Posted May 06, 2021 by Haley Price
As this game is designed to teach students about Medici patronage and conspiracy in the Italian renaissance, I need to make it easy for instructors to integrate the game into their classroom. That is why I am writing an accompanying Teaching Guide. This document will outline each level's learning objectives, offer suggested reading assignments, and provide some questions to kick off in-class discussions following gameplay. Ideally, the teacher's guide will also include an annotated bibliography as well as some guidance on how the game's art and sound can be used to passively immerse students in primary source material.
I have just finished a draft of the five Level guides, and I am posting them here to mark my progress.
(Please excuse the formatting errors when transferring from MS Word to Itch.io!)
Level One, "Welcome to Florence," introduces students to key characters and places. They will become familiar with the world of the Renaissance for the first time. After playing this level, students will be able to:
The most important thing to get out of this level is basic familiarity with life in Florence. The Italian Renaissance is often taught as this glamourous golden age of art and innovation. Obviously, that’s not the whole story! Level One is about breaking down students’ assumptions about the Renaissance. Famous artists like Botticelli didn’t work in a bubble, but rather lived alongside bankers, scholars, priests, merchants, peasants, and servants in a shared community. The museums of today were their churches, government buildings, workshops, and even homes. If students get nothing else out of this level, they should at least understand that the world of Renaissance Florence is a complex, interconnected society just like our own.
Suggested Readings:
Hibbert, Christopher. "The Young Lorenzo." In The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici. Penguin Books Limited, 2001.
Suggested Discussion Questions:
Level Two, "Patronage of Arts," shows students how closely connected wealthy laymen like the Medici were to the world of Renaissance art they are likely already familiar with. After playing this level, students will be able to:
The most important thing to get out of this level is the relationship between wealthy elites like the Medici and the arts. Level Two uses Benozzo Gozzoli’s Procession of the Magi as a case study to show some of the many reasons wealthy men act as patrons of art. Cosimo de’ Medici commissions this scene to bring prestige to his own family. Cosimo, Piero, Lorenzo, and perhaps even Giuliano are all memorialized in the fresco alongside a massive procession following the three Magi of the east. In the New Testament, three Magi (traditionally considered wise men and kings) follow the star of David westward to Bethlehem in order to worship the Christ child at his birth. Two of the Magi represent important figures from Byzantium, and the last is an idealized representation of Lorenzo as the Medici heir. This puts the Medici family on par with important international political figures and elevates them to a symbolically royal status. The painting has many figures, each with their own meaning, but examining the Magi reveals how the patron, Cosimo de’ Medici, and the artist, Benozzo Gozzoli, use the painting to build up the Medici family’s image.
Suggested Readings:
Lee, Alexander. "The Art of Power." In The Ugly Renaissance: Sex, Greed, Violence and Depravity in an Age of Beauty. Anchor books, 2015.
Testa, Judith. "The Medici Palace and its Chapel." In An Art Lover’s Guide to Florence. Cornell University Press, 2012. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctv177tfn0.
Suggested Discussion Questions:
· Who is in the Procession of the Magi? Why do you think they were included?
· Why do you think the Procession of the Magi is important to the Medici family?
· Why do you think wealthy people commission art?
· How does art impact a person’s public image?
· How can art be a political statement?
· Do you think wealthy people commission art more for cultural reasons or political reasons?
Level Three, "Patronage of Humanism," captures the kinds of conversations humanists were having during the Renaissance. After playing this level, students will be able to:
Humanism is the main intellectual movement of the renaissance. Some of its chief concerns include translation and mastery of classical texts, proper use of Latin and vernacular languages, and promotion of human virtue. Thanks largely to the work of Muslim scholars, Italian humanists were gaining new access at this time to writings of Greek figures, such as Plato and Aristotle, in addition to Roman thinkers. Because humanism is such a broad movement, Level Three aims to showcase some of its general interests. Wealthy elites were very much involved in humanistic studies during the Renaissance, whether they conducted scholarship themselves or funded scholars as patrons. In this level, Lorenzo and Giuliano are genuine friends with Poliziano and Ficino while also acting as their patrons. All four engage in humanistic discussion.
The suggested readings below point to the texts I found most useful when writing this level. The mini game is inspired by Book One of Castiglione’s The Courtier, and the games each character proposes nod to ideas of Plato and Aristotle. I recommend that students read some philosophy alongside this level, but the exact text is not so important, especially because philosophy can be so difficult for students on their first encounter. Instructors looking for an especially short but rich reading might consider the “Allegory of the Cave” in Plato’s Republic or one chapter of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics.
Suggested Readings:
Aristotle. The Nicomachean Ethics. OUP Oxford, 2009.
Castiglione, Baldesar. The Book of the Courtier. Penguin UK, 2004.
Plato, Allan Bloom. The Republic of Plato: Second Edition. Basic Books, 1991.
Plato, and Allan David Bloom. Plato’s Symposium: A Translation by Seth Benardete with Commentaries by Allan Bloom and Seth Benardete. University of Chicago Press, 2001.
Suggested Discussion Questions:
· Angelo Poliziano and Marsilio Ficino are humanists. What do you think humanism is?
o What kinds of things do humanists study?
o What kinds of questions do humanists ask?
· How do Lorenzo and Giuliano treat Poliziano and Ficino?
o Are they friends? Is someone in charge?
o Do they engage in the same kinds of conversations?
· Why might a wealthy person be a patron of a humanist? How do they benefit from humanism?
Level Four, "Patronage of Elites," demonstrates how the Medici can bring some people into their patronage network and leave others out. There are consequences to both. After playing this level, students will be able to:
This level demonstrates ways in which alliances and enemies can be made between elites during the Renaissance and how elites treat one another. Even though there is underlying tension between the conspirators and the Medici brothers, every character in this level is on their best behavior. The tension is glossed over in favor of compliments and pleasant small talk. We have already learned the grudges the conspirators hold against the Medici brothers, but at dinner we learn the positive ways they are connected as well.
Francesco de Pazzi has the most direct connection. His brother married Lorenzo and Giuliano’s sister in order to foster good will and obligation between the two families. Girolamo Riario and Francesco Salviati are welcomed at the Medici villa because of their powerful positions and allies. Girolamo is Lord of Imola and nephew to Pope Sixtus IV, and Francesco Salviati is also closely connected with the Pope as the Archbishop of Pisa. Who you know is hugelyimportant in the renaissance. Connections to the right person can get you a lucrative position in politics, business, or the church. They can also secure an advantageous marriage or the rights to rule large swaths of land. On the other hand, failing to connect with the right ally can close off these opportunities. The conspirators may have once seen Lorenzo and Giuliano as potential allies, but now they are simply barriers in the way of their ambitions.
Suggested Readings:
Hibbert, Christopher. "The Pope and the Pazzi." In The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici. Penguin Books Limited, 2001.
Martines, Lauro. "Chapter 7." In April Blood: Florence and the Plot against the Medici. Oxford University Press, 2003.
Suggested Discussion Questions:
· List a few ways Lorenzo makes friends or allies.
· How do people treat Lorenzo when they like him? When they dislike him?
· Who is involved in the Pazzi Conspiracy so far?
o What are Archbishop Francesco Salviati’s motivations?
o What are Girolamo Riario’s motivations?
o What are Francesco de Pazzi’s motivations?
o What is their plan?
o What do they hope to achieve?
Level Five, "The Pazzi Conspiracy," tells the story of the Pazzi Conspiracy as it played out in 1478. After playing this level, students will be able to:
The most important thing to get out of this level is the events of the Pazzi Conspiracy. Students were introduced to the main culprits, Francesco and Jacopo de’ Pazzi, Girolamo Riario, and Francesco Salviati slowly over the course of the first four levels. Each has their own grudge against the Medici family, but they are all united by the desire to overthrow Medici rule in Florence. The Pazzi family wants to control the Florentine government instead of letting it be run by Medici loyalists. Riario views the Medici as a long-term threat to his acquisition of land and power in the north and is tired of them standing in his way. Salviati cannot enjoy the full benefits of his position as Archbishop of Pisa as long as the Medici control Florence’s government, which in turn oversees all the church offices in Tuscany.
Together, these men get papal and military support to murder Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici on at church on Sunday, April 26, 1478. They plan to carry out the murder at the Elevation of the Host while the congregation has their heads bent in prayer. They succeed in murdering Giuliano, but Lorenzo escapes with only a shallow cut on his neck. All of the conspirators, and many of their friends and family, are executed. The plot ultimately fails, and Lorenzo is able to reconsolidate Medici power in Florence. Students should be asked to reflect on why they think the conspiracy occurred and why it ultimately failed.
Suggested Readings:
Hibbert, Christopher. "The Pope and the Pazzi." In The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici. Penguin Books Limited, 2001.
Martines, Lauro. "Chapter 7." In April Blood: Florence and the Plot against the Medici. Oxford University Press, 2003.
Suggested Discussion Questions:
· Summarize the events of the Pazzi Conspiracy.
o Who was involved? What were their personal motivations?
o What did the group generally hope to gain?
o Why were the Medici such a huge threat to so many different kinds of people?
· What role do you think patronage played in the outcome of the Pazzi Conspiracy?