Euro Lit: Italian Renaissance

Renaissance Italy

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The focus of this lesson is Florence (Firenze).

Crash Course European History: Florence and the Renaissance

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

•  Boccaccio's The Decameron:
• A collection of stories about a group of young Florentine people who are trying to escape the Black Plague by hiding out in the a nearby, secluded villa.
• Written in the Florentine vernacular
• masterpiece of early Italian prose
• The Medici:
• A prominent family of Florence whose influence resounds throughout the Renaissance
• banking and political dynasty
• Cosimo Medici most well known
• Four Popes: Leo X (refused the divorce of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon), Clement VII (Henry VIII breaks from the Catholic Church to form the Church of England), Pius IV, and Leo XI
• Patrons of the arts: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo, etc.
• Like the Borgia of Rome
• bankrolled the invention of the piano and the opera
• Donatello and St. Mark: first free standing statue

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Brunelleschi's Dome

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Petrarchism: 
• Written in the style of Petrarch
• literary style found in most sonnets, canzone, madrigals, and sestine
• Spread to other literary traditions in Spain, France, and England
• Shakespeare's sonnets
• Classical Latin verse plus vernacular
• metaphorical descriptions----> "shining eyes" or "fire and ice" or "radiant smile"; paradoxes and oxymorons
• poems that are narrative, emotional, or ritual

------------------------------------------------------------------

The Divine Comedy- Bishop Robert Barron

For reading The Divine Comedy, I would suggest the following translation. It has fabulous notes and sketches to help the ready envision the scope of the tales.

Horrible Histories: Terrible Tudors

As always, the links take you to youtube, but you will need a streaming service like Amazon Prime to access the listed episodes of Horrible Histories.

1. The War of the Roses:

•  Season 1, Episode 6; 8:36-12:20        The War of the Roses Report
• This established the House of Tudor, making Henry Tudor, Henry the VII of England.

2. Henry VIII (1509-1547)

• Biography
• Season 1, Episode 2;   22:12- 27:50        This is Your Reign, Wives of Henry VIII song
• Season 1, Episode 11;   0:37-3:46           Oh, Yea! and The Axe Factor              

3. Edward VI (1547-1553): Died at age 15.

• Season 3, Episode 3;  17:02-22:01        

4. Lady Jane Grey (1553)

5. Mary Tudor (1553-1558)

• Biography

6. Elizabeth I (1558-1603)

• Biography
• Season 1, Episode 4;  22:57-27:56        Elizabeth I nicknames, Tudor executions: Mary Queen of Scots, Tudor Song
• Season 1, Episode 10;  6:00-10:42        Ready, Steady, Feast and Historical Hairdresser

7. William Shakespeare

• Biography
• Season 4, Episode 5;  18:19-22;19        Shakespearean Insults
• Season 1, Episode 13;  16:10-19:21

British Literature: The Renaissance

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Renaissance in the European sense generally spans from 1300 to 1600, but for British literature, the Renaissance Period is set based on the Tudor Dynasty.

• Henry VII is the first Tudor on the throne of England. He ascended to the throne after thirty years of civil war known as The War of the Roses, which was the battle to decided which family would rule England-- the Yorks or the Lancasters. Henry Tudor, of the Lancastrian family, met Richard III of York at Bosworth. Richard III was killed and Henry Tudor became Henry VII, crowned at Westminster Abbey. To smooth things over with the Yorks, he married Elizabeth York.
• Henry VIII married his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon. Mary was their daughter.
• Wolsey was made papal legate, second in power to Henry VIII.
• Pope Leo X (a Medici) conferred the title of "Defender of the Faith" upon Henry VIII for his book Assertio September Sacramentorum (Defense of the Seven Sacraments) which affirmed the supremacy of the Pope.
• Henry VIII appeals to the Pope Clement VII (also a Medici) for an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon (although they had been married more than a few years and had Mary) on the grounds that she was his brother's widow. He wanted to be free to marry Ann Boleyn.
• Unable to arrange a divorce, Wolsey is stripped of his offices and died before facing charges of treason.
• Thomas Cranmer (Archbishop of Canterbury) declares the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon invalid.
• Act of Supremacy: Henry VIII declares himself the head of the Church of England, separating from the Pope and the Catholic Church.
• Edward VI, died at fifteen.
• Mary I (Catholic), daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, becomes queen, becoming known as Bloody Mary for her persecution of Protestants..
• Cranmer was burnt for heresy in his ruling against Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon's marriage.
• Elizabeth I, half sister of Mary I. Her parents were Henry VIII and Ann Boleyn. The Catholics of Britain believed Elizabeth was illegitimate since her parents' marriage was not recognized by the Pope. Many wanted Mary Stuart, who was Catholic, on the throne instead.
• The Book of Common Prayer was the only legal form of worship in the Church of England.
• Mary Stuart was Mary I of Scotland, first cousin to Elizabeth I, and abdicated the throne of Scotland to her one year old son, James (the VI of the Scotland and to become James I of England after the death of Elizabeth I, uniting both the Scottish and English crowns). An uprising in 1567 had Mary seeking safety with Elizabeth, but instead was imprisoned for 18.5 years before she was found guilty of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth I. Mary was beheaded in 1587.
• The Spanish Armada was hoping to overthrow Elizabeth I as she was Protestant and Spain was Catholic. This was an undeclared Anglo-Spanish war, 1585-1604.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Elizabeth I: 1558-1603

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Straight Outta Stratford-Upon-Avon

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

What Shakespeare's English Sounded Like and How We Know

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why Should You Read MacBeth?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Globe: Shakespeare's Theatre

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Christopher Marlowe: Elizabethan Dramatist

-------------------------------------------------------------------

MacBeth (Patrick Stewart)

Hamlet: David Tennant's Soliloquy 

European Literature: Ireland

As always, these are the PowerPoint slides and the YouTube links will be posted above the slide where a video would have been in the PowerPoint. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Animated History of Ireland

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Celtic languages are derived from Gaelic, those listed below. It's considered the oldest literature in Europe other than Greek and Latin.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• St. Columba was a missionary from Ireland that spent much of his life at the monastery at Iona in the Scottish Hebrides. He helped found many churches and monasteries throughout Ireland, including Iona, which was considered the center of Celtic Christianity. He wrote poems and hymns beginning a tradition of Irish poetry that focused on nature.
• Viking raids brought Nordic literary traditions to Ireland. However, the social and cultural disruptions of the raids halted literary pursuits and destroyed many existing manuscripts.
• 12th century brought the use of the Irish vernacular into the literary tradition. As with other literary periods we have covered, the Irish turned to an Irish written tradition, leaving Latin behind.
• What makes Irish literature unique is that instead of the Christian tradition being tacked on or replacing the pagan writings, the pagan style of writing influenced the ecclesiastical writing.
• Norman invaders brought their literary styles/works of courtly love, but again these genres were mixed into the existing Irish style.
• By the 18th century, the Irish tradition is mainly found in folk songs and the older writings. The preferred language for writing is English, or Anglo-Irish. Many Irish authors of this time were/are considered British authors.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why Isn't Irish Mythology More Popular?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Myth of Oisin 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The later writers like W.B. Yeats helped start a Gaelic Revival, a renewed interest in Celtic roots. The vocabulary and the vernacular are richer, and there was a sense of pride in the Irish language that had been lost under British control. This was especially the case in the days following the Easter Rising of 1916 and later with independence from Britain.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Literary Dublin

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remembering C.S. Lewis

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Irish Language and Beauty

Horrible Histories: Measly Middle Ages

You will have to have some kind of subscription service that streams Horrible Histories in order to watch the clips I've provided. I use Amazon Prime. Those links that I have used here are from youtube and add historical points to the silliness.

1. Season 2, Episode 10-  0:37-4:37; The Bayeux Tapestry and Miserable Songs
2. Season 1, Episode 5-  5:09-9:52; Domesday Survey Book; no more Anglo-Saxons, you're now French!
3. Medieval Knights
4. Season 3, Episode 2-  0:37-4:45; Nasty Knights, Castles, Sieges
5. Top Ten Weird Facts about Medieval Castles
6. The Tower of london
1. built by William the Conqueror during the 1080s
2. classic Norman architecture
3. used as a residence, an armory, and most well known, a prison
4. today it contains the collections:
1. the royal armories
2. the royal mint
3. crown jewels
4. for 600 years the Tower housed the menagerie of exotic animals given to the kings and queens; ostriches, elephants, lions, polar bears, etc.
5. Ravens
6. Those that oversee the Tower are called Yeoman Warders, and the one who takes care of the ravens is the Ravenmaster.
7. During the reign of Charles II (1630-1685), the king decreed that at least six ravens be kept at the Tower to protect the kingdom. Today seven are kept-- six and a spare.
1. The ravens are employed as "soldiers of the kingdom".
2. They can be dismissed for bad behavior.
3. There is a raven graveyard and the names of the deceased Tower ravens are engraved on the memorial.
7. Tour of the Tower of London
8. The Ravens at the Tower of London
9. York, England: Medieval England's Second City
10. Season 1, Episode 10-  14:28-18:12; Hamlin, Plague Song

British Literature: The Middle Period

Week two of eight for History of British literature. What follows are the slides from the PowerPoint presentation and the links precede the slides that would be a playable video. Someday I'll take the time to further educate myself on embedding PowerPoint presentations with embedded video, but it is not this day. This will have to suffice... considering I'm not a couple of weeks behind. 

How the Normans Changed the History of Europe

Ely Cathedral (1083), Wells Cathedral (1174), Tower of London (1078)

What was Feudalism? 

A Mini Guide to Medieval Castles: English Heritage

Chivalry in the Middle Ages

War, plague, chivalry... influenced literature of this period.

• Geoffrey of Monmouth (1100-1155)
• Historia Regum Brittaniae
• inaccurate history
• popularized the legend of King Arthur
• made Excalibur popular
• Magna Carta (15 June 1215)
• King John and his barons at Runnymede
• a feudal document, revised several times over hundreds of years
• the 1297 version is housed in Washington D.C. at the National Archives
• was adapted in the colonies, and used it to justify the disagreement over the Stamp Act in 1765; lead the way to the Declaration of Independence
• Robert Mannying
• English Chronicler; wrote the Story of England
• Handly Synne: the first Confessional/manual in English
• Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400)
• lived under three monarchs; born during the reign of Edward III in London, lived through the succession of Richard II in 1337 and the revolution of 1399, which saw Richard II deposed, and the beginning of the Tudor Dynasty (the Lancastrians) with William IV.
• died in 1400 and is buried in Poet's Corner at Westminster Abbey
• called the "morning star of the Renaissance"
• Canterbury Tales
• made the Middle English vernacular a legitimate form of literature when the dominant literary languages in England were Latin and French
• Pearl Poet or "Gawain Poet"
• contemporary of Chaucer
• true identity unknown
• best known Arthurian Tale: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
• Robert Cotton and the Cotton Nero A.X. (1571-1631)
• dissolution of monasteries under Henry VIII brought the destruction of many monasteries and churches throughout Britain
• manuscripts scattered
• Robert Cotton began collecting manuscripts; Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
• His method of shelving his collection is still used today in the British Library, naming the bookcases after Classical characters with the accompanying bust of the character; Beowulf located at Vitellius, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, as well as the Lindisfarne Gospels located at Nero.

Is There Any Truth to the King Arthur Legends? 

Morality, Miracle, and Mystery Plays

The Church used these plays to instruct an illiterate population; hear and see instructive literature.

1. Morality Play: presented a lesson about good conduct and character
2. Miracle Play: re-enactment of miraculous interventions by the saints into the lives of ordinary people
3. Mystery Play: focused on Bible stories and society