HIST 535 Renaissance and Reformation
Textbook Information Links to early secondary source readings Links to selected primary source readings Links to online resources Articles APUS login
The Renaissance as a European-wide movement emanating from the Italian peninsula; the crisis of the medieval church and the rise of the Renaissance papacy; Humanism; the Renaissance city-states, Machiavelli, and the Renaissance monarchies of France, England, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire; upheavals of Protestantism and the Catholic Reformation; the age of civil and religious wars beginning with the German Peasants' War in 1524. We can also look at the memory and legacy of this period in later times, in present-day Renaissance festivals or in present-day religious thought and conflict or church-state relations.
Students write a lengthy research paper on a topic of their choice, write several short historiographical papers on material not included in the textbook list, and participate in weekly discussions of readings.
The center of gravity of this course is shifting from historical events to historical interpretations more appropriate for graduate-level work.
Textbooks and Recommended Reading:
- Bireley, Robert. Refashioning of Catholicism, 1450-1700. Palgrave Publishers, 1999.
- Black, Jeremy. European Warfare, 1453-1815. Palgrave Publishers, 1999.
- Davies, Tony. Humanism. Routledge Press, 1996.
- Ekeland, Robert B., et al. The Marketplace of Christianity, MIT Press, 2006.
- Friedrichs, Christopher R. Urban Politics in Early Modern Europe, Routledge Press, 2000.
- Hampson, Daphne. Christian Contradictions: The Structures of Lutheran and Catholic Thought, Cambridge University Press, 2001.
- Hunt, Jocelyn. Renaissance. Routledge Press, 1989.
- Kamen, Henry A.: Early Modern European Society. Routledge: London and New York, 2000.
- Lachmann, Richard. Capitalists in Spite of Themselves: Elite Conflict and European Transitions in Early Modern Europe, Oxford University Press, 2000.
- MacCulloch, Diarmaid: The Reformation. A history. Viking: New York, 2003.
- Mullett, Michael. Calvin, Routledge Press, 1989.
- Redekop, Benjamin W. Power, Authority, and the Anabaptist Tradition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001.
Textbooks from earlier versions of this class and recommended reading and references:
- Brucker, Gene; Martines, Julia (Eds.): Two Memoirs of Renaissance Florence: The Diaries of Buonaccorso Pitti and Gregorio Dati. 1967/1991.
- Burckhardt, Jacob: The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy.
- Burke, Peter: The Renaissance. St. Martin's Press: New York, 1987, 1997.
- Ferguson, Wallace K.: The Renaissance in Historical Thought. Five Centuries of Interpretation. Boston, 1948 (Toronto/Buffalo/London, 2006).
- Hillerbrand, Hans J. (Ed.): The Protestant Reformation. (The sources we will be reading from this book are also available online.)
- Jensen, De Lamar: Renaissance Europe. Age of Recovery and Reconciliation. Lexington and Toronto, 1992. (This is an excellent overview with very useful sections on further reading.)
- More, Thomas: Utopia. (available online)
- Nauert, Charles G.: Humanism and the Culture of Renaissance Europe. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge et al, 2006.
- Ozment, Steven: The Age of Reform 1250-1550. An intellectual and religious history of late medieval and reformation Europe. Yale, 1980. (This book has been a favorite of several of my best students.)
- Spitz, Lewis W.: The Renaissance and Reformation Movements. Revised Edition. Volume II: The Reformation. St. Louis, 1987.
Early Secondary Sources
In earlier versions of this class, we read selections from three 19th and early 20th-century authors whose interpretations of the era we are studying have made a lasting impression on our understanding:
- Burckhardt, Jakob: The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy.
- Friedrich Engels: The Peasant War in Germany. Our primary interest is part 7 on the significance of the events.
- Max Weber: Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
Selected Primary Sources
Discussions may also draw heavily on primary sources from the Medeival History Sourcebook and the Modern History Sourcebook as well as other internet archives and collections of primary source such as Project Wittenberg. Many of the sources below will be included in the class readings:
- Marcus Tullius Cicero: Cicero’s World View (pdf)
- Augustine of Hippo: a letter to Cicero (pdf)
- An excerpt from the Xanten Annals (pdf)
- Giovanni Boccaccio: Introduction to the Decameron
- Petrarca: Selected letters
- Pico Della Mirandola: On the Dignity of Man. Here is a brief excerpt, and here another.
- Niccolo Machiavelli: Discourses, an excerpt
- Niccolo Machiavelli: The Prince, or here, or excerpts
- Niccolo Machiavelli: Art of War, aphorisms from The Art of War
- Christopher Columbus: A letter to the king and queen of Spain (under construction)
- Bartolomeo de Las Casas: on the treatment of the Amerindians
- Desiderius Erasmus: The Religious Pilgramage
- Malleus Maleficarum, the infamous 15th-century guide to unmasking and punishing witches
- Documents on the Witch Trials
- Martin Luther: Ninety-Five Theses, excerpts (pdf)
- Martin Luther: To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, excerpts
- Martin Luther: On the Freedom of a Christian
- Martin Luther: On the Jews and Their Lies
- The Twelve Articles of the Peasants(pdf)
- Ordinances for Calvin's Geneva
- John Calvin: Institutes of Christian Religion, an excerpt
- Ignatius of Loyola: Spiritual Exercizes
- Council of Trent: 1) The resolutions of the Council in full English translation, 2) a thorough discussion of the document from a Catholic perspective.
Articles
A list of recommended articles is under construction.
Online Resources for Research and Study
- Renaissance Editions, the University of Oregon's online collection of works in English from the 15th to 18th centuries.
- Christian Classics Ethereal Library. This site requires a login, but it is free and has many, many books available in different formats.
