How can the Reformation and the Age of Discovery be seen as extensions of the Renaissance?

Lorenzo Valla proved the Donation of Constantine" was a forgery

1439

Lorenzo Valla was a humanistic thinker during the Renaissance who used the techniques of textual analysis to prove that the Donation of Constantine was a forgery. It was supposedly written by Emperor Constantine to give the pope authority, so this seriously undermined the Church's authority and inspired reformers to challenge the pope.

Invention of the printing press

1440

The printing press was one of the most important inventions created during the Renaissance. It revolutionized the way ideas were spread. The printing press was also used by Martin Luther to spread his message during the reformation.

Gutenberg Bible is published

1455

The Gutenberg Bible was one of the first books printed after Johannes Gutenberg created the printing press. He made the Bible much more accessible to laypeople, which meant that more people could form their own opinions about Christianity. This made more people call for Church reform and helped start the Reformation.

Christopher Columbus's first voyage

1492

Christopher Columbus sailed west from Europe to try and find a new route to Asia and ended up discovering North America. Columbus (incorrectly) calculated the distance to Asia based off of (also incorrect) estimations of the Earth's circumference from a Greek mathematician that had been rediscovered during the Renaissance.

Amerigo Vespucci discovers that the New World is not Asia

1501

Amerigo Vespucci was an explorer of the New World after Columbus. Unlike Columbus, he discovered that he was not in Asia, but an entirely new continent. His desire to understand the world around him that lead to the exploration of the Americas was a part of the humanistic philosophy that spread through Europe during the Renaissance.

Martin Luther's humanistic education

1505

Humanistic education was arguably the most important achievement of the Renaissance. After Martin Luther got his Master's degree in 1505 he became a monk. He would go on to use his education to influence the Protestant Reformation by making logical arguments against the Church and pope.

Desiderius Erasmus's "In Praise of Folly"

1511

Erasmus was an important humanistic thinker during the Renaissance. He was well known for translating the Bible against the Church's wishes. One of his most famous works is "In praise of Folly," a satirical essay criticizing the Church.

Niccolo Machiavelli publishes "The Prince"

1513

Niccolo Machiavelli was a Renaissance thinker and political scientist. He is well known for "The Prince" which disregarded the need for rulers to be Christian, which was a controversial opinion before the Protestant Reformation when the pope's authority was questioned.

Martin Luther's "95 Theses"

1517

The Protestant Reformation started after Martin Luther wrote about his disagreements with the Church. He questioned the morality of the Church because of his humanistic education, which was a practice started during the Renaissance.

Baldassarre Castiglione published "The Courtier"

1528

Castiglione was a humanistic Renaissance thinker whose ideas were opposite that of Machiavelli. Castiglione believed that leaders should be perfect Christians, while Machiavelli believed leaders shouldn't be Christian at all. Regardless, both ideas conflicted with the pope's authority, so the standards they held rulers to helped start the Reformation.

Summary

1600

The Protestant Reformation and the Age of Discovery can be seen as extensions of the Renaissance because neither would've happened without the ideas first created during the Renaissance. Humanistic thinkers questioning the Church and their beliefs directly led to the Reformation. In addition, Columbus's discovered the Americas after studying the works of a Greek mathematician. This would not have happened if humanists hadn't encouraged the studying of classical literature.