CHAPTER 12: RENAISSANCE AND REFORMATION THE DARK AGES • Fall of Rome marked 1,000 years of economic, scientific, and cultural deterioration in Europe. • Politically, Europe is fragmented into Germanic or “Barbarian Kingdoms” with power concentrated in monarchs • Economically, Europe is a feudal, agricultural economy (peasant/nobility model) • Bouts of periodic famine left population frequently malnourished • Population decline • Religiously, Europe is dominated by Catholicism and the Catholic Church is run by the papacy • Intellectually, few new ideas were conceived during this period • The Black Death wiped out 1/3 of European population, killing women, children, rich and poor • Altered the way people thought about the world and their own lives • Made people question whether there was any order and justice in the world • Deadliest pandemic in history (70-200 million died) SYMPTOMS OF BUBONIC PLAGUE • Swollen lymph nodes • Gangrene • Seizures • Vomiting blood • Skin lesions • Skin turning black THE BLACK DEATH THE RENAISSANCE (1300 A.D.-1600 A.D.) • Represented a longing for a return to a better time, a period of “light” over “darkness” by remembering and romanticizing the achievements and values of Rome and ancient Greece. (Think about this light/darkness symbolism as we read Frankenstein) • Many considered the Roman empire to be the pinnacle of civilization and what followed (The Dark Ages) to be the low point. • The movement originated in Italian city-states like Florence and Milan. • Making money from commerce/finance was more socially acceptable in Italy than in northern European regions, making Italy more prosperous by comparison • Renaissance was spearheaded by wealthy families that funded investment in art, the compiling of scholarly work into libraries, and the construction of large public works. • These wealthy families operated as de facto rulers over their city-states • Medici family in Florence ($500,000,000 in todays dollars spent on art, architecture, and scholarly library-building) • Sforza family in Milan CHARACTERISTICS THAT DEFINE THE RENAISSANCE • Humanism: A shift in thinking to prioritize the importance of developing human potential as an ideal that society should aspire to. It was thought human development was important in improving the functioning of civic life. • The Black Death made people appreciate the randomness and brevity of life which prompted a greater focus on the inherent value of life and the beauty of being human or of “humanness” • Renaissance artists used the allure of the human figure to promote virtues their benefactors wanted to society to embrace: humanism, rationality, truth, wisdom, kindness, Christianity, etc. • Art used as a propaganda vehicle for espousing the ideals of wealthy Italian families: • Example: portraying religious figures like angels in a more flattering and realistic light, highlighting physical beauty and detail. PRE-RENAISSANCE ART PRE-RENAISSANCE ART RENAISSANCE ART • Leonardo Di Vinci’s The Baptism of Christ RENAISSANCE ART • Michelangelo’s Last Judgement RENAISSANCE ART • Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam CHARACTERISTICS THAT DEFINE THE RENAISSANCE, CONTINUED • Classicism: A conviction among Renaissance scholars, artists, and benefactors that ancient Roman and Greek philosophy and literature contained all the best thinking and forms of expression humanity had ever created. • Renewed emphasis on studying and interpreting these classic works • The concept of “The State”: During the Dark Ages, the government was the monarch and whichever nobility were designated to administer order. It was people-centered, not institution-centered. • What was in the best interest of the King was considered the same as what was in the best interest of everyone • The Renaissance created a conception of “The State” as being more distinct from the King • Created expectations for government behavior that included advancement of the welfare of all those comprising “The State” • The workings of government became more professionalized—tax collection, diplomacy, economic management, use of the military POLITICAL PHILOSOPHIES DEVELOPED DURING THE RENAISSANCE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHIES DEVELOPED DURING THE RENAISSANCE: MACHIAVELLI’S THE PRINCE • Italian civil servant who wrote a book during the reign of Lorenzo de Medici, arguing that society benefits more from heavy-handed political and social stability and order than well-intentioned instability. • “The ends justify the means” • Argues that the monarch should secure his own power first—even if unjustly—in order to secure order for society • Argues that lying, cheating, stealing and killing are justified as means to the end of stability MACHIAVELLI’ RELEVANCE TODAY? • How relevant is Machiavelli today? • Iraq? With Sadam: no civil war and general stability. Without Sadam: ISIS, sectarian civil war • Syria? Is Bashar al-Assad better than a civil war? Use of chemical weapons? • America’s detainment of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba? • China’s reeducation camps for minority Muslims? THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION MARTIN LUTHER DOCUMENTARY • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp77mcJKsIk THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION—EUROPE BEFORE MARTIN LUTHER • Religion in Europe in 1300 A.D. was dominated by the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church, in turn, was dominated by the Pope as the “Representative of Christ”. Virtually all Christian religious power was vested in the Pope. • Under the Catholic Church, salvation was obtained only through compliance with church/papal requirements: • Indulgences as payments to the church for forgiveness of sins • The performance of rituals such as confessions and the reciting of specific prayers • Importance of performance of the sacraments in Catholicism THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION—MARTIN LUTHER’S LEGACY • Martin Luther’s two-part legacy: • 1) Doctrinal: Creator of the protestant theology as a belief system separate from traditional Catholic teaching • • Salvation granted by God through faith rather than worldly acts 2) Disruptor: Overturning of the traditional religious power structure in Christianity • Pope at top, issuing rules that define the process by which salvation is obtained • Luther realigned power in Christianity by introducing the idea that the individual Christian can read and interpret Biblical expectations for themselves. That salvation doesn’t have to go through the Pope but can be obtained more directly from God/Scripture to the individual. • If salvation is no longer obtained through performance of church rituals, then role of church in creating these requirements is greatly diminished • Begins the gradual democratization of Western religious belief • But not a reformer in political or social spheres: • Does not argue for overturning absolutist political authority of monarchs (pg. 434) • Reinforced traditional family structures (pg. 435) THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION—INFLUENCING FACTORS • 1) Development of the Gutenberg Printing Press: • Before the Gutenberg printing press, copies of books had to be hand-written. • Process was prohibitively time consuming and expensive • Result was not many books were circulating in Europe • Printing press allowed for mass production of books across Europe. • Suddenly, the average person could have their own Bible in their home that they could read themselves. • 2) Regional leaders disliked paying taxes to the church, giving them a reason to allow an alternative religious narrative to develop so as to dilute Pope’s power over them • 3) Broader public perception of the church as being overly extravagant and corrupt CATHOLIC CHURCH’S RESPONSE TO REFORMATION (1546-1563) • The church convenes The Council of Trent: • Symbolic acknowledgment of the critiques made about the Catholic Church and its structural inadequacies • Approved the reshuffling of church bureaucracy • Elevating the role of Bishops in promoting religious education in their provinces • Didn’t result is significant changes to doctrine, though • Authorized the creation of the Jesuits • Jesuits spread Catholicism to the New World—Africa, Asia, etc. • Incorporated science, math, astronomy and charity into their religious teaching TENSION BETWEEN CHURCH’S EMBRACE OF EDUCATION AND A SUSPICION OF CHALLENGING IDEAS • “Index of Forbidden Books”: From 1559 to 1966 the Church published a list of censored works • List included The Qur’an, Machiavelli, Martin Luther, Copernicus, Galileo, etc. • Frankenstein Light/Darkness/Fire analogy: The development of new technology (printing press) coupled with the spread of knowledge, ideas, and information to a wider percentage of the population exposes more people to ideas that potentially challenge conventional thinking generally and Catholic Church teaching in particular • This theme is central to the Frankenstein story: the tension between the pursuit of knowledge and the (potentially negative) repercussions of that pursuit ISSUES TODAY? IS ACQUISITION OF KNOWLEDGE ALWAYS A FORCE FOR GOOD? • Debates over teaching evolution in schools? • Debates over climate change? • Development of nuclear energy as a precursor to nuclear weapons? • Smartphones destroying personal communication? • Africa: Respecting cultural beliefs/customs while fighting the spread of Ebola? • https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/01/150130-ebola-virus-outbreak-epidemic-sierra-leone-funerals/ Student Name: Thesis (solution / outcome) Student ID: SECTION# Semester: Civilization 1/2 Assessment Rubric: Critical Thinking, Writing, & Discipline-Specific Knowledge Exceeds Expectations Meets Expectations Does Not Meet Expectations Not gradable 4 3 2-1 0 Appropriate, well developed, Appropriate and clearly identifiable Topic sentence instead of thesis; or No discernible thesis. identifiable strong thesis makes a thesis makes a supportable thesis lacks clarity in focus, supportable statement, claim, statement, claim, conclusion or development, or support, may be conclusion or hypothesis about the hypothesis about the prompt; thesis indirectly related--while still prompt; thesis has a specific focus. may lack development, focus and/or appropriate--to the prompt. specificity. Score Discipline-Specific Knowledge (data) Accurate supporting sources / examples (4 or more) provide persuasive support for the thesis. Use of support demonstrates a thorough familiarity with relevant history and/or literary source material covered in the course Accurate supporting examples (3-4) provide sufficient and specific support for the thesis. Use of support demonstrates an adequate knowledge of relevant history and/or literary source material covered in the course. Some relevant examples may be omitted. Accurate supporting examples (2-3) No attempt to use appropriate sources provide minimal support for the covered in the course to support argument; examples may lack argument. specificity. Use of support demonstrates only a basic knowledge of relevant history and/or literary source material covered in the course. Clearly relevant examples may be omitted. Data use & interpretation (ideas, connections, & logical relationships) Essay demonstrates a thorough grasp of the most important, relevant historical issues and contexts raised by prompt/topic. Essay makes persuasive connections between relevant historical issues/contexts and author's analysis of the topic. Essay demonstrates a good grasp of some (but not most) of the important historical issues and contexts raised by prompt/topic. Essay makes reasonable connections between relevant historical issues/contexts and author's analysis of the topic. Essay demonstrates partial but Does not demonstrate historical inadequate grasp of at least one comprehension. historical issue and/or context raised by prompt/topic; some key issue /contexts omitted. Essay makes only vague connections betweeen historical issues/contexts and author's analysis of the topic. Analysis [of Prompt/Topic, Sources Persuasive analysis breaks / Support] prompt/topic into its most relevant questions/components with substantive discussion of each part; analysis uses multiple points of view demonstrating a multidimensional understanding of the prompt/topic. Description/ summary used only as support, not in place of analysis. Language Use / Communication Well-written, organized and easily Ability understandable essay conveys its meaning in appropriate and virtually error-free standard English. Adequate and accurate use of appropriate historical and literary terminology. Appropriate but uneven analysis breaks prompt/topic into some of its most relevant questions / components with adequate discussion of each part; analysis uses at least pro/con perspectives demonstrating a bi-dimensional understanding of the prompt/ topic. Minimal use of description/ summary in place of analysis. Understandable, organized essay conveys its meaning in clearly written and appropriate standard English with few usage errors. Appropriate historical and literary terminology may be incomplete or inaccurate. Appropriate analysis but flawed, No analysis or prompt/topic; narrative is uneven, and/or weak. Breaks unrelated or only marginally to prompt/topic into at least one topic/prompt. relevant component and/or has inadequate discussion of any parts; evinces a uni-dimensional understanding of prompt/topic; tends to describe / summarize more than analyze. rev 7/4/19 Understandable essay conveys its meaning with some difficulty caused by unclear organization and/or frequent usage errors. Language use consistently impedes meaning due to significant usage errors and/or lack of organization. Total = Average of five numbers = 
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