The document provides an overview of key economic, social, religious, and intellectual developments in Europe during the late medieval period. It discusses the transition from feudalism to capitalism, including the rise of trade, banking, and the merchant class. Religiously, it examines the growing power and corruption of the Catholic Church hierarchy and the development of concepts like sacramentalism. Intellectually, it outlines the impact of humanist thinkers like Erasmus who emphasized scripture and a relationship with God, as well as nominalism as an influential philosophical system.

2.  John 1:4, 5 NLT
 The Word gave life to everything that
was created, and his life brought light to
everyone.
 The light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness can never extinguish it.

3. Economic System:
 Feudalism
 Foreign Trade
 Exploration
 Slavery

4.  Land ownership seen as basis of wealth.
 Feudalist system was beginning to be
dismantled.
 Flourishing of trade began to be a reality with
the incipient capitalism.
 Development in:
 Monetary systems; bank notes, credit notes, bills of
trade, etc.
 Banking systems; need for recording keeping, book
keeping, transfer of funds, safe-keeping of funds.

5.  Spirit of capitalism:
 Lending of money with the purpose of gaining
interest.
 Services of feuds now done in exchange for money.
 Wealth creation: land and agriculture used for
acquiring wealth.
 Labour seen as a means of gaining wealth.
 Territories began to introduce rules for protecting
wealth.
 Honor system no longer a part of society.
 Middle class virtue of initiative and industry became
enthroned.

6.  Trade with the Far East led to new shipping
lanes.
 Developed need for faster/shorter routes.
 Improvement in sea transportation.
 Improvement in organization of business.
 Formation of merchant organizations.
 Invention of printing saw merchant class
making use of reading.
 Law of demand and supply.

7.  Changes in trade and economy led to change in
social realm:
 End of the Medieval system which saw the clergy as
the head, nobility the arms and peasants as the feet.
 Development of the middle class.
 Room created for upward mobility.

8.  Columbus and the “discovery” of the new
world.
 Expansion of Europe into the new world.
 Opening of opportunities for wealth generation
with the discovery of new territory.
 Spain and Portugal in particular took the early
moves in colonizing and profiting from the
new world.
 Treaty of Tordesillas.

9. Secular Power:
 Church derived great power from its extensive
land holdings.
 It was not uncommon for high ranking Church
officials to have control over private armies.
 Simony became rampant.
 The clergy ruled with unquestioned authority.
 Church services were reduced to money
payments.

10.  The church became increasingly wealthy.
 Pope had absolute rule over clergy and all
church land.
 Upper clergy - bishops, cardinals, archbishops,
high officials of Curia (Popes inner circle) lived
like kings and princes
 Creation of a religio-political system with the
pope presiding as head.

11.  Gregory VII (1073 – 1085) issued the Dictatus
Papae, 27 statements on papal power. It claimed
that the pope “is the only one whose feet are to
be kissed by all princes,” pope had the power
to depose emperors, etc.
 Innocent III (1198 – 1216) saw the pope as being
midway between God and humankind.
 Concept of the “Two Swords;” Boniface VII
(1294 – 1303) issued the bull Unam Sanctam
claiming precedence of spiritual over temporal
authority. To him, the pope can only be judged
by God; being subjected to the pope is
necessary for salvation.

12.  Sacramental system created a gaping chasm
between clergy and laity.
 The sacramental system, sacerdotalism, was a
means of keeping secular rulers, as well as
society as a whole, in check.
 Within this system, the clergy had the exclusive
right to administer the sacraments which were
seen as being the exclusive means whereby
salvation is made available to humankind.

13. The Seven Sacraments:
 Baptism
 Confirmation
 Marriage
 Mass
 Penance
 Ordination
 Extreme Unction

14. Humanism:
 Humanism at that time was more of a
movement which placed an emphasis upon the
study of the humanities or liberal arts.
 Humanism was methodological; in that its
point of emphasis was the manner in which
ideas are obtained and expressed and not in the
substance of the ideas themselves.
 The slogan of humanism is best summarized in
the term ad fontes, back to the sources.

15.  There was a return to the study of the original
biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek.
 Humanism gave to the reformers some of the
tools that they used for understanding the
Bible.
 Humanist believed that the Scripture was the
key to reforming the Church.
 They saw the theology of the Church as being
in need of change when compared to the
Scripture.
 Many of the humanists saw the Bible as a
source of moral conduct.

16. Francisco Jemines de Cisneros (1436 – 1517):
 He is also known as Cardinal Ximenez.
 He was the personal confessor of Isabella,
Queen of Spain.
 He also served as the Grand Inquisitor of the
Spanish Inquisition.
 He was the first person to publish a Greek New
Testament; a feat accomplished in 1514.

17. Desiderius Erasmus, (c. 1466 – 1536):
 He was fortunate to have had his education at
the school run by the Brethren of the Common
Life.
 His father was a priest and his mother was the
daughter of a physician.
 He felt that it was important for Christians to
live a balanced life and urged his fellow
believers to do so.
 The “ethics of Jesus, purged of Scholastic
speculation,” when concentrated upon will
enable this to be a reality.

18.  He spoke out against the excesses of the
Catholics
 Church should be purged of all pomp
 Was critical of monasticism.
 Discipline has a high role to play in the life of
the Christian; he may have even elevated it
above the role played by doctrine.
 The laity are capable of doing the work of the
Church.

19.  Believed in empowering the laity via an
educational/informative process.
 Saw the role of priests as being educators of the
laity.
 Did not have a place for auricular confession.
 Believed that the reading of the Scriptures is
transformative.
 To him, the laity hold the key to a revival of the
Church.

20.  Placed an emphasis upon the relationship
between a person and God.
 The inner religion of the heart was seen as
being possible for the average Christian.
 In his understanding there are no “super
Christians” and “ordinary Christians.” Anyone
can be devoted to the things of God.

21.  Erasmus’ conjured the concept called philosophia
Christi; this was an attempt to strip the story of
Jesus of scholastic speculations and rekindle the
New Testament spirit. However, in doing so he
reduced Jesus’ teachings to a mere moralism.
 Some of his more noted works are:
 The Praise of Folly; a satire on the evils of the Church;
 Handbook of the Christian Soldier; (Enchridion Militis
Christiani) a work dealing with ethics and Christian
living;
 Greek New Testament;
 Familiar Colloquies;
 Free Will; a work done in a debate with Martin Luther.

22.  Seen as being the intellectual brainchild of both
John Duns Scotus and William of Ockham,
with the latter being seen as being the bigger
contributor.
 Nominalism disagreed with Realism as regards
the universals.
 Nominalism is not theological but it is a system
of thought.
 Luther was influenced by it since it was the
prevailing thought in his day.

23. Two types of Nominalism: via moderna and schola
Augustiniana moderna
 Via Moderna:
 Developed at Merton College, Oxford.
 Propagated by the Dominicans
 Some of its teachers included:
 William of Ockham
 Pierre d’Ally
 Robert Holcot
 Gabriel Biel

24.  Basic features of via moderna theologians:
 Pelagian/Semi-Pelagian in its outlook
 The covenant: God established a covenant between
Himself and humanity concerning the necessary
conditions of justification. God accepts the
individual based upon the meeting of His demands;
(facere quod in se est)

25.  Merited salvation: God is obliged to accept human
effort toward salvation. (Utilized an example from
the social context; lead coins being used as a means
of exchange even though the coin in itself was not
worth much)
 Initiative: sinner takes the initiative in the ordo
salutis.

26.  Schola Augustiniana moderna:
 “First” proponent: Thomas Bradwardine at
Oxford (Dei contra Pelagium)
 Propagated by the Augustinian Order
 Some of its teachers:
 Gregory of Rimini
 Hugolino of Orvieto

27.  Basic features of schola Augustiniana moderna:
 Augustinian in its outlook
 Soteriology: more Augustinian, developed by
Gregory of Rimini, showing the need for grace.
 Not merited: salvation seen as being God’s work.
 Initiative: God takes the initiative in the ordo salutis.
 Predestination: a place was given to predestination
since God takes the initiative.