A chronology of highlights from the European Renaissance and Protestant Reformation.
The European Renaissance stretches through nearly 300 years of European history, and it would be impossible to list every single event, achievement, and milestone in one blog. However, I thought it would be a nifty idea to list a timeline that included a few highlights of the Renaissance.
- 1300(ish)Changes are in the air in southern Europe, particularly Italy. People have survived the bubonic plague, and are taking a long look at the meaning of life. A new school of thought, Humanism, takes root, and the Renaissance begins.
- 1434The infamous Medici family gains control of the city government of Florence, located in Northern Italy. Lorenzo ‘The Magnificent’ de Medici is a strong supporter of the arts. He allows local artists to hone their craft by sketching the Roman statues in his gardens. There is a renewed interest in the cultures of Ancient Rome and Greece.
- 1453The Hundred Years War ends between France and England, and Renaissance ideas spread northward to the Low Countries, the British Isles, and Scandinavia. This cultural diffusion is known as the Northern Renaissance.
- 1458Johannes Gutenberg invents movable type, and applies it to the printing press. The printing press quickly revolutionizes life in the Renaissance. Books and pamphlets are mass-produced, allowing new ideas to spread like wildfire around Western Europe.
- 1492Columbus Sails The Ocean Blue. Columbus sets out to find an alternate route to India, and instead “discovers” a “New World.” Among the changes brought about by this geographical mistake is a new market in Europe for exotic foods, such as turkey, potatoes, and coffee. Popular Renaissance foods were greatly influenced by produce from the Americas.
- 1513- In an attempt to ingratiate himself with the powerful Medici family, Niccolo Machiavelli publishes his political ideology in the book The Prince. Henceforth honor and honesty will be optional for European rulers. This extends to modern day American presidents as well.
- 1517 Martin Luther, a German monk, publishes his 95 Theses, calling for reforms in the Christian Church. The Protestant Reformation begins!
- 1536 John Calvin publishes the Institute of the Christian Religion and is invited to Geneva, to establish a theocracy.
- 1559John Knox, a student of Calvin, returns to Scotland and helps establish the Presbyterian Church as the official religion.
A religious settlement known as The Peace of Augsburg takes place in Germany.
It declares that individual rulers will decide the religion of each German state.
Eventually, Bavaria is the only German state to remain aligned with the Catholic urch.
Catherine de Medici and the Duc de Guise instigate Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. Thousands of Huguenots are murdered over the next six months, marking
the beginning of the Wars of Religion in France. They would last for thirty years.
- 1589 Henry of Navarre assumes the French Crown, thus ending the Wars of Religion in France, and setting the stage for Absolutism.
- 1603 The death of Elizabeth I- The last of the great Renaissance rulers. The golden age of the Renaissance will give way to a tumultuous seventeenth century.
