Michaelangelo

Michaelangelo is known as one of the greatest artists in the 16th century. He was born on March 6, 1475, in Florence, Italy. Two of his works during his lifetime that he is most famous for are the Rome Pieta and the famous David. Between 1475 and 1483 Michaelangelo was commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV della Rovere to paint the Sistene Chapel. The ceiling of the Sistene Chapel depicts everything from the Creation of Man to the Last Judgment.

John Calvin

John Calvin was born in Noyon, Picardy which is in France. The leadership of Swiss Protestantism was passed on to Calvin after Zwingli, the previous leader, was killed in battle. Once he became the leader of Protestantism, Calvin wrote the Institutes of the Christian Religion. This was the basic break-down of the Protestant religion. Institutes of the Christian Religion gave Calvin his reputation as the new leader of Protestantism. Calvin agreed with Martin Luther in many of his beliefs and believed that God was sovereign. Calvin was able to come up with many ideas which were emphasized on the powerful nature of God. One of these ideas was predestination. After coming up with this idea Calvinism became a working faith. By 1536 Calvin's next project was to reform the city of Geneva. Calvin created a churh government which consisted of a Consistory. Calvin's work on reforming the city of Geneva made it the capital of the Protestant Reformation.

Leonardo da Vinci

The name Leonardo da Vinci means Leonardo of Vinci, Italy. He was the son of a wealthy Florentine notary and a peasant woman. Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in Anchiano, Itlay. In 1457 Leonardo moved in with his grandfather who lived in Vinci, Italy. Leonardo attended school in Vinci where he learned to read, write, and calculate. He also learned Latin and geometry. In 1466, at the age of fourteen, da Vince moved to Florence for an apprenticeship as a studio boy in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio. In Verocchio's workshop was where Vinci was introduced to the world of art. Leonardo entered the services of many political rulers in Rome. Some of his most famous works of art are the Mona Lisa, the Adoration of The Magi, and the Last Supper. Leonardo da Vinci was also famous for his drawings of the human anatomy, in which helped in medical advancements for that era. Leonardo died at the age of sixty-seven on May 2, 1519 in Cloux, near Amboise, France.

The Impact Of Printing

The idea of a printing press was first discovered by the Chinese, yet because of their highly structured society they made no effort to put it into effect in increasing the knowledge of their citizens. The printing press made not only a great impact on the Reformation between the Church and state, but also on European intellectual life and thought. The printing press came about when Europeans figured out how to print with movable metal type. This discovery occurred in about 1450. The man responsible for the completion of the printing press was Johannes Gutenberg of Mainz, Germany. The first book to be printed from movable type was Gutenberg's Bible in 1455. The development of the printing press made it possible for books such as prayer books, Bibles, Latin and Greek classics, legal books, works on philosophy, and a growing number of popular romances to be published. In fact the printing press led to more people having the desire to learn, and gain knowledge from reading. Without the printing press religious ideas of the Reformation would never have had any way to be spread throughout the European society.

Martin Luther and His Reformation

Martin Luther of the Renaissance and reformation period was born in Germany,November 10, 1483. Martin Luther's life quickly changed when he was struck down by lightening during a storm. He then quickly decided he would become a monk. Luther's father and friends tried desperately to discourage him from taking this path in life and tried to get him to complete his studies in law, but Luther decided he would go through with his decision. While Luther was visiting Whittenberg and praying at St. Peters he could not help but notice the corruptness of the people, and especially the church leaders, and how things were being ran. Martin Luther then began to see that Catholic teaching had stressed that both faith and good works were needed in order to gain salvation and when he began studying the Bible he was able to see that one could obtain salvation through not just good deeds, but through faith in the promises of God. Luther did not like the fact that the people were believing in the wrong thing in which the church was telling them. On October 31, 1517 Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses on the the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. In these Ninety-Five Theses Luther's opinion on how the Word of God was not properly being taught to the people was expressed. For his actions Luther was charged with heresy and was excommunicated. All Luther wanted was to show the people how they were basically being lied to by the Church. He wanted the people to know that there was a different way to receive salvation.