1300’s in Italy Spreads throughout rest of Europe ’s

  Through out the Middle Ages the Church was the authority on knowledge.   Clergy and priests were the only ones who knew how to read and taught the children of nobles.   Late Middle Ages, more knowledge came to Europe as a result of increased trade with the Muslim territories and from the Byzantine Empire

 Technology ◦ Printing press  1400s, movable type was being used in Europe  Johann Gutenberg began printing the Bible in everyday language.  Soon millions of books were in circulation.  Led to a higher literacy rate among people.

Humanism: was an intellectual movement where people began to focus on life in the present, which was in contrast to the Middle Ages' focus on the after life. Humanism stressed the importance of education, with the study of ancient Greek and Roman texts becoming the learning standard. Humanism also stressed the importance of the individual. This movement was the driving force of the Renaissance and is reflected in the period's artistic, literary, and scientific achievements. Enlightenment: The Enlightenment developed as an extension of the Scientific Revolution. Europeans discarded traditional beliefs and began using reason to explain the world around them. While the Scientific Revolution focused on the physical world, the Enlightenment attempted to explain the purpose of government, and describe the best form of it.

An intellectual movement that focused on human potential and achievements.  The Renaissance emphasis on Humanism and human achievements led people to question accepted knowledge

 A new intellectual movement that stressed reason and thought and the power of individuals to solve problems *People sought to use reason to find answers instead of magic or fables.

 A movement for religious reform

A new way of thinking based on careful observation and a willingness to question accepted beliefs  Scholars began to use the Scientific Method: observation and experimentation

Traditional belief-  * Geocentric theory-  That the earth is the center of the universe and the sun goes around the earth New Ideas   Heliocentric theory - Discovered by Nicolas Copernicus   The sun is the center of the universe and the earth and other planets go around the sun

Enlightenment ideas helped to stimulate people's sense of individualism, and the basic belief in equal rights. *Glorious Revolution in Britain *American Revolution *French Revolution *Latin American Revolutions.