History Quest 1: Italian, Northern Renaissance and European State & Catholic Church

Italian Renaissance

• 14th century- High Renaissance: 1450-`1527

• Collection of soveriegn independent city-state/kingdom

• Political and economic competition

• More urban than other place in Europe

Major Italian Powers

Florence- Center of Renaissance, dominated by the medici family

Milan- Duchy of Milan

Venice- Maritime Power/trade

Rome- Papal States

Naples- Kingdom of Naples

What set up the Italian Renaissance?

Peace of Lodi: Created 40 year relative piece between states and a balance of power- Set conditions for art and intellectual life

Medici Family

Prominent in Florence, Italy, merchants, bankers, political powers and patrons of the arts

Printing Press (1454)

• Gutenburg Bible→ Information Revolution

Humanism

An intellectual movement characterized by a revived interest in the classical world.

• secularism and individualism, human potential (humans center of life)

Education

• Classics- Rhetoric, poetry, history, latin and greek

Civic Humanism- Education to prepare leaders in civic affairs

Petrach

Father of Humanism

• Writer

• Recovered latin texts

• Wrote in Vernicular over latin

Christian Humanism

A union of Christian faith and humanistic principles. (are compatible ideas)

• Rational inquiry

• Human potential

• Individualism

Emphasized early church writings

Effect of Christian Humanism

Education and intellect lead to instutional change, moral improvement and criticism of church clergy and practices

Erasmus (1466-1536)

Author of In Praise of Folly- satirization of people’s ambition including Church figures

• Criticized immorality and hypocrisy of Church

• Devout Catholic

Flemish

• Influenced by Italian Renaissacne

• More detailed in paintings, emotional, religous, occupation with death, everyday life and naturalism

Jan Van Eyck

• Perfected oil painting on wood panels, relgious symbolism very, detailed

• Ghent Altarpiece

• Arnolfini and his wife

Growth of New French Monarchy

• Destution from Hundreds Years War caused nationalist feelings toward a common enemy that Kings used to reestablished monarchial power.

Need to prosecute war→ Monarchy development→ So monarchy built royal army

Consolidation of Power French Monarchy

Taille - Tx. on land or property retained and used as reliable source of income. Siezing of of Charles of Dutchy or burgundy posessions and unification of many provinces under royal rule.

English re-establishing a monarchy

• Devastation of Hundreds years War

• Civil Wars between Lancasters and Yorkists

• Henry Tudor defeated the last Yorkist king and made the tudor dynasty

Consolidating power English monacrhy

• Ended livery and maintenance- Court of Star Chamber

• engaged income from traidional fianical resources of English crown: save money through dimplomacy, crown lands, taxes and custom duties

New monarchy in Spain

• Independent Christian Kingdoms Aragon and Castille unified in dynastic marriage dominated over remaining Christian kingdoms

Spanish Monarchy Consilidation of Power

• Religous extermination: exiled 120000-150000 Jews and defeated Granada in a war

• Control of Catholic Church through personal clergy

• Strong infantry force of professional royal army

Struggle for establishing monarchy in eastern europe

• Religous and enthic differences

• In poland fight against nobility for power and unable to established pernmanent royal power

• Hungary had a good monarch bu thten once King Matthias Corvinus died his work to create a monarchy was largely undone. Artstocrats, bishops, etc took to power

• Russia was ruled by Mongols and then became a principality once Prinve Ivan II overthrew mongol khans

Byzantine Empire & East

• Threaten by Ottoman Turks in the middle east. Byzantine served as a buffer until the West weakened capital city Constantinople

• In 1453 laid siege to the Byzantine Empire permnanently putting it to rest.

John Wycliff

Theologian

• Urged vernicular bible, condemned the corrupte clergy, papacy and current mediviel beliefs, practice, traditions, rituals etc

John Hus

Chancellor who shared the ideas of Wycliff and urged the elimination of the worlidness and corruption of the papacy. Accused of herecy and burned at the stake in 1415.

Renaissance Papacy

• Had temporal occupations

• Nepotism

• Involvement in Papacy States, politics, war

Reformation of Church

Cause of John Hus revolution after his execution and the popes ignored changes that imposed their authority.

• Steadfast reasserted supremacy of the Church but lost control over temporal governments and moral prestige.