Post on 24-Dec-2015
“What pleases the prince has the force of law.”
Justinian Code
New Monarchies after 1450
100 Years’ War weakened monarchs Monarchy was the one institution that could unite nations
European governments began to reconstruct themselves
Beginnings of the modern state
Wealthy middle class merchants and bankers purchased government offices and titles to form a new administrative class
Kings partially excluded nobles from power
Kings built new bureaucracies and armies
France
Charles VII…A) Expelled the English from France by 1453B) Levied new taxesC) approved the Pragmatic Sanction of BourgesD) created a standing army
Louis XI…A) continued military centralization at the expense of the nobilityB) supported economic growth and diversificationC) expanded the French state
Louis XI Charles VII
England
And here I prophesy: this brawl today,Grown to this faction in the Temple garden,Shall send, between the Red Rose and the White,A thousand souls to death and deadly night." — Warwick, Henry VI, Part One
War of the Roses
Battle of Bosworth Field (1485)
Henry VII…A) did not rely on Parliament to raise revenueB) established a royal councilC) effectively used the Court of the Star Chamber to deal with political enemiesD) used Justices of the Peace to maintain order at the local level
Marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castille
Spain
Faced the challenge of disunity
Even marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella failed to unite the country
Hermandades kept local order Royal Council would bolster the power of the crown
“Catholic Kings of Spain” could establish a national church
Reconquista was completed in 1492 Inquisition was established to ensure religious conformity
Jews would be purged Spain only achieved unification in 1580
Holy Roman Empire NOT a new monarchy! Real power held by the nobles decentralized state
Charles V elected 1519 Grandson of Isabella and Ferdinand, was already King of Spain
Also controlled the Netherlands, parts of Italy, New World and Pacific colonies
Holy Roman
Empire in 1580
Northern Humanism
Northern Humanists Called for a return of the apostolic church
Focused on writings of the early church
Pushed for new translations that were error free
Stressed Greek and Hebrew, to be able to read the originals themselves
Moveable Type Printing Press
Invented 1453, Johannes Gutenberg
Humanism in Germany
Many large cities and universities
Close proximity to Italy encouraged travelers between them
Pro-German in outlook Famous humanists: Peter Luder, Rudolf Agricola, Conrad Celtis, Mutian
French Humanism
King Francis I patronized humanists
Royal library ( Bibliothèque Nationale) founded
Trilingual (Hebrew, Greek, Latin) college founded to study sacred languages
French Humanism
Guillaume Budé top classical scholar of France
Jacques Lefèvre d’Etaples especially interested in religious reform
Humanism in the Netherlands
Lay people live together and practice lay piety – Bretheren of the Common Life
Set up humanist schools
Desiderius Erasmus
Erasmus “ Prince of Humanists”
Called for religious reform through a return to the apostolic church and reading of the church classics
Translated many church classics
Works include Praise of Folly and Julius Excluded
Humanism in England
John Colet was critical of church abuses
Sir Thomas More’s Utopia