MU #4 Early-Modern Society

What influenced the way people spent their free time?

Church and agricultural cycle

-ex. holidays in Winter when there isn’t any farming

Magic and Folklore (All Saints Day, Easter, Christmas)

What were some common blood sports group liked to watch?

Animal fighting (bull-baiting, bear baiting)

What happened as a result of the Enclosure Movement regarding the movement of peasants? 

-moved to urban centers

-population increase

-cities/authorities were unprepared for the increase

What kind of work did cities provide for newly moved peasant men?

Construction work

What was rampant in these urban cities?

Crime and disease (lack of sanitation)

What did cities have to do since the Church was essentially gone or irrelevant in Europe?

Had to enforce laws on begging and prostitution, merchant elites often strained private

resources to maintain order

What punishments did secular authorities use?

Old medieval punishments

-public spectacles (stocks, branding, whipping, torture)

Where were secular authorities mainly?

Catholic states (religious laws and book bans)

Was the Inquisition by Philip the II still used? yes or no

YES

What type of magic and folklore still persisted?

Witchcraft, curses, blessings, potions, magic, superstitions

-believed sickness/plague were curses for bad behavior/sins

When did witch hunts and killings peak?

late 1500s to early 1600s (even with scientific community) 

What did people believe about volcanoes and comets?

They were consequences for bad behavior or omens of bad things to come

What did Europeans obtain livelihood from during the 16th and 17th centuries?

Peasant agriculture (paid rent and taxes to lords)

What method did most farms use for planting?

Three-crop farming rotation

-left 1/3 soil unused

What happened as a result of an increase in the peasant population?

Prices rose higher than wages

-caused peasant families to be poorer, decreased living standards

By the late 16th century, explorations and Price Revolutions resulted in?

Increased living standards

-advanced education and harsh economic pressures=delayed marriages and smaller families

-fewer ppl to use the money supply, raised living standards

What did the printing press do at this time?

Established vernacular languages like English (Shakespeare), German, Italian, and French

How did peasant families work?

Egalitarian manner

What did the egalitarian manner include?

-Men did strength labor

-Women worked alongside men, doing complementary tasks

How did peasant families live?

Worked and lived in units

-small, well-known local communities

What was a notable debate about female education?

La Querelle Des Femmes from the 1400s to 1700s in Europe

-nature of women, capabilities and whether they should study, write, or govern like men

Who was Christine De Pizan?

A writer who argued that women were just as capable as men but didn’t get the same education

What did the more “radical” Protestants believe?

Believed that women should have more active religious roles

How did Protestant women participate in the Protestant Reformation?

Offered funds to Protest. princes and writers to defend Protestantism

-Artesmisia Gentileschi was a notable Baroque painter