SOCSTUD 106: WORLD HISTORY 1

CHAPTER 9: RISE OF CHRISTIANITY

THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY
Christianity spread westward from Palestine to Rome. As the apostles spread the Gospel of Jesus, they
found more fertile ground in the West. Jesus of Nazareth was the first child of Mary and Joseph, a carpenter.
At age 30, Jesus began to preach and gather many followers. Information about his life and teachings comes
from brief reports in Jewish and Roman histories and from the four Gospels, personal accounts written by his
apostles (leading disciples Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) after his death. Many Jewish people came to
believe that he was the "messiah" (Savior, Christos), whom they had been waiting to save them from Roman
oppression. According to Roman custom, Jesus was executed by crucifixion, or nailed to a wooden cross to
die. According to the Gospels, however, Jesus He urged his disciple but rose from the grave God, he's Although
Jesus did not and news e resurrected from the grave, a feat not by mortals. Christianity eventually became the
world's largest religion, with over two billion churchi members. Christian churches and kingdoms spread over
entire hemispheres of the world.
Christianity Spreads Westward
Christianity started in the East, but it found more fertile ground in the West. The first believers in Palestine
became "Messianic Jews" or Jews who had found their messiah. When the Romans destroyed the Jewish
temple at Jerusalem in 70 AD, the Jews fled their homeland and began centuries of resettlement in foreign
lands (the "diaspora"). Many early Christians believed that Jesus was coming back soon and would establish
"a kingdom that would never end." The apostle John preached an apocalyptic message of the end times, which
many thought meant the end of the world (Book of Revelation). Indeed. the world, as they knew it was coming
to an end the Roman Empire would fall and the world would enter the Dark Ages.
Early Church Organization and Rivalries.
To maintain unity among members and to ensure the survival of the new faith, the Christians developed
worship places, church doctrine and officers. Originally, the first "ecclesia" (church) was only a gathering of
people. Due to the tradition of the apostle Peter being the first head of the church at Rome, the bishop of
Rome declared himself as the head of all the Christian churches. The bishop of Rome took the title il Papa
(Pope), or father The Western churches became known as the Roman Catholic Church (with capital letters).
Naturally, the bishops in the Byzantine Empire opposed the Roman claim to be the supreme head. They
organized into the Eastern Orthodox Church and insisted that their patriarch-and not the pope at Rome- was
the supreme head of Christianity, due to the following reasons:
1. The earliest Christian churches were found in the East, not in the West: for example the churches in
Armenia and Asia Minor,
2. Constantinople was the capital of the 2 entire Roman Empire and was more powerful than Rome.
Services of Christianity to the Dark Ages
The barbarian tribes outside Roman walls and colonies were attracted to the rich cities and farms of the
Roman Empire. As the empire weakened and the Roman army could no longer protect the borders, the capital
and northern borders became open targets for barbarian invasions. The barbarian tribes terrified Roman
communities until about 800 AD.
In 410 AD, Rome was attacked by the Visigoths from Spain, led by Alaric. It was only a matter of time before
other barbarians came.
In 452 AD, Attila the Hun, the "Scourge of God." invaded Italy. Pope Leo I miraculously convinced him to turn
back. But Rome was no longer safe. A year later, in 453 AD, the Vandals looted and destroyed Rome. Then, as
you read before, Rome finally fell to the barbarians in 476 AD.
Conversions to Christianity
Christianity tamed these barbarians and turned them into the civilized nations of Western Europe.
Significantly, Christian women were especially persuasive witnesses. Christian women among the Viking
captives shared their faith. Some of them set the stage for important conversions. For example, Clovis, King of
the Franks converted because he fell in low with Clotilde, a Christian woman. King Clovis and his tribe the
Franks became the most important Christian tribe during the Middle Ages.
Missionary monks also converted the barbarians. Today, they are patron saints in their mission field, like St.
Patrick in Ireland; St. Augustine in England: St. Boniface in Germany: St. Olaf in Norway, and St. Ansgar in
Denmark and Sweden.
Monasticism and the Monks
The period after the fall of Rome was known as "the Dark Ages." It was a time of chaos due to barbarian
threats and lack of central authority. Monasticism means a life of self-denial and seclusion from the world.
Some Christians, especially from noble families, became monks (or nuns) and lived in isolated monasteries (or
nunneries).
Services of the Monks to Civilization
Civilization might have been lost during the Dark Ages, but the monks (and nuns) preserved the best of
ancient civilization for such a time as rebirth of learning would come (the Renaissance) The monies (and nuns)
rendered valuable services to civilization, as follows:
• First, they became missionaries to the barbarians and converted them to Christianity.
• Second, they promoted education and schools. The best medieval teachers were monks, like Thomas
Aquinas, Alcuin, Abelard, Roger Bacon, and Martin Luther
• Third, they secured the food supply by restoring abandoned farms and vineyards.
• Fourth, they preserved knowledge in Europe during the Dark Ages. In their monasteries, they copied
and translated works by Greek and other scholars and wrote valuable manuscripts on religion,
philosophy, arts, and sciences.
• Fifth, they helped suffering people in hospitals for the sick, aims to the poor, and food and shelter for
weary travelers. 3 Christian Legacy to Civilization

Christianity's Contributions to Civilization.

Christianity as a religion may have divided into different churches, but overall, it has contributed
tremendously to the progress and well-being of humanity, as follows:
1) It gave the world a sublime code of ethics based on the love of God and fellowmen, brotherhood of all
men and races, and human virtues, notably faith, hope, and charity, honesty. The highest code of
ethics is found in the commandment of Jesus to "Love each other as I have loved you" (John 15:12).
2) It abolished many barbaric customs or practices of the past, such as human or animal sacrifices, the
killing of infants, blood feuds, slavery, and sexual Immorality.
3) it helped to improve the condition of the poor by teaching the dignity of labor (for Jesus Christ was a
carpenter) and compassion for the needy. Christians traditionally open orphanages, hospitals, schools,
and other charitable works.
4) It improved family life by teaching equality between men and women, and the sanctity of marriage and
of life.
5) Some of the world's greatest men and women were Christians who devoted their life and works to
others, beginning with Jesus himself, his apostles, the first Christian martyrs, and others down the
centuries.
6) It enriched arts and letters. Christian artists, writers, and scholars have produced masterpieces in
painting architecture, sculpture, music, literature, and philosophy.
7) Finally, Christianity offers hope and redemption. The Christian faith offers the individual the
unconditional love of God, pardon for sins, and eternal life through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the
cross.

Supremacy of the Catholic Church and the Roman Papacy

The Roman Papacy eventually gained supremacy because of these reasons:
1) By tradition, Peter was supposed to be the chief of the apostles. "You are Peter," Jesus told him, and
upon you I will build my church." Although Jesus never Intended to start a formal church, the Roman
Pope claimed supremacy because "they believed Peter was the first pope.
 2) By political need. The emperors had moved East to Byzantine, which was too far from the Roman
communities. The Roman Church began to exercise temporal (worldly) as well as spiritual power
because it was the only strong central authority in the West.
3) By spiritual and legal power. The Roman Church gained spiritual control as it changed church doctrine
in its favor. The Bible and liturgy were put in Latin, the official language of the Italians. This gave the
educated priests control over the people, most of whom were illiterate. Furthermore, the Roman
Church changed the original teachings of the apostles. The Church developed both canon and civil laws
to punish members. The Church could punish members with imprisonment, whipping: forced fasting;
penance (penalty) of fines, or even execution. An elaborate code of canon and civil law was enforced
on anybody who committed even religious violations In particular, the Catholics were taught a doctrine
of purgatory as a temporary punishment after death, from which place only the Roman Church could
free souls.
4) By economic control. The Roman Church required believers to pay tithes (tenth of income), pay fines
for their sins, and pay for sacraments (rites) or favors from the priests. These payments ensured the
continuing flow of wealth to the Roman Church
5) By monopoly. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Roman Church became the only center of
authority left standing. It continued to enjoy a monopoly on spiritual and political power, especially
during the Middle Ages and in the feudal lands in Europe (see Chapter 11).

Roman Popes Dominated Kings

Papal supremacy proved crucial in the following instances in history:
1. Leo I peacehilly stopped Attila the Hun from sacking Rome in 452 AD.
2. In the 6 century AD, Gregory 1 (Gregory the Great), through skillful negotiation, saved Italy and Rome
from the Lombard barbarians and established the temporal power of the papacy
3. In 1066, Pope Urban II declared the First Crusade (see Chapter 10)
4. Gregory VII excommunicated and took the throne away from King Henry IV of Germany in 1077.
5. In 1172. Pope Alexander III ordered the whipping of King Henry II of England as his penance for the
murder of Archbishop Thomas Beckett.
6. Pope Innocent III forced King John to mortgage England to him in 1213.
7. Pope Pius II (1405-64) encouraged the rise of humanism and the rebirth of learning in southern Italy,
his humanistic tastes enabled the Renaissance to flourish.
8. Pope Alexander VI divided the world between Spain and Portugal in 1493, which opened the world to
Western exploration.

Christian Legacy to Civilization

 About the Christian contributions to world civilization
 Christianity’s Contributions Civilization.
Jesus and his message of salvation have changed lives for the better through the ages. Undoubtedly, Jesus is
one of the greatest prophets, and many Christians believe that he is God. Christianity as a religion may have
divided into different churches, but overall, it has contributed tremendously to the progress and well-being of
humanity, as follows:
1) It gave the world a sublime code of ethics based on the love of God and fellowmen, brotherhood of all
men and races, and human virtues, notably faith, hope, and charity, honesty. The highest code of ethics
is found in the commandment of Jesus to “Love each other as I have loved you” (John 15:12).
2) It abolished many barbaric customs or practices of the past, such as human or animal sacrifices, the
killing of infants, blood feuds, slavery, and sexual immorality.
3) It helped to improve the condition of the poor by teaching the dignity of labor (for Jesus Christ was a
carpenter) and compassion for the needy. Christians traditionally open orphanages, hospitals, schools,
and other charitable works.
4) It improved family life by teaching equality between men and women, and the sanctity of marriage and
of life.
5) Some of the world’s greatest men and women were Christians who devoted their life and works to
others, beginning with Jesus himself, his apostles, the first Christian martyrs, and others down the
centuries.
6) It enriched arts and letters. Christian artists, writers, and scholars have produced masterpieces in
painting, architecture, sculpture, music, literature, and philosophy.
 7) Finally, Christianity offers hope and redemption. The Christian faith offers the individual the
unconditional love of God, pardon for sins, and eternal life through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the
cross.
CHAPTER 10: THE MIDDLE AGES
1. The Holy Roman Empire
2. Age of Feudalism
3. Peasants, Priests and the Decline of Feudalism
4. The Crusades
5. Other Characteristics of Medieval Civilization
The Middle Ages (476-1453 AD) was the period from the fall of Rome to the Renaissance. The Middle Ages
is sometimes known as the “Dark Ages” because the West stagnated. It had suffered the loss of two successive
empires (Roman and Byzantine), and had not yet recovered. Sometimes, historians divide the Middle Ages into
two periods – the Early and the Late Middle Ages.
After the fall of Rome to the barbarians, the Roman Church was the only institution left standing in the West.
The Church looked for a new emperor to strengthen its own power. For a while, the Church found an ally in
Charlemagne, king of the Franks. But feudalism and the crusades exposed the weakness of the Church, kings
and nobles. New power and wealth came from the enterprising traders and merchants of the new medieval
towns and cities. They brought new life and ideas to world civilization that culminated in the Renaissance.
The Holy Roman Empire
 Why Charlemagne was the greatest medieval king
 Why the Pope crowned him as the new emperor
 Why the Holy Roman Empire was a fake empire
From Barbarian to Christian Europe
The strongest kingdom to emerge from the fall of Rome was that of the Franks, who lived in present-day
France, Belgium and Germany. The Franks rose to power in the late 15th century under the ruthless leadership of
Clovis (466-511). He was baptized, due to the influence of his Christian wife Clotilde. Clovis increased the
lands of the Roman Church, and crushed the Arian heretics, who threatened the Pope. The Arian sect did not
believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ.
After Clovis, his successors were weak, and the chief minister Charles Martel became the real ruler of the
Franks kingdom. He defeated the invading Moors in the Battle of Tours(732 AD). This battle was a turning
point in history because it stopped the advance of Islam into Western Europe by land.
After the defeat of the Moors, Charles Martel founded the Carolingian dynasty and organized a strong central
government. His son Pepin and grandson Charlemagne also became defenders of the popes. The popes used
their influence with the Carolingians to justify their authority over political rulers.
Charlemagne (768-814) extended the kingdom even further. An able general, he conquered an empire that
reunited large areas of the former Western Roman Empire. He conquered France, Italy, Germany, England, and
Spain. Under him, the Franks became the most successful former barbarians, and the most loyal Christian of all
tribes.
Charlemagne forced all whom he conquered to be baptized into the Roman Catholic Church. Thus, he increased
the number of nominal Christians in the West. He encouraged missionaries to risk their lives trying to convert
other barbarian tribes. His peacetime achievements enhanced the prestige of Christianity. Gone were the wild,
barbarian ways. He insisted on an orderly and settled life for the people. This increased food production in
Europe.
He supported the efforts of the Church to organize parishes, or rural districts, each with its own priest. To
finance the parishes, Charlemagne required all Christians to pay the tithe (ten percent of their income) to the
Church. Shocked at the poor ability of priests who were supposed to teach the people, he established schools for
them. He also hired Alcuin, an English monk, to supervise education for the nobles and their children. The
language of the Franks (French) became the most widely used among the literate in Europe, apart from Latin.
A Reluctant Emperor. On December 25, 800 AD, at St. Peter’s Church in Rome, a large crowd of the most
important people in Christendom had just finished the mass led by Pope Leo III himself. They were hoping the
new century would bring better times for all of them.
To everyone’s surprise, the Pope walked over to the kneeling Charlemagne, placed a golden crown on his head,
and proclaimed him as “Emperor of the Romans.” The Pope named Charlemagne an emperor because he
wanted to establish the idea that popes had the power to name kings into office. Moreover, those were the days
when people felt comfortable in having a royal person in charge. By crowning Charlemagne as “emperor,” the
Pope really wanted to organize a new empire in Europe to oust the rival empire in Byzantium. Charlemagne
was not. Comfortable with this idea at all.
A Dubious Holy Roman Empire. After his death, Charlemagne’s dynasty broke up. Europe returned to chaos
and split into three separate regions, which became the kingdoms of France, Germany, and Italy. In the midst of
the chaos, there were calls for them to unite again. In 962 AD, Otto the Great (912-973), the Duke of Saxony
(Germany), started what he called the new “Holy Roman Empire.”
But this was really a fake empire. It remained a loose confederation of small, independent kingdoms, feudal
lands and free cities. The Holy Roman “emperor” was only a symbolic figurehead, without real powers. He was
elected for a limited time, and presided over the members, who could ignore him.
For example, King Charles I of Spain became Emperor Charles V, but the German knights defied his order to
arrest Martin Luther, as you will read in Chapter 11.
None of the “emperors” was a Roman, or an absolute ruler. The main role of the new emperor was really to
defend and protect the Roman Catholic Pope against other troublesome Christians, especially the ones at
Byzantine (or later the Protestants). In the 18th century, the witty French philosopher Voltaire ridiculed it as
“neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire,” due to its weakness, lack of unity, and unchristian purposes.
Age of Feudalism
 How feudalism and the nobles arose
 About the importance of feudal contracts, feudal lord, fiefs, vassals, the manor, knights, and word of
honor
 Why chivalry mattered
 How feudal life affected women, homes, health, amusements, and law
From the death of Charlemagne until about 1000 AD, the Viking invaders disrupted life in Western Europe.
Feudalism began when local chieftains or lords had to defend their own lands. While remaining loyal to their
national king, the feudal lords usually acted independently. Because of the lack of a strong central government,
the region broke up into small feudal estates, where the nobles lived like small kings. As you read in the
previous section, after Charlemagne’s death, Europe broke up into three main kingdoms- France, Germany, and
Italy. For many parts of Western Europe, this period was the Age of Feudalism, and new institutions and
customs developed. The most prominent features of feudalism were the nobles, knights, serfs, and crusades.
Rise of Feudalism.
The socio-economic system based on land ownership by a few wealthy people is called “feudalism.” The local
nobles were in charge of their lands, not the national kings. The aristocracy or nobility became more powerful
than the kings at this time. The feudal lords were able to protect and control the common people who lived in
their feudal lands, because they had an army of knights (armed soldiers) under their personal employment.
Feudalism grew out of barbaric customs. In barbarian tribes, warriors swore homage (an oath of loyalty) to their
chief. They fought for their leader, and in return, he provided for their needs. Christianized kingdoms carried on
this tradition of lords and subject peoples.
Feudalism was never a unified, single system. It grew up first in northern France during the 8 th and 9th centuries.
It reached the Netherlands, England, and western Germany. But it was less seen in frontier areas like eastern
Germany, Poland, Russia and Spain. In Italy, it did not take effect at all.
Three early Middle Age features contributed to the growth of feudalism:
(1) the feudal lords;
(2) the stirrup; and
(3) the feudal contract
First, feudalism grew out of the custom of rewarding military lords for their services. In the 8 th century, Charles
Martel had no money to pay for his officers, so he gave them land. The officers became feudal lords. Territory
conquered from other tribes or the Moors were subdivided into tracts of land that later became the feudal lands.
Secondly, in the 8th century, the stirrup was invented for horse riders. It changed warfare and reinforced
feudalism. By supporting the knight while he was on horseback, the stirrup allowed him to wear protective
armor and carry heavier weapons. But armor and horses were expensive. To be effective, the knight had to be
well-trained. Most knights did not have the money to buy armor and horses, nor the time for training. Thus, they
pledged their service to rich nobles or lords who paid them in land and provided their weapons and horses.
Lastly, during the Viking invasions (8 th-10th centuries), powerful lords took control of vast tracts of land, which
they divided among lesser lords called “vassals.” A lesser lord might also divide his land among his own
vassals. The procedure continued down to the lowest knight, who had no vassals. Under the feudal contract, a
lord provided his vassal with a fief, or estate of land. A “fief” ranged in size from a few hectares or more,
depending on the importance of the vassal. The fief also included the peasants who worked the land as well as
any houses or villages on the estate. The lord still owned the land, but the vassal had the right to use it and pass
it on to his heirs. The exchange of rights and duties between nobles and the lower people was done in unwritten
contracts called “feudal contracts.” In the next few centuries, the practice of granting lands in exchange for
services became widespread in Western Europe.
In exchange for his fief, a vassal gave his lord military service, usually about 40 days a year. A vassal also paid
an annual rent or special fees like ransom for the lord if he were kidnapped, or for the marriage of the lord’s
daughter, or for his son’s knighting.
At a public ceremony, the lord and vassal confirmed the feudal contract. The vassal knelt before his lord.
Placing his hands between the hands of his lord, he swore his allegiance to the lord and promised to be loyal.
The lord then gave the vassal the rights to his fief. Often, the lord gave his vassal a handful of earth or grass as a
symbol of the fief.
Feudal Land.
The feudal land was owned by a nobleman or feudal lord, who passed it from generation to generation in the
family. The nobleman had a title of nobility (duke, count, marquis, earl, or baron), depending on the size of his
landed estate. His wife was a duchess, countess, marques, or baroness. They were addressed as “your lordship”
or “your ladyship” (not your majesty, nor your highness).
The feudal land, or manor, included the castle, the other houses, the farms and forests. The land could be a few
hundred hectares or more, depending on how important the nobleman was. The boundaries were traditional, and
not written down. An exception this was the Domesday Book of England, which King William the Conqueror
ordered in 1066. The Domesday Book contained the only written statistical census in medieval times of the
population, farms, trees, animals, etc. of a medieval country.
Anyway, the feudal lords did not need written land titles. Most people were illiterate then, and few documents
were written. The spoken word was very important. A word of honor was enough to make a promise to another
or to agree to do or not do anything.
The feudal lord was an absolute ruler. He was the landlord, lawmaker, tax collector, judge, and police in his
land. His wealth came from the taxes, tolls, rentals, fines and the harvests. When he went to war, his knights
accompanied him.
The military knights were the mounted soldiers of the feudal army. In exchange for their loyalty and work, the
feudal lord gave them smaller lots in his estate and other rewards, as well as paid for their weapons and horses.
Manors also had peasant cottages, clustered in a small village, a church, the lord’s mill, and village workshops.
Fields and forests surrounded the village and manor house.
Importance of Warfare.
Even after the Viking invasions, life continued to be full of threats. Warfare continued, this time, among the
feudal lords. Powerful lords constantly competed with one another for power. They fought over boundaries and
inheritance rights. Greed, honor, and family feuds fueled small local wars. The vassals and knights surely went
to war with their feudal lord.
In the Middle Ages, most battles were small, involving only a few hundred or a few thousand knights. Fighting
involved hand- to-hand combat. Knights wore heavy suits of iron armor, which could weigh up to 30 kilos, and
were hot and uncomfortable. A knight carried heavy weapons such as a sword, lance, axe or mace. Among
feudal lords, warfare was a way of life, and the nobles loved fighting. One noble wrote, “It gives me great joy to
see aligned on the field, knights and horses in battle array.”
But to the peasants, warfare was a disaster. An attacking army of knights could destroy their crops, seize their
animals and women, and burn their homes. Sometimes, the knights would murder everyone with no hesitation.
The Church could declare a truce of God, to ban fighting for a while. But the nobles and knights loved a good
fight.
Feudal lords built strong stone castles for protection. When attacked, the lord, his family, his vassals, and the
peasants from the farms, took refuge behind the thick stonewalls. Castles were built on top of hills or near
rivers. But medieval castles were unpleasant places to live in. They were dark, damp and drafty, and had no
windows. Only in the late Middle Ages did homes of nobles become more luxurious and comfortable.
Chivalry: A Code of Conduct but Not for the Poor.
Feudal nobles developed a code of conduct called chivalry. The code of chivalry mattered because it combined
Christian values and the virtues of being a warrior. A knight was expected to be brave, loyal, generous and
courteous. He was supposed to respect and protect noblewomen and to defend his family’s honor. Chivalry also
dictated the rules of fighting. According to the code of chivalry, it was disgraceful to attack an unarmed knight.
Chivalry promoted ways of behavior that reduced the brutality of a fighting age. It gave the impression that the
former barbarians, who were now Christians, had left their shameful past behind (but, really, they did not).
The code of chivalry placed noblewomen on a pedestal as objects to be loved or protected. Wandering poets or
singers (troubadours or minstrels) added to this romantic view. In their songs or poems, they praised
noblewomen for their beauty, wisdom, or kindness.
The images of knights in shining armors, or damsels in distress have been glamorized by writers, as in Ivanhoe,
or King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table; or made funny, as in Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee
in King Arthur’s Court.
However, the rules were not always followed. Also, the code of behavior did not apply toward peasants and
common women. The nobility looked down on poor folks, and the latter were at the mercy of the rich and
powerful.
Feudal Life and Amusements.
Feudal life was really dull, dirty, cold and short. A noble, knight or peasant’s life span was short perhaps no
more than 30 or 35 years of age. Hence, a woman’s first duty was to raise a large whether she was a
noblewoman or a commoner. A big family ensured continuity of the family line, especially if she gave birth to
boys.
Medieval homes had no toilet, running water or heater. Medieval folks had a phobia for taking baths, because it
could make them sick. Pigafetta, in his diary of Magellan’s time in Philippines, was amazed to find the Filipinos
enjoying frequent baths. Poor hygiene, too much drinking and fighting killed off medieval people young.
Favorite events were feasting, fighting and hunting. Their feasts were loud and long, for at least there was a big
fireplace in the hall. They did not have eating implements or porcelain plates, like the Chinese or Moors.
Entertainment was provided by a court jester (a medieval comedian), or a few musicians and singers.
The feudal lords and knights loved dueling or friendly tournaments. It gave them a chance to practice and
display their fighting skills. Next to feasting and fighting, the upper went on hunts for wild deer or boar in vast
forests. They trained falcons to hunt.
Another aspect of feudal life was trial by ordeal or trial by combat. All free people had the right to be tried by
their peers (trial by jury). But, for serious crimes, the accused had two choices. One, he or she could chose to
prove innocence by an ordeal, like carrying a burning hot iron without being burned, or swimming a long
distance without drowning. In a trial by combat, two knights faced each other, and the accused one had to win
to prove his innocence.
A cycle of planting and harvesting controlled peasant life. Occasionally a, medieval fair brought entertainment,
and there were important festivals, such as Christmas and Easter. But the hazards of warfare, disease, flood,
drought, and other disasters cast a long shadow on daily life.
Prepared by: Merry Faith Lacanlale

Peasants, Priests and the Decline of Feudalism

Peasant Serfs. The other people living in the manor were the servants, skilled freemen (artisans, entertainers,
etc.), and peasant serf farmers. They lived under the lord's authority and depended on him for their living. The
serfs owed their lord certain payments. They were required to work for the lord three days a week, in the farm
or in his house. Each peasant family paid rent for their small farm.
Improvements in Agriculture. In the early Middle Ages, farming methods were as primitive as in the time of
the Mesopotamians.
In the 8th-10th centuries, these improvements in agriculture became widespread. One important advance was
the three-field system of crop rotation. On the manor, there were several large fields. In the fall, peasants
planted one field with winter crops (wheat or rye). In the spring, they planted a second field with summer crops.
(oats, peas, beans and barley). They left the third field empty, or uncultivated. The following year, the crops
were rotated, and a different field was left uncultivated.
In northern Europe, miners produced great quantities of iron for farming tools, as well as weapons and plows.
The windmills and watermills provided new sources of energy for grinding grain.
The improvements in agriculture led to food surpluses, which supported a growing population. As the
population in northern Europe increased, the center of Western civilization shifted from southern Europe (Italy)
to northern Europe (France, England, Germany).
Importance of the Church in Feudal Society. The Roman Church was an essential part of feudal society.
During much of the Middle Ages, kings and the feudal lords depended on the educated clergy to become
officials in their courts. Thus, the clergy gained great influence in the day-to-day life of the royals and
aristocrats.
In the early Middle Ages, the Church faced two problems: (1) converting non-Christians, and (2) adapting
church organization to new circumstances. Missionaries preached the gospel in northern and eastern Europe. As
you read, the barbarian tribes were converted one by one to Christianity because of the influence of women and
missionaries.
Under the Roman Empire, Christianity started in the cities. When the empire collapsed, the cities also declined,
and the population fled to the countryside. Hence, by the early Middle Ages, most people lived in scattered rural
places and not in cities.
Charlemagne helped the Church to reach out to these places through the rural parishes and parish priests. A
priest was appointed in each parish. Several parishes made up a diocese administered by a bishop.
In the Middle Ages, bishops and archbishops were nobles. Parish priests were commoners. The pope in Rome
continued as the spiritual leader of the Western Church.
The Church influenced every aspect of feudal life. Church officials gave blessings at ceremonies for
knighthood, baptisms, weddings or deaths. Official documents were notarized by a member of the clergy. The
parish priests kept important documents, and became the first civil registrars.
Knights waged war in the name of Christian ideals. They usually carried religious relics or signs, following the
example of Constantine. Feuds and wars only stopped when the Church declared the truce of God, or a period
of peace. Parish priests, monks and Church officials helped to make Christian values an important part of
everyday life in medieval Europe.
Evil Effects of Feudalism. Feudalism had evil effects, as follows:
 It created an aristocracy or upper class that was selfish, greedy, and snobbish.
 It deleted the formation of national states because the strong feudal lords had no national consciousness
or love of nation.
 It perpetuated the worst kind of economy, without opportunities for the poor.
 The Church grew into an absolute power, due to its union with feudal authorities.
Decline of Feudalism. European feudalism ended with the Middle Ages. The causes of its disappearance were
the following:
 the Crusades;
 the growth of towns and cities;
 the rise of kings and a more centralized economy;
 the introduction of new weapons of warfare; and
 the Renaissance and Reformation which changed the cultural and religious attitudes of people.
The Crusades
The Crusades. The capture of the city of Jerusalem by the Seljuk Moors in 1055 was the immediate spark that
ignited the First Crusade. The Moors destroyed sites holy to Christendom, massacred Christians, and closed the
Holy Land to pilgrims and trade. The Moorish atrocities angered Christians in Byzantine and Europe. They
united in a common cause to regain the Holy Land.
A crusade was a holy war declared by the pope who commanded kings and nobles into a military expedition. A
Christian warrior's emblem was a red cross on his armor and on his shield. The crusaders joined the crusade
because the popes granted them plenary indulgence (total pardon) for their sins and the promise of immediate
entry into heaven if they died (thus, avoiding purgatory).
The Moors also regarded the wars as their jihad (holy war) against the enemies of Islam. Their emblem was a
red crescent, the sign of Islam. And, they also had promises of spiritual and material rewards.
The popes declared many Crusades. At least nine were regular crusades against the Moors in the Holy Land.
There were also special crusades, including the one against the French Protestants, the one against the Slavs in
the Baltic, the Spanish wars against the Moors in Spain, etc.
Important Events of the Crusades. There were several important events during the Crusades, which greatly
influenced world civilization, as follows:
 Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade to the Holy Land (1066-1099). The battle cry of the crusaders
(and, incidentally of their enemies, the Moors) was, "It is the will of God!" The First Crusade was the
only successful crusade. The Christians briefly recaptured Jerusalem and founded small crusader
kingdoms in Palestine. But the knights started quarrelling, and waged war against each other.
Eventually, they lost Jerusalem and all that they had gained.
 Two famous organizations originated from the crusades. The St. John's Knights became the ambulance
brigade in modern England, which still operates ambulances and gives first aid. Secondly, the Knights
Templar became the Masonic Society, a worldwide brotherhood to which famous Filipino
revolutionaries like Rizal, Aguinaldo and Bonifacio belonged in the 19th century.
 The Third Crusade (1189-92) was known as the "Crusade of Kings," because it included Richard the
Lionhearted of England, Philip Augustus of France, and Frederick Barbarossa of Germany. The Syrian
folk hero, Saladin, defeated all three kings and leaped into his place in world history.
  The Fourth Crusade (1104) was rerouted to Constantinople, where the Roman Catholic knights burned
and looted the city, and massacred the unprepared Byzantine Orthodox knights. The bloody battle
between brothers in the faith shocked Christendom. The pope excommunicated the Catholic knights, but
that was not enough for the Byzantines.
 In the Children's Crusade (1212), about 30,000 boys and girls, aged nine to twelve, left home and
marched to the Holy Land on foot, thinking they would be protected by their religious signs and relics.
Most children were killed or taken into slavery. The tragedy shocked the world.
 In Europe, Catholic Spain won the crusades against the Moors in Andalucia(719-1492). Out of these
wars came the story of Rodrigo Vivar (El Cid), the greatest Spanish knight, and the joint monarchy of
Ferdinand and Isabella, the first kings of Spain.
 In the 16th century, Legazpi and his troops were filled with crusade fever after learning that there were
Moorish (Moro) raiding parties and flourishing kingdoms in the Philippines. Had it not been for their
crusading zeal, the Philippines might have become mostly Muslim, like the nearby countries. Hence, the
Spanish-Moro wars in the Philippines were the real "last crusades."
The Battle of Lepanto. In Europe, the Battle of Lepanto (1571) was the last crusade.
The Ottoman Turks attempted to invade Europe after the fall of Constantinople and their control of the
Mediterranean. Spain being the defender of Christianity was asked by the pope to stop the Moorish naval
invasion, just as Charles Martel had stopped their land invasion before.
Philip II hastily organized a coalition navy made up of Spanish, Austrian and Italian ships, and placed it under
the command of his stepbrother Don Juan of Austria. The Battle of Lepanto, fought off the Greek coast, pitted
the heavily outnumbered Christian fleet, against those of the Muslim Turks. The savage nature of the fighting
involved fierce hand-to-hand fighting. The Christian fleet decisively defeated the Turkish navy and stopped
their naval invasion of Europe. However, the Turks soon rebuilt their navy, and closed the Mediterranean to
Christian voyages anyway.
Results of the Crusades. Historians regard the crusades as an overall miserable failure for the Christian popes
and nobles, who started them. The successive failures of the crusades killed the enthusiasm of European popes
and nobles to fight anymore. Relations worsened between the two main Christian empires, due to the crusaders
who invaded Byzantine in 1104.
The Turkish Moors conquered all of the Holy Land and the Mediterranean Sea, and closed the land and sea
routes to Christians for centuries. The Moors successfully checked Christian aggression, and became suspicious
of Christianity forever.
However, the Crusades had unintended beneficial effects. Europeans came in direct contact with the advanced
civilization of the East, and they developed a knowledge and liking for the innovations of the East. The
Crusades created a demand for the exotic goods from the more developed world of Asia (spices, medicine,
fruits, cloths, weapons, etc.). The need arose for a new route to the East by sailing westwards, thus beginning
the Age of Western exploration and discovery.
Finally, the Crusades quite literally killed off feudalism, due to the deaths of many feudal lords and knights in
the Crusades. Those who returned home were broke, and could not defy their kings, pay their merchant
creditors, or oppress the people. This created a new political economy that led to the Age of Kings, the
beginning of mercantilism, and new opportunities for people. Towns and cities, the free merchants, and the
monarchy, were the real winners of the crusades, apart, of course, from the Moors.
Other Characteristics of Medieval Civilization
Free Towns and Cities. Europe emerged from the Dark Ages with a new economy and a new class of people.
It started with the towns. The medieval towns attracted merchants, professionals, skilled craftsmen, and even
peasant serfs running away from manor life. The towns originated from medieval fairs or temporary markets. At
first, they rented space within the feudal manors of nobles.
While the kings and nobles were away, fighting the crusades, the towns prospered and the bankers and
merchants grew rich. Their leaders wished that they could be free from their landlord, the feudal noble.
The medieval towns and cities were the cradles of modern democracy and capitalism.
After winning concessions from their former lords, the residents became free citizens of their chartered city.
They learned to exercise the right to elections, to govern, to make laws, and to enforce laws. The seeds of
democratic government were sown in the medieval towns and cities.
The Guild System. In the towns were merchant or craft guilds, or associations of businessmen and skilled
workers. Their main purpose was the economic protection of the members. By uniting their members into a
guild, they became a strong political group. The guilds could now stand up to the kings, nobles, or even town
leaders. As we shall see, the Hanseatic League became especially powerful. Modern labor unions originated
from the craft (skilled workers) guild. The modern chambers of commerce came from the merchant guilds.
Hanseatic League. The most famous merchant league was the Hanseatic League.
Founded around 1300 AD, its membership included around 80 towns in Germany. The league maintained land
and naval forces with its own flag, and it dominated commerce in the North Sea and the Baltic. When a Danish
king tried to seize a member-town, the Hanseatic League declared war and forced him to withdraw.
Rise of the Middle Class. Up to this historical era, there were only two classes in society - the rich aristocrats
and the poor serfs. But the prospering merchants and craftsmen began to carve out a new social class - the
middle class in society. A strong middle class is the backbone of a nation, and the more of them there are, the
better.
In France, the newly rich middle class was called the bourgeoisie (town dwellers) because they could only be
found in the towns and cities. They were in the middle level of wealth between the nobles and the serfs, not too
rich, nor too poor. Eventually, the middle class became the most powerful and influential social class.
Money Economy Begins. In the feudal era, goods and services were exchanged by the barter system. The main
source of feudal wealth was land, and that was not easy to exchange. In the towns and cities, a more convenient
system of exchange was born.
The system invented in Western Europe was more widespread than the earlier ones in Asia. By the end of the
12th century, the Venetian gold and silver coins became the currency of choice, since the Italian city-states
controlled trade in the Mediterranean.Their minted coins were widely circulated. Afterwards, the Spanish gold
and silver pesetas became the new money. Later, any Big Power could easily circulate its own currency.
Banking and Credit. Since there were many metal coins being exchanged, the need arose for money changers.
Money changers also became the bankers and creditors who loaned money to kings, nobles, and merchants, at
agreed rates of interest. In those days, a banker was someone who had a seat (banco) in the plaza, where he was
seen to lend or exchange money.
The Catholic Church at first prohibited interest as usury (excessive interest). But later it allowed interest, as
long as it was not too high. This enabled Christians to lend money, instead of only Jews. Jacques Le Coeur, a
Christian moneylender, became one of the wealthiest people in medieval times.
This money economy was the origin of capitalism, an economic system where the use of money (or capital)
makes more wealth.
Revival of Learning. In Charlemagne's era, monasteries set up schools and libraries for the upper classes and
the clergy. Even the nobles had to learn how to read and write in Latin, but of course, their children learned
faster. Charlemagne himself could not write and did not learn to write, even though it was said he slept with
pen, ink and paper under his pillow.
Monks made copies of the Bible and of the few surviving Greek and Roman manuscripts. The monks developed
the art of illumination, which decorated the first letter of a paragraph and the margins of a page with artistic
designs. In addition, monks invented a clear written script using capital and lower-case letters, which is the form
of writing today.
Medieval Universities. In some towns, scholars set up medieval centers of learning that grew into universities.
The first universities were associations of students and teachers, like the medieval guilds. Later, they obtained
official charters, just as towns had, which gave them academic freedom. But the Catholic Church kept a close
watch on heretics and dissidents. The teaching language was in Latin.
The notable centers of higher learning were the universities in Bologna and Salerno in Italy, and the Sorbonne
in Paris, France. The Sorbonne became the model for others and was called "the Mother of Universities."
Outside of France and Italy, there were universities in Oxford (England), Salamanca (Spain), Coimbra
(Portugal) and Ghent (Belgium). When the Spaniards came to the Philippines, they established the first
medieval university in Asia, the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila (1611), which was named for a
great medieval scholar.
Scholastic Philosophy. In the 2nd century, scholars from Bologna traveled to Constantinople and brought back
manuscripts on Roman law. At about the same time, new translations of Aristotle's works reached Western
Europe from Muslim Spain. When scholars studied the new translations, debates broke out in the universities.
Aristotle's system of organizing knowledge (inductive and empirical method) contradicted what they used
(deductive thinking based on faith). They believed that Church teachings were the final authority on all
questions. Aristotle relied on reason. He emphasized empirical evidence, based on what we detect with the five
senses, or on the proof of testing.
The most brilliant thinkers tried to resolve the apparent conflict between. faith and reason. Eventually, they
developed a school of thought called scholasticism. Scholasticism used reason and faith to support Christian
beliefs. The most famous medieval scholastic philosophers were Peter Abelard in Paris (1079-1142) and
Thomas Aquinas, an Italian Dominican monk in Paris(1224-74), for whom the UST in Manila was named.
Medieval Science and Technology. Medieval science was not free due to its religious bias. Hence, the Church
was the unquestioned authority, even though its teachings were inerror-e.g. the sunrevolved around the earth
(Ptolemy's teaching). Whatever good science existed came from the East. In the 800s, Europeans adopted the
Hindu-Arabic numerals from the Muslims in Spain. The use of Hindu-Arabic mathematics opened the way to
new knowledge.
In the 13th century, Roger Bacon, an English philosopher, scientist and Franciscan monk at Oxford, (1214-91)
noted the importance of scientific experiments (as Aristotle taught). Bacon conducted many experiments in light
and vision. Today, Roger Bacon is known as the pioneer of experimental modern science.
The Black Death. Medieval medicine was not noted for its cures. Most people relied on folk medicine, which
combined herbals, superstition, and religious beliefs. Many believed that illness was due to evil spirits, or some
punishment from God. During the first outbreak of the Black Death or bubonic plague in Europe (1347-51), the
victims only said, "It is the will of God!" Others prayed to the saints for cures. Some people went on
pilgrimages to holy shrines, and prayed for a miracle.
The disease was called the "black death" because of the color of the victims as they died from bubonic plague. It
is estimated that the Black Death killed 30% of Europe's population and reduced medieval world population
from 450 million to 350 million. The Black Death had a profound effect on the religious, social and economic
life in Europe.
The Birth of National Languages and Literature. The Middle Ages began the development of national
languages and literature. For the first time, new literature was written in the "vernacular, or dialect spoken at
home, such as French, Italian, Spanish, etc.
The greatest medieval poem was Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), the "Father of Italian
Poetry." Dante came from Sicily and imbibed the Islamic influence at Palermo, Sicily, which was under the
Muslim Caliphs until the 11th century AD. Dante's Italian literature had romantic traces, like Arabic literature.
The Canterbury Tales, written in medieval English, was by Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400), the "Father of
English Poetry" The pilgrims' stories had traces of Arabic fantasy tales. Dante, Chaucer and others wrote these
native-tongue poems to leap to something more entertaining.
Wandering minstrels (troubadours) sang tales of love and adventure in village plazas to entertain town folks.
The first troubadour in Europe was the son of William of Aquitaine, France. He learned to sing popular tales
because his father had captured female poet-singers from the Caliph's harem when Aquitaine was under the
Muslims.
Medieval Drama. Religion pervaded most of medieval culture, and drama was no different. Because most
people were illiterate, the Church encouraged the arts and architecture to explain the life of Jesus, Bible stories,
and stories of saints to people. A religious play on the life and death of Christ is still reenacted every ten years
at Oberammergau, Germany. Town actors play the main roles. The passion play was first performed to save the
town from the Black Death.
In the Philippines, the traditional "moro-moro" plays during Lent, showing Christian and Moor duels, were
influenced by medieval themes.
Architecture.
Medieval architecture introduced two styles - the Romanesque and Gothic style churches. The Romanesque is
the Byzantine round-square-dome style stone church, as seen in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy; or the
Quiapo Church in Manila. The Gothic style church has stained glass windows and tall spires, pointed arches,
and flying buttresses to support the walls, as seen in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France; and the San
Sebastian Church in Manila.
Art and Music. Medieval art and music also had religious themes. Monasteries originated the book
illumination art found in translations of ancient texts. Wall frescoes of religious themes started. Churches had
sculptured figures of saints and grotesque evil spirits, or scenes from religious history. The Cathedral of
Amiens, France, for example, has 1000 sculptured figures to educate the people about Christian saints and
stories. Pope Gregory the Great wrote a Latin chanted mass to equal the Byzantine Orthodox mass.
Prepared by: FAITH B. FRANCISCO

Chapter 11
Renaissance and Reformation
1. Renaissance and Italy

After a visit to Italy in the 1500s, a scholar from northern Europe exclaimed, "Immortal God, what a day I see dawrning!"
After reading this chapter, you will understand what that scholar meant. Today, someone who is knowledgeable in many
things is called a "Renaissance person." The Renaissance was a knowledge revolution. It is often considered as a time
when people were worldly and materialistic. Yet a great spiritual Reformation occurred during the Renaissance. Indeed,
the spirit of the Renaissance encouraged the Reformation..
The Renaissance. The 14 to the 16 century was the period of the Renaissance, or the reawakening of world civilization.
These centuries began the modern world, when the civilizations in the East closed to the world, and civilizations in the
West ascended.

"Renaissance," or "Il Risorgimento" in Italian, means "rebirth" or "reawakening." The Renaissance ended the Dark Ages
and opened a more progressive era in Europe. The richest and wisest people of the era changed their focus from religion
and blind faith to humanism and personal interests. It affected their priorities in life, arts, education, music, and other
interests. It prepared them for the Reformation, the Age of Exploration, and Age of Reason and Humanism.

Italy, Birthplace of the Renaissance. The Renaissance began in the southern Italian city-states near the Mediterranean.
Why here, and why not in Rome, Greece, or elsewhere?

1. The Italian city-states near the Mediterranean (Venice, Florence, Genoa, etc.) had become full of newly rich
merchants and bankers. They profited from the booming East-West trade, especially after the fall of
Constantinople. To show off their new wealth, they became patrons of the arts and letters.
2. The Italians were the ancient Romans in blood and language, unlike the other European nations. They were the
heirs of classical Roman and Greek culture. The Renaissance meant to them the restoration of their former
national glory.
3. The universities in Italy, including Bologna and Salerno, fostered secular and practical studies, such as law and
medicine, unlike those in France and England, which promoted theological and philosophical studies. This
emphasis on secular learning helped to prepare Italy for the Renaissance.
4. The intellectual atmosphere in the city- states of Italy was freer than in the cities and towns of other European
countries. Venice, Genoa, Mantua, and other Italian cities encouraged a strong, practical, self-reliant, and
versatile life. Unlike the Greeks, the Italians were more united, practical and strong.
5. The influence of the Islamic centers which preserved learning in the spirit of “la convivencia” (living together).
Valuable translations of the works of Greek and Islamic scholars came from the Islamic centers of learning in
southern France, Sicily, and Spain. The spirit of “la convivencia” in these centers passed these works onto
visitors.

2.Humanism

Humanism in the 14 century, humanism began in the Italian city-states Humanism later spread to other
Western European states . The term humanism was the interest in human values and achievements, and the
appreciation of classical Greek and Roman culture. Humanism did not mean rejection of Christianity. It merely
rejected the medieval idea that religion was the most important interest of all. Instead. The humanists turned to
human interests, like business, romance, humor, pleasure, painting people not religious themes, etc. In short,
humanism extolled the glories of man, not the spiritual glories of God. What sparked the interest of the
humanists was the ancient civilization of Rome, but more especially Greece. The ancient Greek philosophers did
not talk about how many angels could dance on the head of a pin (like the medieval scholastics did) Instead,
they said, “an unexamined life is not worth living” Or, that “man is the measure of all things. Renaissance
scholars and artists began to research in the monasteries and libraries for manuscripts written by scholars of the
past. Visitors went to the Islamic centers of learning in Sicily, southern France, and Spain. The Greek and Roman
works of art and architecture were hunted and collected (busts. Murals, sculptures, buildings). Collecting and
displaying unreligious artworks became popular. It was cool to be self-conscious, romantic, funny, and, yes,
irreverent:
Great Patrons of Humanism. All rich and famous people became humanists. Even popes They encouraged
writers and artists through financial aid and protection. Pope Pius II (1458-64) himself a patron of humanism and
a humanist scholar, was elected to the papacy. Other humanist popes followed him. They were elected to the
papacy due to the Influence of the Italian merchant families. Among the families who became patrons of popes
and humanism were the Medicis of Florence, the Sforzas of Milan, the Gonzaga’s of Mantua, and the d’ Estes of
Ferrara. (Read the story of Isabella d’ Este at the end of this chapter) The most famous of the Italian humanists
(by their first names) were Lorenzo, Francesco, Giovanni and Niccolo.

Lorenzo de Medici (1449-92). Lorenzo

“Il Magnifico” was a diplomat, politician, and patron of the arts. His life coincided with the high point of the
Renaissance. He befriended and supported many artists and scholars, spent vast sums of money for valuable
manuscripts, and adorned his palace with classical statues. He founded the Laurentian Library in Florence, which
housed many valuable manuscripts from East and West. Two of his sons became powerful popes. The Medicis
were the ruling family of Florence, where the Renaissance first flourished. Lorenzo maintained good relations
with the Ottoman sultan because their trade provided his city-state with a major source of wealth. After his
death, the center of the Renaissance moved to Rome.

Petrarch, the “Father of Humanism.” Another best-known humanist was Francesco Petrarch of Florence (1304-
74), sometimes called the “Father of Humanism. He devoted his life to literature and classical studies He was
obsessed with classical learning and did not spare time and money to collect rare manuscripts. Eventually, his
valuable collection of 200 manuscripts exceeded most contemporaries. He pioneered in writing romantic
sonnets to a woman he loved (Laura). It was risky because it had never been done before. Soon, others like
Shakespeare, Spencer, and Milton wrote love sonnets, too.

Boccaccio, the Storyteller, Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-75) was an illegitimate son of a rich Florentine merchant
and a French noblewoman. Nevertheless, he grew up in his father's mansion in Florence, where he showed a
talent for acting out stories.
He became a friend of Petrarch, who inspired him to study Greek, collect rare books and manuscripts, and write
prose and poetry His best-known work was the Decameron (Ten Nights), which he wrote to entertain. This book
consists of 100 stories recounted on 10 nights by 10 young men and women who fled Florence during a plague.
The sparkling style and narrative beauty of the Decameron influenced Chaucer, Shakespeare and other writers.

Machiavelli, Founder of Modern Politics. A diplomat, historian and political philosopher, Niccolo Machiavelli
(1469-1527) was born in Florence. He spent his youth in troubled times because Italy was then the battleground
of the French and Spanish monarchs. He joined the diplomatic service and was assigned to Rome, Paris and
Vienna, among other places. An astute observer and brilliant thinker, he studied the governments of other
nations and their foreign monarchs.
His best work was The Prince (in honor of Lorenzo de Medici). The book revolutionized political philosophy and
laid the foundation of modern political science. According to him, it was all right for a leader to be ruthless and
unscrupulous. Indeed, to be successful, he must be cunning, cruel, and even dishonest, to gain and preserve his
power in other wards, “the end justifies the means and “might makes right.” Today, an unscrupulous politician is
called “Machiavellian.”

The Spread of Humanism. The humanist movement spread like wildfire to other countries in Western Europe.
They caught the Renaissance fever, as they also bought the goods and products from the Italian trading centers.
Within the century, centers of humanism sprouted all over Germany, France, England, Spain, etc.
The writings of Erasmus in various languages translated and spread humanism, and gave it a scholarly approval.
Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536), was a great Dutch scholar, linguist, and theologian. For his humanist
achievements, he was given high honors by King Henry VII of England and Popes Julius II and Leo X. He gave
lectures at many universities. His best known work In Praise of Folly ridiculed the follies of society and the
Church. This book contributed to the Protestant Reformation.

Thomas More (1428-1535), a close friend of Erasmus, popularized humanism in England His greatest work was
Utopia, the story of an ideal socialist state without the church. As chancellor of England he encouraged the study
of the humanities at Oxford. His execution for his religious principles (he disapproved the king’s divorce) was
considered a tragedy, and he was made a Catholic saint.

Francis Bacon (1561-1623) was the greatest of all Renaissance philosophers. He was also lord Chancellor of
England. Among his works are Novum Organum and The Advancement of Learning. His main contribution to
knowledge was the reintroduction of the Greek inductive method of thinking. He believed that direct
observation of nature was the key to knowledge, not dogma nor tradition or doctrines of faith.

Humanist Education. The influence of humanism profoundly changed the schools and universities of Europe.
Imbued by the humanist spirit, educators revised the school curriculum by giving more emphasis to the study of
the humanities, rather than theology, Heidelberg, Salamanca, Oxford, Cambridge, Paris, Ghent, Bologna, and
other universities included Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and classical literature in their curricula. Distinguished
humanists were appointed to their faculty staffs.

Statue of Castiglione and photo of Dr. Rizal The Renaissance Man and Woman. Renaissance education stressed
the ideal of a well-rounded or universal man. This educational ideal was clearly expressed in a bestselling book.
The Courtier, by Italian nobleman Baldassare di Castiglione. Published in 1528, the book portrayed a perfect
gentleman with the combined qualities of a warrior, a scholar, and knowledgeable in art, poetry, and music. An
example of a Renaissance man could have been Dr. Jose Rizal, who was a genius, a gentleman, writer, artist,
scientist, and political hero. Rizal also questioned the abuses of the religious. An example of a Renaissance
woman was Isabella d’ Este, whom you will read about later.

Rise of Libraries. The humanities movement inspired popes, kings, merchant princess, and scholars to build
libraries. Some Renaissance libraries still exist, such as the Laurentian in Florence, Ambrosian in Milan, St. Mark’s
Library in Venice, the Bibliothec Nationale (National Library) in Paris, and the Vatican Library in Rome. These
intellectual shrines are still visited by scholars from all over the world.

Renaissance Art and Architecture. Renaissance painting, like humanism, revived classical art. It blended
classicism. Spiritualism, and realism to produce a new art form. The three greatest painters of the Renaissance
 were the Italians, beginning with Leonardo de Vinci. His paintings were remarkably accurate in technical details,
due to his research into anatomy and perspective, His two famous paintings were “The Last Supper” and “Mona
Lisa.”

Michelangelo Buonarotti is considered as the greatest artist who was great in painting and sculpture. He was
commissioned by the pope to paint his private castle’s Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo’s style showed ideal human
poses, as in Greek art.

Raphael, the youngest, was considered the Greatest painter of the Renaissance. Called The “perfect painter” his
masterpiece was the “ Sistine Madonna.” Some consider it as the greatest painting due to its classical beauty
and symmetry. Renaissance sculpture showed great imagination and religious devotion. The most famous of all
Renaissance sculptors was Michelangelo, whose statue of David is one of the finest masterpieces of sculpture.
His greatest sculptural work is La Pieta, a touching scene after the crucifixion. Renaissance architecture replaced
the gothic style with Romanesque rounded arches and the Hellenic columns.

Renaissance Music. Renaissance music Introduced the written notes for songs and instruments, it started a new
era in music. The beginnings of modern opera came from the oratorio, religious dramas sung in churches. New
romantic ballads were written for lovers. Lilar the madrigals

3 Influence of the Renaissance

Gadgets that changed the world. Many gadgets captured the curiosity and imagination of Renaissance folks
Actually, most of them came from the East, and were exported to Europe by enterprising traders and collectors.
The gadgets of the East sparked more than curiosity they changed the world. The Renaissance encouraged the
use of new material devices as well as new ideas.

The compass, invented by the Chinese many centuries earlier, was used by European mariners. This enabled
them to sail without fear of losing direction. The astrolabe of the Arabs enabled mariners to find their position at
sea. They also learned how to make charts, like the ancient Mesopotamians. The Age of Exploration needed
these innovations.
Chinese gunpowder was used in a way the Chinese never intended. Thousands were shot and killed during the
Hundred Years War (1337-1453), Artillery cannons were likewise introduced. Warfare would never be as
chivalrous as ever. Feudalism and knights vanished.
Paper from pulp fibers, invented by the Chinese and introduced by the Arabs, appeared in Europe and replaced
the expensive parchment, which was made from lambskin. By the 13th century, paper was commonly used in
Europe. Paper and printing started a knowledge revolution in Europe,

Printing Led to a Knowledge Explosion. However, the greatest invention of the Renaissance was movable block
printing (which came from China). Johann Gutenberg of Mainz, Germany, reinvented printing for the Europeans
about 1450 AD.
The first book printed was the Gutenberg Bible, copies of which are collector’s items today By 1500 AD, shout
nine million booies were in circulation in Europe from various printing presses. Knowledge from books became
available to anybody who could read. The intellectual revolution caused an explosion of knowledge.

The Effects of the Renaissance. The Renaissance had a profound influence on the direction of world history. Its
far-reaching effects were the following:
1. The Renaissance shifted the balance of power in the world from the East to the West, a shift lasting for over
live hundred years from the 15th century.
2. It enriched world civilization in the arts. Philosophy, literature, and education.
3. The Renaissance inspired the freedom of Individuals to use reason, develop, and dream of a better life, and
not simply to accept that everything is “the will of God. The Renaissance contributed to the geographical
discoveries and maritime explorations of the 15 and 16 centuries.
4. The Renaissance fostered the growth of patriotism and national consciousness in Europe, thus empowering
the kingdoms that later became world empires such as Spain, Portugal, England and France.
5. Finally, the Renaissance paved the way for religious freedom through the Reformation.
Reporter:
PETHEL SANCHEZ

The Protestant Reformation

The Reformation was a Triple Transformation.
The Reformation ran parallel to the Renaissance and was a significant movement that changed the world in
the 16th century. It was a triple transformation and the world. For the church, the state
On the one hand, it was a religious declaration of independence by Martin Luther and other reformers, who
broke away from Catholicism and founded many Protestant sects. Secondly, it gave political opportunity. For
kings to gain freedom from the control of the Church. Finally, it was a spiritual awakening that reformed the
Church and took Christianity to the ends of the earth.
The Decline of Society and the Church. Both the Renaissance and the Reformation came between a period of
the decline of the society. The late 1300s was a bad time in Western Europe and Asia. There was a global
depression. Political and economic changes were shaking the very foundations of society. Poor harvests led to
famines. Agriculture, trade, and commerce declined. The Roman Catholic Church had been weakened by many
factors. These included the failure of the Crusades (as you read earlier), the Black Plague, political unrest,
economic troubles,
Abuses and scandals within the Church itself, and the Great Schism that led to two popes within the Catholic
Church.
The Black Death.
A French diarist wrote, “In one day 812 people died in Avignon (France). At least 358 monks died at Lent. At
Marseilles, only one monk remained out of 150.” And the record goes on. The “terrifying plague” caused
death to break out “everywhere the sun goes.” Epidemics and sickness were common at the time, but none
compared to the terrible outbreak of bubonic plague, the Black Death, in Europe in the 1300s.
In 1348, the Black Plague came from Asia, as people fled on ships across the Mediterranean from the Mongol
invasions. Hundreds of thousands died because nobody knew a cure.
As the disease swept across Europe, it destroyed entire towns and communities. Some towns lost more than
half their population. In all, the Black Death was the equivalent of a nuclear holocaust in the Dark Ages. It
wiped out about one-third of the people in Europe, millions of lives. The huge death toll had a serious effect
on the people. Farms were abandoned. The busy commerce of the 1100s and 1200s, and the towns and cities
collapsed. Europe did not fully recover for over 100 years.
Another Great Schism in the Catholic Church.
During the social and economic troubles of the 1300s and 1400s, the leadership of the Church weakened.
Monarchs and reformers challenged its authority. As you studied before, the popes had tried to be more
powerful than kings and nobles.
The Catholic Church, which had stood as the bulwark of civilization after the collapse of the Roman Empire,
now was in a period of decline itself. The failure of the Crusades and its powerlessness to save people from
the Black Death exposed the weakness of the Catholic Church. Kings and nobles resented having to pay Church
tithes and other offerings, which reduced their income from taxes. Rulers also resented the Inquisition, which
competed with royal courts. Finally, they got angry when Church officials interfered in political matters. By the
1300s, political rulers were becoming more successful in their political struggles with the Church.
In 1294, King Philip IV of France kidnapped the pope over a dispute on taxes. He caused a French pope to be
elected. The new pope moved the papacy to Avignon in southern France. The period from 1309 to 1378 is
known as the “Babylonian Captivity,” to recall the 70-year period when the ancient Jews were held captive in
Babylon. During this period, the French king made a puppet of the popes.
In 1378, the Church suffered another humiliation when two popes were elected, one in Avignon, and another
in Rome. Another Great Schism split the Church. Finally, a Church council settled the crisis in 1417, and the
French king was persuaded to accept the new Italian pope in Rome.
During these scandals, the Church image was tarnished forever. Many Christians were shocked at the
spectacle of two popes, each claiming spiritual authority. The Church also lost its political supremacy. In
France, kings began to tax the clergy and church income. In England, the king declared he would no longer pay
anything to the popes. Many reformers within the Church also attacked its abuses and false doctrines.
Forerunners of the Reformation
There were many critics who denounced the evils in the Church. These evils included (1) the vast wealth and
luxury of the Church. (2) the sale of Church offices to unworthy prelates, (3) the scandalous immoralities and
extravagance of the clergy, and (4) Church doctrines which were contrary to Christ’s teachings.
Several reformers prepared the way for the Reformation, but they died before they could see their
vindication. In mainland Europe, the humanist Dutch scholar Erasmus was very influential in calling for
reforming the Church.
John Wycliffe (c.1324-84), an Oxford professor, advocated the sale of all Church properties, a simple life for
the clergy, and the use of the Bible as the sole guide to man’s, salvation. For the benefit of the common
people, he translated the Latin Bible into English, but did not see it printed. Wycliffe was burned at the stake.
In his footsteps, another Bible translator, William Tyndale (1494-1536) printed a widely circulated Bible
translation. For this illegal act, he was condemned. Before being burned at the stake, Tyndale cried out, “Lord,
open the eyes of the king of England!” A century later that happened when the King James Bible was
published (1611). It was mostly based on Tyndale and Wycliffe’s earlier work. It began a Puritan revival that
took Christianity into the New World of America.
Jan Hus (John Huss) was a priest in central Europe who preached the ideas of Wycliffe in his area (c.1369-
1415). He, too, was burned at the stake. His Czech followers fought successful wars to leave the Catholic
Church.
Savonarola (1452-98), was an Italian Dominican monk of Florence. He boldiy denounced the corruption of
society and the luxury of the clergy and nobles. For a time, he was very popular, and the Florentines, upon his
orders, drove away the ruling Medici family and established the Republic of Florence. Many fine garments ,
jewelry and works of art were publicly burned at the bonfirres of vanities. Shortly afterwards the people lost
faith in his puritanical teaching and he was hanged as a heretic in 1498.
Luther, the Most Successful Reformer

The Protestant revolution succeeded through a reluctant but courageous German Augustinian monk named Martin
Luther (1483-1546). The son of a poor miner, he was an intelligent and diligent scholar up to university level. He became
an Augustinian monk and, later, a theology professor at the University of Wittenberg in Saxony (Germany).

He was spiritually troubled, and began to doubt the Church’s teaching on salvation. The breakthrough for him was a
Bible verse which said: “For (in Christ) is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just
shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17). He claimed that the authority of the Bible and a person’s conscience outweighed the
authority of any church. “Sola Scriptura, sola gracia,” (Only the Bible; only grace) was his slogan.

Separation from Rome

Furthermore, Luther and other devout priests were deeply offended by the abuses and corruption in the Catholic
Church. The lifestyles of some popes, cardinals and bishops had become extravagant and immoral. The absolute power
of the Church had corrupted many of its leaders.

In particular, the sale of indulgences by the Church brought it into direct collision with Luther. An indulgence promises a
soul to reduce time in purgatory or go straight to heaven. The pope (or priest) grants an indulgence in exchange for a
pious deed or a sum of money. Rumors reached Luther that John Tetzel, another friar, was going around selling
indulgences to the people and promising forgiveness of their sins. He encouraged people to throw coins into the
offering. Tetzel said, “As soon as the coin in the bag rings, the soul from purgatory springs!”

On October 31, 1517, Luther went to the door of his church at Wittenberg, and nailed ninety-five pieces of paper
attacking the selling of indulgences. His “95 theses” attracted public attention, and he was now at war with Rome. He
challenged anyone to a debate on the validity of the indulgences. Tetzel did not reply, but he sent a report of Luther’s
theses to Pope Leo X. Meanwhile, Luther became highly popular with commoners and German princes (there was no
German king) who liked the idea of personal salvation. They hated the greediness and power of the Church.

Alarmed, Pope Leo X issued a papal order in June 1520 for Luther to recant his ideas, or be excommunicated. Luther
burned the order to the cheers of a large crowd in Wittenberg. In August 1520, Luther issued a pamphlet urging the
German nobles to stop all payments to Rome and take over the German church. In a second pamphlet, Luther called for
a return to the Bible and a personal relationship with God.

Luther’s Defiance of the Pope and Emperor.

Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther. The Holy Roman Emperor, Charles | of Spain, faced the difficult task of
arresting and executing Luther. But he dreaded war with the powerful German nobles, and tried a peaceful
settlement first.
Under the protection of one hundred fully armed German nobles and their knights, Luther agreed to appear
before the Emperor and Catholic scholars at the diet (parliament) of Worms, Germany in 1521. Emperor
Charles offered Luther one last chance to recant his teachings. Luther stood firm and refused to withdraw his
criticisms of the Church. Instead, he declared, “I cannot go against my conscience. Here I stand. I cannot do
otherwise. So help me God!”
He was proclaimed a heretic and an outlaw. To protect Luther, some friendly knights secretly placed him
under the protection of his friend, Frederick the Wise, the noble in Saxony. For a year, Luther lived safely at
Wartburg Castle. During this period, he translated the Bible into German, wrote hymns, and married a German
nun. Today, he is remembered as the founder of the Lutheran denomination and the Father of the Protestant
Reformation.
The Peasants' War (1524-25)
In 1524, the poor peasants in south Germany took advantage of the Protestant cause to revolt against their
feudal lords. They committed terrible atrocities, killing nobles and priests, destroying and looting churches and
castles. Luther had no sympathy for them. He was a spiritual person, not a violent revolutionary.
The revolt was easily suppressed by the feudal lords. A large part of the country was devastated, and 50,000
lives were lost. Catholics blamed Luther for the catastrophe, because they claimed it was his teaching that
inspired the peasants to revolt. Consequently, the Protestant cause was discredited in southern Germany,
where it started. However, Protestantism continued to spread to northern Germany and the Scandinavian
countries.
The Spread of Protestant Ideas
By Luther’s death in 1546, about half of the Holy Roman Empire had adopted the new Christian faith. Many
princes supported Luther because they wanted to assert their independence of the emperor and the pope.
Like the peasants, these nobles seized Church lands and stopped the flow of taxes to Rome. When the
emperor tried to force the German princes to remain loyal to the pope, they protested. Thus, they became
known as “Protestants” and were excommunicated as heretics. The movement to reform the Church was
called the Protestant Reformation.
The Protestant Reformation spread to other countries. In Switzerland, Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531), a Catholic
priest and admirer of Erasmus, taught in the Swiss city of Zurich. Like Luther, Zwingli had no use for elaborate
rituals. In 1523, he abolished the sacraments. And indulgences. He also allowed priests to marry. He believed
that a good pastor or minister, and a strong personal discipline would help Christians lead a spiritual life. He
held services in undecorated buildings and read sermons based on the Bible, instead of Catholic liturgy.
The Swiss cantons were split on the question of religion, and civil war broke out. In1531, Zwingli headed the
Swiss Protestant forces that attacked the Catholic cantons. He lost and was killed in battle. The tradition of
Swiss guards as personal bodyguards of the Pope today comes from this era. Another Swiss reformer arose in
Geneva,
In 1636, a French lawyer, John Calvin (1509- 64), fleeing from religious persecution in France, settled in
Geneva. There, Calvin established a union of church and state to reform the previous corrupt society. All
festivals were abolished, all theaters were closed, and the people were taught to live a simple, disciplined life.
Calvin preached a new doctrine of predestination. According to him, each person before his birth has been
predestined to live either within or outside the grace of God.
Instead of feudalism and aristocracy, Calvin introduced a republic and limited. Democracy. The lay people
elected church leaders, called presbyters, who also acted as state officials. John Knox, a disciple of Calvin in
Geneva, carried Calvinism to Scotland, where it became known as Presbyterianism. It spread to England as
Puritanism, and later to America.
Protestantism in England
England’s Protestant movement was peculiar because it broke away from the Catholic Church due to political
reasons. King Henry VIII of England wanted to divorce his first wife (Catherine of Aragon, aunt of Emperor
Charles V), so he could marry Anne Boleyn, a beautiful noblewoman. When the Pope refused, Henry was
furious. He divorced the queen anyway and married Anne. The act put him on a collision course with the
Vatican and the Holy Roman Empire. In 1534, he made himself head of the new Church of England (Anglican
Church) that seceded (broke away) from the Pope. The Anglican Church had a different doctrine, liturgy and
hierarchy from that of Catholicism, Lutheranism, or Calvinism. The Catholics tried to recapture England
through the Spanish armada invasion in 1588, but Henry’s daughter Queen Elizabeth I won. England stayed
separated from Rome.
Catholic Counter-Reformation
Catholic Reformation
A young Spanish knight was wounded in battle. He endured the ordeal as they sawed off his broken leg During
the agony, he asked for a book to read. Someone gave him Thomas a Kempis Imitation of Christ. It changed his
life forever. What he read inspired him to devote his life in full- time ministry. So began the spiritual journey of
Ignatius Loyola, who would personify the Catholic reforms. Loyola was a Spanish knight who founded the
religious order of the Jesuits (Society of Jesus). The Jesuits and other young, idealistic priests brought reforms
within the Catholic Church itself. Many loyal Catholics worked to reform the church and revive its leadership.
In addition, they fought against Protestants, whom they regarded as worse heretics than the Moors. The
movement to reform the Catholic Church and fight the Protestants became the Catholic Reformation. Some
historians call it the “Catholic Counter-Reformation.”
To stop the loss of members, the papacy and its advisers took action through several fronts, including (1) the
Council of Trent; (2) the Inquisition; (3) the Society of Jesus; and (4) the exploration of overseas lands to
convert new members.
The Council of Trent (1545-63)
Pope Paul III (1534-49) began the Catholic Reformation by calling church officials to a new meeting, the
Council of Trent, which met at irregular intervals from 1545 to 1563. Because of the Council of Trent, the
Catholic Church ended many abuses that Luther and other Protestant reformers had criticized. Catholic rulers
in Spain, France, and Italy strongly supported the new reforms. However, the Protestant reformers did not
return to the fold, because they said the Catholic reforms
Were not enough. Among the decisions of the Council of Trent were:
1. It recognized the Roman pope as the infallible head of the Church.
2. .It condemned the Protestant claim that the Bible is the only guide to man’s salvation.
3. It reaffirmed the validity of the sacraments, the veneration of saints, and other Catholic dogmas.
4. It prescribed high standards of conduct for the clergy.
5. It authorized the pope to publish the Index list of books forbidden for Catholics to read. The Bible was
banned for Catholics to read without permission.
The Inquisition
The Inquisition was the violent persecution of suspected heretics by the Catholic Church. It was called
“inquisition” because it was a’secret trial of suspected heretics who were arrested, tried and punished (often
with torture). During the Reformation, the Catholic Inquisition was reactivated to suppress heresy in Catholic
countries. The Inquisition committed many atrocious acts, such as the burning of numerous victims at the
stake. However, the Protestants were equally guilty of inflicting death and torture on those who refused to
agree with them. The Inquisition checked the advance of the Protestant movement in southern Europe.
The Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus played a major role in the Catholic Reformation. Its founder, Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556),
the Spanish knight, was the son of a noble family and a former page of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel of
Spain. In 1534, he organized the Society of Jesus, a new religious order, combining spirituality with military
discipline. In addition to the three monastic vows, the Jesuit priests vowed absolute obedience to the pope.
The new order attracted bright and brave young men who wanted to serve God in full-time ministry.
The Jesuits became the new crusaders of the Catholic Church. They persuaded or forced many Protestants in
northern Germany and Eastern Europe back to the Catholic Church. They travelled to new lands that
Europeans were exploring and won many new converts. They established schools and colleges, which became
famous centers of learning (like the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines later). They exerted great
influence in European politics by acting as advisers and father confessors to kings and queens. They won
prestige for the Church by achievements in the sciences and humanities.
Catholics Begin the Greatest Missionary Venture in History
To replace the souls that they thought had been lost to Protestantism, the Catholic Church and kings began
the greatest missionary venture that the world has ever known to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
The different religious orders (Augustinian, Franciscan, Dominican, etc.) left their monasteries and went on
missionary activities. Besides trying to recover the former Catholics, they accompanied the exploration ships
overseas to faraway lands in Asia, Africa and the New World. They succeeded in winning millions of new
converts to the Catholic Church.
The Catholic missionaries inclüded the. Jesuit hero Francis Xavier (1506-1552). From 1541 to 1552, he
preached and baptized 700,000 Asians in India, Malaysia, and Japan to Catholic Christianity. For this
unsurpassed missionary exploit, St. Francis Xavier is called the “Apostle of the Indies.”
The millions of members converted by Catholic missionaries to Asia (including the Philippines), Africa and the
Americas during the 16th and 17th centuries more than offset the former members who had joined the
Protestant sects. The Protestants had won the battles of the Reformation, but it appeared the Catholics won
the war for souls. Today, Roman Catholicism is the largest denomination of Christianity.
Differences between Catholics and Protestants. Both Catholics and Protestants are Christians, in the sense that
they believe in Christ and His teachings. However, funda- mental differences have separated them since the
Reformation. As we studied, the Roman Church doctrines changed Christianity (see Chapter 10). The main
differences between the Catholics and Protestants are as follows:
1. Roman Catholics are united under one supreme head, the Pope. On the other hand, Protestants have
different independent church denominations or sects, such as the Lutherans, Calvinists, Presbyterians,
Anglicans, Methodists, Baptists, etc.
2. The Catholic Church has one hierarchy, liturgy and doctrine. Catholics in the entire world follow the
same leadership structure, worship services and beliefs. The Protestant sects are national or local in
character, with different leaders and doctrines.
3. Catholics do not allow their clergy to marry. Protestant pastors or ministers can marry and have
families.
4. Catholics accept the papal authority, the monastic system, the veneration of relics and saints, and the
sacraments. Protestants accept only some of them.
5. Catholics believe that the Pope and tradition supplement the Bible. Protestants believe in the Bible
alone.
The Bible is the only guide to man’s salvation.

Results of the Reformation

The Reformation brought about the following results:
1. It ended the monopoly and absolute power of the Roman Church over European kings and opened
the way for strong national states to form.
2. It introduced the idea of religious freedom and a move for greater democracy.
3. New Christian denominations were founded, such as the Lutherans, Calvinists, Presbyterians, and
Anglicans (see historical chart).
4. It encouraged the Age of Exploration to spread Christianity to the ends of the earth.
5. It started a spiritual revival in Christianity, the distribution of the Bible, and Biblical Christianity.
6. It improved Christianity by exposing the abuses of the clergy, wrong doctrines, and the need for
personal salvation.
7. It destroyed the unity of the West. Europe was forever divided into Catholic Europe and Protestant
Europe. Protestant sects flourished in northern Germany, England, Scotland, Holland and
Scandinavia. Catholics remained strong in Italy, France, Spain, Ireland and southern Germany.
These divisions have remained largely unchanged until today.
8. The religious divisions ignited bitter wars in Europe after the Reformation.

The Age of Religious Wars (1547-1648).

The religious wars were bloody armed Conflicts between the Catholic and Protestant nations of Europe. They
lasted for almost a century (1547-1648), and the Protestants overwhelmingly won them. They won not only
their independence from the Pope and their respective kings, but also the right to determine their own
religion.
The main results of these religious wars in Europe were as follows:
1. In Germany, the Augsburg Treaty (1555) ended a decade of war between the German princes who
supported Luther and the Catholic Holy Roman Empire.
2. The Protestant German princes won, and they were allowed to determine the official religion within their
territory.
3. In France, the Huguenot Wars (1562- 98) were won by the Huguenot French Protestants, who got their
religious freedom from the French king. In the Dutch Netherlands, the War of Dutch Independence (1566-
1609) ended. The Protestant Dutch won freedom from their Catholic ruler, King Philip II of Spain.
4. The “invincible” Spanish Armada (1588) was destroyed and England became free of Rome. Because of this
naval victory, Britain remained a Protestant nation and ruled the seas for centuries.
5. The Thirty Years’ War (1618-48) in German lands between the Catholics and the Protestants ended with a
stalemate between Catholics and Protestants under the Treaty of Westphalia (1648). The religious wars in
Western Europe finally ended, and both sides called it even.

First Lady of the Renaissance – Isabella d’Este

“Don’t worry, and just pay attention to the military battles. I will govern so that you will not be
embarrassed. Everything will be done for the good of the people,” wrote Isabella d'Este to her
husband, Francesco Gonzaga of Mantua. He had gone to war, and left his wife Isabella in charge of
their Italian city-state. They were among the richest merchant-princes of Italy. Francesco was sure
that his wife would rule well in his absence. Isabella’s wisdom and political skill made one poet to
call her, “la prima donna del mondo,” (first lady of the world).
Isabella d’Este (1474-1539) was born to be great. Her family ruled Ferrara, another wealthy city-
state in Italy. As a daughter of a noble family, she received a good education. She developed a love
of poetry, and delighted visitors by reciting verses from Virgil’s Aeneid and Dante’s Divine Comedy.
She also learned the female skills of singing, dancing, playing the flute and embroidery.
She married Francesco Gonzaga (1466-1519), who became the Duke of Mantua, a wealthy city in northern
Italy. While she was raising their nine children, she also devoted herself into making Mantua a center of
Renaissance culture. Isabella attracted talented artists and poets to Mantua. She was a generous patron but
strict. “You can paint anything you like,” she told one artist, “as long as it is not ugly, because if it is, you will
have to paint it again at your own expense.” Da Vinci, Rubens and other Renaissance painters immortalized
her portraits. You may visit their beautiful collection of artwork and valuables at the Gonzaga Museum in
Mantua, Italy. When her husband was captured In the war, Isabella kept the people calm and helped win his
release. Her clever negotiation prevented other armies from invading Mantua. She wrote thousands of letters
in her lifetime. She proved that she understood art and politics, love and war, and even raising children. She
was a versatile Renaissance person.
PREPARED BY:
Mary Amvulien Melecado