Like Petrarch, he gave accurate depictions of real life characters and situations. He described a group of men and women fleeing from a plague infested Florence to the countryside. ... These humanists began to develop ideas about the proper conduct of courtiers, or the noble men and women of the courts. ... He produced many fine frescoes with characters that showed real emotions and had realistic settings. ... The list of his achievements are endless, although he is most recognized for painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. ...

• Word Count: 1908
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

However, I won't deny that her spirit and her character have added fuel to your flames, just as her very name greatly increased your passion. ... And because in the religious foundations of this world everything is encompassed, limited, and regulated by hours, it was decreed that there should be no clock or dial at all, but that affairs should be conducted according to chance and opportunity Item, because at that time they put no women into religious houses unless they were one-eyed, lame, hunchbacked, ugly, malformed, lunatic, half-witted, bewitched, and blemished, or men that were not...

• Word Count: 2313
• Approx Pages: 9

Humanism was initiated by secular men of letters rather than by the scholar-clerics that had dominated medieval intellectual life and had developed the Scholastic philosophy. ... Its predecessors were men like Dante and Petrarch, and its chief protagonists included Gianozzo Manetti, Leonardo Bruni, Marsilio Ficino, Pico della Mirandola, Lorenzo Valla, and Coluccio Salutati. ... He produced many fine frescoes with characters that showed real emotions and had realistic settings. ... As time went on into the 1400's and 1500's, three men Michealangelo, Rapheal and Leonardo da Vinci do...

• Word Count: 1970
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate