Niccolo Machiavelli: Life and Ideas

Machiavelli Machiavelli lived during the Renaissance era of the Medieval times. In this time period many concepts and ideas were being reborn, including the Christian faith. He lived during a time period in which the people of the time thought of the Black Plague as a symptom of judgment upon the sinfulness of the land. These same people began to scourge themselves in order to express their sorrow and therefore remove God’s judgment laid upon them. Although Machiavelli lived long after the fall of the Roman Empire, he lived in an Italy that had evolved into a war-torn battleground between the city state dynasties. There were conflicts between the French and Spanish for the control of land. Machiavelli lived in a time of growing political powers and a Christian community that was adapting and changing according to the claims of the Reformers. Machiavelli had a goal: he sought to create a dichotomy between ethical Christianity and the Ethical demands of political rule. The 15th and 16th century world focused on theologically reforming the Church. Many reformers of the time and before Machiavelli’s life, including the 14th century reformer John Wycliffe, wrote on how the papacy of the Church had grown far too powerful. During Machiavelli’s life St. Francis was teaching the commoners about Jesus, and the commoners began relating to Christ. The Church was not only effected by the reformers and the teachings of St. Francis, but it was also effected by itself; it was hurting itself. The church fought against the reformers, condemning them as heretics; the church was threatened by the words of reform. Machiavelli lived among the Christians and like many of the reformers he was seeking a reform between the Church and the State. Essentially, Machiavelli writes to prove that being a moral ruler and a person are two separate ideas, in the case of extreme circumstances and, like Luther, there are two kingdoms independent of each other. Machiavelli probably would've