5.2 ENLIGHTENMENT IDEAS
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Chapter 5 Section 2 pp. 149-153
Vocabulary Terms
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Baroque: ornate style of art and architecture
popular in the 1600s and 1700s
Censorship: restriction on access to ideas and
information
Enlightened despot: absolute ruler who uses power
to bring about political and social change
Rococo: personal, elegant style of art and
architecture made popular during the mid-1700s
and featuring fancy designs in the shape of
leaves, shells and scrolls
Salon: informal social gathering at which writers,
artists, and philosophers exchanged ideas
Prominent People in this Section
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Joseph II: Hapsburg emperor who improved the lives
of his subjects through a reformation
Johann Sebastian Bach: famous German composer
George Frederick Handel: famous German composer
and opera writer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: child prodigy and famous
composer
Daniel Defoe: author of Robinson Crusoe
Candide: novel written by Voltaire in 1759
Setting the Scene

Paris was the heart of the Enlightenment.
 Proposals

of new ideas spread rapidly overnight.
These ideas flowed across Europe.
 Most
of these ideas caused people to take a closer
look at their traditional beliefs and customs and the
reason behind them.
The Challenge of New Ideas

The upper, educated class read Diderot’s
Encyclopedia and many other pamphlets.
 They
began to see the need for a
reformation.

During the Middle Ages, Europeans
accepted a society that focused on
divine-right rule, a strict class system and
heaven.
 The
Age of Reason contradicted these
beliefs.
 People who believed in the Enlightenment
sought social justice and happiness.
Censorship

The government and church officials disagreed with
the Enlightenment thinkers.
 In
retaliation, they used censorship and banned or
burned books after imprisoning the authors.

Philosophes and writers like Montesquieu and
Voltaire disguised their beliefs in fiction.
 Montesquieu
mocked French society in the Persian
Letters.
 In his novel Candide, Voltaire talked about the
corruption and hypocrisy of European society through
his novel’s hero.
Salons
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
Salons were started in the 1600s when noblewomen in
Paris would discuss poetry with their friends.
Middle class women began to hold their own salons in the
1700s.
 Discussions
about new literature, the arts, science, and
philosophy were held in these.

Madame Geoffrin ran the most respected salon. She
brought together the brightest and most talented people
of her day, including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and
Diderot.
Enlightened Despots

Philosophes tried to get
European rulers to adopt
their ideas.
 They
wanted the ruling class
to accept these ideas in
order to bring about reform.
 Those of the ruling class who
did adopt the Enlightenment
concepts became known as
enlightened despots.
Fredrick the Great

Fredrick II, the king of Prussia from 1740 to 1786, called
himself the “first servant of the state”, even though he had a
powerful grip on his subjects.
He had Voltaire develop a Prussian academy of science in Berlin.
 His subjects were forced to drain away swamplands and grow new
crops.
 He tolerated religious differences and distributed seeds and tools
to those who suffered in Prussia’s wars.

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Fredrick’s reforms were to make the government more
efficient.

He fixed the civil service and the laws in order to give himself
more power.
Catherine the Great


Catherine II of Russia was another follower of Voltaire.
She became empress in 1762.
 During
her reign, Catherine limited reforms in law and
government.
 Nobles were granted a charter of rights.
 Catherine criticized serfdom, but did not intend to give up her
power.
 Although
Russia.
her empire was expanded, Catherine did not reform
Joseph II

Joseph II, the emperor of Hapsburg and son of Maria
Theresa, traveled in disguise to learn the problems of his
subjects.
 He
wanted to improve their lives and was nicknamed the
“peasant emperor”.

Joseph continued the reforms that his mother had started.
 He
gave toleration to Protestants and Jews.
 Censorship was ended and he tried to control the Catholic
Church.
 The
properties of monasteries and convents were sold to gain money
for hospitals.
 Joseph
death.
also abolished serfdom, but this was canceled after his
The Arts and Literature
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In the 1600s and 1700s, the arts began to change.
 Similar
to earlier time periods, artists and composers were
required to meet the needs of their patrons.
Courtly Art
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The baroque style of art was popular in the age of Louis
XIV, along with the Greek and Roman forms of art.
 Baroque
 They

paintings were colorful, large, and very exciting.
often showed glorified images of battles or the lives of saints.
By the mid 1700s, the rococo style was developed.
 This
 It
art was personal and elegant.
featured flowers and delicate shells.
 Portraits done in rococo expressed nobles in rural settings with
happy servants and pets.
Middle-Class Audiences
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Successful merchants and town officials desired to have
their portraits painted in a simpler fashion.
 They
preferred pictures of their family life or realistic town or
country scenes.

Rembrandt van Rijn, a famous Dutch painter, and many
others worked for the merchants and other middle-class
members of society.
Trends in Music
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New forms of musical entertainment, like ballets and
operas, were developed during this era.
 Opera
houses became popular and the music of the time was
very orderly.

Johann Sebastian Bach, a devout German Lutheran, was a
major musical figure of the era.
 Much
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of his work was for the organ and choir.
George Frederick Handel, another German composer,
wrote many operas like Water Music and the Messiah.
Another Famous Composer
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
emerged into society in 1762 as an
instant celebrity.
 At
age six, he became the most
famous composer and performer.
 For three decades, he wrote many
pieces, including operas, symphonies,
and religious music.
 He
died at the age of 35 in poverty.
 However, his music legacy still lives on
today!
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born January 27th, 1756
in Salzburg.
At six, he began to compose and his first symphony was completed
when he was eight.
 Between the ages of seven and fifteen, Mozart traveled with his
father on tour throughout Europe, where he played and
entertained many courts and noblemen.
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After his mother’s death in 1778, Mozart returned to
Salzburg to become the Archbishop’s organist.

However, he left in 1781 and became the first musician in history
to embark on a free-lance career.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Cont’d
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Mozart married and had a successful career life beginning in
1782.
He wrote many symphonies and masterpieces for Emperor
Joseph II, including Quintet for clarinet and strings, the mass
in C minor, and one unfinished piece called Requiem.
He wrote numerous operas.
Despite the great amount of wealth that he acquired, Mozart
and his family fell into poverty due to his mismanagement of
finances.
He became ill and died in Vienna on December 5, 1791, just
as his family was becoming financially stable.
Mozart’s musical legacy still lives on today.
Mozart’s Mysterious Death Video
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nEZUpaQAS4
The Novel
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The middle-class became interested in reading new
stories in the 1700s.
 Daniel
Defoe helped satisfy their hunger for fiction with
his tale Robinson Crusoe.
 Samuel Richardson was another famous author at the
time.
 His
novel, Pamela, was about a servant girl.
Lives of the Majority
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The peasants of Europe went through a much slower reform.
In Western Europe, serfdom was disappearing.
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Many peasants worked their own land or rented farmland.
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Serfdom remained in Eastern and Central Europe.
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Serfdom still existed in some parts of Western Europe, like France.
Russia adopted it again in the 1700s.
Peasants began to call for equality and social justice in the
late 1700s.
War, changing economic conditions, and political upheaval
came about in the 1800s, transforming the ordinary lives of
peasants.
Review Questions
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This was/is a grand and complex artistic style:
 baroque
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What was the Elegant and charming style, featuring
delicate shells and flowers called?
 rococo
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What is it called when a government or organization
restricts access to ideas and information?
 censorship

A what was a place for social gatherings in which artists
and thinkers exchanged ideas?
 salon
Review Questions
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Joseph II was a what because he used Enlightenment ideas to
bring political and social change?
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The Enlightenment had little effect on what group [class] of
people in Europe?
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Peasants or the lower class
Thinkers during the Age of Reason challenged the established
social order by calling for a just society based on what?
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Enlightened despot
Science and logical thinking
What “enlightened despot” adopted Enlightenment ideas to
improve the lives of his people, and was the emperor of
Austria?

Joseph II
Review Questions
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What was the book that Voltaire wrote about traveling around to
find the best possible world?
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This artist wrote Messiah a baroque masterpiece that is familiar to
most people:
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Johann Sebastian Bach
This artist began composing at the age of 6, wrote operas,
symphonies, and religious works of music:
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George Frederick Handel
Who was the German composer of religious music for choirs and
organs in this chapter?
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Candide
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
This person wrote Robinson Crusoe, and other works about everyday
life:
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Daniel Defoe
Bibliography
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History Book
http://www.ipl.org/div/mushist/clas/mozart.html
Google Images