Transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance

1. Transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance

2. 12th Century Revival of Learning Rebirth of interest in ancient learning Establishment of universities Learning from Islamic and Jewish Scholars Burst of theological thought

3. Universities • The word university comes from universitas, a Latin world meaning guild or corporation. Referred to a guild of students or faculty • First university in Europe was founded in Bologna, Italy in 1088 • Universities founded in Paris (1200), Oxford (1208), Cambridge (1209), Salamanca (Spain), Coimbra (Portugal) • By the end of the high Middle Ages, 80 universities in Europe

4. University of Bolonga

5. Contributions from Jewish and Islamic Scholars • Arab and Jewish scholars translated Greek philosophers’ works into Arabic and then into Latin • Christian scholars picked these up, particularly from Spain • Arab works in physics, mathematics, medicine, and optics were translated into Latin and became available to Europeans. • Crusaders returned to Europe with superior Islamic technology in ships, navigation and weapons. (astrolabe, for example).

6. Scholasticism • Church and religious faith were central to society… • …so the basis 0f academic study during this time was theology, the study of religion • But with the reintroduction of classic philosophy, schools attempted to show that Christian faith and reason and logic were in harmony. There was no contradiction between them. • Specifically, how to harmonize Christian beliefs with the logic of the Greek thinker Aristotle.

7. A major figure: Thomas Aquinas • Aquinas (1225-1274)argued that religious beliefs could be proved using logic.

8. Revival of Roman Law • An attempt to make the application of law more orderly across Europe. • This would make more uniform and systematic a mixture of Germanic laws, local customs, feudal rules, and town regulations that existed at the time. (For example, the doing away with the “ordeal”)