PRELUDE: MIDDLE/MEDIEVAL AGES
Sickness and Famine
I. 1300-1450 Little Ice Age - colder, wetter climates
A. 1315-1322 Great Famine - ruined crops → starvation
B. 1318 Flemish wool trade problem - sheep infection = poor exports = suffering merchants
II. 1347-1351 Black Death - carried on rats from Genoese ships
A. Killed 1/3 of population
B. Misconceptions: punishment from God, Jews “poisoned wells”, poisoned air, misaligned stars, etc
C. Political effects: weaker govt, law enforcement
D. Economic effects: decline in feudalism, increased labor wages after worker shortages
E. Culturally, socially: scapegoating of Jews, religious extremism
The Hundred Years’ War
I. 1337-1453 Hundred Years’ War - longest war in Euro history
II. Causes - constant disputes btwn French, English
A. Distant: English, French both want Aquitaine
1. 1303 Treaty of Paris - English gets Aquitaine, is a vassal to France (give military support, etc)
B. Immediate: French king Charles IV dies w/o successor
1. Who should be king? Older English nephew Edward III or French cousin Philip VI?
2. Philip VI becomes king, takes Aquitaine - Edward III sees this as a violation, cause for war
III. War - English victories
A. English Henry V marries French princess - he and sons are to be successors to throne
IV. Joan of Arc (1412-1431)
A. Hearing voices - French Charles VII (see Ren monarchs) must be king instead not Henry V
B. 1429 Charles VII crowned king BUT Joan kidnapped by English, burned
V. After Joan
A. French + ally Burgundians victor against English
1. English: little land gains, financial loss
2. French: ruined economy
Church Problems
I. Pope Boniface VIII vs French king Philip IV
A. Bon VIII issues ”Unam Sanctam” - pope authority over monarch
II. 1309-1376 Babylonian Captivity - period when popes ruled from Avignon
A. Decline in papal prestige - further from Rome = less spiritual, more bureaucratic
III. 1378-1417 Great Schism - 3 rival popes
A. Italian Urban VI back in Rome, French Clement VII in Avignon, (final pope) Martin V in Rome
UNIT 1: THE RENAISSANCE (1350-1600)
Political and Economic Overview of the Renaissance
I. Renaissance - “rebirth” of commerce, interest in classical cultures, confidence in human potential
A. Jakob Burkhardt’s The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy - a break from the past
1. Medieval: focus on church; little sense of community, culture
2. Renaissance: man becoming more self aware
Before . . . (Late Middle Ages) Going into . . .
- Population loss (Black Death) - Population rejuvenation
- Political turmoil (Hundred Years War) - More stable/powerful monarchs
- Rise of nationalism - Rise of individualism
- Church instability (Great Schism) - rise/fall of Italian city states
- Rise of merchant class
- CONTINUED church instability
II. Beginnings - north Italy’s good economic, political situation
1. Geography - close to Rome, center of Euro, Mediterranean (trade)
, 2. More international in nature - exposed to worldly goods, ideas
3. More intense revival of commerce, town building
4. Merchants grow wealthier - patrons of art, banking families (pay for buildings, art, etc)
III. Political development among city states
A. Communes - merchant guilds; dictate own laws, taxes for their town
B. “New wealth” - merchant aristocracy (condottieri - military leaders; signori - stronger rulers, merchant oligarchies)
C. Social inequality: popolo - “powerless” → uprisings (ie Ciompi Rebellion)
IV. Political relationships among city states
A. Citizens loyal only to their city state
B. Competitive BUT checked each others power
C. Larger dominated smaller
D. Beginnings of modern diplomacy - set up embassies w/ ambassadors
V. Decline of city states
A. Disunification = target for outside invaders
1. 1494-1559 Habsburg-Valois Wars - HRE, Spanish vs French for control of Italy
B. Political instability → radicalism - 1497 Bonfire of the Vanities
1. Girolamo Savanarola burns “sinful objects”
VI. End of the Renaissance
A. 1527 Charles V of HRE sacks Rome - imprisons Pope Clement VII
1. Destruction of Rome = end of Italian Renaissance
Intellectual Changes During the Renaissance
I. Humanism - human nature, achievement was worthy of viewing; rebirth of humanist culture inspired by classics (ignored
during MA)
A. Francesco Petrach - father of Humanism
1. Looked for old texts in Rome - “these writers have reached level of perfection that we should follow”
a) Use as models to write clearly, argue effectively, speak persuasively
b) Themes of love, beauty, bravery, citizenship, excellence, etc
B. Leonardo Bruni
1. Emphasizes study of humanities (moral philosophy, history, politics, literature, rhetoric) - learning
ennobles us
II. Individualism - emphasizing unique talents, personality of each individual
A. Moving away from Church obedience - controlling your own destiny
1. Virtu - shaping world around you w/ own efforts, innovations
B. Renaissance man - well rounded; writer, artist, linguist, athlete, musician, etc (ie Leonardo da Vinci)
C. Take pride, confidence, in abilities, celebrate achievements, brag VS MA Christ humbleness/modesty
1. Ie Leon Battista Alberti - prideful scholar, architect, writer, etc
III. Secularism - emphasizing worldly interests
