MEDIEVAL EUROPE- Notes

 

MEDIEVAL EUROPE- Notes

Introduction Historians classify the long history of Europe into three ages. They are: Ancient Age (till around 500 C.E), Middle Age (around 500 C.E – 1500 C.E) and Modern Age (from around 1500 C.E onwards). During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church had exercised supreme control over the lives of people and stifled all independent thinking. However, during the 15th and 16th Centuries, the Middle Ages turned towards the new path of transformation.

This marked the beginning of the Modern Age. The three significant historical developments marking the beginning of the Modern Age are:

The Renaissance, the Reformation and the Geographical Explorations. The Renaissance movement developed the outlook of questioning traditional beliefs and rituals. The attitude that the people had towards religion till then changed. An intense revolution against the Catholic Church began.

Consequently, far-reaching religious reformation movements started in 16th Century Europe. In this lesson, the meaning, causes, nature and effects of Reformation have been explained. Further, every reformation movement has been described. The significance, causes, nature and effects of the geographical explorations that took place in the 15th and 16th centuries have been explained in this lesson. Competencies

1 Students understand the concept of Renaissance.

2 They also learn about the factors leading to the Renaissance, the beginning of Renaissance and its features

3 They get to know about the developments in the fields of literature, architecture, painting and science inspired by the Renaissance.

 4 Understand Reformation Movement.

5 Reasons for Reformation Movement.

6 Role of Martin Luther and others in Reformation Movement.

7 Learn the meaning of Counter Reformation and role of St. Ignatius Loyola.

8 Learn about the effects of the Reformation.

 9 Students learn about the causes that led to the explorations.

10 They also learn about the nature of sea voyages.

11 They understand the global impact of the explorations.

12 They learn to trace the sea routes on the world map.

The Turks were not broad-minded like the Arabs. They had no respect for learning. Fearing the Turks, the scholars of Constantinople, along with their valuable Greek and Latin works, fled to Italy and other parts of Europe. They settled in various cities of Italy and began to disseminate their knowledge. Thus learning shifted from Constantinople to Italy. This inspired the Renaissance movement.

Besides, the geographical explorations of the time led to an increase in the wealth of the Europeans. They found out sea routes to countries like India, America and others. This development transformed Europe into a colonial power. It also led to the disintegration of the feudal system. Atul : Sir, how did the printing press contribute to the Renaissance? Teacher :

The printing press, which was invented in the 15th Century, brought about revolutionary changes in the field of knowledge-dissemination. Earlier, a person could print only two books in a year. With the help of the printing machine, now he could print 24,000 prints of a book in a year. As a result, the price of printed books came down, and demand for them increased. The printed word was clearer and looked more beautiful than writing done by hand. All those interested in reading could get books easily

Da Vinci surpassed all his contemporaries in all the fields. He had prepared models of Flying Machine, Submarine, Parachute and Tanker. However, his scientific achievements remained unknown to the public for a long time. He was a great architect too, and had constructed canals and forts in Italy. He had acquired expertise in music and philosophy too. It is said that he could write with both hands at the same time.

: We can say that the Corpernicus development of modern science began during the period of Renaissance itself. There was revolutionary progress in astronomy. Copernicus of Poland had claimed that the earth was one of the many planets that revolved round the sun. Since his research went against the beliefs of the Church, his findings could not be brought out in book form Later, the German mathematician, Kepler, proved that Copernicus’ findings were true. The Italian astronomer, Galileo Galileo Galilie Galilei, invented the telescope. He strongly supported Copernicus’ argument. Hence the Church had him arrested and subjected to Inquisition (the enquiry Court of the Church). After he recanted his statement and admitted his mistake, he was freed.

Sir Isaac Newton of England proved that ‘Gravity’ was the reason for the falling down of objects which had been thrown up in the air. William Harvey (1478 – 1557) discovered the circulation of blood in the human body. Vesalius, a Belgian scientist, published a valuable book about blood circulation in the body. He was sentenced to death for questioning the beliefs of the church!

Galileo proved through his experiments that when two objects of different weights fall down from the same height, they touch the ground at the same time. He demonstrated the truth of his findings by letting down cannon balls of different weights from the Tower of Pisa.

There were many conflicts between the Kings and the Popes as a result of which respect for the Popes declined in society. The kings could not tolerate the interference of the Popes in political matters. The Popes had sold many positions of the church and accumulated a lot of wealth. This was the reason why John Wycliffe, John Hus, Martin Luther and the others began to reveal, at different periods, the wrongdoings of the church. John Wycliffe (1324-84): John Wycliffe is called the ‘Morning Star of Religious Reformation’. He was a Professor at Oxford University. He revealed the illegal activities of the church. John Hus (1367-1415): He strongly condemned the immoral activities of the church. The Council (Court of the Church) summoned him and forced him to accept the policies of the Church. Jan Hus replied, “I cannot accept any ideas against my conscience”.

He was considered a traitor since he had rejected the church and its court, and he was burnt alive at the stake! The other important reason for the cracks to appear in the Catholic faith was the sale of ‘Letter of Forgiveness’. The Pope, Leo X needed money to reconstruct St.Peter’s Church in Rome. To this end, the belief that all those who bought ‘sales of indulgences’ would be freed of the sin and go to heaven, was cultivated. Martin Luther who understood the hollowness of the claim, questioned why the Pope, if he could take money and wash away the sins of people, did not do it free of cost.