Topics 12-14 Test : How can the Reformation and the Age of Discovery be seen as extensions of the Renaissance? (1400 CE - 1600 CE)

Invention of the Movable Printing Press

1400

The invention of the printing press allowed the distribution of information to spread much faster and more efficiently. This Renaissance invention impacted the Reformation because it allowed ideas about the Church’s corruption to spread to more people and persuade them to take action.

Invention of Gunpowder

1450

Gunpowder was a revolutionary invention, it completely changed the ways wars were fought. I included this event because this invention opened the door to new warfare and, in a way, it led to more war and violence. As I interpreted it, countries with new gunpowder weapons resorted to violence because they had the advantage over others who didn’t have such weapons. This also led to religious wars and expansion because since they had better weapons they showed their dominance through violence.

Martin Luther and Lutheranism

1483

Martin Luther was a prominent figure from the Reformation. He practically began the Reformation with his oppositions to the Chuch's corruption. Around 1520 his ideas began to gain popularity. People began to take Luther’s side and eventually, they broke away from the Church and create what is known as Lutheranism. This idea connected to the ideas of the Renaissance because the corruption of the Church during those times continued into the 1500s and lead to the people wanting change.

Christopher Columbus Begins His Voyage

1492

I included this event because it holds a lot of importance to this era. This event can be seen as an extension of the Renaissance because just as the Renaissance was a time of improvement and discoveries, the exploration of the New World was also held a lot of importance. The Renaissance influenced people to explore and learn more about unknown places and concepts. These attitudes lead to the exploration of the New World.

The End of the Renaissance

1500

The year 1500, officially ended the Renaissance. I included this event to show a collection of individual events from the Renaissance and how they impacted the Reformation. For instance, economic events like the public’s upset at the Church for the numerous taxes and siphoning of money to officials eventually led up to the breaking away from the Church. Furthermore, everyone began to realize that the Church held too much power and this led them to break away and create Protestant churches.

Henry VIII Wants A Divorce

1509

Even though all he wanted was to divorce his wife, Henry VIII indirectly impacted the Reformation. The Church would not grant Henry a divorce because it was “wrong”, in turn, Henry was upset and wanted the Church to change. This event led to the Reformation because it influenced people to look at the Church’s corruption and weaknesses and realize that there was an option to change it through Reformation.

The Protestant Reformation Begins

1517

Beginning with Luther around 1517, the Reformation really began taking effect. The Protestant Reformation saw the oppositions of the Church begin to take effect. As a result of these oppositions, many people broke away from the Church and created their own Protestant religions, subcategories of Christianity. Some of these included Calvinism, Anglicanism, and Lutheranism. This event was impacted by many events from the Renaissance and many people helped to shape what the Reformation would create.

The Initial Period of Catholic Reformation

1530

The Catholic Reformation aimed to bring the Protestants back to the Church. The Protestant churches turned on each other and began fighting which erased the idea of “purity” connected with the Protestants. I included this event in the timeline because I wanted to show that all of the aspects of the Catholic Church weren’t bad. I, also, wanted to show that the Protestant churches weren’t as perfect as they seemed, in many cases, some of them proved to be worse than the Catholic Church.

Jean Calvin and Calvinism

1536

Around 1536, Jean Calvin was exiled because of the sympathy he had for Protestantism. He saw the corruptions of the Church and agreed with the people that broke away, and as a result, he was kicked out of France. He then created his own Protestant religion of Calvinism. The creation of Calvinism was important because it shows what the effects of the Reformation looked like and how it differed from the traditional views of the Catholic Church.

Lines of Division are Drawn

1560

In the late 1500s, it was clear that lines were drawn separating different divisions of the Christian religion. I included this event as a sort of conclusion to both the timeline and the Reformation. The Reformation was an extremely impactful event that was heavily impacted by events from the Renaissance that eventually caught fire and led to large changes that completely changed the looks of religion in Europe.