Renaissance Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Religion=== {{further|Renaissance Papacy|Reformation|Counter-Reformation}} [[File:Pope Alexander Vi.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Pope Alexander VI|Alexander VI]], a [[House of Borgia|Borgia]] Pope infamous for his corruption]] The new ideals of humanism, although more secular in some aspects, developed against a Christian backdrop, especially in the [[Northern Renaissance]]. Much, if not most, of the new art was commissioned by or in dedication to the [[Roman Catholic Church|Church]].<ref name="openuni" /> However, the Renaissance had a profound effect on contemporary [[theology]], particularly in the way people perceived the relationship between man and God.<ref name="openuni" /> Many of the period's foremost theologians were followers of the humanist method, including Erasmus, [[Huldrych Zwingli]], Thomas More, [[Martin Luther]], and [[John Calvin]]. [[File:Clovio magi.jpg|thumb|''[[Adoration of the Magi]]'' and ''[[Solomon]] adored by the [[Queen of Sheba]]'' from the ''[[Farnese Hours]]'' (1546) by [[Giulio Clovio]] marks [[Italian Renaissance#Renaissance end|the end of the Italian Renaissance]] of [[illuminated manuscript]] together with the ''[[Index Librorum Prohibitorum]]''.]] The Renaissance began in times of religious turmoil. The Late Middle Ages was a period of political intrigue surrounding the [[Papacy]], culminating in the [[Western Schism]], in which three men simultaneously claimed to be true [[Bishop]] of [[diocese of Rome|Rome]].<ref>[[Catholic Encyclopedia]], ''[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13539a.htm Western Schism]'' (Retrieved 10 May 2007)</ref> While the schism was resolved by the [[Council of Constance]] (1414), a resulting reform movement known as [[Conciliarism]] sought to limit the power of the pope. Although the papacy eventually emerged supreme in ecclesiastical matters by the [[Fifth Council of the Lateran]] (1511), it was dogged by continued accusations of corruption, most famously in the person of [[Pope Alexander VI]], who was accused variously of [[simony]], [[nepotism]], and [[Children of the ordained|fathering children]] (most of whom were married off, presumably for the consolidation of power) while a cardinal.<ref>[[Catholic Encyclopedia]], ''[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01289a.htm Alexander VI]'' (Retrieved 10 May 2007)</ref> Churchmen such as Erasmus and Luther proposed reform to the Church, often based on humanist [[textual criticism]] of the [[New Testament]].<ref name="openuni" /> In October 1517, Luther published the ''[[Ninety-five Theses]]'', challenging papal authority and criticizing its perceived corruption, particularly with regard to instances of sold [[indulgence]]s.{{efn|It is sometimes thought that the Church, as an institution, formally sold indulgences at the time. This, however, was not the practice. Donations were often received, but only mandated by individuals that were condemned.}} The 95 Theses led to the [[Reformation]], a break with the Roman Catholic Church that previously claimed hegemony in [[Western Europe]]. Humanism and the Renaissance therefore played a direct role in sparking the Reformation, as well as in many other contemporaneous religious debates and conflicts. [[Pope Paul III]] came to the papal throne (1534β1549) after the [[Sack of Rome (1527)|sack of Rome in 1527]], with uncertainties prevalent in the Catholic Church following the Reformation. Nicolaus Copernicus dedicated ''[[De revolutionibus orbium coelestium]]'' (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres) to Paul III, who became the grandfather of [[Alessandro Farnese (cardinal)|Alessandro Farnese]], who had paintings by [[Titian]], [[Michelangelo]], and [[Raphael]], as well as an important collection of drawings, and who commissioned the masterpiece of [[Giulio Clovio]], arguably the last major [[illuminated manuscript]], the ''[[Farnese Hours]]''. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page