Download CH35 A New Way of Thinking

A New Way of Thinking
Review of the Eastern Hemisphere
Review of the Western Hemisphere
For hundreds of years, since ancient times, the history of Europe seemed to
follow a pattern: a great warrior, ruler of a small kingdom, would lead his
army against other small kingdoms around him, conquer them, and unite
them. Then his descendants would let it fall apart until another great ruler
came along to start the cycle all over again.
Dude, we do
all the hard
stuff, and
then our kids
screw it up!
I know, right?!
Alfred the Great
Charlemagne
But around the time that Martin Luther and Christopher Columbus lived, the
pattern started to change. Countries such as England, France, Spain, and Italy
managed to build strong armies – and the people could have time to think,
read, and study.
Don’t worry guys,
I’ve got this!
When the Ottoman Turks conquered the city of Constantinople and turned its
great cathedral into a Muslim mosque, hundreds of Eastern Orthodox
Christian scholars left the city and traveled west, into Europe.
They brought with them scrolls written in Greek, of which some
of them were copies of the Bible. Others were writings of
Christians who had lived hundreds of years before. The Eastern
Orthodox Church had kept them safe for centuries.
When the Eastern Orthodox scholars settled down in Europe, they began
teaching others how to read the Greek writings. Slowly, men and women
began to be interested in learning Greek and Latin. Many of the scrolls were
translated into the languages of Spain, Italy, England, and France.
Artists began to make their sculptures and paintings look like
Greek art, which was more realistic. Painters tried to make the
light in their paintings look like it was really shining from the sun.
Sculptures began to look more and more like real
people, with muscles, skin, and fabric.
The Pieta, by Michelangelo
Architects designed their buildings with Greek
columns and Roman arches.
We call this time the Renaissance. Renaissance means
“rebirth,” which in a way, was the rebirth of the dead
Greek and Roman ideas.
The Renaissance was also a time of new discoveries. No longer
were explorers afraid of boiling seas or falling off the edge of the
world.
Because people started to question and think about the world
around them scientifically, they were able to draw conclusions
from what they observed and noticed.
Leonardo da Vinci is often referred to as a great inventor,
mathematician, and artist of the Italian Renaissance.
His art was hugely sought after. He painted the Mona Lisa as well as many
others. He is also known for The Last Supper, depicting Jesus and his apostles
on the night he shares his body and blood with them, before he is taken away
to be crucified.
Leonardo da Vinci was also known for his ideas of
technology. He created numerous drawings of
inventions.
Another well-known artist at the time was Raphael Sonzio. He was orphaned
when he was eleven, and taken in by his uncle, a priest. It was said that he
showed great promise as an artist, even as a child.
One of Sonzio’s great pieces was a painting
depicting St. George slaying a dragon.
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was an incredible Italian Renaissance
painter, sculptor, and architect. He was once commissioned to build Pope Julius II’s
tomb, and to carve over 40 statues within 5 years, but because of interruptions, it took
40 years, and it was never completed to his satisfaction.
Just call me
‘Michelangelo.’
He is probably most known for painting the ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel in Vatican City in Rome, which is 68 ft. high. He painted
over 5,000 square feet of ceiling space.
Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi, also known as Donatello, was an early Italian
Renaissance sculptor.
He was commissioned to sculpt a colossal statue of St. John the
Evangelist, and because he started out as a goldsmith, one of his
favorite materials to work with was bronze.
Notice anything familiar about these four artists?
Donatello
Raphael
Leonardo
Michelangelo
Guttenberg’s Great Invention
Out of all the inventions since the Middle Ages, the printing press did the
most to change the world.
Before the printing press was invented, books were written by
hand. Remember the monks who copied manuscripts in their
monasteries? One book might take years to finish!
During the Middle Ages, merchants trading with China learned
how to make paper from the Chinese, but they still had to write
everything by hand.
Then, everything changed. A young man in Germany
was learning how to be a goldsmith. His name was
Johannes Gutenberg.
He molded letters out of metal and arranged them to form a
metal page. Then he dipped it in ink and pressed it onto paper.
He kept improving the metal used to make the letters.
After years of experimenting, his letters were made from a mixture of
tin, lead, and a toxic metal called antimony. This metal can lead to
poisoning and inflammation of the heart muscle.
The actual printing press was derived from an old wine
press, which was originally used to squeeze grapes.
It took several years to set all the letters to make the first printed Bible, but
once the pages were set, Gutenberg and twenty helpers printed out 450
Bibles in one year. If twenty monks had to write them by hand, it would have
taken them 90 years each.
Not long after, William Caxton took Gutenberg’s
technique and made the first printed instructions for
chess.
As time went on, more and more people made books, and they
became cheaper and cheaper. Now, ordinary men could buy and
read poems, stories, science, instructions, and more.