UNIT 1 – EUROPEAN RENAISSANCE AND

REFORMATION

MWH – 1.2, 1.4, 1.5, 3.1, 3.2

PRE-CRUSADES

Europe was largely isolated

from Asian and African

cultures after the fall of

Rome

- The Fall of the Roman Empire

destroyed a government,

economic, and society that had

existed for 1000 years

Locked into ways of thinking

by custom and the Church

Stagnant culture due to

constant warfare and lack of

stable government systems

THE CRUSADES

Series of wars between

Christian kingdoms and

the Islamic world

between 1097 and the

1300s

First called by Pope

Urban II

Led to back and forth

control over the “Holy

Land”

THE CRUSADES

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player

_detailpage&v=z-niTeTY7pw

View the video and think about whether or not

the Crusades were an overall positive or

negative for Europe and the Middle East.

LASTING LEGACY OF THE CRUSADES

Cross culture interaction

From European perspective, wars were unsuccessful

BUT! Europe gained knowledge of Arab and

Byzantine…

Medicine, Trade, Math, Architecture, Shipbuilding, Sailing,

and Philosophy

New Goods, Old Knowledge

Exposure to Muslim culture and goods spread through

Spain and Italy and to the rest of Europe

Pasta, paper, colored glass, spices

Ancient philosophy is reintroduced to Europe

Greek philosophical and scientific works change European thought

LASTING LEGACY OF THE CRUSADES

Pre-Crusade philosophy that dominated European thought; focused upon knowledge in the fields of law, medicine, and religion

Focused upon using logical reasoning to define the “truth”. Led to attempts to harmonize Christianity with ancient philosophy

Scholasticism

Post-Crusade philosophy that developed throughout the Renaissance; focused on literary and philosophical scholarship, being a well-rounded person, and on human achievement

Spread through Italy as the rediscovery of Greek and Roman philosophy grew out of Christian and Islamic interactions during and after the Crusades

Humanism

INTERCONTINENTAL TRADE

Growth of Trade

Italy’s Advantages

Trade empires grow from

Northern Italian city-states

Venice, Florence, Genoa

Hanseatic League forms

Baltic Sea trade agreement

between kingdoms in

Northern Europe

Overland and overseas

trade begins to return to

the forefront of European

society

DIFFUSION OF GOODS

Make a prediction about some negative consequences that can come about

from major cities being connected like this during the Middle Ages…

THE PLAGUE STRIKES EUROPE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZBRdTSgjjI

THE PLAGUE

What caused the Black Death?

The Oriental Rat Flea carried the disease

How did it spread?

THE PLAGUE

Cures?

Medieval medicine did not understand germs or

disease and thought “bad humors” affected the

body

Noticed some people healed after sores burst so….

Tried to draw poison out by placing a paste made of figs and

cooked onions mixed with yeast and butter on the swelling then

lancing it with a knife

Put live frogs’ belly on sores until the frog burst… and repeat

"They died by the hundreds, both day and night, and all were thrown in ...

ditches and covered with earth. And as soon as those ditches were filled,

more were dug. And I, Agnolo di Tura … buried my five children with my

own hands … And so many died that all believed it was the end of the

world.“ – Agnolo di Tura of Sienna, Italy

THE PLAGUE

THE PLAGUE

How does this compare with the map of trade routes that

we previously looked at?

TRANSITIONING SOCIETY

The move from the Middle Ages to Renaissance culture

THE DOWNFALL OF FEUDALISM

PRE-CRUSADES POST-CRUSADES/PLAGUE

Kings – held control over

the kingdom’s warring

and taxation powers

Lords – held control over

a manor and knights

Knights – held small parts

of manor and fought for the

Lord & King

Serfs – owned little and

were bound to work the

manor by Feudal law

Social hierarchy totally

disrupted Lords and Knights died on

Crusade and by plague

Serfs died in great numbers by

the plague

Result? Kings had less power, money,

food, workforce etc.

Society HAD to change to

compensate for the losses

PRE VS. POST CRUSADES/PLAGUE SOCIAL STRUCTURE

PRE CRUSADES/PLAGUE POST CRUSADES/PLAGUE

King

Lords

Knights

Serfs

King

Lords

Knights

Serfs

FEUDALISM FELL… SO WHAT?

Feudalism was… A form of government

An economic system

A social structure

Sounds a lot like what Rome meant to Europe right? So, what’s going to replace it?

A) Another “dark age” where the European world gets worse

B) A massive movement towards new ways of doing business, conducting government, and gaining knowledge

YOUR OPINION

School should focus solely upon preparing you

for your career path.

School should focus upon turning you into a

well rounded individual and citizen.

THE SPREAD OF HUMANISM Spread through Italy as an elitist movement

Took hold in the 14th century as (ancient) Greek revivalist thought became popular Socrates, Plato, Aristotle

Movement North and West Next spread to Germany, England, and Spain

THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE

1350(ish) to 1500’s

Began in Italian cities

Florence, Milan, Naples, Rome, Venice

Educated merchants, bankers, and politicians lived there

Humanist Influence

Humanists sought to prepare soul for afterlife AND bring admiration for human achievement on earth

Created a drive to succeed

SPREAD OF BANKING

Grew with trade routes Organizations like the

Templar Knights set up banks in the Crusades

Became very important in Crusading and post-Crusading world…why?

Powerful banking families arose in Italy Played prominent role

in the Italian Renaissance

THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE

Merchants & the Medici Wealthy merchant class

develops through trade

Emphasis placed on individual achievement

Banking families arise in Italian city-states The Medici rule Florence

and become patrons of the arts

Ancient Inspiration Artists and scholars study

ancient Greece and Rome

Scholars move to Rome after fall of Constantinople in 1453