Year 7 English Renaissance 1500 1700 Knowledge Organiser

Year 7 English. Renaissance (1500 -1700) Knowledge Organiser Prominent figures Vocabulary Context Leonardo de Vinci. What was he famous for? Is he still famous today? Is it for the same things? Renaissance Johannes Gutenberg What did he invent? Why? How big was the impact of his key invention? art Renaissance – what is it? An Italian word that translates as re-birth. The time period that ran from the late 1400 s to the 1700 s saw improvements in scientific experiments, trade, exploration, map making, artists, culture and medicine. Key inventions such as the printing press meant that new information and knowledge could be easily and quickly shared. Literacy levels also rose. Can you discover the impacts of some of these developments? Isaac Newton. What is his most famous discovery? Why? Can you find out about his other achievements? Galileo Galilei What were his most famous theories? Was he believed at the time? Is he still believed today? Literature philosophy invention astronomy medicine discovery Polymath Illuminated manuscript The Classics Experiment Paradise Lost by John Milton Evidence The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser Theory Italian Renaissance writers: Ariosto, Machiavelli and Petrarch. How were they important to the Renaissance? Did they have an impact on British writers of the time? Shakespeare. We can’t mention the Renaissance without him, but don’t worry, we’ll look at him and his work in some detail next term! Literature Remember to consider our topic when you are looking up key words – many have more than one meaning so which is important to us? AT this time, people became interested in all things Greek and Roman. People realised the Greeks had loved enquiry – asking questions and challenging old ideas. They started to do the same. Evidence – rather than believing & accepting old ideas (e. g. The Four Humours) without question, scientists and doctors were more willing to experiment (e. g. dissecting bodies) to make scientific discoveries. People started to look to evidence over tradition. Can you find examples of experiments that led to discoveries based on evidence from this time? The Great Plague, 1665 Beliefs about causes ‐ Punishment from God for sin ‐ Movement of planets ‐ Poisonous air Real cause were the fleas that lived on the rats that were attracted to the poor public health conditions in towns and cities. Apart from illness and death, what other effects did the Great Plague have on society at the time? The Royal Society - A group of people interested in science who met weekly. They had a laboratory with microscopes. King Charles II was a patron. Were they important? What else can you discover about them?