Medieval Times: Lecture Handout

Benson K. Wong (Oct 2005) 1

Renaissance, the Reformation & Era of European Exploration –

Background, developments and Impact

Mr. Benson K. Wong

SSC2049-01E


Macro Perspective

• The era of the great and existing changes since the 15th century

1. The end of feudalism: people could freely move in and out social mobility

2. The Fall of Constantinople by the occupation of the Turks The revitalization of the ancient civilization

3. The flourishing of arts masterpieces4. The scientific and technological innovations great

discovery and exploration5. The challenge of the authority holding taken-for-grant

practice The religious “revolution/reform”


Reasons for changes [1]

1. Economic development:• The crusades between the 11th and 13th centuries

brought a great increase in trade between East and West. Many Italian city-states along this trading route grew rich. Italian merchants became wealthy and began to improve their living conditions by learning and collecting beautiful things around them.

2. The decline of feudalism:• Towns became rich and bought their independence

from the king or a lord with the Increase of trade and commercial activities. A lot of serfs began to escape from the manors and went to live in those free towns.

• Many people escaped for survival from countryside under the widespread of the Black Death, leading to the decline of Feudalism



3. The decline influence of the Church• Churches were no longer the only centers of

learning. • Many universities and schools started to

provide education for people, especially in the rich towns. Students could now choose to study things that interested them, and express their ideas freely which led to the revival of learning and the question of the beliefs advocated by the Church



4. Improvements in printing: About the mid-15th century when Johann Gutenburg from Mainz, Germany, developed the advanced technology: The movable- type printing was made by pouring molten metal into a mold [模子 ] that never varied – so the size and shape of letters were consistent. Books could now be copied faster and sold inexpensively. New ideas could be spread more quickly and easily.


Number of printing machines[Source: Leinwand, G., The Pageant of World History, p. 225]

YEAR 1480 1500

Italy 235 532

Germany 78 214

France 20 147

Holland 14 40

Spain 6 71

Other places 28 46

TOTAL 382 1050


Renaissance (文藝復興 )

• What?: “rebirth”, “revival” of classical learning/ancient Greek and Roman civilization

• When?: 1350-1600 – a transitional period between the medieval and modern times.

• Where?: Started in Florence (佛羅倫斯 ) and then spread to other Italian city-states. By 1500, it had reached most countries in Europe


Renaissance

• Italy started the Renaissance in the 14th century with the below reasons:

1. History: The glory of the ancient Roman civilization the revival of the ancient learning.

2. Language: Italians were interested in ancient Latin writings since the Italian language was based on Latin.

3. Economy: larger and richer towns a greater interest in art and learning in the towns than in the countryside. The wealthy Italian rulers and merchants were willing to spend their money on arts (e.g. painting, sculpture, music and poetry)


Renaissance (Reasons)

4.External: the fall of the Constantinople (1453) many Greek scholars fled to Italy and bought with them precious Greek manuscripts and a knowledge of ancient Greece.


Humanism (人文主義 )

• A way of thought emphasizing human beings and human values. People have free will of their own and are capable of rational thinking. They have a duty to improve their life on earth and should also search for the truth.

• They still believed in God, but they were paying more attention to the world they lived in and the things around them. This change in outlook was reflected in their works, most of which were about human beings and human feelings.


Art – Painting & Sculpture

• Content: not only religion, but also every aspect of real life and the beauty around them.

• Major figures:– Leonardo da Vinci (達文西 )– Michelangelo (麥開羅基羅 )– Raphael (拉斐爾 )


Leonardo de Vinci

• ‘Renaissance man’: a printer, a sculptor, a poet, a composer, an architect, an engineer, and a scientist (e.g. designs for tanks, cannons, flying merchants)

• 2 famous paintings: “Last Supper” and “Mona Lisa”


Michelangelo

• Artist: painted huge pictures on “The Last Judgment [最後的審判 ]” and “The Creations [創世紀 ]” on the ceiling and walls of the Sistine Chapel [西斯汀大教堂 ] in the Vatican [梵帝崗 ], Rome.

• Fine marble sculptures: “David”, “Moses” and “The Pieta”

• Architect: The great dome of St. Peter’s Cathedral and St. Peter’s Square


Raphael

• Printer: good at printing the Virgin Mary – “Sistine Madonna” [西斯汀聖母像 ] and “School of Athens” [雅典學院 ]


Architecture

• Modeled their designs after ancient Greek and Roman buildings

• Used a lot of tall columns and large round domes, decorated with colorful frescoes

• (cf. The Medieval Times: adopted the Gothic style - pointed arches, tall pointed towels and high vaulted ceilings, decorated with colorful stained glass windows)


Notre Dame of Paris

Florence Cathedral, Italy


Literature

• Dante [但丁 ]: (e.g. The Divine Comedy [神曲 ]) Most of his poets wrote about the dark side of the Christian Church

• Shakespeare [莎士比亞 ]: (e.g. Romeo and Juliet [羅密歐與茱麗葉 ], Hamlet [王子復仇記 ], The Merchant of Venice [威尼斯商人 ]) Many plays showed the injustice of society and his deep understanding of human nature.


Science

• Copernicu [哥白尼 ]: a scientist and churchman – the sun is the center of the universe; the earth was only one of the planets moving around it.

• Vesalius [維塞利亞斯 ]: As a father of the modern science and biology, he published a book entitled On the Fabric of the Human Body describing many parts of the human body.

• Galileo [伽利略 ]: made a telescope and proved Copernicu’s idea was right.


Politics

Niccolo Machiavelli [馬利基維 ]: The Prince 君王論

• Background: plotting, assassination and poisoning were common amongst city-states in Italy

• advise princes on how to gain and hold power?– “The end justifies the means”: Terror and violence sho

uld be used if necessary– encourage the appearance of a political savior who co

uld unite Italy under one ruler and get rid of foreign invaders


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Impacts

1. People were free gradually from the church’s influence, contributing to the development of the independent and free thinking, question of unreasonable ideas and beliefs, and awareness of their own abilities and of the world around them.

2. Scholars no longer accepted whatever they were told by the Church. They went back to original, classical manuscripts and started to study and think for themselves.

3. Big change to education: Humanism emphasized the new structure and goals of all-rounded education: (1) a broad knowledge + spiritual, physical and intellectual development & (2) familiar with dance, music and art


Reformation [宗教改革 ]

• What? – A movement took place in the religious

beliefs of many European. As a result, new religions began in Germany, Switzerland, France and England.

– An attempt to reform or improve the Catholic Church

• When? Since 1517• Who + where? Martin Luther [馬丁路德 ]: a monk teaching about the Bible in a German university in Wittenberg


Reasons [1]

1. Corruption: • During the Middle Ages the Church grew rich and pow

erful as kings and nobles handed over large amounts of land for religious uses. By 1500, many bishops and religious orders owned huge estates. While popes, bishops, and abbots were leading lives of luxury, many priests were poor and ignorant men.

• 4 abuses:– Nepotism [用人唯親 ]: promoting relatives to high positions, re

gardless of their suitability– Simony [聖職買賣 ]: buying/selling positions– Pluralism: holding more than one Church position at the same

time.– Absenteeism: absent from the place a person was supposed t

o serve


Reasons [2]2. The failure of the Church to reform: most reformers

were burned to death for heresy3. The inadaptability of the Church to face changes:• New spirit of questioning and discovery during the Ren

aissance• “Priests were not the truth of knowledge”• Invention of printing helped the critics• Taxation: People in England, Germany and Spain were

unwilling to send money to the popes and followers4. Clash over indulgences/pardons [贖罪券 ]• Churchmen sold the tickets for getting rid of sins, sayin

g that if a person bought it, he would not be punished for his sins. Many people thought that the Church was wrong to make money in this way.


Luther broke with the Pope

• 1517: Luther wrote a list of 95 objections to the Church, nailed the list to a church door.

• 1521: The Pope excommunicated Luther, but many people supported him and became his follower.


Luther broke with the Pope

• Favorable political circumstance: Germany was divided into more than 300 small states ruled by bishops or a prince. Some princes supported Luther’s ideas because he would be useful to them in their struggle against the Holy Roman Emperor, who had very little power over the princes.

• Frederick of Saxony, one of the German princes, rescued Luther and allowed him to translate the New Testament into German and wrote books explaining his religious beliefs.


Lutheranism

• Main beliefs:1. Faith alone2. Bible was the only authority3. Communion Service [聖餐拜受 ] replaced the Mass4. Priesthood of all believers5. Consubstantiation (both the body and blood of Christ and the br

ead and wine were all present 聖餐中麵包和酒與耶穌的血肉同在 )

6. 2 sacraments [聖餐禮 ]7. Married clergy

• They formed the protestant Church and were called “Protestant” because they protested against the teachings of the Church. A new division of Christianity, Protestantism, was born.


Impacts [1]

1. Religious wars, e.g.:• War within Germany. In 1555, the fighting ended with

the Peace of Augsburg. Most of the northern German states became Protestant whereas the Southern states were still Catholic.

• War between England and Spain• War between England and Ireland 2. New Religious beliefs:• Lutheran• Calvinists (John Calvin in Switzerland)

– Each person must pray to God in his own way. No priest or church should order him how to pray

– Sins: dance/go to the theatre, gamble, drink wine, play games/wear pretty clothes


Impacts [2]– Beaten the young man in public if he disobeyed his parents– Follow the Jesus Christ’s teachings without any change

3. The Catholic Counter-Reformation• The movement towards reform within the Catholic

Church, beginning in earnest after the election of Pope Paul III in 1534.

• Major measures:– Appointed a commission of cardinals (樞機主教 ) to enquire

into the abuses in the Church– The foundation of the Society of Jesus [耶穌會 ] (1540)– Set up the Roman Inquisition [宗教法庭 ] (1542)– Called the Council of Trent: to clarify doctrines, improved the

standards of clergy and issued Index of banned books (1545)


Council of Trent


Era of European Exploration

• The Age of Discovery and Exploration• Reasons:

1. The fall of Constantinople: found a new sea route to the East for the stoppage of the trade on land

2. The technological breakthrough: reliable maps, new navigational instruments and better ships were ready by the year 1500

3. Breaking away from the monopolistic trading controlled by the Italians in the Mediterranean Sea

4. Others (more land and treasure, spread Christianity, Marco Polo’s legacy, testing whether the world was round/flat)


Developments

1. Prince Henry of Portugal [circa 1430-1460]: explored the NW Africa

2. Bartholomew Diaz [1488]: The Cape of Good Hope

3. Vasco de Gama [1498]: sailed round the Cape of Good Hope and reached India

4. Christopher Columbus [1492]: across the Atlantic Ocean and reached the American continent (New World)

5. Magellan [1519-22]: sailed round the world


Impacts

1. Growth of trade between the East and the West: sea route replaced the land route

2. The center of trade moved from the Mediterranean Sea to the NW Europe (nearby the Atlantic Ocean) – emergence of Portugal, Spain, Holland, France and England (cf. the decline of Italian city-states)

3. Rise of Europe as nation-states: national monarchies rose in Western Europe with the support of the middle class against the nobles.

4. The Expansion of Europe: Mercantilism (重商主義 : supported their own merchants in trading with the East by sea).


Retrospect

1. Medieval Times: A transition from the ancient time to the modern time

2. The increasing and then declining influence of the Roman Catholic Church

3. Religious struggles: Catholics and Protestants + Christianity and Islam

4. Economic developments served as the driving force behind changes

5. Political changes: The rise of nation-states ruled by the enlightened despots (e.g. Louis XIV in France, Peter the Great & Catherine the Great in Russia, Frederick the Great in Prussia) and the Age of Revolution in the 18th century


In-class exercise [1]

The Seven Stages of Man: • In one play, Shakespeare said that there are 7 stages

in the life of a man:1. Crying and being sick in the arms of its nurse or maid2. With his heavy bag of books on his back; he goes to

school slowly like a snail3. Writing poems to the lady whom he loves4. Speaking bad languages and always ready to fight5. With a fat stomach and a serious face6. With trousers too big for him, with poor eyesight and

with a child’s voice7. Nearly ready to die; he is like a baby again. He has no

teeth and cannot see well.


In-class exercise [1]

Keys [a word carrying the equivalent meaning is also correct]:

1. A baby2. A schoolboy3. A lover4. A soldier5. A judge/wise elder6. An old man7. A very old man


In-class Exercise [2]

• Use what you have learned about the Renaissance to do one of the following tasks:

1. Sell a product (material/non-material [i.e. service] one) / a belief/an idea (e.g. humanism, liberalism) (*Remember: How the features of the Renaissance can be reflected in the product/belief/idea you sell to the people?)

2. Draw a picture/collect some pictures with illustration to show how the Renaissance still affects our everyday life.

Medieval Times: Lecture Handout

Education

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