Paper Example on Twelfth-Century Renaissance: Bridging Middle Ages & Modernity

Question 1

The Renaissance of the twelfth century refers to as middle stone age that was characterized by many changes in political, social, and economic transformations. It also involved intellectual revitalization in western Europe with critical and scientific and philosophical roots. During the twelfth century, the European culture was considered high middle age. The period of Renaissance refers to the period that bridges the middle age period, and modern history at the end of the eleventh century, western Europe made a significant step of advancement in several areas. These changes contributed to the later achievements in literary and artistic works.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The process of rebirth was laid down by political centralization and consolidation of monarchies in Europe. The centralization process initially was started by King Charlemagne, whose inclination towards education resulted in the emergence of new churches and schools. The second instance of Renaissance occurred during the reign of King Otto I of Saxons. The main features that ensued as a result of the Renaissance are.

Economy and Trade. During the period of the Renaissance, the European Economy rapidly grew explicitly in the field of trade. There was significant population growth, expansion of the banking sectors, creation of trade routes, and the emergence of new manufacturing systems, which promoted overall improvement of commercial activity. Feudalism gradually disappeared and old forms of capitalization, which got widely spread during the period of the middle stone age. The European Economy enjoyed a diverse economy as different types of goods got produced in different regions. This resulted in the rapid economic development of the continent. During the period of Renaissance, there were also many changes in the manufacturing sector, such as in the production of woolen materials that got used in clothing. The Economy experienced a mix up of crises and opportunities in the industry. People showed up the development of new skills in adapting to environmental changes. If a particular trade venture fails, the individuals could develop another.

Political systems. During the period of the Renaissance, the most considerable political change resulted from the segregation of politics from Christianity. Religion that was part of the governance was no longer functional in people's management and authority. The governance got founded on the concept of humanism that advocated for democracy that valued contribution and opinion in the administration of powers. The monarchy powers that that was getting exercised during the middle stone age came to an end. Roman Empire that used to rule almost the entire Europe century after century collapsed. The roman Catholic Church got left as the only unifying factor in Europe. Europe was eventually divided but their gradual growth in trade that unified the nations in the continent. AT this period, the foreign invasion came to an end, and the native leaders started in their lands began to combine their powers. This promoted the development overseas as they exercised their strengths in their own countries.

The process of Renaissance in Europe was essential as it gave rise new and accessible system of administration of the nations in Europe. Some scientific inventions and innovations promoted economic development as they facilitated the efficient production of quality goods that helped trade in the European countries. The period of Renaissance enhanced cooperation among the nations in Europe as the states were involved in trading activities.

Question 2

Crusades were the series of political and religious wars fought to control the holy land in Europe, and the fought took place between the years 1096 and 1296. The first crusade was initiated by Pope Urban ii to help Christian Byzantine Empire against attack by Muslim Seljuk Turks. This crusade triggered the Europeans to capture Jerusalem, and the Muslims quickly reacted by unifying against the invasion of the Christians. The two groups of Christians and Muslims fought subsequently for the control of the holy land. At the end of the first crusade in the year 1291, Muslims took over the coastal areas and Jerusalem that remained under their control until the twentieth century. The crusading movement touched every aspect of people's daily life as it involved men and ladies from every nation in Europe. The people's political economic and religious thoughts were severely affected by the crusading movements. The movements brought together new aspects of artists from different traditions and backgrounds, which resulted in new forms of expression in Europe.

The crusade movements were usually organized by Christians in western Europe in different centuries against Muslims expansion. The primary objective of the crusades was to cease the development of the Islamic Religion states and set Christianity the holy land in the Middle east and reclaim back the territories that were initially Christian. In the process of the movements, the Christians viewed crusades as the route to salvation to those who participated; they believed that God had instituted them the time of holy war so that they can find a way of gaining salvation. They also believed that God would grant a spiritual reward of forgiveness of sins. The crusaders were also involved in the battle to secure the power of the Church in Europe. The conflicts that resulted in crusades were prompted by popes who considered Muslims and those people who were not Christians as enemies of the Church in Europe. The war also targeted the Christians who questioned official teachings and challenged the Pope's power in authority.

The crusading movement had several negative impacts on the life of the people in Europe. For example, millions of Islamists, Christians, and non-Christians people in Europe lost their lives in the process of the battle. There was a stagnation in economic development as there was a debt incurred associated with several excursions in the Middle East that affected all levels of the society that is the individual persons, villages, and families. The war also destroyed towns and cities, and this limited the economic development in entire Europe. The battle led to the significant growth of the Catholic Church in power due to the lords who offered part of the conquered land to the Church. They had a strong belief that they would go to heaven by providing the Church with the conquered territory. Moreover, Pope Urban ii proclaimed that crusades set a lasting effect on European people and middle eastern politics and culture that is still getting exercised today.

Although the crusade battle at first slowed down the economic development and the positive relationship of the people in the nation of Europe due to poor governance, it contributed to the end of the Feudalism system of the government that involved a rigid hierarchical way of structuring the society and the government was dominated by the monarch. Feudalism got founded on the principle of ownership of land and farming. The crusades resulted in Feudalism losing its relevance in the Europeans nations. This helped the peasant farmers to participate in trades. It eventually led to the idea of Renaissance in Europe that facilitated good governance, active trade, and improvement of every person's way of living.

Question 3

Crises in the fourteen century refer to several events that took place in the late middle age that resulted in the European nation's prosperity in growth to come to a standstill. During this time, natural and political disasters got observed in entire Europe. The three significant crises that caused significant changes in European societies are Demographic decline, Religious, and political instability.

Demographic Collapse. There was a series or famine in Europe that was a result of the Medieval warm period that came towards the end of the thirteenth century. There was a harsh winter that significantly reduced harvest leading to food shortage. The innovations such as heavy ploughing machines were not effectively used in clearing fields because northern Europe had poor clay soil. The deficiency in food supply and rapidly inflated the food prices, and this limited some individuals to access food. The scarcity in food in Europe resulted in malnutrition, which weakened the immune systems of some individuals causing weak immune systems. The people in northern and western European people got exposed to diseases that claimed the life of so many individuals that significantly reduced the population of north and west Europe. At this period, most of the governments had set some measures that limited the export of the foodstuffs. Thus it became challenging for large nations like England to purchase foods from abroad. During this time, large countries such as England and Scotland were at war, these nations had spent a lot of finances, and they were suffering from inflation. The European Economy entered into a vicious cycle in its Economy, there was much hunger, and widespread disease contributed to a drastic decrease in the Economy. As Europe was getting into the little ice age from the medieval warm period, there was a decrease in temperature and an increase in the flood, which increased famine. The heavy rain and cold was a problem as it limited maturation of the grains, and the flooding turned the land to be rocky and unproductive. The price was inflation due to the scarcity in production of grains, this subsequent climatic change and increase in famine resulted in the Bovine pestilence a pathogen that severely affected the live stocks in Europe, and this slowed down the Economy among the countries in Europe.

Religion and politics. The western schism shattered the roman catholic church unity. The only religion that was appreciated and recognized in Europe in the fourteenth century was Christianity, particularly the Catholics. The Church and the religious institution in the fourteenth century became wealthier and more influential as the state used to allocate some funds to them. The Church had gained much power at this time that got used in the administration of the countries in European nations. During the Roman empire, Christianity got seen as a threat to the empire, and the Christians were initially harassed and persecuted, and this came to an end when Christianity replaced the roman empire, which was the official religion. The churches were too influential as it was allowed to collect taxes from their followers.

In conclusion, religion played a significant role in the administration of laws and guidance to the Europeans nations in the fourteenth century. The Church spent effort in struggling for fairness in the treatment of the individuals in the European countries through avoiding harassment and persecution of some individuals by the Roman Empire. The Church also promoted demographic improvement as it promoted respect to all the individuals.