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Jan 1, 1310
Dante writes the "Divine Comedy"
Information about "Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri Written by Dante Alighieri in 1306 - 21. The time setting when the book begins is in 1300, so he uses his knowledge of the present to "predict" events. It is divided into 3 sections: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. Each one of these sections is divided into 33 cantos (except Inferno, which has 34 cantos), which are written in tercets. The number 3 in Dante's time was significant because it was considered holy--since the Father (God), Son (Jesus), and Holy Ghost comprise the Trinity. -
Jan 1, 1350
Chaucer writes "The Canterbury Tales"
Information about the "Canterbury Tales"Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, a collection of stories in a frame story, between 1387 and 1400. It is the story of a group of thirty people who travel as pilgrims to Canterbury (England). The pilgrims, who come from all layers of society, tell stories to each other to kill time while they travel to Canterbury.If we trust the General Prologue, Chaucer intended that each pilgrim should tell two tales on the way to Canterbury and two tales on the way back. -
Jan 1, 1415
Donatello creates his statue of St. George
Detailed information about St. George Donatello’s St. George is an example of guild patronage: commissioned by the Armorers’ and Swordsmiths’ Guild, it was meant to parallel how the guild protects the city of Florence through its trade just as the saint protected the city from the dragon. -
Jan 1, 1434
Jan van Eyck paints the Arnolfini portrait
About the portraitThis painting is believed to be a portrait of the Italian merchant Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife, presumably in their home in the Flemish city of Bruges. It is considered one of the most original and complex paintings in Western art history -
Aug 13, 1447
Last Visconti ruler of Milan Dies
Filippo Maria Visconti was widely believed that his intolerable and insensitive behavior was due to his extreme consciousness of his ugly exterior. Despite that, he was a successful ruler and recaptured many parts of his fathers original duchy. He died in 1447 to be the last Visconti in the direct male desendent, thus bringing to an end the famed line of the Visconti family as rulers in Milan. -
Feb 22, 1494
Charles VIII of France invades Naples
Charles entered Italy with 25,000 men in 1494 and marched across the peninsula, reaching Naples on February 1494. The French army subdued Florence in passing and took Naples without a pitched battle or siege. Alfonso was expelled and Charles was crowned King of Naples. -
Jan 1, 1505
Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa
Website about Mona LisaHistorians agree that Leonardo commenced the painting of Mona Lisa in 1503, working on it for approximately four years and keeping it himself for some years after. Supposedly this was because Mona Lisa was Leonardo's favourite painting and he was loathe to part with it, however it may also have been because the painting was unfinished. -
Jan 1, 1509
Erasmus writes his satire " The Praise of Folly"
The importance of 'The Praise of Folly'It starts off with a satirical learned encomium after the manner of the Greek satirist Lucian, whose work Erasmus and Sir Thomas More had recently translated into Latin, a piece of virtuoso foolery; it then takes a darker tone in a series of orations, as Folly praises self-deception and madness and moves to a satirical examination of pious but superstitious abuses of Catholic doctrine and corrupt practices in parts of the Roman Catholic Church and the folly of pedants. -
May 18, 1513
Machiavelli writes "The Prince"
The book This little book offers practical advice on how to rule a city like sixteenth-century Florence. Its over-all theme is that the successful prince must exhibit strenght in both favorable and adverse circumstances. -
Oct 31, 1517
Martin Luther presents the Ninety-five Theses
The background to Luther's Ninety-Five Theses centers on practices within the Catholic Church regarding baptism and absolution. Significantly, the Theses reject the validity of indulgences (remissions of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven). They also view with great cynicism the practice of indulgences being sold, and thus the penance for sin representing a financial transaction rather than genuine contrition. Luther's theses argued that the sale of indulgences was -
Jan 1, 1521
The Church excommunicates Luther
Martin Luther, the chief catalyst of Protestantism was a professor of biblical interpretation at the University of Wittenberg in Germany when he drew up his 95 theses condemning the Catholic Church for its corrupt practice of selling indulgences. He followed up the revolutionary work with equally controversial and groundbreaking theological works, and his fiery words set off religious reformers all across Europe. -
May 6, 1527
Invading armies sack Rome
Ivading armies sack RomeThe sack of Rome began on May 6, 1527 when an army of Spanish Catholics and Lutherans beholden to Charles V and led by Charles III marched into Rome rebelliously, a city the troops held in a state of siege for nine months. When marauding, unpaid troops entered the city, they were bent on plundering and proceeded to loot and pillage ceaselessly for eight days, inflicting harsh treatment upon those who were directly associated with the Roman Catholic Church, most notably priests, monks, and nuns. -
Jan 1, 1528
Castiglione writes "The Book of the Courtier"
The book is based on a nostalgic recreation of Castiglione's experience at the court of Duke Guidobaldo da Montefeltro of Urbino at the turn of the sixteenth century. It describes the ideal court and courtier, going into great detail about the philosophical and cultured and lively conversations that occurred at Urbino, presided over by Elisabetta Gonzaga. -
Jan 1, 1531
War between the Protestant and Catholic states in Switzerland
Calvin created a church government that used both clergy and laity in the service of the church. The Consistorty, a special body for enforcing moral disciplines, was set up as a court to oversee the moral life and doctrinal purity of Genevans. -
Nov 1, 1534
The Act of Supremacy is passed in England
The Act of Supremacy of November 1534 was an Act of the Parliament of England under King Henry VIII declaring that he was "the only supreme head on earth of the Church in England" and that the English crown shall enjoy "all honours, dignities, preeminences, jurisdictions, privileges, authorities, immunities, profits, and commodities to the said dignity." By the wording of the Act, it was made clear that Parliament was not granting the King the title but rather it was stated as a recognized fact. -
Jan 1, 1540
The Society of Jesus becomes a religious order
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "The Company," this being a reference to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and the members' willingness to go anywhere in the world and live in extreme conditions. The Society is engaged in evangelization and apostolic ministry in 112 nations on six continents. -
Jan 1, 1545
The Council of Trent id formed
The Council of Trent, the 19th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic church, was held at Trent in northern Italy between 1545 and 1563. It marked a major turning point in the efforts of the Catholic church to respond to the challenge of the Protestant Reformation and formed a key part of the Counter-Reformation. -
Jan 1, 1553
Mary Tudor, "Bloody Mary," becomes Queen of England
Mary immediately went to work bringing the Roman Catholic faith back to England. She initially did this by rescinding the religious proclamations of Edward VI, and replacing them with old English laws enforcing heresy against the Church. In carrying out the last action, Mary earned her nickname, "Bloody Mary," because during her reign, she had more than 300 persons burned at the stake for heresy. Among them was the Archbishop of Canterbury, -
Sep 25, 1555
The Peace of Augsburg divides Germany
The Peace of Augsburg, also called the Augsburg Settlement, was a treaty between Charles V and the forces of the Schmalkaldic League, an alliance of Lutheran princes, on September 25, 1555, at the imperial city of Augsburg, now in present-day Bavaria, Germany. It officially ended the religious struggle between the two groups and made the legal division of Christendom permanent within the Holy Roman Empire.
