Overview

The Renaissance and Reformation mark the transition from medieval to modern Europe. The Renaissance revived classical learning, fostered artistic and scientific achievement, and reshaped individual identity. The Reformation fractured Western Christianity, transforming religion, politics, and society across Europe.

Key Themes and Developments

• The Italian Renaissance:
  • Humanism: Focus on individual potential, classical education, and secular themes in literature and art.
  • Art and Architecture: Techniques like perspective, realism, and anatomical study (Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo).
  • Political Thought: Machiavelli’s The Prince redefined power and statecraft.
  • Florence, Rome, and Venice as centers of patronage and innovation.
• The Northern Renaissance:
  • Spread humanism beyond Italy — Erasmus, Thomas More, and northern art.
  • Focus on Christian ethics, social reform, and vernacular languages.
• The New Monarchies:
  • Strengthening of centralized royal power in France (Louis XI), Spain (Ferdinand and Isabella), and England (Henry VII).
  • Use of bureaucracy, taxation, and diplomacy to consolidate rule.
• The Protestant Reformation:
  • Luther: 95 Theses (1517), justification by faith, Bible in the vernacular.
  • Calvin: Predestination and disciplined theocracy in Geneva.
  • Radical Reformation: Anabaptists and other dissenting groups.
  • Political Impacts: German Peasants’ War, Peace of Augsburg (1555).
• The Catholic Reformation (Counter-Reformation):
  • Council of Trent (1545–1563) reaffirmed doctrine and reformed abuses.
  • Jesuits, Inquisition, and Baroque culture as tools of renewal.

Quick Tip

The Renaissance celebrated the individual; the Reformation redefined the church. Study how ideas about authority, human nature, and salvation changed—and how printing and politics accelerated the transformation of Europe.