why would he be regarded as one of the Renaissance magi?
10. How were humanists responsible for secularizing and professionalizing the writing of history {historiography}?
11. What was the impact of Gutenberg's printing press?

                          ASSIGNMENT 4:

• textbook --> pp. 434 - 442.
• slides --> Renaissance art and architecture.
• CDs --> Renaissance English madrigals.

1. What were the distinctive characteristics of Renaissance art and architecture?  How were they different from medieval art and Gothic architecture?
2. Who were the major artists of the Quattrocento and High Renaissance periods?
3. How were Renaissance artists trained?  What was their status in Renaissance society?  Who was their audience?
4. How was the Renaissance artist different in personal style from his medieval predecessors?
5. What new artistic techniques were introduced by Renaissance artists?
6. How were the works of the High Renaissance different from those of the earlier Quattrocento period?
7. In what ways did Renaissance art and philosophy reinforce each other?
8. How did Renaissance art reflect the political and social events of the period?
9. What were the characteristics of the art of the Northern Renaissance?  How was it different from that in Renaissance Italy?

                         ASSIGNMENT 5:

• textbook --> pp. 454 - 458;  522 - 525;  448 - 451.
• reading --> brief biography of Erasmus.
• reading --> excerpt from More's Utopia.
• reading --> excerpt from Cervantes' Don Quixote.
• reading --> excerpt from Rabelais' Gargantua.
• reading --> several quotes from Shakespeare's plays.
• slides --> Northern Renaissance art.

1. What is meant by the term "Christian humanism"?
2. [reading on pg. 458] --> What are Erasmus' criticisms of monks?  What did he hope to achieve by this satirical attack on monastic practices?
3. Why was Erasmus called "The Father of Northern Humanism"?
4. What were the major themes expressed in the works of Erasmus, More, Rabelais, Cervantes, and Montaigne?
5. How do Shakespeare's works reflect Renaissance ideals?
6. Had you been a contemporary scholar during the Renaissance, what remedies would you have presented for the problems of the church under the leadership of the major Renaissance popes?
7. How did the Renaissance lay the intellectual groundwork for the Reformation period?  [Keep in mind this question--> How did Erasmus lay the egg that Luther hatched?]