Renaissance Quiz

Timeline of the Renaissance

The Renaissance lasted 3000 years: 1300 to 1600 A.D.

Renaissance means “rebirth.” It was a reawakening of interest in literature, art, and the sciences.

1300s ---------The Crusades ended in 1270. The Crusades ran for 200 years (1095-1270).

The Revival of learning

It was during the Crusades that Europeans discovered...

1. The Islamic world was far more advanced than Europe - This stimulated the study of science.

2. Constantinople housed classical literature - This stimulated the study of art and literature.

From 1300 on, Europe experienced a revival of learning.

Revival of trade

The Crusades brought about a revival of trade in Europe. Crusaders brought home silk and spices

from the Near East (Jerusalem) and the Far East (China). Europeans demanded more foreign goods,

especially silk and spices. International trade fairs were held in towns and people began to use money.

Venice was the big winner

Probably the single biggest winner of the Crusades was Venice.

Why? (Venice is located between the Middle East and Europe. It controlled the Mediterranean Sea.

it shipped goods to Venice, then over the Alps into Northern Europe.)



Marco Polo (1254-1324) was a trader and traveller. He lived in Venice.

In 1271, at the age of 17, he accompanied his father and brothers to China, where he met Kublai Khan.

In 1292, at the age of 41, he returned to Venice and wrote a book (Description of the World)

about how advanced China was.

From then on, Europeans were interested in China and its amazing inventions.

Later, explorers like Christopher Columbus decided to sail to China.

The Renaissance began in Italy in 1300

Florence was the birthplace of the Renaissance.

It was a city in Italy that had 100,000 people and a republican government. (Republic = no king.)

Wealthy merchant families were the ruling class; they ran the politics and economics of the city.

They hired Renaissance architects to build palaces and artists to fill them with paintings and sculpture.

Venice and its ruling families also helped financed the Renaissance.

Dante (1265-1321) was the first Renaissance author. He lived in Florence.


Dante was trained in both religion and classical philosophy.

His book is considered the best summary of medieval thought.

The main theme of the book is life after death . . .

In 1308, he wrote The Divine Comedy, which is considered a masterpiece.

It is the story of how one man (Dante) travels to Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven.

In his description of “The Inferno”, Dante describes the nine circles of Hell.

Each circle is reserved for a special group of sinners.

There, Dante put the corrupt political and church officials who banished him from his beloved city, Florence.

Giotto (1267-1337) was the first Renaissance artist. He lived in Florence.

He painted frescoes - painting with water colors on damp plaster.

He was the first artist to create realistic paintings:

a. flesh-and-blood people with real emotions

b. nature that looked real

c. settings that were natural

d. using light, he highlighted one side of a person

e. using shading, he put the other side of a person in the shadows

He used perspective to show distance:

Things in the foreground appear large; things in the background are smaller.


Petrarch (1304-1374) was the first Renaissance humanist. He was the founder of humanism.

Like Thomas Aquinas, he believed there was no conflict between classical and Christian thought.

He was a poet and a scholar who studied Cicero, the ancient Roman orator.

A humanist, he believed that writers should concentrate on human problems.



1400s The Medici family became the biggest bankers in Europe.

The Black Death (bubonic plague) hit Europe from 1347 to 1350.

About 30% of the people died. In cities, about 50% died.

Boccaccio (1313-1375) was a Renaissance humanist. He lived in Florence.

He wrote The Decameron - a collection of bawdy stories that described life in Italy.

The main characters fled the plague that hit Florence in 1348.

Over ten days (Decameron means “ten days”), they tell 100 stories about people and their human problems.

They ruled Florence beginning in 1430 and ruled it for 300 years.

Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449-1492) was the famous Medici who sponsored artists and writers.


Brunelleschi (1377-1446) was the first Renaissance architect. He lived in Florence.

He led a revival of buildings like those of ancient Rome.

From then on, Renaissance buildings had marble columns and arches.

Donatello (1386-1466) was the first Renaissance sculptor. He lived in Florence.

He created the first nude sculpture since the days of ancient Greece. (David, just after he killed Goliath.)

A humanist, he believed that artists should portray the dignity of the human body.

Florence sold wool to Flanders (Belgium).

By the late 1400s, the Renaissance spread to Northern Europe.

The flourishing of art in Northern Europe coincided with the High Renaissance in Italy.


Van Eyck (1380-1441) was the first Renaissance artist in Northern Europe.

He was a painter in Flanders (Belgium). He used lighting, shade, and perspective.

He invented oil painting!

The Hanseatic League was a confederation of cities in northern Germany.

Each city had self-government. Each city sent merchants to the Hanseatic Council.

The Hanseatic League had its own legal code - the Law of Lubeck - a system of commercial and maritime laws.

During the 1300s, Germany was the center of trade in northern Europe.

During the 1300s, the Hanseatic League controlled the wool trade with Flanders.


Gutenberg (1395-1468) invented the printing press! He lived in Mainz, Germany.

Long before Gutenberg, the Chinese invented wood-block printing of text and pictures.

Gutenberg applied their idea of movable type to our 26 letters of the alphabet.

He made possible the printing of books.

He printed books by new authors and spread Renaissance ideas.

He printed the Bible. From then on, every individual could learn to read the Bible.

He made the Reformation possible. It started with Martin Luther in Germany.


Durer (1471-1528) was a painter and blockprinter. He lived in Nuremberg, Germany.

He etched woodcuts and turned them into prints.

He was the first to speak of “artistic genius.”


Bosch (1450-1516) was a painter. He lived in the Netherlands.

He was obsessed with painting the Devil.

He painted distorted people: They gave in to temptation on earth and were doomed to suffer tortures in hell.

His most famous painting is The Garden of Earthly Delights.


Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) was a navigator and explorer. He was born in Genoa, Italy.

He convinced Ferdinand & Isabella (the king and queen of Spain) to finance his voyages.

In 1492, he sailed to the Americas.

(He sailed west and thought he would reach Asia. Instead, he ran into unknown continents - North and South America.)


Vasco da Gama (1469-1524) was a navigator and explorer. He was born in Portugal.

In 1498, Vasco da Gama sailed to India.

China could be reached by sea.

The overland route to China (the Silk Road) declined in importance. So did the city of Venice.

Lesson plan compliments of Performance Education 1-800-539-1607 www.performance-education.com

Derived from Renaissance and Reformation Toolbook: BZ-4404

1500 THE HIGH RENAISSANCE IN ITALY Leonardo and Michelangelo lived at the same time and knew each other.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was a LEADING artist of the Renaissance. He lived in Florence.

He was a “Renaissance man”:

1. Artist: He painted the Mona Lisa (a portrait) and The Last Supper (Jesus and his 12 disciples).

2. Studied science: Human anatomy, astronomy, botany, geology, and engineering.

3. Engineer / Inventor: In his Notebooks, he drew designs for a flying machine (helicopter).


Michelangelo (1475-1564) was a LEADING artist of the Renaissance. He lived in Florence.

1. Artist: He painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican in Rome. It shows scenes from the Bible.

2. Sculptor: His statue of David is the symbol of the city of Florence.

3. Architect: St. Peter’s Church in Rome. Inside is the Sistine Chapel. This is the Pope’s church in the Vatican.


Raphael (1483-1520) was a leading artist of the Renaissance. He lived in Florence.

His School of Athens is a painting of ancient Greek philosophers.

The Pope sponsored Raphael and many other Italian Renaissance artists.


Castiglione (1478-1529) was a writer. He lived in Milan and Urbino, Italy.

He wrote Book of the Courtier - about the proper behavior of nobles at a royal court.

“The Ideal Man” was refined in speaking, writing, and the arts. He was exceedingly polite to women.

“The Ideal Woman” was refined in art and literature. She was exceedingly feminine and had high moral standards

Castiglione was the first to say: A woman’s job is to help her husband become a success.


Machiavelli (1469-1527) is considered to be the “Father of Modern Politics.”

In 1512, he lived in Florence and was imprisoned and tortured by the Medici family.

In 1513, he wrote The Prince - which describes how a strong ruler gets power and keeps it.

Machiavelli realistically described how political leaders operated in Italy:

Strong politicians were ruthless: They ruled by any means necessary. To them, the end justified the means.

Ever since, Machiavelli’s name is synonymous with Power Politics.


Copernicus (1473-1543) was a world-famous astronomer. He lived in Poland.

Ptolemy (Greek astronomer) said: The earth is at the center of the universe. The sun revolves around the earth.

Copernicus said: The sun is at the center of the universe. The earth revolves around the sun.

He wrote a book entitled On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres.

He is regarded as the “Father of Modern Astronomy.”

By 1500, England and the Netherlands had become the dominant trading nations.


Holbein (1497-1543) was a painter. He was born in Germany, but spent much of his life in England.

He is one of the world’s greatest painter of portraits.

He painted portraits of Erasmus, Thomas More, and Henry VIII, the King of England.


Bruegel (1525-1569) was a painter in Antwerp and Brussels, Flanders (Belgium).

A humanist, he painted realistic scenes of everyday life - especially peasants at work and at play.

Vesalius (1514-1564) was a surgeon who studied anatomy. He lived in Brussels, Flanders (Belgium).

He wrote the first book that describes and illustrates the human body.

He is regarded as the “Father of Human Anatomy.”

Rabelais (1494-1553) was a writer of comedy. He lived in France.

His most famous comedy was Gargantua and Pantagruel - giants with an appetite!

Rabelais is famous for satire: He uses humor to criticize French society.

Montaigne (1533-1592) wrote essays. He lived in Bordeaux, France.

He was the first to write personal essays - he wrote in an informal, conversational style.

He was the main subject of his essays: In a witty fashion, he explained how the world’s events had an impact on him.

Catherine de Medici (1519-1589) was the Queen of France. She lived in Paris, France.

She grew up in Florence, Italy.

Her family (the Medici) were the biggest bankers in Europe.

Her grandfather was Lorenzo the Magnificent and her uncle was the Pope.

At 13, she was married off to the King of France.

When her husband died, she ruled France. She was a ruthless politician, ala Machiavelli.

She was a patron of the arts: Interested in architecture, she helped build the Louvre Museum.

Lesson plan compliments of Performance Education 1-800-539-1607 www.performance-education.com

Derived from Renaissance and Reformation Toolbook: BZ-4404

1600 Elizabeth I (1533-1603) was the Queen of England. She lived in London, England.

Erasmus (1466-1536) was the first Christian humanist.

He was a writer and philosopher. He lived in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

He was best friends with Thomas More. (He died right after More was beheaded.)

When the Protestant Reformation began, he refused to take sides with either the Catholics or the Protestants.

He was the first Christian humanist. He . . .

a. studied the Bible

b. studied humanism (people are important)

c. applied humanism to Christianity.

He wrote The Praise of Folly.

It criticized the Catholic Church for stressing rules and forgetting about the spiritual needs of individuals.

Thomas More (1477-1535) was the first Christian humanist in England. He lived in London.

He was best friends with Erasmus.

The King of England (Henry VIII) appointed him Lord Chancellor - the highest judge in the land.

As a Christian humanist, he

a. studied the Bible (and St. Augustine, founder of the Christian Church in England)

b. studied humanism (people are important)

c. applied humanism to Christianity.

He wrote Utopia - about an ideal society where there were no rich or poor.

Instead, government cared about the happiness of every human being

In 1535, King Henry VIII beheaded him for treason.

Why? Because Thomas More objected to the king divorcing his wife and refused to regard the king as head of the

Church of England. (He regarded the Pope as the head of the Church.)

In England, the Tudors ruled the nation from 1485 to 1603.

The kings and queens financed artists and writers.

There were Henry VII (1457-1509), Henry VIII (1491-1547), and Elizabeth I (1533-1603).

Marlowe (1564-1593) wrote plays. He lived in London, England.

He was the first Renaissance playwright to write tragedies.

His most famous play is Faust - about a man who makes a deal with the Devil.

He died young (29) in a bar-room brawl.

They named the age after her: The Elizabethan Age.

She was the quintessential “Renaissance Woman”:

1. A master of politics.

2. A patron of the arts - she sponsored Shakespeare!

3. Age of Exploration: She financed Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh.

4. During her reign England became a world power.

She never married: After all, her father (Henry VIII) had her mother beheaded (Anne Boleyn).

Shakespeare (1564-1616) wrote plays. He lived in London, England.

He is considered to be the greatest playwright in the world.

He invented a lot of words and invented expressions that we still use today!

He understood the human personality.

He wrote about individuals: Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Othello, Romeo & Juliet.

He wrote comedies: Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer’s Night Dream

He wrote tragedies: Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, Othello

He was a Renaissance humanist: He wrote about people and understood human nature.

Cervantes (1547-1616) wrote a great novel. He lived in Spain.

He wrote Don Quixote, one of the world’s greatest novels.

It is about the end of an age - the Middle Ages, feudalism, knighthood, and chivalry.

The main character (Don Q) loves to read romance novels about knights.

He pretends to be a knight and makes war on windmills.

He has a problem distinguishing between his hopes and dreams . . . and harsh, cold reality.

Cervantes was saying: The old ideals were nice, but they are impractical for the 1600s.

El Greco (1541-1614) was an artist. He lived in Spain.

He was born in Greece. (El Greco means “the Greek.”)

He distorted things (people, buildings, landscapes) in order to stress their spiritual nature.

His famous painting is Toledo.

His paintings influenced Modern Art (Picasso) in the 20th century.

Lope de Vega (1562-1635) was a playwright. He lived in Madrid, Spain.

He wrote “cloak-and-dagger” plays that were full of action, adventure, passion, and excitement.

Lesson plan compliments of Performance Education 1-800-539-1607 www.performance-education.com

Derived from Renaissance and Reformation Toolbook: BZ-4404

Galileo (1564-1642) was a scientist. He lived in Florence, Pisa, and Padua, Italy.

1. He is regarded as the “Father of Modern Science.”

He developed a theory, ran an experiment to test his theory, analyzed the results, and wrote conclusions.

This was revolutionary! Aristotle never ran experiments!

2. He was an astronomer

He developed a telescope to study the sun and planets.

He rejected Ptolemy’s theory: The sun and planets revolve around the earth.

He accepted the Copernican theory: The earth and planets revolve around the sun!

3. He studied physics - he studied motion and discovered the law of falling bodies.

4. He was a mathematician - he served as Cosimo de Medici’s top mathematician.

5. He was a victim of the Inquisition

From 1231 to 1600, the Catholic Church had special courts that prosecuted heretics.

(A heretic is someone who opposed Church teachings.)

The Church taught Ptolemy’s theory: The earth is at the center of the universe.

In 1616, Galileo was put on trial for heresy - believing in the Copernican theory.

He was released on one condition: He could not espouse what he knew to be true:

The earth revolves around the sun!

In 1632, he published a book about it: Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems.

The Inquisition found him guilty, forced him to recant,

and sentenced him to house arrest for the rest of his life.

Rembrandt (1606-1669) was a painter. He lived in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

He is considered a great master because

1. His dark paintings are dramatic . . . they are lit up with surprising light.

2. He shows the innermost feelings of ordinary people.

3. He is a storyteller on canvas.

4. He painted 100 self-portraits.

5. His most famous painting is The Night Watch.

Lesson plan compliments of Performance Education 1-800-539-1607 www.performance-education.com

Derived from Renaissance and Reformation Toolbook: BZ-4404