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Period: 1095 to 1567
Indulgences (Catholic Church Pre Reformation)
Before the Reformation, Indulgences were a common Church Practice that nobody questioned. An Early record of indulgences was when Pope Urban II said that if someone went on a Crusade, their soul would be saved. The Protestant Reformation started when Martin Luther became angry at Indulgences being sold to raise money for the St. Peters Basilica. Paid Indulgences ended when Pope Pius V decided that all indulgences involving fees were no longer valid.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indulgence -
Period: 1434 to
The Rise of the Medici Family (Daily life and Culture)
The Medici family were the rulers of the Italian City known as Florence. This was where the Renaissance started. Florence became so wealthy because of the wool trade. With all the money, they were able to pay for many fine buildings and art. This was where the idea of the Renaissance started. Wealthy people had extra money and started spending it on nice things. The Medici's controlled Florence until the 1700s.
https://www.history.com/topics/renaissance/medici-family -
1444
Cosimo de Medici Funds the Public Library of Florence (Patron of the Arts)
Cosimo de Medici spent a lot of his money funding arts and public buildings in Florence Italy. He gave money to have the first public library of Florence built. This library became one of the most important places of learning and art in Italy. It also became the center for humanist movement at that time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosimo_de%27_Medici -
1450
The Printing Press (Inventions)
Johan Gutenberg invented the printing press in Germany around the year 1450. This was one of the most important inventions to come out of the Renaissance. The printing press made creating copies of books and other writings easier and quicker. It made the writings of Martin Luther spread rapidly, and was very important to the start of the Protestant Reformation.
http://mr_sedivy.tripod.com/rena10.html -
Apr 5, 1452
Leonardo De Vinci (Artist)
Leonardo was one of the most brilliant and talented men of the Renaissance time period. He was an inventor, artist, scientist, and mathematician. Leonardo was also a model Renaissance man. He was good at almost everything that he did. He is one of the most recognizable figures from the Renaissance.
https://www.leonardodavinci.net/ -
Mar 6, 1475
Michelangelo (Artist)
Michelangelo was a famous painter and sculptor from the Renaissance. He was born in Caprese Italy. Some of his most famous works are the Statue of David and the painting he did for Pope Julius II on the Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He was a leader and one of the most recognizable people in the Italian Renaissance.
https://www.michelangelo.org/ -
Apr 6, 1483
Raphael (Artist)
Raphael was another Renaissance Italian Artist who specialized in painting. His most famous paintings are his pictures of the Madonna, or Mary the Mother of Jesus. His paintings were famous for being very clear and beautiful. He spent the final 12 years of his life, in Rome, painting for Pope Julius, painting the rooms in Julius's apartment and other places in the Vatican.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Raphael-Italian-painter-and-architect -
Oct 12, 1492
Christopher Columbus discovers the New World (Daily Life and Culture)
During the Renaissance, many coastal Countries began giving money to exploration. The goal was to find new trade routes to India and the east. Christopher Columbus decided to sail west, instead of going around Africa. On August 3rd, 1492, he set sail. He reached land on October 12, 1492. This was the new world. This discovery opened the door for exploration of two entirely new Continents.
https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/christopher-columbus -
1503
The Mona Lisa (Art)
The Mona Lisa is one of the most famous paintings in the world, painted by Leonardo De Vinci. It was painted on poplar wood with oil paint. The person in the painting is thought to be Lisa del Giocando, the wife of a merchant from Florence.
(https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mona-Lisa-painting) -
Apr 18, 1506
The St. Peter's Basilica is Started (Catholic Church Pre Reformation)
The St. Peters Basilica is one of the Greatest Christian Churches in the world. The construction of the basilica was started back in 1506 when Pope Julius II put down the cornerstone of the building. This church contains some of the greatest pieces of art in the world, with pieces by Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bernini. Ever since it was completed, the St. Peters Basilica has been used as the main Church of the pope.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Saint-Peters-Basilica -
1508
Nicolaus Copernicus Shows that the Sun is the Center of the Solar System (Scientific Discoveries)
It is thought that Nicolaus Copernicus developed the idea of the heliocentric solar system around the year 1508. Before this, people had thought that the earth was the center of the universe. He created a very accurate model of the solar system that contained an equation that could be used to calculate the positions of planets better and quicker than they had done before. The books he wrote about his work were banned by the Church
https://www.biography.com/people/nicolaus-copernicus-9256984 -
1508
Pope Julius II Funds the Sistine Chapel (Patron of the Arts)
In 1508, Pope Julius II, a famous patron of the arts, commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. This project took four long years. Michelangelo did not want to do this, because he thought of himself more of a sculptor than a painter, but Julius insisted. Finally, Michelangelo agreed and created one of the most recognizable works of art in the World.
https://www.livescience.com/40802-sistine-chapel.html -
1508
The Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (Art)
Michelangelo was hired to paint the chapel in 1508 by Pope Julius II. One of the most famous paintings by Michelangelo, The Creation of Adam, in on this Ceiling. Most of the paintings are based on the old testament of the Bible. These paintings have been a symbol of the Renaissance for hundreds of years.
http://www.italianrenaissance.org/a-closer-look-michelangelos-painting-of-the-sistine-chapel-ceiling/ -
1513
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli (Literature)
The prince is a famous book by Niccolo Machiavelli written in 1513. The book was not published until 1532, five years after the death of Machiavelli. He wrote this book right after he was exiled from Florence for political reasons. The Prince is a book about the political beliefs and system of Machiavelli.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/531158/the-prince-by-niccolo-machiavelli/9780140449150/readers-guide/ -
Mar 19, 1513
Pope Leo 10 is elected (Church Pre Reformation)
When Pope Julius passed away, after his 10 years as the pope, Pope Leo X was elected by the Cardinals. Leo, whose real name was Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was a member of the wealthy Medici family. He also loved arts and great building, like many of the Medici Family, and started the building of the St. Peters Basilica. Pope Leo had to deal with the thousands of people leaving the Church for Luther.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leo-X -
Oct 31, 1517
Martin Luther Post his 95 Thesis (Martin Luther and the Reformation)
Martin Luther was a monk who began to disagree with some of the teachings of the Church. Supposedly, on October 31, 1517 he nailed his 95 theses to the door of a Church. This was the start of the Protestant Reformation. Thousands of peasants went against the Church, which was the ultimate power at the time. Thousands of peasants died, but it was one of the most important events in the entire Renaissance.
https://www.history.com/topics/reformation/martin-luther-and-the-95-theses -
Jan 3, 1521
Martin Luther is Excommunicated from the Church (Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation)
The Pope, Leo X excommunicated Martin Luther from the Church on January 3rd, 1521. When someone is excommunicated, it means that they cannot participate in Church Practices, and cannot go to heaven. This was the act of the Church to try and stop Luther and the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther was protected by the German Princes, however, and the Reformation became even stronger.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/martin-luther-excommunicated -
1522
Martin Luther Finishes the German Translation of the Bible (Luther and the Protestant Reformation)
In April of the year 1522, while locked in a tower, Martin Luther finished his translation of the Bible into the language of German. This was one of the most important moments of the Reformation. For the first time, common people could read or understand the Bible, and could decide for themselves what God meant and wanted for them. This caused more people to turn away from the Roman Catholic Church and follow Luther.
https://www.christian-history.org/martin-luther-bible.html -
Microscope (Inventions)
The Microscope was first invented by two Dutch glasses makes, Hans Jansen and Zacharias Jansen. These first microscopes were not very powerful, but today are one of the most important inventions to come out of the Renaissance. It was first invented used as a toy in the Renaissance, but now it has been used to save millions of lives around the world.
https://www.livescience.com/39649-who-invented-the-microscope.html -
Period: to
William Shakespeare Become Popular in London (Culture)
During this time period, in London, plays were becoming very popular. The most famous playwright was William Shakespeare. Many of his works are still known today. These plays were performed in round buildings, with straw roofs. There were many of these playhouses around London. While some people hated the plays, they were a great place for the common people because of the low cost of admission and how enjoyable the plays were.
https://www.rsc.org.uk/shakespeares-plays/timeline -
Hamlet by William Shakespeare (Literature)
Hamlet is one of the most famous of all time, written by William Shakespeare around the year 1599. The play has five acts and is a tragedy about a price of Denmark, who is named Hamlet. Hamlet has to avenge his father's death, who was killed by his Uncle Claudius so that he could take the mother of Hamlet. The play ends with a duel between Hamlet and his uncle Claudius, in which they both are killed.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hamlet-by-Shakespeare -
Don Quixote By Miguel De Cervantes (Literature)
Later on in the Renaissance, literature became much more popular. One of the most popular was a novel by Miguel de Cervantes, named Don Quixote. The book is about a knight named Alonso Quixano, who goes by the name Don Quixote. It is known as the first modern novel and as the most influential book of writing from the Country of Spain.
https://www.tell-a-tale.com/10-read-books-renaissance-period/ -
Telescope (Inventions)
The Telescope was originally thought up by Hans Lippershey, in 1608. However, Galileo is the person who greatly improved upon it. He heard about the work of Lippershey, and created his own telescope to look at the stars. One of the first major discovery made with a telescope was when Galileo first saw the four moons of Jupiter. The telescope was an invention that started the exploration of Space.
https://www.spaceanswers.com/astronomy/did-galileo-invent-the-telescope/ -
Galileo and the Study of Planets (Scientific Discovery)
With his advanced telescope, Galileo was able to see farther out into space than anyone before him. He saw that the moon was not smooth, but had mountains and valleys. He also studied Saturn and Venus. It was around this time that he also began to agree with Copernicus about the heliocentric solar system.
https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/whos_who_level2/galileo.html -
The Discovery of How Blood Flows by William Harvey (Scientific Discoveries)
In 1628 William Harvey published his book on how blood circulates through the body. He experimented the amount of blood that passes through the heart. Before Harvey, people believed in two different systems carrying blood in the body. Harvey showed that it is a single system going through the body.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Harvey
