Download A New Vision of Humanity - Class Notes for Mr.Guerriero

The Renaissance
 The image above is a Greek statue that
became very popular during the
Renaissance
 Greek and Roman art became popular
during the Renaissance due to its focus on
the human body.
 Many artists developed the same style as
ancient Greek and Roman artists.
 These artists were known as Humanists.
 There were several “Crusades” towards
the end of the Middle Ages.
 The Crusades were a series of “Holy”
wars, perpetrated by the Pope and
the Catholic army (1096-1272
approx).
 The goal of the Crusades were to stop
the spread of Islam.
 Along with the Catholic army many
merchants travelled to the Middle East
 These merchants began to trade with local
merchants.
 These merchants brought back spices,
silks, fine cottons and exotic jewellery.
 They made vast sums of money back in
Europe.
 With this money merchants built huge
homes and invested in “cultural” projects
 With this new interest in “culture,” many
people began devoting more time to the arts
and to science.
 People began to think for themselves,
instead of blindly obeying authority.
 People began seeking explanations for their
beliefs.
 This new way of thinking led to the start of
the Renaissance (re-birth).
 Renaissance was a change of ideas, beliefs,
and practices.
 The Renaissance began in the late 14th
century, in Italy.
 The causes were: 1) ongoing crusades
2) famines and epidemics
3) new interest in art,
culture and science
Major
centers of
the
Renaissance
 The people responsible for the Renaissance
were :
1. Artists: daVinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli,
etc
2. Scholars : Erasmus, Descartes, Pascal
3. Philosophers: Luther, Calvin, More
 These groups of people were tired of society
favouring a few.
 Tired of societies' restrictions (rules)
 This is the name that is given to those artists,
scientists and philosophers responsible for
the new ideas of the Renaissance.
 Humanists believed that humans were the
center of the world and were born free.
 They also believed that people should enjoy
the beauty around them, rather then focus
on preparing for the afterlife.
 Had a positive outlook rather then the dark
attitude of the Middle ages.
 Most humanist ideas were expressed
through art.
 During this period artists focused on
the beauty of nature and the human
body.
 This is very similar to the ancient
Greeks
 They developed the technique of
perspective (3 dimensional) and
sfumato (makes paintings hazy to
soften to lines).
 Scientists studied the human body and its
complexity.
 Scientists wanted to understand the body.
 They rejected the religious idea that the
body is just a vessel into the afterlife.
 This new craving for knowledge prompted
scientists to study many more topics.
 During the Middle Ages this need for
knowledge didn’t exist.
 Science was seen as opposition to the
church during the Middle Ages.
 Humanists rejected the controlling
nature of the Catholic church.
 Humanists wanted a reform of the church.
 They wanted high clergy to follow a life of
poverty rather then that of a noble.
 Bible to be printed in local languages, rather
then Latin only.
 Stop corrupt practices: selling indulgences
and unsupervised local priests.
 The humanists placed humans at the
center of their beliefs and practices
rather than God.
 They rediscovered the works of ancient
Greek philosophers and their ideas of
freedom.
 Promoted reason, progress, tolerance,
peace, knowledge, and individual
growth.
 The development of the movable type
(1450) and the printing press (1455) by
Johannes Gutenberg, allowed for the spread
of humanist ideas.
 This new invention reduced the cost of
written works.
 It also allowed written documents to reach
many more people.
 Humanist ideas also paved the way for
science to brake free from the
church.
 During the Renaissance scientists
began dissecting corpses, once
forbidden by the church.
 This led to major discoveries in
medicine.
 Scientists also created various
instruments and mathematical
theories.
1. Invention of concave lenses
for myopia (1440)
2. Discovery of blood
circulation (1543)
3. Discovery of pulmonary
circulation (1553)
1. Addition (+) and
subtraction (-) signs
(1490)
2. Square root (1525)
3. Equal sign (=) (1557)
1. Microscope (1604)
2. Refracting telescope
(1610)
3. Reflecting telescope
(1668)
1. Thermometer (1593)
2.Calculator (1642)
3.Barometer (1643)
 Christendom refers to the organizations of the
Catholic church and all of its followers.
 Humanists believed that the structure of the
church should be reformed (change).
 Humanists believed that there was corruption
and unjust practices in the church.
 Their biggest complaints were the selling of
indulgences and church officials living the
life of nobles (rich, unchaste).
 Humanists wanted the bible translated
into local languages.
 In 1517 Pope Leo X began to sell indulgences
to help fund the building of St. Peter’s
Basilica.
 This outraged many, in particular a German
monk named Martin Luther.
 Luther wrote his famous 95 Theses, ideas to
reform the church.
 He nailed this document the door of a
church in Germany.
 For his actions the church had Luther
excommunicated (kicked out).
 Luther decided to start his own church,
free from the corruption of the Catholic
church.
 Luther’s actions prompted others like him to
start their own churches .
 John Calvin and King Henry VIII created
Calvinism and Anglican Religion.
 The followers of these new religions
were given the name “Protestants”
 This was due to their “protest” against
the church.
 Those who remained loyal to the
church took the name “Catholics”
 There were major differences between these
two religious groups.
 Protestants prayed to God and Jesus
only. There was no devotion to Mary or the
saints.
 Protestants believed that access to heaven
was through faith only. Catholics also
believed in religious works (confession,
charity)
 There was equality in the Protestant
church. No hierarchy or wealthy clergy.
 All members of the Protestant church had
access to a bible in a local language.
 All Protestants were encouraged to read
and interpret the Bible. Catholics were
not.
 Protestants only had two sacraments
baptism and communion.
 Protestant churches were very simple.
Catholic churches were usually
luxurious.
 The success of the Protestant movement,
forced the Church to make changes.
 In 1545 Pope Paul III assembled high
ranking church officials in Trent, Italy.
 The council has since been called the
Council of Trent.
 The Council lasted for 18 years.
 The purpose was to discuss Church
reform.
 Bishops had to live in their dioceses and
supervise local priests. Live a life of
poverty.
 Colleges founded to educate new priests.
 Official version of the Bible was
produced, in Latin.
 The Inquisition, a council to prosecute
heretics (non-believers)
 New religious orders were founded to help
spread Catholicism.
 New religious orders that were created were:
Ursulines, Capuchins and Jesuits.
 The hope for the Council of Trent was to
implement reforms that would restore
trust in the church.
 However, these reforms proved to be the
final separation between Catholics and
Protestants.
 The reforms of the counter reformation
did slow (stopped in some areas) the
spread of Protestantism.
 The Protestant reformation was not the first
division of the Christian church.
 In 1054 the Eastern Christians split with
the church to from the Orthodox
Church.
 By the end of the 16th century there were
three major branches of Christianity;
Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox.
 With the spread of Protestant churches
prompted many Catholics to react with
violence.
 In 1618 Emperor Charles V (HRE) declared
war on Protestants. The war ended in 1648.
It is named the “Thirty Years War.”
 In 1575 in France Catholics killed over 3000
protestants. This is known as the
St.Bartholomew’s Day Massacre