HIST 126: The Age of the Medici

Dr. López

Assignment: Period Guide

As one of the exercises in this class, you are to familiarize yourself with the “Age of the Medici,” roughly defined as the extended Renaissance, by reading the required textbook (Jensen’s Renaissance Europe).  You are then to prepare a period guide, that is, a summary of the most important facts about each of the major sub-divisions of what we term the European Renaissance.  Your period guide will serve as a quick reference to have by your side while reading the books upon which you will be basing your research.

1. Your period guide should include, at the very least, the following subdivisions:
1. Medieval Background

— Feudalism

— Scholasticism

— Role and structure of the Church

— Feudal Monarchies

2. Rise of the city-states

— Which?

— Development of each

— Warfare

— Diplomacy

3. The Medici

— Who?

— Development

— Role and influence

4. Italian Commercial Revolution

— Trade

— Techniques

5. Social Change in the Renaissance

— Social hierarchy: who?

— Urban vs. rural

6. Humanism

— What?

— Studia humanitatis

— Central tenets

— History

— Influence

Etc. You get the drift… Go through your textbook and distill its information into a manageable source.

2.  Each subdivision should then include the following items (note that not all will apply to every subdivision):
1. a timeline of the most significant dates
2. a “Who’s who?” of the most important people
3. a list of the sub-division’s major characteristics (in other words, what defines it?)
4. a list of causes/consequences

3.  A few comments on format:
1. Each subdivision should have its separate pages, but you might want to add a section on important aspects of ‘contact’ between the sub-periods.  For example, comment on how the intellectual trends of the Renaissance changed the social or political landscape of Italy during the period, etc.
2. Organize the guide into bulleted lists, in order to facilitate consultation at a glance. 
3. Be thorough.