The issues of religious change and conflict strongly influence the production of Dante’s Divine Comedy, Petrarch’s The Secret, and Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses. In fact, these works would not exist, or at least not be remotely similar to their current form, without the occurrence of religious issues which inspired them.
First, The Divine Comedy written by Dante Alighieri clearly portrays the religious conflict of its time. It was written in order to encourage support for the Catholic church. More specifically, The Divine Comedy attempts to encourage support for the Pope. In this time, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who ruled mostly in modern day Germany, attempted to expand his empire into the Italian Peninsula. At the
…show more content…
To an extent, this work threatens traditional Christian stances and attitudes. However, in this work specifically, Petrarch attempts to resolve issues between Christianity and humanism. Rather than insult or attempt to move past traditional Christian teaching, he attempts to resolve issues between the expanding renaissance school of thought and religious doctrine. Therefore, in The Secret, Petrarch attempts to bring about a change in religious standards, in order to preserve Christianity, but also increase the standard of living and improve the western world using humanism.
Lastly, Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses had a profound affect on the Christian faith. Undeniably, his work radically changed the world, and is one of the most influential writings in history. Similarly to Petrarch, Martin Luther attempted to change Christianity. However, his work resulted several breakoffs from the Catholic faith. Arguably, his work also led to later changes to Catholicism as well. But, the most profound impact of Martin Luther’s work was the splintering of Catholicism. Essentially, he created Protestantism, and inspired the divergence of additional religious figures and
Martin Luther couldn 't help contradicting parts of Roman Catholic religious practices, particularly the offer of indulgences, religious disgrace, and the prominence on salvation through benevolent acts. He made a move by posting and dispersing his 95 theses and left a big mark on religious development, which created a branch of human faith, and later encouraging change in the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther was in charge of the separation of the Catholic Church. He was a mediator in the sixteenth century of a craving across the board of the reestablishment and change of the Catholic Church. He started the Protestant change, which was a continuation of the medieval religious study. Martin Luther’s 95 theses opened the door to a religious reform. He made it possible for other rulers to believe that two religions could coexist.
Martin Luther is known to be a key initiator to the Protestant Reformation, although he had no intention of doing so. He was going to become a monk, so he read deeply into scriptures, but this only led him to discover inconsistencies between traditions and the Bible. These inconsistencies lead him to demand changes in the Catholic Church; however that did not include
The religious wars of the 16th Century caused intense strife throughout Europe, economic hardships, personal and emotional questioning of belief. Through the pain of many rose rays of hope from artists and intellectuals to help guide them through their uncertainty (455).
Its hard for most people to imagine it possible that one man, like Martin Luther, could affect the world so profoundly in such a short period of time. However, that is infact exactly what he did and in a period of only sixty-three years. Some of the most spectacular events in religious reform took place during Martin Luther's life. He forced the scholarly to stop and take a good, hard look at the practices of the church and he allowed the layman to do the same. At a time when indulgences and pardons were at there height, and the Catholic church reigned supreme, Martin Luther chose to preach against them and the church's doctrine. With one document, his Ninety-Five Theses, he raddled the halls of the Vatican, broke the strong hold of the Catholic church, and brought Christian reform to all parts of Europe and the world.
Of the Medieval Texts, Dante’s Inferno, gives readers insight into a poetically described version of Hell that is full of punishment and evil. Dante travels through purgatory speaking with various shades as well as converses with his guide to gain insight on the follies of man. Each Canto describes certain characters and their reasons for being stuck in Hell. Through analysis of the text as well as support from literature written by Sara Sturm, R Bates, and lastly EM Hood, Canto XXVI not only provides insight on Dante’s political beliefs, but also describes the eventual demise of false counselors, as well as those whom are not grateful for their God-Given gifts.
He made a massive impact on the Catholic Church because he changed so many things during his time so that everyone would be treated fairly and evenly. One of Luther's main roles was that he was the leader of the Lutheran's. The Lutherans were the type of people who supported Luther and his ideas and followed him with what his teachings were about. A lot of these people were protestants because once Luther spoke up to the Catholic Church they all saw that they were being taken advantage of. Luther's beliefs were based on 'Faith + Good works = Heaven'. This was one of the many things that protestants believed would be the reason why they would be sent to Heaven. Luther felt that the Catholic Church weren't interpreting the bible correctly which is why Martin made the 95 Theses. The 95 Theses contained offence on papal abuses and the sale of indulgences by the church in 1517. When Luther refused to take back his offence, Pope Leo X outlined a statement about the Church's doctrine on indulgences and wanted Luther's ideas to be condemned of. By the time that Luther brought more and more attention to himself he had the support of many German society's. Pope Leo X gave Luther 60 days to recant or he would face excommunication. As many of Luther's books were being burned Luther published an open letter to Pope Leo X announcing that he will still be continuing about his opinion on false doctrine and corruption in the
Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron is a series of tales written during the Late Middle Ages that is meant to entertain the reader. While the entertainment value of Boccaccio’s work in undeniable, the Decameron also provides the reader with information about society at the time, and Boccaccio’s own worldview. One of the most prevalent themes throughout the Decameron is the portrayal of clergymen and members of religious communities as negative influences on those around them, constantly behaving in a manner unfit for those who are supposed to be moral and spiritual exemplars. Throughout the tales told by the lieta brigada, many priests, and friars are portrayed as being extremely lustful and greedy, frequently indulging in sex (often with the wives of other men), and living lives more befitting of a minor lord than a monk. Those clergymen who are not portrayed as out rightly immoral are usually stupid, and are unable to stop others from acting immorally because of their ignorance. Despite this, a few of the clergymen in the story are shown as ultimately having good intentions, or improving in morality through the actions of another. To understand all of these criticisms of the clergy, we must look at them through a historical lens, and observe the behavior of members of the Church in the Late Middle Ages. Finally, these analyses of the Decameron’s portrayal of clergymen may give us insight into Boccaccio’s own faith, and allow us to understand the motives of the author. In this essay, I will analyze the portrayal of clergymen and members of religious communities in Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron. I will focus on the licentiousness, greed, and stupidity of these members of the Church, while also evaluating the few portrayals of good me...
In a time of religious upheaval in Europe, post-Lutheran theses and in the midst of political revolutions, Voltaire offers another option to the religious institutions of this time in his novel Candide: deism. He poses this option by satirizing organized religions to illustrate their corruption and hypocrisy.
Martin Luther’s (1483-1546) actions and teachings have had a profound influence on Christian faith. His crucial decision to go on a pilgrimage to Rome (1510) enabled him to witness and act against the objectionable corruption of the Catholic Church. Luther’s teachings developed through his work at Wittenburg University where his revolutionary theology evolved from the examination of the New Testament. On 31 October 1517 Martin Luther posted the controversial 95 Thesis, condemning the corruption of the Church and sharing his beliefs and ideas such as the 5 solas. Luther started a religious revolution that resulted in the formation of a new variant of Christianity that had changes to the expression of faith and key beliefs. This Protestant Church
Thesis statement: Martin Luther was responsible for the break-up of the Catholic Church Martin Luther was a representative during the 16th century of a desire widespread of the renewal and reform of the Catholic Church. He launched the Protestant reform a continuation of the medieval religious search. From the Middle ages, the church faced many problems such as the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism that hurt the prestige of the church. Most of the clergy lived in great luxury while most people were poor and they set an immoral example. The clergy had low education and many of them didn’t attend their offices.
To the reader, The Merchant of Venice, may seem horrible and it be impossible to find the “comedy” at all. Perhaps, Shakespeare may have been simply trying to make people laugh at the appalling injustice we cause one another because of the small differences among us. Or, perhaps, he may have at first wanted the viewers of The Merchant of Venice to feel that they, the Christians, had nothing in common with the Jew, Shylock. What on earth could the Christians have in common with a Jew? Shakespeare demonstrates that the Christians were just as hungry for money and fortune as the Jew. Perhaps this is a comedy after all.
Some of the best-known writers that explore religious writings are Augustine and Dante. Augustine's Confessions is a spiritual autobiography. Augustine talks directly to God and he includes a constant sense of awe at the grace and mercy of God. (Norton, 1004) "…Since all good things are from You, O God, and from God is all my health… let Your truth assure me… Thy gift who hast mercy on whom Thou wilt and wilt have compassion on whom Thou wilt" (Norton, 1005, 1008, 1031) Augustine's writings are a clear example of the common literature of this time. This form of literature carried on into what became known as the High Middle Ages, where Dante was prominent. Dante's writings are another example of religious writings. His work b...
The history of Christianity has always involved turbulence. Not only were there divisions among the members of the religion into different sects according to their own beliefs and ideas, but also, there were struggles between Christianity and the pagan, in which the two opposing sides tried to weaken the other and yield greater influence. These divisions and fierce competitions can be observed in Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, in which several clashes between systems are shown: a conflict between Christianity and paganism and one between the two different orders – the Benedictine and Franciscan. Moreover, the significance of the society’s mood is also evident: through the application of the concept of discourse, the impact of the societal norms and standards, particularly in the limited setting of a monastery, is depicted.
Making change in a time of dark beliefs and harsh criticism is a difficult task to achieve. The poet, Dante Alighieri’s world was one filled with spirituality and stigmas. Unlike many other artists of his time, he completed his most famous and influential work in Europe’s 1300’s. Dante’s piece, The Divine Comedy, demonstrates the journey one takes throughout life, to find one’s self and connect with the world and religion, all through three volumes of poetry. Of his talent, came a business of the arts. In addition, he changed the way the Italian language was perceived. He used his writing to help women be viewed as equals to men, and took a more tolerant position with regard to religion. Due to its effects on language, religion, and societal protocol, The Divine Comedy unquestionably affected Italian culture in the time of its author, and beyond.
Throughout this paper, we will look into the disappointing church corruption of the middle ages, more specifically, the unbiblical practices, serious problems, hypocritical popes, and finally, the people trying to fight the corruption!