Northern Humanist Essay

The renaissance of the twelfth century was a revival of cultural and intellectual activity from 1050 to 1250. Guibert of Nogent’s autobiography, A Monk’s Confession: The Memoirs of Guibert of Nogent, and the prologue of Peter Abelard’s Sic et Non (“Yes and No”) are both products of this time period, having been written in 1115 and 1122, respectively. While Abelard’s text primarily focuses on applying reason to religious matters—a very renaissance thing to do—Guibert sheds light on a greater variety of affairs. Both documents indicate the strong faith that one would expect to find in people during this era of religious enthusiasm. Together, the documents paint an informative picture of the intellectual activity and culture of their times.

From 1450 to 1750 C.E., the Europeans were beginning to settle in the Western part of Europe in places such as: France, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and many more. Like many other of the surrounding countries and empires, the Europeans began to question many of the hierarchies in Europe at the time such as the Catholic Church by asking “Should we trust their process or attempt to reform?” or even “Should we ignore the intentions of the church and start something completely new that we believe is better for the people?” The development of both the Protestant Reformation and the Age of Enlightenment began to answer these questions and enforce their beliefs in European society. Through the inspiration of the “needed” change of tradition in European society the Protestant Reformation sought to bring back the early versions of Christianity, while the Age of Enlightenment sought to abandon Christianity and move forward. But both the Protestant Reformation and the Age of Enlightenment sought to focus on similar moral tenants such as the belief of individualism and the use of reason to analyze text. Overall, both the Protestant Reformation and the Age of Enlightenment in Europe desired to move away from the selfish, incompetent, and lazy Catholic Church of that time, and either move forward or reform to stabilize European thinking for centuries to come.

European literature of the late fifteenth century and early sixteenth century was a time marked by increased individualism and an inclination to remove all of the remnants of medieval society. It was a time of protest and reform of the ideals, that were once thought to be correct, to more modern ideas, such as free will and that the self-made individual occupies the center of a rational universe. As this new concept of individualism began to spread, there were apparent discrepancies between the noble ideals presented by the modern renaissance humanists and the reality of human behavior. The discrepancies are shown clearly by the Pico’s “Oration on the Dignity of Man” and Erasmus’ “Praise of Folly.” In the text by Pico, he describes the ideal characteristics of this new renaissance humanist movement emphasizing the individual. While in the text by Erasmus, he shows the shocking reality between human fallibility and human perfectibility.

Disapproving the thought of the essential immorality of human nature, the Enlightenment highlighted the growth of knowledge through logic and reason. This movement encouraged the introduction of science, math, law, and medicine into college curriculums, which had been mainly focused upon ancient languages and theology during the 1720s. Importance upon political developments, economic achievement, and rational thought forestalled concerns for the soul and introduced a confidence in salvation in spite of a laxity of morals. Individual morals weakened as Puritans in the community turned gradually to Arminianism, the belief that preparation for heaven was easily achieved and therefore less important, to defend their contribution in nonspiritual affairs. The followers of the Awakening pointed to the outward collapse of Puritan morals to explain the necessity for revival. Many sincere church members thought the Great Awakening was essential to fight nonspiritual influences in the lives of the Puritans and reestablish the authority of the Congregational

The source is valuable as it offers the opinion of a key figure of the German Reformation. It could be argued that due

There are many things that set America apart from the world. Most notably are our political structure, social structure, capitalistic ideals, and the free exchange of ideas and beliefs that were all born from the desire for freedom. After hundreds of years of being told what to do by the Church and the monarchy, there came a time when the people decided that it was time to come out from under the thumb of both, and to become something better. None of this would have been possible if The Enlightenment had not paved the way. The Enlightenment fueled formation of America and continued influencing the evolution of America in to what it is today.

A new way of learning was starting to be utilized and the study of the bible was beginning to be treated like any other classical piece and with the study of it came the realization of corruption in the church. The humanist movement came at a time when faith in the church war growing weak and educated men were growing bored with the old fashioned way of learning. The return to the study of the classics led to feelings of restless and a need to learn about the world around rather than the blind faith in the supernatural beliefs that Christianity was based. The extremist on both sides blamed each other, the church was leery of any teachings that came from pagan sources, and humanist, encouraged by their scientific discovery’s, were questioning long held

In William Manchester’s “ A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age” He demonstrates the change in the "Dark Ages" from the dependence on religion to independent thinking. Ancient concepts were questioned and proven wrong after thousands of years, and the power of the what finally surpassed the authority of the Pope. Manchester expresses the transition within Europe from the Medieval Times to the Renaissance that included multiple changes in the intellectual, religious, and political aspects of life.

Paragraph 3 – Attack on the era of Reformations and Protestantism. Plate 4.7 “decay of taste”. Difference in Church styles.

Christ Blessing, Surrounded by a Donor Family (1573-1582) offers valuable insight into a changing European landscape during the sixteenth century. The Protestant Reformation, which reached its climax during this era, rejected many aspects of Catholicism. Among other things, Protestants believed that each individual should read the Bible and develop a meaningful connection to G-d rather than limiting the Bible to the clergy’s interpretation.1 This Protestant belief and other tenets of the Reformers are evident in the Reformation’s art. Christ Blessing, Surrounded by a Donor Family demonstrates the manner in which the cultural shift from Catholicism to Protestantism in Northern Europe during the Reformation was reflected in that era’s art.

13. ‘01 Discuss the political and social consequences of the Protestant Reformation in the first half of the sixteenth century.

Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity, Volume I: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation. Second Edi. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2010.

Religion in the Middle Ages takes on a character all of its own as it is lived out differently in the lives of medieval men and women spanning from ordinary laity to vehement devotees. Though it is difficult to identify what the average faith consists of in the Middle Ages, the life told of a radical devotee in The Book of Margery Kempe provides insight to the highly intense version of medieval paths of approaching Christ. Another medieval religious text, The Cloud of Unknowing, provides a record of approaching the same Christ. I will explore the consistencies and inconsistencies of both ways to approach Christ and religious fulfillment during the Middle Ages combined with the motivations to do so on the basis of both texts.

For many centuries, the principles of the classical education were in the spotlight. The good of the individual, realizing his/her own potential were the purposes of the learning process. Cultural development is the aim of the classical education. It stands above everything, including religion. (Nietzsche, n. p.). Referring to Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” to interpret the classical education in modern society, we can say that

The philosophy of humanism exerted a new viewpoint on the educational system. The idea that true happiness is the result of eternal salvation was introduced by humanist teachers. The Italian poet Petrarch, delighted in studying the works of Cicero, explained that “when we come to think or speak of religion, that it, of supreme truth and true happiness, and of eternal salvation, then I am certainly not a Ciceronian… but a Christian” (doc.5). Education was important in the creation of well rounded individuals, but humanists believed that religion is the key to true happiness. In addition to their beliefs about the effects of religion on society, humanists promoted the study of language and literature to develop strong social skills. This ultimately broadened every aspect of Renaissance society. Establishing social skills can reward a person with “... the personal satisfaction he will take in this, in this way he will never want for pleasant entertainment with the ladies who are usually fond of such things” (doc.4). Although social transformation