The Siege of Vienna, 1529

Interesting documentary (especially for uniforms, weapons, and re-enactments) from the Military History Channel, in six parts.

Here is Part I. (The rest is on Youtube at this link: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=siege+of+vienna+1529&aq=2&oq=siege+of+vienna+)

List of Popes during the reign of Henry VIII

Source: Wikipedia. Click to enlarge

I hope you are enjoying the reading assignment. Possible pop quiz tomorrow!

Study guide terms for tomorrow's multiple choice test

Make sure to check the Power Point update in the post below.

As for the study guide, anything below the Battle of Mohacs will not be on the test, as we have not discussed these things in class.

We will "tie up" these "loose ends" after the multiple choice section on Monday, then head to the situation in England and Henry VIII.

Power Point from Thursday

Here is the rest of the Power Point.

"Problem #3: The Ottoman Turks" will not be on the test. You do not have to know about the Battle of Mohacs, as we have not yet discussed it in class.

Above: Aachen Cathedral (right), started by Charlemagne; site of coronations in Holy Roman Empire from 936-1531

Burgher Reform

•at first urban phenomenon

•why?

•trading cities

–hard-working merchant class (vs. “lazy priests”)

–middle class affected lower class

–financial independence (vs. Church and HRE taxes)

•more Catholic in S. Germany

–investments in property (incl. churches)

–closer to Italy (there were exceptions to this)

–Habsburg family influence

–stronger nobility

•

Spread of Reformation

•Diets allowed for delays in official decision regarding reformers (afraid of defections/civil war in HRE)

•1529: Reforming princes met in Speyer to complain about Charles

•prepared a “protest” (Lutherans -> Reformers -> “Protestants”)

•Bohemia fertile ground; why?

•Hus!

•also Hungary; why?

•Catholic armies losing to Turks; open area for Protestant missionaries

Above: Eastward expansion: Kronstadt, Transylvania (modern-day Brasov, Romania)

German Catholic cathedral became Lutheran

Nothing about the Reformation spreading to Scandinavia will be on this test.

Since this was a large unit, and since Greek Week took up a lot of fourth block, we will have two tests in this unit. Tomorrow's multiple choice will cover mostly Luther and related political and cultural issues. Later, there will be a test on the Peace of Augsburg, Zwingli and Calvin, and the "reformation" in England.

Check back later today for an update regarding the study guide.

Erasmus from (of?) Rotterdam

Hello. I hope you're all enjoying your weekend. In between college football games yesterday I did a little extra research on Erasmus, which is a subject that has defined Labor Day for the last few years now. Although there are plenty of academic biographies of the man, my favorite remains Stefan Zweig's narrative paean, Erasmus of Rotterdam (1934). Zweig was a Viennese writer from the early twentieth century who was clairvoyant enough to see what was about to happen to his homeland (and people like him within it), and fled to London the year he published this book.

Here is an excerpt (I took photographs of the pages, as I lack a scanner) from the book, and the accompanying Hans Holbein portrait it discusses (click on photos to enlarge if necessary):

And here is a link to an interesting article about an international project involving the translation of Erasmus' works:
http://www.dickinson.edu/story.aspx?id=10737429029

Renaissance Test Tips 2, 3, 4...

Make sure you go over the handout "On Machiavelli" (one sheet, double-sided). The last question addresses the value of "virtu" and asks you to relate it to what Pico della Mirandola states in "Oration on the Dignity of Man."

Questions about art will include a few works we have studied, but there will also be one work which we have not looked at. You will have to explain why it is a Renaissance (and not medieval) work of art. Be sure to review the concepts of perspective and chiaroscuro.

Also, there is a quote from Machiavelli in the reading handout "The End of the Reniassance" from "The Brick." I suggest you re-read this quote and place it in the larger cultural context of the Renaissance (you can relate it to Cosimo de' Medici's "hobby" and Botticelli's non-Christian paintings, among other things)

Remember to come to class early (1:10 or so) for a quick review!

Renaissance Test Tip #1

How would you relate the structures below to Renaissance social structure and humanism?

San Gimignano, Prov. of Siena, Tuscany

Palazzo Medici Riccardo (built for Cosimo de' Medici), Florence

The Launch... and the Masaccio clip

Hello all, and welcome to the blog! Along with class announcements, I will post course-related information, including links, images, and text that enrich the curriculum.

Here is the video from yesterday's class, about Masaccio's use of perspective in The Holy Trinity (1425).