Summary Late Renaissance
Content 1: The Stuart period
The late Renaissance started around 1603 and lasted till 1714, this was also the period of the Stuarts.
When Elisabeth died childless her nephew, James was appointed to the English throne. In 1603 James
VI of Scotland was the first king of Great Britain, this is why he is also called James I. James was poor
and sold titles for money. He was not popular with Parliament and had no balance of religion. He
believed he was king by God’s decree= divine right because he was appointed by God. Gunpowder
Plot (1605): extreme Catholics planned to blow up Parliament, because James I had converted to the
Roman Catholic Church in order to be king. The plotters were arrested and the Catholics were
forbidden to enter public service. James I abolished the death penalty attached to English Bible
translation.
Puritans: strongly religious group. ‘’Bible inspired by God’’. Criticising establishment and Anglican
Church, but nothing against the king personally and not undermining his royal supremacy. Wanted
Geneva Bible (written by martyrs). Pilgrim Fathers: founders of the United States.
Church of England:
Conformists= a person who conforms to accepted behaviour or established practices.
Puritans were non-conformists
King is still the head of the church
Puritans were against: wearing vestments, making sign of the cross, Book of Common Prayer,
Exchange of wedding rings (luxury and posh) and the power of bishops. They wanted to stay
close to the Bible
Bible translations:
Wycliffe, William Tyndale, Miles Coverdale (first full translation), Henry VIII : Great Bible and
eventually the King James Version: 54 scholars, used work of Tyndale and Coverdale.
The official language of the medieval Church was Latin. The translation of the Latin Bible into
vernacular was actively discouraged by the Pope. However by the 1500s vernacular Bibles were
available in part of Europa. This resulted in the Reformation and eventually the splitting of Christianity
into Catholic and Protestant Churches. In England there was a ban to translate the Bible. The English
translation of the New Testament of Tyndale was the first to be circulated in print, Tyndale was
executed.
1604 Hampton Court Conference: new translation was needed to unite the country and people. Bible
of British Establishment: The Authorized Version/ King James Version. The KJV was first printed in
1611 and was appointed to be read in churches. Therefore is was published in a large format, without
illustrations.
Influence KJV:
Read aloud in churches
Influenced word order and sayings
Long ‘s’, the letter ‘j’ was not yet fully grown away from ‘I’, the letter 'v’ has not developed
from ‘u’ and alternative forms of the lower case ‘r’ no logic.
The Puritans took the English Bible to America > world language
Used for music
, 17th century language: literal translation from Greek/ Hebrew, conservative use (not modern),
expressions and phrases coined. Influence on religious language: thou -> you.
Ben Jonson (1572-1637)
Contemporary of Shakespeare
Masques and entertainment
Comedies of humour (=gemoedsstand)
Characteristics were enlarged and ridiculed, types (on the contrary Shakespeare wrote about
man itself and his actions).
Four Humours
The human body consists of 4 elements:
Humour Body Produced Element Qualities Body type Personality
substance by
Sanguine Blood Liver Air Hot and Red- Amorous,
moist cheeked happy,
(lively) and generous,
corpulent irresponsible
Choleric Yellow bile Spleen Fire Hot and Red-haired Violent,
dry (active) and thin vengeful,
short-
tempered
Phlegmatic Phlegm Lungs Water Cold and Corpulent Sluggish,
moist pallid,
(slow) cowardly
Melancholic Black bile Gall Earth Cold and Sallow and Introspective,
bladder dry thin sentimental,
(gloomy) gluttonous
Mixture of the four = balance. The ideal person was ideally proportioned with the four humours.
Content 2: Poetry George Herbert and John Donne
After the sonnet and the sweetness of Elizabethan verse, people wanted something new. They no
longer liked the limited, traditional of Courtly love poetry. They did not like clichés in language and
thought. They wanted a new way of expressing feelings and in doing so were straight to the point.
- No patience, humility or devotion. No false modesty; life is short, if you don't do it now you will
regret it later.
Characteristics of poetry: the rational was linked to the emotional and it showed the poets'
knowledge, sensitivity and cleverness. Unusual verse and stanza forms were used, the use of
language was simple, yet used in a difficult way. There was a light-hearted attitude towards love and
women. Lovers met on equal terms (very modern). Unexpected and far-fetched imagination was
used. Conceit= a comparison between two thig that may seem totally unlike at first sight, but whose
likeness is proved in a strictly logical way.
Content 1: The Stuart period
The late Renaissance started around 1603 and lasted till 1714, this was also the period of the Stuarts.
When Elisabeth died childless her nephew, James was appointed to the English throne. In 1603 James
VI of Scotland was the first king of Great Britain, this is why he is also called James I. James was poor
and sold titles for money. He was not popular with Parliament and had no balance of religion. He
believed he was king by God’s decree= divine right because he was appointed by God. Gunpowder
Plot (1605): extreme Catholics planned to blow up Parliament, because James I had converted to the
Roman Catholic Church in order to be king. The plotters were arrested and the Catholics were
forbidden to enter public service. James I abolished the death penalty attached to English Bible
translation.
Puritans: strongly religious group. ‘’Bible inspired by God’’. Criticising establishment and Anglican
Church, but nothing against the king personally and not undermining his royal supremacy. Wanted
Geneva Bible (written by martyrs). Pilgrim Fathers: founders of the United States.
Church of England:
Conformists= a person who conforms to accepted behaviour or established practices.
Puritans were non-conformists
King is still the head of the church
Puritans were against: wearing vestments, making sign of the cross, Book of Common Prayer,
Exchange of wedding rings (luxury and posh) and the power of bishops. They wanted to stay
close to the Bible
Bible translations:
Wycliffe, William Tyndale, Miles Coverdale (first full translation), Henry VIII : Great Bible and
eventually the King James Version: 54 scholars, used work of Tyndale and Coverdale.
The official language of the medieval Church was Latin. The translation of the Latin Bible into
vernacular was actively discouraged by the Pope. However by the 1500s vernacular Bibles were
available in part of Europa. This resulted in the Reformation and eventually the splitting of Christianity
into Catholic and Protestant Churches. In England there was a ban to translate the Bible. The English
translation of the New Testament of Tyndale was the first to be circulated in print, Tyndale was
executed.
1604 Hampton Court Conference: new translation was needed to unite the country and people. Bible
of British Establishment: The Authorized Version/ King James Version. The KJV was first printed in
1611 and was appointed to be read in churches. Therefore is was published in a large format, without
illustrations.
Influence KJV:
Read aloud in churches
Influenced word order and sayings
Long ‘s’, the letter ‘j’ was not yet fully grown away from ‘I’, the letter 'v’ has not developed
from ‘u’ and alternative forms of the lower case ‘r’ no logic.
The Puritans took the English Bible to America > world language
Used for music
, 17th century language: literal translation from Greek/ Hebrew, conservative use (not modern),
expressions and phrases coined. Influence on religious language: thou -> you.
Ben Jonson (1572-1637)
Contemporary of Shakespeare
Masques and entertainment
Comedies of humour (=gemoedsstand)
Characteristics were enlarged and ridiculed, types (on the contrary Shakespeare wrote about
man itself and his actions).
Four Humours
The human body consists of 4 elements:
Humour Body Produced Element Qualities Body type Personality
substance by
Sanguine Blood Liver Air Hot and Red- Amorous,
moist cheeked happy,
(lively) and generous,
corpulent irresponsible
Choleric Yellow bile Spleen Fire Hot and Red-haired Violent,
dry (active) and thin vengeful,
short-
tempered
Phlegmatic Phlegm Lungs Water Cold and Corpulent Sluggish,
moist pallid,
(slow) cowardly
Melancholic Black bile Gall Earth Cold and Sallow and Introspective,
bladder dry thin sentimental,
(gloomy) gluttonous
Mixture of the four = balance. The ideal person was ideally proportioned with the four humours.
Content 2: Poetry George Herbert and John Donne
After the sonnet and the sweetness of Elizabethan verse, people wanted something new. They no
longer liked the limited, traditional of Courtly love poetry. They did not like clichés in language and
thought. They wanted a new way of expressing feelings and in doing so were straight to the point.
- No patience, humility or devotion. No false modesty; life is short, if you don't do it now you will
regret it later.
Characteristics of poetry: the rational was linked to the emotional and it showed the poets'
knowledge, sensitivity and cleverness. Unusual verse and stanza forms were used, the use of
language was simple, yet used in a difficult way. There was a light-hearted attitude towards love and
women. Lovers met on equal terms (very modern). Unexpected and far-fetched imagination was
used. Conceit= a comparison between two thig that may seem totally unlike at first sight, but whose
likeness is proved in a strictly logical way.
