Renaissance & Reformation

Humanism (Daily Life/Culture of the Renaissance)

Period: 1201 to 1400

While Martin Luther was being kept away in a castle in Wartburg, he spent his days translating the Bible from Latin to German. In 1534, he completed translating the entire Bible. This move was phenomenal as it lead to the translation of the Bible into every language and it allowed everyone to interpret the scriptures for themselves rather than having to trust the corrupt Catholic Church and its teachings.
(https://www.museeprotestant.org/en/notice/martin-luther-translator-of-the-bible/)

The Protestant Reformation (Martin Luther & The Protestant Reformation)

Period: 1300 to 1570

The Protestant Reformation was a religious and partially governmental revolution. Martin Luther began the reformation by nailing his 95 Theses onto the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany. With this, he opened people to the corruption of the Catholic Church. With struggle and the help of princes like Prince Frederick III, the Reformation changed the Catholic Church and also birthed a new a new sect of Christianity: Lutheranism.
(Martin Luther & The Protestant Reformation notes, Luther movie)

Daily Life (Daily Life/Culture of the Renaissance)

Period: 1300 to 1600

The Renaissance changed many things including people's everyday lives. A middle class emerged into the system, allowing people to become richer and afford nicer things like bigger houses, more colorful clothing, and a wider variety of food.. People could also enjoy more things such as music, dancing, sports, festivals, and other types of entertainment. Marketplaces and shops also appeared in the Renaissance era.
(https://www.ducksters.com/history/renaissance/daily_life_in_the_renaissance.php)

Conflict (The Catholic Church)

1301

Conflict of power was common within and outside the Catholic Church, whether it be with kings or who takes on the papal role. In 1301, a taxation on the French clergy was attempted by the king which resulted in the pope trying to excommunicate him. This lead to his arrest. Clement V was the next pope. He moved the Church's headquarters from Rome to Avignon. This later lead to people electing their own popes in Rome, Avignon, and the Church council.
(Martin Luther& Protestant Reformation notes)

The Renaissance Man (Daily Life/Culture of the Renaissance)

Feb 14, 1404

Leon Battista Alberti was born on February 14, 1404. Over the course of his life, he studied and became many things such as an architect, philosopher, author, linguist, and cryptographer. Leon set the stage for the Renaissance Man, an ideal that men aspired to be at the time. This ideal consisted of being an expert in as many things possible, academically, physically, and socially.
(https://www.britannica.com/topic/Renaissance-man, http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Leon_Battista_Alberti)

Printing Press (Inventions)

1439

The printing press was a revolutionary invention. It allowed literature to be distributed more efficiently and mass produced. Due to these things, poorer could be taught how to read and ideas could become more influential than they were in the past. Thanks to the printing press, the Bible could be interpreted by everyone instead of only the Church. The printing press originated in China, but was first mentioned in 1439 in a lawsuit.
(https://www.britannica.com/technology/printing-press)

Lorenzo Medici (Patrons of the Arts)

Jan 1, 1449

Lorenzo Medici was a part of the wealthy Medici banking family who dominated Florence. He was born on January 1, 1449 and is the grandson of the also well-known Cosimo Medici. Lorenzo became a great patron of arts and sponsored artists like Michelangelo and Botticelli. His influence extended past Florence and flooded Italy. Lorenzo eventually died on April 9, 1492 by an inherited disease.
(Italian Renaissance notes, https://www.florenceinferno.com/lorenzo-the-magnificent/)

Leonardo da Vinci (Renaissance Art/Artists)

Apr 15, 1452

Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 and died on May 2, 1519. He created several well-known art pieces such as the Mona Lisa, the Last Supper, and the Vitruvian Man. Throughout his years, he studied many things such as art, mechanics, chemistry, carpentry, and architectural drafting.
(https://www.leonardodavinci.net/)

Ludovico Sforza (Patrons of the Arts)

Jul 27, 1452

Ludovico Sforza, born on July 27, 1452, was the Duchy of Milan and a great patron of the arts. He transformed the court of Milan into a gathering place for artists and scholars alike. Leonardo da Vinci and Donato Bramante were among those that gathered there.
(https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ludovico-Sforza)

Martin Luther (Martin Luther & The Protestant Reformation)

1483

Martin Luther was born in 1483 to a poor family and was sent to law school. One night during a storm, he prayed to God and said that if he survived the storm he would quit law school and become a monk, which he did. He lived in Wittenberg, Germany and went on to preach against the corrupt Catholic Church then starting the Protestant Reformation and creating Lutheranism. He was against the Church's practices of selling indulgences.
(Martin Luther & The Protestant Reformation notes, Luther movie)

Simony (The Catholic Church)

1492

Simony, or buying your way into the hierarchy of the Church, was common before the Reformation. This was done often so the Church could gain more money. Simony was a well-known issue within the church with simoniac clerics having high positions. Bribery also assisted papal elections, most famously with Pope Alexander VI's election.
(Reformation Summary & Comparison, Luther movie, https://www.deseretnews.com/article/865686011/Simony-2-buying-and-selling-church-offices-2--and-the-Reformation.html)

Lutheranism (Martin Luther & The Protestant Reformation)

1501

Martin Luther's followers rejected the authority of the Church and many of their teachings, so they created their own kind of Christianity: Lutheranism. Lutherans believed that the Bible is the only source of truth and that justification and salvation only comes through faith in Christ. By being declared as the official religion in many principalities, Lutheranism was formally established in the 16th century.
(M.Luther & Protestant Reformation notes, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lutheranism)

Mona Lisa (Renaissance Art/Artists)

1503

The Mona Lisa is a very famous painting by famous artist Leonardo da Vinci. The painting was created with oil paints on a poplar wood panel between 1503 and 1519. The Mona Lisa is residing in the Louvre in Paris, France. The identity of the woman in the painting is unknown, but many find the mysteriousness fascinating.
(https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mona-Lisa-painting)

The Creation of Adam (Renaissance Art/Artists)

1511

The Creation of Adam is a fresco painting by artist Michelangelo and sits on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. Michelangelo started the painting in October of 1511 and, after a 14 month break, finished it within three weeks.
(https://www.michelangelo-gallery.com/creation-of-adam.aspx)

Indulgences (The Catholic Church)

1517

In 1517, prior to the Protestant Reformation, John Tetzel assisted the Catholic Church in selling indulgences. These indulgences were quite expensive, especially for peasants and poor workers which were the majority of buyers. The indulgences were used to guarantee a shortened term in purgatory (and eventually a direct path to heaven) for the buyer or someone else the buyer chooses.
(Reformation Summary & Comparison, Luther movie, http://courses.wcupa.edu/jones/his101%5Cweb%5C37luther.htm)

Giuseppe Arcimboldo (Renaissance Art/Artists)

1527

Giuseppe Arcimboldo is an Italian artist born in Milan, Italy in 1527. His most famous works are illusions of food, animals, and other objects arranged to form human faces. Giuseppe is admired by other surreal artists such as Salvador Dali. Not only did Giuseppe draw illusions, he also painted settings for court theater and started off as a cartoon designer.
(https://www.britannica.com/biography/Giuseppe-Arcimboldo)

The German Bible (Literary Works)

1534

While Martin Luther was being kept away in a castle in Wartburg, he spent his days translating the Bible from Latin to German. In 1534, he completed translating the entire Bible. This move was phenomenal as it lead to the translation of the Bible into every language and it allowed everyone to interpret the scriptures for themselves rather than having to trust the corrupt Catholic Church and its teachings.
(https://www.museeprotestant.org/en/notice/martin-luther-translator-of-the-bible/)

Heliocentric Solar System (Scientific Discoveries)

1543

For a very long time, people believed that the Earth was the center of the universe and multiple people had disproved of it but it was not accepted. In 1543, Nicolas Copernicus wrote about it in his "Six Books Concerning the Revolutions of the Heavenly Orbs" and thus the Heliocentric Solar System was reestablished. Galileo Galilei also supported Copernicus' finding.
(https://www.britannica.com/science/heliocentric-system)

Human Anatomy (Scientific Discoveries)

1543

Flemish physician Andreas Vesalius, dissected a human corpse and recorded his observations. He wrote detailed information about the human body with accurate illustrations in his book "the Fabrica" which was printed in 1543. Thanks to his studies, others were able to adapt medicinal practices and revolutionize biology.
(https://www.britannica.com/biography/Andreas-Vesalius)

Gravity (Scientific Discoveries)

1589

Gravity was discovered by Issac Newton in 1589. After he discovered it, he began testing it by dropping balls from the Leaning Tower of Pisa. He learned from it that, despite the different weights, the balls would hit the ground at the same time. It's unclear how this started, but legend says that it was after he saw an apple fall from a tree.
(https://sciencing.com/first-person-discover-gravity-23003.html)

Thermometer (Inventions)

1593

The thermometer was first created by Galileo Galilei in 1593. Although it technically was not a thermometer, it is still considered one and it paved the way for what we know thermometers as today. Galileo's thermometer implied air temperature using the density of several different types of liquids rather than measuring it like Gabriel Fahrenheit's mercury thermometer created in 1714.
(Renaissance Invention Project)

Romeo and Juliet (Literary Works)

1594

Romeo and Juliet was written by William Shakespeare somewhere between 1594 and 1596. The story is about two teenagers, Romeo and Juliet, who's found to love each other but their families' rivalry prevents them from being together. Today, Romeo and Juliet has become the most well-known story and example of "star-crossed lovers" as there have been countless rewrites and performances of the story.
(https://www.britannica.com/topic/Romeo-and-Juliet)

Macbeth (Literary Works)

1606

William Shakespeare's Macbeth was written in 1606 and published in 1623. The play is about a man named Macbeth who is given a prophecy by three witches and then strives to fulfill them thinking that no man could stop him. Unfortunately, his strive for power (which was fed by his wife) leads to the death of his friend, his wife's suicide, and his own demise.
(https://www.bl.uk/works/macbeth, https://study.com/academy/lesson/when-was-macbeth-written-history-author.html)

Adding Machine (Inventions)

1642

The first adding machine (or calculator) was made in 1642 by a French boy named Blaise Pascal. He made the invention in order to help his father who was a clerk and did a lot of math. The adding machine was able to do simple addition and subtraction by turning dials on a wooden box. Over time, the adding machine evolved into the calculator that everyone knows today.
(http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/addmachine.htm)

Girl with a Pearl Earring (Renaissance Art/Artists)

1665

Girl with a Pearl Earring is an oil painting created by Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer in about 1665. The tronie portrait features a woman in exotic clothing and wearing a pearl earring. She is facing the viewer with light on her face and a very contrasting dark background. There are numerous speculations upon who the woman is, but none can be confirmed.
(Renaissance Art Task Research Essay)