Intellectual Events in Europe

Benedictine Monks

529

Christian monks took the role of copying and preserving literary works so that other people could read and learn from ancient scrolls and manuscripts. These monks were the first to establish a library system to keep and record ancient history as well as information about the natural sciences and agriculture. This development encouraged people to become scholars and learn from what would become the classical age, learning to read and write Latin.

Muslim Destruction of Alexandria

642

The Muslim's conquest through Persia and Egypt led them to Alexandria, where Caliph Omar stated that if the books agreed with the Koran they were redundant, and if they did not, they were harmful. Hundreds of thousands of books and scrolls by Greek poets and philosophers were burned, leaving most of the knowledge of the time lost forever. The true story of the late of the great library has been debated using various sources, which shows the significance of historical destruction.

Arabic Intellect

780

While enforcing rule over the Greeks, Arabs began to learn more from the Greek natives and collected Greek works from Aristotle and scientists. These works were translated into Arabic and rhetorical algebra was later developed based on inspiration from Greek writers. Algebra had an immediate impact, serving as a way to further astronomical works and would later develop into more complicated mathematical feats, as well as simple counting numbers like 12 instead of XII.

Era of Charlemagne

810

Charlemagne was the emperor of the vast majority of Western Europe and sought to spread knowledge and literacy throughout his domain. He worked on founding schools and encouraging the art of reading and writing as well as keeping a written history on German folk songs, which were lost to history. Charlemagne's empire was important because it was built upon intelligence and power, and was later divided into Germany, France and Italy, making up a great part of Modern Europe.

Norman Conquerors

1060

The Normans decided that in order to successfully conquer other lands, they must be able to speak the language of their neighbors, French. Their successful conquest led to the defeat of the English king, in which Normans began to settle in England and became the nobility. Because of this, the French language mixed with Old German to develop the earliest version of the modern English language.

First Crusade

1096

The crusaders who pillaged the Arab lands also discovered aspects of the Arab culture. The writings of Aristotle from the Arabs were found and translated into Latin and closely studied in Italy, France, Germany and England. His teachings ended up being similar to that of the Church and encouraged more complicated thoughts on intellectual subjects, soon transforming Europe from barbarians to civilized thinkers.The crusades led to further trade and bookkeeping and the later the Renaissance.

Hundred Years War Courtship

1400

In hopes of being chivalrous, knight and noblemen became more abstract as reading and writing was more common, and they would address elegant poems to their ladies. Literacy was also essential for tradesmen and artisans. Knowledge was diluted out of monasteries and soon taught in international universities, where students debated over classical works and how these views impacted their view on the Bible, of course shaping future higher education.

Renaissance Era

1420

This era evolved from the fact that one's knowledge and intellect became more important than their rank or profession. This era was the rebirth of ancient Greek and Roman culture in order to revive the spirit of antiquity. Influenced by the beautiful ancient architecture, Florentine once again built in the ancient style and created masterpieces, along with learning about the empires of Caesar and Charlemagne in Latin works.

Columbus's Voyage

1492

Having read ancient books of geography, and inspired by adventure, Columbus raised the question of what would happen if you kept sailing westwards, if the Earth was indeed round. Columbus's ambition led him to discovering the American landmass, which further inspired others to voyage to the West, redesigning the worlds' maps. The Spanish were the first to take control of American land, giving them a large governing power, which was later followed by other European nations.

Martin Luther

1521

In struggling to convince German parliament and the Church that he was following God's word, but in his own way, Luther was left to translate the entire Bible into German. Luther knew that all Germans should have the ability to read the Bible to interpret their own religion as well as learn, but Germans were separated by their language. Luther was able to construct a written German language so that everyone in the kingdom could understand, uniting everyone under a common identity and language.