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European Civilization

The eleventh to the eighteenth centuries were a historical time period of major changes to the face of European civilization. This is especially true with regards to religion (Christianity), scientific and geographical discoveries, and technological and agricultural advancements. These eight centuries span the time periods recognized as the high middle ages, late middle ages and early modern Europe. This historical time period has significant milestones ranging from the division (schism) of the Christian church all the way to the start of the French revolution. It was during this time period that England was invaded successfully by William the Conqueror, the Black Death (plague) killed a third of Europe’s population, Christopher Columbus landed in the New World (North America), the Renaissance flourished, Martin Luther demanded for Reformation in the Christian church, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain was formed by the union of England and Scotland. This was also the time period when the First Crusade was called for by Pope Urban II, the Hundred Years War happened, Vasco da Gama established direct trade with Asia, and Leonardo da Vinci painted The Last Supper in Milan.

There were many changes in the structure and practice of religion that occurred during this period in Europe. In the mid-eleventh century the East-West (Great) Schism of the Christian churches took place. This was a major rift occurring between the Roman Catholic church and the Eastern Orthodox church and was brought about primarily by Pope Leo IX, and one of the issues the two churches differed over was the extent of power vested in the Bishops of Rome and Constantinople. Following the Great Schism many Central European kingdoms that had newly been created such as Poland and Hungary took up Christianity. In Rome as the Roman Catholic Church gained power the Pope came into conflict with the Emperor. In the other European kingdoms it was the lords and the nobles who ruled the church, thus the Pope worked to rid the church of this secular control and succeeded. In the early twelfth century the Roman Catholic Church established the inquisition to make Europe catholic by force. By the fifteenth century most of Europe was thus Roman Catholic. From the sixteenth century to the eighteenth century major reformations occurred in the Roman Catholic Church. At this time the Roman Catholic Church was accused of corruption. A variety of individuals shaped this reformation, including Martin Luther and John Calvin. The Protestant movement emerged during this time and its aim was not only to eliminate corruption within the church organization but also to improve on some of the principal Catholic teachings and beliefs. The Jesuit movement was also formed during this time. King Henry VIII of England set up the Anglican Church in an attempt to regain control over the religious masses and thus end the influence exerted by the Roman Catholic Church.

At the turn of the eleventh century the barbarian invasions that had characterized the previous centuries were greatly reduced and Europe became better organized politically. England was invaded in the late eleventh century by the Duke of Normandy (William the Conqueror). This led to the creation of a very powerful monarchy in England and opened up trade between itself and other coastal regions such as Asia, Africa and Australia. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the Mongol Empire came into power as its military leader Batu Khan planned on conquering all of Europe. He managed to conquer Poland and Hungary before he was recalled back to Mongolia. In the fifteenth century there were peasant uprisings in France and England and this social unrest was the cause of the Hundred Years War. Towards the end of the fifteenth century Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire fell to the Turks who made the Constantinople the capital of their Ottoman Empire. From the sixteenth century to the eighteenth century many wars broke out in Europe mainly triggered by religious differences between empires. Despite the work of the European Council and the Treaty of England to end the wars in Europe, everlasting peace was not achieved and the wars continued nonetheless. Monarchs started establishing powerful independent nations such as England and France. Religious differences were responsible for numerous wars on Europe’s soil. The French Wars of religion in the sixteenth century were an example. Between 1916 and 1948 the Thirty Years War occurred involving a majority of the European nations. The war, fought in what is modern-day Germany, was started off as a religious fight between Catholics and Protestants but soon developed into a general war, and resulted in great destruction of a large part of Germany and Italy.

Rebirth of civilization in Europe occurred around the eleventh century. This was set in motion by trade in Italy and let to the formation of cities such as Florence and Venice. Nations such as Spain and Portugal also started slowly arising. One of the results of this was the use of vernacular (French in France, Italian in Italy) in writings rather than the traditional Latin. The philosophy of Scholasticism was developed with the rediscovery of Aristotle’s work. There was thus renewed interest in the ancient Roman and Greek works leading to the Italian Renaissance. The Italian scholar Francesco di Petracco was the first humanist. Learning became important as the Renaissance all spheres of intellectuality from art to science, from philosophy to politics, from literature to history. Even religion was not spared.

Europe, starting from Italy then spreading north and west, began admiring the Roman and Greek texts and inculcating them into their own culture and day to day lives, especially by artists and writers. Leonardo da Vinci is a prime example of a multi-talented artist who incorporated Greek and Roman ideas into his own work. A major influence on European civilization from the Greeks and Romans was the idea that education, discipline and residing in towns is what constituted civilization. The humanist movement was further advanced by the development of postal services all over Europe as this allowed intellectuals to freely communicate with one another.