Birth of the Modern Age - Report Example

1400-1600: Birth of the Modern Age? This paper is an attempt to answer the question as to whether “the period [in human history marked by the years] 1400 to 1600 represents the birth of the modern age” by looking at the writings of twenty people who lived during or shortly before or after the two hundred and one years under investigation. Before embarking on this challenging assignment, we need to make a few basic assumptions and observations to reach a level of understanding that would help us arrive at an objective answer to our question in keeping with the matter and purpose of our exercise. Our reasoning is simple, a bit naïve perhaps, but just and sensible: we need to establish continuity between the past and the present. First, we assume that the so-called modern age in human history came sometime after the period we are investigating. This allows us to set aside, at least for the moment, the disagreements among historians and other experts as to the exact dates on when the modern age began and whether we are still in or beyond it. Second, we also assume that the writers whose works we are to analyze to answer our question really existed, and that their accounts represent a true image of reality as they perceived it. Some may have used literary tools to paint a subtle imagery of the times in which they lived, but our knowing the trick allows us to look beyond the images and into the underlying reality of their 15th-16th century world. Third, our knowledge and observations of what historians call the modern age allow us to identify distinguishing characteristics that mark a transition from the old or ancient world to the new or modern one: the way humans performed their activities of learning, earning, governing, and looking at the world around them. These so-called modern ways – the scientific method of learning, the transition from feudalism to the rule of law, democratic government and free market economics, and a widening focus from the local and regional to the international and the universal world – are facets of the human character and culture that we witness in ourselves now and that we see as taking root in the hearts and souls of the writers whose written works we are to analyze. If we can pin down these modern developments as having their definite origins only to the period 1400 to 1600, our task would have been easier. Unfortunately, with a few exceptions, a study of written works before and after 1400 is beyond the scope of this paper. Given these assumptions and limitations, how can this writer establish continuity between past chronicles and our observations of the modern world? How can we conclude that the period 1400-1600 represents the birth of the modern age? This last intellectual stumbling block was overcome when the writer had to decide which of the several works in the collection to include in this paper, taking into account this writer’s personal biases and assumptions. The solution was simple: choose on the basis of a positive, optimistic, and hopeful image of the world, both in the present and in the future. Having taken this crucial step, the writer became “one” with each of the twenty historical figures whose selections were chosen, observing the world through their eyes and with the same positive attitude. This is how the writer established continuity between the present and the past, and the intellect having been duly satisfied dispatches itself vigorously to the task at hand. Marks of the Modern Age The modern age marked a revolution in human thought, a new outlook towards wealth, work, and money, the governance of peoples, and a more universal view of life and the world. As we assumed, this modern age happened sometime after the year 1600, the 17th century, so we question ourselves if it had its birth in the two centuries that preceded it. Before we dive into the world as it was in the 15th and 16th centuries, let us summarize what we know of the 14th century (the years 1300-1399). It was a period that saw millions of people die from famine and the plague, and from uprisings, rebellions, and wars. It was also a century when the Christian west was constantly under threat from the Moslem armies of the east and the church was divided between Avignon and Rome. Nevertheless, amidst the chaos and confusion in the world, this century also saw the flourishing of western art and literature with the likes of Giotto and Dante. East Meets West in the 15th century: Wealth and Commerce One of the turning points in the 15th century was the fall of Constantinople in 1453. It is rather enlightening to see how, from a vantage point more than half a millennium after the event, we can still admire the way different facets of human nature exposed themselves. On one hand we see the Cardinal Bessarion writing (1) to the Doge of Venice about the Turkish invaders and calling them “inhuman and ferocious barbarians, the fiercest of wild beasts” (p. 71), and a dangerous threat to Europe. Similar views of Islam and the people who adhere to it persist to this day, not only affecting our understanding of these people as intellectually and economically backward, but also making us fail to acknowledge their valuable contributions to the development of the world in the modern age. As de Busbecq (p. 252-254) showed (2), the Turks were advanced in their culture, sciences, and ways of doing business compared to the west, presenting an image contrary to that painted by other writers. Perhaps, he contributed to cultural exchanges that continued to take place more than a century later, when western explorers, traders, and merchants were already adopting the financial and business systems of the east for their own profit. We now know that several innovations in accounting, finance, mathematics, and business took place around this time, innovations that fueled the growth of civilizations and the drive for exploration and trade. New wealth led to riches used to conquer and accumulate greater power. The effects that this wealth would have on the social transformation of Europe, and in other parts of the world, would come several centuries later, but one could see that seeds of social content and discontent were being sown during the period. Moreover, prevented from venturing to eastern lands by the presence of the Turks, the Europeans instead sailed west and made discoveries that allowed western empires to extend their reach. Would explorers like Columbus have discovered America in 1492 if not for the fall of Constantinople? The account written by Monardes (3) of the new world’s discovery (p. 154-155) continues its joyful ringing in our ears over five centuries after the events he chronicled, leaving us amazed at how humanity turned what looked like a disaster – the fall of Constantinople as a portent of the end of the world – into a “golden” opportunity. The new world turned out to be a source of great riches, stoking the imaginations of future generations of westerners to set out into the unknown. In a sense, the debacle in the east became an invitation for the people of the 15th and 16th centuries to explore the world, attracted by adventure, driven by ambition, and aroused by curiosity. Having removed the limitations to which their imaginations, minds, and wills had been subjected for centuries, exploration of new lands triggered a wave of self-exploration that led to new ways of thinking and developments in science and learning. New Ways of Thinking: Science and Education Cellini, writing (4) about the casting of his bronze statue of Perseus holding the head of Medusa, gives us several important insights into the mind of a genius of the time. His descriptions of the knowledge that went into the making of the molds, his choice of which clay to use, the painstaking and methodical investigation into the manner by which bronze could be melted and poured into the cast (p. 543), his scientific defense of his work (p. 544), and his familiar narration of the account in his native tongue shows us a new dimension in the manner of an astute and modern artist-businessman. To top it all, he informed us that he was aware his methods were different from that of the ancients and “accomplished what no craft of the art could do; indeed they did not believe a mere ordinary fiend could work such miracles as I in other ways had shown” (p. 547), displaying what could be a common mentality that Cellini shared with his contemporaries, notably Michelangelo Buonarroti. Another witness of the blend of art and science is Leonardo da Vinci, a genius of the age whose thirst for knowledge and its principles (5) found expression in his artistic and scientific works. Of the three Italians, Leonardo came first and most probably influenced the other two in his use of proportion and realism – science – in his depictions of the human form. His paintings, however, are not his greatest contribution to the world. As understood from his article, painting was only one of the ways to express his knowledge of the world that he acquired through observation, looking at things, of which his secret was to use his eye, “which is called the window of the soul…the principal means by which the central sense can most completely and abundantly appreciate the infinite works of nature” (p. 532). This power of observation allowed him not only to be educationally acquainted with his subject, but also to attempt to be an expert in it. He looked beyond the knowledge of the principles of things and into the act of creating them. Leonardo was a quintessential Renaissance man who could write – though detractors claimed he was not a man of letters (p. 531) – on anatomy, nature, and experience. We notice in the lives of the geniuses Cellini and Leonardo a characteristic that would mark future generations of humans: the blend of science and art, mind and craft, manual dexterity and intellectual ability, of making beautiful and realistic things that are useful, can work, and endure. In the accounts of Cellini and Leonardo, we catch a glimpse of the slowly emerging modern mind, and the fact that their works continue to amaze us to this day is a testament to the fascinating power their accomplishments had over others five centuries ago. While Leonardo and Benvenuto combined science and art, others made their mark by combining art with science, which is what Vesalius did with medicine (6). He brought medicine into the modern era with his writings on medical history that contained realistic illustrations. By contesting the accepted medical teachings of the time, he paved a new way of looking at health and the human body. Vesalius wrote about the science of anatomy, the study of the human body, pointing out its beauty and symmetry and going into the principles of the causes and cures of sickness. His findings may seem rudimentary, but his words show a more important trend, the break of medicine between the old and the new; transforming healing from a practice involved with the realm of the magical mysteries of life and death and into a science that can be known deeply and presented in an artistic way – “the books contain representations of all the parts inserted in the text of the discourse, in such a way that they place before the eyes of the student of nature’s works (p. 568) – as to allow medicine to be practiced and appreciated by many. This marked a transition not unlike that experienced by other people of the age as regards the arts. As Vesalius captivated the imagination, he opened and expanded minds and began to break down imaginary barriers with a deeper knowledge of the previously mysterious human body. We have here a hint of the extent to which the human mind discovered it could apply itself: the prolongation of human life, the power over life and death, and the conquest of sickness and, perhaps, old age. Long-lasting youth, maybe even the possibility of eternal life, became a possibility, and like the gold in other lands that acted as a magnet for generations of explorers, the “art” of scientific medicine attracted hordes of eager practitioners into its fold. Flourishing of Art and Literature Francesco Petrarca, or Petrarch, is one of the characters that was born and who died before the 15th century. He was a literary genius, a poet, whose major contribution was his knowledge of ancient Greek and Roman writers like Homer and Cicero, thanks to his efforts to collect manuscripts from different monastic libraries in his travels abroad as ambassador. Following the example of another 14th century literary figure, Dante, Petrarch wrote in his native Italian. This decision, though seemingly insignificant, was rather decisive, because it allowed future generations of Italians not fluent in Latin to read, understand, and spread his generous literary output. From one of his works (7), one of over three hundred sonnets to the woman he loved Laura (although some scholars may still be debating whether she really existed, and if she did, whether she knew how Petrarch idolized her), we catch a glimpse of a man’s emotional turmoil (p. 430): “So loved, now left on earth, my beauteous veil. Ah! Wherefore did she cease and loose my hand?” What is so “unusual” about his sonnets? Petrarch’s relationship with Laura reminds us of the Platonic love (Petrarch was a priest) that other geniuses experienced and that spurred them on to heights of artistic accomplishment. But while others like Dante imbued the presence of their loved one with religious undertones, Petrarch’s sonnet has a carnal, human, and shall we say a pure earthly quality. This may have represented a new form of artistic practice, like what several artists of the period did, breaking away with the tradition of religious art commissioned by their religious patrons. Like Cellini with his Perseus or Leonardo and his Mona Lisa in the late 15th century, Petrarch and his Laura in the mid-14th century did much to herald a rebirth in the manner of expressing the human soul. Rebirth: in Italian Rinascita, in French Renaissance. This term was first used in the article by Vasari (8) to depict the new look of art in the 14th and 15th centuries. The rebirth, though applied mostly to paintings marked by the expert use of perspective, vanishing points, and scientific realism, was later on said of other art forms like prose and poetry, dramatic plays and songs. What was reborn? Vasari points to the rediscovery of the ancients and the classics and their applications to the sciences and the arts. “…This I have done…because I desire to be useful to the whole body of artists…having seen the manner in which art proceeded from small beginnings, until she attained the highest summit…and considering that it is the nature of art, as of human existence, to receive birth, to progress, to become old, and to die, may thus more perfectly comprehend and follow the progress of her second birth to the high perfection which she has once more attained in these our days” (p. 145). Later observers of the period would refer to a rebirth of the general culture of Europe brought about by the intellectual dynamism arising from the period’s discoveries and their manifestations in popular art and literature. This is how the birth of the modern age may have come about. Geniuses, both artistic and scientific, developed new ways of thinking, breaking down intellectual barriers that may have constrained previous generations. They then expressed their ideas in a manner that common people could understand and appreciate, artists through their paintings, and poets through poems and songs in the local language. It was an efficient and effective way of disseminating knowledge to present and future generations, not only of the new thought processes the artists were using to create their works, but also of the ideas about mankind, society, the world, and universal concepts like love, life, freedom, and equality. It may have marked a change in the audience of artists, who in the past composed for the aristocrats mainly in Latin, but are now providing “products” of their creativity to the masses. This in itself is a powerful force for the spread of information, helping men and women of future ages know what they are capable of, learn about adventures in other lands, and to begin to dream about a better life and future. Wyatt’s ode to his lute (9) is charming, humorous, and romantic. The ode is a form of lyric verse that draws on Greek poetry, where the poem is accompanied by a lyre or harp. The lute is a more common English instrument much like a guitar, and by conversing with his lute Wyatt seems to be communicating with someone among the listeners, a common tactic used by court poets of whom Wyatt was one during the reign of Henry VIII of England. Composed in the vernacular English, poems like Wyatt’s grew in popularity and must have became a very elegant way of spreading gossip about the inner workings of government and the clergy in any monarchy. We can only guess what he meant by his words “The time that thou hast lost and spent…to cause thy lovers sigh and swoon” (p. 450-451). Art that was easy to understand and presented in a way that never aroused suspicion by the rulers became an instrument to spread information and enlighten people’s minds on what used to be known only to a close circle of the ruling classes. This must have paved the way for the political changes that followed soon after. Angelo Poliziano (10) was an Italian poet and philosopher fluent in Latin and Greek. His familiarity with Greek allowed him to transmit to the west several classical literary works, acting as one of the bridges between the two cultures as Petrarch did a century earlier. His drama about Orpheus, the god who could charm anything, even death itself, was composed in Italian and allowed it to be performed in front of large crowds who began gaining a better appreciation of classical cultures. By discovering and making use of Greek gods and goddesses, the artists of the era were able to educate people about divine omnipotence in a fascinating, enjoyable, and humorous way. This would have been blasphemous were Christian divinities used, which is why the rediscovery of Greek and Roman gods became a convenient solution. Were the following words (p. 460) of his drama “Orfeo” a veiled attack on the ruling clergy of his time? “Let every one do as ye see me do. Let every one drink and quaff like me! Bacchus! We all must follow thee!” The age was full of abuses from the ruling classes – rulers, lords, bishops, and priests – but despite the bad examples of those who should be otherwise for the people, the latter continued to have faith in the divine, as several of the writers showed. However, the transformation of the old into the new was taking place not only in the arts and the sciences, but also in religion and politics. The period marked the start of changes not only in the way men and women learned and knew reality as reflected in their paintings and their sciences; it also marked the beginning of a change in the way they believed in the divine. New Ways of Believing Savonarola in his 1493 sermon (11) wrote of a church in crisis, where “there are no more good prelates to be found” (p. 645). What was probably striking is that a cleric of the age lashed at the authorities of the church he was serving, decrying their hypocrisy (p. 645), materialism, vanity, and riches contrary to what they were supposed to be doing (p. 646). He may not have been the first to wage an attack against the rulers of the church who were not following the spirit of her founder; for sure, many concerned persons may have attempted to expose the previous abuses of the humans running what they claimed to be a divine institution. But when Savonarola delivered his sermon in an era when people’s minds were more open, when the capacity of the common people for imaginative and creative thinking was being widened by the arts and literature, and when courage and openness became virtues that were extolled, the natural result could not have been anything but revolutionary. This revolutionary reform found its head in Luther who, in his article (12) addressed to Erasmus, revealed to us the thinking of the era’s intellectuals. The battle between Luther and Erasmus (13) is on the heart of man, his free will, on the issue of whether man acts freely or not (p. 678). Luther says no, our human nature is destroyed, we are not free, and only God could restore it (p. 703); Erasmus says our human nature is damaged, but we are still free, and we can decide freely (p. 684-685). It is not our purpose to judge which of the two sides is in the right, but we can make three modest observations based on what they wrote. First, the discussions that took place early in the 16th century were part of the age of religious reformation that continues to this day. Second, the argumentative style used by the two protagonists reflected the scientific rigor of the period. Using classical and contemporary works, tradition, and human experience, Erasmus and Luther argued point by point on each other’s doctrine and tried to justify each other’s views. This style of argumentation between two cultured geniuses of the period showed a familiarity with the rules of debate and discussion popular with Romans and Greeks of ancient times. Their written dialogue reflected an objective search for truth, both to defend one’s position and to show the falsity of the other’s point of view. The West may not have witnessed previously such great minds engaged in a fencing match, using words and intellectual powers instead of resorting to acts of violence. By discovering the usefulness of discourse – words and ideas to defend one’s faith and beliefs – the debate on free will opened an alternative for resolving human and social disputes. Our third observation has something to do with our question on whether the modern age began in this period. Luther’s reformation was an open rebellion against church rulers whom people saw as representatives of the divinity. If Luther could get away with it and survive the “ordeal”, then people may have realized that threats of divine retaliation for pointing out evildoing clerics was a bluff they were misled to believe for fifteen centuries. We can say that Luther opened the floodgates for reform to take place not only in the church, but also in kingdoms and governments, as people began questioning the legitimacy and competence of their rulers – monarchs and their royal families – on issues of liberty, governance, economics, politics, and even their private lives. New Humanity and Governance Perhaps central to the outlook of the period is the rediscovery of the dignity of the human being, a deeper questioning of what this dignity consists of and where it came from, and the consequences in behaviour proceeding from a common understanding of the concept. As Pico Della Mirandola hinted (14, p. 476), this renewed insight may have resulted from the West’s interaction with Islam (Abdala the Saracen regarding man as the most wonderful [creature] in the world) and the Greek classics (Hermes calling man a great miracle). Pico’s conclusion was a challenge to humanity at the threshold of the modern age: “[Man]…content with the lot of no created beings…will surpass all things” (p. 479). Even before Pico, people of the era had been developing a “can do” attitude that made many things, if not everything, possible. Suddenly, riches and perfection were more accessible to the greater mass of men and women of ambition who could dream of what were previously thought to be impossible. Alberti’s self-portrait (15) reveals a man of ambition, courage, and a mastery of science, a wide and deep grasp of the culture, arts, and literature of the past and the present, an animal lover (he wrote a funeral oration for his dead dog, p. 492). Since we do not expect the nature of men to have changed in the last six centuries, his self-portrait could only motivate future generations to equal or surpass his accomplishments. A better knowledge of man and his dignity naturally leads to a growing interest as to how he should be governed, an issue on which one of the most famous commentators is Machiavelli (16), who wrote about the different kinds of governments that rulers can choose from depending on what the people needed. By giving people and their rulers two other options – aristocracy and democracy – he must have opened the hearts and minds of future generations of rulers whose ambition now included governance and politics. Bacon’s article (17) showed a wonderful monarch who was able to combine benevolence (monarchy), wisdom (aristocracy), and a dedication and respect for the good of his people (democracy). Breaking Away with the Past? As the 16th century was coming to a close and the 17th century just beginning to dawn on mankind and the world, three eyewitnesses of the age passed on lessons that summarize what the last two previous centuries were about. Le Roy (18) reminds us to remember the past and to learn from it as he chronicled the major historical events, personalities, and inventions of the era, ending with a challenge to preserve the good things of the past so that we can “transmit them to those who come after us just as we have received them from our ancestors” (p. 108). Lipsius (19), writing of the need to face the challenges of the present times, called for constancy and courage in pursuing our dreams and left us with some important advice: that the evils of the times are “…human, or appertaining to men” and as we are all in this together, we need to help and learn from each other (p. 116) to rid the world of this evil. Conclusion Cervantes (20), in the excerpt from his novel, makes us laugh, smile, and hope, but also at the same time think about what Don Quixote called the “happy age to which the ancients gave the name golden…because those who lived in that time did not know the meaning of the words ‘thine’ and ‘mine’…when no labor was required of any man save to reach forth his hand…” (p. 116). When Cervantes wrote his novel, the real golden age of the world was just beginning, and his message seemed to be that only someone crazy and attached to the glories of the past like Don Quixote would lament the present and lose hope in the future. Cervantes, however, gave a hint of caution, a reminder that we need to take into account the good and noble things of the past as we build the future. Using the words of a delusional character set within the boundaries of literary art, Cervantes speaks of deep messages that it would be to the advantage of future generations to heed. Our articles evolved from first person accounts to a fascinating, entertaining, and profound comic novel. The media have changed, but the messages are the same: we are part of an unbroken line of humanity that experienced a rebirth of self-knowledge and understanding in the 15th-16th centuries. Our duty is to learn from the past and to pass it on. Works Cited Ross, James Bruce and Mary Martin McLaughlin, eds. The Portable Renaissance Reader. New York: Viking Penguin, 1981. 1) The Turkish Menace, Cardinal Bessarion 2) Observations on the Turks, Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq 3) Joyful News from the New-Found World, Nicolas Monardes 4) The Casting of the ‘Perseus’, Benvenuto Cellini 5) Nature, Art, and Science, Leonardo da Vinci 6) Anatomy and the Art of Medicine, Andreas Vesalius 7) On the Death of the Lady Laura, Francesco Petrarca 8) The Arts Reborn, Giorgio Vasari 9) My Lute Awake, Sir Thomas Wyatt 10) Orfeo, Angelo Poliziano 11) A Preacher of Reform, Girolamo Savonarola 12) The Bondage of the Will, Martin Luther 13) On Free Will, Erasmus of Rotterdam 14) The Dignity of Man, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola 15) Self-Portrait of a Universal Man, Leon Battista Alberti 16) The Circle of Governments, Niccoló Machiavelli 17) Henry VII, A New Monarch, Francis Bacon 18) The Excellence of This Age, Loys Le Roy 19) The Evils of the Times, Justus Lipsius 20) Don Quixote and the Golden Age, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra Read More