A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow What the heart of the young man said to the psalmist.

In the bivouac of Life, Be not like dumb, driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife!

Tell me not, in mournful numbers, "Life is but an empty dream!" For the soul is dead that slumbers, And things are not what they seem. Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant! Let the dead Past bury its dead! Act, - act in the living Present! Heart within, and God o'erhead! Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; "Dust thou art, to dust returnest," Was not spoken of the soul. Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time; Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, Is our destined end or way; But to act, that each to-morrow Find us farther than to-day. Footprints, that perhaps another, Sailing o'er life's solemn main, A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing, shall take heart again. Art is long, and Time is fleeting, And our hearts, though stout and brave, Still, like muffled drums, are beating Funeral marches to the grave. Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labour and to wait. In the world's broad field of battle, William Wordsworth and Preface to Lyrical Ballads salamat sa hindi pagtatanong. andali nyo talaga kausap. (except si ma'am lol XD) hihi mua <3

William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads. Wordsworth was Britain's Poet Laureate from 1843 until his death in 1850.


Life

A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for State occasions and other government events.

William Wordsworth was born in Cockermouth, Cumberland, in the Lake District, on April 7, 1770. He lost his mother when he was eight and five years later, his father. Wordsworth's father, although rarely present, did teach him poetry, including that of Milton, Shakespeare and Spenser, in addition to allowing his son to rely on his own father's library. The domestic problems separated Wordsworth from his beloved sister Dorothy, who was a very important person in his life. Her thoughts and impression were a valuable source of inspiration for her brother, who also introduced himself as Nature's child. With the help of his two uncles, Wordsworth entered a local school and continued his studies at Cambridge University. Wordsworth made his debut as a writer in 1787 when he published a sonnet in The European Magazine. In November 1791, Wordsworth visited Revolutionary France and had an affair with a French girl, Annette Vallon, a daughter of a barber-surgeon, by whom he had a illegitimate daughter Anne Caroline. In 1795 he met Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Encouraged by Coleridge and stimulated by the close contact with nature, Wordsworth composed his first masterwork, Lyrical Ballads, which opened with Coleridge's 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner.' About 1798 he started to write a large and philosophical autobiographical poem, completed in 1805, and published posthumously in 1850 under the title The Prelude. The long work described the poet's love of nature and his own place in the world order. In 1802 married Mary Hutchinson. They cared for Wordsworth's sister Dorothy for the last 20 years of life she had lost her mind as a result of physical ailments. Critics hooted at Wordsworth's poems and his politics early in his career, but in later years he became accepted as a key voice in the Romantic Movement. Wordsworth's second collection, Poems, In Two Volumes, appeared in 1807. Wordsworth's path-breaking works were produced between 1797 and 1808. However, his poems written during middle and late years have not gained similar critical approval and his friendship with Coleridge, suffering from addiction, was breaking apart. From the age of 50 his creative began to decline and he abandoned his radical faith and became a patriotic, conservative public man. William Wordsworth died by re-aggravating a case of pleurisy on 23 April 1850, and was buried at St. Oswald's church in Grasmere. His autobiographical epic, "The Prelude," was published by his wife after his death.

Works

Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems Lyrical Ballads, with Other Poems Poems, in Two Volumes The Excursion Laodamia The Prelude Guide to the Lakes The Borderers (a play)

Lyrical Ballads Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems is a collection of poems by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, first published in 1798 and generally considered to have marked the beginning of the English Romantic movement in literature. The immediate effect on critics was modest, but it became and remains a landmark, changing the course of English literature and poetry.

Most of the poems in the 1798 edition were written by Wordsworth, with Coleridge contributing only four poems to the collection, including one of his most famous works, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner". Coleridge was to compose the supernatural while Wordsworth was to compose the common life. A second edition was published in 1800, in which Wordsworth included additional poems and a preface detailing the pair's avowed poetical principles. Another edition was published in 1802, Wordsworth added an appendix titled Poetic Diction in which he expanded the ideas set forth in the preface.

Preface to Lyrical Ballads The Preface to the Lyrical Ballads is an essay, composed by William Wordsworth for the second edition of the poetry collection Lyrical Ballads. However, Samuel Taylor Coleridge was supposed to write the preface for the Lyrical Ballads, so he could clarify his poetic style and eliminate many criticisms about their new writing; he wanted the public to know that his and Wordsworths poetry was more real. But he never did, leaving Wordsworth to write in under a very short time.

Major Arguments/ Important Issues 1. "For all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings": The Neo-Classical poets and critics of the previous age always emphasized that poetry should be an expression of the poet's 'reason' and his 'intellect,' but Wordsworth felt that the opposite was true and emphasised that 'emotion' and 'feeling' were the hallmarks of good poetry.

2. "To choose incidents and situations from common life": The Neo-Classical critics restricted the choice of the subject matter of the poets mainly to the lives of kings and queens and life in the city. Wordsworth disagreed and his poems dealt with the lives of ordinary people in rustic settings.

3. "A selection of language really used by men": The Neo-Classical poets and critics were of the opinion that good poetry must be written only in a highly artificial and stylised language called 'poetic diction.' Wordsworth felt that, the language exactly as it was used by the "humble and rustic" people was "a far more philosophical language," and hence more suitable to express sincerely the poet's feelings.

4. "The feeling gives importance to the action": Neo-Classical poets felt that the 'action' gave importance to the 'feeling,' but Wordsworth felt that it was the other way round.

5. Subject- Matter of Poetry: Aristotle, as I have been told, has said, that Poetry is the most philosophic of all writing. Poetry is the image of man and nature and its object is truth, not individual and local, but general and operative.

6. The Nature of Poet: He is a man speaking to men. He is a man endowed with more lively sensibility, more enthusiasm and more tenderness, who has a greater knowledge of human nature and a more comprehensive soul, than are supposed to be common among mankind.

sir sidney BIOGRAPHY OF SIR PHILIP SIDNEY Sir Philip Sidney was born on November 30, 1554, to Sir Henry Sidney and Lady Mary Dudley. His mother was the daughter of John Dudley, the 1st Duke of Northumberland, and the sister of Robert Dudley, the 1st Earl of Leicester. Sidney was named after his godfather, King Philip II of Spain. He attended the Shrewsbury School beginning in 1564 at the age of ten. There he met his longtime best friend and future biographer, Fulke Greville, Lord Brooke. From 1568 to 1571, Sidney studied at Christ Church, Oxford, but he left without taking a degree in order to travel the continent and complete his education in that alternative way. He traveled through France (narrowly escaping the horrors of the Saint Bartholomew Massacre in Paris), Germany, Italy, and Austria. Upon his return to England on May 31, 1575, Sidney took on the position of a popular and highly respected courtier. At this point, Sidney first made the acquaintance of Penelope Devereux, the eldest daughter of Lord Essex-a girl of only twelve years old. Lord Essex greatly desired a marriage between Sidney and Lady Penelope and, on his deathbed in 1576, allegedly proclaimed of Sidney, "Oh that good gentleman, have me commended unto him. And tell him I sent him nothing, but I wish him well-so well, that if God do move their hearts, I wish that he might match with my daughter. I call him son-he so wise, virtuous, and godly." In 1576, in the midst of his early courtship with Penelope, Sidney first began writing his famous sonnet sequence, Astrophel and Stella (now spelled as Astrophil and Stella). In 1577, Sidney was sent as ambassador to the German Emperor and the Prince of Orange. Officially he was to console the princes on the death of their father, and unofficially he was to explore the possibility of creating a Protestant league. In 1579, the projected marriage of Queen Elizabeth to the Duke of Anjou- the Roman Catholic heir to the French throne-roused Sidney to take action. He wrote an extremely bold letter to the Queen expressing his opposition to the match and, as a result, swiftly became the object of her severe displeasure. Retiring from court to avoid the Queen's wrath, Sidney spent several months living on the estate of his sister, Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, and writing the pastoral romance Arcadia. With the marriage of his wealthy uncle, the Earl of Leicester, in 1578 and the following birth of a cousin, Sidney's fortunes swiftly changed. As the nephew and heir to the childless and unmarried Earl of Leicester, Sidney could be matched in marriage to the wealthiest woman in England. But simply as Sir Henry Sidney's son, without the prospective fortune of his uncle, Sidney was nothing more than a poor gentleman. This change in fortunes ensured that Sidney would no longer be an appropriate match for Penelope Devereux, despite the dying wishes of her father. In 1581, Penelope was married to Lord Rich. Although she did not indicate any affection for Sidney before her wedding, her marriage to Lord Rich was recognized as unhappy. According to a letter written by the Earl of Devonshire to James I, Penelope never accepted Lord Rich as a husband but, "being in the power of her friends, she was by them married against her will unto one against whom she did protest at the very solemnity and ever after," who instead of being her "comforter did strive in all things to torment her," and with whom she lived in "continual discord." In 1583 Sidney was knighted, and soon afterward, he married Frances, the daughter of Sir Francis Walsingham. In 1584, he took up a position in Parliament. A year later, he was appointed to the Governorship of Flushing in the Netherlands. On September 22, 1586, Sidney led a military body of two hundred English horsemen on an attack against a Spanish convoy on its way to the town of Zutphen. According to legend, as he was leaving the camp, Sidney met the camp's marshal, Sir William Pelham, wearing only light armor, and in an effort to emulate this nobility, Sidney threw aside his own armor and rode into battle unprotected. This anecdote was meant to emphasize Sidney's courage and similarity to the knight-errants in Arthurian legend. During the battle, Sidney's thighbone was shattered by a musket shot, and he died twenty-two days later. He was not yet thirty-two years old. While lying injured, Sidney allegedly gave his water bottle to another wounded soldier, declaring, "Thy need is greater than mine." This demonstration of self-sacrifice and nobility made this episode one of the most famous stories about Sir Philip Sidney. As English bibliographer Alfred W. Pollard (1859-1944) remarks, the story of Philip Sidney and the cup of cold water among the best known anecdotes in English history." Sidney's body was interred in St. Paul's Cathedral on February 16, 1587. His death was the cause of much mourning in England, with the Queen and her subjects grieving for the man who was the consummate courtier. NEO CLASSICISM >-A revival of classical aesthetics and forms, especially: >A revival in literature in the late 17th and 18th centuries, characterized by a regard for the classical ideals of reason, form, and restraint.

>the Neo Classicism covers 1660-1795 >the rules of poetry were largely governed by genre: like epic, tragedy, comedy, pastoral derived, or learned, from Classical authors

> humanity was taken to be the proper subject for poetry (particularly humans in their social arrangements, as opposed to the individual contemplating his or her own psyche or relationship with natural world) > To a certain extent Neoclassicism represented a reaction against the optimistic, exuberant, and enthusiastic Renaissance view of man as a being fundamentally good and possessed of an infinite potential for spiritual and intellectual growth. Neoclassical theorists, by contrast, saw man as an imperfect being, inherently sinful, whose potential was limited. They replaced the Renaissance emphasis on the imagination, on invention and experimentation, and on mysticism with an emphasis on order and reason, on restraint, on common sense, and on religious, political, economic and philosophical conservatism. They maintained that man himself was the most appropriate subject of art, and saw art itself as essentially pragmatic as valuable because it was somehow useful and as something which was properly intellectual rather than emotional. >poetry was held to be an imitation of reality/nature/humanity: a mirror held up to nature though it was artifice that ordered and organized the materials that nature provided so as to reveal its genius and its Beauty. ->art should both instruct and delight - a classical ideal picked up by many authors, including Sir Philip Sidney (in his A Defence of Poesie) and John Dryden (in his Essay of Dramatic Poesie) ->neoclassical humanism addressed itself to what mankind had as universally in common. *It contains number of sub-period: *THE RESTORATION PERIOD (1660-1700) >The period is bounded by the Restoration of Charles II as the british monarch and the outbreak of the French Revolutionin 1789 (the beginning of the Romantic period.) >Some of the period (at least its early stage)includes: >strong interest in tradition ( thus the Neo meaning new) >distrust of radical innovation. >great respect for classical writers. >literature was one of the arts as an art it required the practice and study of a set of skills and the involvement of the artist in the forms and styles of the classical era (contrast this to the Romantic ideal of the lone poet, the natural, solitary genius....) *THE AUGUSTAN AGE (THE AGE OF ALEXANDER POPE) (1700-1745) >the Augustan Age was the period after the Restoration era to the death of Alexander Pope (~1690 - 1744). The major writers of the age were Pope and John Dryden in poetry, and Jonathan Swift and Joseph Addison in prose. >The works of Dryden, Pope, Swift, Addison and John Gay, as well as many of their contemporaries, exhibit qualities of order, clarity, and stylistic decorum that were formulated in the major critical documents of the age. >There works form the basis of modern English criticism, insist that 'nature' is the true model and standard of writing. This 'nature' of the Augustans, however, was not the wild, spiritual nature the romantic poets would later idealize. *THE AGE OF SENSIBILITY (THE AGE OF JOHNSON) (1745-1785) >is one of the most quoted English writers. The end of the 18th century is sometimes called the "Age of Johnson," because he was such a prominent figure. Johnson published poems, articles, sermons, speeches, and much more. Johnson is also famous for his Dictionary of the English Language. >During the Age of Sensibility, literature reflected the worldview of the Age of Enlightenment (or Age of Reason) a rational and scientific approach to religious, social, political, and economic issues that promoted a secular view of the world and a general sense of progress and perfectibility. Led by the philosophers who were inspired by the discoveries of the previous century (Newton) and the writings of Descartes, Locke and Bacon. They sought to discover and to act upon universally valid principles governing humanity, nature, and society. They variously attacked spiritual and scientific authority, dogmatism, intolerance, censorship, and economic and social restraints. They considered the state the proper and rational instrument of progress. The extreme rationalism and skepticism of the age led naturally to deism; the same qualities played a part in bringing the later reaction of romanticism.

NICOLAS BOILEAU DESPEREAUX

November 1,1636-March 13,1711 in Paris, France French poet, satirist, critic He studied law ,but more on writings influenced by LA FONTAINE, RACINE, MOILIERE, and greatly HORACE Author of: Satires and Epistles, Lart poetique, Le Lutrin He used his intellectual verbal humor on what he perceived to be the bad Taste OF HIS TIME He exchanged theology for law; studied at College de Beauvais, but then called to the bar on dec. 4,1656 1660-first satireembodied the farewell of a poet to the city of Paris He openly raised the standard of revolt against the older poets 1663he expressed through stanzas his admiration for Moliere 1664second satire-elaborating romances of time 1666published the satires 1669published his epistles 1674Lart Poetique and Le Lutrin were published; translation of Longinus on the sublime 1677he was made a to the king LOUIS XIV 1684he retired to the ACaDEMIE FRANCAiSE by the kings wish 1687he retired and rested to a country house he bought in Auteuil 1705he sold his house and returned to Paris Boileaus transition from satirist to literary theorist is marked by THE EPISTLES, modeled in the works of LATIN poet. Horace Boileau does not merely lay down rules for the language of poetry, but analyses carefully the various kinds of verse composition, and enunciates the principles peculiar to each

LART POETIQUE

The ideas in this work had been expressed by a number of BOILEAUs contemporaries He captured the concept of classicism in a concise forceful, and poetic form only the truth is beautiful (the poets role lies the discovery and presentation of truth) Sincerity and a great desire for ideal truth is necessary to arrive at the essence of things He distinguished himself not by the theoretical argument of the content ,but by the witty phrases that summarize concepts examined previously by the others He placed great importance on the certain often-repeated key words (reason, nature, truth, vraisemblance) First cantogeneral principles of versification and clarity of expression are developed and the useful service a poets honest friend critic can provided and described Second cantoprovides the guidelined for the lesser genres such as ode,elegy, satire,sonnet Third cantopresent ruled for writing the major poetic genres: tragedy, epic, comedy (the classical principles of the three dramatic unities: time,place,action)is stated in a memorable couplet Final cantogeneral in scope, vocation of the poet in general

EXCERPT

PASTORAL 17

Be their just Writings, by the Gods inspir'd ; Your constant Pattern, practis'd and admir'd. By them alone you'l easily comprehend How Poets, without shame, may condescend

To sing of Gardens, Fields, of Flow'rs, and Fruit, To stir up Shepherds, and to tune the Flute, Of Love's rewards to tell the happy hour, Daphne a Tree, Narcissus made a Flower, And by what means the Eclogue yet has pow'r * To make the Woods worthy a Conqueror : This of their Writings is the grace and flight ; Their risings lofty, yet not out of Sight. Sir Philip Sidneys The Apology for Poetry (The Defense of Poesy) [Poetry is] the first light-giver to ignorance, and first nurse, whose milk by little and little enabled them to feed afterwards of tougher knowledges.

Poetry is an art of imitation, a speaking picture, to teach and delight. Ethical effects of Poetry; purifying of wit, enriching of memory, enabling of judgment, enlarging of conceit. Poetry is more effective than either history or philosophy. Reaction against the attacks made on poetry by the Stephen Gosson.

Stephen Gosson's Attack Sir Philip Sidney's answers 1. Poetry is the waste of time. "no learning is so good as that which teacheth and moveth to virtue, and that none can both teach and move thereto so much as poesy" 2. Poetry is mother of lies. "For as I take it, to lie is to affirm that to be true which is false; so as the other artists, and especially the historian, affirming many things, can, in the cloudy knowledge of mankind, hardly escape from many lies. But the poet, as I said before, never affirmeth." 3. It is nurse of abuse. "..not say that poetry abuseth man's wit, but that man's wit abuseth poetry" 4. Plato had rightly banished the poets from his ideal world "[Plato] meant not in general of poets..but only meant to drive out those wrong opinions of the Deity, whereof now, without further law, Christianity hath taken away the all the hurtful belief, perchance, as he thought, nourished by the then esteemed poets"

Message of Sidney

Bit iffie of such a but!you be born so near the dull-making cataract of Nilus, that you cannot hear the planet-like music of poetry; if you have so earth-creeping a mind that it cannot lift itself up to look to the sky of poetry ,or rather, by a certain rustical disdain, will become such a mome, as to be a Momus of poetry; then ,though I will not wish unto you the ass ears of Midas, nor to be driven by a poets verses, as Bubonax was, to hang himself; nor to be rimed to death, as is said to be done in Ireland; yet thus much curse I must send you in the behalf of all poets:-- that while you live in love, and never get favor for lacking skill of a sonnet; and when you die, your memory die from the earth for want of an epitaph.

Prepared by: M.L. Rizza Torres Danila MIDDLE AGES History The term Middle Ages or the Medieval period refers mainly to the history of Christian and Jewish Europe between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance, around 500-1500 AD. It is "Middle" in the sense of being between the two other periods in time, ancient times or classic period and modern times. The term first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas (middle times). Historians usually divide this into three smaller periods: the Early Middle Ages, the High Middle Ages and the Late Middle Ages.

The Early Middle Ages the years 500 to 1000 AD are known as the tough times or the Dark Ages. The period has been regionally labelled the "Dark Ages", a characterization highlighting the lack or defiency of literary and cultural output from this time, especially in Western Europe.

The period is usually considered to open with those migrations of Germanic peoples that led to the destruction of the Roman Empire in the West, when the Huns fell upon the Gothic peoples north of the Black Sea and forced the Visigoths over the boundaries of the Roman Empire on the lower Danube. A later date, however, is sometimes assumed, namely when Odoacer deposed Romulus Augustulus, the last of the Roman Emperors of the West. Depopulation, deurbanization, and increased invasion were seen across the Old World. North Africa and the Middle East, once part of the Eastern Roman Empire, became Islamic. Later in European history, the establishment of the feudal system allowed a return to systemic agriculture. There was sustained urbanization in Northern and Western Europe.

The High Middle Ages started from 1000 and lasted to 1300 AD. After the Norman Conquest in 1066, we can see the beginnings of England, France, and Germany. In Spain, the Reconquest begins to push out the Islamic rulers. Italy was still struggling between being part of the Holy Roman Empire and being a lot of independent cities, but kingdoms were forming further east in Poland and Russia.

In the Eastern Mediterranean, the Roman Empire (or the Byzantine Empire) lost a lot of ground to the Seljuks at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, and became much less powerful. The Magna Carta was signed by King John in 1215 limiting the king's power for the first time. The codes of chivalry and courtly love set rules for proper European behavior, while the European Scholastic philosophers attempted to reconcile Christian faith and reason. Throughout the High Middle Ages, many men and women of Europe were fighting against the Islamic Empire to take back the Eastern Mediterranean especially Jerusalem for Christianity. We call these wars the Crusades. Christian-oriented art and architecture flourished and Crusades were mounted. The influence of the emerging states in Europe was tempered by the ideal of an international Christendom. The First Crusade did manage to capture Jerusalem, but after that the Crusades were less and less successful, until finally people stopped trying. During this time society, nobility, and the church grew stronger the feudal system became organized. The codes of chivalry and courtly love set rules for proper European behavior, while the European Scholastic philosophers attempted to reconcile Christian faith and reason.

In the Late Middle Ages, the centuries of prosperity and growth came to a halt. The Late Middle Ages lasted from 1300 to 1400 AD. This was time of tragedy and hope. A series of famines and plagues, such as the Great Famine of 13151317 and the Black Death, reduced the population around half before the calamities. Along with depopulation came social unrest and endemic warfare. France and England experienced serious peasant risings: the Jacquerie, the Peasants' Revolt, and the Hundred Years' War. To add to the many problems of the period, the unity of the Catholic Church was shattered by the Western Schism. Collectively these events are sometimes called the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages. The growth of the Ottoman Empire, culminating in the fall of Constantinople in 1453, cut off trading possibilities with the east.

New ideas grew. Overseas exploration leads to a modern time. The changes brought about by the late Middle Ages developments have caused many scholars to see it as leading to the end of the Middle Ages, and the beginning of modern history and early modern Europe. There was a certain developmental continuity between the classical age and the modern age because of such

knowledge and learning. Some historians, particularly in Italy, prefer not to speak of the late Middle Ages at all, but rather see the high period of the Middle Ages transitioning to the Renaissance and the modern era. Characteristics of the Middle Ages (This is where we take a look of the society during the time)

The barbarian tribes did not foster advances in art, literature, architecture and government as the Romans had. Once the Romans were conquered they began to follow the customs of the barbaric tribes who had settled in Rome. This combining of two lifestyles changed the way both groups viewed life and their customs. The government of Rome disappeared. It was replaced by thousands of small, regional governments wherein the local lord was in charge and held all the power. This new system is known as feudalism. Daily life during the Middle Ages is sometimes hard to fathom. Pop culture loves to focus on exciting medieval momentsheroic knights charging into battle or what they called chivalry; romantic liaisons between royalty and commoner or also what they say courtly love; breakthroughs and discoveries made. But life for your average person during the Dark Ages was very routine, and activities revolved around an agrarian calendar. Most of the time was spent working the land, and trying to grow enough food to survive another year. Church feasts marked sowing and reaping days, and occasions when peasant and lord could rest from their labors. Religion was one of the most important influences in the middle ages. All things existed for the glory of God. Social activities were important, and every citizen in a medieval town would be expected to attend. Fairs with troubadours and acrobats performing in the streets, merchants selling goods in the town square, games of chance held at the local tavern, tournaments featuring knights from near and abroad, these were just some of the ways medieval peasants spent their leisure time. Medieval weddings were cause for the entire town to celebrate. Medieval superstitions held sway over science, but traveling merchants and returning crusaders told of cultures in Asia, the Middle East and Africa that had advanced learning of the earth and the human body. Middle Age food found new flavor courtesy of rare spices that were imported from the East. Schools and universities were forming across Western Europe that would help medieval society evolve from the Dark Ages on its way to a Renaissance of art and learning.

Famous People and Philosophers and Special Works (Literature) The famous people of the era were the heroes and villains of the era who included Artists, Clerics, Crusaders, Diplomats, Religious Leaders, Military Leaders, Philosophers & Theologians, Physicians, Mathematicians, Writers & Poets and Reformers who featured in the turbulent times of the Middle Ages. Outstanding achievement in this period includes the Code of Justinian, the mathematics of Fibonacci and Oresme, the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, the painting of Giotto, the poetry of Dante and Chaucer, the travels of Marco Polo, and the architecture of gothic cathedrals such as Chartres. Famous People:

Marco Polo, Johann Gutenberg, Frederick Barbarossa, Thomas Becket, Kublai Khan, Geoffrey Chaucer, Saladin, Dante, King Louis IX of France, Caedmon, El Cid, Tamerlane, William Wallace-Braveheart, Godfrey of Bouillon, Vlad Dracula, Boccaccio, Martin Luther, Blondel the Minstrel and William Tyndale

Religious Reformers and Philosophers:

Albertus Magnus, Martin Luther, Peter the Hermit, Thomas Aquinas, Erasmus and Albert Magnus.

Notable literature of the period:

Robin Hood, King Arthur, Knights of the Round Table, Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, La divina commedia (The Divine Comedy), Roman de le Rose (Romance of the Rose), Il milione (The Travels of Marco Polo), Charlemagne and El Cid.

Medieval literature:

Old English, Middle English, Arabic, Byzantine, Dutch, French, German, Indian, Old Irish, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Nepal Bhasa, Norse, Persian, Telugu and Welsh.

RENAISSANCE History About 1450, European scholars became more interested in studying the world around them. Their art became more true to life. They began to explore new lands. The new age in Europe was eventually called the Renaissance. Renaissance is a French word that means rebirth (from ri- "again" and nascere "birth") was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. Historians consider the Renaissance as a bridge between the Middle Ages and the Modern era. The Renaissance was first defined by French historian Jules Michelet (17981874), in his 1855 work, Histoire de France. For Michelet, the Renaissance was more a development in science than in art and culture. He asserted that it spanned the period from Columbus to Copernicus to Galileo; that is, from the end of the 15th century to the middle of the 17th century. However, many historians now prefer to use the term "Early Modern" for this period, a more neutral designation that highlights the period as a transitional one between the Middle Ages and the modern era The Renaissance began in northern Italy and then spread through Europe. Italian cities such as Naples, Genoa, and Venice became centers of trade between Europe and the Middle East. Arab scholars preserved the writings of the ancient Greeks in their libraries. When the Italian cities traded with the Arabs, ideas were exchanged along with goods. These ideas, preserved from the ancient past, served as the basis of the Renaissance. When the Byzantine Empire fell to Muslim Turks in 1453, many Christian scholars left Greece for Italy. Characteristics, Famous People and Literature of the Renaissance The Renaissance was much more than simply studying the work of ancient scholars. The period was a time of rebirth of humanism and new discoveries in fine arts, music, literature, philosophy, science and technology, architecture, religion and spirituality. Humanism Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In some ways Humanism was not a philosophy, but rather a method of learning. In contrast to the medieval scholastic mode, which focused on resolving contradictions between authors, humanists would study ancient texts in the original, and appraise them through a combination of reasoning and empirical evidence. Humanist scholars shaped the intellectual landscape throughout the early modern period. Political philosophers such as Niccol Machiavelli and Thomas More revived the ideas of Greek and Roman thinkers, and applied them in critiques of contemporary government. The humanists believed that it is important to transcend to the afterlife with a perfect mind and body. This transcending belief can be done with education. The purpose of humanism was to create a universal man whose person combined intellectual and physical excellence and who was capable of functioning honorably in virtually any situation. Fine Arts Sculptors such as Donatello and later Michelangelo went back to classical techniques like contrapposto or counterpose (is when a figure stands with one leg holding its full weight and the other leg relaxed), and classical subjects like the unsupported nude. Painters began to utilize methods of realism by improving skills in three-dimensional perspective. Painters began to turn away from religious themes and focused more on people and landscapes. Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo Buonarroti were some of the most prominent Renaissance painters.

Literature In the early Renaissance, particularly in Italy, writers focused mostly on translating and studying classic Latin and Greek works. Many writers attempted to take the styles of ancient writers like Aristotle or Homer and apply them to their own works. Literature of the Renaissance focused largely on religion, classic antiquity, scholarship and politics. Sonnets also became a popular style of poetry. Some of the most famous Renaissance writers were William Shakespeare, Giovanni Boccaccio and Christopher Marlowe. Science and Technology The innovative technology of the Renaissance was sparked by Johann Gutenberg's reinvention of the printing press in the 1450s. Some of the other significant inventions during the Renaissance period were the cast-iron pipe, portable clock, rifle barrel, shotgun, screwdriver and wrench. Italian physicist, astronomer and philosopher Galileo Galilei improved the telescope and made important astronomical observations. Nicolaus Copernicus also discovered that the sun seemed to be in the center of the universe. Christopher Columbus became the first explorer to sail across the Atlantic Ocean to North America. Religion and Spirituality During the Renaissance, Martin Luther started the Protestant Reformation in Germany. Luther was distraught over the selling of indulgences by the Roman Catholic Church, and he set up the Ninety-Five Theses on the door of Castle Church Wittenberg in 1517. New denominations such as the Church of England and the Jesuit Order of Roman Catholic Priests originated during the Renaissance. Leisure For sport, jousting was popular during the Renaissance era. Jousting was a sport that consisted of two knights on horseback trying to knock the other off his horse. Theater was also popular during the Renaissance. Whereas earlier theater had often focused on morality plays, comedy became a popular genre during this time. One of the most well-known Renaissance-era poets and playwrights, William Shakespeare wrote several dozen plays and over 150 sonnets before his death in 1616.