Modern age: 15th century and reformation

Question 1

why do the middle ages start at the 15th century?

Answer 1

• Constantinople was taking by the Ottoman empire
  
  • tension between ottomann empire and christian world → bc growth of ottoman empire
  • discovery of the americas
  • Reformation
  • the Italian renaissance and humanism → lost importance in italy but spread to rest of europe
  • black death/plague
  • Reconquista of Granada: marriage to form union and reconquered Granada → first step of formation of spain

Question 2

New Dawn: humanism and reformation

Answer 2

• Humanism: nature of the caesura bet Middle Ages and the modern age → radical discontinuity
  
  • → introduced by Francesco Petrarch
  • Continuity thesis: Haskins: The renaissance of the twelth century → modern western civilasation started in the renaissance of the 12th century → period of urbanisation, education and economic growth, development of thinking
  • not as radical but there is a caesura
  • Lesaffer: ‘’Antiquity was re-rediscovered’’ in modern age
  • Epistemology = theory of knowledge
  • redicovery of Aristotle, Bible, Cicero etc.
  • Epistemologists searched for knowledge by analysing and interpreting classical text canon
  • Scholasticim expected to find absolute and timeless truth, but found lots of contradictions and inconsistensies → used logic as a tool to harmonize authoritative texts (Auctoritas: absolute authority)
  • Humanists saw texts historical texts who have a certain time and space
  • texts have relative authority
  • Humanism is the start of the intellectual emancipation of the west
  • Emulatio (study, imitation and competition) → love of reading and books
  • historical and philological method of interpretation (text critism, linguistics)
  • historical accurate interpretation of texts (?)

Question 3

Lorenzo Valla: About the donation of Constantine

Answer 3

The donation of Constantine
* Lorenzo discovered that it was a forgery and it in the 9th century
* used historical and methodological method to show forgery → used logic: no other docs to confirm this document, diadem: crown was not of stones or gold but cloth → describing a 9th century crown instead of a 4th century diadem
* → challeged authority by revealing that it was fake

The impact of humanism: the scientific revolution
* How did he challenge the authority?
* Copernicus: rejects authority of theology → do not look for correct info in the bible, no proper understanding of the physical book
* book was forbidden →
* Galileo: heliocentric challenged new ideas

Outcome
* rise of new epidemiologist in the 17th century → rationalism and empiricism
* Charles Perraults: moderns surpassed ancients and have become giants

Question 4

New Dawn: beginning of the Reformation and causes

Answer 4

• Martin Luther: german monk, professor of theology
  
  • Martin Luther hammers his 95 reasons whats wrong with church on Wittenberg dome
  • → was not challenging pope, no blueprint of new church
  • thesis to consent indulgences
  • buying indulgence to forgive sins
  • buying indulgence for someone who died → shorten time of purgatory

Reformation: Causes
* abuses in the church
* sale of indulgence
* Nepotism: giving positions to family, friends, children etc.
* Riches of church
* Externalism:
* Concubines

Question 5

Martin Luther

Answer 5

• reasons for his impact → printing press had recently been invented → easily spread his ideas
  
  • Thesis would spread through holy roman empire and was translated → became ‘’viral’’
  • first time for opinions to be spread through printing press
  • many wanted to escape Emperor of Rome, who sided with the Pope
  • Formulation of the new theology: only faith, only scriptture → rejection of later institutions: seven sacraments, purgatory, dogma transsubstantiaion, Saints, religious orders

Question 6

Churches response to reformation and escalation of the conflict

Answer 6

• 1520: papal bull: public letter: ‘Arise, O lord’ → views of Luther was erratic, not accepted by church, offered Luther to take back thesis or they would excommunicated him
  
  • → Luther burned papal bull → he got excommunicated 1521
  • Charles the 5th allied with the pope → both worried abt reformation becoming big
  • Charles wanted Empire to stay Catholic and stay allied with pope
  • → diet of worms: representatives of all roman empire regions
  • Martin Luther: was confronted with Emperor and yet did not give in → ‘’I can do no other. Here I take my stand’’
  • outlawed → Martin Luther was not protected by the law
  • Received protection and shelter by prince of Saxony
  • went into hiding in Eisenach
  • Emperor was not powerful enough to impose diet of worms on different states
    → spreading of reformation

The churches Responses
* Counter reformation:
* Council of Trent(1545-1563) → waited many years after Martin Luthers thesis: doctrinal clarity ( and banning abuses
* Index of forbidden books
* pope was worried to loose power if he made a council → so he waited many years after start of reformation

Question 7

Impact of the Reformation

Answer 7

• wars of religion → culminated in the thirty years war → fought in holy roman empire
  
  • tensions in empire → 1/3 of people were killed by war or economic consequences
  • included many areas → european war
  • Reformation created modern Europe and left mark on the history of the world
  • Pluralism: the end of religious unity in western Europe and start of religious pluralism, protestant movements
  • individualism
  • church authority challenged