Art History

Italy: Birthplace of the Renaissance

RenaissanceTimeline

1300s - Early 1400s

First, we have the Hundred Years' War, beginning in 1337 and lasting for about 116 years. It was a nasty skirmish that began when the King of England tried to claim the crown of France.

Next, we have another struggle for power, but this time in the papacy. It was known as the Great Schism of 1378, when two popes both claimed authority over the Catholic Church. Again, this caused a bit of a problem. Because of this, we need to include the Council of Constance, lasting through the years 1414-1418, which ends the aforementioned Great Schism.

Mid - Late 1400s

On more of an up note, we can also include the invention of the printing press by Johann Gutenberg in 1448. This invention forever changed world communication.

On a down note, while Gutenberg is printing, people are still fighting as Constantinople falls to the Turks in the year 1453, thus ending the Byzantine Empire.

Not wanting to be left out of any action, England gets involved in her own civil war, known as the War of the Roses, which began in 1455 as a family feud of sorts between the Houses of York and Lancaster. Unlike the game show, this one lasted for over 30 years!

The printing press allowed more works of literature to reach the common citizen.

To take a break from all the fighting, we have another high point as Columbus sails in 1492. Here, I feel we should just take a moment and honor elementary school teachers all over the land by simply saying, 'Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492!'

Early - Mid 1500s

While sails are setting for the new world, art is flourishing in the old one. One example of this is the famous painting of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo himself in 1508. It's an amazing work of art still displayed and revered today.

As Mike was painting, others were writing. We have Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the doors at Wittenberg in the year 1517. This work not only changed the religious landscape of much of Northern Europe but also caused some real trouble for its author, Martin Luther.

Speaking of trouble, we also have the Peasants' War of Germany beginning in 1524 and lasting about two years. Although its duration was very short, it was a large uprising of the peasant class, seeking influence and freedom for their everyday lives.

Across the sea, while peasants in Germany were fighting for their freedom, Spanish conquistadors were robbing the new world of its freedom, as in 1532, Francisco Pizarro conquered the Incan Empire of Peru.

Martin Luther nailed his theses to the church door and changed religious practices in Europe.

Again not wanting to be left out, England joins the historical melee with the excommunication of Henry VIII by the pope. This occurred in 1538 over some trivial little matters like marriage annulments, cutting off wives' heads, and Henry declaring his supremacy and starting his very own church.

In 1545, we have the Council of Trent, a series of three meetings held by the Catholic Church in order to answer the charges of the Reformation and to dogmatically solidify its beliefs. To this day, it's considered one of the most important councils of Catholic history.

Late 1500s - Early 1600s

In 1555, with the Holy Roman Empire continuing to weaken, the Peace of Augsburg was enacted, giving the princes of Germany the right to practice Catholicism or Lutheranism as they each saw fit. Sadly for other religious sects, only Lutheranism and Catholicism were recognized.

At this time, France was also having some issues of her own, as the French War of Religion broke out in 1562 and was yet another clash between Catholics and Protestants in Europe.

Adding to the religious and political upheaval on the continent was the Eighty Years' War, beginning in 1568, in which the Dutch territories fought for their freedom against Catholic Spain.

Again, never one to sit on the sidelines, England gets involved with the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots by her cousin, Elizabeth, Queen of England, in the year 1587. This act, along with several others, pits Catholic Spain against England, culminating with the invasion of the Spanish Armada against the English in the year 1588. If it weren't for a little luck and some very bad weather on that day, England might be speaking Spanish today.

Mary, Queen of Scots was executed by her cousin, creating tension between Spain and England.

Just when things seemed like they couldn't get more upside down and sideways on the continent of Europe, along comes the Thirty Years' War of 1618 - one of the most damaging conflicts in European history, in which most of Central Europe became engulfed in a battle that began as Catholic versus Protestant but soon degraded into a race for European preeminence.

And this brings us to our last timeline entry, The Peace of Westphalia, a series of several treaties finally ratified in 1648, bringing an end to both the Eighty and Thirty Years' Wars of Europe. Although this treaty didn't really bring true peace to the continent, it was a large step toward national boundaries and state sovereignty.