To wrap up our examination of the Renaissance and the Reformation, please read one of the "What If?" articles OR find and read an article in History Today relating to something discussed in the unit. After you've read your chosen source, please post your unique reflection as a comment to this blog post.
Your comment should demonstrate both completion and understanding of the reading AND should also make connections to other learning (in Western Civ. & beyond). (10 points)
Reflection incorporates specific evidence from the article - 5 points
Reflection connects to other learning - 5 points
The article I chose to read was the "What If?" article about Martin Luther. The beginning of the piece gives a summary of Luther's life and involvement in the Reformation. What I was surprised to discover about Luther is that after lightning struck him, Luther became thankful and made it is duty to serve God as a result; he later studied at the University of Wittenberg to become an Augustinian monk. Connecting this back to what we discussed in class today, Augustinian values and teachings are still applicable in the contemporary world. Villanova University, for example, is an Augustinian school and embodies many of the religious beliefs that Luther held during this time. For the latter half of the article, it examples Charles V's inability to burn Luther at the stake; his ideas were simply too popular in Wittenberg and the surrounding areas (ie. Switzerland). Many began to support his ideas and see corruption in the church, so Charles V really had no option. If he killed Luther, there would be some serious backlash. I found the last paragraph of the article particularly interesting because it examines a large theme in history as a whole" the "Great Man." Much of modern history (and pre-modern history as well) focuses on great men. Columbus, Medici, Petrarch, etc. all led movements or inaugurated ideas that would shape the entire course of human history. However, ordinary people and lesser known men are often lost to a sort of tunnel vision centered exclusively on great men such as Luther. Although his presence was no doubt crucial to the crux of the Reformation, the last line of the article truly captures his role: "There might still have been a Reformation without Luther, but it would have taken a totally different form."
ReplyDeleteI chose to read the article "If Only it Had Not Been Such A Wet Summer" by Theodore K. Rabb about the summer of 1529 and the expansion of the Ottoman Empire toward Europe. I learned about Luther's revolt, and that it was only three years old at the Diet of Worms in which he was excommunicated from the Catholic Church. He vanished a few days before his meeting with Charles V, and speculation about his possible demise proliferated. I found this interesting because there was intense gossip about the whereabouts of Martin Luther, reminding me of many crime movies or television shows about missing person cases. If Luther had not survived, which he did, his religious revolution might have died with him. His death would have allowed the Catholic Church to regain control, and there probably would not be the creation of the Protestant faith. Additionally, if Luther had died the princes that he sided with against the rebellion would have turned back to the Church to have their power reaffirmed. This reminds me of many hundreds of years later when the Russian Revolution took place. The peasants revolted, as they did for Luther, but this time they overthrew the government successfully and created a provisional one. Another piece of information that I was surprised by the was intense sack of Rome by the Ottomans. So many buildings and paintings exist today from that time period that I cannot imagine what was destroyed with such a destructive force. One of the greatest "What If" ideas that I read was the one about was the possibility of the Church of England never being formed. If Charles V did not have control over the papacy, King Henry's annulment may have been granted and he would not have needed to rebel. Finally, I reached the part about the weather during the summer of 1529. If it had not been so wet, the Ottomans may have been able to conquer more of Europe and stop many of the reformations going on at the time. This would change the course of history immensely, and the author speculated many different courses of action that could occur.
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