Trade, Renaissance, & Reformation Notes

Trade, Renaissance, & Reformation (1300-1600 C.E.)

Medieval Europe (c. 950-1300)

  • Overview of the map depicting Europe, including:
    • Countries: Norway, Ireland, Scotland, England, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Portugal, France, Navarre, Aquitaine, Hungary, Castile, Aragon, Bulgaria, Granada.
    • Seas/Oceans: North Sea, Baltic Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea.
    • Other Regions: Normandy, Holy Roman Empire, Papal States, Kingdom of Sicily, Byzantine Empire
    • Islands: Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Baleare Islands

Cultural Rebirth and Religious Schism in Europe

  • Overview of the period covering cultural rebirth (Renaissance) and religious schism (Reformation) in Europe.

Location, Location, Location

  • Italy's strategic location on the Italian peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea:
    • Facilitated the reception of new products and ideas from the Eastern Hemisphere.
    • Led to the return of Greco-Roman knowledge following the Crusades.
    • Enabled the spread of African and Asian knowledge through global trade routes.
  • The influx of diverse cultures, beliefs, and knowledge in the 1400s:
    • Resulted in a rebirth or Renaissance in wealthy Italian city-states such as Florence.
    • Characterized by a rebirth of learning, art, literature, philosophy, and invention.
    • Eventually spread north to all of Western Europe by 1500.

Humanism Shapes the Renaissance

  • Emergence of an educated minority in wealthier trading cities, while most peasants remained illiterate.
  • Admiration for the achievements of the Great Classical Era civilizations (Greeks & Romans):
    • Led to efforts to celebrate Greco-Roman achievements by replicating them in art, architecture, and literature.
    • Encouraged individuals to use their full human abilities to improve upon the achievements of the Classical Civilizations.
  • Emphasis on individual achievement and human potential, known as Humanism:
    • Focused on Secular rather than Religious achievements.

Renaissance Humanism

  • Advancing Greek knowledge of Anatomy.
  • Reviving Greco-Roman Art.

Renaissance Achievements: Art

  • Leonardo Da Vinci (Italy)
    • Painter, early scientist, inventor, engineer, poet, etc.
    • True “Renaissance Man”
    • Achievements:
      • The Mona Lisa
      • The Last Supper
      • 1st known accurate charts of the human anatomy
  • Michelangelo (Italy)
    • Painter, Sculptor, Architect
    • Achievements
      • Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
      • Statue of David
  • Renaissance Art is a rebirth of Classical Era style

Renaissance Literature

  • Niccolo Machiavelli
    • “The Prince” – How to guide for how to gain & then maintain power
      • The Ends Justifies the Means – Rulers need to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals
      • It is better for a ruler to be feared than loved – Love comes and goes; fear is lasting
  • Miguel de Cervantes
    • “Don Quixote” – Very popular Spanish novel that makes light of Feudalism
  • William Shakespeare
    • British playwright and poet who wrote some of history's most enduring plays
    • Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet

The 1st Information Revolution

  • Prior to the Renaissance, all books had to be handwritten by Scribes:
    • Very labor/time consuming
    • Caused books to be very expensive and rare
  • In 1456, inventor Johann Gutenberg revolutionized Chinese Block Printing methods by adding movable type
  • Effects of the mechanization of the Printing Press
    • Dramatically drops the price of books
      1. Books are now affordable to Europeans across classes
      2. Literacy rates steadily rise across Western Europe
      3. Ideas can now spread rapidly and be shared across Europe
      4. More difficult for powerful institutions like the Church to control ideas and knowledge

Causes of the Protestant Reformation

  • By the 1400’s some in Western Europe began to view the Catholic Church unfavorably
    1. Church seemed to be more concerned with worldly wealth & power than the Salvation of Christian souls
    2. Although literacy rates were rising in Europe, the Church refused to translate the Bible from the Latin Vernacular
    3. Legalized the sale of indulgences to wealthy citizens
  • In 1520 a German Priest named Martin Luther officially rebels against the Catholic Church by posting 95 complaints about the Corruption of the Church
    • Known as the 95 Theses
    • Sets off the Protestant Reformation
  • Movement for reform within the Catholic Church that will sweep across Northwestern Europe

Martin Luther's 95 Theses

  • One can achieve salvation by faith alone.
  • The Bible is the ultimate authority.
  • All humans are equal before God.
  • The Lutheran Church was the first of the Protestant Churches.
  • Luther wrote the 95 Theses- a list of 95 complaints against the Catholic Church. Posted on the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany.

Effects of the Protestant Reformation

  1. Martin Luther’s 95 Theses quickly spread across Europe due to Guttenberg’s Printing Press
    • Inspires others to challenge the authority of the Pope & Catholic Church
      • John Calvin 🡪 Belief in Predestination
      • Henry VIII’s Acts of Supremacy leads to a separate Anglican Church
        • Henry’s Daughter Elizabeth will transform England into a Protestant nation
  2. The Catholic Religion Schisms
    • Western Europe is no longer religiously unified under the Pope which leads to religious conflicts across Europe
      • Southern Europe 🡪 remains Catholic
      • Northern Europe 🡪 mostly Protestant
  3. Catholic Church loses power, while the power and independence of European Monarchs increases