From middle 15 th century Great transformations across Europe. - Geographical discoveries Greater known world. - Political changes: o End of Byzantine Empire (1453) o Authoritarian monarchies End of feudal monarchies. - Economic changes Birth of industrial capitalism. - Social changes Importance of the bourgeoisie. - Religious changes Protestant reformation. - Cultural changes Humanism. - Artistic changes Renaissance. NEW HISTORICAL PERIOD MODERN AGE (1453/92-1789) Late 15 th -early 16 th centuries Age of discoveries. - Economic New routes to Sudan, India and China Ottomans in Eastern Mediterranean. - Political Post-Reconquest Expansionism. - Scientific and geographic Diffusion ideas of flat Earth. - Technical Improvements in cartography and sailing tools (compass, astrolabe). - Ideological and religious: o Religious Expansion of Christianity. o More adventurous mentality Travellers narrations. Middle 15 th century Price Henry the Navigator Promoted expeditions. Purpose: reach India circumnavigating Africa. Madeira, Azores and Cape Verde 1460 Gulf of Guinea. 1488 Bartolomeu Dias reached the Cape of Good Hope. 1498 Vasco da Gama reaches India. Control over African and Asian coasts Gold and slaves from Sudan, spices from India and silk from China. Christopher Columbus: Genovese sailor. Convince of the possibility of reaching Asia going towards the West Round Earth. He presented the project to Portugal (rejected) and then to Isabel I de Castilla Capitulations of Santa Fe (recognising Columbus s privileges in case of success). 3 August 1492 Puerto de Palos (Huelva) 12 October 1492 Guanahaní (San Salvador, Bahamas) He did three more voyages around the Caribbean, but he always thought he was in India. Rivalry Castilla Vs Portugal Need of avoiding conflicts Treaty of Tordesillas (1494). 1
Division of the newly discovered territories along a meridian 370 degrees west of Cape Verde Portugal East, Castilla West. From medieval to authoritarian monarchies Concentration of powers in the king. - reinforces his power over his reign. - imposes over the nobility. - limits the autonomy of municipalities. Different instruments for securing power: - Unification of territories Through unification of laws. - All powers under its authority: over the nobility, less autonomy to municipalities (appointing representatives), little use of the Parliaments, etc. - Improvement of the administration and the army: o Permanent court Capital of the state. o Bureaucracy: civil servants for executing orders. o Ordinary taxes: regular income for the state. o Permanent army. o Diplomacy: foreign policy. THE GREAT STATES: - Western Europe: France and England. - Iberian Peninsula. o Aragón and Castilla 1479 Dynastic union. o Portugal. - Eastern Europe: Ottoman expansion. Principality of Moscow. Recovery in the 15 th century after the crisis of the 14 th century: - Agrarian and demographic growth. o 45 to 70 million inhabitants during the 15 th century. o Urban growth Agrarian and commercial growth. - Commercial growth: land trade, sea routes (Mediterranean, Baltic, North Sea, etc.) o Growth with the geographical discoveries Atlantic. o Banking: development of banking practices, circulation of currencies, etc. o Stimulus for the higher bourgeoisie Commercial capitalism. Power Capital, not land. Still based on the estates of the realm, but reflecting the economic changes. - Privileged estates (nobility and clergy) Keep privileges, but lose political power. - Non-privileged estates: o Bourgeoisie: greater economic power (trading and banking). o Peasants: West: freed from serfdom Work their own land, wage-earners or to cities. East: Still serfdom. 2
DEFINITION: Humanism was a cultural / intellectual movement - began in Italy in the 15 th century. - based on o admiration of Classical antiquity. o anthropocentrism. Classical antiquity: admiration of Greece and Rome. o Greek and Roman texts Studied and followed o Inspiration for philosophy, literature, art, science, etc. Anthropocentrism: o Reaction against theocentrism (God as centre) of the Middle Ages. o Men as centre, and human values knowledge of the world from experience, reason and individualism Science and technical progress. SPREAD: Printing press 1448 Gutenberg (DISCOVER, P. 85). Academies and schools Studia Humanitatis o Literature, History, Rethoric, Natural Philosophy, Arithmetic, Modern Languages MOVEMENTS: Philological and philosophical: translation and analysis of Classical texts. Machiavelli and Petrarca (ITA) Religious: Erasmus of Rotterdam (HOL) and Thomas More (UK) Science: observation of reality and independent reasoning. o Copernicus Heliocentrism (Sun centre of our Galaxy) End of religious union in Western Europe Protestant reformation. Counter-reformation Catholic Church Vs protestant churches. REFORMATION: - Religious movement. - in Europe. - in the 16 th century. - which resulted in the division of Christendom Appearance of protestant Christian churches. CAUSES: Loss of prestige of Papacy and clergy: lack of ethical behaviour. - Luxury. - Selling and buying positions. - Indulgences. - Abuses of power by the Church. 1517 Martin Luther 95 Theses Against: Authority of the Pope Corruption in the Church Indulgences (Money given to the Church in exchange of redemption) Abuses of power of the clergy 3
Lutheran doctrine: - Salvation: faith in Christ (no need of good works). - Individual interpretation of the Bible He translated the Bible into German. - No Pope s infallibility. - Simplification of sacraments. No cult of Virgin and saints. It spread thanks to the printing press and because of political motifs (German princes against the emperor Charles V) Calvinism John Calvin (1536, Switzerland) o Predestination: God determines before birth. No matter what you do for salvation or condemnation. o Work dignifies humanity, so being successful in business is sign of predestination. Anglicanism King Henry VIII of England o He rejected the Pope s authority because he did not recognise his divorce He proclaimed himself head of the Church of England. Catholic Reformation For improving the situation of the Catholic Church. Council of Trent (1545-63) Measures - Authority of the Pope and the Church - Good works were necessary for salvation - Church Only possible interpretation of the Bible - Measuring for making the clergy more professional o No indulgences. o Seminaries for education of the clergy. o Promotion of exemplary lives. Society of Jesus (Jesuits) Founded in 1540 by saint Ignatius of Loyola. Special observance of the obedience to the Pope Devoted to education Spread of the ideas of the Counter-Reformation Definition: The Renaissance is an artistic style appeared in Italy and then spread in Europe during the 15 th and 16 th centuries inspired by Classical art (Greek and Roman art) The Renaissance is divided in two: - 15 th century (Quattrocento) Florence - 16 th century (Cinquecento) Rome MAIN CHARACTERISTICS: - Influence of classical models: works, themes, etc. - Importance of the human figure and the proportion Anthropocentrism. - Ideals of beauty, harmony and balance - Artists Greater fame and prestige. From artisans (manual work) to artists (intellectual work) 4
Importance of the patrons (wealthy people who protected the artists) - New themes: not only religion and portraits, but also mythology. Characteristics: - Use of Greco-Roman elements: domes, columns, lintels, semi-circular arches, etc. - Symmetry, simplicity, proportion and balance as representation of beauty. - Typologies: o Churches: Latin-cross or central plans. o Palaces: horizontal structure. Brunelleschi o Dome of Florence Cathedral (Santa Maria dei Fiori). o Palazzo Pitti o Hospital of the Innocents. o Basilica of San Lorenzo. Alberti o Santa Maria Novella Geometry. Bramante o San Pietro in Montorio (Roma) o Project for Saint Peter Basilica (Vatican). Michelangelo Buonarotti o Dome Saint Peter Basilica (Vatican). Palladio o Villa Capra (Vicenza) Characteristics: - Material: marble and bronze. - Themes: religion, mythologies, portraits. - Idea of beauty Idealization. o Human body as model Nude representations. o Depth Several levels. Ghiberti o Gates of Paradise (Florence Baptistery) Relieves in bronze. Donatello o David o Condottiero Gattamelata equestrian statue. Model Roman emperors. Michelangelo Buonarotti Marble. Emotions. o David. o Pietá. o Moses. Characteristics: - Techniques: fresco (wall painting), oil and tempera on wood or canvas. - Themes: religion, mythology, portraits, history. - Realist figures, looking for nature. - Use of linear perspective. 5
Fra Angelico o Annunciation Masaccio o Brancacci Chapel. Piero della Francesca o Madonna Brera o Portrait of the Duke of Urbino Botticelli o The birth of Venus. o Allegory of Spring. Leonardo da Vinci Sfumatto (contours are diffuse as the figures are far away). o Gioconda. o Virgin with Child and Saint Anne. o The Last Supper. Raphael o Madonna Sixtina. o The School of Athens. o The marriage of the Virgin. Michelangelo Buonarotti o The Sixtine Chapel. Vault Creation, fall, promise of salvation through the prophets, and Christ s genealogy. Front The Final Judgement. 6