Politics of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

In Europe, during the later Middle Ages, the Black Death occurred. That led to famine, resulting in economic slow down and as well as major population decreasing. In Italy, the Great Schism- the papacy in Rome got to strong so there were two popes, and the Babylonian Captivity- Avignon receiving a pope led to problems. After a lot of threats and arguments, pope Urban and Clement 5th divided up Europe to reign over. Rome had Italy, England, and the Holy Roman Empire. Avignon had France, Portugal, Castle of Aragon, Naples, and Scotland. This was not working so the Council of Constance met, which was supposed to solve the pope dilemma, but instead added a new pope in Pizza. Also, vernacular literature emerged mostly in eastern Europe.

The Italian Renaissance was the biggest turning point for Europe at this time. The Renaissance was a re-birth of everything. The main Italian cities who are more well known for the Renaissance are Venice, the Papal States, Florence, Milan, and Naples. Literature used humanism, individualism, and secularism. There were new architectural structures and different ways to paint. This was the rise of many rulers interested in the centralization of power and the elimination of disorder and violence.

Spain also had different ruling styles due to the Renaissance. The marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella unified Spain and Christianization Spain. They used the local police forces to administer royal justice. They turned the royal council to aristocratic power and to strengthen royal authority.