Renaissance and Revolt—Study Aids

These pages summarize much of the material needed to study for the Renaissance and Revolt review questions. Most are derived from Leading Events in Church History, saint dictionaries, and other public domain sources.

The following histories from Seton and Tan Books are popular with Catholic students but other Church histories cover most essentials topics. In addition to history references it is helpful if students have access to saint dictionaries or biographies.

Reading assignments from Seton and Tan that correspond to Renaissance and Revolt are given below.

Witness to the Faith by Seton Press
This introductory church history is written at an eighth grade level so it is accessible and covers most of the main topics of Christian history. Chapters relating to the Western Schism and early Reformation period (1300-1560 A.D.) cover topics such as the Avignon Papacy, the Western Schism, Renaissance Italy, Reformation theology, and the first years of the Reformation in Germany, Britain, and Spain.

Reading Assignment:     Chapters 16-19 pp 236-291
(16) The Western Schism, (17) Church and the Renaissance, (18) Beginning of the Protestant Revolt, (19) Protestant Revolt in England.

Church History by Fr. John Laux (TAN books)
This church history is written for a college prep high school audience and assumes a basic knowledge of European history. Starting at the dawn of the Roman Empire and proceeding in to the 20th century, Fr. Laux presents the story of the Church is a masterful and readable manner appealing to older students as well as adults. The period of interest for the Renaissance and Revolt unit, covers 1300-1550 A.D., and corresponds to chapters from 'Section II, Period Three' of Laux's book, to Section III, Period One.

Reading Assignment:     Section II, Third Period, Chapter I to Section III, First Period, Chapter III pp 391-447
(II-3-1) Philip the Fair, (II-3-2) Babylonian Captivity (II-3-3) Schism of the West (II-3-4) Church and the Renaissance (III-1-1) Lutheris, (III-1-2) Calvinism, (III-1-3) Church of England

Church History—Vol IV : Early Modern Times  by Sisters of Notre Dame
Fourth of a five volume history of the Church, this book covers the causes of the Religious Revolt in Germany, Switzerland, and England, the Religious Wars in the Netherlands and France, the Ottoman attacks on Christendom, and the work of true reformers within the Church to restore Europe to the true faith.

A good source of Historical Videos for the Renaissance and Revolt period is the 'A Bit of History' youtube page. Most videos are between 8 and 15 minutes long, and cover topics related to the Reformation, or pre-Reformation period. The three most relevant to this unit are listed below but others are worthwhile:

• Before Luther: Wycliffe and Huss (12 minutes)
• The Avignon Papacy and the Western Schism (10 minutes)
• Overview of the Italian City States (16 minutes) — The politics of Italy and the Italian War that waged during much of the 16th century are very complicated. This Video explains a great deal by focusing on one Italian state at a time, and explaining their differences.

There are many online videos dealing with Calvin, Luther, and the Early Reformers. The following are relatively short and simplistic, vidoes on topics related to the Renaissance and early reformation era. Many are cartoon based rather than lecture based, appropriate for younger students and entertaining for older students:

• Lutheran Satire—Reformation piggy Backer (5 minutes)
• Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin (7 minutes)
• Geneva International Hub of Protestantism (4 minutes)
• Luther and the Protestant Reformation—Crash Course (15 minutes)