Medici Family of Europe

Prologue
On what shall be said in this Essay

The Medici were an illustrious family that rose to fame and fortune during the Renaissance. Starting as humble merchants, the family grew in fame and prosperity until the name was known throughout all of Europe. Every aspect of the Renaissance was influenced by them. They influenced society as a whole, and their ways of relating to the different aspects of life set up standards that were followed, copied or completely avoided by their peers. They influenced the Catholic Church and Religionby having pPopes, cCardinals and bBishops placed in the Church that came from the Medici family. Those positions where obtained by money and by political persuasion and the image of power they displayed in society. The nobles, kKings, bBarons, and dDukes, all wanted their families to be married to the Medici due to the political influence and wealth they held. Though they started as merchants they soon rose and marriedand married among nobles and held positions of the highest power. They The Medici influenced the aArts during the time of the Renaissance in many forms, mostly by sponsoring great artists from different venues and practices, helping notable artists like Michelangelo rise to greatness by sponsoring him. This generosity had thousands of artists flock to them to achieve success and brought a level of art to Italy that would have been unthinkable of without them. People who were on the same levels of society as the Medici , trying to be perceived as well highly as theyy were, continued this practice, which in return created this “RenaissanceRebirth” of the arts which helped sculpt, not only their society, but a whole period on European hHistory. Some members of the family went into practicing art themselves. Lorenzo de’ Medici was a poet and wrote on a broad amount of topics from nature to politics. From a base in 15th-century Florence, the Medici family used charm, patronage, duplicity, and

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