Renaissance, Reformation, and Revolution:
Life After the Black Death…
Geography: ***PG. 299***
6-11-1 -Europe is a continent (Europa)
-Eurasia is name to landmass of Europe and Asia
(separated by Ural Mountains)
-Mountains in the South (Alps)
-Flat land in the North (Northern European Plain-Atlantic
Ocean in the west to Ural Mountains in the west-lots of
trees grow because of snow melt from southern
mountains)
-Southern climate:
-warm, sunny (vegetation with little water)
-people settled on coastal plains or river valleys
-farmed grapes, olives
-mountain regions (raised sheep and goats)
-Northern climate: mild, wet
-Scandinavian Peninsula cold (freezes most of the year)
Trade & Economy:
6-11-1 -by late 1300s, trade increases because the materials
survived the people!
-prices went down as more goods were produced
(supply and demand)
-Silk Road reopens and people are safe to trade
-Marco Polo *PG. 299*
-travels to China
-government official to Kublai Khan (for 20
years)
-paper money
-use of coal
-returned to Venice and recorded his
journey
-four northern Italian cities were trading centers (*PGS.
300-301):
-Florence (cloth)
-Genoa
-Milan (weapons and silk)
-Venice (produced glass)
-these trading cities served two purposes
1. port cities
2. manufacturing cities
-merchant families in these cities gained
INCREDIBLE wealth
-Florence (*PGS. 302-303*): bankers gained
money by charging merchants interest to keep
their money
-1434: Cosimo de’ Medici (ruled Florence
and had a desire to improve the arts,
literature, etc.)
-other families tried to outdo the Medici family…
6-11-3 -trade helped spread Italian Renaissance to other parts
of Europe
Politics & Government:
6-11-2
-Renaissance began with Medici family and otherspeople wanted to appreciate the beauties of life
after the Black Death
-different areas of Europe are ruled in various ways
(some by kings and others by wealthy families)
Religion:
6-11-2 -Humanism:
-study of humanities (abilities of humans)—did not
mean they were not religious
-art, history, literature, public speaking
6-11-3
1455
-people rediscovered Ancient texts from Greece and
Rome that were thought to be lost from the Turkish
invasion—people wanted to recreate the classical
ages from the past *PG. 305*
-first book printed on the printing press was The Bible in
-Christian Humanism:
-developed as a result of some scholars studying
religious history and deciding the church was
corrupt
-Desiderius Erasmus:
-published The Praise of Folly in 1509 which
criticized the corrupt clergy
-emphasized devotion to God over religious
rituals
Society & Culture:
6-11-3 -Education:
-by 1500s men attended universities, but women
were not allowed
-wealthy families educated their daughters at home
(classical literature, philosophy, art)
-focus on life in the here and now (enjoyment since the
Black Death)
Science & Technology:
6-11-2 -art:
-artists wanted their art to look like the ancient art
(some even buried statues in the ground to make
them look older!)
-artists depicted people more realistically in
perspective, but still looked like Greek gods *PG.
307*
-artists often depicted mythology
-Michelangelo *PG. 311*:
-designed buildings
-wrote poetry
-carved sculptures
-painted pictures (Sistine Chapel in the Vatican)
-Leonardo da Vinci *PGS. 308-309*:
-painter (Mona Lisa)
-sculptor
-architect
-inventor
-engineer
-town plumber!
-cartographer
-studied human body to make art more realistic
-studied machines, plants, and animals
-Albrecht Durer sold his paintings at fairs and
markets
-northern Renaissance painters focused on reality
and not Greek-god like people (also on rocks and
nature *PGS. 314-315*)
-literature in Italy:
-Dante Alighieri (The Divine Comedy was written in
Italian instead of Latin—proved he thought that
language was as good as Latin)
-Niccolo Machiavelli (The Prince was written about
how one should rule—not always kind—focus on
reality rather than ideal situations)
-printing books made spreading ideas easier *PGS.
312-313*
-literature in other areas of Europe:
-Miguel de Cervantes wrote Don Quixote to make
fun of the Middle Ages (an old man becomes a
knight *PG. 316*)
-William Shakespeare wrote poems and plays (over
30 comedies, tragedies, and histories—focus on
human nature *PG. 317*)
-Hamlet, Othello, Romeo And Juliet, Julius
Caesar
-some words often credited to Shakespeare
are: accused, negotiate, zany, awkward, cage,
cease, doff
-mathematics:
-thought math could help explain the universe
-created symbols for square root and
positive/negative numbers
-engineering and architecture:
-used math to strengthen buildings
-astronomy and cartography:
-learned that the earth moves around the sun!
-used measurements from traders to make more
accurate maps
-education:
-students were taught religious courses AND
humanities courses
-by 1500s men attended universities (women were
not allowed)
-paper:
-by 1300s books were being printed on paper rather
than animal skins
-1455 Johann Gutenberg developed printing press
that used movable type (each letter was it’s own
piece and could be rearranged—much quicker!
*PGS. 312-313*) – first printed book was The Bible
printed in 1455 (was printed in Latin, which not a lot
of people could read—it was later translated into
common languages and more common people got a
Bible—then they wanted to read more and
demanded more education)
6-12-1
-Reformation:
-by early 1500s people were more critical in their
learning
-reform movement against the Roman Catholic
Church (erase corruption and focus on religion)
-people argued that the church had become too
political or too rich (raised money and did not have
to pay taxes)
-raised money through:
-selling indulgences (excused person from
sin or reduced the punishment the person
would receive in purgatory—where souls
went before heaven to suffer for their
sins—Christians believed this was allowing
people to buy their way into heaven)
-Erasmus led the way in calling for church reform
-Martin Luther *PGS. 330-331*:
-posted the Ninety-Five Theses on a church
door in Germany on October 31, 1517
-printing press spread ideas quickly
-criticized church and outlined Luther’s own
beliefs (people did not need to do charity work
or give money to the church to be saved—only
had to believe in God and live by the Bible)
-Luther is excommunicated by Pope Leo X
-Luther had to go before a court and was exiled
(but one noble agreed and helped him hide in a
castle for over a year!)
-people who sided with Luther and protested
the church were known as Protestants and
Lutherans
6-12-2
337*:
-taught direct relationship to God
-translated the New Testament into
German (common people could read it—
Lutheran Church became dominant church
in northern Germany)
-William Tyndale:
-English professor
-believed everyone should have access to the
Bible (not just clergy)
-translated Bible into English (church outragedhad him executed)
-John Calvin *PG. 333*:
-predestination (God knew who would be saved
before they were born)
-made religious and political leader of
Switzerland in 1541
-believed people were sinful (banned “sinful”
entertainment like playing cards and dancing—
distractions from religion)
-King Henry VIII:
-King of England
-had no sons and wife could not have any more
children—he asked the pope to end his
marriage—the pope refused—King Henry VIII
broke away from the church and started the
Anglican Church in 1534—broke for personal
reasons rather than religious convictions
-Catholic Reformation (late 1500s-1600s) *PGS. 336-internal reformation (counter-reformation)
-church attempted to strengthen itself from inside to
stop the spread of Protestantism in Europe
-Spanish Inquisition…
-New Religious Orders:
-developed to win people back to the Catholic
church
-Ignatius of Loyola *PG. 336*
-Jesuits (religious order created to serve
the pope and the church)
-wanted to educate people about Catholic
ideas (if people had a Catholic education
then they would not turn to Protestantism)
-Francis Xavier traveled to Asia and spread
Catholicism to India and Japan *PGS. 338339*
-Ursuline Order
-created to teach girls rather than boys!
-Council of Trent
-met in Trent, Italy to reform church
-rules for clergy to follow to interpret the
Bible
-bishops had to live in the area they
oversaw
-rejected the reform ideas (further
separated Catholic Church from the
Protestant believers)
-As a result of all the changes, some people left for
life in America…(influence of religious background
on the places where people settled)
-By 1600, northern Europe Protestant *PG. 341*
-division among separate European kingdoms
became difficult
-France:
-French Protestants were called Huguenots
-French king decided to get rid of all
Protestants in France—he banned all
Protestant religions—war broke out from 15621598
6-13-1
-St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre on
August 24, 1572
-Catholic rioters killed 3000
Protestants in Paris
-war finally ended in 1598 with Edict of
Nantes (“Nahnt”) which granted religious
freedom in France except for in Paris and a
few other cities
-tension quelled, but continued…
-Holy Roman Empire:
-1618 a king banned Protestant religions—so
unhappy Protestants threw two Catholic
officials out of a window in rebellion—began
Thirty Year’s War (became much more than
religion—Catholic king of France helped
Protestants because he did not like the Holy
Roman Empire—Europe’s leaders agreed to
stop fighting in 1648—rulers could decide for
their own land and the states of Germany
became independent—so long Holy Roman
Empire…)
-Protestant churches were ruled by a congregation
(body of members) and not clergy
-importance of individual voice
-once people began to govern their own
religions, they wanted political power
-eventually, congregations ruled the churches
and some towns where they were…division of
power between local government and central
government is federalism
-people decide they want to start to investigate
more things for themselves rather than take
someone else’s word for it…
-Scientific Revolution:
-Renaissance thinkers paved way for more
advances
6-13-2
Revolution?:
-took place from 1540-1700
-placed more importance on personal observation
and developing theories (logical, scientific
explanations based on observed facts) than
traditional thought (what the classic Greek and
Roman writers said)
-scientists would test theories to see if they made
sense
-some Greek thinkers (rationalists-use of logic and
reason) were before their time *PGS. 355-357*:
-Aristotle-taught moderation and logical thinking
-Ptolemy-astronomer and geographer-based
his
information on his observations
-Scholars of various faiths (Islamic, Christianity,
Jewish) studied ancient thinkers and incorporated
their own ideas to help spread the Scientific
Revolution around the globe
Other causes for the revolution:
-Humanist efforts (people spent a lot of time in
nature)
-alchemy (study of natural substances—how
nature worked)
-How was Columbus a catalyst for the Scientific
-he sailed for Asia (west in the Atlantic Ocean
from Europe) in 1492
-he took a map Ptolemy had made
-he never made it to Asia because he landed
on North America
-people discovered Ptolemy was wrong
-if an Ancient Greek authority was wrong about
this, then…
-Nicolaus Copernicus *PG. 359*:
-Polish astronomer (b.1473 d.1543)
-wrote On the Revolution of the Celestial
Spheres in 1543
-Ptolemy had stated that the earth was the
center of the universe and that all planets
orbited it
-Copernicus observed the sky and tested his
theory that the sun was the center of the
universe-it made sense-he was nervous to
publish his ideas-he never proved his theory,
but is credited with starting the Scientific
Revolution
-served as church official (keep in mind for
future conflict…)
-Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler *PG. 360*:
-Brahe:
-Danish astronomer
-charted positions of stars
-contributed the idea that careful
observation and accurate records were
necessary for science
-Kepler:
-Brahe’s assistant
-1609 he discovered that planets orbit in an
elliptical pattern (not circular as Copernicus
had stated)—first scientist to support
Copernicus’ sun-centered theory publicly
-Galileo Galilei *PG. 361*:
-first person to study sky with a telescope (did
not actually invent the telescope, but he made
6-13-3
an improved version a year after the original
from a Dutchman)
-discovered craters and mountains on the moon
-discovered moons orbit Jupiter
-also studied mechanics (how falling/moving
objects behave)
-father of experimental science (first to routinely
set up experiments to test his theories)
-invented thermometer in 1593
-devout Catholic (keep in mind for future
conflict…)
-Sir Isaac Newton *PG. 362*:
-1642-1727
-English scientist
-studied work of past scientists:
-reviewed the past work
-added his own observations
-identified FOUR theories for how the
physical world worked
-law of gravity
-laws of motion
-invented calculus
-believed all natural forces were directed by
God (keep in mind for future conflict…)
-barometer developed in 1643 by an Italian scientist
-measures air pressure
-helps forecast weather
-science became the most effective way to learn
about the natural world
-Francis Bacon *PG. 365*:
-English philosopher (1561-1626)
-science should be systematic
-The Advancement of Learning in 1605
-development of scientific method (step-by-step
process for scientific tests and research)
-Rene Descartes (Day-Cart) *PG. 365*:
-French philosopher (1596-1650)
-believed everything should be doubted until
proven true
-development of scientific method
-Scientific Method (6 steps):
1. State the problem.
2. Gather information.
3. Form a hypothesis (solution proposed by the
scientist to solve the problem).
4. Test the hypothesis (using experiments).
5. Record and analyze data.
6. Draw conclusions.
-publish (others can test to prove and spread
scientific knowledge)
-How did reason and logical thought impact all
areas of life?
-If nature is governed by laws, is human
behavior also explainable and predictable?
-If all humans operate under the same laws for
behavior, then aren’t all humans equal?
-beginnings of democracy in Europe… *PG.
367*
-How did science and the church conflict?
-church taught that the earth was the center of
the universe
-Galileo put on trial by the Inquisition and forced
to deny the sun-centered theory (he did, but
muttered, “And yet it moves” as he left the
courtroom)—he was also a devout Catholic
who believed experimentation was a search for
understanding of God’s creation
-If people started to doubt the earth as the
center, then what other church teachings would
they doubt?