Pre-Renaissance
* Middle Ages: began around 500 AD and ended around 1450 AD * Early Middle Ages * Roman Empire fell, Europe is turbulent and dark * Europe is being created by Germanic, Roman, and Church * Church * power founded in papacy * was political as well as spiritual * bishop of Rome lead Church * began the Pope system * Pope>Archbishops>Bishops>Priests * to go to heaven, followers had to go through church * Pope could excommunicate, cutting off people from church and heaven, gave him a lot of power * Feudalism * system in which kings gave land to their subject in return for aid * vassals pledged themselves to their lord for protection * Kings>Lords>Knights>Serfs * created relationships between lords and vassals benefiting both, provided military service and protection for weaker people
Renaissance
* Conditions that led to the Renaissance in Italy: * Because of the Crusades, and the new trade routes, Europeans began to come in contact with other, more advanced civilizations, which influenced them greatly * The Church, due to the scandals that occurred, lost much of its power and people began to doubt its ultimate authority * Due to trade, the middle class grew, and people began to accumulate vast sums of money. They then wanted to enjoy and show off their wealth, which led to a philosophy of enjoying this life instead of simply waiting for the next one * Competition between wealthy people for status led to developments in education and art, since wealthy people, wanting to be respecting, would compete to see who was the most educated or had sponsored the most artists. * Humanism * began by Italian intellectualists that wanted education to place more emphasis on the classics and helping people lead better lives * wanted to study classics so that they could learn the