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Y305: The Renaissance c.1400–c.1600

Religion and religious change: condition of the Church, Christianity and the Renaissance

  • 2 things to know
  • Unit group 3

Overview

Recall questions on the condition of the Church and religious institutions, the Council of Florence, Rome and the importance of the Papacy and international links, the Renaissance Papacy and its condition and attitude to the Renaissance.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Evaluation

Give three criticisms made of the Renaissance popes.

Key term

Define simony, pluralism and absenteeism.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Describe the condition of the Church around 1400.

    Model answer

    It was weakened by the Great Schism of 1378 to 1417, with rival popes dividing Europe, a strong conciliar movement arguing that a general council outranked the pope, and widespread complaint about clerical wealth and ignorance.

  2. 2

    What was the Council of Florence and what did it agree?

    Model answer

    It was the council that opened in 1438, moved from Ferrara to Florence, at which in 1439 Latin and Greek churchmen agreed a formal reunion of the eastern and western churches in return for hoped-for western help against the Ottomans.

  3. 3

    Why did the Council of Florence matter for Renaissance scholarship?

    Model answer

    It brought the Byzantine emperor and Greek scholars such as Bessarion and Gemistos Plethon to Florence, stimulating interest in Plato and Greek texts and leaving Greek learning established in the city.

  4. 4

    Why did the union agreed at Florence fail?

    Model answer

    It was rejected by most of the Orthodox clergy and people of Constantinople, promised western military help never materialised in sufficient force, and the city fell to the Ottomans in 1453.

  5. 5

    How did the papacy's return to Rome affect the city?

    Model answer

    After Martin V returned in 1420 the popes had to rebuild a decayed and depopulated city, and they used building, art and ceremony to reassert Rome as the undisputed capital of Christendom.

  6. 6

    Explain what is meant by the Renaissance Papacy.

    Model answer

    It describes the popes from about 1447 to 1521 who behaved as Italian secular princes, ruling the Papal States, waging war and pursuing dynastic interests, while acting as the most lavish patrons of art and learning in Europe.

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Simony means the buying and selling of Church office.
TrueFalse

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