Term
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Definition
• Old Celtic tale about the night from Brittany (Northern France)
• Eliduc travels to Totnes in Southern England, helps out the king, and falls in love with Guilliadun
• They sneak away together, during a storm Eliduc kills a sailor for disrespecting Guilliadun, she collapses
• He returns to his wife, but is distraught thinking Guilliadun is dead
• The wife finds Guilliadun, heals her with a magic weasel flower, and returns her Eliduc
• Guildeluec joins the nunnery, Eliduc and Guilliadun live for a long time together, before both submitting to monastic life |
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Term
| Peter Abelard: Inquiry into Divergent Views of Church Fathers |
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Definition
• Used rational textual analysis called dialectics to resolve conflicts about the scripture
• Believed that rational analysis of the text would bring about an answer and a more thorough understanding of the scripture |
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| St. Thomas Aquinas: Summa Theologica |
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Definition
• Reason alone cannot lead to salvation
• Attempts to prove the existence of God logically
o Everything has a cause, and the initial cause is God |
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Term
| John of Salisbury: On the Liberal Arts |
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Definition
• Wrote a defense of the liberal arts curriculum
• Defines the scholar
• Grammar and logic allow us to understand words in order to educate ourselves and be better philosophers |
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Term
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Definition
• Dante finds himself in a dark wood, lost and alone
• Virgil comes to him, saying that he can show him the way onward to heaven
• He must descend through hell, then up through purgatory, and finally ascend through the layers of purgatory
• Dante proceeds to descend through the very detailed layers of hell
o He must learn not to sympathize with those who have sinned |
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Term
| Geoffrey Chaucer: The Miller’s Tale |
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Definition
• A drunk Miller tells an inappropriate tale of an old carpenter John, his wife Alison, and a poor student boarding with them Nicholas
• Nicholas seduces Alison behind John’s back
o John is much older than Alison
• Nicholas and Alison plot to do something about John
o Together they trick him saying that a flood is coming and they must hang from a vessel in the ceiling
• Absolom, a church clerk who likes Alison, comes by to seduce her and is tricked into kissing her butt
o He comes back with a hot plow, John sticks his butt out the window and gets his butt roasted
• John hears this, drops from the ceiling, knocking himself out
o The town comes and thinks he has gone insane |
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Term
| Geoffrey Chaucer: The Pardoner’s Prologue and Tale |
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Definition
• An immoral, possibly transsexual pardoner tells a story he uses to sell indulgences
• A company of three indulgent young men decide to set out to slaughter death who they have heard is taking lives in town
• They run into a beggar who tells them he saw death up ahead
• They hurry on to find a load of gold and forget all about death
o The youngest is sent to get bread and wine
o The other two conspire to kill the youngest to get more money
o The youngest poisons the wine to kill the other two
• They all die and are horrible people
• The pardoner is ambiguously gendered and possibly making a pass at the host
o Chaucer presents the variety of life in his tales |
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Term
| Leonardo Bruni: Study of Greek Literature and a Humanist Educational Program |
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Definition
• Outlines the basic course of study for humanists pursuing a life of wisdom and virtue
o Recommends both Christian and classic literature
• Went through great pains to learn Greek from Chrysoloras
o Foundation of all true learning is from Latin
• We must be critical readers and not let bad habits enter our writing
• We must study:
o History – enlarges our foresight
o Poetry – we find speculation on nature and the cause and origin of things
o Oratory- extoll virtue and show how to handle emotion |
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Term
| Pico della Mirandola: Oration on the Dignity of Man |
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Definition
• Unlike all else, humans do not have a set position in the universe
o Humans have the ability to shape their own lives
• Humans are limited only by their will
• Humans are neither of Earth or Heaven, but we determine where we go |
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Term
| Niccolo Machiavelli: The Prince |
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Definition
• A ruler cannot be perfect in a practical world, so one must know when and how to be bad
• It is better to be miserly than generous because generosity will leave you poor and cause you to become miserly in the long run
• You can control being feared, but not being loved, so it is better to rely on fear
• You must have good qualities, but sometimes act in a contrary manner when necessary
• Above all, avoid being hated, keep the respect of the masses
• Do great things to get a reputation with the people
• Our success depends on whether our behavior matches what the times call for
o But it is better to be headstrong and conquer lady fortune than to be cautious |
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Term
| Niccolo Machiavelli: The Discourses |
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Definition
• Discusses the types of government and which is best
o Monarchy -> tyranny
o Aristocracy -> oligarchy
o Democracy -> anarchy
• The best gov’t is a blend of each of these
• Discusses the republics of Sparta, Venice, and Rome
• Sparta and Venice have been stable for long periods of time because the gov’t is static and there is no expansion and therefore no reason to change the gov’t
• Rome has been able to expand and remain politically stable because of the tensions between the elites and the commoners keep political liberty intact |
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Term
| Thomas a Kempis: The Imitation of Christ |
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Definition
• Reveals the character of New Devotion
• We must lead a good life and imitate Christ
o Don’t be concerned with worldly affairs
o Be prepared to die at any time
o Live a holy live, in contempt of the world
o A Christians time is in the afterlife
o Reason is secondary to faith
o God imparts knowledge on the humble and pure minds |
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Term
| Erasmus: In Praise of Folly |
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Definition
• Erasmus criticizes monks, theologians, and other Christians for failing to discern the true purpose of Christian life: to imitate the life of Christ
• Theologians are touchy and arrogant
• Monks cannot understand their own prayers and take food from the poor
• Others:
o Worship false idols
o Believe in indulgences
• We must abandon these false notions |
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Term
| Martin Luther: On Papal Power, Justification by Faith, The Interpretation of the Bible, and the Nature of the Clergy; |
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Definition
• Indulgences are unethical
• Salvation is by faith alone, not good works
• Scripture is the supreme authority
o All should be allowed to read the scripture, not just the papacy
• We should be able to question papal authority |
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Term
| Martin Luther: Against the Peasants; |
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Definition
• Luther was sternly against the violent peasant revolts
• Robbing and plundering are crimes punishable by death
• Rebellion, like fire, must be put out by anyone nearby
• The bible calls for subjects to obey governing authorities |
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Term
| Martin Luther: On the Jews and Their Lies |
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Definition
• Luther accepted the prejudices against Jews when they did not convert to his new Christianity
o Jews engage in sorcery and magic, poison Christian wells, and ritually murder Christian children
• Strip them of their land, deny them books of worship, forbid teaching, take their money, enslave the strong, burn their houses and places of worship |
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Term
| John Calvin: The Institutes |
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Definition
• We are predestined to be good or evil, to wind up in heaven or hell
• If the knowledge of predestination makes you wicked, then you were wicked already |
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Term
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Definition
-salvation by faith and good works
-religious authority from church hierarchy and pope
-church is above state in power
-being pope is highest form
-7 sacraments |
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Term
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Definition
*reject church hierarchy, look to scripture*
-salvation by faith alone
-religious authority from scripture
-church with state working together
-all believers are priests; elevates non-church roles (be a good wife, worker, etc.)
-sacraments- baptism and eucharist |
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Term
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Definition
*predestination; don't pray to idols like catholics*
-salvation is predestined by god's grace
-church authority from scripture
-structured church with elders, ministers, deacons, and teachers; church authorities are not civil authorities
-sacraments- baptism and eucharist |
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Term
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Definition
*adult baptism*
-salvation by accepting Christ as adult
-religious authority from scripture and varying hierarchy in communities
-church made up of small group living communally and avoiding state entirely
-sacraments- adult baptism and eucharist |
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