SEAdvanced Placement European History: The Renaissance

Misfortunes & Fortunes: The Tale of the Middle Ages & the Renaissance

Hello Mr. Y's favorite Euro class! Before I begin sharing my wealth (hint hint) of knowledge about the Renaissance, I am going to briefly include some significant points about the late Middle Ages as they will "set the stage" for events that occurred in the Renaissance. Happy reading!

Oh stop....I know...

There are three main events that occurred throughout the late Middle Ages:

Black Death

Hundred Years' War

Great Schism

BLACK DEATH

The significance of the bubonic plague is not so much the infection itself but its impact on European society at the time. The black death was a consequence of inventions to ships, allowing vessels the ability to sail year-round. This was a huge economic feat for the merchants, since now they would never have a lull period in trade. Unfortunately, the modification to ships allowed black rats, rodents that commonly lived in a ship's cargo, to move from city to city with ease. The rats possessed fleas that contained a bacterium capable of infecting human's with a deadly disease. Over a course of a number of years, the bubonic plague killed millions of Europeans.

However, it should be noted that the black death was not an entirely "bad thing." While the plague was a calamity in Europe, it did balance the overpopulation of people in Europe. With the population at a healthy low, Europe experienced a time of incredible economic stability. Who knew the bubonic plague would have such positive results?!

Europe after the plague

HUNDRED YEARS' WAR

During the Middle Ages, European monarchies were suffering. Many kings felt threatened by new governmental ideas and the Hundred Years' War is an example of the power crisis kings experienced. It is important to recall that the war was fought between England and France. Joan of Arc is a significant person to recall in regard to the war. Her visions from God helped to empower the French army and her story has been echoed throughout the centuries. Nonetheless, Joan is the unconventional heroine of France's cause in the war. France was the victor, however, both countries experienced tremendous losses.

Outcome of the war? England and France had eyes on each other at all times.

GREAT SCHISM

The Middle Ages experienced a lot of instability throughout its era, but the Great Schism is definitely the most frustrating event within the period. UGH!

Me trying to understand Middle Age thinking.

The Babylonian Captivity (think back to Mrs. Murphy's class) signaled the end of papal authority [for the time being]. When Philip the "Fair" of France urged the dying Pope Clement V to abandon Rome and move to his country of France, trouble with the pope was just beginning. Why did Philip want to move the pope? Obviously because he wanted the power the church had at the time!

Philip the Fair to Pope Clement V: JK I want to steal your power! :)

Rome suffered deeply without the papacy, which attracted visitors from all over the world and supported the Roman economy. When Clement's successor Gregory XI brought the papal court back to Rome everything seemed fine. JUST KIDDING! Romans just had to have an Italian pope and so they finally got their wish...or did they...

Pope Urban VI was not the correct person to enforce church reform because he did not know how to create change peacefully. He was actually a pretty insulting guy and once he began attacking the clergy, cardinals no longer could deal with his abuses. So, the cardinals claimed Urban was unfit for the position as pope and he was excommunicated. A new pope was then elected, the antipope Clement VII of France. Now Europe has TWO POPES. Let that sink in for a moment...

To respond to the instability the church was perpetuating and the schism that the church had created, the colleges of cardinals claimed that the last two popes were irrelevant and decided to pick a new one that would run the Papal States. So, instead of just dealing with the two distinctly different popes (maybe taking them out for a nice soy latte or going to a group therapy session...I mean the opportunities are endless), the church decided to fix their mistake by adding ANOTHER POPE. Shall we do some math? Ok. How many popes are now claiming to be the pope? THREE. THREE POPES. Someone please explain this logic to me.

Ok so now that I have uncovered the dirty little secrets of the Middle Ages, I shall discuss...

THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE

What caused the Italian Renaissance? Well, first, let me ask these questions:

What do you need to buy art?

What do you need to have in order to do art?

In order to have time for such extravagances as art there is a singular entity you need to have: MONEY! The economy of Italy was bursting at this time. As previously stated, the Black Death lowered the number of people in Europe. While this sounds like a negative, it allowed for a surplus in the number of jobs and the money countries had. Also, while ships contained the causes of the bubonic plague, they also carried the solution to a growing economy. Year-round trade insured a booming merchant economy.

This is just as unsanitary as the streets of cities during the Middle Ages - but I digress.

With this newfound wealth in the city-states, rich merchants were beginning to form organizations, called communes, in which men collectively worked to achieve political and economic independence from nobility. This signals the death of the feudal system in Italy for sure - communes were now the heads of the [city-] states rather than feudal lords.

As the wealth of these groups grew and size of the men in these associations grew, communes became elitist. The popolo were men upset with the communes right to oppress taxes on them PLUS they had no way of joining the communes because of their prestige. So, in retaliation, popolos formed their own communes that became just as exclusive as the original communes.

The popolos: hypocrisy at its finest.

Why didn't Italy move towards a more Republican way of life?

Democracy did not matter to Italians. City-states were prospering without a single leader and did not find the need to form such a tight government agency. Now, Italians did try to act republican using fronts such as the signori and oligarchies to appear democratic but it was all a facade.

CITY STATES & THEIR INABILITY TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER IN ITALY

Most of European countries did not act as a unified nation but a series of nations under one header. Italy was definitely an extreme example of this. The most popular cities in Italy: Venice, Milan, Florence, the Papal States, and Naples, were the popular table in a high school cafeteria. They were it - best economy, best trading industry, best material goods, drove BMWs, etc.

The dominant cities controlled lesser cities, which sometimes resulted in territorial battles. However, even with disunity, cities were able to fall back on their bursting economies.

The Italian city-states all the time. Someone please call Mama Italy.

Italy could only fall back on its money for so long...

Other nations began to recognize Italy's governmental instability and its inability to become a unified state. Countries began to focus their attention on gaining Italian lands. France was the first on the pounce, leaving Italy exposed to more attackers.

Like the Black Death, there is a positive that comes from European conquest of Italy. Italians were rich and allowed themselves the pleasure of artistic experiences and a brilliant culture of art and scholarship. Paint, sculptures, novels, poems, plays - Italians were appreciating art because they had time on their hands (#RichPeopleProbs).

As Giulia so greatly said in class (I apologize I am kind of paraphrasing):

Competition was healthy in spreading the Renaissance.

Giulia when Mr. Yarnall complemented her on her theory. Work it girl!

What a genius thing to say G-Naps! This is true. When other countries saw the brilliance of Italian art and literature, they too wanted a piece of the pie. And thus, the Italian Renaissance sparked the flame that spread throughout Europe bringing about new artistic, literary, and cultural ideas.

Well, it has been a pleasure bloggers. I shall see you in class. Till next time. XOXO, Emilia