This timeline is a brief history of Europe, or the western civilization. It is meant to give the viewer a general overview of the history, mainly focused on what has made major changes in the world.;xNLx;;xNLx;"500 AD - 1500 AD." 500 AD - 1500 AD. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.;xNLx;;xNLx;;xNLx;;xNLx;"Timeline." - Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire on History. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.;xNLx;;xNLx;.;xNLx;;xNLx;"Middle Ages." History: Timeline for Kids. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.;xNLx;;xNLx;.;xNLx;;xNLx;"Charlemagne." CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA:. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.;xNLx;;xNLx;.;xNLx;;xNLx;"Battle of Tours." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Jan. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.;xNLx;;xNLx;.;xNLx;;xNLx;BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.;xNLx;;xNLx;.;xNLx;;xNLx;"Death of Clovis I of the Franks." History Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.;xNLx;;xNLx;.;xNLx;;xNLx;"Germanic Peoples." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Jan. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.;xNLx;;xNLx;.;xNLx;;xNLx;"Medieval Sourcebook: Abbot Suger: Life of King Louis the Fat." Medieval Sourcebook: Abbot;xNLx;;xNLx;Suger: Life of King Louis the Fat. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2013. .;xNLx;;xNLx;"Pope Innocent II." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Jan. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.;xNLx;;xNLx;.;xNLx;;xNLx;"Muhammad (prophet of Islam)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica,;xNLx;;xNLx;n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.;xNLx;;xNLx;.;xNLx;;xNLx;"EHistory at OSU | Hundred Years War." EHistory at OSU | Hundred Years War. N.p., n.d.;xNLx;;xNLx;Web. 29 Jan. 2013. .;xNLx;;xNLx;"Fall of Constantinople." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Jan. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.;xNLx;;xNLx;.;xNLx;;xNLx;;xNLx;"The Hundred Years' War (1337-1453)." The Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) [100;xNLx;;xNLx;Years' War]. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2013. .;xNLx;;xNLx;"The Coming of the Northmen." The Viking Invasions of England. N.p., n.d. Web. 29;xNLx;;xNLx;Jan. 2013.;xNLx;;xNLx;.;xNLx;;xNLx;"The Crusader Period." The Crusader Period. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.;xNLx;;xNLx;"Holy Roman Empire." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Jan. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.;xNLx;;xNLx;"Western Schism." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Jan. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.;xNLx;;xNLx;.;xNLx;;xNLx;"Medieval." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Jan. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.;xNLx;;xNLx;.;xNLx;;xNLx;"Protestant Reformation." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Jan. 2013. Web. 29 Jan.;xNLx;;xNLx;2013. .;xNLx;;xNLx;"Counter-Reformation." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Jan. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.;xNLx;;xNLx;.;xNLx;;xNLx;"The Ninety-Five Theses." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Jan. 2013. Web. 29 Jan.;xNLx;;xNLx;2013. .;xNLx;;xNLx;;xNLx;
The collapse of the Roman Empire was due to many reasons. The main reason why the Roman Empire Declined, is because of a split between Eastern, and Western Rome that occurred in 285 A.D. After that for years, the well-disciplined Roman army held the barbarians of Germany back. Then in the third century A. D. the Roman soldiers were pulled back from the Rhine-Danube frontier to fight civil war in Italy. This left the Roman border open to attack. Gradually Germanic hunters and herders from the north began to overtake Roman lands in Greece and Gaul (later France). Then in 476 A.D the Germanic general Odoacer or Odovacar overthrew the last of the Roman Emperors, Augustulus Romulus. From then on the western part of the Empire was ruled by Germanic chieftain. Roads and bridges were left in disrepair and fields left untilled. Pirates and bandits made travel unsafe. Cities could not be maintained without goods from the farms, trade and business began to disappear. And Rome collapsed in the West. It was the total fall of the Roman empire.
The Early Middle Ages is also called the “Dark Ages”. After the collapse of Rome, the elements of civilization disappeared. This was due to the fact that Rome was vital in civilization, so when Rome collapsed, civilization all around the world suffered. This period was called the “Dark Ages”, because of the lack of information about it. After the collapse of Rome record keeping disappeared, and that is why there is not much information available about this period. After the collapse of Rome three empires emerged, Eastern Rome (Byzantine), Latin Christendom, and the Islamic empire. Eastern Rome includes Constantinople, and is the Byzantine empire. Latin Christendom is modern day Europe. Finally the Islamic empire, which is not a unified empire, was also an emerged empire.
Clovis I of the Franks, becomes the King of Franks in 509 A.D after conquering most of the Frankish tribes, which were located in modern day France. Clovis is considered the founder of the Merovingian dynasty, which ruled the Frankish tribes for two centuries. Clovis was born at about 465 A.D and succeeded his father Childeric in 481 A.D, to become king of the Salian Franks. At that time the Salian Franks were settled in the modern day Franco-Belgian frontier. In his time as King of the Salian Franks Clovis killed his neighboring kings, while turning against the Gallo-Roman commanders to bring all of the Frankish tribes under his command. After defeating the last Gallo-Roman Commander in 486 A.D, he had conquered most of Gaul, which is modern day France. Clovis was originally a pagan. Having married Saint Clotilde a princess of the kingdom of Burgundy, he was constantly urged to transfer to Christianity, however he refused. This was until the Battle of Tolbiac in 496 A.D where he was in serious risk of losing the battle, and called upon Jesus Christ, promising that he would be a faithful Christian if he won the battle. On Christmas day of the same year he was baptized as a Roman Catholic. This led to the long history of complicated relationships between the Roman Popes and Frankish Kings. This also made many of warriors to transfer to Christianity causing Christianity to flourish across the Frankish tribes. Clovis was also known as Chlodovech of the Franks.
Germanic tribes, under pressure from invading Asian groups, had migrated from their settlements to Europe and other regions as far back as the c.a 400 A.D. The Germanic tribes become more active in Europe after c.a 550 A.D. This is marked by the Christianization of the Germanic people. The Germanic people adapt to the western culture and start creating stable kingdoms. Later in history this leads to the transformation of bigger Germanic nations such as the English, Norse, and German. This also leads the Germanic tribes Burgundy, Lombardy to blend into a Romano-Germanic culture.
Muhammad was a religious and political leader who was believed to be the last prophet/messenger of Allah. Non Muslims refer Muhammad to be the founder of Islam. Muhammad was born in an Arabian city called Mecca (c.a 570). He was orphaned at an early age, then brought up by his uncle called Abu Talib. Later on in life, he worked as a merchant and a shepherd. One of his known habits was retreating to a cave in the surrounding mountains for nights of prayers. At the age of 40, he received his first revelation from God. Three years after, Muhammad taught these revelations in the public, saying that “God is One”and he was a prophet and messenger of God (in the same vein as other Islamic prophets). The age of Muhammad is an important time in history because he is so well known these days - as he is to the last prophet of Islam.
The Battle of Tours, also known as the “Battle of Poitiers” was fought between Frankish leader Charles Martel and Islamic Leader Emir Abd er Rahman. It was was fought near the cities of Poitiers and Tours (North-Central France) on October 10, 732. The Frankish won the battle and killed Emir Abd er Rahman. The battle of Tours is marked in time as it stopped the advancement of Islam spreading to the North of Europe. It stopped the Islamic conquests and kept the Christian religion controlling Europe.
Charlemagne was the first Roman Emperor in Western Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire three centuries earlier. In 768 A.D, Charlemagne's father “Pepin the Short” died. Being the oldest son, Charlemagne inherited the throne. After three years of being King of the Franks, Charlemagne leaves to Western Europe. He invaded Saxony in 772 A.D and was crowned King of Italy in 774 A.D. Charlemagne reached the height of his power in 800 A.D when he was granted as "Emperor" by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day. This act of crowning rose up the big debate, and power struggle between the Pope and Holy emperor. This is because the Pope crowned the Emperor, which is an act that shows that the Pope chooses to give the emperor power. Charlemagne is also referred to as Charles the Great or Charles I.
Feudalism was a set of military customs originated from Europe that were first practiced between the 800’s to the 1400’s. It defined the system of relationships of gaining land in exchange for service, mainly in war. For the people of the medieval times feudalism was not considered as a formal political system, but rather a pledge of nobility from warriors, with a set of obligations that they must follow. Feudalism is crucial to understand medieval society, and it revolved around three key concepts. Fiefs, vassals, and lords. Lords were the owners of land, a fief was the land itself, and the vassal was a person who was given possession of the fief by the lord. The vassal had to provide some sort of service to the lord in exchange for the land. There were many types of feudal land tenures, which included both military, and non-military tenures. One military example would be when Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne. Feudalism is significant because it is crucial to understanding medieval society.
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that was located in Central Europe from 962 A.D - 1806 A.D. It first grew out of west Francia, which at that time was one of the main divisions in the Frankish Empire. The power of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Holy Roman Emperor, changed a lot during the Medieval times, and even after that. The territories of the empire were located in Central Europe, and included the Kingdom of Bohemia, Kingdom of Burgundy, Kingdom of Germany, Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Burgundy. For a lot of the empire’s history it consisted of many domains such as duchies, counties, and Free Imperial Cities. The Holy Roman Empire claimed itself to be the continuation of Western Roman Empire which had fallen to the Goths in 410 A.D and had its last Emperor in 476 A.D. Although Charlemagne was given the title “Holy Roman Emperor” first in 800 A.D, the Holy Roman Empire is considered to be created in 962 A.D, when Otto I was crowned Holy Roman Emperor. This is because Otto I was the first of the Emperors that was not a member of the Carolingian dynasty, which were a Frankish noble family. The last Holy Roman Emperor was Francis II, who during the time of the Napoleonic Wars, dissolved the empire.
The House of Habsburg, commonly known as House of Austria, was one of the most crucial royal houses of Old Europe. The House named themselves “House of Habsburg” after the Habsburg Castle. To the west of modern day Zurich, Count Radbot of Klettgau named his grand castle “Habsburg Castle”. Habsburg Castle is translated as “Hawk’s Castle”, many think this is because of the spectacular view it provided. In 1276, Rudolph of Habsburg, one of Count Radbots seventh generation descendants, moved the family from Habsburg Castle all the way to the Archduchy of Austria. By 1273, Rudolf had become the Holy Roman Emperor. In 1276, Rudolph had become the supreme ruler ruler of Austria. The House of Habsburg ruled Austria all the way until 1918.
In 1050 A.D a period started, which is referred to as “The High Middle Ages”. This is when Western Europe becomes very powerful, and flourishes economically, politically, and culturally. The agricultural revolution in Medieval Europe occurs at about 1000 A.D. This revolution is triggered by new widespread farming inventions. With this comes many innovations that weren’t available before, or were lost after the collapse of Rome. All of these innovations such as the increased use of horses, caused many agricultural advancements. While the agricultural revolution was occurring, economic advancements were made. Trade increased and Western Europe introduced a money economy.
The East-West schism, more commonly known as the Great Schism is a separation from the Chalcedonian Church to what were later known as the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Catholic Church. The main causes of this division were built up, for centuries, mainly because of the major increasing difference between the Latin culture of the West, and the Greek culture of the Byzantine Empire. This triggered a change in relationship, which caused the people of the Byzantine Empire to think low about the people of the Latin Christendom. This also affected the theology of each church, and differences caused conflict. One major cause of the Great Schism was the argument of the authority of the pope and the argument of 'Filioque.' The Eastern Orthodox Church thought that 28th Canon of the Council of Chalcedon proclaimed that the Bishop of Rome and The Bishop of Constantinople were equal. This would make the church not govern on one ruler, but on individual patriarchs in Old Rome, and New Rome (Constantinople) that were self-governing. All of this and many other differences are essentially what caused the split into the two branches.
William I, commonly known as William the Conqueror or William the Bastard was the first Norman King of England. After a struggle to gain his power, his grip on Normandy was firm by 1060. He ruled England for twenty one years (1066 until his death,1087). His family had descended from the Viking warriors who entered England in 793 AD. This period was important because William I launched the Norman conquests. The Norman conquest of England was an invasion of England by an army of Normans and French led by William I.
The Crusades were a series of religious military expeditions that took place from 1095 A.D till 1291 A.D. There were a total of 12 crusades that took place in this period of time if the crusade of 1101, the Norwegian crusade, the children’s crusade, and the Albigensian crusade are included. Otherwise there are 9 major crusades. Out of these 9 there are a few that are most significant. The first crusade was made with intent to reconquer lost territories for the Byzantine empire. On 1199 A.D the Siege of Jerusalem occurred as part of the military expedition. The opposition of Muslims and Jews fought together to defend Jerusalem, however they were unsuccessful, and on the 15th of July the crusaders entered the city. The Muslims and Jews were massacred. Later when the Crusaders attempted to conquer the city of Tyre they were defeated. The third crusade started when Saladin, who united many islamic states, easily overwhelmed the crusaders, and took over most of the crusaders holdings in 1187. Saladin had also made an alliance with the Byzantine Empire. All of this shocked Europe and so they started to organize an expedition. Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa of Germany, King Philip II Augustus of France, and King Richard of England all participated. This crusade ended with a treaty and Saladin allowed free access to pilgrims to visit Jerusalem, however it was still under Muslim law (of the Koran). There were many military expeditions that occurred in this period of time.
Henry II was crowned king of England and succeeded King Stephen. Henry II was considered a very ruthless leader, and he accomplished a lot in the time that he was king. One of the most significant events in Henry's life was his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine. This was because as Eleanor was a powerful political figure, and was married to the French king previously, England gained a lot of french land from the marriage. This was significant because it made England the leading European power. Henry's successor was Richard I, also known as Richard the lionhearted.
Philip Augustus reclaims most of the Western French territory which was previously taken by William the Conqueror and John Lackland. Philip Augustus puts royal officials in the conquered regions in order to win allegiance with the King. Philip Augustus is known to be one of the strongest founders of the modern French state.
Pope Innocent III was Pope from 1198 A.D till his death in 1216 A.D. He was considered one of the most influential, powerful, and successful Popes. In his time as Pope he made many important decisions, such as organizing the fourth crusade. Innocent was known to have excommunicated the crusaders that attacked Constantinople after the fourth crusade. Later he accepted that it was "god's will" for the Eastern, and Western churches to reunite. Pope Innocent was also known to have ordered the Magna Carta, which King John of England signed later. Pope Innocent accomplished many things while he was Pope and was considered to have a major influence on Christianity in Europe.
The Magna Carta, also known as “The Great Letter” in Latin, was a document signed by King John of England in 1215 A.D. During his reign, King John, lost a lot of land to Philip Augustus of France. This land was previously gained after King Henry II married the Duchess of Aquitaine resulting in a lot of French land becoming English. After all the military attempts to regain his empire that collapsed in Northern France, he was forced to raise revenues, and taxes to rebuild his forces. The powerful nobles were not happy with the raise in taxes and caused a civil war, which forced John to sign the Magna Carta. This limited the King’s power, had major positive effects to the English common law system, and created the first form of a parliament. This idea of change in government influenced our government today, and even if King John was excommunicated later because of an argument with Pope Innocent III, he had many positive effects to what government is today, by his mistakes.
The Ottoman Empire, also known as the Turkish Empire, was a state organized by Turkish tribes in north-western Anatolia (now know as Asian Turkey) in 1299. The Ottoman state became an empire in 1453, due to conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed II. The empire reached its tip at 1590, the empire covered parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. When the monarchy was finished, the Ottoman dynasty lasted for 623 years, from 1299 to 1922. The Ottoman Empire had spread in the southern borders of the Holy Roman Empire, Vienna, Royal Hungary, Poland, Lithuania, South of Yemen and Eritrea, West of Algeria, East of Azerbaijan, most countries of Southeast Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. In the 17th century, the empire had contained 32 provinces.
The Late Middle Ages begins at 1300 A.D and ends at about 1500 A.D. This period has many events that contribute to the decline of the Middle Ages. Events such as the black death, or the great famine. The power of the papacy weakens as the church faces another schism. All of these events altogether contribute to the ultimate end of the middle ages, and also to the Renaissance.
Humanism is a group of philosophies that flourished during the Renaissance. Humanism emphasized the value of human beings, and suggested that they individually choose their destiny, while classic medieval philosophies revolved around established doctrine. In philosophy humanism refers to a perspective that believes in human nature. The spread of Humanism was widely because of the creation of the printing press. Humanists did not close out the church, but they relied less on it, which allowed scholars and theologists to focus on humankind, rather than a divine form. Humanism was significant because it ultimately revives classical learning, helping humanity crawl out of the dark ages. For more on Humanism, it is possible to look at the “Renaissance” event in this timeline.
The movement of the papacy from Rome to Avignon, and the start of the Avignon Papacy, was a major event in the struggle for secular power between the Pope and Emperor. The conflict started with Philip IV and Boniface VIII, when Philip IV expelled the clergy from the participation of administration of the law. The clergy began to be taxed in France and England, and Boniface VIII was against it. He ordered a bull, Clericis laicos, where he stated, “they exact and demand from the same the half, tithe, or twentieth, or any other portion or proportion of their revenues or goods; and in many ways they try to bring them into slavery, and subject them to their authority. And also whatsoever emperors, kings, or princes, dukes, earls or barons...presume to take possession of things anywhere deposited in holy buildings...should incur sentence of excommunication.” However Philip IV countered the bull by canceling the exportation of money from France to Rome. This was the money the papacy was funded on, the money that it needed to run. Essentially it became a political battle where the pope and king tested their abilities, and used them against each other. Eventually Boniface VIII retreated, after Philip IV took two major actions. First he canceled the export of gold, silver, and precious stones from France to the Papal states, which the Papal states relied on for revenue. Then he also banished the papal agents, who were looking for crusade funds, from France. Boniface retreated and sanctioned the clergy’s voluntary contributions for the protection of the state which can be determined by the king. The conflict between Boniface VIII and Philip IV continued when Philip IV instructed an anti-papal campaign against Boniface VIII. The conflict finally ended when Boniface VIII issued the Unam sanctam, which gave both spiritual power and temporal power to the Pope. Outraged, Philips chief minister, Guillaume de Nogaret, denounced Boniface as a heretical criminal to the French clergy. After that the Pope excommunicated both Philip and Nogaret, which Philip responded to by surrounding the Pope’s retreat with his army. They demanded for their resignations, but the Pope refused saying he would,”sooner die.” The Pope was taken into custody, beaten, and almost executed but was released three days later. He later on died from humiliation, and also kidney failure. After this the Papacy was moved to Avignon in 1309 A.D. After Pope Clement V was elected, the Avignon Papacy started. The whole move from Rome to France was a major battle between Pope and Emperor, which Boniface had lost, humiliating the church.
The Great Famine was a time period from 1315-1322 where a series of crises’ struck Northern Europe, causing millions of deaths. The Great Famine started with bad weather in the spring of 1315, crop failures in 1316, and harvest in the summer of 1317. Europe did not come out of the shortage of food till 1322. It was a time where there was increased crime, spread of disease, shortage of food, cannibalism, and even infanticide (act of killing infant in 24 hours of birth). Many consequences were faced for the Church, State, and European society. The Great famine was one of the main causes of the Decline of the Medieval Times.
The Hundred Years' War was a series of conflicts between the Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of England. These conflicts were caused from previous tension that dated back to William the Conqueror. The conflict start date was marked when Edward III of England refused to pay the king Phillip VI of France homage, which as dukes of Normady, English kings were required to pay. This conflict escalated to many wars. The term Hundred Years' War was used to put all these wars together in an event. The Hundred Years' War was one major cause of the decline of the middle ages, and was very significant to Medieval Europe as a whole.
Black Death appears during a time of economic depression in Western Europe and recurs frequently until the fifteenth century. Black Death is a combination of a Bubonic and Pneumonic plague, it has a major impact on social and economic conditions. 25-50 million people died of the Black Death in Europe. At that time, that was roughly ⅓ of the population. Religious flagellation appears among lay groups in order to appease the divine wrath. English Franciscan William of Ockham dies. He teaches that God is free to do good and bad on earth as He wishes and develops the philosophical position known as "nominalism." Franciscan William’s quest for certainty in human knowledge is one of the foundations of the scientific method. The Black death is one major event that caused the decline of the Middle Ages.
The Western Schism, or the Second Great Schism was caused by the return of the Papacy from Avignon to Rome under Pope Gregory XI in 1377 A.D. This ended the Avignon Papacy. After Gregory XI died, the Romans rioted for the next elected Pope to be Roman. When there were no Roman candidates, the cardinals elected the Archbishop of Bari, Pope Urban VI, who was from Naples. As a Pope he had many violent outrages, and quickly made the cardinals regret their decision. Most of them moved from Rome to Anagni where they elected a rival Pope, Robert of Geneva, who changed his name to Pope Clement VII. Clement established a papal court in Avignon. There had been antipopes before however they were always established by rival factions. In the case of the Western Schism, the church had created both the Pope and the antipope. Soon this conflict moved from a spiritual conflict to a secular conflict, and leaders were forced to choose sides. Many popes were elected on both sides after that. Many attempts, both by force and diplomatically were attempted to end the Schism till finally in 1414 A.D the Council of Constance was held. It was the largest church meeting in medieval history, and ultimately Pope Martin V was elected. Later the kingdom of Aragon did not recognize Pope Martin V and other antipopes were elected, but by that time the Western Schism was practically over.
The age of Exploration was when Europeans set out boats to Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas. They came in search for gold, silver and foreign spices. Europeans oversea led to the rise of colonial empires, transfer of plants, animals, food, human populations (including slaves), diseases and culture between Eastern and Western hemispheres. The information gained during this age helped the advancement of worldwide geographic knowledge. The age of exploration/discovery lasted for around 360 years, it was seen as a bridge between the Middle Ages and Modern Era.
There is no exact date for the End of Medieval Times. There are many events that can signify it. These are events such as the fall of Constantinople (1453 A.D), the invention of a moveable printing press (1455 A.D), the fall of Muslim Spain (1492 A.D), and Christopher Columbus’ Voyage (1492 A.D). The Decline of the Medieval times was caused by many issues. The main three were the Black Death, The Hundred Year War, and The Great Famine. The Black Death caused the Church to be weakened. This was because, everybody was receiving the disease, whether it be a peasant or king. It also lowered the population of Europe, causing peasants to be more powerful, and even have the ability to become a powerful noble. Finally with the shortage of men, less food was produced. The Great Famine had a similar effect. It raised food prices, diseases were spread, and the population dropped. The Hundred Year War was different from the Great Famine, and the Black Death. It caused two powerful forces in Europe, France and England, to tear each other apart. Essentially what happened was that people stopped becoming too reliant on the Church, and slowly the Renaissance began.
The “Fall of Constantinople” was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, called Constantinople. This was an attack from the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, who was 21 at the time. According to the Julian calendar, this capture lasted all the way from Friday, 6 April 1453 until Tuesday, 29 May 1453. After the conquer, Mehmed II made Constantinople the capital of the Ottoman Empire.
The Renaissance was a period of time from roughly 1500 A.D - 1700 A.D, is a period of celebration of antiquity, but also a period which focuses on writers and thinkers and human possibilities rather than religion, creation and the church. The term Renaissance means rebirth. During the medieval era Greek and Roman idea’s of people like Plato and Aristotle were used only in Theology. But during the Renaissance Greek and Roman works and ideas were being rediscovered. These ideas were celebrated in areas other than religion. Many historical figures such as William Shakespeare lived during the Renaissance. Unlike the Medieval era the Renaissance focuses on the study of humans, rather than the study of the divine. This brings a major shift in the understanding of what humans are like. The Renaissance is the time where people start moving back to civilization. The Renaissance was also the birth of the humanists. Humanists would collect old works and ideas and question them. Many successful humanists live during the Renaissance such as Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, and Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli.
The Protestant Reformation is a 16th century schism that separates the church within Western Christianity. The Protestant Reformation involves all ranks of society, men, women, poor, rich, the Pope, peasants. Everyone was affected. It changed politics, the economy, culture, and religion. The Protestant Reformation started in 1517 A.D when Martin Luther wrote the Ninety-Five Theses, which argues many practices of the Catholic Church, such as indulgences. Many early Protestants such as Martin Luther, and John Calvin, together with all “reformers” placed their efforts in arguing and protesting the practices of the Roman Catholic Church, which later led to many Protestant churches being created across Europe. The reformation was caused by earlier events in the medieval times such as The Black Death, which made people question the authority of the Church, and the Papacy. The Reformation was supported by many other factors such as the creation of the printing press, which helped Luther spread his work, and the fall of Eastern Rome. Altogether the reformation created Protestantism which is a major branch of Christianity.
Prussia was a German kingdom ruled by the House of Hohenzollern. It lasted for approximately three hundred years, from 1525 to 1845. The kingdom is named Prussia because it originated from Old Prussia. The Old Prussians (also known as Baltic Tribes) were ethnic tribes situated near the coast of Poland. Old Prussia was taken over by the Teutonic Knights (German crusaders). The House of Hohenzollern ruled over New Prussia for many centuries. They were a huge noble family who were the electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. In 1451, Berlin became the capital of Prussia. In November 1918, the House of Hohenzollern was put to an end. The family lost its royalty and political power. The Prussian Kingdom was partly put to an end in 1932. It was properly abolished in 1947.
The Counter-reformation, also known as the Catholic Reformation, was period of Catholic revival from 1545 A.D - 1648 A.D, and a response from the Roman Catholic Church to the Protestant Reformation. The Church took many actions. The Church rejected Martin Luther’s ideas and retained its doctrine, however it was forced to acknowledge that there were a few abuses in the Church that had to be fixed. In 1545 A.D Pope Paul III calls the council of trent, which lasted (non-consecutively) till 1563 A.D. The council of Trent results in Italian domination of the Catholic church, and the Papacy. This lasts till the election of Pope John Paul II in 1978 A.D . The council of Trent states that God has given the power to change scripts to the Church, and Papacy, therefore their doctrine is correct. Unlike Martin Luther which states that baptism and communion are sacraments, the Trent retains all seven sacraments. Another difference is that Martin Luther states that priests can marry, while the Church forbids it. The Counter-reformation lasts till 1648 A.D, and makes major changes in the Roman Catholic Church to “clean up” corruptions, and to respond to Protestantism.
The Thirty Years’ war was a war fought in modern day Germany between a large number of European countries. The Thirty Years’ war was a religious war among Catholics, Lutherans and Calvinists. It was said to be the last major war due to religion in Europe. The war is well known of because of the huge loss of people and money. The money stolen from opposing countries led to the the spread of famines and diseases to States, Bohemia, the Low Countries and Italy.
The Age of Enlightenment was a movement of intellectuals in the 17th and 18th centuries. It first started in in Europe and later on in the American colonies. The purpose of Enlightenment was to keep tradition in faith, tradition and culture. In this age, people learned about new sciences and found out new knowledge leading to abuses by the church and state.
The First Industrial Revolution was a time period that starts at 1780 A.D and ends at 1830 A.D. The term First Industrial Revolution is used to describe the time period that characterises in developments of iron and steam. The developments of the Industrial revolution started in England, and then spread across the world. The Industrial Revolution was caused by many events and factors, first was the fact that there was a lower infant mortality rate, and there was a larger population of people to work, second the culture of developing ideas and taking risks, and finally the resources and science were available and close together. The revolution causes many inventions to be made, that are essential in triggering what is now modern industrialization. Steam power was invented, which allowed for more mining, and was used for transport and to power factories. More improved iron-making techniques allowed for higher production levels. Better machine tools were used, which allowed for better machines. Railways were made for quicker transport, and finally many developments were made in chemical production. All of this caused rapid urbanization, and industrialization.
The Congress of Vienna was a meeting to organize or renovate Europe after Napoleon including the aftermath of the Revolutionary Wars in France and the end of the Holy Roman Empire. The reason why this event occurred was because many states were heavily tired of war and influential action, so instead they decided to use diplomacy in order to make agreements peacefully about the arrangement of regions in Europe, which took place in the capital of Austria - Vienna. Francis I (Emperor) of Austria called the Congress of Vienna, thus discussing this topic with many other political leaders around Europe. However, most of the conversations were held by the Great Powers or in other words Austria, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and in some occasions Prussia.
In 1848, Europe was covered by rebels that were against their own government mainly because of the lack of involvement of peasants in a democratic country and other major issues in over 50 countries. The revolutions started out in France where it extended throughout Latin America and other European states. The unrest led to tens of thousands of people to die and others to banishment of their mother nation. Demands such as giving more opportunities for lower as well as middle class workers were one of the most important factors that resulted in many uprisings across the European continent. In European history, this is yet the most devastating and extensive revolutionary wave that caused many damages and deaths across countless countries.
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