I Education

A. Focus on morality – history, ethics, rhetoric to speak eloquence

B. Castiglione’s The Courtier

1. Classic Renaissance how-to book

2. How-to be a Renaissance man – he must be good at everything (arts, dance, music, poetry, sports, match, speaking, writing)

C. Women

1. Young well off women were widely educated, usually in “arts and letters”

2. Pressure of staying home was always present

3. Ie. Laura Cetera –highly educated, had to choose: scholarship or family?, chose family but husband died young, turned to scholarship, blamed women for being “decorations”, despised by women and hated by men

4. Common girls – maybe educated, but main job was to manage home with charm and grace

D. Machiavelli’s The Prince

1. A ruler’s only purpose is to obtain power and maintain it by any means necessary

2. Medieval timesàrulers ruled by God’s law/standards

3. Machiavelli/Renaissanceàrulers are not bound by morality, only whether they keep power (so goes the saying, “The ends justify the means”)

II. Print

1. old school – block printing
2. new school – moveable type thanks to Johann Gutenberg, Johann Fust, Peter Schoffer
3. paper – thanks to the Chinese and Arabs, Europe has paper to go with the press
4. Gutenberg Bible – 2 years later
5. Uses of press: 1) Bible 2) gov’t propaganda 3) 1^st mass media 4) books on all subjects

III. Clocks

1. already invented by Renaissance time
2. necessary now in towns for business and trade

IV. Women, part 2

1. #1 job – Mom
2. Some work in “women’s jobs” – sewing sails, weaving, midwifery, maids, cooks, laundresses, household work
3. Upper class women held more power in shaping society
1. yes, they were educated now, but…
2. their skills were solely for running household – much to manage, grace and charm, outside contacts were only charities (not business or politics)

V. Sex

1. There was a double standard for men and “messing around”
2. Rape – perceived as not such a bad thing (and punishment depended on your social class)
3. Homosexuality – rather common despite the Biblical no-no, why? (late marriage, gifts, to “sleep your way up,” peer pressure, soldiers)

VI. Slavery

1. Desired for 1) cheap labor and 2) to make money as a commodity
2. Slavic folks were 1^st slaves, hence the name Slaves (slavery wasn’t racial at 1^st)
3. Black slaves – Portuguese traders, African traders, African slavery accelerates in early 1500s; it was seen as cool to have a black slave, slaves showed wealth, slaves performed music and dance for entertainment