top of page
This site was designed with the
.com
website builder. Create your website today.Start Now

Unit 3: Revolutions of  Thought

Instructional Videos

Targets

  • I can explain how the ideas of the leaders of the Reformation led to conflict throughout much of Europe. 

  • I can describe how the Reformation created conflict in Germany and France

  • I can explain how the Counter Reformation both combated and contributed to conflict during the Reformation. 

  • I can trace the rise of secular themes in Renaissance art and literature.  

  • I can identify the scientists of the scientific revolution and how their contributions changed how we gain and view knowledge. 

  • I can explain how the Counter Reformation both combated and contributed to conflict during the Reformation. 

Renaissance Artwork

Unit Overview

A revolution is a turn or a change. This unit focuses on those changes that occurred in three of the main fields of life; art, religion, and science. Almost all aspects of life can fall into one of those three categories and they underwent massive shifts around 1500. The Renaissance represented a turn back towards the Classical way of thinking and that came out very clearly in the art and literature of the time period. The Protestant Reformation changed the course of the Christian religion, one of the most influential forces in European history. Finally, the Scientific Revolution changed how humans view and gather information. There was a change that increased the amount of reason and evidence used in the way of thinking. 

Need to Know 

People 

  • Michelangelo

  • Da Vinci 

  • Durer 

  • Machiavelli

  • Erasmus

  • John Wycliffe

  • Jan Huss

  • Martin Luther

  • John Calvin

  • Henry VIII

  • Elizabeth I

  • Hapsburgs

  • St. Ignatius of Loyola

  • Cardinal Richelieu

  • Gutenberg 

  • Kepler

  • Kopernicus

  • Galileo 

  • Newton 

  • Harvey

Places

  • Florence 

  • Rome

  • Holy Roman Empire

  • Germany 

  • Prague

​

Events 

  • Renaissance

  • Victory over the Spanish Armada

  • Posting of the 95 Theses

  • Defenestration of Prague

  • 30 Years War

  • Council of Trent

  • The Inquisition

  • Invention of the Printing Press

Ideas

  • Humanism​

  • Secularism

  • Protestantism

  • Predestination

  • Scientific Method

Miscellaneous

  • Huguenots

  • Jesuits

  • Divorce 

NearPod Codes

Renaissance - BGIDC

Reformation - KJQFY

Counter Reformation - SCBMX

Scientific Revolution - LGRIU

Review Activities

From the State

Renaissance

  • “Rebirth” of classical knowledge; “birth” of the modern world

  • Spread of the Renaissance from the Italian city-states to northern Europe

Contributions of the Renaissance

  • Accomplishments in the visual arts: Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Dürer

  • Accomplishments in literature: Machiavelli, Erasmus

  • Accomplishments in intellectual ideas: Humanism, secularism

Conflicts that challenged the authority of the Church in Rome

  • German and English nobility disliked Italian domination of the Church.

  • The Church’s great political power and wealth caused conflict.

  • Church corruption and the sale of indulgences were widespread and caused conflict.

  • Early dissenters (John Wycliffe and Jan Huss) led early efforts to reform the Church

Martin Luther (the Lutheran tradition)

  • Views: Salvation by faith alone; Bible as the ultimate authority; all humans equal before God

  • Actions: 95 Theses, birth of the Protestant Church; initiated the Protestant Reformation that splintered Catholic Europe

John Calvin (the Calvinist tradition)

  • Views: Single predestination (God chooses those to be saved and those to be punished)

  • Actions: Expansion of the Protestant Movement

King Henry VIII

  • Views: Disagreed with the authority of the Pope in Rome

  • Actions: Divorced; broke ties with papal authority; headed the national church in England; appropriated lands and wealth of the Roman Catholic Church in England

Queen Elizabeth I

  • Views: Tolerance for dissenters, expansion, and colonialism

  • Actions: Commissioned the 39 Articles; victory over the Spanish Armada (1588)

Reformation in Germany

  • Princes in Northern Germany converted to Protestantism, ending the authority of the Pope in their states.

  • The Hapsburg family and the authority of the Holy Roman Empire continued to support the Roman Catholic Church.

  • Conflict between Protestants and Catholics resulted in devastating wars (e.g., Thirty Years’ War).

Reformation in France

  • After more than 30 years of war between Catholics and Protestants, the Catholic monarchy granted Protestant Huguenots freedom of worship by the Edict of Nantes.

  • Cardinal Richelieu exploited the religious conflict (Thirty Years’ War) for political ends.

Catholic Reformation

Counter-Reformation:

  • The Council of Trent reaffirmed most Church doctrine and practices.

  • The Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) was founded to spread Catholic doctrine around the world.

  • The Inquisition was used to reinforce Catholic doctrine.

Changing cultural values, traditions, and philosophies

  • Growth of secularism and skepticism in reaction against religious warfare

  • Growth of individualism

  • Eventual growth of religious tolerance

Role of the printing press

  • Growth of literacy was stimulated by the Gutenberg printing press.

  • The Bible was printed in English, French, and German.

  • These factors had an important impact on spreading the ideas of the Reformation and the Renaissance.

Pioneers of the Scientific Revolution

  • Nicolaus Copernicus developed heliocentric theory.

  • Johannes Kepler discovered planetary motion.

  • Galileo Galilei used the telescope to support heliocentric theory.

  • Isaac Newton formulated the law of gravity.

  • William Harvey discovered circulation of the blood.

Importance of the Scientific Revolution

  • Emphasis on reason and systematic observation of nature

  • Formulation of the scientific method

  • Expansion of scientific knowledge

bottom of page