Chapter 4:The Exchange of Ideas

Galileo

During this era it was always believed that what the church said was true, few people dared to challenge the church

The church said that the earth was the centre of the universe

One man, Galileo, challenged the church by saying that the sun was the centre of the universe, not the earth

Heresy The church was not pleased with Galileo’s

observation and charged him with heresy Heresy is when someone opposes the

churches teachings Galileo was now faced with two options

Galileo had to give up his views and make a statement where he explained that he was wrong or he might be tortured or burned alive

Galileo issued a statement saying that he was wrong and was placed under house arrest

“Eppur si muove”

After making his statement it is believed that Galileo whispered the words “eppur si muove” which means “but it [the Earth] still moves

Science Attitudes towards science changed

during the Renaissance Thinkers expanded the text they read Because of importance placed on

humanism people were encouraged to question and experiment

The concept of a Scientific Method emerged This is the process of making observations,

experimenting, and drawing conclusions based on evidence

Science

In order to study science you would have to read books written by scholars from Classical or Islamic civilizations

People were not to ask any questions about science that went against he church belief Example: Galileo stated that the sun was

the centre of the earth and was accused of heresy

Astronomy

Turn to page 81 in your book to see how Galileo built on the astronomical beliefs of earlier scholars.

Medicine

During this time doctors didn’t know much about the human anatomy (the bodily structure), or the causes of diseases

Common treatments were based on astrology, superstition, bloodletting, and applying leaches

Midwives and others with knowledge of traditional and herbal remedies played an important role in treating the sick.

During the Renaissance medical knowledge grew – especially in anatomy and surgery

Anatomy

Before the Renaissance it was illegal to dissect the human body

During the Renaissance the laws were changed and it was made legal in many Italian cities

A professor at the University of Padua, Andreas Vesalius, dissected bodies in the lecture hall while his students watched in an attempt to teach his students about the human body

From the dissection of human bodies knew knowledge was found and medical discoveries were being made

Mathematics During the Renaissance the mathematical works

of ancient mathematical scientists were studied Euclid theories on geometry were studied, and

late al-Khwarizmi’s theories on algebra were also studied

People like Leonardo da Vinci believed that math was the basic tool for understanding the universe

Math also played a role in Europe’s changing economy As trade and commerce grew, knowledge of

mathematics became essential for members of the merchant class why?

Filippo Brunelleschi

What is perspective? Perspective had been known in

ancient times, yet there was no record of it

Filippo Brunelleschi rediscovered the mathematical theory of perspective

He used this theory to show how the buildings he was planning would look when they were finished

Brunelleschi’s Techniques

Brunelleschi developed his technique through experimentation and by applying mathematical principles by:1. Painting over a reflection of a building called the

Baptistery on the surface of a mirror2. Then, in order to prove that his painting was identical

to the Baptistery, he drilled a small peephole in the painted mirror and stood in front of the Baptistery

3. He looked through the peephole in the back of the painted mirror and held up a blank mirror to block his view of the Baptistery. The blank mirror reflected his painted image

4. By moving the blank mirror in and out of the way, he could see that his painted image was identical to the actual building.

Political and Religious Leadership Isabella D’Este was known as “the

first lady of the world” She was one of the few women who

received a fine classical education She married the Duke of Mantua and

their court became a centre of learning, music, and the visual arts

Because the Duke was often away on military campaigns she ruled the city-states while he was away

The Scientific Ruler

Niccolò Machiavelli used his observations to learn about the natural world

He spent his time observing people and governments

These observations led him to new ways of thinking about leadership and power

He wrote a book called The Prince where he explained his conclusions about the best way to govern

He wrote “It is a good general rule about men, that they are ungrateful, fickle, liars and deceivers, fearful of danger and greedy for gain” He had the courage to write exactly what he thought

about the civilizations, and even to this day scholars continue to argue about his theories

Niccolò Machiavelli

Machiavelli’s ideas concerning how leaders must sometimes act in order to protect their power and state (pg. 89):

“It needs to be understood that a prince, and especially a prince recently installed [place in power], cannot observe all those qualities which make men good, and it is often necessary in order to preserve the state to act contrary to faith, contrary to mercy, contrary to humaneness, and contrary to religion”

“In actions of all men, especially princes, where there is no recourse to justice, the end is all that counts. A prince should only be concerned with conquering or maintaining a state…”

Class Discussion

What do you think about Machiavelli’s ideas about what people are like?

What do you think about how rulers sometimes need to behave?

Changing Leadership in the Church During the Middle Ages and the

Renaissance, the Catholic Church was the most powerful institution in Europe

Church leaders believed that they were responsible for more than the religious well being of the people

Some people considered the Church to be the natural leader in all areas of society—political and business aspects included

Members of the church started to abuse their power for their own well being

Savonarola

Girolamo Savonarola was a monk who belonged to the Dominican order

He dedicated his life to fighting against the corruption in the Church and in society

He was considered the unofficial leader in Florence

He even went as far as accusing pope Alexander VI of corruption

Under his direction, in 1497, the citizens of Florence built a huge “bonfire of vanities” in town square where they burnt all their wigs, make-up, fancy clothing, art, and books.

He believed that these things kept peoples attention away from God

Savonarola

Because of his actions against the pope, Savonarola was excommunicated (officially excluded from the Church)

By this time the people of Florence were growing tired of his sermons and turned against him

In 1498, Savonarola was tried for heresy, found guilty, and executed

Class Activity

Read Savonarola’s Views on page 93 of the text book

What are Savonarola’s criticisms of the Church?

Why did some Church officials want to silence Savonarola?

Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a German monk He was influenced by humanist

actions Concerned with the way things were,

he started to study the bible himself He came to the conclusion that the

Bible, not the Church, should be a Christian’s true spiritual guide

Martin Luther

Luther was also upset by the wealth of the Church, but more importantly, he was upset about how they obtained the money

The Church was selling indulgences (certificates that reduced the time people would be punished for their sins after they died).

In 1517, Luther wrote his Ninety-Five Theses, which criticized the selling of indulgences, on the door of a Church in Wittenberg

His Ninety-Five Theses were printed and passed out throughout Germany

Martin Luther

Pope Leo X was not happy with Luther’s Ninety-Five These and issued a “bull” (official order) condemning Luther and banned his work

Luther took this “bull” and burnt it in public Luther was then called before the emperor at

an Imperial Diet (assembly) in 1521 in the city of Worms

He was asked to give up his ideas, but Luther refused to back down

Because of his refusal, Emperor Charles V declared Luther an outlaw who could be killed

Luther then went into hiding

The Protestant Reformation Martin Luther translated the Bible into the

vernacular This allowed regular citizens access to read

the Bible in their own home When Luther broke off from the church many

German citizens followed him This was known as the Protestant

Reformation A new Church was started in Northern

Europe known as the Lutheran Church It didn’t take long for Luther’s ideas to

spread across Europe Luther’s followers were known as Protestants

The Catholic Counter-Reformation

The Protestant Reformation caused the Catholic Church to lose a lot of its authority and membership

Pope Paul III called a series of meetings known as the Council of Trent

At this council the Church examined its policies – this was known as the “Catholic Counter-Reformation”

Because of these meetings the corruption among the higher clergy was cleaned up and priests were given a better education

The Catholic Counter-Reformation

Religious orders were established that focused mainly on converting people to Catholicism

Ignatius Loyola founded an order known as the Society of Jesus His followers were known as Jesuits

Jesuit missionaries were very active among the Wendat (Huron) during the early days of European settlement in Canada

The Printing Press

At the beginning of the Renaissance most people were illiterate (couldn’t read)

Only the most educated people could read an write

In order to be literate you would have to know Latin or Greek This is because most of the writings being studied

were written in these languages In 1450 a German man named Johannes

Gutenberg developed a printing press that allowed books to be produced quickly and at a low cost

This allowed for ideas to be spread quickly throughout Europe, and made it more affordable to purchase books

Spread of Knowledge

By the early 1500’s there were over 6 million books in print in Europe

Books allowed the exchange of knowledge in Europe that had never been seen before

Middle class people were now able to afford these books so they began to read, discuss, and eventually write about the exciting ideas of their times

Books were now being printed in the vernacular rather than in Latin and Greek

Writers started making money from the books they wrote which allowed them the freedom to travel to universities where they spread their ideas