5.6.2 The importance of family Many institutions were important during the Renaissance. Family was an important source of comfort and support. For many people, their family provided guidance, advice and connections. As recommendations were essential, people also depended on their family and friends to make introductions for them. For the merchant families, these networks were necessary for conducting business. For the working class and women, networks allowed them to develop new friendships and ask for favours. Local identity and relationships were very important in the Renaissance. 5.6.3 The role of the Church The Catholic Church continued to play an important role in most people’s lives in Italy during the Renaissance. Significant occasions like birth, engagement, marriage and death were usually marked in the parish church. Throughout the year, numerous religious feasts and festivals were held, expressing religious devotion and pride in the city-state. The Pope was the head of the Catholic Church. He was also a powerful political figure with his own army. Although most people accepted the Church’s teachings, some began to question instances of abuses of power and corruption within the Church.
SOURCE2 Ascension Day celebrations in Venice, as described by Petrarch
The size of the multitude is . . . hard to believe; both sexes and every age and station were represented. The Doge himself with a great bank of leading men.
5.6.4 Women in Renaissance Italy Renaissance Italy was a patriarchal society that favoured men. Women generally received a limited education that prepared them for tasks in the home. However, there were exceptions. Some men educated their daughters and trusted their wives with important tasks like managing the estate while they were away on business. The women of noble or merchant families tended to be restricted to the home, while poorer families could not do without the work of women. These women often worked as servants, spinners or leatherworkers. For women from wealthy families, the parish church was a welcome outlet for socialisation. Many of the decisions in the lives of Renaissance women were made by their male relations. For the wealthy, marriage was a chance to form alliances between two families and the match was a family decision. For example, Cosimo de’ Medici was married to Contessina Bardi, who was from an old Florentine family. The bride and groom often spent very little time with each other until the ceremony. Women were usually married between the ages of 15 and 19. Men tended to marry in their mid-twenties or later. Nannina de’ Medici wrote in frustration to her brother Lorenzo, ‘Don’t be born a woman if you want to have your own way.’
SOURCE3 Diary of Florentine merchant Buonaccorso Pitti
I resolved to get married. Since Guido di Messer Tommaso was the most respected and influential man in the city, I decided to put the matter in his hands and leave the choice of bride up to him.
In order to marry, a woman needed to have a dowry . As a woman could not marry without a dowry, wealthy individuals donated dowries to poor girls in their city.
Jacaranda Humanities Alive 8 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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