Question 1:
An important intellectual change due to the Renaissance was the new stressed theme of humanism: focus on humans as the center of study. Overall, writers and readers tended to favor the classics compared to religious texts. This led to the creation of different emphasis on literature. One writer, Petrarch, became more interested in poetry, and this helped him form a new movement of humanism. Other writers, such as Niccolo Machiavelli, discussed about taking and maintaining power. Finally, William Shakespeare, an English writer, blended the classics. Furthermore, there was a new interest in literacy due to the introduction of the printer by Johannes Gutenberg. The Gutenberg Bible was the one of the first premier books printed with a movable type in the West. Politically, …show more content…
In addition, powerful families, such as the Medici family, sponsored renaissance art in Western Europe. Economically and socially, the lives of ordinary people were barely affected the Renaissance.
Question 2:
In the 16th century, Martin Luther issued a document challenging some ideas of the church. For example, he protested against the selling of indulgences, documents that were believed to lessen time in purgatory. In addition, he challenged the idea of priests being celibate, supported the creation of bibles in vernacular languages, and that the Church’s sacraments were not the way of salvation. Although he didn’t want to split the church, he had his own version of his church called Protestantism. Politically, Protestantism encouraged state control of the