Lectures Turning Points in Modern European History
Lecture 1: Periodisation and Narratives + Fall of the Roman Empire
Turning points are the idea that history changing in which a new era begins and an old era ends.
Sometimes turning points are moments in history when generations/contemporaries believed they
were living in a new era. For instance, the French Revolution in which French Revolutionaries started
a new calendar marking the year 1 in 1792 with the establishment of the French Republic.
Sometimes periods are invented later, such as the Middle Ages, by historians, writers, intellectuals,
or politicians often with a specific agenda. Turning points also have to do with periodisation: dividing
up the time in periods. The classical periodisation in history is antiquity – Middle Ages – Modern.
Periodisation is not neutral but is often invented/made by people for political reasons.
Jordanova discusses several criteria which people have used to divide time in homogenous periods:
(1) rulers and dynasties (Napoleonic), (2) key events (World War I), (3) descriptions (‘’modern era’’
which speaks about the characteristics of such a period), (4) type of government (Communist) and (5)
cultural style (Baroque (Renaissance)).
The period of the ‘’Middle Ages’’ (500-1500: in between age) was invented by Humanists living in
the 16th century who considered as dark and barbaric ages and the age between Classical Age (great
Roman Empire) and their own period in which the legacy of the Classical Age was restored.
- Problems with this period: continuity of the Byzantium (the West-Roman empire fell whilst
the East-Roman empire existed for another 1000 years), there is no clear rupture as the
legacy of Rome continued after the fall of the West-Roman empire, and a lot of dynamism
can be found in the Middle Ages and it was not 1000 years of barbaric times (also positive
developments and events occurred as cities, states, colonialism)
European history is all about politics and about a certain vision of the definition of What is Europe?
which determines the view of the past; some find certain periods with technical and economic
developments more important whilst others are more interested in cultural change many
different historical narratives! For example: the pluralist narrative is the idea that what makes
Europe unique is that it is not a unity but fragmented (small states without a central empire etc.) as
cause of European dynamism (rise of the West).
From the 18th century onwards, European history has often been taken by Europeans as a universal
and modern history which is far more than just a history of the specific continent. This has been
more highlighted since the Enlightenment as scholars did away with biblical stories and invented at
the same time new stories of progress and development into modern commercial societies; a path
taken by Europe and the rest of the world was measured by this European path. In the last 30 to 40
years people have voiced more critique regarding these universal claims of European history:
European history is NOT the history of the world and European concepts should not be projected
onto other histories.
Is the year 476, in which the West-Roman Emperor was deposed by Germanic army leader Odoaser
and led to the fall of West-Roman Empire (the start of the Middle Ages), a turning point?
- The Roman Empire is NOT, as many claim it to be, a European empire but more a
Mediterranean empire, ranging from the Middle East to Western Europe and Northern Africa
in which the Mediterranean Sea formed the centre of the Empire
- The Roman Empire did NOT see itself as ‘’European’’ (with a European identity)
- Collapse of a civilisation, decline in literacy, societies became less complex (agriculture,
new nobility), and the inauguration of the dark Middle Ages, which can make 476 a turning
point because these processes occurred between the 5 th and the 8th century but is often not
seen as such by contemporaries
, - By contemporaries, living in this era, the year 476 was not seen as a turning point, not
historically as important, and they had alternative dates such as 410 with the Sack of Rome
by the Germanic tribes which was seen as much more symbolic of the decline of the Roman
Empire OR 439 with the Conquest of Africa
- After 476, Roman cultural traditions survived (no turning point but continuity!) and
remained important in the West; no sudden collapse of a civilisation as this was a slow
process
- The East-Roman Empire continued to exist for 1000 years after 476 (Byzantine Empire)
- In the Mediterranean there is not a collapse of society as the Islamic Empire rises
- There WAS discontinuity after 476 BUT this was a real gradual process without a sudden
collapse: de-urbanisation and the decline of literacy
Charlemagne, the Frankish king who was crowned Roman Emperor by the Pope (800), who is
nowadays still seen as a father of Europe and his empire (Western-Europe) is still seen as the core of
Europe. However, Charlemagne himself would not regard himself European but as a Roman,
Christian Emperor (Classical Age).
The Roman legacy in (Western) Europe:
1. The ideal of the Empire (dream of reviving the Roman Empire: unification)
2. Roman law: the legal unity of Europe (used throughout the next centuries)
3. The Catholic church (language (Roman: Latin), administration, and clothing) adopted much of
the legacy
4. Cities (origins of modern cities in Roman times)
5. Criticism of the Roman legacy by Goody: Europeans were not inheritances of Rome but
invented their own antiquity
Lecture 2: Sixteenth century (end of Middle Ages and beginning of the Early Modern Age) +
Religion and War (1648)
The 16th century as a turning point in European history/ruptures
1. Media revolution: the printing press in the late 15th century stood for the first age of mass
communication publications for the masses for the first time and ability to reproduce at a
large scale of all kinds of texts
*printing press closely related to religious reforms: Reformation
2. Age of military revolution increase use of gun powder and new forms of infantry and all
forms of warfare had become outdated, such as soldiers on horses and walls around castles,
as they could easily be destroyed by new forms of weapons, such as canons
3. Population growth to 100 million and shift from the Mediterranean as centre of Europe to
the North Sea
4. Voyages of discovery: new worlds were being explored and knowledge of the world grew:
enabling of new forms of trade and slavery not a new trend but building on Medieval
voyages
5. Reformations and a religiously divided Europe Catholic Church lost its primacy (people
were not happy in times of changes in the 16 th century)
BUT 16th is no turning point as medieval patterns continue and intercontinental trade was already
discovered in the Middle Ages, but this was on a larger scale.
The 16th century was also a new age in the sense of Renaissance and Humanism (intellectuals)
- The invention of the modern individual
- Humanism is the educational and cultural program based on the study of the classic and the
human dignity
*important humanists: Machiavelli (secular south) and Erasmus (Christian north)
, - Invention of the term ‘’Middle Ages’’
- Antiquity and Roman Empire: imitation and renewal
- New vision of authority in the 16th century: criticism of (Holy/Biblical) authority and sacred
texts which were given great authority in the Middle Ages were in fact false and thus
undermined many of the great authorities, such as the Church and the monarchy
humanists didn’t want to undermine religion but wanted a more pure religion
- Bible no longer the word of God
- Optimism about nature
- Religion still extremely important!!! People did not like the change that came with the
several reformations
- Church lost support and spiritually increased
- People were becoming dissatisfied with the idea of just the church as an institution
- The catholic church had always seen itself as the intermediary: you needed the church to go
to heaven
Many Reformations during the 16th century; most important reformations:
1. First Reformation: Luther and the German princes and cities: Augsburg Peace 1555
*German Luther (1483-1546) opposed the idea that salvation could be reached by giving the
nations to the Church; opposed to the idea that people could pay for salvation. He believed
that only faith could bring salvation. He furthermore translated the Bible in the German
vernacular for the first time (could be read by many due to the printing revolution)
religious reforms presented a huge attack on/threat to the Catholic church
*the religious reforms became entangled with much older political struggles within the Holy
Roman Empire in particularly: princess and cities (wish for autonomy and supporters of
Luther to become much more independent) against the Empire
*political result of Luther’s reforms was the princely Reformation in Northern Europe
re-affirmation of state authority and of the princes’
2. Second Reformation: The Calvinist International (1550s)
*French Humanists Calvin (1509-1564) believed that the Reformation still had to be
completed because it was unfinished as Luther’s Reformation did not purify the church
wish to go back to the early purity of the Christian church. Calvin wanted to build more Godly
societies. The Calvinist movement was much more international than Luther’s movement
and was influential in the Netherlands, France, England, and Central Europe. He also wanted
to first build Godly communities according to the Calvinist religion and then political order
would follow, not as Luther wanted a top-down hierarchical Reformation.
3. Third Reformation: The Catholic Reformation (after 1545) as the attempts to reform the
catholic church within itself
*until 1540 there were attempts at reconciliation: trying to incorporate protestant reformers
BUT this was impossible
*during the Council of Trent (1545) the Catholic doctrine became redefined and much more
narrowly and not as inclusively defined including what was catholic and not
*reformation of church organisation wherein Catholics had to behave more strictly and
disciplined according to the religion
*a new Jesuit order: ‘’missionary stormtroopers’’ who became active advisers and became
famous for defending their church in other parts of the world (also influential there)
*creation of new political alliances and catholic ‘’rollback’’: from defensive to offensive
many countries that became protestant became catholic again, so it worked to an extent
16th and 17th century characterised by religious wars all over Europe. It became clear and accepted
that there were several religions, for practical reasons and stability religious pluralism in Europe.
But diversity of religion caused problems and resulted in religious intolerance.
