Change in Europe from the Fourteenth to the Seventeenth Century
- In many countries of Europe, the number of cities began to increase and a special type of 'urban culture' developed
- People living in cities started considering themselves more civilized than the villagers
- Cities were becoming centres of art and knowledge
- Florence, Venice and Rome became centres of arts and learning
- The wealthy and elite became patrons of artists and writers
- With the invention of printing, printed books became available in far-off cities or countries
- The understanding of history developed in Europe; people began to compare the 'modern world' with the Greek and Roman 'ancient world'
- Now every person could choose religion according to his wish
- The Church is the center of the Earth; these beliefs were proven wrong by scientists
- Now scientists have started to understand the solar system
Sources of Information on Fourteenth-Century European History
- documents
- Printed Books
- Picture
- Statues
- Buildings and clothing
- These are kept safely in the archives, art galleries and museums of Europe and America.
Renaissance
- Nineteenth century historians used the term 'Renaissance' (literally meaning rebirth) to describe the cultural changes of that period.
- In 1860, “Burkhart” in his book “The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy” drew people's attention towards literature, architecture and painting and explained how a 'humanist' culture was developing in the cities of Italy.
- This culture was based on the new belief that a person is capable of making his own decisions and advancing his abilities.
- Such a person was 'modern' while the 'medieval man' was controlled by the Church.
Revival of Italian cities
- After the fall of the Western Roman Empire the political and cultural centers of Italy declined
- Italy being a weak country and divided into many pieces, these changes helped in the revival of Italian culture.
- Italy's coastal ports revived as trade grew between the Byzantine Empire and Islamic countries.
- When trade started through the 'Silk Route' in the twelfth century, it boosted the trade of Western European countries and the Italian cities played a major role in it.
- These cities were now not part of a powerful empire but were a group of independent city-states; among the cities, Florence and Venice, were republics, and many others were court cities ruled by princes.
- Among these, the most lively cities were Venice, first and Geneva, second.
- The wealthy merchants and moneylenders of the city actively participated in the governance of the city, thereby developing a sense of citizenship.
University and humanism
- The first universities in Europe were established in Italian cities.
- The universities of Padua and Bologna were centres of jurisprudence from the eleventh century onwards.
- The main activities of the cities were related to trade and commerce so there was a great demand for lawyers and notaries
- They wrote rules, interpreted them and drafted agreements, so the study of law became a favourite subject.
Humanism
- There is much still to be known and we do not learn all this from religious teachings alone. This new culture was named 'Humanism' by nineteenth century historians.
- In the early decades of the fifteenth century the term 'humanist' was used to describe teachers who taught grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history and ethics.
renaissance man
- The term 'Renaissance man' is often used to describe a person who has many interests and masters many skills.
- There were many great people during the Renaissance who had many interests and were skilled in many arts.
- For example, the same person could be a scholar, a diplomat, a theologian, and an artist.
University of Florence
- Two people played a major role in the fame of Florence in the fifteenth century.
- Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), who did not belong to any particular religious sect, used his pen on religious subjects.
- Giotto (Glotto, 1267-1337) who made lifelike portraits. His portraits were not lifeless like those of earlier artists.
- After this, Florence gradually came to be known as the most vibrant intellectual city in Italy and became the centre of creation of artistic works.
Humanistic view of history
- Humanists believed that the 'Dark Ages' began after the collapse of the Roman Empire, which they later restored
- The humanists used the term 'modern' for the period beginning in the fifteenth century.
- Chronology used by humanists and later scholars
1. 5-14 century Middle Ages
2. 5-9 century Dark Ages
3. 9-11 centuries Early Middle Ages
4. 11-14 centuries Late Middle Ages
5. 15th century to modern era
- Recently many historians have raised questions on this period division, it is inappropriate to term any period as 'Dark Age' on the basis of cultural prosperity or lack of prosperity
Science and Philosophy-Contribution of Arabs
- In the fourteenth century many scholars began to read translations of Plato and Aristotle produced by Arab translators
- On one hand European scholars were studying Arabic translations of Greek texts, while on the other hand Greek scholars were translating the works of Arabic and Persian scholars.
- These texts were related to natural sciences, mathematics, astronomy, medicine and chemistry.
- Muslim writers who were considered learned in the Italian world
- Ibn Sina, an Arabic physician and philosopher from Bukhara in Central Asia
- Al-Razzi (Rhazes), author of the encyclopedia of medicine
- The Spanish Arabic philosopher Ibn Rushd attempted to resolve tensions between philosophical knowledge and religious belief.
- Humanistic subjects gradually began to be taught in schools as well as in the curriculum of universities.
Artists and realism
- Not only the formal education of the humanists but also art, architecture and texts played an important role in shaping people's thoughts. Studying the paintings made by earlier artists inspired new artists.
- In 1416, Donatello (1386-1466) established a new tradition by creating lifelike statues.
- Artists visited laboratories in medical colleges to study human skeletons
- Belgian-born Andreas Vesalius was a professor of medicine at the University of Padua. He was the first person to dissect a human body for microscopic examination.
- Knowledge of geometry allows a painter to better understand his landscape, and studying the changing properties of light helps give his paintings a three-dimensional look.
- The use of oil as a medium for paint made the paintings more colourful and vibrant than before.
- Thus anatomy, geometry, physics and a keen sense of beauty gave a new shape to Italian art which was later called 'realism'.
architecture
- The city of Rome was revived magnificently in the fifteenth century.
- Carefully excavated Roman ruins by archaeologists led to the development of a 'new style' of architecture which was essentially a revival of the Roman Imperial style, now called the 'Classical' style.
- Popes, wealthy merchants, and aristocrats commissioned architects who were familiar with classical architecture to build their buildings.
- Painters and craftsmen also decorated the buildings with paintings, sculptures and relief paintings.
- Michelangelo Buonarroti is the one who designed the paintings on the inner ceiling of the Pope's Sistine Chapel, the statue called 'The Pietà', and the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, which made Michelangelo immortal.
- The architect Filippo Brunelleschi, who designed the great dome of Florence (Duomo), began his career as a sculptor.
First printed books
- Whatever was written in Italy reached abroad, thanks to the revolutionary printing technology of the sixteenth century.
- Europeans can attribute it to the Chinese and Mongol rulers, as European traders and diplomats became familiar with the technology during their visits to the courts of Mongol rulers.
- In 1455, German-born Johannes Gutenberg, who created the first printing press, printed 150 copies of the Bible in his workshop.
- Before this, a monk could write only one copy of the Bible in the same amount of time.
Impact of printed books –
- Students did not have to rely solely on notes made from teachers' lectures.
- Ideas, opinions and information now spread faster than ever before.
- A printed book promoting these ideas could reach several hundred readers very quickly.
- This developed the habit of reading among people.
- The rapid spread of Italian humanist culture across the Alps from the end of the fifteenth century was due primarily to the distribution of printed books.
A new concept of man
- One of the characteristics of humanist culture was the weakening of the control of religion on human life.
- The Italians were overly fascinated with material wealth, power, and glory.
- The Venetian humanist Francesco defended the acquisition of property as a virtue in one of his pamphlets.
- Lorenzo Valla believed that the study of history helped lead one to live a more fulfilling life, and in his book On Pleasure he criticized Christianity's prohibition on sensual pleasure.
- People at this time were interested in good manners - how one should speak politely; how one should dress, and what a civilized person should master.
- Humanism also meant that an individual could shape his life through many means other than the competition for power and wealth.
Women's aspirations
- Women were excluded from the new ideas of individuality and citizenship
- It was a male dominated society, only boys were educated so that after them they could take up their family profession or general responsibilities of life
- Women's participation in public life was very limited and they were seen as the caretakers of the household.
- When dowry could not be arranged then married girls were sent to Christian monasteries to live the life of a nun.
- The dowry received by women at the time of marriage was invested by men in their family businesses, but women did not have the right to give any opinion to their husbands about running the business.
- To strengthen business friendship, there were marriage relations between the two families.
- The position of women in merchant families was somewhat different; they often helped them in running the shops.
- In merchant families, if the merchant died at an early age, his wife was forced to play a major role in public life.
Prominent women
1. Some women of the period were very intellectually creative Cassandra Fedele of Venice wrote, “Although education for women offers neither reward nor assurance of honor, every woman ought to aspire to and pursue every form of education.” Fedele was well known for her knowledge of Greek and Latin. She was invited to lecture at the University of Padua.
2. Marchesa Isabella d'Este of Mantua She ruled her kingdom in the absence of her husband. Though Mantua was a small kingdom, its court was renowned for its intellectual brilliance.Women's writings reflect their conviction that they should have greater economic autonomy, property and education in order to make their mark in a male-dominated society.
Debates within Christianity
- Trade and government, military conquests and diplomatic contacts linked Italian cities and courts with distant lands.
- In the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, many scholars in the universities of northern Europe were attracted to humanist ideas.
- In Europe, humanism attracted many members of the Christian Church. They called on Christians to practice religion in the ways prescribed in their ancient scriptures.
- He spoke of abandoning unnecessary rituals, denouncing them as later additions to a simple religion.
- They believed in a distant God and believed that he created man but also gave him complete freedom to lead his life freely.
- He also believed that man must find his happiness in this world, in the present.
Change in the view of Christianity
- Christian humanists, Thomas More of England and Erasmus of Holland, believed that the church had become a greedy and plundering institution and that the simplest way to extract money from people was through a document called the confession.
- In almost every part of Europe, kings opposed the interference of the church in the governance and the peasants opposed the taxes imposed by the church.
- The humanists informed the society that the clergy's claim to judicial and financial powers derived from a document called the 'Grant of Constantine' was not genuine but a forgery produced in the transitional period.
Protestant Reformation
- In 1517, a young German monk, Martin Luther, launched a campaign against the Catholic Church, arguing that humans do not need priests to connect with God.
- Luther commanded his followers to have total faith in God because only their faith can lead them to a good life and gain entry into heaven.
- This movement was named Protestant Reformation
- The churches of Germany and Switzerland severed their ties with the Pope and the Catholic Church
- The reformers' popularity was greatest in the cities, with support from merchants, while the Catholic Church was dominant in the countryside.
- In France, as in many parts of Europe, the Catholic Church allowed Protestants to worship as they chose.
- The rulers of England also broke their ties with the Pope and became heads of the Church.
catholic reformation
- The Church began to reform itself; priests in Spain and Italy emphasized simple living and service to the poor.
- In Spain, to combat the Protestants, Ignatius Loyola founded the Society of Jesus in 1540. His followers were called Jesuits.
- His mission was to serve the poor and broaden his knowledge of other cultures.
Copernican Revolution
1. The ancient belief of Christians was that the Christians believed that the earth is full of sins and is stationary due to the abundance of sins. The earth is stationary in the middle of the universe around which the celestial bodies are revolving.
2. Scientists changed the ancient belief. Copernicus declared that all planets including the Earth revolve around the Sun in his manuscript De Revolutionibus.Astronomers Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei eliminated the distinction between 'heaven' and 'earth' through their writings.
3. Kepler popularized Copernicus' heliocentric theory of the solar system in his treatise Cosmographical Mysteries, which proved that all the planets orbited the Sun in elliptical rather than circular paths.
4. Galileo confirmed the principles of the dynamic world in his treatise The Motion. This revolution in the world of science reached its zenith with Newton's theory of gravity.
Study of the universe
