| 334935120 | Jakob Burkhardt | 19th century art historian who defined the Renaissance as a distinct break from the "middle ages" and emphasized the notion that this was the first time that writers and artists, poets especially, embraced the full objective nature of the human soul through artistic expression. Suggested that man was now the measure of all things. Wrongly assumed that the transition took place overnight. Ideas were more influenced by the Enlightenment than the Renaissance. Hailed as "the great discoverer of the age of the Renaissance" in his treatment of the cultural history of the age as a whole. | |
| 334935121 | Boniface VIII | Pope of the 1290s who was angered by Edward I and Philip IV's demands that the clergy pay taxes to national treasuries. Wrote the decree "Unam Sanctum" in 1302 which declared his own supremacy over temporal rulers. He was called to trial by Philip IV and held prisoner, dying soon after his release. Conflict between church and state representative of the historical context of the Renaissance. Development of the dichotomy between secular and religious concerns. In 1296, he also issued Clericos laicos as reminder to royalty that states could not tax clergy. | |
| 334935122 | Great Schism | The Western or Papal Schism. A period of division in the Roman Catholic Church, 1378-1417, over papal succession, during which there were two, or sometimes three, claimants to the papal office in both Rome and Avignon. After the death of French Pope Gregory XI, the Italians rioted for a Roman Pope. Cardinals regretted electing Urban VI, retreated to Anagni and declared Pope Clement VII, who reestablished the papal court in Avignon. Driven by politics rather than theology. Divided all countries in Europe between the Popes. Continued after death of initial claimants, rival courts maintained. Ended by the Council of Constance (1414-1418). Secured the resignation of John XXIII and Gregory XII and excommunicated Benedict XIII. Martin V became Pope. Intense partisanship characteristic of the Middle Ages. Medieval church in the throes of centralization. Marked a growth in spirituality and leadership in the papal structure. Took local power of papal states and the banks away from Italy. | |
| 334935123 | Giovanni Boccaccio | 1313-1375, Italian author, poet, and friend of Petrarch. Important Renaissance humanist, wrote The Decameron and vernacular poetry. Valued dialogue, unlike Medieval writers of before who favored formulaic patterns of plot and character. Son of a Florentine merchant and almost certainly illegitimate. | |
| 334935124 | Depression Thesis | According to the depression thesis, in almost everywhere in Renaissance Europe, the economy contracted more sharply than the population. Employment and average income fell, and income inequality rose. In Italy, crushed industry and caused a complete exploitation of the countryside | |
| 334935125 | Ciompi Revolt | 1378 in Florence - revolt of poor - part of same phenomena as Jacqueries. Came about because of post-Black Death anarchy, collapse of several banking families which led to economic shambles, and feuding between new and old rich. Suppressed as were other revolts but reality was - feudalism on decline due to great economic upheaval caused by plague. Revolt of the popolo. Crushed by their brothers in the guilds. | |
| 334935126 | Popolo | italian underclass; a new force that disenfranchised and heavily taxed the people bitterly for being excluded from holding power. They used armed force and violence to take over the government and set up republics. These republics were short-lived because the popolo did not gain support of other classes. Many uprisings occurred throughout the 1200s and 1300s. Obtained political power in the 14th century as Renaissance republics began to emerge due to the popolo's demands for direct representation. Established military organizations in the Contrado under Captains of the People. Still forced to hire out the Condottieri, as there were not enough people to fight internally. | |
| 334935127 | Poggio Bracciolini | 1380-1459, an Italian scholar who recovered many Latin texts and disseminated them throughout the educated world. Member of the esteemed Florentine notaries guild. Papal curia, never involved in the ecclesiastical affairs of the time as a testament to humanist principles. Restored many lost texts to Latin literature. | |
| 334946415 | Contrada | Town district of Italian cities, especially the 14 in Siena around the palio. Represented increased civic organization and neighborhood organization in the Middle Ages, as these areas were created to supply troops to hired militaries in order to defend the city. Represented geographical and neighborhood identity, mutual power of neighborhoods marching and fighting together. Begin to practice and worship together at neighborhood churches. Competitive games emerge to reinforce neighborhood identity. Cross-over identity also prevalent, prevailing civic identity. In Siena, each neighborhood had its own flag. | |
| 334946416 | Arte della Lana | Woold guild in Florence during the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Cooperated with other merchant and banking guilds in administering the commune under the podesta. Ensured quality standards were upheld and contracts fulfilled among its members. In charge of the Opera del Duomo and set with the task of commissioning a new set of doors for the north entrance. Guild hall in the palazzo style. | |
| 334958708 | Vita activa | Meaning: "the active life." Civic humanists believed that everyone needed to play a role in politics and the community. Gained prominence during the 14th century. Gender became an issue among female humanists, as women were seen as having no public function. | |
| 334958709 | Vergerio | 1498-1565, Italian humanist that wrote "Concerning Character", a treatis on education. He said,"We call those studies liberal which are liberal worthy of a free man; those studies by which by which we attain and practice virtue and wisdom; that education which calls forth, trains, and develops those highest gifts of body and mind which ennoble men." | |
| 334958710 | Grandi | wealthy merchants who governed Florence with support of merchants, lawyers and craftsmen of lesser status, 7 major guilds kept 14 lesser guilds in subordinate position. Emerged as a form of government in the Italian city-states along with the signori during the late 13th and 14th centuries. Represented a period of aristocratic oligarchy in Renaissance government and a departure from communal rule. Patrician class emerged and the government shrank and became based on wealth. Patrons of the arts, built the palazzos. | |
| 334958711 | Signori | Lords of Italian cities. As the Italian communes of the 13th century became increasingly fractiious, regional nobles saw this friction as politically advantageous and offered to become the lords of the cities. Their accession to power was often accomplished peacefully, as most communes were willing to accept repression for a lasting peace. Emerged as a form of government in the Italian city-states along with the signori during the late 13th and 14th centuries. Represented a period of aristocratic oligarchy in Renaissance government and a departure from communal rule. Patrician class emerged and the government shrank and became based on wealth. Patrons of the arts, built the palazzos. | |
| 334958712 | Palazzo Vecchio | Giant town hall of Florence built in the 13th century to house government officials. Tall, rectangular with a pointed tower at the top. Became the estate of the Medici during their rule of Florence. Originally known as the Palazzo della Signoria after the ruling body of Florence at the time, name has changed to reflect ruling class identity. | |
| 334958713 | Verba de praesenti | Prescribed words spoken during the Renaissance marriage ceremony as a statement of consent of both parties. Represented role of marriage as a business contract, seen more as a solemnified and legalized union of two families rather than two people in love. | |
| 334958714 | Guarino di Veronese | 1374-1460, early figure in the Italian Renaissance. Learned Greek and spent his life collecting and preserving Greek manuscripts. The shipwreck of one of his collections reportedly caused his hair to go gray in a single night. | |
| 335003893 | Dante | 1265-1321, Hailed by Burkhardt as the first Italian writer of the Renaissance consciousness. Best known for The Divine Comedy, the first important work in the vernacular. Established value of experiential knowledge. Poet, philosopher, political thinker. Love of Beatrice and example of courtly love. White Guelph, embroiled in the Guelph-Ghibelline controversy of the day. Major part of Florentine politics. Banished as a result of his association with the White Guelfs, at which time he wrote The Divine Comedy. | |
| 335003894 | Guelf/Ghibelline | 12th and 13th centuries. Arose as a result of the Investiture Conflict over the role of secular authority in ecclesiastical appointments. Guelf were pro-papal (in favor of papacy)
Ghibelline were pro-imperial (in favor of the Holy Roman Emperor) factions in central and northern Italy. These groups helped the city-states in which they were living in to grow big. By weakening each other the merchants of the cities grew strong, keeping the city-states strong as well. Represented the city-to-city feuds over religious support that characterized the era. Helped further develop notions of civic identity and independence of the Italian city-states. Most declared themselves independent communes as a result. The papacy banked in Siena, but upon their becoming Ghibelline, they moved to Florence. The mere crests of the two factions are only the same colors inverted. Caused division within Florence. | |
| 335003895 | Giotto | 1266-1337. An artist who led the way into realism; his treatment of the human body and face replaced the formal stiffness and artificiality that had long characterized the representation of the human body. Contemporary of Dante. Still focused on religious themes, but with more realistic representation. Decorated the Scrovegni Chapel/Arena Chapel in Padua in 1305 as well as the bell tower of Florence. Master of the fresco. Represented the artistic shift from the medieval to the Renaissance. Greater emphasis on emotional connection. | |
| 335003896 | Contado | Refers to the countryside surrounding the Italian city-states. Still under communal control, lacked autonomous power structures. Necessary to maintain the communal population. Most lands owned by urbanites, worked by peasants, who were heavily taxed but were not considered citizens, Represented the concentration of authority in the towns. Decreased in importance due to the establishment of communal governments in the 12th and 13th centuries. Considered citizens, but were a lesser order of citizens -- their only right was that of trade with the city. | |
| 335003897 | Mezzadria | Method sharecropping in which the typically urban landlord would provide a peasant with land and materials for farming in exchange for halving the harvest with him. Landlord had to be paid first, could ruin farmers in case of a bad harvest. | |
| 335003898 | Coluccio Salutati | Leader of a group of humanists who began to collect ancient manuscripts and form libraries, so as to make accessible virtually all the surviving writings of Classical Latin Authors. Invited many Byzantine Scholars to Florence, and these scholars brought hundreds of manuscripts. He began being the Chancellor of Florence in 1375 | |
| 335003899 | Bardi Bank | Dominated banking in 14th century Florence with their bank, the Compagnia dei Bardi. Along with the Peruzzi family, loaned Edward I 400,000 gold florins which he never repaid. As a result of these royals defaulting, the banks failed and Edward and Philip IV sought to tax the clergy to repay their debts, ensuing in the crisis with Boniface VIII. Boniface used Bardi banks for collecting papal taxes and transmitting money to Rome from all over Europe. | |
| 335003900 | Masaccio | 1401-1428 Florentine artist, first to start using light and shade to help achieve perspective. Also developed linear perspective. First shown in The Tribute Money. Influence on other artists of the Renaissance. | |
| 335003901 | Golden Bull | 1356, Stated that the seven main princes of the Holy Roman Empire elected the emperor, and all princes had autonomy. It was issued by Charles IV in 1356 and stated the procedure for choosing and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire: the emperor had to be elected by the Seven Princes and approved by the Pope. Fixed for more than 400 years the constitutional structure of the Holy Roman Empire. | |
| 335003902 | Catasto | The Italian system of land registration and the basis of the property tax. The Florentine Catasto of 1427 provided an important source of raw historical data for scholars. Most complete census of the time, represented the increasing concern with legalistic matters, record keeping, and the expansion of the Italian bureaucracy. | |
| 335003903 | Hans Baron | 20th century historian. Introduced Term Civic Humanism, encompassed traditional notions of classical republicanism. Second wave of humanism putting knowledge to public use, especially in Florence. Wrote The Crisis of the Early Italian Renaissance. Calls humanism civic responsibility/political liberty. Virtu earned by being a part of a great state. Virtu was service of the state (many humanists were papal/civic officials). | |
| 335003904 | Council of Pisa | 1409, attempted to end the Western Schism by deposing Benedict XIII and Gregory XII. Instead of ending the Schism, the council elected a third papal claimant, Alexander V, who would be succeeded by John XXIII. | |
| 335026640 | Catherine of Siena | 1347-1380, Known for her ability to mediate conflicts among Italian city-states, she urged the Gregory XI to move the center of the church from Avignon back to Rome. Scholastic philosopher and theologian in the humanistic spirit. | |
| 335026641 | Vittorino da Feltre | 1378-1446, Founded Casa Giocosa at Mantua where boys and girls of all backgrounds were taught physical, moral, and social development in addition to humanist curriculum. One of the first modern educators of the Renaissance. Established a model of education that sought to accommodate the needs of the children. | |
| 335026642 | Verba de futuro | A promise made by a groom and drafted by a notary to marry a woman within a prescribed period of time since the contract was drafted during the sponsalia. | |
| 335026644 | Pico della Mirandola | 1463-1494, Italian Renaissance philosopher. Wrote Oration on the Dignity of Man which has been hailed as the "Manifesto of the Renaissance" and the key text in Renaissance humanism. | |
| 335026645 | Avignon Papacy | 1309-1376, also known as the Babylonian Captivity in which seven Popes resided in Avignon rather than Rome. After the death of Boniface VIII and Benedict XI, the conclave elected Frenchman Clement V who declined to move to Rome and remained in Avignon. All seven popes were French and under increasing influence of the French crown. Ended when Gregory XI moved his court to Rome in 1377. | |
| 335026646 | Council of Constance | 1414-1418, ended the Three Popes Controversy or the Western Schism through the election of Martin V and the deposition of the antipopes. Represented power of ecclesiastical conciliarism and papal supremacy. | |
| 335026647 | podesta | 11th-13th century in Italy. Strongmen, despots. hired by dominant groups in cities, they maintained law and order, to permit normal flow of business activity. Made their first appearance in the Italian commune in 1200s. Chosen by the citizens of the commune or by representatives, Held supreme power over the commune.Term only lasted one year. Strict terms of rule, could not even have dinner with the same family twice to prevent familial influence on government. Created a roaming nobility. | |
| 335918696 | Brancacci Chapel | A church in the Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence. Features The Tribute Money, one of many fresco cycles painted by Masaccio, which appears to be related to the beginning of the Catasto, the first income tax in Florence | |
| 335918697 | Signorial Government | Associated with the decline of the medieval commune in government and the rise of the dynastic state. Can be understood as "Lordly Power" as opposed to communal power. Reaction to the failure of the commune to maintain law and order and to prevent party and civil strife. People looked to strong leaders to end the anarchy of medieval Italy and to disarm the feudal elites. Would often offer the Signoria to people outside the state if they were perceived to be powerful enough to save it, as Siena did with Cesare Borgia. Often a single-party state in which a single family was vested with the dynastic power of the Signoria. | |
| 335932157 | "Conspicuous consumption" | After the Black Death, the tendency of the wealthy to focus on displays of wealth rather than profitable merchant activities. Competition increased due to poor economy. Education, dress, displays of power, art, central to attracting investors and patronage. Had little to do with actual wealth. Increased interest in high culture among the elites. | |
| 335932158 | Leonardo Bruni | 1370-1444, Italian humanist, historian, and statesman. Called the first modern historian. Wrote The History of the Florentine People and Panegyric to the City of Florence in which he praises all aspects of his city. Used the phrase studia humanitatis. Translated many ancient works. | |
| 335932160 | Gian Galeazzo Visconti | 1351-1402, first Duke of Milan. Patronized the Visconti Castle and the Duomo of Milan. Contributed greatly to the number of manuscripts stored in the Visconti library. Overthrew his uncle, the signoria of Pavia by treacherous means and also took over Milan, Verona, Vicenza, and Padua as signore. Credited with creating the first modern bureaucracy. Dreamed of uniting all of Northern Italy into one kingdom once again, but was blocked by Bologna and Florence. | |
| 335932161 | studia humanitatis | Defined ideal of humanistic education. Focused in language and the liberal arts, especially the works of the ancients. Sought increased attention to detail in language and full absorption of knowledge. Original philologists. Curriculum of Latin and Greek, history, music, rhetoric, grammar, letter writing, poetics, and moral philosophy, the attainment of virtu being the supreme goal. | |
| 335932162 | Paul Oskar Kristeller | 20th century historian who sought a practical definition for humanism in his work. Defined humanism as a natural progression of European development, primarily grounded in the development of a new curriculum for education grounded in the liberal arts and the ideal of the vita contemplativa. | |
| 335932163 | Monte delle doti | A form of forced loan required to be paid to the city upon the birth of a daughter. Ideally, by the time she had reached marriageable age, it would be paid back with compounded interest to go towards her dowry. Allowed city to pay off its debts, including previous forced loans. If the daughter died, the amount was forfeited. Represented negative perceptions of daughters as financial burdens on families, importance of the dowry and centrality of marriage in the lives of women. Girls frequently subject to infanticide by neglect due to their financial undesirability. | |
| 335932164 | Filipo Brunelleschi | Lost the 1401 Baptistry Competition in Florence to Ghiberti despite having the superior piece. Became an architect as a result and constructed the largest dome of the time on the roof of a Florentine cathedral. | |
| 335932165 | Dowry | A bride price offered by the woman's family to her husband on marriage. As dynastic concerns became greater in the Italian city states, the demand for greater and greater dowries grows and comes to define a new, strategic "marriage market." After the Black Death, the few women in the marriage market caused vast inflation of dowry prices. Could potentially bankrupt families. Perception of women as bargaining chips through the formation of strategic marriages. View of marriage as a political alliance. Comes to be seen as female inheritance and even though this property would go into her husband's hands, it was still her property and could be withdrawn. Caused many women to end up in convents instead. | |
| 335932166 | Rudolph Hapsburg | 1273-1291, compromising choice of the Guelf and Ghibelline parties for the office of Holy Roman Empire, as he was perceived as old, weak, not wealthy, and not a warrior. However, his dynasty remained in power until the 20th century. Represented extremely partisan and political nature of the Guelf/Ghibelline conflict. Chaos of the political climate, especially in conflicts between church and state. | |
| 335932167 | Unam Sanctam | Papal bull issued by Boniface VIII in 1302 in response to the attempts of Philip IV of France and Edward I of England to tax the clergy. Declared the supremacy of the Pope's authority over that of temporal rulers. "The world only has one head, not two heads like a monster." Reminder that only church authority could secure salvation for individuals. | |
| 335932168 | Philip IV | 1268-1314, king of France. When Edward I of England, a vassal to him by virtue of his possession of Aquitaine failed to appear before him as he was busy fighting in Scotland, Philip IV seized all his possessions in France, causing hostilities between the two beginning in 1294. To pay for these many wars, Philip attempted to tax the clergy, and bankrupted Italian banks who loaned him money. Boniface VIII responded by issuing Clericos laicos in 1296 declaring that no state could tax the church. This resulted in Philip's men seizing Boniface and his death of shock. The next pope, Clement V, moved the papal court to Avignon and under French control. | |
| 335932169 | Gregory XI | 1370-1378, returns the papacy to Rome at the urging of hundreds of letters from Catherine of Siena ("Dear Papa, come back.") Upon his return to Rome, he died, causing near-riot in demands for an Italian pope. | |
| 335932170 | Black Death | Thought to be caused by Bubonic plague. Outbreaks began in 1347, during which a third of Europe's population was wiped out. As a result, many city-state's populations never recovered. The focus of political power shifted ever more towards the city. Centralized authority after the Plague failed consistently. Newly created aristocrats fell into conspicuous consumption at the cost of their former role as a mercantile class. Focus on family rule became the most reliable as a decentralized form of government. Economy faltered, failed to bloom as a full-blown capitalistic and industrial society. According to Boccaccio, some sought a moderate life to avoid God's wrath and others adopted excesses for fear they would soon die. Shortage of servants and other low-class workers, wage inflation. Burial ground ran out, people in the country began to consume all they owned and cease planting. Guilds open up, as well as the rapidly disappearing clergy. 44% of the population under 18. Church experiences a huge monetary influx. Enormous personal and state debt. | |
| 335932171 | Osanmichele | Church in Florence used a corporate, communal center in the contrada. Offered all major guilds a niche in the church for decoration with their patron saints. The greatest artists, including Donatello and Ghiberti would be commissioned by the guilds to erect their statue. Contest to hire the best artist and to have the best represented saint. Reflect emerging corporate identity of the 13th and 14th centuries, rather than mere family identity. Also, prominence and importance of public art as a part of civic identity. | |
| 335932172 | John Hawkwood | Capital general of Florence from 1394-1436 ; condottieri | |
| 335932173 | Isotta Nogarola | (1418-1466) a fifteenth-century humanist from Verona, who abandoned secular life for quiet religious contemplation and scholarship. Wrote on the Equal or Unequal Sin of Adam and Eve, arguing both sides of the issue. | |
| 335932174 | Condottieri | Mercenary armies hired out under the Renaissance Republics of the 14th century in Italy. The Contrado militias under the Captains of the People were not strong enough to ward off invaders, and thus the mercenary Condottieri were necessary. Caused questions of loyalty. In the same class of wandering nobility as the podesta. Came from all over Europe, especially Switzerland. Ultimately this practice bankrupts cities and contributes to other economic troubles in Italy. | |
| 335932175 | Virtu | Similar to Roman notions of pietas. Represented humanist ideal of a virtuous man, in his education, eloquence, citizenship, and complete demeanor. An idealized goal of many humanists, as expressed in writings such as Petrarch's "To Posterity." Learning as a natural expression of virtu. Great concern with doing the right thing and moral philosophy. Perfection of man was the goal of the humanist, but the journey was the most important part. | |
| 335932176 | Laura Cereta | Letters talked about the right of women to education in the arts and sciences, contribution to history and culture. 1469-1499 | |
| 335932177 | Lorenzo Valla | 1407-1457, Humanist papal secretary that discovered that the Donation of Constantine was a forged document due to his philological examination of it and, in the true humanist spirit, revealed the truth through an extensive breakdown of its parts. Represents importance of truth and virtu to the humanists. New learning and attitudes concerned with the discovery of the "real truth," not dogmatic concerns. | |
| 335932179 | Scholasticism | System of philosophy dominant in medieval Europe, associated with Thomas Aquinas. Represented profound changes in perceptions and value of education in the 12th-14th centuries permeated throughout universities in Europe. Precursor to humanism. Focused on Aristotelian logic and rhetoric, grounded in the liberal arts and ancient sources. Focus on rote memorization as a learning method. Question-answer format of learning. Concept that all truth is fixed and may be knowable. | |
| 335932180 | Alberti | Suggested that fewer intellectuals existed in his time than in ancient times in his 'On Painting.' Praised Florence as the center of artistic rebirth, which even surpassed the ancient past. Represented increasingly emotional nature of civic identity and civic pride. | |
| 335932181 | Marco Polo | 1254-1324, wrote Travels, a widely read account of his adventures in the East. Traveled with the Polo merchant family of Venice to the East where they met Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan. Represented growing involvement of Italian trade cities in international trade. | |
| 335932186 | John XXII | 1315-1334, pope during the Avignon papacy. His distance from the Italian constrains of family ties allowed for him to advocate for administrative reform and the expansion of papal authority | |
| 335932187 | Rule of Nine | 1287-1355, form of government in Siena and most stable of the Sienese constitutions. Striped Duomo cathedral built, Palazzo Publicus. Represented competition among city states in civic building projects and art, especially for the symbolism of She-Wolf of a new Rome. | |
| 335932188 | Captain of the People | Elected leaders of militias in the Contrado in 14th century Italy under the newly formed Renaissance republics. Represented the importance of geographical identity, even within the city-state. | |
| 335932189 | Marsilio Ficino | 1433-1499, Founded the Platonic Academy in 1459 in Florence, as Plato and his concern with truth come back into style. Translated Plato's works into Latin. Enjoyed Medici patronage. Concern with the role of humanity as achieving the humanistic ideal. Education as an ideal. | |
| 335932192 | Marsilius of Padua | 1280-1342, physician and philosopher immersed in Roman legal traditions. Argued in his Defender of the Peace that church must be subject to the state, which had the greater responsibility for maintaining law and order. Also asserted that a general church council rather than the pope should govern the church because councils represented the body of the faithful rather than a single man. Forced to flee from his university position in Paris because these ideas were considered subversive. Ended his days in the service of HRE Lewis IV. Influenced the thinking of Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg during the Western Schism, used his power to call the Council of Constance in 1414. | |
| 335932193 | Lorenzo Ghiberti | Winner of the Baptistry Competition in 1401 for designing the best bronze representation of Isaac and Abraham. Increased competitiveness of civic pride and desire to contribute one's public art to the church. | |
| 335932194 | Conciliarism | Reform movement of the 14th-16th centuries in the Roman Catholic Church which held that the authority of the church should rest in the collective body of Christians embodied in a general church council, not with the pope. Emerged in response to the Avignon Papacy. The Papacy eventually triumphed. In 1393, the University of Paris' theologians issued a decree that the Church should be run by a council. The Council of Pisa in 1409 decreed that the Pope did not have supreme power, which was met with opposition under Unam Sanctam. | |
| 335932195 | Thomas Aquinas | 1225-1274, influential theologian of the Renaissance. Argued that "money is sterile" against usury in agreement with Aristotle. | |
| 335932196 | Vita contemplativa | "The contemplative life." Pursuit of a virtuous existence suggested to be the primary goal of humanism, according to Kristeller. Encompassed the value of being a good citizen, an eloquent poet, and the value of excellence and complete understanding. Also represented the notion that learning was a life-long process, as exemplified by Petrarch's "Ascent to Mount Ventoux." | |
| 335932197 | Bubonic Plague | Generally believed to be the cause of the Black Death in Europe in the 14th century. Born by rodents infected by fleas carrying the disease. Causes swelling of the lymph nodes and death within 4 days. Wiped out one third of Europe's population. Originated in the Orient | |
| 335932198 | Arena Chapel | Or the Scrovengi Chapel, Padua, 1303-1305. Commissioned by a family of money lenders moving into the social elite and fearful of their own salvation. Elaborate frescoes by Giotto. Art as an expression of family name. Use of very expensive paint and materials. Scrovengi attempt to connect themselves to the life of Christ. | |
