
What were the social classes of the Renaissance?
The social classes of the Renaissance were the king, the high clergy, middle clergy, under clergy, high nobility, half nobility, low nobility, the bourgeois or rich, modest and poor. Each of these social classes consisted of a group of individuals with well-defined characteristics.
What was the next class in the Renaissance days?
The next class in the Renaissance days was the middle class. The middle class consisted of the shopkeepers and other professionals. The middle class was not a very wealthy class but the wealth depended upon the hardwork they put in their jobs.
What was the middle class like?
The middle class consisted of the shopkeepers and other professionals. The middle class was not a very wealthy class but the wealth depended upon the hardwork they put in their jobs. Sometimes, the middle class people moved up the pyramid and became the merchants by doing well in their professions.
What was the hierarchy like during the Renaissance?
To know more about the hierarchy during the renaissance, you can read the following given information: The class of the nobles was the most respected class during the renaissance period and owned most of the land. They were wealthy individuals who were highly respected and lived on large estates.

What were the classes in the Renaissance?
The Renaissance: The Four Social Classes The four social classes were: the nobles, the merchants, the tradesmen, and the unskilled workers and during the renaissance they took on a growth that went in directions that caused society to expand and the social classes to be redefined.
Who were the lower class in the Renaissance?
The four classes in order from highest to lowest was: nobleman, merchants, the tradesmen, unskilled workers, peasants, and the sharecroppers.
What was the upper class in Renaissance?
At the top were the nobles, or those with noble titles, who owned lots of land and controlled much of society. Below them were a class of merchants who had become very rich and were vying for their own political and social power by sponsoring the arts and conducting themselves in a noble manner.
What were some characteristics of the new middle class in the Renaissance?
They began to desire larger, more luxurious homes, fine art for these residences, sumptuous clothing to show off their wealth in public, and exotic delicacies to eat. These desires of the middle class stimulated the economy.
What are the 4 social classes of the Renaissance?
Italy had four social classes in the city of Florence: the nobles, merchants, middle and lower classes. The nobles owned much of the land, lived on large estates outside the city and disrespected the merchants.
Which was the only social class changed by the Renaissance?
The Nobility One of the only differences between a life of aristocracy in the Renaissance as opposed to a life of aristocracy in the Middle Ages was that it had become more difficult to maintain.
How did social classes change in the Renaissance?
The most prevalent societal change during the Renaissance was the fall of feudalism and the rise of a capitalist market economy, said Abernethy. Increased trade and the labor shortage caused by the Black Death gave rise to something of a middle class.
Why did the Renaissance mainly affect the upper class?
What class did the Renaissance mainly influence? * Mainly influenced the upper class. In general, only wealthy people had time to study classical texts and examine humanist ideas. * Many of the middle and lower classes weren't educated as well.
What did the lower class wear in the Renaissance?
Lower classes, such as laborers and apprentices would wear linen, a light, cool fabric derived from the flax plant, wool, or sheepskin.
What was the role of the middle class in the Renaissance?
The middle class played a significant role in making Renaissance successful. The city of Florence was ruled by the rising merchant class and the influential Medici family of Florence and the Borgia family of Rome patronised art, architecture and literature while the aristocracy was expelled from the cities.
How did the Renaissance affect the middle class?
A new middle class emerged —bankers, merchants and tradespeople had a new market for their services. People became wealthier and had more than enough money to spend. They began to build larger houses, buy more expensive clothes and get interested in art and literature.
What created the middle class?
A post-war rise in unionism, the passage of the GI Bill, a housing program, and other progressive actions led to a doubling of the median family income in only 30 years, creating a middle class that included nearly 60 percent of Americans by the late 1970s.
What did the lower class wear in the Renaissance?
Lower classes, such as laborers and apprentices would wear linen, a light, cool fabric derived from the flax plant, wool, or sheepskin.
How did the Renaissance affect peasants?
By the end of the 15th century, more peasants were becoming legally free. They also received enjoyed benefits such as learning to read, play instruments, and learning various things about their profession. By the time a child reached adulthood, either one or both of the parents had died. food for lower classes.
How did social classes change in the Renaissance?
The most prevalent societal change during the Renaissance was the fall of feudalism and the rise of a capitalist market economy, said Abernethy. Increased trade and the labor shortage caused by the Black Death gave rise to something of a middle class.
Why did the Renaissance mainly affect the upper class?
What class did the Renaissance mainly influence? * Mainly influenced the upper class. In general, only wealthy people had time to study classical texts and examine humanist ideas. * Many of the middle and lower classes weren't educated as well.
What were the social classes of the Renaissance?
The social classes of the Renaissance were the king, the high clergy, middle clergy, under clergy, high nobility, half nobility, low nobility, the bourgeois or rich, modest and poor. Each of these social classes consisted of a group of individuals with well-defined characteristics.
How did the Half Nobility form?
Half nobility. It was formed by the gentry nobility and gentlemen. They belonged to the nobility by buying the titles and titles. They were not accepted in their totality but little by little they began to have social and political success.
What were the lower clergy like?
The lower clergy were conformed by belonging to the catholic church like the monks, the friars and also the priests. They were very humble people in society and unlike those of the high clergy, they did not possess property and land powers. Yet they had something in common: their goal of religious service.
What was the High Nobility made of?
The high nobility was composed of heirs princes, counts and dukes. They were a very small group of people who had a lot of power.
Why did archbishops settle in the upper class?
Although they only devoted themselves to religion, they settled in the upper class, because they were granted land and property of great value.
What is the class of people who possessed capital?
Class formed by those citizens investors or merchants, owners of estates and lands. They considered themselves bourgeois or upper class, since they possessed capital in great quantities. Because of this, they succeeded in making the trade revolution.
What were the poor in the pyramid?
Poor. They were the lower class, therefore they were in the last sector of the pyramid. Among them were the peasants, workers in workshops, humble sculptors and day laborers. Finally there were also the unproductive of the lower class. Those who did not work were vagabonds or thieves.
What did the middle class want?
They began to desire larger, more luxurious homes, fine art for these residences, sumptuous clothing to show off their wealth in public, and exotic delicacies to eat. These desires of the middle class stimulated the economy.
What did the middle class spend their leisure time on?
The middle-class population also had leisure time to spend on education and entertainment. In fact, education was essential for many middle-class professions. Bankers and accountants needed to understand arithmetic. Those trading with other countries needed a knowledge of foreign currencies and languages. Reading was essential for anyone who needed to understand a contract. In their leisure time, middle-class men and women enjoyed such pastimes as reading for pleasure, learning to play musical instruments, and studying a variety of topics unrelated to their businesses.
Why was reading important?
Reading was essential for anyone who needed to understand a contract. In their leisure time, middle-class men and women enjoyed such pastimes as reading for pleasure, learning to play musical instruments, and studying a variety of topics unrelated to their businesses. The Resurgence of the City.
What was the Renaissance credited with?
The Renaissance is credited with bridging the gap between the Middle Ages and modern-day civilization.
What were the most important works of the Renaissance?
Some of the most famous artistic works that were produced during the Renaissance include: 1 The Mona Lisa (Da Vinci) 2 The Last Supper (Da Vinci) 3 Statue of David (Michelangelo) 4 The Birth of Venus (Botticelli) 5 The Creation of Adam (Michelangelo)
Why was Galileo put under house arrest?
Placed under house arrest for his views of a heliocentric universe.
Why did Da Vinci use anatomy?
For instance, artists like da Vinci incorporated scientific principles, such as anatomy into their work, so they could recreate the human body with extraordinary precision.
What was the dark era?
Also known as the “Dark Ages,” the era is often branded as a time of war, ignorance, famine and pandemics such as the Black Death.
What was the Renaissance?
The Renaissance was a fervent period of European cultural, artistic, political and economic “rebirth” following the Middle Ages. Generally described as taking place from the 14th century to the 17th century, the Renaissance promoted the rediscovery of classical philosophy, literature and art. Some of the greatest thinkers, authors, statesmen, ...
Why did Europeans travel to the sea?
While many artists and thinkers used their talents to express new ideas, some Europeans took to the seas to learn more about the world around them. In a period known as the Age of Discovery, several important explorations were made. Voyagers launched expeditions to travel the entire globe.
How did the Italian Renaissance differ from the Northern Renaissance?
The paintings of the Italian Renaissance differed from those of the Northern Renaissance. Italian Renaissance artists were among the first to paint secular scenes, breaking away from the purely religious art of medieval painters. Northern Renaissance artists initially remained focused on religious subjects, such as the contemporary religious upheaval portrayed by Albrecht Dürer. Later, the works of Pieter Bruegel influenced artists to paint scenes of daily life rather than religious or classical themes. It was also during the Northern Renaissance that Flemish brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck perfected the oil painting technique, which enabled artists to produce strong colors on a hard surface that could survive for centuries. A feature of the Northern Renaissance was its use of the vernacular in place of Latin or Greek, which allowed greater freedom of expression. This movement had started in Italy with the decisive influence of Dante Alighieri on the development of vernacular languages; in fact the focus on writing in Italian has neglected a major source of Florentine ideas expressed in Latin. The spread of the printing press technology boosted the Renaissance in Northern Europe as elsewhere, with Venice becoming a world center of printing.
Why did the Renaissance start in Florence?
It has long been a matter of debate why the Renaissance began in Florence, and not elsewhere in Italy. Scholars have noted several features unique to Florentine cultural life that may have caused such a cultural movement. Many have emphasized the role played by the Medici, a banking family and later ducal ruling house, in patronizing and stimulating the arts. Lorenzo de' Medici (1449–1492) was the catalyst for an enormous amount of arts patronage, encouraging his countrymen to commission works from the leading artists of Florence, including Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, and Michelangelo Buonarroti. Works by Neri di Bicci, Botticelli, da Vinci, and Filippino Lippi had been commissioned additionally by the Convent of San Donato in Scopeto in Florence.
How did the Renaissance affect theology?
However, the Renaissance had a profound effect on contemporary theology, particularly in the way people perceived the relationship between man and God. Many of the period's foremost theologians were followers of the humanist method, including Erasmus, Zwingli, Thomas More, Martin Luther, and John Calvin .
What did Renaissance scholars study?
In stark contrast to the High Middle Ages, when Latin scholars focused almost entirely on studying Greek and Arabic works of natural science, philosophy and mathematics, Renaissance scholars were most interested in recovering and studying Latin and Greek literary, historical, and oratorical texts.
What were the political structures of Italy in the late Middle Ages?
Instead, it was divided into smaller city states and territories: the Kingdom of Naples controlled the south, the Republic of Florence and the Papal States at the center, the Milanese and the Genoese to the north and west respectively, and the Venetians to the east. Fifteenth-century Italy was one of the most urbanised areas in Europe. Many of its cities stood among the ruins of ancient Roman buildings; it seems likely that the classical nature of the Renaissance was linked to its origin in the Roman Empire's heartland.
What was the birthplace of the Renaissance?
Florence, the birthplace of the European Renaissance. The architectural perspective, and modern systems and fields of banking and accounting were introduced during the Renaissance. The Renaissance ( UK: / rɪˈneɪsəns / rin-AY-sənss, US: / ˈrɛnəsɑːns / ( listen) REN-ə-sahnss) is a term used to describe a period in European history marking ...
Where did the Renaissance start?
Many argue that the ideas characterizing the Renaissance had their origin in late 13th-century Florence, in particular with the writings of Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) and Petrarch (1304–1374), as well as the paintings of Giotto di Bondone (1267–1337). Some writers date the Renaissance quite precisely; one proposed starting point is 1401, when the rival geniuses Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi competed for the contract to build the bronze doors for the Baptistery of the Florence Cathedral (Ghiberti then won). Others see more general competition between artists and polymaths such as Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Donatello, and Masaccio for artistic commissions as sparking the creativity of the Renaissance. Yet it remains much debated why the Renaissance began in Italy, and why it began when it did. Accordingly, several theories have been put forward to explain its origins.
Why did women go to convents?
Some of these women subsequently made permanent vows. Although some women lived in convents because of a sincere religious vocation, others were there to bide their time, or despite their own personal choice or interest. Most women who resided in convents for any of these motives came from propertied and even aristocratic families. Convents required an entrance fee termed a "dowry," just as in a marriage. During the Renaissance, in some areas (such as the wealthier Italian cities) the number of women entering convents because of their family's economic interests skyrocketed.
What were the skills of the women of the household?
Most important were textile crafts such as spinning, weaving, and embroidering, which were generally taught by the older women of the household.
How did women influence the Renaissance?
The role of women in "high" culture—the elite world of power, ideas, and artistic creation—was significantly expanded in the Renaissance era. A few women served as monarchs who were instrumental in shaping not only political events but also cultural developments. Cultivated women of the high middle class or aristocracy headed salons that spread new scientific and philosophical ideas and set standards of literary taste. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries women became increasingly active in the humanist movement, which was given impetus by salons. The participation of women in intellectual life represented a major advance: for two thousand years they had been excluded from such pursuits because they were denied access to formal education. The new humanist emphasis on the worth of the individual began breaking down traditional barriers. As a result, an unparalleled number of women became writers during the Renaissance era. There were hundreds and perhaps thousands of women authors, mainly in Italy, France, and England. After 1500 they were encouraged by the growth of the printing industry, which permitted women authors to deal directly with publishers and bypass male-dominated institutions such as universities.
What is a daughter called?
A daughter was called a "virgin," that is, one who has not engaged in sexual intercourse. Daughters were expected to remain virgins until they were married, or for their entire lives if they were not married. The ideal of virginity had roots in the Christian New Testament (the second part of the Bible), in Greek philosophy, and in writings of early Christian leaders. These works were based on the concept of the patriarchal family (a family headed by the father) as the foundation of society. A person's identity depended on his or her descent through the male line. During the eleventh century this ideal was strengthened by reform movements within the church. Around the twelfth century in western Europe the requirement of virginity for daughters received new emphasis, first in the households of the high nobility and then in the property-owning classes. Property was passed along almost entirely to male heirs. Therefore, the main purpose of daughters was to serve as brides who linked two family lines together. To assure the legitimacy of any male heirs resulting from a marriage, it was necessary that the bride's father be able to assure her future husband that she was a virgin.
Why do upper class wives and husbands lead separate lives?
Many upper-class wives and husbands led separate lives because of the disparity in their ages, their lack of acquaintance prior to marriage, and their very different daily occupations. For instance, the husband might be involved in his business or in political activities while the wife's life was focused on the home.
How long did poor women nurse their own babies?
Poor women generally nursed (breast-fed) their own infants for about two years, but women in the upper classes usually did not. In elite circles arrangements were made, often by fathers, to send a child to live with a wet nurse. A wet nurse was frequently a lower-class woman whose own baby had died or who had recently weaned her own infant from the breast (ended breast feeding). Sometimes wet nurses weaned their own babies early so they could be paid to breast-feed the baby of an upper-class couple. Infants spent about one or two years with their wet nurses (female infants were perhaps weaned sooner than males) before returning to their mothers. In the meantime, the mothers might have gotten pregnant once again.
What are the roles of women in the family?
Women played several roles in their families, depending on their age and marital status. First a woman was a daughter and then a wife, mother, or widow. In contrast, male roles were generally defined by social position or occupation—merchant, knight, priest, peasant, barrel maker, weaver, and so on.
Why was it harder for people to move up in class?
This is to say that it was much harder for an individual to move up in class simply because of the structure of society.
What is the term for a construct that historians have applied loosely to rather different societies?
The term “gentry” by itself is a construct that historians have applied loosely to rather different societies.
What were the principal estates of the Realm?
The fundamental social structure in Europe in the Middle Ages was between the ecclesiastical hierarchy, nobles i.e. the tenants in chivalry (counts, barons, knights, esquires, franklins) and the ignobles, the villeins, citizens, and burgesses.
What was the new genre of chivalry called?
[24] This was a democratisation of chivalry, leading to a new genre called the courtesy book , which were guides to the behaviour of “gentlemen”. [24]
How did Plato put the clergy in authority?
The clergy, like Plato’s guardians, were placed in authority … by their talent as shown in ecclesiastical studies and administration, by their disposition to a life of meditation and simplicity, and … by the influence of their relatives with the powers of state and church .
What was the Baltic Germans' position in the Russian Empire?
From the middle of the 1860s the privileged position of Baltic Germans in the Russian Empire began to waver. Already during the reign of Nicholas I (1825–55), who was under pressure from Russian nationalists, some sporadic steps had been taken towards the russification of the provinces. Later, the Baltic Germans faced fierce attacks from the Russian nationalist press, which accused the Baltic aristocracy of separatism, and advocated closer linguistic and administrative integration with Russia.
What was the feudal system?
The feudal system was, for the people of the Middle Ages and early modern period, fitted into a God-given order. The nobility and the third estate were born into their class, and change in social position was slow. Wealth had little influence on what estate one belonged to.
