Middle Ages 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! ===Scholars, intellectuals, and exploration=== {{Main|Age of Discovery|Spanish colonization of the Americas}} [[File:Studying astronomy and geometry.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|alt=Seven men in clerical vestments holding devices under the starry skies|Clerics studying [[astronomy]] and [[geometry]], French, early 15th century]] Prominent late medieval philosophers departed from Aristotelian logic. Among them, [[William of Ockham]] (d. {{Circa|1348}}) concluded that [[natural philosophy]] could not prove God's existence. Under his influence, most scholars who researched subjects yielding verifiable conclusions such as mathematics or physics no more analysed theological issues.{{sfn|Colish|2002|pp=302β315, 322}} [[Marsilius of Padua]] (d. 1342) still gained inspiration from Aristotle to argue in favor of the communities' right to regulate their life and control the clergy.{{sfn|Backman|2022|pp=568β569}} Scholars such as [[Petrarch]] (d. 1374) intensively studied [[classical literature]], and many of them put a special emphasis on human dignity, hence they were known as [[Renaissance humanism|Humanists]].{{sfn|Adams|2011|p=241}} The poetry of [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]] (d. 1321) and the prose of [[Boccaccio]] (d. 1375), both from Florence, indicate that the [[Tuscan dialect]] of Italian matured into a literary language on a par with Latin. English reached the same level with the ''[[Canterbury Tales]]'', written by [[Geoffrey Chaucer]] (d. 1400). French got standardised through theoretical discussions about chivalric literature. One of the sharpest critics of chivalric romances, [[Christine de Pizan]] (d. {{Circa|1430}}) authored a feminist utopia, ''[[The Book of the City of Ladies]]''.{{sfn|Colish|2002|pp=213β222}} The level of literacy improved as new schools and universities were established all over Europe.{{refn|group=note|Although medieval documents often described people as {{lang|la|literatus}} or {{lang|la|illiteratus}}, estimations of literacy rate are uncertain because both terms are ambiguous.{{sfn|Backman|2022|p=484}} One estimate gave a literacy rate of ten per cent of males and one per cent of females in 1500.{{sfn|Singman|1999|p=224}}}} These were often sponsored by urban authorities or rich individuals.{{sfn|Denley|2001|p=287}}{{sfn|Vale|2001|p=346}} The invention of [[printing press]] with [[movable type]] simplified the mass publication of books, and the competition between publishing houses contributed to the quick spread of news and new ideas.{{sfn|Lee|2021|pp=131β134}} Several factors, primarily a growing demand for gold and the European merchants' eagerness to avoid custom payments prompted the search for a direct maritime route towards India along the African coasts. Initially, the Portuguese assumed the leadership of the explorations: [[Dinis Dias]] landed at [[Cap Verde]] in 1444, [[Bartolomeu Dias]] (d. 1500) sailed as far as [[Cape of Good Hope]] in 1486, and [[Vasco da Gama]] (d. 1524) reached India in 1498. After visiting the African slave markets, the Portuguese became deeply involved in slave trade towards Europe and the Muslim world.{{refn|group=note|The Portuguese prince [[Henry the Navigator]] (d. 1460) presided over an auction of African slaves at [[Lagos, Portugal|Lagos]] already in 1444.{{sfn|Fossier|1986|p=490}} He is often but not universally described as the prime mover in the Portuguese explorations.{{sfn|Denley|2001|p=284}}}}{{sfn|Fossier|1986|pp=483β490}} Christopher Colombus proposed a westward alternative route to India. He gained Isabella of Castile's support for [[Voyages of Christopher Columbus|his voyage of exploration]] that led to his discovery of the Americas in 1492.{{sfn|Denley|2001|pp=284β285}}{{sfn|Fossier|1986|pp=492β493}} {{anchor|Agriculture}} 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