Renaissance End of Middle Ages

Scholasticism Theology for much of the middle ages Constant search for questions to pose-Can God make a rock so big that God can’t move it? Rift between philosophy and theology-what can reason discover and what can be known by divine revelation To make salvation a goal attained by human action

Moving beyond By the end of middle ages people like John Scotus and William Ockham said existence of God is not proved by reason but can come about through faith God does not have to act reasonably; reason does not determine God’s actions Theologians who relied on reason lost their power

Theology Since reason cannot prove that something is true or false we must rely on infallible authority Ockham believed that pope and councils could err but the Bible was infallible All of God’s promises must be trusted even though reason might lead us to doubt them

Renaissance While scholasticism was slowly dying some sought to retrieve classical antiquity through what we call Renaissance and humanism Renaissance means rebirth Many claimed to go back to early years and forget the middle ages and Gothic structure but both were still included

Humanism Humanism can mean when humans are placed at the center of the universe or the study of the humanities (liberal arts) The study of classical antiquity produced a sense of awe toward humans Humanism sought to return to classical literature

Humanism Poets copied Cicero When Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453, Italy was overrun with people with knowledge with classical Greek literature Painters, sculptures, and artists also mimicked classical work

Guttenberg In 1453, Johann Guttenberg invented the printing press which allowed for mass production At first, this did not help the common people with Bibles or books as it was used for the elite or artists early on This also eliminated much of textual criticism

Italy Italy was prospering financially so artists were going there and decorating new buildings with art that the rich wanted and it was not Christian as it was in the past Michelangelo painted Adam is Sistine Chapel receiving power from God-This is different than frail humanity portrayed in middle ages

Da Vinci His goal was to be the universal man- engineering, jewelry making, ballistics, anatomy, arts. Many of his paintings remained unfinished A time of human possibilities

Popes of Renaissance Babylonian Captivity and Great Schism affected Italy more than the rest of Europe Constant fighting from Popes and in Florence and Venice-From other countries as well Eugene IV invited artists to Italy and drew people like Donatello Most of the Renaissance Popes were lovers of art and invested much of the finances of the church and some were warlords and others despots

Popes Eugene IV was succeeded by Nicholas V (1447- 1455) who spent much of his time trying to defeat other Italian states Constantinople fell during his reign Followed by Calixtus III (1455-1458) from the Borgia family. Paid more attention to military than church due to fear of Turks invading Known for nepotism and made Rodrigo, his grandson a Cardinal

Popes Pius II (1458-1464)-Last Renaissance Pope to take his job seriously Paul II (1464-1471)-When his uncle was named Pope (Eugene IV) he decided that a church career was more promising than his trade job His concubines were acknowledged in papal court

Popes Sixtus IV (1471-1484) Corruption and nepotism all time high. He took care of his 5 nephews and one Giuliano della Rovere would later be Pope Julius II Church became a family business One of his nephews plotted the murder of Lorenzo de Medici (Pazzi conspiracy) Pope declared war on Florence and excommunicated the entire city when Medici family killed his nephew Built the Sistine chapel which is named for him

Popes Innocent III (1484-1492)-First pope to recognize his illegitimate children and sale of indulgences grew mightily In 1484 he ordered that Christianity be cleansed of witches and many innocent women were killed Alexander VI (1492-1503)-Rodrigo Borgia-Most corrupt ever-Wars, children, nepotism, murder

Popes Pius III lived only 26 days after taking office Julius II (1503-1513)-Took name after Julius Caesar-Michelangelo finished the chapel and Raphael decorated the Vatican-Always at war Son of Lorenzo The Magnificent, Giovanni de Medici who took name Leo X (1513-1521) Lover of arts and sold indulgences to finance war that sparked Luther’s protest

New World Christianity and the New World In 1492, When Columbus landed in America, Ferdinand and Isabella immediately sought to limit his power Popes gave Spain dominion over the church in the new world and even over money

Colonialism Spanish tried to “convert” Indians to Christianity even though the crown sided with Indians because they didn’t want feudal lords There were some who opposed the way the Indians were treated Columbus went back in 1493 to convert the Indians but the Indians had destroyed the fort at Hispaniola in retaliation

Colonialism The Indians were used as slaves by the Spanish and when they lost many of the Indians they imported slaves from Africa In Mexico, Cortez set the tone for Spanish religious policies and Indians were treated better Portuguese steadily made colonies in Africa