Key Terms The Black Death Italian Humanism Black Death Yersinia Pestis o Justinian s Plague petered out in depopulated northern Italy European people had not been exposed to the plague for six hundred years and possessed no natural resistance to it when it arrived Europe was essentially a virgin territory for Yersinia o Yersinia pestis sometimes spelled Yersina is the name of the bubonic plague This virus possibly activated the disease commonly known as small pox o Yersinia is also an efficient traveler She typically infects fleas that live on rodents and rats such as the black rat are good at surviving on boats and climbing down ropes Hence they made great portals for the bacteria to live in several different overseas areas o It was not called Black Death until the 16th century Humanism Studia humanitatis o The study of classical antiquity at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14 15 16th centuries Francesco Petrarch o Humanists wanted to create an era able to speak and write with eloquence and clarity and persuading others to make good virtuous actions o Studia humanitatis today is known as humanities study of grammar rhetoric history poetry and moral philosophy o Petrarch was born Francesco Petrarca on July 20 1304 in Arezzo Tuscany He was a devoted classical scholar who is considered the Father of Humanism a philosophy that helped spark the Renaissance Petrarch s writing includes well known odes to Laura his idealized love His writing was also used to shape the modern Italian language He died at age 69 on July 18 or 19 1374 in Arqu Carrara o Wrote a doctrine that became known as humanism and formed a bridge between Middle Ages to the Renaissance o Father of Humanism Boccaccio o Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian writer poet correspondent of Petrarch and an important Renaissance humanist o Wrote in the Italian vernacular wrote realistic dialogue which differed from that of his contemporaries whom were all following formulaic models for character and plot Coluccio Salutati o Italian humanist and man of letters chancellor of the o One of the most important political and cultural leaders of Republic Renaissance Florence o Admirer of Petrarch he drew on the classical tradition in his writings and spent much of his money on starting a library pursuing classical manuscripts like Cicero s lost Letters to his Friends Lorenzo Valla o Italian humanist who knew Greek and Latin well and was chosen by Pope Nicholas V to translate Herodotus and Thucydides in Latin o Wrote a rather hostile dialogue addressing the ideas of pleasure and offers a humanist condemnation of scholasticism o Literary critic who attacked medieval traditions and anticipated views of the Protestant reformers o Valla s sacrilege fulfilled an important intellectual and social function in medieval Europe Machiavelli o Italian Renaissance political philosopher and statesman secretary of the Florentine republic whose most famous work The Prince brought him a reputation as an atheist and an immoral cynic o Also known as the Founder of modern political science o Machiavellianism is a widely used negative term to characterize unscrupulous politicians of the sort Machiavelli described most famously in The Prince He described immoral behavior such as dishonesty and killing innocents as being normal and effective in politics The Late Medieval Church Martin Luther Sacraments o outward or visible sign of spiritual grace e g baptism marriage confession of sins to priest grace was mediated by the clergy as people who were set apart and ordained to mediate the people primarily by way of sacrament Priest would demand spiritual justice and people would need to then offer a type of sacramental penance Confraternities o brotherhoods or congregants who pull together in tough times to put together their resources Confraternities played a large role in the execution of certain church projects e g when there is a family that was hungry or a widow who had lost a husband where does that help come from confraternities Indulgences o offering of financial sums in return for justification to make right of sin rather than forgiveness of that sin For instance People would give a certain amount of money to the church in return for certain amount of days off in purgatory spot between earth and heaven Often used as fund raising for various church projects e g St Peter s in Rome was financed by a large indulgence campaign Martin Luther o Student of Law at Erfurt his story begins St Anne saved his life while he was hiding under a tree during a wild rainstorm he promised her he would become a monk someday Luther enters a strict monastery and is trained in the psychology of sin penance Diligent about confession of his sins works his entire life to become a holier man o Embraces the career of the academic theologian sees all the traditions of the church that have no basis in the Bible o Creates the 95 Theses 95 Theses o Luther is not rejecting the Church but he questions whether the selling of indulgences is valuable or not o Draws up series of academic propositions 95 of them o Nails these 95 Theses to a church door almost proclaiming the beginning of Reformation Church door was like a bulletin board for the church Luther is simply signaling an academic debate by putting these 95 Theses on the church door Diet of Worms o Great gathering with political authorities present where Luther refuses to renounce his Protestant teachings where he is excommunicated o When the Roman authorities ask him to renounce his teachings Here I stand I can do no other is his response he does not repent or give up his fight o Because of this he is excommunicated by the Pope of Rome labeled a heretic o This marks the end of Luther s career in the eyes of the Church Fredrick III of Saxony o also known as Frederick the Wise Duke of Saxon o decided to protect Luther to give him a place in one of his castles o through the 1520 s Luther safely stays in his home to work on his campaigns and teachings of the Reformation Technology and Exploration Prester John o Also called Presbyter John or John the Elderly legendary Christian ruler of the East popularized in medieval chronicles and traditions as a hoped for ally against the Muslims o Believed to be a member of an independent Eastern Christian Church and didn t accept the authority of the patriarch Reconquista o Series of military campaigns by which Christian armies reclaimed control of the Iberian Peninsula