MWH – 1.2, 1.4, 1.5, 3.1, 3.2
UNIT 1 – EUROPEAN RENAISSANCE AND
REFORMATION
PRE-CRUSADES

Europe was largely isolated
from Asian and African
cultures after the fall of
Rome
-


The Fall of the Roman Empire
destroyed a government,
economic, and society that had
existed for 1000 years
Locked into ways of thinking
by custom and the Church
Stagnant culture due to
constant warfare and lack of
stable government systems
THE CRUSADES



Series of wars between
Christian kingdoms and
the Islamic world
between 1097 and the
1300s
First called by Pope
Urban II
Led to back and forth
control over the “Holy
Land”
THE CRUSADES

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player
_detailpage&v=z-niTeTY7pw

View the video and think about whether or not
the Crusades were an overall positive or
negative for Europe and the Middle East.
LASTING LEGACY OF THE CRUSADES

Cross culture interaction
 From
European perspective, wars were unsuccessful
 BUT! Europe gained knowledge of Arab and
Byzantine…
 Medicine,
Trade, Math, Architecture, Shipbuilding, Sailing,
and Philosophy
 New
Goods, Old Knowledge
 Exposure
to Muslim culture and goods spread through
Spain and Italy and to the rest of Europe

Pasta, paper, colored glass, spices
 Ancient

philosophy is reintroduced to Europe
Greek philosophical and scientific works change European thought
LASTING LEGACY OF THE CRUSADES
Scholasticism
Humanism
Pre-Crusade philosophy
that dominated European
thought; focused upon
knowledge in the fields of
law, medicine, and
religion
Focused upon using
logical reasoning to define
the “truth”. Led to
attempts to harmonize
Christianity with ancient
philosophy
Post-Crusade philosophy
that developed
throughout the
Renaissance; focused
on literary and
philosophical
scholarship, being a
well-rounded person,
and on human
achievement
Spread through Italy as
the rediscovery of
Greek and Roman
philosophy grew out of
Christian and Islamic
interactions during and
after the Crusades
INTERCONTINENTAL TRADE

Growth of Trade

Italy’s Advantages

Trade empires grow from
Northern Italian city-states


Hanseatic League forms


Venice, Florence, Genoa
Baltic Sea trade agreement
between kingdoms in
Northern Europe
Overland and overseas
trade begins to return to
the forefront of European
society
DIFFUSION OF GOODS
Make a prediction about some negative consequences that can come about
from major cities being connected like this during the Middle Ages…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZBRdTSgjjI
THE PLAGUE STRIKES EUROPE
THE PLAGUE

What caused the Black Death?


The Oriental Rat Flea carried the disease
How did it spread?
THE PLAGUE

Cures?
 Medieval
medicine did not understand germs or
disease and thought “bad humors” affected the
body
 Noticed
some people healed after sores burst so….
Tried to draw poison out by placing a paste made of figs and
cooked onions mixed with yeast and butter on the swelling then
lancing it with a knife
 Put live frogs’ belly on sores until the frog burst… and repeat

"They died by the hundreds, both day and night, and all were thrown in ...
ditches and covered with earth. And as soon as those ditches were filled,
more were dug. And I, Agnolo di Tura … buried my five children with my
own hands … And so many died that all believed it was the end of the
world.“ – Agnolo di Tura of Sienna, Italy
THE PLAGUE
THE PLAGUE
How does this compare with the map of trade routes that
we previously looked at?
TRANSITIONING SOCIETY
The move from the Middle Ages to Renaissance culture
PRE-CRUSADES

Kings – held control over
the kingdom’s warring
and taxation powers

POST-CRUSADES/PLAGUE


Lords – held control over
a manor and knights

Knights – held small parts
of manor and fought for the
Lord & King

Serfs – owned little and
were bound to work the
manor by Feudal law
Social hierarchy totally
disrupted


Lords and Knights died on
Crusade and by plague
Serfs died in great numbers by
the plague
Result?


Kings had less power, money,
food, workforce etc.
Society HAD to change to
compensate for the losses
THE DOWNFALL OF FEUDALISM
PRE CRUSADES/PLAGUE
POST CRUSADES/PLAGUE
King
King
Lords
Lords
Knights
Knights
Serfs
Serfs
PRE VS. POST CRUSADES/PLAGUE SOCIAL STRUCTURE
FEUDALISM FELL… SO WHAT?

Feudalism was…
A form of government
 An economic system
 A social structure


Sounds a lot like what Rome meant to Europe
right?

So, what’s going to replace it?
 A)
Another “dark age” where the European world gets worse
 B) A massive movement towards new ways of doing business,
conducting government, and gaining knowledge
YOUR OPINION

School should focus solely upon preparing you
for your career path.

School should focus upon turning you into a
well rounded individual and citizen.
THE SPREAD OF HUMANISM

Spread through Italy as an elitist movement

Took hold in the 14th century as (ancient) Greek
revivalist thought became popular
 Socrates,

Plato, Aristotle
Movement North and West

Next spread to Germany, England, and Spain
THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE


1350(ish) to 1500’s
Began in Italian cities

Florence, Milan, Naples,
Rome, Venice


Educated merchants,
bankers, and politicians
lived there
Humanist Influence


Humanists sought to
prepare soul for afterlife
AND bring admiration for
human achievement on
earth
Created a drive to succeed
SPREAD OF BANKING

Grew with trade
routes



Organizations like the
Templar Knights set
up banks in the
Crusades
Became very
important in
Crusading and postCrusading
world…why?
Powerful banking
families arose in Italy

Played prominent role
in the Italian
Renaissance
THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE

Merchants & the Medici



Wealthy merchant class
develops through trade
Emphasis placed on
individual achievement
Banking families arise in
Italian city-states


The Medici rule Florence
and become patrons of the
arts
Ancient Inspiration


Artists and scholars study
ancient Greece and Rome
Scholars move to Rome
after fall of Constantinople
in 1453