Family Life During The Italian Renaissance

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a renaissance as “a period of new growth or activity.” The Renaissance is the label given to the period between 1400 and 1500 CE. This period was a “rebirth” from the problems of the Late Middle Ages. The Renaissance primarily occurred in Italian city-states. During the Renaissance era, there was an explosion of developing interest in areas such as art, literature, and science. The Italian Renaissance brought about increased economic activity via trade between city-states. Family life during this period consisted of arranged marriages, fathers as the head of families, women having several children, and male involvement in extramarital relationships. A new political philosophy was introduced by Machiavelli
Before its invention, works of literature were transferred to parchment made up of animal skin. This process used a significant amount of animals per each work, and it was quite time consuming because each work was transfered page by page by hand. The printing press led to mass production of works of literature, especially the Bible. In fact, the first work printed by the printing press was the Gutenberg Bible. This mass production of literature, due to the invention of the printing press, spread throughout Europe. Sequentially, literacy rates improved and information spread. Increased literacy and knowledge led to superior textual criticism, which lead to the Protestant Reformation during the 1500s. The printing press allowed new philosophical ideals of the Renaissance to be
Machiavelli lived in an Italian city-state where he served as an assistant to leaders and experienced politics of the era first-hand. First, The Prince discusses the idea of the real world versus the ideal world. According to Machiavelli, the real world is the world that we actually live in, and the ideal world is the world that we want to live in, a “utopia” or a “perfect society.” According to Machiavelli, “For many Republics and Princedoms have been imagined that were never seen or known to exist in reality. And the manner in which we live, and that in which we ought to live, are things so wide asunder, that he who quits the one to betake himself to the other is more likely to destroy than to save himself...” (Pg. 40) The Prince is a realpolitik work and deals with the real world that we actually live in. Machiavelli believes that a good leader knows when the use of virtues and vices are appropriate. For example, on page 40, Machiavelli states: “He well consider the whole matter, he will find that there may be a line of conduct having the appearance of virtue, to follow which would be his ruin, and that there may be another course having the appearance of vice, by following which his safety and well-being are secured.” Second, the ideas of generosity and stinginess of money in regards to maintaining power are considered. Machiavelli believes