Pope Benedict XIV

Although the Puritan society has become synonymous with strictness and death, its society and ideals have influenced culture throughout history. The origins of Puritanism can be traced back to the Protestant reformation and their separation from the church of England. The Puritans believed that the Church of England needed to be purified, that the church leaders had too much power and that it should be more evenly distributed throughout the church body. In the 1560s due to their beliefs, the…

Renaissance Europe saw the development of the so-called new monarchies. What were the guiding principles and basic tactics of the rulers of England, France, and Spain in their efforts to centralize their states? To what extent did these rulers rely on new policies and practices? How successful were the new monarchs? In the years prior to the New Monarchy, Europe had been devastated by the Black Plague. The ruling powers needed to gain the loyalty of the people, rebuild the economy, and…

Viking raids, trade and slavery have all contributed to affect Europe in different manners. The Vikings developed Europe through raids, created a great trading economy, and spread different cultures through Europe with slavery. Although Viking raids did have several negative effects, Viking raids also aided in the development of Europe. A monk who saw the Vikings' attack on Paris in 885 described it is a very brutal raid and a letter by an English scholar,…

merits. The concept of purgatory was pushed by Pope Gregory, and he explained it as a way of removing people’s postbaptismal sins which had not been forgiven before their death. According to Pope Gregory, along with acts of penance, additional penance could be received if it was given to them by a priest. This additional assigned penance would allow that individual to work off time that would otherwise be spent in purgatory. This concept, with the help of Pope Urban II, soon evolved into the…

King before it could be published. In the case of drama specifically, many playwrights had to write several versions before it could be approved, primarily because of its offensiveness, as it was in Moliere’s case. In his efforts to please King Lois XIV, Moliere weakened the overall message of his most famous play, Tartuffe. In Moliere’s earlier copies of Tartuffe, he originally made fun of religion. In David Partikian’s article “Critical Essay on Tartuffe”, he writes that many scholars agree in…

The Reconstructionist Martin Luther was sickened when he heard about the selling of indulgences and how the pope would persuade people into buying. The pope would send his salesman and helpers town to town convincing people to pitch in money so that they can “save their friends and relatives” from purgatory. Crowds of people believed this non-sense to supposedly save their loved ones from this false idea, purgatory is when a dead person’s soul is to be purified so that he or she…

The Comparison between Medieval Europe and Renaissance Northern Europe The two civilizations that I am comparing are the Medieval Europe and the Renaissance Northern Europe. To begin with, in Medieval Europe, Christianity was spread to everyone. The Catholic Church spread Christianity mainly to convert the pagans. It rejected all pagan traditions. During the Latin reign, the Greek/Hebrew parts of the bible were translated into the Latin language. Medieval commoners used the Bible. Its text…

Pope Urban II started the First Crusade to help Byzantine Christians, to manifest papal authority, and to provide redemption for Christian souls. Thomas Asbridge¹ in his book, The First Crusade, explains that in the advent of the First Crusade in 1095, the papacy was slowly recovering. In the events leading up to the First Crusade, Europe had undergone significant political and social upheaval. The Church was divided with Eastern Christians following Orthodoxy and Western Christians following…

Did the Protestant Reformation matter, and if so, how? The Reformation has severely affected the modern view of politics and law. Before the Reformation, the Church governed politics; she controlled emperors and kings and governed the law of lands. Before stating whether, the Protestant Reformation matters one needs to understand what it was. During the 16th-century religious, political, intellectual and cultural disruption that fragmented Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and…

The Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King persuades the white moderates to take his side because of his use of support. In the letter King talks about Hitler and this scares the white moderates into supporting him. King critiques the churches, this is something no one does at this time period. He talks about something all moderates can relate to Jesus. All of Kings support relates to his audience the white moderates to attempt to persuade them to his side. Supports his cause by…