William Manchester’s A World Lit Only By Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance portrayed the Late Medieval Period and the Renaissance. Manchester emphasizes that the “power of the medieval mind had been irrevocably broken” during the 16th century (295). Western European society realized that “Europe was no longer the world, and the world was no longer the center of the universe” (295). During Medieval Europe, devout Catholics believed “the Church was indivisible, the afterlife a certainty; all knowledge was already known. And nothing would ever change” (27). The Europeans were unaware of that they were about to be swept up in the “most powerful, incomprehensible, irresistible vortex” (27). Yet, their world was completely shattered by …show more content…
Manchester believed that Thomas More rose above higher than any other humanist. He was devout to both his Catholic church, as well as to King Henry VIII (108). More’s Utopia was open to other religious views, but More’s persona was a devout Catholic. More’s texts presented humanistic ideas to Europeans, and opened doors in their minds to more humanistic beliefs. More ultimately was beheaded for treason when he opposed King Henry VIII's annulment of his marriage with Catherine of Aragon (213). Desiderius Erasmus is labeled by Manchester as the wisest man of his age (287). He was a Catholic, reformist, humanist, and author. He wrote books that sided with the anticlerical sentiment. He also defended Martin Luther as well as giving him advice to remain calm and told Luther it “would be wiser to denounce those who misuse the Pope’s authority than to censure the Pope himself”(180). Erasmus believed that no other institution could replace the Roman faith, and instead “...the Catholic infrastructure could be set aright if he brought his wisdom to bear on its flaws”(183). Erasmus believed that his wisdom could reform the Church’s flaws and there was only madness in the civil war that was approaching. Erasmus continued to publish works that expressed that the Church needed to be reformed until his death, afterwards he was labeled as a
The World Lit Only by Fire, written by William Manchester, is book based on the middle/ medieval ages. Early into the book, Manchester writes, “Was the medieval world a civilization, comparable to Rome before it or to the modern era that followed? If by civilization one means a society which has reached a relatively high level of cultural and technological development, the answer is no” (15). The author’s opinion is clear; he does not believe that the medieval ages ever achieved the title of a civilization.
...ding himself, then someone else is. Those who hold a higher rank to him and have more power in the world can easily manipulate an unguided man. If Erasmus had not saved the Europeans from the corruption of the Church, there would be no telling how today’s Europe would be characterized as. He defined what it meant to be a true follower of God.
By the end of eleventh century, Western Europe had experienced a powerful cultural revival. The flourish of New towns provided a place for exchange of commerce and flow of knowledge and ideas. Universities, which replaced monasteries as centers of learning, poured urbanized knowledge into society. New technological advances and economics transformations provided the means for building magnificent architectures. These developments were representative of the mental and behavioral transformations that the medieval world underwent and the new relationships that were brought about between men, women and society in the twelfth century. As in technology, science, and scholasticism, Literature was also reborn with a new theme.3
The church’s robust grip on religious expression shattered as medieval society transitioned into a period known as the Reformation. Characterized by the rejection of common ideology, the Reformation sparked religious curiosity. Reformers such as John Calvin and Martin Luther offered interpretations of the Bible in direct opposition to the Catholic Church’s teachings, forcing Europeans to examine and formulate their own beliefs. This style of thinking was foreign to European society because up to this point in history Europeans were passive absorbers of Catholic Church ideology. Hence, it was natural that an era considered the Age of Enlightenment followed the period of rejection and questioning known as the Reformation.
An interesting note is how similar their concept of god is to the Christian God. This was likely done by More to establish support for some of the other ideas expressed in Utopia. This motive is reinforced even more because large numbers the utopians converted to Christianity when they learned of it. They were described as intensely interested in Christianity and its tenants. Their system of religion was also very like Christianity. Unfortunately, even Christians that did not follow the smaller traditions of other sects were looked down on in England. This description of their interest in Christianity reveals how much pressure More was in to portray Christianity in a
Norman Davies, a leading English historian, wrote, “There is an air of immobility about many descriptions of the medieval world” (Davies 291). However, these descriptions he refers to do not capture the true essence of the Middle Ages of Europe, which were a continuation and a formation. They were a continuation of old Rome in race, language, institutions, law, literature, arts, and in cultures independent of Rome. Nevertheless, the Middle Ages were not merely a continuation; they were the formation of our world. Many modern-day historians argue that the so-called Dark Ages were a period of ascent rather than of descent, that with the withering of the pagan classic civilization came the first budding of a new culture that was to develop into our modern civilization. James M. Powell, a prominent historian, agreed with this argument concerning the untold progress of this age. Powell believed that the Medieval Ages was a multi-faceted period of time in which the roots of modern civilization began to emerge, and that it was. This time period was critical because, although it seemed to be a dark age, seeds were being planted for future generations such as ours. These seeds have sprouted and have given us templates to work with regarding issues of centralization, the economy, scholasticism, education, expressions of art, and religion.
Thomas More was born in London in 1478. He studied at Oxford where he took a profound love of classical literature. In Utopia, More shows his own skills in humanism. In this story, modeled after Plato's Republic, More examines his culture against a hypothetical culture he invents. His Utopia varies greatly from both his society and our society today. Four ways Utopia differs from our society are social system, attitude towards jewelry, marriage customs, and religion.
A few years after More published Utopia his own life was far from the Utopia he wrote about, he had conflicting views of the protestant reformation led by Martin Luther, and was eventually beheaded by King Henry VII after refusing to acknowledge the King as Supreme Head of the Church of England. More was considered a humanist, or someone that cares greatly about the wellbeing of humans, many of the topics that More emphasized in Utopia were conceived from facets that he felt could be improved. These topics included family life, population control, healthcare, educational systems, and well established trading
Even though Erasmus was a man of great wisdom, this was not what made him dearly loved. Rather, the movement he created in Europe did so. Through reforming the Catholic Church, writing educational books, or simply bringing people closer to the truth of Christianity, he was a man with the beloved intent to fix a corrupted worldview lingering through the
Thomas More’s Utopia is a work of ambiguous dualities that forces the reader to question More’s real view on the concept of a utopian society. However, evidence throughout the novel suggests that More did intend Utopia to be the “best state of the commonwealth.” The detailed description of Utopia acts as Mores mode of expressing his humanistic views, commenting on the fundamentals of human nature and the importance of reason and natural law while gracefully combining the two seemingly conflicting ideals of communism and liberalism.
An Analysis of Jack London's To Build a Fire. In her cultural criticism of Jack London's "To Build a Fire", Jill Widdicombe explores the question of whether the story's protagonist might have perished from the extreme cold of the Klondike winter even if with a traveling companion. She describes the brutality of the winter weather and, alluding to the man's confidence in his ability to survive the weather, describes it as "behavior most of us can understand" - especially if we are accustomed to warmer surroundings. She states: "the extreme cold of frosty landscapes--or "The White Silence", as London describes it--is so quiet and abstract that it does not immediately appear to be lethal".
Utopia as a text is a clear reflection and representation of More’s passion for ideas and art. Through the character of Raphael, More projects and presents his ideas, concepts and beliefs of politics and society. More’s Utopia aims to create a statement on the operations and effectiveness of the society of England. This text is a general reflection of More’s idea of a perfectly balanced and harmonious society. His ideas and concepts of society somewhat contrast to the rest of 16th century England and indicate a mind that was far ahead of its time. A number of issues and themes are raised throughout the text to which More provides varying views and opinions. These are transmitted and projected through the perspectives of the fictional Raphael, More and Giles.
During the early sixteenth century there was a myth that education and learning through the “true” Christian message would bring back the ancient church and inspire solutions to social and political problems; the prime example being Utopia by Thomas More. Utopia encouraged happiness by fundamentally living a morally correct life. According to Utopia the removal of private property played key importance to living ethically because with common property, there is no greed. Furthermore, the abolishment of private property also meant there would be no means of commerce which would also apply to the removal of greed. Hythloday expresses his distaste of private property when saying, “But so long as it shall continue, so long shall remain among the most and b...
on the evils and errors of the church authorities and on superstition made. vulnerable to the accusation that he was a Lutheran. They both used and emphasized in scripture and the Bible. Even though Erasmus denied being a Lutheran. At times even verbally attacked Luther, he is often regarded as a precursor of the Reformation. The humanists work in translating and analyzing original Sources often uncovered discrepancies among these sources, which led to questions about the Catholic Church's practices and encouraged efforts for reform.
The view of humanity during the Late Middle Ages was that humans did not know everything and were not sup...