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1308
Dante writes Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy is a long narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun c. 1308 and completed in 1320, a year before his death in 1321. It is widely considered to be the preeminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest works of world literature. -
Period: 1387 to 1400
Chaucer writes The Canterbury Tales
It is the story of a group of thirty people who travel as pilgrims to Canterbury (England) -
Period: 1412 to 1447
Last Visconti Ruler of Milan
In 1395, Gian Galeazzo Visconti was appointed by Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia as "Duke of Milan". In 1447, with the death of Filippo Maria Visconti , the original line of the Viscontis ended, and the Golden Ambrosian Republic was established. -
1413
Donatello creates his statue of St. George
Donatello carved his statue of St. George for the guild of armorers and swordmakers in Florence. Like the statue of St. Mark, the statue of St. George was destined for the guild’s niche in the building of Orsanmichele. Because the guild was of average size, it could only afford a statue of marble, rather than of bronze -
1420
Italian Renaissance begins
The Italian Renaissance was a period of European history that began in the 14th century and lasted until the 17th century, marking the transition from the Medieval period to Modernity -
1434
The Medici family takes control of Florence
Beginning in 1434 with the rise to power of Cosimo de’ Medici (or Cosimo the Elder), the family’s support of the arts and humanities made Florence into the cradle of the Renaissance, a cultural flowering rivaled only by that of ancient Greece -
1434
Jan van Eyck paints the Arnolfini portrait
The Arnolfini Portrait is a 1434 oil painting on oak panel by the Early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck. It forms a full-length double portrait, believed to depict the Italian merchant Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife -
1450
Christian humanism spreads in Northern Europe
1450 Christian humanism spreads to Northern Europe Cause- The translation of the bible from Latin to German, Dutch, and Skandinavian languages. Effect- Birth of protestantism. The christian humanism effect in Northern Europe was incorprated into larger struggles related to protestant reformation -
1456
gutenberg prints Bible using movable type
The Gutenberg Bible is the first substantial book printed in the West with moveable metal type. Before its printing in 1454 or 1455, books were either copied by hand or printed from engraved wooden blocks—processes that could take months or years to complete -
1494
Charles VIII of France invades Naples
France Invades Italy. Charles VIII King of France began the Italian Wars by invading Italy in September 1494. In February 1495 Naples surrendered to Charles. He temporarily became the King of Naples -
Period: 1503 to 1506
Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa
he Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci that has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world". The Mona Lisa is also one of the most valuable paintings in the world -
Period: 1508 to 1528
Castiglione writes The Book of the Courtier
The Book of the Courtier (Italian: Il Cortegiano) is a courtesy book. It was written by Baldassare Castiglione over the course of many years, beginning in 1508, and published in 1528 by the Aldine Press in Venice just before his death; an English edition was published in 1561 -
Period: 1508 to 1512
Michelangelo begins panting the Sistine Chape
The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, is a cornerstone work of High Renaissance art. The ceiling is that of the Sistine Chapel, the large papal chapel built within the Vatican between 1477 and 1480 by Pope Sixtus IV, for whom the chapel is named -
1511
Erasmus writes his satire The Praise of Folly
The Praise of Folly makes use of one of the oldest forms of rhetorical discourse: the encomium. In a mock encomium, Erasmus makes use of the satirical devices of one of the world’s most influential satirists, Lucian, to poke gentle fun at the tradition of praising great people and great ideas -
1517
Martin Luther presents the Ninety-five Theses
he Ninety-five Theses or Disputation on the Power of Indulgences (Latin: Disputatio pro declaratione virtutis indulgentiarum) are a list of propositions for an academic disputation written in 1517 by Martin Luther, professor of moral theology at the University of Wittenberg, Germany, that started the Reformation, a schism in the Catholic Church -
1519
Charles I is elected Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V: Holy Roman Emperor. Charles V defeated the candidacy of Francis I of France and was elected Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire on 28 June 1519. As an Emperor, Charles V made sustained efforts to curb the spread of the Reformation -
1521
The Church excommunicates Martin Luther
On January 3, 1521, Pope Leo X excommunicated the German priest Martin Luther. This meant Luther was no longer a recognized member of the Catholic Church. Months earlier, Luther had written a pamphlet criticizing many aspects of the church, including nepotism, corruption, and the sale of indulgences -
1527
Invading armies sack Rome
The Sack of Rome occurred on August 24, 410. The city was attacked by the Visigoths led by King Alaric. At that time, Rome was no longer the capital of the Western Roman Empire, having been replaced in that position first by Mediolanum in 286 and then by Ravenna in 402 -
1530
Machiavelli writes The Prince
Niccolo Machiavelli wrote The Prince so he could secure a place for himself in the newly formed Italian government under the Medici family -
Period: 1533 to 1558
Mary Tudor, “Bloody Mary,” becomes Queen of England
Seeking to return England to the Catholic Church, she persecuted hundreds of Protestants and earned the moniker "Bloody Mary." She died at St. James Palace in London on November 17, 1558. Early Life. Mary Tudor was born on February 18, 1516, at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, England -
1534
Henry VIII creates the Church of England
Henry VIII founded the church of England in 1534 after he brokeaway from the Catholic Church -
1534
The Act of Supremacy is passed in England
The Act of Supremacy established the reigning monarch of England as the head of the Church of England, thereby removing ecclesiastical authority over England from the Catholic pope. The Act of Supremacy refers to two separate acts passed in 1534 and 1559 by the English Parliament -
1540
The Society of Jesus becomes a religious order
The Society of Jesus (SJ – from Latin: Societas Iesu) is a scholarly religious congregation of the Catholic Church which originated in sixteenth-century Spain. The members are called Jesuits. The society is engaged in evangelization and apostolic ministry in 112 nations on six continents -
Period: 1545 to 1563
The Council of Trent is formed
The Council of Trent was formed to review all the aspects of the Catholic church. It also was made in hopes that it would bring back followers which left the church. The Council of Trent tried to reshape and rebuild the church by trying the re-emphasize beliefs, reassert liturgical life, and to win back those who accepted the Protestant faith -
1555
The Peace of Augsburg divides Germany
The Peace of Augsburg, also called the Augsburg Settlement, was a treaty between Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (the predecessor of Ferdinand I) and the Schmalkaldic League, signed in September 1555 at the imperial city of Augsburg -
Period: 1560 to
War between the Protestant and Catholic states in Switzerland
Switzerland was to be divided into a patchwork of Protestant and Catholic cantons, with the Protestants tending to dominate the larger cities, and the Catholics the more rural areas. In 1656, tensions between Protestants and Catholics re-emerged and led to the outbreak of the First War of Villmergen
