European Renaissance &

Reformation

The Renaissance was a rebirth of the Greco-Roman culture

Florence, Venice, and Genoa Had access to trade routes connecting Europe

with Middle Eastern markets Served as trading centers for the distribution

of goods to northern Europe Were initially independent city-states

governed as republics

Medieval art and literature focused on the Church and salvation, while Renaissance art and literature focused on individuals and worldly matters, along with Christianity.

Artistic and literary creativity Leonardo da Vinci: Mona Lisa and The Last

Supper Michelangelo: Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

and David Petrarch: Sonnets, humanist scholarship

Humanism Celebrated the individual Stimulated the study of classical Greek and

Roman literature and culture Supported by wealthy patrons

Northern Renaissance Growing wealth in Northern Europe supported

Renaissance ideas. Northern Renaissance thinkers merged

humanist ideas with Christianity. The movable type printing press and the

production and sale of books (e.g., Gutenberg Bible) helped disseminate ideas.

 Northern Renaissance writers Erasmus: The Praise of Folly (1511) Sir Thomas More: Utopia (1516) Northern Renaissance artists portrayed

religious and secular subjects.

Machiavelli’s The Prince An early modern treatise on government Supports absolute power of the ruler Maintains that the end justifies the means Advises that one should not only do good if

possible, but do evil when necessary Galileo

1. Martin Luther became the 1st person to challenge the authority of the Catholic Church when he nailed his 95 Theses to the Church’s door. 

2. He began what became known as the Protestant Reformation. 

3. The Catholic Church began a reformation movement of their own known as the Catholic or Counter Reformation. 

4. The Reformation movement spread to England where the Anglican Church was formed. 

5. These factions in Christianity sparked many wars in Europe, including the Thirty Years’ War.

1. By the early 1500s, many people began to question the authority of the church. Many people said they had become corrupt and greedy. 

2. The movement against the Roman Catholic Church began with Martin Luther. 

3. His biggest complaint was how the Church was selling indulgences (forgiveness of sins). 

4. By 1524, most people in Germany had left the Catholic Church and joined the Lutheran Church—created by Luther. 

5. With religious conflict spreading throughout Germany, the Peace of Augsburg was signed in 1555. This allowed the German prince to decide whether German citizens should be Catholic or Lutheran. 

1. Martin Luther ideas became known as the Protestant Reformation. 

2. Other Protestant churches to form included the Calvinists in France and the Anglicans in England.

3. While the Protestants formed new churches, Catholic reformers worked to improve their church. (Counter/Catholic Reformation)

4. Between 1545-1563, the Council of Trent reformed many Roman Catholic practices. 

5. Despite the efforts of the Council of Trent, England still had a reformation of their own.  

1. King Henry VIII’s wife was unable to bore him a son. As a result he wanted the Pope to annul his marriage. The Pope refused so King Henry removed him from head of the Church of England. 

2. As a result, the Anglican Church was formed.

3. By the late 1500s, Elizabeth I of England allowed for both Protestants & Catholics.

1. In 1598, France issued the Edict of Nantes which allowed for the Catholics and Huguenots to both practice their form of Christianity. 

2. Despite efforts to allow for both Protestant and Catholic religions to exist in Europe, many wars were fought. The English fought with the Spanish, the German city-states fought the Thirty Years War, and in France, a Civil war was fought between the Huguenots and Catholics. 

3. After the Thirty Years’ War, no more wars were fought over religion in Europe. Instead, nations tried to gain power through trade and expansion overseas. 

4. Thus began the Age of Exploration.