Notes November 5

Women of the Renaissance:

• Christine de Pizan
• The first European to make a living as a writer. She wrote a history of famous women and is referred to as the first feminine activist. 
• Isabelle d'Este
• Born into a ruling family- the Ferrara and she married into the royal family of Mantua. She was an art patron. She was the daughter of the king and queen of Spain. Isabella personified Castiglione's book on how to be a courtier. 

Northern Renaissance:

• Erasmus
• A humanist who worked on, among many other things, editing versions of the New Testament. His best known work is a satire known as The Praise of Folly. Erasmus was a Catholic and he believed that he could change the Catholic Church from within. Erasmus wrote in Latin. 
• Thomas More 
• The leading humanist in England. He was Lord Chancellor under King Henry VIII. He wrote of a Utopian society. He was executed for treason against the King 
• Michel de Montaigne
• He was a statesman and an author. He brought the personal essay into prominence.  
• Johannes Gutenberg
• Invented the printing press in 1456. The first book that he printed was the Bible. By 1500 20 million books were already in print. The printing press allowed the Protestant Reformation to happen. 

Protestant Reformation

• Martin Luther
• A Catholic monk who saw that there was a serious problem with the way the Church was being run. In 1517, Martin Luther watched indulgences being sold and saw that the money was going towards the funding of the Basilica in Rome. Halloween, 1517, Martin Luther posted his famous 95 theses on the doors of the cathedral. 
• Salvation is achieved by faith alone
• The Bible is the only valid authority for Christian life. 
• All people are created equal. 
• All vocations have equal merit. 
• John Calvin
• Calvin believed that God is good and people are evil. He thought that very few people would be saved from sin. Calvinism spread across Europe. The heart of Calvinism was Geneva, Switzerland. 
• Counter-Reformation- Many countries tell the Catholic Church to stop doing what they are doing. The Catholic Church's response to the Protestant Reformation was the Counter-Reformation. 
• Pope Julius II
• Started the reformation by allowing indulgences to be sold. 
• Pope Paul III
• Council of Trent
• Rejected Luther and what he stood for but then the council did make the Church stop giving indulgences.  The Council of Trent did not agree with Luther about hierarchies, as that could be volatile for the Popes. The Council also resist limiting Papal authority.