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Sketches from Christian History
The Renaissance
A.D. 1291 to A.D. 1517

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Three Events You Should Know

1. Council of Vienne (1311 - 1312): Pope Clement V convened this council to disband the Knights Templar (an order of crusader monks) and give their property to the king of France.
2. Council of Constance (1414 - 1418): Pope John XXII summoned this council to end the Great Schism and reform the Catholic Church. It elected a new pope and declared that a church council "holds its power direct from Christ; everyone . . . is bound to obey it." This view became known as counciliarism.
3. Council of Florence (1438 - 1445): This council technically reunited Catholic and Orthodox Churches. However, Orthodox lay people rejected the reunion. The council also claimed (against the Council of Constance) that the pope was superior to church officials. The council recognized seven sacraments womb to tomb - baptism, communion, confirmation, confession, marriage, ordination, and last rites.

Names You Should Know

1. Marsilius (Marsiglio) of Padua (1275 - 1342): Wrote that the church derives its power from the state and that church councils are superior to the pope. Condemned as a heretic.
2. Jan Hus (1372 - 1415): Czech priest and reformer. Burned at the Council of Constance.
3. Valla (1406 - 1457): Italian humanist. Proved The Donation of Constantine was a forgery.
4. Girolamo Savonarola (1452 - 1498): Dominican preacher. Introduced moral reforms in Florence, Italy. Defended Catholicism but became caught in a political conflict with the pope. Hanged in 1498.
5. Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam (1469? - 1536): Renaissance scholar and Catholic priest. Compiled Textus Receptus Greek New Testament used in the translation of the King James Bible (1611).

Four Terms You Should Know

1. Conciliarism: The belief that a church council has authority over all church members, including the pope. The Councils of Constance and Pisa were triumphs for conciliarism.
2. Ottoman Empire: Muslim empire, founded by the fourteenth-century warrior, Othman. The Ottoman "Turks" eventually ruled the area now known as Turkey. In 1453, they conquered Constantinople, the Easter Empire's last stronghold. The Eastern scholars who fled to Europe triggered the Renaissance.
3. Renaissance Humanism: The Renaissance was a fifteenth-century revival of interest in ancient languages and in the humanities. Renaissance writers were called "humanists" because they focused on practical human actions instead of Scholastic logic.
4. The Inquisitions: Trials in which people were charged with heresy and then sentenced.

Remember - the Middle Ages cover a period of approximately 1,000 years (A.D. 500 - A.D. 1500). This period separates ancient history from modern history. The Middle Ages can be divided into three periods: the early middle age (570-1095 - rise of the Feudal System); the high middle age (1095-1291 - 200 years of the Crusades); the decline of the middle age (1291-1517, also called the Renaissance).

  1. The Inquisition

    The Inquisition was a special court convened by the Roman Catholic church. Suspects brought to this court were classified in one of the following three ways: "lightly suspect," "vehemently suspect," and "violently suspect" of denial of Orthodox beliefs. The Inquisitor (a Dominican priest) arrives in the city and preaches a sermon. He called for anyone with knowledge of heresy to come forward. The inquisitor had complete control. Evidence from two witnesses was enough and the names of witnesses were withheld and no defense could be given. Other than a guilty plea, the only pleas were ignorance and malice of the accuser. Torture was used on everyone but pregnant women in order to obtain confessions.

    Sentences included: 1. Penance following confession (a) listening to a number of masses (b) pilgrimage to a holy shrine, 2. Special clothing or marks like colored crosses, 3. Property confiscated and fines, 4. Prison, 5. For "unrepentant", death at the stake. England, France, Bohemia, Germany all had inquisitions, but the most famous was the Spanish inquisition of Ferdinand and Isabella in Madrid, Spain.

  2. The Institution

    What were the doctrinal Positions of the Roman Catholic Church during the decline? (1) Church and state united (2) Religion by law and decree (3) baptismal regeneration (4) infant baptism (5) Mariolotry (6) the worship of images (7) praying to the saints (8) the doctrine of celibacy (9) transubstantiation (10) doctrine of purgatory (11) the doctrine of church salvation (baptism washes past - priest absolves present) (12) the doctrine of auricular confession (13) the doctrine of papal infallibility (14) the doctrine of indulgences (15) the clergy rule rather than serve. Since the church grants forgiveness and you are away from the church, give some money. That covers your sin. While you are away, 'indulge yourself in sin' was the idea.

  3. The Illness (1346-1350)

    In October, 1347, an unwelcome passenger scurried aboard a cargo ship bound for Florence, Italy. It was a rat with a disease-laden flea fixed on its hide. The ship's sailors brought home something more costly than their cargo. Dark spots swelled between their legs and beneath their arms. The blots oozed black blood and putrid pus.

    For four years the Black Death ruled Europe and Asia Minor. In Constantinople the plague killed 88 percent of the population. In Paris alone, 800 people died daily. Corpses rotted in the streets, unburied and unblessed. "And no bells tolled," one man wrote, "and nobody wept, no matter what his loss, because almost everyone expected death."

    Flused circles ("rings") formed on victim's cheeks ("rosies"). As victims died, they sneezed. Folk filled their pockets with flowers ("posies") to mas the stench of death around them. So, parents sang to their children: "Ring around the rosie, pockets full of posies. Achoo! Achoo! We all fall down." Popes and priests alike failed to respond to their people's needs.

    Some people three themselves into unbridled parties. Others begged for God's pardon in "penance parades." Against the pope's orders, a few desperate church members butchered and burned entire Jewish communities. Still, the plague didn't stop. In city squares people flogged themselves and screamed to the heavens, "Spare us! Spare us!" The pope denounced their tactics. Slowly, the mobs faded. Finally, so did the plague. Between 1347 and 1350 the Black Death killed (according to the pope's estimate) 23,840,000 people - nearly one-third of Europe. And no bells tolled.

  4. The Illumination (May 29, 1454)

    In AD 313 Emperor Constantine had founded Constantinople. By A.D. 1453 Constantinople was all that remained of the ancient Eastern Empire. On May 28, 1453, the Ottoman Turks prepared to strike the ancient capital city. That evening, the citizens gathered in the Church of Holy Wisdom (the "Hagia Sophia"). Several Roman bishops joined their Eastern Orthodox brothers and sisters amid the flickering candles. For a few moments, Roman and Eastern Christians forgot the ancient schism and shared the Lord's Supper. It was the last service of Christian worship that ever echoed in the church's sacred halls.

    On May 29th Muslims conquered the city. When night fell, a Muslim teacher walked slowly into the Church of Holy Wisdom. "There is no God but Allah," he intoned from the altar, "and Muhammad is his prophet." The church building was now a mosque. The building remained a mosque until the 1930's. Today, it is a museum - known as "Aya Sofya" - in Istanbul, Turkey.

    Hundreds of Eastern scholars fled west. They carried with them their most precious possessions - ancient Greek manuscripts. For centuries, Roman Christians had neglected ancient authors. The manuscripts from the East cause a rebirth - a Renaissance (REH-na-SONSS) - of interest in ancient art, portrayed life from a human perspective. Renaissance humanists, like ancient orators, stressed practical language and actions. Poignant words became more important than precise logic.

    Christian humanists applied these insights to Scripture. They focused on the original intent and the original language of each biblical text. Their battle cry became, "Back to the sources!" Much of this rebirth was made possible by a printer named Johann Gutenberg. In 1453 Gutenberg discovered how to mold moveable metal type. For the first time, printers could mass-produce books. The price of books plummeted. Greek and Roman classics, as well as Bibles, flooded Europe.

    The popes supported classic books and Renaissance art. However, most of them neglected the most important aspect of the Renaissance - the renewed focus on Scripture. Roman bishops became increasingly corrupt. Indulgences remained a booming business. The Spanish Inquisition used the church's power to persecute myriads of Muslims, Jews and heretics. Reform became unavoidable.

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Pastor Wade

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