1. HIST 1114 Renaissance and Reformation
Dr Niall Christie
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday, ;
Tuesday, , and by appointment
Copy of outline on the web at:
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2. Some terms:
Renaissance
Giorgio Vasari ( )
Period from 14th c. Italian cultural movement
to mid-17th century

3. Some terms:
Reformation
19th-century term
Period starting with reform activities of Martin
Luther in early 16th c., to end of religious
wars in mid-17th century, incl. Catholic
and Protestant reformations

4. Some terms:
Early Modern Period
Approximately

5. Story so far to 1300 AD..
Political Developments
Religion
Education and Culture
Social History

6. Map Link: Reference Map of the European Provinces of the
Roman Empire:
<
shepherd-c jpg>

7. 3rd-4th c. Fall of Roman Empire
Eastern empire becomes Byzantine Empire,
based at Constantinople
Western empire becomes patchwork of states

8. Map Link: Europe in the 12th Century:
<
europe_12thcentury_1884.jpg>

9. 1300 Feudal system beginning to break down
scutage
Divine right of kings

10. Religion In 1300 most western Europeans are Catholic Christians
Innocent III (p )
1215 Fourth Lateran Council
Papal Monarchy

11. Archdeacons (usually 4 archdeaconries/diocese)
Pope
Major Orders
Cardinals
Archbishops/Bishops
Cathedral Canons
Archdeacons (usually 4 archdeaconries/diocese)
Rural Deans
Parish Rector
Vicar or Curate
Chaplains, Deacons and Subdeacons (not beneficed)
Minor Orders (allowed to marry)

12. Monasteries and nunneries
Friars – Franciscans and
Dominicans
Canons – Augustinians
Military Orders – Templars,
Hospitallers, Teutonic
Knights

13. Education and Culture
Most scholars are clergy
Late 12th/early 13th c. Expansion of education
system in Europe, incl. foundation of
universities
Peter Abelard ( )
Thomas Aquinas ( )
12th c. Recovery of Aristotle

14. Growth of vernacular literature
Song of Roland
Old French epic poem, earliest version
from c. 1100

15. The Golden Legend (c. 1260), by Jacobus de
Voragine (1228/30-98)
Compilation of lives of saints, as well as
events in lives of Christ and Virgin Mary

16. Social History
manorial/seignorial system
9th-11th c. peasants becoming serfs in
exchange for protection
12th-13th c. Serfs gaining freedom through
bribery, education, civil resistance, law

17. 12th-13th c. Growth of towns as
commercial centres
Guilds and town councils

18. Women: position in mediaeval society?

19. Others:
Non-Christians or non-Catholics –
merchants, slaves, P.O.W.s
Non-Christians also incl. large Jewish
communities throughout Europe

20. 14th c.-15th c. Period of crisis in Europe
c Climate change in Europe
Widespread famine

21. 1347-50 Black Plague strikes Europe
Bubonic plague - buboes
Pneumonic plague
1400 Population of Europe has halved
1720 last outbreak in France

22. Reactions:
Panic, breakdown of society
Scholars of Paris and the conjunction of
1345
Flagellants
Blame of Jews

23. 1358 French peasants’ rebellion (Jacquerie)
1381 English peasants’ rebellion

24. 1337-1453 Hundred-Years’ War between
England and France

25. Impact of wars:
Mercenaries and standing armies
Impact of gunpowder weapons
Change in role of nobles at courts
Change in taxation practices
Helping growth of nationalism

26. 1453 Solidification of England and France as
different nations
Reign of Ivan III (the Great) of
Russia, who unites state with capital at
Moscow
1492 Last Muslim state in Iberia destroyed.
Consolidation of Spain and Portugal as
distinct states

27. Map Link: Europe about 1560:
<
1560.jpg>

28. 1300 Osman Gazi sets up principality in Asia Minor
By 1451 Ottomans have taken Asia Minor,
Bulgaria
1453 Ottomans take Constantinople
Map Link: Ottoman Empire, 1355:
<
byzantine_empire_1355.jpg>

29. 1517 Ottoman authority recognised at Mecca and Cairo
1534 Ottomans take Baghdad
janissaries Istanbul
Map Link: Ottoman Empire, :
<
ottoman_empire_ jpg>

30. Papacy at Avignon
1378 Start of Great Schism. Rival popes at
Avignon and Rome
1409 Council of Pisa fails to resolve dispute.
Now three popes!
1417 End of Great Schism at Council of
Constance

31. Map Link: The Great Schism, 1378-1417:
<
great_schism_1378_1417.jpg>

32. Early 15th c. Invention of
oil-based ink and wooden
hand press in Flanders
1450 Johannes Gutenberg
(c ) and others
invent movable metal type
Early 16th c. Print shops in
Edinburgh and Stockholm

33. Themes in the explorations and colonisations
of the 15th and 16th centuries:
Role of Christianity
Alexander VI (p )
Might makes right
A “smaller” world

34. Amerigo Vespucci ( )
Martin Waldseemüller (c )

35. Primary Sources: written by people living at
time or soon after
Secondary Sources: Works of interpretation
or analysis written long after the fact
Important to read critically, with eyes open
for agendas, biases, etc. Applies to both
primary and secondary sources, as well
as newspapers, TV, web sites, etc

36. Reading (Primary) Sources
Context
Who wrote this?
Where and when? Was the author an
eyewitness?
Why was it written?
To whom is it addressed? Who are they?

37. Reading (Primary) Sources
Classify Source
What sort of work is it?
What is its purpose (stated or not)?
Is it following a traditional structure or
mould?

38. Reading (Primary) Sources
Understand Source
What are the key words? Meaning?
What is the author’s point?
What evidence is provided?
What assumptions are made?
What values are expressed?
What problems are addressed? Context?
What reaction is expected/hoped for?

39. Reading (Primary) Sources
Evaluate Source
How typical is the source?
How widely did it circulate?
Does it share views/values/ideas/arguments
with others from period?
Can you find other evidence to corroborate
your conclusions?