Summary the Modern Age: Renaissance, Revolutions, and the Collapse of the USSR

Lecture overview: “A New Dawn” —
Humanism, Reformation, and what changed
(clear + complete)
1) Debate: “Break” vs “Continuity” (Middle Ages →
Renaissance)

A) Radical break (discontinuity)

 Who: Petrarch and early humanists
 Idea: The Middle Ages were “dark,” and the Renaissance was a
fresh new beginning.
 Why they said it: It helped humanists define themselves as
“reviving” true classical culture and criticizing medieval learning.

B) Continuity thesis

 Who: Charles Homer Haskins (1927)
 Idea: The Middle Ages were not simply “dark.” There was already
serious cultural and intellectual growth (e.g., the “Renaissance of
the 12th century”).
 Meaning of “Renaissance of the 12th century”: a medieval
revival of learning (schools/universities, scholarship, translations,
renewed interest in classical ideas) long before the 15th century.

Lecture nuance (Lesaffer)

 Antiquity was rediscovered earlier too, but in the 15th century
it was rediscovered again in a new way.
 Same general idea (rediscovery), different method (how they
studied and used the past).




2) The big comparison: Scholasticism vs Humanism

Scholasticism (mainly 12th–13th century, medieval Western
Europe)

 Where / who: university culture (Paris, Bologna, Oxford),
theologians/philosophers.

,  Goal: find truth through logic, by making authoritative texts fit
together.
 Text view: texts contain timeless truth.
 Key concept: Auctoritas = strong authority of recognized
texts/authors (Bible, Church Fathers, Aristotle).
 Method: logical argumentation to harmonise authorities.

Humanism (mainly 15th century, starts in Italy → spreads across
Europe)

 Where / who: Italian city-states first (scholars, teachers, writers,
officials), later across Western/Northern Europe.
 Goal: gain knowledge by studying classical texts as historical
sources.
 Text view: texts are written in a specific time and context, so
authority is not absolute.
 Method: historical + philological approach (language,
manuscripts, context, history).

Philological vs philosophical (quick)

 Philological: careful work on texts and language (meaning of
words, manuscript differences, context).
 Philosophical: work on ideas and arguments (logic, concepts,
truth, ethics).

Keyword: Emulatio

 “Imitation + competition”: learn from Antiquity, but aim to
improve and surpass it.




3) Impact of Humanism (what changed culturally?)

Humanism encouraged a mindset that reshaped culture:

 More challenging of authority: people become more willing to
question “because an authority says so.”
 More interest in other times/cultures: stronger historical
awareness and curiosity about difference.
 Faster secularisation: more attention to “worldly” topics
(education, politics, ethics, literature) not only theology.

,  More focus on individuals and change: less purely
collective/static worldview; more emphasis on individual ability,
reputation, development, and historical change.




4) Humanism → Scientific Revolution (examples)

Humanism supports a new attitude: critical reading, interpretation,
evidence, method. That spills over from texts to nature.

Copernicus

 What: heliocentric model (sun-centered).
 How: argues it should be judged by mathematics
(“mathematicians should judge”) → authority shifts toward method
and proof.

Galileo

 What: observation/physics should not be blocked by literal scripture
readings.
 How: the Bible is not a physics textbook → different domains of
knowledge require different methods.

Outcome (17th century): new epistemologies

 Rationalism: knowledge through reason (often math/logic).
 Empiricism: knowledge through observation and experiment.




5) Start of the Reformation (1517) — step-
by-step
5.1 What happened?

 Who: Martin Luther
 What: publishes the 95 Theses (often linked to the Castle Church
door in Wittenberg).
 When: 1517

Core point: Luther makes his objections public.