What is it? 

The reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation, was a divide in Western Christianity.  

The reformation was a cultural, spiritual, religious and political turbulence that took place in 16th century Catholic Europe and made way for the various structures and beliefs that in the modern era define the continent.   

Reformers, for example Martin Luther, John Calvin and Henry VIII challenged the papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church's ability to define Christianity. They revolted against the totalitarian rule of the Roman Catholic Church and fought against the various unbiblical practices demonstrated. They promoted a redistribution of power and a return to Biblical doctrine.  

Definitions: 

Reformer- A reformer is a person who makes changes to something in order to improve it. 

Papal Authority- The pope. As head of the Roman Catholic Church, he is the supreme spiritual leader. With over a billion followers, the pope's decisions affect government and societies all over the world.  

Doctrine- A rule/belief that people follow as part of a religion.  

 

Chronology: 

Dates: 1517-1648 

1517- 95 theses- Martin Luther posts his 95 theses on the door of the Wittenburg Cathedral in protest at the Catholic doctrine of indulgences- Formally begins the Protestant Reformation.  

1529- The first war of Kappel- Armed conflict between the Protestants and Catholics.  

1530- Augsburg Confession- Publication of the Confessio Augustana or Augsburg Confession, outlining Lutheran theology and practice. 

 

Characteristics: 

 The Reformation caused a massive turmoil that had a deep impact on European politics and led to warfare. Martin Luther, a monk in Germany challenged the Catholic Church which sold indulgences (ways to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins committed) , through his "95 Theses". He firmly believed that salvation (the state of being saved from evil) could only be achieved through faith and divine grace.  

  

Catholics believed not only in the holy scripture of the Bible, but in other rules of the Roman Catholic Church as well. Protestants believed that belief in other belief in other sources of scripture took away authority from the Holy bible and salvation could only be achieved through Grace.  

  

The Effects of the Reformation were that Europe became divided along the lines of faith in doctrines and territory.  

Feudalism was the dominant social system in medieval Europe, it was a mixture of military and legal customs between the 9th and 15th century. It went from King, Nobles, Knights and then Peasants.  

 

By the end of the 12th century the papacy (authority of the pope) had more feudal vassals than any temporal ruler. Although feudalism developed as early as the 8th century, under the Carolingian dynasty (a Frankish noble family), it did not prevail widely in Europe until the 10th century. By 10th century virtually the entire continent was Christian, because of a ruler named Clovis who spread the boundaries of his kingdom as well as Christianity. 

For many centuries Europe was ruled by the Roman empire; after it fell, many had to work hard to survive. Religious bans were made which angered many.  Charlemagne with Leo III found a way to lift the ban. Still, after that life was difficult and dangerous for the people. So the system of feudalism was created for protection of the citizens. People started working on the land when the lord promised them protection.  

At the start of the middle ages trade began due to the improvement in agriculture. People could sell more goods and became permanent residents in towns. After this the system of feudalism started to become unnecessary.  

Magna Carta was created, a charter which established the rights and liberties of the citizens which no king could break... 

 

Feudalism was the social system in medieval Europe. Feudalism is divided in 4 different levels. Peasants were the 1st level of the pyramid. They made up 90%. They had to provide food and service to their superior classes on demand. They were not allowed to leave the Manor without prior permission. They had no rights and they were also not allowed to marry without the permission of their Lords! The vassals were placed on the 2nd level of the pyramid. They provided military service to the king. They also had to protect the nobles and his family. Their main job role was to give protection to the king and therefore they were paid quite well. 4% of nobles at the 3rd level of pyramid. The nobles leased lands from the kings. Nobles established their own legal systems, designed their own currency and set their own tax regulation schemes. Lastly, king was at the top of the pyramid. The king ruled the whole kingdom and owned all the land in the country. All the judicial power was in the hands of the king. 
 

Citation- 

prezi.com/9a5thsye8gqa/feudalism-timeline/. 

 

The Hadean, Archean and Proterozoic eons were as a whole formerly called the Precambrian. This covered he four billion years of Earth history prior to the appearance of hard-shelled animals. The Archean and Proterozoic eons have been subdivided into eras of their own.

Paleozoic Era (542 million years ago – 250 million years ago) 

 

The Paleozoic Era began with the Cambrian Explosion. This relatively rapid period of large amounts of speciation kicked off a long time span of flourishing life on Earth. This great amounts of life in the oceans soon moved onto land. First plants made the move and then invertebrates. Not long after that, vertebrates moved to land as well. Many new species appeared and thrived. The end of the Paleozoic Era came with the largest mass extinction in the history of life on Earth. The Permian Extinction wiped out about 95% of marine life and nearly 70% of life on land. 

 

 

Mesozoic Era (250 million years ago – 65 million years ago) 

 

The Mesozoic Era is the next era on the Geologic Time Scale. After the Permian Extinction caused so many species to go extinct, many new species evolved and thrived. The Mesozoic Era is also known as the "age of the dinosaurs" because dinosaurs were the dominant species for much of the era. Dinosaurs started off small and got larger as the Mesozoic Era went on. 

The climate during the Mesozoic Era was very humid and tropical and many lush, green plants were found all over the Earth. Herbivores especially thrived during this time period. Besides dinosaurs, small mammals came into existence. Birds also evolved from the dinosaurs during the Mesozoic Era. Another mass extinction marks the end of the Mesozoic Era. All dinosaurs, and many other animals, especially herbivores, completely died off. Again, niches were needing to be filled by new species in the next era. 

 

Cenozoic Era (65 million years ago – Present) 

 

The last and current time period on the Geologic Time Scale is the Cenozoic Period. With large dinosaurs now extinct, the smaller mammals that survived were able to grow and become dominant life on Earth. Human evolution also all happened during the Cenozoic Era. 

The climate has changed drastically over the relatively short amount of time in this period. It got much cooler and drier than the Mesozoic Era climate. There was an ice age where most temperate parts of the Earth was covered in glaciers. This made life have to adapt rather rapidly and increased the rate of evolution. 

All life on Earth evolved into their present-day forms. The Cenozoic Era has not ended and most likely will not end until another mass extinction period. 

the Europeans. Artists such as Leonardo da Vince, Michelangelo, and Donatello were major figures during that era, many philosophy
 and architecture works were inspired by the Greeks and Romans. As the Renaissance was preceded by the Dark Ages, the contrast between the two time periods is quite noticeable. The Renaissance had far reaching impacts on many societies, even today, our world functions the way it does because of the ideas that arose during the Renaissance.  Muslim scholars inspired them too ( Istanbul )

more about renaissance : 

relevant links :

https://www.history.com/topics/renaissance-art <- Art during the Renaissance. 

http://www.markedbyteachers.com/gcse/history/why-did-the-renaissance-begin-in-italy.html <- Why did the Renaissance happen in Italy 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vufba_ZcoR0  <- Was the Renaissance actually real?

Few artworks made during the renaissance :