Medici

Godfathers of the Renaissance

Viewing Guide for The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance

Name _________________________
Program 1: The Birth of a Dynasty
Use the list below to fill in the blanks. Use each term only once.
Albizzi
arches
artists
bribing
bricks
buildings
classical
manuscripts
columns concrete
Cosimo
Donatello
Brunelleschi Florence g
ears
General Council
heresy
John XXIII Pater Patriae patronage
perspective pope
power & prestige republic
1.

The Renaissance begins when Cosimo de Medici and his friends search Europe for ______
____________. Simply reading pagan authors like Socrates and Plato was punishable by
excommunication from the church.

2.

Popes could excommunicate (throw from the church and damn forever) Christians guilty of
_____________, which was believing anything other than what the church preached.

3.

_____________________ , who built the dome of the Florence Cathedral, was both
architect and engineer.

4.

Brunelleschi used __________ as supports for first time in 1000 years, creating a
revolution in architecture.

5.

Florentines came to watch the construction of the dome. One of the things that amazed
them was Brunelleschis use of the classical orders of _________________, which
hadnt been used since the fall of Rome.

6.

Although Brunelleschi examined the construction of the dome of the Roman Pantheon, he
couldnt use the same techniques because of the size of the dome and because the recipe for
making _____________ had been lost.

7.

Brunelleschi also devised a way to alter the __________ on pulleys so the oxen could
pull the 1700-pound sandstone beams 250 feet into the air and return them to the ground
without changing direction.

8.

Brunelleschi personally lay some of the ___________ on the dome because what he
proposed was so revolutionary that the brick masons were afraid the technique would fail
and they would die.

Medici

Godfathers of the Renaissance

9.

Cosimos patronage of Brunelleschi helped the Medici family gain _________________

______.

10.

The ______________ banking family, who resented the power of the Medici, had _____
_______ arrested.

11.

Brunelleschi was jailed and forced to stop work on Il Duomo (the dome) when his patron
was found guilty of treason against _____________________.

12.

Cosimo escaped from the tower that was his prison by ___________ the guards.

13.

When Cosimo was finally asked to return to Florence, he had even more power and prestige.
The Medici banks became the most important banks in Europe as they collected money for
the ___________.

14.

Cosimo de Medicis patronage of Baldesari Cossa paid off when Cossa became Pope _____
___________.

15.

Marcello Fantoni: Patronage is great for the production of art but totally irrational from an
economic view. ______________ is a political strategy. . . .high political competition. . .
.

16.

Florence was proud to be the only _______________ in Europe; but the government
was often corrupt.

17.

Seventy percent of all Renaissance _____________ lived and worked in Florence.

18.

Brunelleschi also invented linear _________________. According to Jeremy Brotton,

this invention changed the way we see, creating a modern way of looking at the world.

19.

The bronze sculpture of David by __________________ was the first free-standing

statue created since ancient Rome.

20.

Once Il Duomo was finished, Cosimo organized the _____________________ of

Florence, which brought people from all over the world to his city; included were scholars
who knew and could translate Greek the ancient Greek texts that Cosimo and his friends
had been searching for.

21.

When Cosimo died in 1464, the Florentines declared him ________________, father of
the fatherland.

Medici

Godfathers of the Renaissance

Viewing Guide for The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance

Program 2: The Magnificent Medici

Name _________________________

True/False. Put your answers in the

blanks below.
1. _______
2. _______
3. _______
4. _______
5. _______
6. _______
7. _______
8. _______
9. _______
10. _______
11. _______
12. _______
13. _______

1. All of the artists that the Ninja turtles were named after (Leonardo, Michelangelo,
Raphael, Donatello) worked for the Medici family.
2. The system of patronage used by the Medici family to operate Florence and Tuscany,
in which people are personally loyal to a family that looks out for them in return, was
similar to the system used by the Mafia to control Southern Italy.
3. The frescoes in the chapel of the Medici Palace advertised the familys power.
4. Lorenzo de Medici ruled Florence through influence rather than by law or elected
position.
5. Lorenzo de Medici married Clarice Orsini because she was beautiful and he was in love
with her.
6. The Pazzi, a rival banking family, tried to have Lorenzo and his sister killed Easter
Sunday 1478 in the Florentine cathedral.
7. The current pope, Pope Sixtus, was in on the plot against the Medici.
8. Monks hired by the Pazzi killed Guiliano by shooting him to death.
9. Lorenzo survived, and his supporters hanged the conspiratorsincluding two relatives
of the popefrom the government building windows.
10. The Pazzi were killed or run out of Florence, but Pope Sixtus sent an army against
Florence to avenge the death of his relatives.
11. Lorenzo visited his enemies in Naples alone, bribed them, and defeated the Popes
attempts to destroy Florence.
12. When Lorenzo returned to Florence, he was named Il Magnifico and asked to take
over the government of Florence; he agreed.
13. For 20 years, the Florentines benefited from Lorenzos public generosity, his spending
virtuously on buildings, art, festivals, and entertainments

Medici

Godfathers of the Renaissance

Viewing Guide for The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance

Program 2: The Magnificent Medici

14. _____
15. _____
16. _____
17. _____
18. _____
19. _____
20. _____
21. _____
22. _____
23. _____
24. _____
25. _____

Name _________________________

14. Lorenzo established the first art school in Florence.

15. Botticellis painting La Prima Vera (the spring), which was based on classical
mythology rather than the Bible, explored new and possibly dangerous artistic ground.
16. Botticellis paintings like The Birth of Venus are religious rather than humanistic.
17. Girolamo Savonarola was a Dominican priest who worked for Lorenzo.
18. Savonarola believed that nude paintings and non-religious art were evil.
19. Michelangelo and Botticelli fought against Savonarola.
20. Eventually Botticelli either changed his mind about what subjects are appropriate for
painting or he feared the repercussions his art might bring because he threw some of
his own paintings on Savonarolas Bonfire of the Vanities.
21. When Lorenzos banks began to fail, the amici delle amici (friends of friends) system
of influence began to break down because there werent enough personal favors to go
around.
22. When Lorenzo died in 1492, Savonarola forgave him on his deathbed.
23. After Lorenzos death, Savonarola gained control of the city; his bands of skinhead
teens roamed the city beating up prostitutes, burning homosexuals, and harassing
anyone wearing jewelry, makeup, or elaborate clothes as well as anyone still owning
dice or cards.
24. In the Bonfires of the Vanities, Savonarola and his followers burned books, makeup,
clothes, wigs, art, and jewelry.
25. Six years after his fundamentalist backlash against the Renaissance and Lorenzo de
Medici, Savonarola was excommunicated, tortured, chained, hanged, and burned.
Florence had turned against the prophet after suffering years of plague, war, and
starvation.

Medici

Godfathers of the Renaissance

Viewing Guide for The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance

Program 3: The Medici Popes

Name _________________________

MATCHING. Write the letters of the statements that describe each person listed below. The number of blanks indicates the number of
letters that identify that person. Use each letter only once.

Catherine de Medici ___

Giovanni de Medici
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
___ ___

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Guilio de Medici
___ ___ ___ ___

f.
g.

Leonardo de Vinci ___

h.
Martin Luther ___ ___
Michelangelo ___ ___ ___
___

i.
j.
k.
l.

Niccolo Machaivelli ___ ___

m.
Pope Julius ___
n.
o.
p.

Excommunicated Martin Luther

Forced by Pope Julius to paint Sistine Chapel
In 1517 attached his 95 theses on the door of Wittenburg Cathedral
Was run out of Florence and exiled for 9 years, returned with an army to invade
Florence, was later welcomed after becoming pope
Refused Henry VIIIs divorce, leading to Englands establishing the first Protestant
nation
Forced by Pope Clement VII to create The Last Judgment over altar in Sistine Chapel
Was pope when Germans sacked Rome under Holy Roman Emperor Charles V; his
poor negotiating skills were largely to blame for the attack.
Hired by Florentine government to set up defenses for Florence against Giovanni and
Guilio de Medici; assembled a national militia
Forced by Pope Leo X to sculpt Medici tombs in Florence
Sold papal indulgences to pay off his debts
Son of Guiliano who was adopted by Lorenzo
Lorenzos son who became the youngest cardinal in history; Medici money bought him
the papacy; he became Pope Leo X.
Became Pope Clement VII after the longest conclave in historyit took him two years
to be elected
His statue of David became a symbol for Florences hatred for Medici
Wrote The Prince, a cynical book describing the realities of politics in his day; dedicated
it to the Medici in an attempt to get their patronage
Dissected corpses to learn human anatomy
1

Medici

Godfathers of the Renaissance

Viewing Guide for The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance

Program 3: The Medici Popes

Name _________________________

q. Used as a pawn by the Florentines, traded for the safety of the city when they
surrendered to the army of Giovanni and Guilio; married to French prince at 14
r. Helped de Medici cousins get army to invade Florence after their exile
s. Wrote to his brother, God has given us the papacy; let us enjoy it.
t. Employed nepotism when he made Guilio cardinal of Florence
u. Was excommunicated; started protestant revolution called The Reformation
v. After the cardinals attempted his assassination, he created hundreds of jobs in the
Vatican and sold them to his friends--to make money and protect his position, much
like a mafia don
w. Completed what his cousin began: splitting the church & starting war in Europe

Medici

Godfathers of the Renaissance

Viewing Guide for The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance

Name _________________________
Program 4: Power vs Truth
List the letter of each action under the heading of Power or Truth. If the action was motivated by a
wish to gain or keep power, put it under the Power category. If the action was motivated by a wish to
show the truth, put it under the Truth.
Power

Truth

A. Allessandro, Duke of Florence and illegitimate son of a pope, is murdered in his bed by
Florentines who are sick of being under the thumb of the Medici. The Florentine Signoria elects
Cosimo, a 17-year-old cousin, to succeed the murdered duke because they believe they can
control him.
B. Cosimo abolishes the Signoria, becomes de facto king of Florence and Tuscany, andbeing
basically uneducatedbegins to train himself to be both a warrior and a politician.
C. The new pope hires an artist laughingly referred to as Braggatoni (large underpants man) to
cover up the privates of the nudes in Michelangelos painting The Last Judgment.
D. Michelangelo dies after living in Rome for the last 30 years of his life to avoid the Medici.
E. The Florentine government steals Michelangelos body and sneaks it back to Florence for a
huge burial, claiming him as the greatest of Florentine artists.
F. Cosimo II marries a Spanish aristocrat who brings him important allies, then conquers the
territory between Florence and the coast and builds a navy.
G. Vasari and Cosimo fix the arm of Michelangelos David that had been broken during the
Savonarola frenzy.
H. Vasari and Cosimo form an alliance to promote the Medici family and the arts: Vasari paints
frescoes with the Medici insignia all over Florence and helps Cosimo form a new art school.
I. In his book Lives of the Artists, Vasari states that the world had been dark for 1000 years, until
the renasciamento, rebirth, or renaissance occurred in Florence under the Medici.
J. Cosimos wife buys the Pizzi Palace, a fortress, because the Medici Palace is not impressive or
large enough.
K. Cosimo must pay 300 bodyguards to protect himself and his family.

Medici

Godfathers of the Renaissance

L. Cosimo appoints Vasari to build the Uffizi Palace, centralizing all of the offices and providing
protection from assassins.
M. Following the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church faces a growing clamor for individual
freedom from the dictates of the church. As a response, the church begins the Counter Reformation
including the Inquisitionin an attempt to salvage its power and make people obedient.
N. The Inquisition bans 583 heretical works, many of which are in Cosimos library; Cosimo
organizes a token public book burning when the Inquisition comes to Florence.
O. Galileo invents the astronomical telescope and discovers sun spots, the weird shape of Saturn,
the Milky Way, the moons of Jupiter and demonstrates that Copernicus is right: the earth
revolves around the sun not the sun around the earth. He also discovers the law of buoyancy
and establishes the basis for Newtons theory of gravity.
P. A priest named Giordano Bruno publishes his theory that the universe is infinite.
Q. Bruno is burned at the stake for his scientific beliefs.
R. Galileo publishes his heliocentric theory as a dialogue between two friends because his theory
contradicts the Bible and church doctrine. The book becomes very popular, the first book of
popular science.
S. Galileo is summoned to the Inquisition and threatened with excommunication and death if he
does not deny Copernicuss theory that the earth revolves around the sun.
T. The pope tells the Duke of Florence to stay out of the controversy with Galileo, that it will
not help Galileo and will hurt the dukedom. Duke Ferdinand II stops financially supporting
Galileo.
U. Galileo has to deny the truth to avoid torture and save his life.
V. Galileo is sentenced to house arrest for the rest of his life. When he dies, the church refuses to
let the Florentines have a big funeral for him.
W. In 1992, the Catholic Church finally restores Galileos good name.
X. August 23, 1572, Catherine de Medici, Queen Mother of France, has the gates of Paris locked and
thousands of French Huguenot Protestants killed in what becomes known as the St. Bartholomews Day
Massacre.
Y. In a letter to Grand Duchess Christina, Galileo Galilei says this: Some years ago, as your
Serene Highness well knows, I discovered in the heavens many things which had not been seen
before. The novelty of these things stirred men up against meas if I had placed these things
in the sky with my own hands in order to upset nature! But I do not believe that the same God
who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. He
would not require us to deny sense and reason. To ban Copernicus now would seem in my
judgment to be a contravention of truth. . . .