Changes in literature between the 1300 and 1700s in Europe

Divine Comedy

Jun 18, 1310

Dante's Divine Comedy is an epic poem of one hundred verses, divided into three equal parts. It describes the realms of the next world: Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. It depicts contemporary and historical figures, comments on secular and ecclesiastical affairs, and draws on the Scholastic philosophy of uniting faith and reason. It contains the psychological tensions of the age and harsh criticism of some church authorities.

The Imitation of Christ

Jun 18, 1418

The spirituality of the Brethren and Sisters of the Common Life is best expressed in the classic "The Imitation of Christ" by the Dutch monk Thomas a Kempis. It urges Christians to take Christ as their model, seek perfection in a simple life, and look to the Scriptures to guide themselves to live a spiritual life.

Canterbury Tales

Jun 18, 1475

Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is a collection of lengthy, rhythmical and narrative stories. On a pilgrimage to the shrine at Canterbury, thirty people of different social backgrounds tell tales. As it depicts the interests and behavior of all types of people, it expresses the English social life in the 14th century in a rich way, reflecting the cultural tensions of the times. It was written at the end of the 14th century, but it was first published in 1475.

Oration On the Dignity of Man

Jun 18, 1486

Giovanni Pico della Mirandola wrote an essay "Oration On the Dignity of Man," stating that great dignity is within man because he was created as Adam in the image of God befor the Fall and as Christ after the Resurrection. According to Pico, man is one part of the created world that is not fixed, but can choose freely whether to rise to the heaven or fall to the realm of the animals. He plants an image of himself, a "miraculous creature," reflecting the human-based thoughts of the Renaissance.

The Dance of Death

Jun 18, 1493

The Dance of Death, a highly popular literary motif, reveals a morbid concern with death and reflects the people's insecure minds and the dangerous European society during the time of the Black Death. It depicted a dancing skeleton leading away living people, in order of their rank, which indicates death taking life of the people regardless of the social rank. This is a series of literary and artistic motif that was continued from the 15th century.

The Prince

Jun 19, 1513

Machiavelli's most famous work, "The Prince," argues that the ruler should preserve order and security, using examples of classical and contemporary rulers. Weak rulers would lead the country to disorder, ending in civil war or other countries' invasion. It says to preserve the state, a ruler should use any method he needs, brutality, lying or manipulation, but shouldn't do anything that would make him or herself unpopular. He basically wrote about how to be an effective ruler.

Utopia

Jun 19, 1516

Thomas More's "Utopia," describes an ideal community, where all children are well-educated, and adults work but also participate in business or intellectual activities. There is religious toleration. The book was widely read by educated Europeans in Latin, and later in vernacular translations, and its title "Utopia" became the word for an ideal, imaginary society.

The Courtier

Jun 18, 1528

Baldassare Castiglione's "The Courtier," a book on education, sought to train, discipline and fashion the young man into the "gentleman," the courtly ideal man. After it was translated into every European language, it was widely read, as a manual for people seeking for social mobility and improving themselves.

Othello

Jun 19, 1604

The undisputed master of the Elizabethan times in England was the dramatist William Shakespeare, with rich characters and plots, and beautiful uses of language. One of his plays is "Othello," referring in the play to Othello as "black" in skin color , which have led many people to believe that Shakespeare intended him to be a sub-Saharan African. This reflects the uncertain racial and religious classifications in Shakespeare's own days.

Essay Concerning Human Understanding

Jun 19, 1690

John Locke wrote "Essay Concerning Human Understanding," which is often viewed as the first major Enlightenment text. In this essay, Locke sets up a new theory about how human beings learn and form their ideas. Locke argued that all ideas derived from experience. The human mind at birth is a tabula rasa, the individual's understanding and beliefs written by his or her environment. It contributed to sensationalism, that all human ideas and thoughts are produced as a result of sensory impressions.