The ÒEarly ModernÓ Period

and the Northern Renaissance

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Desiderius Erasmus:
Christian Humanist

St. Thomas More:
Social Critic

Gutenberg Bible

                                  

Key Terms

1) ÒEarly Modern PeriodÓ

2) Christian Humanism

3) Johannes Gutenberg

4) Desiderius Erasmus

5) St. Thomas More & Utopia

6) Francois Rabelais and ÒrabelaisianÓ

 

1) What defines the ÒEarly Modern Period?Ó

2) What distinguished the Northern Renaissance from the Italian Renaissance?

 

I. Defining the Early Modern Period

 

á    Increasing Secularism: Northern Renaissance and Scientific Revolution

á    Religious Division: The Protestant Reformation and Religious War

á    European Expansion: The Discovery of the ÒNew WorldÓ

á    New Market Economies: Toward Capitalism

á    The Continued Rise of Centralized States:  Absolutism and Constitutionalism


II.  The Northern Renaissance

 

á    Preconditions

o  Stability and Wealth, Strong Monarchies, Contact with Italy

o  The Printing Press: Johannes Gutenberg (1445) & The Book Revolution

The Index of Prohibited Books (1559)

 

á    The Legacy of the 14th Century

o  Religious Piety and Criticism of the Church

o  The Desire for Church Reform

 

á    Renaissance Humanism and Christianity

o  Searching for the True Meanings of Christianity

o  Toward a Simpler, More Rational Faith

 

á    The New Satirical/Critical Literature

o  Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536):  In Praise of Folly (1509)

o  St. Thomas More (1478-1535): Utopia (1513)

o  Francois Rabelais (1494-1553): Gargantua and Pantegruel (1533)