Period 1

The Renaissance to the Wars of Religion (1450-1648)

1440

Lorenza Valla’s *On the Donation of Constantine*

1452

Gutenberg prints the Bible using the new printing press

1453

End of the Hundred Year’s War

Fall of Constantinople

1513

Machiavelli writes *The Prince*

1515

Erasmus’s *In Praise of Folly*

1516

More’s *Utopia*

1517

Luther’s *95 Theses*

1519

Charles V becomes Holy Roman Emperor

1521

Diet of Worms

1536

Calvin publishes first edition of *Institutes of Christian Religion*

1555

Peace of Augsburg

1556

Philip II becomes King of Spain after Charles V abdicates

1572

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre during the French Wars of Religion

1588

defeat of the Spanish Armada by England

1598

Edict of Nantes

1618-1648

Thirty Years’ War

1629

Edict of Restitution

1642

beginning of English Revolution

1648

Peace of Westphalia

“rebirth”

came from Georgio Vasari using the Italian word *rinascita* to describe the era in which he lived

individualism

* idea born during the Renaissance
* people wanted personal credit for their achievements
* DaVinci showed this idea through “The Renaissance Man”

Holy Roman Empire

* lasts from 330 AD to 1815
* controlled most of northern Italy during the Middle Ages

*popolo*

urban underclass (“the people”) who wanted their own share of wealth and political power

Ciompi Revolt

* occurred in Florence in 1378
* the popolo staged a violent revolt against the government to express their dissatisfaction with the political and economic order
* established a brief period where the poor had control over the government

papal states

area in central Italy

patrons

wealthy Italian merchants who supported the arts and insisted on the development of secular art forms that would represent them and their wealth

* ex: Medicis

“Dark Ages”

* c. 400-900
* used by Petrarch to describe the cultural decline that took place following the collapse of Rome in the 5th century

humanism

* represents a particular philosophical viewpoint OR a program of study, including rhetoric and literature, based on what students in the classical world would have studied
* expresses human divinity

“civic humanists”

* influenced by Petrarch’s ideas, a group of wealthy young Florentines began using their own classical education for the public good
* served as diplomats or worked in the chancellery office
* they also began studying ancient Greek

Florentine Platonic Academy

* sponsored by Cosimo d’Medici
* merged platonic philosophy with Christianity to create Neoplatonism

Neoplatonism

the merged ideas of platonic philosophy and Christianity

trivium and quadrivium

* The **trivium** consists of grammar, logic, and rhetoric.
* The quadrivium consists of arithmetic, astronomy, music, and geometry.

single-point perspective

a style in which all elements within a painting converge at a single point in the distance, allowing artists to create a more realistic setting for their work

*chiaroscuro*

the use of contrasts between light and dark, to create 3-dimensional images

sprezzatura

* studied carelessness, especially as a characteristic quality or style of art or literature
* first appears in Baldassare Castiglione's 1528 The Book of the Courtier

High Renaissance

* this is where the center of the Renaissance moved from Florence to Rome
* lasted until the 1520s

Vitruvian Man

famous drawing by Leonardo DaVinci

Northern Renaissance

* a more religious movement compared to other Renaissances in Italy
* northerners were seeking ways to deepen their Christian beliefs and understanding and display what good humanists they were
* they did this by studying early Christian authors
* secular, focused on business and making money, art is more detail oriented and about nobility (Durer, Eyck, Massey)

Christian Humanists

northern writers like Erasmus and More who criticized their mother church

English Renaissance

* from the late 15th century to the 17th century
* emphasized the idea of the divine right of kings to rule
* the development of humanistic ideas, such as the dignity of man
* time of scientific inquiry and exploration, the Protestant Reformation, and the invention of the printing press

Protestant Reformation

* this movement resulted in the great split in Western Christendom, which displaced the pope’s status as the single religious authority in Europe


* reflection of the ways in which Europe was changing
* humanism of the Renaissance had led individuals to question certain practices, such as the efficacy of religious relics and the value to one’s salvation of the living the life of a monk
* the printing press made it possible to produce Bible in greater numbers, so the Church’s exclusive right to interpret the Scriptures seemed incorrect to those who now had access to the Bible
* also caused rulers to question whether they needed religious advisory

Black Death

a ferocious outbreak of plague that struck the population of Europe and caused some of the problems of the Reformation

Lollards

followers of John Wycliffe and his beliefs

Council of Constance

* this is what Jan Hus was called before in 1415 by Pope Martin V
* he was condemned as a heretic and burnt at the stake despite being promised safe passage

selling of indulgences

* practice that began at the time of the Crusades
* in order to convince knights to go on crusades and to raise money, the papacy sold indulgences, which released the buyer from purgatory
* essentially a get out of jail free card

purgatory

a place or state of suffering inhabited by the souls of sinners who are expiating their sins before going to heaven

Diet of Worms

* a meeting of German nobility and religious leaders that wanted to see Martin Luther in 1521
* the church asked Luther if he wanted to recant what he had said
* Luther responded by saying he can’t recant and his conscience is with God
* Luther is placed under the ban of the Empire and is taken and hidden by Frederick of Saxony

transubstantiation

the miraculous transformation of the bread and wine into the flesh and blood of Christ, an act that could be performed only by an ordained priest

German Peasants’ Revolt

* 1525
* the result of the German peasants’ worsening economic conditions and their belief that Luther’s call for a “priesthood of all believers” was a message of social egalitarianism
* this displays Luther’s conservatism because he was horrified by this ideas and urged that no mercy be shown to these revolutionaries

“priesthood of all believers”

states that all believers in Christ share in his priestly status, eliminating any special classes

Radical Reformation

* used to describe a variety of religious sects that developed during the 16th century
* inspired by in part by Luther’s challenge to the established Church
* led by the Anabaptists and Antitrinitarians

Anabaptists

* denied the idea of infant baptism
* believed baptism only worked when practiced by adults who are fully aware of the decision they are making
* this became known as rebaptism which was despised by the Holy Roman Empire and Luther and attacks on Anabaptists followed

Calvinism

* begins to spread rapidly and becomes the established church in Scotland
* Calvinists in France are known as Hugenots
* saved the Protestant Reformation
* one of the causes of French Wars of Religion, the 30 years war, and the English Civil War
* Calvinists are the most violent
* believed in predestination
* have to prove your salvation through your outward acts
* Salvation = faith + baptism + leading a Godly life

Hugenots

French Calvinists

Reformation Parliament

* began in November 1529 and continued for seven years
* Henry VIII used this as a tool to give himself ultimate authority on religious matters
* helped him to divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn

Act in Restraint of Appeals

* April 1533
* Parliament enacted this
* declared that all spiritual cases within the kingdom were within the king’s jurisdiction and authority and not the pope’s

Act of Supremacy

* 1534
* this capped the English Reformation
* it acknowledged the King of England as the Supreme Head of what became known as the Church of England

Counter-Reformation

* the Catholic response to the Protestant Reformation
* also known as the Catholic Reformation
* tried to counteract the PR with the Index of Prohibited Books, papal Inquisition, Council of Trent, and the creation of Jesuits

Index of Prohibited Books

religious Catholic officials prohibited books in order to counteract the Protestant Reformation

* included works by Erasmus and Galileo

Council of Trent

* centerpiece of the Catholic Reformation
* 1545-1563
* dominated by the papacy and enhanced its power
* the council took steps to address some of the issues that sparked the Reformation like simony
* the council also mandated that a seminary for the education of clergy should be established because they believed poorly educated clergy were one of the problems
* refused to concede any point of theology to the Protestants
* emphatically endorsed the traditional teachings and the source for this faith was the Bible and traditions of the Church

simony

the selling of church offices

Society of Jesus (Jesuits)

* organized by Ignatius Loyola
* one of the causes of success for the Catholic Reformation
* militant Catholic missionaries
* essentially become the pope’s private army
* emphasized complete and total loyalty to the church

Cape of Good Hope

* this is where Bartholomew Dias sailed around in 1487
* tip of Africa

Aztec Empire

* ewsp ta militaristic state
* through conquest, the Aztecs had carved out a large state with a large central capital, Tenochtitlan
* they practiced human sacrifice to appease their gods which made them unpopular with the people they conquered
* this is group that Cortes conquered in 1519
* the Aztecs thought that the Spaniards riding horses were gods, so they tried to appease them with gold which only made the Spanish appetite worse
* Old World diseases like smallpox made the Aztecs weak

Inca Empire of Peru

* also created a large empire by conquering and instigating harsh rule over many other tribes
* Pizzaro captured Inca’s leader and ruled over the empire
* western technology and diseases harmed the indigenous population’s ability to fight back

*encomienda* system

Spain forced indigenous populations to work under this forced system of labor where they died at an incredible pace from disease and overwork

New World

the Americas are referred to as the New World

nation-states

* large unified nation-states began to develop in northern Europe during the early modern period
* dominated the Italian peninsula
* contributed to the transition away from the medieval notion of feudal kingship

mercenary army

* soldiers who are paid by a foreign country to fight in their army
* this became a necessity as military technology increased and developed faster

Treaty of Lodi

* 1454
* provided a balance of power among the major Italian city-states
* created an alliance between long term enemies Milan and Naples and included support from Florence
* ensured that outside powers would stay out of Italian affairs
* came to an end in 1490

War of the Roses

* a series of civil wars to determine which aristocratic faction, York or Lancaster, would dominate the monarchy
* Henry Tudor ended up winning establishing the Tudor dynasty
* well-known due a Shakespeare play

Tudor dynasty

* established by Henry Tudor in the Battle of the Roses
* lasted until Queen Elizabeth I died

Spanish Armada

* 1588
* Phillip II attempted to take over England by water but they were defeated
* this ensured that England would remain Protestant and free from foreign dominance
* greatest moment in Elizabeth’s reign and also known as the “Protestant Wind”

Spanish Inquistion

* an effective method used by the Spanish monarchy to root out suspected Protestants, Jews, and Moors
* extremely barbaric

Tenochtitlan

capital of the Aztec Empire

Battle of Lepanto

* 1571
* King Philip was trying to maintain Spanish influence through wars and his own riches
* Spain was fighting for supremacy against the Ottoman Empire and won in the Battle of Lepanto

Duke of Alva’s Council of Troubles

* an inquisition based effort to restore Spanish control that ultimately failed
* this is one of the reasons why Philip sent the Spanish Armada

Golden Bull of Emperor Charles V

* by 1356, the practice of electing the emperor was formally defined in this document


* granted seven German princes the right to elect an emperor and made it clear that the emperor held office by election rather than hereditary right
* electors would usually choose weak rulers who wouldn’t stand in the way of their own political ambitions

Price Revolution

* one of the factors that led to the decline of Spain’s power
* a period of rapid inflation and decline in the value of money in Europe from the late 15th century through the early and mid-17th century

Peace of Augsburg

* 1555
* signified the end of the religious wars in the time of Charles V, who now agreed to adhere to the basic principle that the prince decides the religion of the territory
* did not grant religious tolerance
* Charles has relented to get his army to defeat the Turks
* this causes pressure to build and this is one of the biggest events caused by Luther

Thirty Years’ War

* this war is not about religion, it is about __power__
* Catholics vs Protestants
* made up of three phases

Calvinist Elector of the Palatinate

also known as Frederick, King of Bohemia

Battle of White Mountain

* the Bavarian forces (Ferdinand plus the help of Bavaria) won a major victory against the Bohemians
* Frederick became known as the Winter King because he held onto the Bohemian throne for only that season

Edict of Restitution

* 1629, initiated by the Hapsburgs
* outlawed Calvinism in the empire
* require Lutherans to turn over all property seized since 1552
* this led the King of Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus, to enter war, triggering the third phase of the Thirty Years’ War

Peace of Westphalia

* 1648
* ended the Thirty Years’ War
* the Holy Roman Empire maintained its numerous political divisions
* the treaty ensured that the Emperor would remain an ineffectual force within German politics
* reaffirmed the Augsburg formula of each prince deciding the religion of his own territory, although the new formula fully recognized Calvinism

French Wars of Religion

* 1562-1598
* concerned with religious ideas
* this series of civil wars was part of a long tradition, dating back to the very roots of French history, in which the aristocracy and monarchy battled each other for supremacy

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

* part of the wars of religion
* the Huguenot aristocracy gathered in Paris in 1572 to celebrate the wedding of Henry of Navarre
* Catherine de’Medici encouraged her son, the king, to set this event in motion, in which an estimated 3,000 died in Paris
* possibly 20,000 Huguenots were killed, but Henry of Navarre’s life was spared when he promised to return to Catholicism (which he did for a short period of time)

Bourbon Dynasty

* Henry III made Henry of Navarre his heir
* Henry of Navarre was the new king after Henry III’s assassination in 1589 and became Henry IV
* this began the Bourbon dynasty that would rule France up until the French Revolution

Edict of Nantes

* 1598
* granted the Huguenots freedom of worship and assembly as well as the right to maintain fortified towns for their protection

city-states

* an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory
* Italian city-states are where intellectual and artistic developments were first made

fresco

a painting done rapidly in watercolor on wet plaster on a wall or ceiling (or tempura on wood), so that the colors penetrate the plaster and become fixed as it dries

Mannerism

* the Late Renaissance
* art showed distorted figures and confusing themes and may have reflected the growing sense of crisis in the Italian world due to both religious and political problems

Elizabethan Renaissance

* the greatest achievements in the arts in northern Europe in the 16th and early 17th centuries took place in England
* an emergence of talented men occurred during Elizabeth’s reign
* but most of the Elizabethan Renaissance occurred during the reign of her cousin and heir, James I

anticlericalism

a measure of disrespect toward the clergy, stemming in part from what many perceived to be the poor performance of individual clergymen during the crisis years of the plague

Great Schism

* the ongoing break of communion between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches
* there were three different popes at the same time, and all of them were trying to excommunicate each other

pietism

* the notion of a direct relationship between the individual and God
* reduced the importance of the hierarchical Church based in Rome

Wittenberg

this is where the Castle Church that Luther posted his *95 theses* is located (Germany)

sacraments

* a Christian rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant


* there are seven for the Catholic Church (marriage, ordination, extreme unction, confirmation, penance, communion, and baptism)

Protestantism

* the term today is used very broadly and means any non-Catholic or non-Eastern Orthodox Christian faith
* initially, it referred to a group of Lutherans who in 1529 attended the Diet of Speyer in an attempt to work out a compromise with the Catholic Church and ended up “protesting” the final document that was drawn up at its conclusion
* Protestantism spread to many of the states of northern Germany, Scandinavia, England, Scotland, and parts of the Netherlands, France, and Switzerland after Luther’s theses

Twelve Articles

addressed the German peasants’ concerns for the worsening economic conditions and their beliefs regarding Luther’s call for a “priesthood of all believers”