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Period: Aug 22, 1310 to Aug 22, 1321
Dante Writes "The Divine Comedy"
The poem's imaginative and allegorical vision of the afterlife is a culmination of the medieval world-view as it had developed in the Western Church. It helped establish the Tuscan dialect in which it is written as the standardized Italian. It is divided into three parts, the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.
On the surface, the poem describes Dante's travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven; but at a deeper level, it represents allegorically the soul's journey towards God. -
Aug 22, 1390
Chauncy Writes "The Canerbury Tales"
The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. He uses the tales and the descriptions of the characters to paint an ironic and critical portrait of English society at the time, and particularly of the Church. -
Aug 22, 1415
Donatello creates his Statue of St. George
The statue of St George, made in about 1420, is one of the most important works in his development. In this work the sculptor had broken with the Gothic style of statues and their solemn rows of saints. St George is totally real, steadfast, and determined in his defiance of any enemy that may approach. -
Aug 22, 1434
Jan van Vinci paints the Arnolfini portrait
This painting is believed to be a portrait of the Italian merchant Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife, presumably in their home in the Flemish city of Bruges. It is considered one of the most original and complex paintings in Western art history. Both signed and dated by Van Eyck in 1434, it is, with the Ghent Altarpiece by the same artist and his brother Hubert, the oldest very famous panel painting to have been executed in oils rather than in tempera. -
Aug 13, 1447
Last Visconti Ruler
Filippo Maria Visconti, It was widely believed his intolerable and insensitive behavior was due to his extreme consciousness of his ugly exterior. Despite these drawbacks he proved to be a successful ruler and recaptured many parts of his fathers original duchy. He died in 1447 to be the last Visconti in the direct male desendent, thus bringing to an end the famed line of the Visconti family as rulers in Milan. -
Aug 19, 1494
Charels Vlll Envades Naples
In 1489, Pope Innocent VIII, then being at odds with Ferdinand I of Naples, offered Naples to Charles, who had a vague claim to the Kingdom of Naples through his paternal grandmother. In 1494, Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, was threatened by Ferdinand's successor Alfonso II, and urged Charles to go take Naples. Charles entered Italy with 25,000 men in 1494 and marched across the peninsula, reaching Naples on 22 February 1495. The French army subdued Floren -
Aug 22, 1505
Leonardo da Vinci paintes the Mona Lisa
In the present era it is arguably the most famous painting in the world. Its fame rests, in particular, on the elusive smile on the woman's face, its mysterious quality brought about perhaps by the fact that the artist has subtly shadowed the corners of the mouth and eyes so that the exact nature of the smile cannot be determined. The shadowy quality for which the work is renowned came to be called "sfumato" or Leonardo's smoke. -
Aug 23, 1509
Erasmus writes "The Parise of Folly"
The Praise of Folly has long been famous as the best-known work of the greatest of the Renaissance humanists, Erasmus of Rotterdam. It is a fantasy which starts off as a learned frivolity but turns into a full-scale ironic encomium after the manner of the Greek satirist Lucian, the first and in its way the finest example of a new form of Renaissance satire. It ends with a straightforward and touching statement of the Christian ideals. -
Aug 19, 1513
Manchiavelli Writes "The Prince"
In 1513 Machiavelli wrote his best-known work, Prince. Dedicated to Lorenzo de' Medici, this little book offers practical advice on how to rule a city like sixteenth-century Florence.Its over-all theme is that the successful prince must exhibit virtu in both favorable and adverse circumstances. -
Aug 23, 1517
Martin Luther Presents the Ninety-five Theses
The Ninety-Five ThesesThe background to Luther's Ninety-Five Theses centers on practices within the Catholic Church regarding baptism and absolution. Significantly, the Theses reject the validity of indulgences. They also view with great cynicism the practice of indulgences being sold, and thus the penance for sin representing a financial transaction rather than genuine contrition. Luther's theses argued that the sale of indulgences a gross violation of the original intention of confession and penance. -
Jan 3, 1521
The Church excommunicates Luther
Martin LutherThe Pope warned Luther with the papal bull Exsurge Domine that he risked excommunication unless he recanted 41 sentences drawn from his writings, including the 95 Theses, within 60 days. That autumn, Johann Eck proclaimed the bull in Meissen and other towns. Karl von Miltitz, a papal nuncio, attempted to broker a solution, but Luther, who had sent the Pope a copy of On the Freedom of a Christian in October, publicly set fire to the bull. As a consequence, Luther was excommunicated by Pope loe X -
May 6, 1527
Invading Armys Sack Rome
The troops defending Rome were not at all numerous, consisting of 5,000 militiamen led by Renzo di Ceri and the Papal Swiss Guard. The city's fortifications included the massive walls, and it possessed a good artillery force, which the Imperial army lacked. On May 6, the Imperial army attacked the walls at the Gianicolo and Vatican Hills. Of 189 guards on duty only 42 survived, but their bravery ensured that Pope Clement VII escaped to safety. -
Aug 22, 1528
Castiglione writes "The Book of Courtiers
The book is organized as a series of fictional conversations that occur between the courtiers of the Duke of Urbino in 1507. In the book, the courtier is described as having a cool mind, a good voice along with proper bearing and gestures. At the same time though, the courtier is expected to have a warrior spirit, to be athletic, and have good knowledge of the humanities, Classics and fine arts.
The Book of the Courtier was one of the most widely distributed books of the 16th century. -
Oct 23, 1531
War between the Protestant and Catholic states in Switzerland
In October 1531, war broke out between Protestants and the Catholic stats in Switzerland. Zurich army was routed, and Zwingli was found wounded on the battlefeild. His enemies killed him, cut up his body, and burned the pieces, scattering the ashes. The ledership of Protestantism in Switzerland now passed to John Calvine. -
Nov 25, 1534
The Act of Supremarcy is passed in england
Act of Supremacy 1558The Act of Supremacy of November 1534 (26 Hen. 8 c. 1) was an Act of the Parliament of England under King Henry VIII declaring that he was "the only supreme head on earth of the Church in England" and that the English crown shall enjoy "all honours, dignities, preeminences, jurisdictions, privileges, authorities, immunities, profits, and commodities to the said dignity. -
Aug 25, 1540
The society of Jesus becomes a religious order
Society of JesusThe opening lines of this founding document would declare that the Society of Jesus was founded to "strive especially for the propagation and defense of the faith and progress of souls in Christian life and doctrine."[3] The Society participated in the Counter-Reformation and later in the implementation of the Second Vatican Council in the Catholic Church. -
Jan 16, 1553
Mary Tudor, "Bloody Mary", BecomeQueen of England
Mary I of EnglandHer younger half brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547. By 1553, Edward was mortally ill and because of religious differences between them attempted to remove Mary from the line of succession. On his death, their distant cousin Lady Jane Grey was, at first, proclaimed queen. Mary assembled a force in East Anglia, and successfully deposed Jane, who was ultimately beheaded. In 1554, Mary married Philip of Spain, and as a result became queen consort of Habsburg Spain on his accession in 1556. -
Aug 23, 1555
The peace of Augsburg divided Germany
[Thirteey year war](Although the Peace of Augsburg created a temporary end to hostilities, it did not solve the underlying religious conflict. In addition, Calvinism spread quickly throughout Germany in the years that followed. This added a third major faith to the region, but its position was not recognized in any way by the Augsburg terms, to which only Catholicism and Lutheranism were parties.)The Peace of Augsburg, signed by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, confirmed the result of the 1526 Diet of Speyer, ending war between German Lutherans and Catholics.Although the Peace of Augsburg created a temporary end to hostilities, it did not solve the underlying religious conflict. In addition, Calvinism spread quickly throughout Germany in the years that followed. This added a third major faith to the region, but its position was not recognized in any way by the Augsburg terms.