Renaissance and Reformation
I always thought it would be interesting to follow a history-centric course of study, immersing oneself in the thought and culture of each era in turn. To that end, I’ve compiled this list of resources for studying the Renaissance and Reformation eras, which encompass the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries, with a focus on England, Europe, and America. This compilation is far from complete, and I will continue to revise it, but thought it might already be useful as a starting point for others. Did I miss what you consider an essential resource? Comment and let me know!
Bible, Hymns, Church History, Worldview
Continue Bible readings and recitation as usual. For hymnody, focus on the hymns of Martin Luther and the other Reformers. (Diana Waring’s site carries All Glory, Laud, & Honor, a professional recording of a capella seventeenth century hymns.) Also—“Remember, O Thou Man, is a Renaissance-era Christmas hymn by Thomas Ravenscroft (1852-1635) still sung today.
Remember God’s goodness, O thou man, O thou man,
Remember God’s goodness and promise made.
Remember God’s goodness, he sent his son doubtless,
Our sins for to redress, be not afraid.
If you are covering church history, arrange to have this period covered (approximately, chapters 22-29 in Church History in Plain Language by Bruce L. Shelley). Catholicism and the false philosophy of humanism, both of which flowered during the Renaissance, should be addressed in theological and worldview studies.
Composer Study (Music Appreciation)
Many composers from this era are unknown or little known. Renaissance composers that remain popular today are Thomas Tallis (1505-1585), Diego Ortiz (1510-1570), and John Dowland (1563-1626). Much of the great Renaissance music is by anonymous composers, so most “composer study” for this term will be simply “music study.” There is much to enjoy from this era, both religious and secular music, from Gregorian chants to the dance music of royal halls. Jordi Savall and Hespèrion XX1 have many wonderful recordings of early music played on authentic instruments. For the added benefit and pleasure of seeing these beautiful and sometimes unusual-looking instruments, watch videos on YouTube of the “Folias de España” and “Le Nuove Musiche a l'Europe” concerts. (This Pavane and Galliard is wonderful.) Other excellent artists specializing in this era include the Tallis Scholars. Some album choices are:—
•Altre Follie, 1500-1750, Hespèrion XXI
•Elizabethan Consort Music, 1558-1603, Hespèrion XXI
•La Folia 1490-1701, Jordi Savall
•Musik der Reformation: Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, Various Artists
•Música en el Quijote y otras obras de Miguel de Cervantes, Various Artists
•Renaissance Music at the Court of the Spanish Kings of Spain, Hespèrion XX
•Sancte Deus: Journey Through the Renaissance, Choir of New College
•The Tallis Scholars Sing Thomas Tallis, Peter Phillips and the Tallis Scholars
•Watkin’s Ale: Music of the English Renaissance, The Baltimore Consort
Skip the title song, which is inappropriate.
Because virtually all secular (non-religious) Renaissance music was for singing or dancing, this term’s music studies will mesh nicely with the subjects Dance and Drill, and Song, if you so desire.
Dance and Drill
If you wish to tie dance to the historical period being studied, there are many Renaissance dances from which to choose. Two favorite, simple choices are “Cuckolds All Awry” (which we simply call the “Cuckoo Dance” to avoid that negative association), and John Playford’s “The Black Nag.”
Dictation
If you are using a spelling curriculum, such as Spelling Wisdom by Simply Charlotte Mason, continue as usual. Otherwise, cull the weekly dictation exercises from the week’s readings in literature, history, et cetera.
Foreign Language, Latin
Continue with your foreign language work as usual. (By the seventh grade, children in PNEU schools were doing work in French, German, Italian and Latin.) Depending on the level already achieved by the student, the Renaissance era might provide some reading or exercise material for Latin study.
Geography, Physical Geography, Map Questions
The geography of Europe, Asia, and the West Indies will likely be of special interest during this term’s study, though the reaches of the explorers touched many interesting and exotic localities around the globe. You can trace their voyages on a modern map. Students of any age will find it interesting to follow the development of the world map throughout this period, and comparing them to a modern map. The development of navigational equipment and technique would make another interesting aspect of study.
The studies of history and geography often overlap, but here is a selection of exceptional books that fall largely under the study of geography, travel, and discovery.
Picture Books
•Ship, David Macaulay (the building of a caravel)
•A Long and Uncertain Journey, Joan Goodman (Vasco de Gama’s great voyage)
•Magellan’s World, Stuart Waldman (the first circumnavigation)
Older Students
•Christopher Columbus, John S. C. Abbott
•“The Discovery of Guiana,” Sir Walter Raleigh
•“The Discovery of Muscovy,” Richard Hakluyt
•The Travels of Marco Polo, Marco Polo
An option while riding in the car or working around the house, is to punctuate the Renaissance music with lectures by Glyndwr Williams from Journeys of the Great Explorers: Columbus to Cook. The following lectures fall under the historical period being studied. Some find his style dry, but many already fascinated by the voyages of discovery have really enjoyed the details in these matter-of-fact lectures.
•Lecture 1: The World Before Cook
•Lecture 2: The Voyages of Christopher Columbus
•Lecture 3: The Voyages of Vasco de Gama and the “Sea Road” to the East
•Lecture 4: The First Circumnavigation: The Voyage of Ferdinand Magellan
•Lecture 5: The Second Circumnavigation: The Voyage of Francis Drake
Grammar and Composition
Continue with your grammar and composition curriculum as usual. Reading Bacon’s essays would provide a great opportunity to begin essay-writing. Shakespeare’s sonnets and metrical plays provide other compositional models.
History
Mason’s students focused alternately on English and French histories. Younger students can read The Story of the Middle Ages by H. A. Guerber, The Famous Men of the Middle Ages, or Volume 2 of Susan Wise Bauer’s Story of the World. Older students will find the period covered in The Birth of Britain and The New World, the first two volumes in Sir Winston Churchill’s History of the English Speaking Peoples.
What follows is a list of Renaissance individuals which I have arbitrarily deemed absolutely essential to know. Your own list may be different, but it’s good to have a skeleton. Your children, because of differing ages and personalities, may latch onto different historical people, but they should all be able to tell something about these individuals.
•Galileo Galilei
•Leonardo da Vinci
•Michelangelo
•Christopher Columbus
•Martin Luther
•John Wycliff
•Elizabeth I of England
•William Shakespeare
•William Bradford (the Pilgrims)
Essential events and ideas might include:—
•Renaissance (14th-17th centuries)
•the War of the Roses (especially the Battle of Bosworth, 1485)
•the European rediscovery (1492) and settling of the New World
•Reformation (1517-1648)
•defeat of the Spanish Armada (1588)
•translation of the Authorized King James’ Bible (1611)
You may choose to supplement the historian’s text with these primary sources.
•A Coffin for King Charles, C. V. Wedgwood
•“The Ninety-Five Theses,” Martin Luther
•Martin Luther’s defense before the Diet of Worms
•Of Plymouth Plantation, William Bradford
•sermons of John Donne
The following are short biographies by contemporaries of these famous Renaissance Englishmen.
•The Life of Sir Thomas More, William Roper
•The Life of Sir Francis Bacon, William Rawley
•The Life of Dr. Donne, Isaak Walton
Other excellent books written about people and events of the era include:—
•Galileo’s Daughter, Dava Sobel (their lives seen through their correspondence)
•Queen Elizabeth I, Jacob Abbott (a biography of England’s queen)
•The Voyage of the Armada: The Spanish Story, David Howarth
Literature
•The Faerie Queen, Edmund Spenser
Modern readers will appreciate Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves by Roy Maynard, and The Elfin Knight by Toby Sumpter. Young children may enjoy Saint George and the Dragon retold by Margaret Hodges.
•plays by William Shakespeare
For poetry recitation, these selections come to mind:—
•“The Good-Morrow,” John Donne
•sonnets (especially 116) or passages from the plays of William Shakespeare
ex. “The quality of mercy is not strain’d...” (The Merchant of Venice)
ex. “To be or not to be, that is the question...” (Hamlet)
ex. “Once more unto the breech, my friends, once more...” (Henry V)
Other Renaissance authors still read today are Sir Thomas More (1478-1535), Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626), and Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616). For more Renaissance authors, see the Luminarian website’s page of Renaissance English literature. Recommended works include:—
•Essays, Sir Francis Bacon (his most famous work, wisdom on over fifty topics)
•Everyman, a Morality Play
•Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes (the adventures of a deluded knight)
•Utopia, Sir Thomas More (one man’s societal ideal)
Excellent literary works written about the era include:—
•The Daughter of Time, Josephine Tey (the Richard III mystery in the context of a modern detective story)
Afterwards, visit the website for the Richard III Society. If you wish, watch the 1984 English trial of Richard III. There were also two Supreme Court trials in the United States.
•A Man for All Seasons, Robert Bolt (a play about Sir Thomas More)
Afterwards, watch the award-winning film starring Paul Scofield.
•The Prince and the Pauper, Mark Twain (the prince is Edward VI)
Mathematics
Continue number work or mathematics curriculum as usual. Younger students may want to read the stories of John Napier (“Magician or Mathematician?”) and Galileo Galilei (“Seeing Isn’t Believing”) found in Mathematicians are People Too, Vol. 1, or other short biographies of these and other Renaissance-era mathematicians. You can also discuss and exercise the mathematics involved in 15th and 16th-century navigation.
Music
Picture Study (Art Appreciation)
There are countless artists of this era from which to choose. Great Renaissance artists (painters and sculptors) include Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510), Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), and Michelangelo (1475-1564). Other artists of the era include the Limbourg brothers (1385-1416), Jan van Eyck (1395-1441), Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Raphael (1483-1520), Han Holbein the Younger (1497-1543), and Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525-1569).
Older students may want to combine their art study with worldview study. Read chapters 3-4 from Francis A. Schaeffer’s book How Should We Then Live?
Below is a detail from Sandro Bottichelli’s painting The Birth of Venus.
Sciences
Incorporate study of the scientific principles discovered or developed by Renaissance scholars, especially the work in astronomy by Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), and Johannes Kepler (1571-1630).
Song
Thomas Ravenscroft (1852-1635) was famous for his collections of folk songs. You can peruse his compilations online. Cantaria is another good source. The best of these seem to me:—
•Lord Willoughby (to a tune by John Dowland)
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NEXT SISTER said...
This is so cool, but I couldn’t help smiling at the references to the sainted More.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 08:57 AM
HANDMAIDEN said...
That’s how we’re going to think of him now, isn’t it? ;-)
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 04:41 PM
Tuesday, January 24, 2012