Exam Flashcards
What sort of communities did people live in, in the 1500’s?
The majority of the population lived in the countryside and agriculture was the main economic source. Nearly all production in the 1500’s was local and each region tended to grow all the food and manufacture products its population needed.
- In 1500, the majority of the population was illiterate. This is because most jobs were unskilled and did not require reading or writing. There was a small portion of educated elite which included church figures, lawyers doctors etc.
- Christianity was the official religion of the west and minorities were persecuted. Some were put to death for heresy. The Christian Church was the most important institution, even more so than the government.
- The West’s knowledge of the rest of the world was growing but limited as the existence of Australia and New Zealand was still unknown.
In shrot, the west in the 1500 was largely rural, generally poor, dominated by religion, intolerant of minorities and limited in its understanding of the outside world.
How was society organized in the 1500’s? State its main features?
Society was organized in a hierarchical manner. The religious hierarchy looked like this:
- The people.
- Cardinals
- Bishops
- Priests
Each level of hierarchy enjoyed special privileges.
On the civil side, the hierarchy looked like this:
- The king
- Nobility
- Professionals (lawyers, doctors)
- Skilled artisans
- Rural Laborers
No social mixing among these orders.
Men had leading roles as women were seen as weak. Men owned the family property and passed it down to their sons.
The guild was a big feature of the 1500s. They wanted to keep the supply of goods low to keep prices up.
What were the factors that made people reluctant to embrace change in the 1500’s?
- The dominance of religion
- The level of intolerance
- Low and static income levels. Unequal distribution of wealth amongst the classes. The nobility, religious figures etc. would experience income growth, but the average person would not.
- The general comfort that came from old ideals, beliefs and ways of life. This is partly because there was little contact among different regions of the world.
- Cheap labour and slavery. Because labour costs were low, purchasers had little incentive to look for cheaper, more efficient methods . Because of this, traditional production methods survived.
What factors encouraged change in the 1500’s?
- Gutenberg and the Printing Press. In the 1440s, Johannes Gutenberg created the priting press. This led to the mass production of books and as a result, books become more readily available and cheaper which led to advancement in education.
- The printing press also had a significant influence on religion as the Bible became more widely available, more people could read scriptures and interpret them for themselves.
- The growth of Humanism spurred changed as traditional religious thinking argued that humans were weak and sinful, however, humanists believed in the the dignity and potential of the human race and argue that humans are capable of making the world a better place on their own. Because of this, religion does not need to be the centre of a person’s life.
- Religious reformers such as John Hus and John Wycliffe who advocated for the individual interpretation of God’s word which undermined support for the Church Hierarchy.
- Secular writings led to a decline in the Church’s influence and some of its traditional supporters. This allowed for religious reformers to gain followers.
Definition : Secular
People are not required to believe in a particular religion - or any religion at all.
- Pertaining to the quality of life in the state, and in education apart from religious considerations
Definition: Heresy
Holding on to beliefs that the leading church said was wrong.
Definition: Social Mobility
Possible for the children of parents with little education to become highly educated professionals
- It is a change in social status relative to others’ social location within a given society.
Definition: Hierarchical
Many distinct orders and classes of people
Definition: Dowry
Portion of money or goods given to the new couple to help them establish themselves.
Definition: Artisans
People highly qualified in a particular trade
Definition: Guild
A guild was an association of artisans of the same trade, and it licensed new artisans.
Definition: Cottage Industries
People manufactured good in their own homes as there were no factories to produce them.
Definition: Barter System
A system in which people traded goods for other goods.
Definition: Subsistence
Wages allowed families to survive at the minimum and little more.
Definition: Humanism
A philosophy concerned with human beings, their nature, their development in making life better in the secular world; a cultural and intellectual movement in the Renaissance,
John Wycliffe
1320 - 1384 - 14th century
- a religious reformer who believed that the Church had become corrupt and no longer represented the true Christian faith. He argued that there was nothing in the Bible to support the authority of the pope and that the position should be abolished along with other senior positions. He believe that the Bible should be written in the local language which would allow people to interpret it for themselves.
- Advocated for the individual interpretation of God’s word which undermined support for the Church Hierarchy.
- believed individuals could gain salvation solely through the authenticity of their faith
John Hus
1369-1415 - Head of the University of Prague and supported views similar to those of Wycliffe.
He led a movement that supported many of Wycliffe’s ideas and supported the introduction of lay people (ordinary people rather than clergy) in the ceremony of communion which was reserved by the Church exclusively for the clergy.
- He and Wycliffe were condemned as heretics and Hus was burned at the stake.
Explain the social and political changes during the Renaissance. (50 MARK ESSAY QUESTION)
Today, the Renaissance remains a significant era in history as it represents a rebirth of numerous ideas that were present in the classical times of Ancient Rome and Greece, particularly humanism which had great effect on religion, government, art,literature and education, all of which experienced significant change,.
One of the most significant changes during the Renaissance was the emergence of humanism. Prior to its growth, society valued the qualities of submissiveness and acceptance due to the great dependence placed on the divine and supernatural powers reinforced by religious beliefs. However, humanism paved the road for change. It focused on human dignity and the potential of human beings to find the truth through reason and evidence rather than through revelations of the supernatural. It placed emphasis on the human role in affecting events.
Due to its influence on writers, philosophers and artists, there was an influx of interest in the areas of science, poetry, art and philosophy leading to an emergence of key figures such as Thomas Moore, Desiderious Erasmus, and Machiavelli, famous for his political philosophy in which he abandoned the morality of humanists.
At the beginning of the sixteenth century, Rome replaced Florence as the centre of the Renaissance, and it was during this time that the concept of the artist emerged as they began to climb the social ladder due to recognition of their works. Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Sofonisba was one of the few female artists and Leonardo da Vinci invented a number of painting techniques and painted the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper. - Changed the way the world viewed art and artists. Their contributions to the era inspired others to see art and artists as valuable assets to the community.
Between 1500 and 1600 a population shift from rural to urban areas took place. This increased the living standards of most of the urban middle class. Peasants and farmers however did not benefit as the prices of every day goods also increased.
Education also experienced profound change as a result of renaissance humanism as humanists believed that education was they key to morality, in contrast to the medieval approach which placed greater emphasis on religion.
Humanist education was all about studying the classics and liberal arts. Grammar, poetry, mathematics were mandatory as were sports as they developed discipline and skill. Humanists believed this type of education would lead people to live lives of virtue and wisdom. Few females attended school.
- Europe was divided into Catholic and Protestant states. with further denominations such as Lutherans and Calvinists.
- Henry VIII sparked the reformation when he wanted a divorce from Catherine of Aragon as she could not give him a heir heir and he had fallen in love with Anne Boleyn. The Church however, did not allow for divorce so Henry officially separated England from the Church of Rome. He declared himself the leader of the Church of England, divorced Catherine and married Anne. For the next five years, England was swung between Protestantism and Catholicism. Protestantism was officially restored in 1558.
During the Reformation, Protestant educators established schools and universities and implemented humanist methods. They were available to the wider public as Luther believed that all children should have access to free education.
One of the most important consequences of the Protestant Reformation was the introduction of religious pluralism as it destroyed religious unity in the West forever.
As a result of the Protestant Reformation, the French Monarchy, for example, alternated between the Protestant and Catholic factions several times. Although Catherine de Medici wanted a balance between the two sides, she supported an attack on the Protestant in 1572 which became known as Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre of the Protestants. This massacre prompted the rise of an international alliance of Protestants.
Explain the difference between primary and secondary sources and why they are important tools for research.
Primary sources is first hand information that you can analyze in order to come to a conclusion, for example a diary, newspapers or statistics. Secondary source is a second-hand account that a historian has written about a person, event etc. based on his or her interpretation of primary evidence. They tend to be biased. Examples: books, textbooks, documentaries and journals.
Definition: City-states
The city and its surrounding land made up the state.
Autonomous political units that have a major city at their centre and include the neat hinterland.
Definition: Oligarchy
Governments of the few; usually a group of wealthy people and/or aristocrats.
What were the Papal States
A collection of territories, including Rome, ruled by the papacy. Popes ruled as both the secular and religious authority, and participated in all political and diplomatic matters.
Who is the father of humanism?
Petratch (1304-1374) introduced the concept of chronology into the study of history by dividing history into three different eras
- Classical civilization
- Middle Ages
- The Renaissance
Who is Giovanni Picco della Mirandola?
1463 - 1944. Known for writing Oration on the Dignity of Man in which he describes humans as the only creatures in the world free to become whatever they choose. Influenced by Platonic philosophy and its idealistic view of human nature.