The High Renaissance & a Wider World
Essential Question
How did art reach its summit just as Europe began to sail beyond the horizon?
This week art reaches its summit in Rome, just as Europe begins to sail beyond the edge of the known world. The student studies the High Renaissance under papal patronage — Michelangelo's David and Sistine Chapel, Raphael's School of Athens, the new St. Peter's Basilica — and the perfection of sacred polyphony in Palestrina. At the same time, Portugal launches the Age of Exploration: Prince Henry the Navigator's schools, the rounding of Africa, and Vasco da Gama's voyage to India.
Liturgical note: Ordinary Time (February).
Threads at a Glance
What Each Thread Covers This Week
The High Renaissance in Rome (the popes as patrons); Michelangelo and Raphael; the first European voyages (Portugal, Henry the Navigator, Vasco da Gama)
Second Great Awakening, abolition, Seneca Falls, Catholic immigration
Michelangelo Buonarroti
The Portuguese sea routes; the route around Africa to India and the Atlantic islands
High Renaissance — Michelangelo (David, the Sistine Chapel), Raphael (the School of Athens), the new St. Peter's Basilica
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and the perfection of sacred polyphony (and how the Council of Trent shaped it)
St. Philip Neri (the joyful 'Apostle of Rome')
Joy
YOUCAT — the moral law and the Ten Commandments (1-3): God, his name, the Lord's Day (Q348-Q365)
Punctuation III — quotation marks and writing dialogue
Narrative with dialogue — punctuating speech
Weekly Writing Assignment
A Conversation in History: A Narrative Scene with Dialogue
Write a short narrative scene (a story) set in this week's world, built around a conversation. Choose one: Michelangelo arguing with Pope Julius II about the Sistine Chapel ceiling; a young sailor and an old one talking the night before Vasco da Gama rounds the Cape of Good Hope; or St. Philip Neri joking with a gloomy young man on the streets of Rome. Use at least six lines of dialogue, punctuated correctly. Set the scene with a little description, let the conversation carry the action, and give the scene a clear end.
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- Sets a clear scene (where, when, who) before the conversation begins
- Uses at least six lines of dialogue that reveal character or move the story
- Punctuates all dialogue correctly (this week's grammar): quotation marks, commas, and new paragraph for each new speaker
- Stays historically plausible for the chosen setting
- Has a clear beginning, middle, and end, and is proofread
The Week
Four Days of Learning
- St. Philip Neri — The Apostle of Rome10m
- High Renaissance Rome and the Dawn of Exploration30m
- YOUCAT: The Moral Law and the First Three Commandments15m
- Notebook Wrap5m
- Joy10m
- Reform, Faith, and Immigration20m
- The High Renaissance: Michelangelo, Raphael, and St. Peter's25m
- Notebook Wrap5m
- Catechism Review: God First5m
- Punctuation III — Quotation Marks and Writing Dialogue20m
- The Portuguese Sea Routes Around Africa30m
- Notebook Wrap5m
- Michelangelo Buonarroti15m
- Palestrina and the Perfection of Sacred Polyphony20m
- Writing Workshop: A Narrative Scene with Dialogue20m
- St. Philip Neri — Week Synthesis5m