Study Guides

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils learn about the Renaissance by examining its material culture. They study various artefacts of the Renaissance and compare the Northern and Italian Renaissances. Throughout, pupils reflect on what evidence about the Renaissance can be taken from these sources.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to describe the context of Renaissance humanism.

Key Notes

• The printing press allowed humanists to share rediscovered knowledge more easily.
• Humanism was promoted by the universities of Europe.
• New universities were founded in this period.
• Humanism represented a desire to study the classical world.
• Erasmus was an important humanist scholar.

Vocabulary To Learn

• Renaissance: from a French term for 'rebirth', the Renaissance was a period of revival in European art and literature under the influence of classical ideas
• printing press: the printing press was a machine used to print words
• humanist: humanists were people who were interested in the classical world and the potential of the human race
• humanism: humanism was the revival of interest in Greek and Roman thought during the Renaissance

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• Pupils might think that because printing presses were mechanical, they were as fast and efficient as modern machinery.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

More Lessons In This Unit

• The background to the Renaissance Study Guide
• The Italian Renaissance: art and architecture Study Guide
• The Italian Renaissance: science and anatomy Study Guide
• The Northern Renaissance Study Guide
• Understanding the artefacts of the Renaissance Study Guide