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Jan 1, 1347
Bubonic Plague begins
Bubonic plague is a disease that is spread by fleas on black rats brought to Europe by merchant ships. Swollen lymph nodes (buboes) are signs of a person suffering from bubonic plague. The Black Death swept through Europe and killed an estimated 25 million people, or 30-60% of the European population. -
Jan 1, 1350
Renaissance begins
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the period roughly from the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. it was a time when fine art peaked. -
Jan 1, 1420
Brunelleschi creates Leaner Perspective
Brunelleschi is famous for two panel paintings illustrating geometric optical linear perspective. Around this time linear perspective, as a novel artistic tool, spread not only in Italy but throughout Western Europe. It quickly became, and remains, standard studio practice. -
May 8, 1429
Joan of Arc and the Siege of Orleans
Joan lived during the period of the Hundred Years War. This war was between the English and the French, who both believed they had sovereignty over territories of Aquitaine. She lead the Siege into Orleans and the English retreated. -
Jan 1, 1450
Johann Gutenberg Invents the Printing Press
The Gutenberg press with its wooden and later metal movable type printing brought down the price of printed materials and made such materials available for the masses. It remained the standard until the 20th century -
Aug 1, 1464
Cosimo de Medici dies
He ruled the City of Florence, and made Florence the most powerful state in Italy and possible the most beautiful city in history. Father of Giovanni. -
Sep 27, 1480
Spanish Inquisition Begins
The Spanish Inquisition was a religious tribunal or court established in Spain. It was responsible for the jailing, trial, torture, and execution of "heretics," mostly Jews accused of not completely converting to Catholicism. During its activities many thousands of Jews had to flee the country. -
Jan 1, 1486
Sandro Botticelli paints Birth of Venus
The Birth of Venus was painted by Sandro Botticelli in 1486 . It depicts the goddess Venus, emerging from the sea as a fully grown woman. The painting is held in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. -
Jan 1, 1492
Columbus discovers the America's
The Spanish monarchs gave Columbus permission to go discover the New World and he was given three ships. the Pinta, La Nina, and the La Santa Maria. As we all know he was successful and discovered the America's. -
Jan 1, 1495
da Vinci Paints The Last Supper
The painting potrays Jesus with his apostles during the Last Supper before Jesus' death. it was painted by Da Vinci in 1495. -
Jan 1, 1510
Raphael paints The School of Athens
The "School of Athens" is one of a group of four main frescoes on the walls of the Stanza that depict distinct branches of knowledge. Each theme is identified above by a separate tondo containing a majestic female figure seated in the clouds. -
Jan 1, 1512
Michelangelo paints the Sistine Chapel
The best known chapel in Vatican City, the Sistine Chapel is famous for its architecture and the painting inside. Painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512. -
Jan 1, 1514
Machiavelli writes the Prince
The Prince is a political treatise by political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. The Prince is sometimes called one of the first works of modern philosophy. It was also in direct conflict with Catholic doctrines of the time. -
Jan 1, 1514
Thomas More Utopia
Utopia was completed and published in 1516. It contrasts the contentious social life of European states with the perfectly orderly, reasonable social arrangements of Utopia. In Utopia, with communal ownership of land, private property does not exist, men and women are educated alike, and there is almost complete religious toleration. -
Jan 1, 1517
Martin Luther 95 Theses
The 95 Theses is commonly known as 95 rules to follow written by Martin Luther in 1517 and is widely regarded as the initial catalyst for the Protestant Reformation. The disputation protests against clerical abuses, especially the sale of indulgences. -
Jan 1, 1524
Start of the European Wars of Religion
A series of wars that took place in Europe that involed religion. This started by protesters putting up anti- Catholic posters. -
Aug 25, 1530
Ivan The Terrible was born
He was crowned the Tsar of Russia in 1533 and had a very complex personality, he was both intelligent, but was quick to rage and this due to a mental illness and evidently was the death of him.He is known for his brutal ruling, centralized administration of Russia and expanding the boundries of the Russian Empire. -
Jan 1, 1534
Jesuit Order Founded by Ignatius Loyola
Roman Catholic order of religious men, founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola, known for its educational, missionary, and charitable works, Played a large role in the Counter-Reformation and later modernizing the church. The Jesuits have always been a controversial group and are feared and condemed by many. -
Jul 12, 1536
Desiderius Erasmus Dies
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, social critic, teacher, and theologian. he was a classical scholar who wrote in a pure Latin style -
Dec 17, 1538
Henry VIII Excommunicated
Henry VIII upset the Pope of the Catholic Church by annulling his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and marrying Anne Boleyn, declaring himself "Supreme Head of the Church of England, persecuting those who opposed the Acts of Supremacy and Succession, dissolving the monasteries and his handling of the Pilgrimage of Grace. The final act of Henry VIII was attacking the religious shrines in England that contained religious relics. Because of these actions he was excommunicated. -
Jan 1, 1543
Scientific Revolution
Beginning in Europe near the end of the Renaissance and through the 18th century. This time was later known as The Enlightenment. Free thinking began. Copernicus had the idea that the planets did not revolve around the Earth, but rather the sun. -
Jan 1, 1557
Spain declares bankruptcy for the 1st time
Resistance against the Emperor of Spain rose because of the heavy taxation. The money was being used to pay of debts from wars and to sponsor current wars. The enormous budget deficit accumulated during Charles' reign resulted in Spain declaring bankruptcy during the reign of Philip II. -
Jan 15, 1559
Coronation of Elizabeth 1
Elizabeth the first was crowned on January 15th 1559, at 12pm, She was the third of Henry VIII’s children to become monarch and she was the last of the Tudor dynasty. She inherited the crown shortly after her half sister Mary had died. -
Aug 24, 1572
Saint Bartholomew Massacre
The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre was directed against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants), during the French Wars of Religion. The massacre began on 23 August 1572, two days after the attempted assassination of Admiral Gaspard de Coligny. The massacre lasted several weeks and estimates for the number of dead vary from 5,000 to 30,000. The massacre marked a turning point in the French Wars of Religion. -
Edict of Nantes
Henry IV granted the Huguenots (Calvinist Protestants of France) substantial rights in a nation still considered Catholic. Marks the end of France's Wars of Religion.
