Chapter 13. The Renaissance #51-75

Louis XI

(1423-1483). He was a tough, cynical, and calculating ruler, continually pursuing more power. He preferred to be feared rather than loved in order to be secure. Scholars have given him credit for laying the foundation of French absolutism (centralized control of the country). He was assisted in his centralization efforts by the death of many of the nobles by the end of the disastrous Hundred Years' War (1337-1453). His nickname was "The Spider" because of his behind the scenes plotting and intrigue.

Jacques Lefevre d'Etaples

A French theologian and humanist, his ideas were a precursor of the Protestant movement in France. He was a prolific translator of the Bible. He completed a translation of the Old Testament in 1528. His completed translation of the Christian Bible in 1530 was the first in the French language. He challenged the belief in the tradition of a single, authoritative Bible.

Reconquista

A period of almost 800 years from 710-1492, where Christian kingdoms took over the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslims. It ended in 1492 when Ferdinand and Isabella's armies overtook the kingdom of Granada and united Spain.

Court of Star Chamber

An English court of law made up of Privy Counselors and common-law judges that supplemented the activities of common-law and equity courts in both civil and criminal matters. Court sessions were held in secret, accused persons could not see evidence against them, torture could be used to extract confessions, and a jury was not called. The court apparently got its name from the stars painted on the ceiling of the room. Over time it evolved into a political weapon and represented the misuse and abuse of power of the English monarchy and courts. Henry VII used the Court of Star Chamber to take power away from the nobility and centralize his authority.

Caterina Sforza

An Italian noblewoman who was the illegitimate daughter of Galeazzo Sforza, who was the duke of Milan. In her life she held numerous titles in positions of political power. She was a forceful and militant woman and always tried to uphold the military defense of her state. She was involved in a plot to assassinate Pope Alexander VI and imprisoned for a year.

Pope Clement VII

Another member of the Medici family, Clement was pope from 1523 to 1534. He was not a good political leader. His refusal to annul the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon led to the separation of England from the Catholic Church. England became a Protestant nation in the early 1530s. He mistakenly allied himself with France against Emperor Charles V, and this led to the invasion, pillage, and sack of Rome by Charles in 1527. Clement VII was arrested and held prisoner!

Ludovico Sforza

Duke of Malan and best known for commissioning the Last Supper. He controlled Milan for 13 years, and supported the arts and culture.

Henry VII

He became the King of England in 1485 by supposedly picking up the royal crown at the Battle of Bosworth Field. He established the Tudor dynasty as the ruling family of England, which lasted until 1603. Also, he is one of the European "new monarchs" who worked to reduce the power of the nobility and centralize royal power.

Erasmua

He was a Dutch author who wrote In Praise of Folly, a book that questions elaborate church rituals that are not mentioned in the Bible, the worship of saints, and the practice of monasticism. He believed that human life had value in and of itself, rather than merely as a preparation for the afterlife. His ideas were a major part of the foundation of Protestant beliefs. It is said, "Erasmus laid the egg that Luther hatched."

Montaigne

He was a French author who wrote the Essays, inventing the essay as a literary form. He is beloved by students around the world for this great achievement. He is known as the finest representative of early modern skepticism. He was a humanist who tried to learn more about himself. This self-knowledge and understanding teach men and women how to live in accordance with nature and God. His tolerant mind was surprisingly civilized for a man of that time period, believing that no culture is greater than another. He was known for his rejection of dogma, his secularism, and his skepticism.

Jacob Fugger

He was a German banker and the son of the famous Mother Fugger. He often lent money to the rulers of Europe. His money helped to finance Charles V's war on Protestantism in the Holy Roman Empire.

Pope Nicholas V

He was a pope from 1447-1455. During his time as pope, he issued a papal bull (order) confirming the right of the Portuguese to "subjugate Saracens, Pagans, and other enemies of Christ wherever they may be found." The wording of the bull allowed the Portuguese to justify the beginning of African slavery. On the good side, though, he did order the collection of over 900 manuscripts, which were eventually placed in the Vatican library planned by Nicholas.

Pope Sixtus IV

He was pope from 1471 to 1484. He built the Vatican Library that Pope Nicholas V had planned, and he built the Sistine Chapel. In 1478, under pressure from Ferdinand of Aragon, Sixtus issued the papal bull that established the Spanish Inquisition. He also supported the Pazzi Conspiracy.

Pope Alexander VI

He was pope from 1492 to 1503. During this time, he asserted papal control over the Papal States through the military and political aid of his son, Cesare Borgia. He wrote the Treaty of Tordesillas, which enforced a line of demarcation between Portuguese and Spanish territories in the New World. Alexander was probably the most corrupt pope ever. He bribed the College of Cardinals to get elected. Known by his birth name Rodrigo Borgia before ascending to the papacy, he had four kids, including the infamous Cesare Borgia and Lucrezia Borgia. His enemies claimed that he had a child with his daughter, but, even though this would be pretty cool, there's no historical evidence to support this. He engaged in simony (buying and selling church positions) and allegedly had several older clergymen poisoned so he could sell their positions. He even commissioned an artist to paint his mistress as the Virgin Mary and hung the portrait above his bed-chamber!

Pope Julius II

He was pope from 1503 to 1513. He is known as the "Warrior Pope." He used his power and influence to unite Italy against its foreign invaders, even leading armies into battle swinging a mace! As pope, he rebuilt St. Peter's Basilica, paid Michelangelo to create the dome, commissioned Michelangelo's Moses, forced Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and sponsored Raphael's frescoes in the Vatican.

Pope Leo X

He was pope from 1513 to 1521. Not known for his piety, Leo said, "now that we have gained the papacy, let us enjoy it!" He was the son of Lorenzo de Medici. As pope, he sponsored the arts and frequently hosted orgies at the Vatican. He is known for approving the sale of indulgences. His personal moral depravity led Martin Luther to revolt against the Catholic Church. He could have stopped the Protestant Reformation by making a few reforms, but he failed to do so. It took him two years to excommunicate Luther, and by that time it was too late. He was quite busy fighting France, siding with Spain and the HRE. He signed a treaty with France in 1516 known as the Concordat of Bologna. This agreement surrendered papal control of selection of French bishops and abbots in return for the bishop's and abbot's first year's income.

Francesco Jemese de Cisneros

He was the leader of the Spanish church, was the Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition, and reformed the Spanish church and clergy so that the Protestant Reformation had very little impact on Spain.

Cesare Borgia

He was the son of Pope Alexander VI and one of Alex's mistresses. He reasserted papal authority in the lands controlled by the Papal States. Cesare was the model ruler of Machiavelli's The Prince - ruthless and cunning.

Spanish Inquisition

It was a Catholic Church court in Spain, set up by Ferdinand and Isabella to ensure that the Jews and Muslims had converted to Catholicism sincerely (these people were called conversos; converted Jews were called marranos and converted Muslims were called moriscos). People who refused to convert or whose conversion was not trusted were tortured, usually on the rack. Public executions of those who refused to change their heretical ways were called auto-de-fe, which involved being burned alive. Approximately 5,000 people were killed in this manner.

Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges

King Charles VII of France (1403-1461) put this in place in 1438. It established French control over the papacy by allowing the King to appoint his own French bishops and to retain ecclesiastical revenues. This caused conflict between the popes and French kings that was unresolved until the Concordat of Bologna in 1516.

Lucrezia Borgia

Lucrezia was another of Pope Alexander VI's children. She is infamous for allegedly poisoning her enemies, having multiple affairs, and because of the mysterious deaths of her first two husbands. It was common knowledge that she was the daughter of the Pope, and her immoral behavior tarnished the already less than a pristine image of the papacy.

Charles V

Ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 to 1556. He was King of Spain, the Netherlands, much of Italy, ruler of most of the New World, and Holy Roman Emperor. Much of his reign was focused on the Italian Wars against the French kings Francis I and Henry II. He is also famous for his opposition to the Protestant Reformation. During Charles' reign of the Holy Roman Empire, the German princes limited his power. In 1521, as Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V called Martin Luther to the Diet of Worms, promising safe conduct if he would appear, but later banned his works and called for his arrest and punishment. Luther escaped, Prince Frederick of Saxony protected him, and Charles V was soon tied up in other concerns. Charles V saw himself as the defender of the Catholic faith, but failed the stop the Protestant Reformation.

New Monarchs

Some scholars refer to Louis XI, Henry VII, and Ferdinand and Isabella as "new monarchs." They were 15th century monarchs who unified their nations and created stable, centralized governments. They accomplished this by emphasizing royal majesty and royal sovereignty, arguing that monarchy was the one institution that linked all classes and all people, and by ruthlessly suppressing opposition and rebellion, especially from the nobility.

Habsburg-Valois Wars

These were a series of wars fought between Spain and its allies, including several Italian city-states and France between 1494 and 1559. The war began between Charles VIII of France, who quickly captured Naples, versus Maximilian I of the Holy Roman Empire, Ferdinand of Aragon, and Isabella of Castille. The war ended with the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis (1559), with the Spanish winning, but not an overwhelming victory. The wars are important because they kept the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain Charles V too busy fighting to pay full attention to stopping the Protestant Reformation. Also, since no total victor emerged from the war, Europe remained divided into separate nation states.

Papal Nephew

This term is applied to refer to the Pope's illegitimate children. Though the Pope is considered theologically and doctrinally perfect, he is still a man and capable of sin. The Catholic Church, however, asks its bishops, including the Pope, to abstain from sex, so children are obviously impossible. No wife/mate = no kids! Alas, the Renaissance Popes had lots of sex, but they couldn't openly acknowledge the existence of their own children. These children were supposedly their nephews, and many of them were given influential positions and high salaries. Though the masses were ignorant, they were not stupid, so these actions led to the moral discrediting of the Church.