A history of Early Modern Times

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

"To develop an understanding of Western culture in the early modern era"

"To analyse the impact of faith and division in Western society"

"To discuss the elements of the clash between science and religion" (refers mainly to the natural philosophy pursued by 16th, 17th and early 18th century philosophers.


Renaissance, Reformation and Revolution: A History of Early Modern Times

This is a period which is difficult to pin down in dates.

Roughly between the middle of the 14th century to the middle of the 18th century. Our starting date is 1350. Dante is both a medieval figure and a renaissance figure. It's in Dante's generation and the generation after him that we can detect a new mindset in the writers. Dante talked about the rebirth of the classical arts of antiquity. By reintroducing ideas, concepts and methods used by ancient writers.

Petrarch (1304-1374)

"Rinascita" Rebirth. Petrarch's word.

Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574)

Petrarch saw human feelings, a sense of knowledge and justice in Cicero's writing. He saw humanitas. (Humanity) Cicero writes about controlling human emotions. And also the duty of man. He sought to cultivate a productive society by outlining how one should live. So, humanitas, also means a duty to one's society as well as the controlling and understanding of emotions. This definition here is based largely on the reformation and renaissance thought.

Knowledge was a virtue of humanity. Knowledge would set you free.

Basically it's like they are trying to advance themselves as far as possible.

Humanists started to criticise and debate with dominicans. They despised scholastic theologians and the medieval writers. He believed that a darkness existed in Europe since the fall of Rome.

Jules Michelet (1798-1874) Cited Petrarchs works and respun for a branding of the whole period. "Histoire de France" (1833-1867) He applied the term Renaissance (c.1855)

Jacob Burckhardt (1818-1897) wrote "The civilization of the Renaissance in Italy" (1860) Connects the term civilization (civilising the man) with Renaissance. So Burckhardt took Michelet's framework of the renaissance a little bit further and cast it as a clear progression of humanity. Burckhardt gave what Michelet started a greater public profile and greater significance.

It's no coincidence that these works came about at this time. This is the period when historians (and history became a professional practice) are inspired by such writers as Von Ranke and Thomas Carlyle and they are convinced that there is a history for everything.

Here we can make a very strong historiographical argument that has already been made. That argument, is one of continuity. The Renaissance itself is not NEW.

So we are looking at the beginning of the middle of the 14th century as a critical point of a new change of thought.

"The scientific revolution, the beginnings of englightment, were the back-end of the renaissance"