The Renaissance, Reformation and Explorations

The word renaissance has its origin in Latin and refers to the act of being reborn. It refers

to a great cultural movement that took place in parts of Europe between 1300 and 1600.

During this period, many European scholars and artists studied the knowledge and art of

the ancient Greek and Roman Empires with an aim of reviving and improving on the

works accomplished by these two cultures. It began in Italy, and then spread to England,

France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.

The renaissance marked the rejection of a period in European history referred to as the

Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages, most people in Europe believed that the most

important task for all human beings was allegiance to God. They concentrated on

resisting temptations. Everyone’s ultimate goal was to behave in a manner that would

ensure that they went to heaven.

In contrast, the renaissance thinkers emphasized people’s responsibilities and duties to

the society in which they lived in. The renaissance thinkers paid great attention to the

study of humanities. The humanists were scholars who studied subjects that they believed

would help them better understand the problems of humanity. They believed that the

ancient Greeks and Romans had excelled in these subjects and thus served as role

models.

The renaissance marked the beginning of the modern era of human history. Important

fields of study including art, literature, philosophy, education, political science and

history are rooted in the renaissance period.

Three men dominated the arts of the renaissance period. They include:

Michelangelo: his renowned works include a painting of the frescoes of biblical

and classical subjects on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican as a

sculpture of David at the square of Florence in Italy.

Raphael: famous for his paintings of the Madonna (the Virgin Mary).

Leonardo da Vinci: painted the last supper and Mona Lisa.

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In terms of literature, great writers such as William Shakespeare emerged around this

time. His works include Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, The

Tempest, King Lear e.t.c.

In political science, Niccoló Machiavelli wrote one of his most famous works, The

Prince, which is all about manipulation of others to get political mileage.

The renaissance also marked the beginning of the formation of nations in Europe,

whereby, people who shared a similar culture and language united to form a state under

the leadership of a monarch. The period is classified into three levels:

Late Middle Age

As the Roman Empire came to an end in the 4th c, the civilization remained and expect for

Britain where the Roma culture had not penetrated into the interior

With the collapse of the Roman Empire as the supreme political authority in entire

Europe the continent begun to be divided among the barbarian kings as early as 5 th C AD.

The earliest invaders were people of Germanic origin and they set up kingdoms in Itlay

(Ostrogothic), Visigoth (Spain), Franks (France), Anglo-Saxon (Britain) and Alemanni

(Germany).

The second wave of invasion came in the 8th C AD and include of the Vikings-

Scandinavian (north), Magyars (eastern steppes), and Muslim Arabs in the South across

Spain and Mediterranean. Some of the new invaders settled and became the new masters-

military aristocracy distinguished by their cavalry (trained soldiers who fight on

horseback or using modern helicopters) skills and heavy weapons.

Impact of the settlement:

1. Introduced new war band- comitatus

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2. Contributed to the disintegration of the network of cities that had dominated the

Greco-Roman civilization due to Germans proclivity (liking) for county rather

that urban living

3. In later period of the Middle Age the German brotherhood evol;ve to merchant

who played a significant role to the revival of the medieval urban economy

Government

After the various conquests political power rested in the hands of the tribal chieftains.

While the political organization remained decentralized competition emerged from

various group as each sought to established dominance over entire Europe. The urge to

restore order and unity to the continent was led by medieval monarchs, Frankish King

(Charles the Great- Charlemagne (768-814). Charles was succeded by Merovingian who

did nothing in terms of expanding be empire. These were succeeded in the 8th C AD, by

the Carolingian kings of Frank. He extended the empire to Spain, France, northern Italy,

western Germany and other neighboring regions.

His campaign led to the spread of Roman Christianity and Frank rule in Europe

Economically:

The new invaders introduced the Manor system1- This was a large, predominantly self-

sufficient estate owned by the feudal aristocrats (priests & kings) and inhabited by

dependent peasants who held the eights to utilize small plots of land by the lords in

exchange for compulsory services and fixed payments in money and kind

Politically:

The new political system was Feudalism2. Feudalism was introduced in the 8th C AD in

response to landowners for protection against the dissolution of the Frankish empire and

the barbarian invasion. Under this system the less powerful or the vassals sought

1 Typical Manor consisted of village surrounded by arable land, usually overlooked by manor house or castle, church at the end, 2 Feudalism was a system of military service and land tenure that bounds Europe’s ruling classes into an elaborate pyramid of military and political power

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political protection and economic support in form of land from the lords in return for

military services, money payments and general support form the vassals

The Church:

The Christin church survived the fall of the Roman Empire and grew more powerful in

the medieval period. The popes of Rome spread Roman Catholicism to Western Europe

while the patriarchs’ of Constantinople capital in Byzantine spread Greek Orthodox to

Eastern Europe. Monasteries were established for nuns and monks where they lived a

strict life. With regard to feudalism the church was integrated into feudal structure

principally because it became a substantial owner of land held by feudal tenure.

The role of bishops as a feudal lord sometimes clashed with his religious responsibility.

The attempt by the church to free itself from the feudal structure led to conflicts with the

state which culminated into lay investiture (inauguration) issue during the 11th C AD.

The High Middle Ages

About 1200 CE cities began to appear again in Europe. This urban sprawl is attributed to

improved agriculture, population growth and revival of trade. The medieval manor

provided some crucial innovations e.g. the three field system (this is where there are three

fields for planting and one is left for a year to recover its strength), the heavy wheeled

plow, the horse shoe and the horse collar, and the windmill. Because of the increase in

food production the population increased. The expanding population in tern created an

increase in demand for goods. Medieval cities were centers of commercial exchange and

skilled handicraft manufacturing. Soon an urban population began to develop among

them merchants and craftsmen. Priests, students, lawyers, runaway serfs and other

masterless men sought the protection of the city walls. The period is sometimes referred

to as the commercial revolution of the High Middle Ages.

Duke William the Bastard of Normandy brought Norman-French feudalism to Britain in

1066. Asserting himself as king of England and gaining the title of William the

Conqueror. His successors included Henry I and Henry II, making English monarchial

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government the strongest in Europe. They developed the royal council, the treasury and a

system of royal justice based on English law.

Philip Augustus (1180-1223) of France, a feudal monarch used his position to increase

his power over nobility. He also developed an independent royal administration, a

treasury and a strong legal system. Under Augustus France became the most powerful

nation in Europe. Saint Louis or Louis IX (1226-1270) washed feet of lepers, met out

justice under an oak tree, earning him a reputation for fairness and piety that he became

known as Louis the Just. He increased royal power over French towns and strengthened

the French system of laws.

Popes in the High and later Middle Ages contended on roughly equal terms with kings

and emperors. The wealth of the church, from the tithes, fees, contributions and gifts

were greater than that of any prince or monarch. The church also owned a large

percentage of land. The people valued their religion as no other Western society has.

Women are believed to have lost many of the independent opportunities and positions of

authority that they had earlier had during the Early Middle Ages. Some noblewomen

though still administered and defended large feudal holdings. Medieval ladies however,

guided the development of the most striking element of the chivalric code- the cult of

courtly love. Courting was however was a done from a distance.

As the church strove to assert its authority over religious appointment and institutions, for

instance, wealthy noblewomen lost their right to run the monastic institutions they

founded or supported and queens and noblewomen were urged to surrender control of

their property to their husbands or male guardians. Women were described as lustful and

treacherous, prone to betray their husbands as Eve betrayed Adam.

The End of the Middle Ages

This period looked to medieval people as “God’s heavy flail”, a terrible divine

punishment. Between 1300 ad 1500, important medieval institutions suffered massive

setbacks, often accompanied by traumatic experiences for large segments of the

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population. Plagues, wars, popular rebellions, economic turmoil and struggles between

rival claimants to the papacy itself scarred the lives of generations of Europeans. For

several decades around 1400 there were two or more claimants at a time to the throne of

St. Peter, each excommunicating this rivals and further degrading the church in the eyes

of bewildered and increasingly cynical Christians.

For more than a century England and France were stuck in the Hundred Years War

between 1337 and 1453. In the middle of the 14th century, Europe as a whole experienced

the “Black Death”. It came with the shiny little fleas that infested a species of black ship

rats brought up the Mediterranean from Byzantium or the Black sea. The Black Death

was excruciatingly painful, almost inevitably fatal and extremely contagious disease,

technically known as bubonic plague. At the End of the Middle Ages, the plague had

killed about a quarter of Europe’s population, reversing the population boom experienced

during the High Middle Ages. Drastic reduction in population raised the cost of labor, cut

production costs and thus inflating the prices of goods reduced, plunging Europe into a

depression in the middle of the 14th century. On a more positive side however, workers

who survived the plague earned

Reformation

The reformation was a religious movement of the 1500s that led to Protestantism.

Beginning the 14th c with the Babylonian captivity of the papacy at Avignon and the subsequent

Great Schism, the medieval church had slipped in decline. Reform movements as those inspired

by Wycliffe and Hus had preached doctrines that foreshowed to some extent Luther’s reform

movement.

Condition of the church

From 1400-1517 the church in Europe was characterized by features which indicated a negation

to the practices of the church. Some of the common characteristics included:

Corruption in the church

Clerical immorality

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From 14th c, the church law required that candidates for the pri4esthood accept absolute

celibacy. However, it had remained difficult to endorse this law as most priests were

noted to have had concubines and there were frequent reports of neglect of the rule of

celibacy. Other immoralities common among the priests included sexual transgressions,

clerical drunkenness, gambling and indulgence in human dressing. Although not all

clerics engaged in these theses practices, it was difficult to know how many but since the

practices were at odds with the church riles and moral standards the practices scandalized

the educated faithful in the church

Clerical ignorance

During this time, the bishops casually enforced regulations regarding education of priests.

As a result standards for ordination were shockingly low. Many priests could hardly read

and write hence they mumbled Latin during the mass

Absenteeism and pluralism

Many priests especially the higher ecclesiastics held several benefices (offices)

simultaneously but seldom visited then a let aloe perform their spiritual responsibilities

those offices entailed. Instead they collected revenues from all of the offices and paid a

poor priests a fraction of the income top fulfill the spiritual duties of a particular local

church. The practices was common in Italy where most officials in papal held offices in

England, Spain and Germany yet the revenue collected was used to pay Italian priests

salaries therefore invoking charges for absenteeism abut also nationalistic resentment

Causes of Reformation

Five factors or causes gave rise to the reformation:

1. Cultural Causes: Beginning in the 1300s, a great revival of learning and art known

as the renaissance started sweeping through Europe. As a result, an increasing

number of people outside the clergy started getting educated. There were scholars

outside the monasteries who could read the Holy Scriptures in the original

languages that they were written in. (Hebrew and Greek). This enabled them to

see how the church had changed through the centuries. Religion was no longer the

preserve of the monks and the papacy started losing its superhuman characteristic.

2. Contest for the papacy: During the period of the late Roman Empire and the early

Middle Ages, the papacy was viewed as one of the most powerful positions in

Europe. Not only was the pope a religious leader but a secular leader as well.

Because of this, some of the cardinals from different parts of Europe were

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competing to become popes. At one time, for a period of nearly 30 years there

were three popes, one in Rome, one in a region (Avignon) in France and another

Pisa, Italy. This split and in-fighting caused a lot of confusion and weakened the

structure of the Roman Catholic Church.

3. Political Causes: With the establishment of nations in Europe during the

renaissance and the strengthening of the monarchy, the monarchs broke away

from the pope. They argued that the pope was not just a religious leader but a

political leader as well. They were opposed to his influence in their nations.

4. Economic Causes: The improvement of the economy during the renaissance, led

to the growth of cities all over Europe. As these cities grew and became wealthier,

they shifted their allegiance from the pope to the monarchs. Why? Because the

monarchs had developed armies that were more effective in protecting the cities

and their citizens in comparison to the pope’s army.

5. The church was also involved in corruption and nepotism. Many priests were

selling indulgences. Church administrative positions such as positions within the

church council were also given to those related to the priests and the pope.

Martin Luther and Church Reformation:

Martin Luther was born in Eiseiben, Saxony in Germany to a copper miner who was a parish

priest. His father intended him to study law and legal career the only stepping stone to public

life. However, Martin choose to be a parish priest and in 1505 he joined Augustinian

monastery. While in the monastery he remained troubled over his unworthiness and despite

the many church practices he still felt unworthy. He was also troubled over his disobedience

towards his father and the way to obtain salvation which according to the Catholic Church

was characterized by penance and sacraments.

In 1507 he joined the University of Wittenberg as a professor Biblical exegesis (scriptural

theology) where he devoted himself to monastic observances, prayers, penances and fasting

as a way of finding answers for his troubled soul. In 1510 he was advised by Staupiz a

lecturer in the university to read St. Paul’s letters. After reading these letters and especially

the letter of Paul to the Romans he came to realization that salvation comes not through

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external observances and penances but through faith in Christ. This understanding laid the

basis for Luther’s criticism of the Catholic Church practices.

Another factor that played a key role towards Luther call for church reformation was the

practice of indulgence. According to the Catholic theology, individuals who sin alienate

themselves from God and his love. In order to be reconciled to God, the sinner must confess

his or her sins to a priest and to do the penance assigned e.g. in case of theft, one was

supposed to return the stolen goods and then perform the penance given by the priest usually

certain prayers or good work. This represented the temporal (earthly) penances since no one

knew what penance God would ultimately require. The letter of indulgence bearing the name

of the pope was meant to relieve those in the land of living from temporal consequences of

their dead grandparents.

Beginning 1512 the practice of indulgence begun to be abused. Based on ecclesiastical

observation of the arch-diocese of Magdeburg Albert who was the administrator of

Halberstadt was appointed the archbishop of Mainz hence managed three offices

simultaneously. At the same time the Pope Leo X was focusing on rebuilding the St Peter’s

Basilica in Rome but was hard pressed by funds. To raise the funds the pope \granted the

privilege of dispensing indulgences to other ecclesiastical and secular authorities. Leo X on

his part authorized arch-bishop Albert to sell indulgence in Germany to repay the Albert

while the rest went to the construction of the Basilica.

Wittenberg which was one of the political jurisdictions where Albert was supposed to sell

indulgence, the political administrator Fredrick of Saxony forbade the sale of indulgence

forcing people to stream to Juntenberg in Thuringia. It was during this period that Martin

Luther came into terms with the contradiction with regard to the practice of indulgence.

Based on all this features together with the prevailing condition of the church Luther pinned

the 95 Theses on the door of the St. Peters Church on the 31st October 1517 for the purposes

of scholarly debate. However, the Theses were translated to German, thus attracting attention

from the peasants and other people who were dissatisfied with the conduct of the church.

Luther was asked to denounce his teaching which he refused by claiming that denouncing the

Theses was similar to denouncing the authority of God.

Luther’s Teachings:

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Priesthood and ordination had no foundation in the gospel- faith was most important

Eucharist- argued that clergies should received bread and wine during the communion

and not bread alone as was practiced

Celibacy- authorized clerical marriage

Sacraments- most important an significant to the church were baptism and Eucharist and

not penance

Rejected the notion that salvation could be received by good works such as indulgences-

no biblical basis of indulgence

Challenged the ultimate authority of the Pope

Reasons for Luther’s Success:

Peasant support- his message was easy and accessible especially to the poor

The nature and accessibility of Luther’s message which was of central importance to the

success of the reformation movement.

He was brave and courageous

Circumstances at the time unquestionably favored Luther, as he was able to exploit

widespread German anti-clericalism and appeal to the rise patriotic sentiments

The protection that Luther received from some princes such Fredrick

The spread of the gospel through the pulpits and printing presses

Spread of Reformation

With the establishment of the first reformation church in Germany (Lutheran), protestant

movements begun to spread to other parts of Europe. In France the movement was introduced

by Calvin John (1509-1564). His teachings which included:

Human beings should not ascribe to free will as that would detract the sovereignty of God

People should concentrate on worshipping God and doing his work and not waste time

worrying about salvation

Had great influences in Canada and USA

Other church reformist included Zwingli who concentrated his reforms in Switzerland. These

new reformist movements differed with that of Luther with regard to Baptism, whereby the

new reformist advocated for adult baptism rather than children.

Impacts of Church Reformation:

a) Peasant revolution

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1524-1525 the peasant in southern and Central Germany rebelled against their landlords.

They interpreted Luther’s teaching to mean that they should have more freedom; this was

followed by presentation of demands to the landlord. Luther intervened in the skirmish but he

eventually sided with the landlords arguing that people did not have the right to revolt against

the authorities. In doing this Luther rejected peasants’ claims resulting to war between Luther

and peasants. As result of Luther’s action he lost support of the peasants in Southern

Germany.

b) Political conflict increase as a consequence of Luther’s ideas. Luther called upon Germany

princes to seize the property of the Roman Catholic Church which lead wars between the two.

c) The clergy were integrated into the civil life of the city government. This led to reduction

of the clerical privileges as clergy men were given public responsibilities. This was in

contrast with the previous structure where the priests, monks, and nuns paid no taxes and had

been exempted from civic responsibilities such as defending the city. This was despite the

fact the religious orders frequently held large amounts of urban property.

d) Educated priests and preachers emergaed

e) Widespread of protestant forms of worship in which the sermon was the central part of the

service rather than the Eucharist

f) The first protestant academy was established, the University of Geneva

g) Calvinism influenced economic attitudes in that his ideas encouraged people to work hard

and to live simply. This helped some people to save money which they later invested in

businesses and trade. Many protestants begun to feel that success in business was a a sign of

God’s approval. All these elements promoted the development of capitalism an economic

system in which individuals owned most of the capital goods. This new economic system was

rising in Western Europe as the protestant reformation.

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