The+Modern+Age

=**__ Kings Gain Power: __**=


 * == M artin Luther founded the Protestant religion==


 * All Europeans had been Roman Catholics up until then
 * This was the beginning of the reformation
 * He nailed his 95 Theses to the door of Wittenberg's All Saints Church in 1517
 * Martin Luther complained about some of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church in 1517 which resulted in huge changes in European __religious__ life
 * Church opponents felt that the Church had been growing away from its teachings of Christ and they were becoming too wealthy and powerful
 * Martin Luther was followed by many other reformers called protestants
 * They believed that the church should be based on the word of God and rejected the authority of the pope and other church officials
 * Also believed that services and buildings of the Church should be plain and simple
 * Protestants angered by the fact that the Church was focused on wealth and decorations
 * After the reformation the different kingdoms in Europe had different __religions__ which made political disputes worse

**__ Kings and the Church __**

 * While Europe was being divided by religion, Kings found more power for themselves
 * In the past the pope interfered with the running of kingdoms using religion as reasoning which had left the kings sometimes no more powerful then their Nobles
 * Kings became supreme authority in their kingdoms by
 * Claiming religious control by deciding the religion of their kingdom
 * Undermining the power of their nobles by replacing them (replaced them with loyal people from the middle __class__)
 * Paid for professional armies other than relying on the nobles to supply them
 * To pay for all this Kings started to tax their subjects
 * Kings started to take away the importance of “nobles” and started to create a nation
 * People started to think of themselves as subjects to a king instead of serfs to a noble
 * Kings began to be thought of as kingly people and were raised high above the status of ordinary people
 * Kings become equal to, if not greater, than the pope in status



A [|Catholic] church A [|Protestant] church

=** A Prosperous Age **=


 * Agriculture was the basis of the economy
 * Multiple improvements in agriculture such as more efficient farming techniques and high yield crops resulted in a huge increase in population.
 * Many people moved to cities to take advantage of the __jobs__ that were opening up there.
 * As a result, cities became the dominant feature of countries, instead of the rural areas.
 * With Feudalism rapidly declining, serfs often owned their own land, or rented it from landlords.
 * Trade expanded to suit the increasingly large and populous cities, resulting in extensive exploration and connecting the world together more closely.
 * Africa, the Americas, India, and the Indonesian region were where most exploration and colonies were concentrated.
 * The Spanish and the Portuguese were the first to go exploring and set up colonies in these places, but the British, French, and Dutch followed soon after.
 * By the year 1700, these nations had developed extensive empires.
 * === The increase of trade and industry gave rise to a middle class composed mainly of merchants and landowners. ===

[|More information on the first European empires.]  More information on [|European exploration.]

=** A New View of Humanity **=

** Literature **

 * Printers began to __print__ illustrations
 * Used to spread knowledge and ideas to people who could not read / write
 * Year 1500 – 6 million books printed in Europe
 * Books were everywhere
 * No longer just libraries of monasteries and wealthy households
 * Florence, 1571, one of the first public libraries was built
 * Books stored flat or on lecterns

** Theatre / Popular Culture **

 * Shakespeare and other authors began to write about everyday things
 * Popular culture became important
 * Theatres spread more ideas to public
 * Globe Theatre built in London in 1599
 * Plays by Shakespeare (and other playwrights) were performed for the public
 * Could accommodate 3000 people
 * Open every day except Sunday
 * All classes of society attended
 * Actors were all male
 * Female characters played by younger boys
 * Very few props
 * Audience very rowdy
 * Shouting, hissing, clapping
 * Threw apple cores, etc. at performers
 * Theatre was burnt down in 1613
 * Rebuilt in 1996

Renaissance

 * Led to a whole new way of viewing the world
 * People more interested in the world around them
 * Less interested in religion and the world to come
 * Idea was created that anything humans wished to do and put their mind to, could be done
 * This was humanism

[|**Humanism**]

 * Impact on art
 * § Art was unlike medieval art
 * not stylized
 * Art was more devoted to realistic themes as opposed to religion
 * Often represented Roman and Greek themes
 * Europeans were rediscovering the ways of the Greek and Roman
 * Began to concentrate on the daily life of an ordinary citizen
 * Impact on literature
 * Religious themes were less common
 * People began writing on everyday life, or historic events
 * Poets began creating pieces about love
 * More writings were in the [|vernacular]
 * People started posing questions about life
 * Led to new [|philosophies]
 * [|Printing press] had large impact on society
 * Spread word of ideas regarding to humanism
 * Books became more available
 * More and more people learned to read and write
 * More schools opened, especially in towns
 * More children attended school

** Vocabulary **

 * Humanism
 * A system or mode of thought in which human interests predominate
 * Philosophy
 * The pursuit of the principles underlying all knowledge
 * The pursuit of wisdom
 * Lectern
 * A reading desk
 * Thatch
 * A roof made of straw

** Resources (Pictures and Links) **

 * More info on the Globe Theatre:
 * []
 * []
 * Pictures
 * Modern version of Globe Theatre (reconstructed in 1996)

ii.Original Globe Theatre

iii. Gutenberg printing press



iv.Renaissance clothing v.Renaissance art

A New View of the World


 * The 16th and 17th century was a time of incredible change in the way people viewed the world around them.
 * In the sciences, many scientists we now know today made important revelations
 * Scientists include Copernicus, Galileo, Francis Bacon, Isaac Newton, Andreas Vesalius,
 * Copernicus
 * Galileo
 * Francis Bacon
 * Isaac Newton
 * Andreas Vesalius