(^64) › STEP 4. Review the Knowledge You Need to Score High
- Suggested answer:
Thesis: The “civic ideal” in Renaissance humanism valued individual achievement in
scholarship and the arts for its own sake, as a fulfillment of God’s gift and as a part
of good citizenship. The “princely ideal” that supplanted it was less idealistic, valuing
individual achievement in scholarship and the arts as a tool for individual success.
Paragraph Outline:
I. Pico della Mirandola’s Oration on the Dignity of Man (1486) as an example of
the belief in the dignity and potential of man that characterized Renaissance
humanism.
II. Castiglione’s The Book of the Courtier (1513–1518) and Machiavelli’s The Prince
(1513) as examples of individual achievement and refinement for the purpose of
attaining and holding social status and political power.Rapid Review
The revival of commerce, interest in the classical world, and belief in the potential of human
achievement that occurred on the Italian peninsula between 1350 and 1550 is known as
the Renaissance. Within the independent, urban city-states of Renaissance Italian society,
the successful merchant class sought a well-rounded life of achievement and civic virtue,
which led them to give their patronage to scholars and artists. Accordingly, both scholar-
ship and artistic achievement reached new heights, and new philosophies like humanism
and Neoplatonism were fashioned. In 1494, mounting jealousy and mistrust between the
Italian city-states caused the leaders of Milan to invite intervention by the powerful French
monarchy, thereby breaking a delicate balance of power and causing the Italian peninsula to
become a battleground in a war for supremacy among European monarchies. The destruc-
tion of the independence of the Italian city-states caused the spread and transformation of
Renaissance ideals and values. A northern European humanism, less secular than its Italian
counterpart, developed and served as the foundation of the Reformation.KEY IDEA10_Bartolini_Ch10_057_064.indd 64 27/04/18 1:54 PM