Renaissance and Reformation

 BA 4th sem History notes Kashmir university

Topic:- Renaissance and Reformation

Notes by:- Jahangir Ahmad Dar (jahangir-writes) 

Renaissance and Reformation:-

Renaissance:-Renaissance literally means "rebirth." The Renaissance era started in the 14th century and lasted until the 17th century. It started in Italy because the country's towns, which were free from feudal rule and benefited most from commerce, had a near monopoly on this industry. After the end of the 15th century discovery trips, Portugal and Spain began to dominate trade, followed by Holland, France, and Britain. Italian Renaissance concepts later spread to the rest of Europe. It started as a movement to study the ancient scriptures and learn about Rome and ancient Greece. However, it quickly evolved into a movement of novel concepts in politics, philosophy, science, literature, art, and religion. As a result it lead
in decline of Church’s influence in the intellectual & cultural life of Europe. While the Church talked about peace in life after death, the Renaissance thinkers attacked the Church and talked about happiness on this earth.
• Humanism was at the core of Renaissance. It meant focus on Humanity, rather than Divinity. It manifested in a shift in focus towards study of man and nature, rather than theology. The concern for the other-worldly matters was rejected and the focus was on the living man, his joys and sorrows. Renaissance came to imply a new thinking, which was humanistic and rational, rather than superstitious. The potential of man, his dignity and his rights were stressed. Gradually, even the theme of Art & Culture became more about man and nature. E.g. Mary & Jesus were depicted as human beings rather than as religious symbols. Artists like Da Vinci, Michealangelo and Raphael were prominent artists of the Renaissance movement. The subject/theme of paintings in Churches shifted from heaven and hell to human forms.
Church's impact on Europe's intellectual and cultural life is waning. The Renaissance intellectuals opposed the Church and promoted happiness on earth while the Church preached about peace in life after death.
•Therefore, humanism was opposed to fatalism. By examining the current individualistic civilizations of the West, where one's conviction in one's capacity to change one's life remains a significant component of one's value system, one can assess the impact of the Renaissance. 
Local European languages, not Latin, gained 
way in writing throughout the Renaissance. 
As a result, it aided in the formation of national consciousness and of language. 
In The Prince, Machiavelli introduced a new idea of state, one that was imbued with sovereign authority in political concerns and superior to
Religion. John Locke gave idea od Natural rights.That man was born free and deserves to be free he gave concept of Life, liberty & property. These concepts lead to increase in both consciousness and rationality.
Politics and religion began to be considered as different issues. 
Secularism and the Renaissance can thus be 
Connected.
• The printing press was created in the first part of the 15th century, which facilitated the 
dissmination of new ideas and education.
However, it had less of an effect on the illiterate poor. 
The Scientific Revolution, which started at the end of the Renaissance (i.e., in the 17th century) and lasted until the late 18th century, was another outcome of the shift. 
The Church's theories about actual events were disregarded. 
Only phenomena that could be clarified and verified using techniques of scientific observation were acceptable.
Thus, the emphasis shifted to using experiments to test a hypothesis. 
In contrast to the Church's view that the Earth was the centre of the universe, also known as the Geo-Centric (Earth-centric) theory, Copernicus discovered that the Earth rotated on its axis and offered the Helio-centric (Sun-centric) hypothesis, according to which the Earth revolved around the Sun. 
On the grounds of heresy, the Church condemned him. Bruno who supported coper nicus was burnt to death.

Galileo invented Telescope in 1554 and used it to study heavenly bodies. He confirmed Copernicus’s observation and established that universe was an open system (Church described Universe as a closed system maintained in motion by God) and earth was only a small part of it. Galileo was also charged of Heresy and not allowed to work on Astronomy anymore. Kepler from Germany explained with help of Mathematics how planets move around the sun. Newton continued the work of Kepler & established that all heavenly bodies move as per the Law of Gravity. Vesalius through study of dissections of human body provided complete description of the anatomy of human body. Harvey in 1610 explained blood circulation. This helped in medical science. Innovations like use of Astrolabe and Compass and development of better ships which could sail in any direction irrespective of the wind direction helped in discovery of new lands at the end of 15th century. The Scientific revolution paved the way for a new movement called Enlightenment that began in 1600s and reached its height in mid 1700s.
Enlightenment stressed on ideas of self-rule, basic human rights and democracy. It was the driving force behind movements for establishment of self-rule and democracy in Europe and elsewhere. Thus, we shall see that Enlightenment played a very important role in the American Revolution (1776), the French Revolution (1789) and the Russian Revolution (1905, 1917).

Reformation

In addition, the 16th century saw the Protestant and Catholic Reformations, which can be divided into two categories. Early in the 16th century, there was a protest against the radical Catholic Church's practises and authority known as the Protestant Reformation.
Church was a corrupt organization it was occupied by corrupt clergy that made people highly dissatisfied with it things like Letter of indulgence ( letter of forgiveness of sins usually bought by rich people from church this meant licence to make crime)
. Compulsory annual confession were done and people were asked to do rituals and pay clergy to get sins washed .
. Illegal marriage were being registered in return of money.
It led to the emergence of Protestantism, and in response to their hostility, Protestant leaders began establishing Protestant Churches in various European nations. The first Protestant Church was established in Germany (between 1520 and 1545) with the King's support under Martin Luther, a monk who resisted the Letters of Indulgence and other Church ills. • Political factors also played a role in the German aristocracy's backing for Luther. They demanded independence from the Pope's rule and power over the wealth of the monasteries. The Protestant Reformation quickly spread to the rest of Europe. Nationalism was another factor in it  because people increasingly disliked Rome's position as the seat of the Catholic Church. Henry VII of England proclaimed himself to be the head of the Church. After that, Queen Elizabeth I established the Church of England as the state's official religion by separating it from the Roman Catholic Church and embracing some Reformation ideas.
Protestant churches switched from using Latin, an elitist language, to using the vernacular of the people. Local languages were used in the Bible's translation. Similar to how regional tongues replaced Sanskrit during the Indian Renaissance The adoption of regional languages boosted national identity even more, making the Renaissance and Reformation a forerunner of nationalism in Europe.
• It is widely believed that reason is more significant than religion. • By 17thcentury, half of Europe had setup their own Protestant Churches.
Catholic Counter-Reformation or Reformation (late 16th century) 
The Catholic Church started this reform movement in reaction to the growing appeal of the
 Protestant churches. 
As "Soldiers of Jesus," the reformers in Spain organised a group of clergymen. 
The members of this group, who became known as Jesuits, travelled to France and Germany  to recruit new members. 
Additionally, they established missions in America, Africa, China, and India. 
Following these reformations, religious conflicts broke out between the adherents of the two sects, with several adherents dying on both side 
Protestants from England migrated to North America where their colonies later laid foundation of USA. In England, due to the pro-Catholic religious policies of King Charles I, religious violence merged into the English Civil War (1642-51) which was fought between the Parliamentarians and the pro-Monarchy Royalists over the form of government.