A presentation investigating a possible growth of synergy (not quite globalization) across the world during the renaissance era, outside of the traditional Euro-centric focus on the era, and a possible source for the "sudden" growth in European intellectualism. (I apologize for the skinny text! That wasn't the font I chose, so uploading it to slideshare must have changed it in some way. Let me know if you have any trouble.)

1. World Renaissance Synergy
Did it exist, and, if so, to what degree?
Christian Montney
PRESENTED BY:
Student of History and Political Sciences, Delta College, HIS 240W course section 710, Prof. Laura Dull, circa 2014 Fall Semester.
Most rights reserved.

2. Mission Statement
The object here is to more thoroughly establish a
definition of the Renaissance as a world phenomenon
across mainly the 400 year period from the end of the 14th
century to the beginning of the 18th
, and then examine to
what degree did the Renaissance as a world event work in
such a way as to promote a state more synergistic than
existed before or during said period, with particular
emphasis on exceptional individuals across the world
(outside of the well-established Renaissance zone of
Western and Northern Europe)and some due emphasis on
specific Nation-States.

3. Today's Topics
· TheRenaissancearoundtheWorld
· Introductions/ShortBiographies
· ByzantineHistorians
· TheFarEast
· AfricanPoets
· ConnectiontoSynergy
· Whatdidtheydotobringtheworldclosertogether,ortolookoutsidetheAncientBox.

4. The World Renaissance

5. Georgius Gemistus Pletho
(1353-1452)
· “Thefactsregardingpleasureandthechiefendofmanhavebeenmuchbettersystematizedbyus,
withGod'shelp,thanbyAristotle,andwehavegivenanadequatedemonstrationofthem. Inthis
wefollowedPlatoinpartbuthaveelaboratedthemfurtherthanhedid”
· GeorgiusGemistusPletheonwasaByzantinehumanistandphilosopher. HetaughtandheldhighofficeformanyyearsatMistra,capitolofMorea. Joining
thetrainofthePatriarchonatriptothefractalsoftheWesternEmpire,heendedupinfluencingCosimodeMedici,Columbus,andmuchoftheEuropean
RenaissanceasaresultofhisteachingswhileinFlorenceaswellashiswritings.

6. Michael Critobalus (1400-a.1467)
· MichaelCritobaluswasanotherByzantineHistorian,howeverhehadtheaddedbonusofbeinginthenoble
familyofImbros.AfterthefallofConstantinople/Byzantium,thegriev-struckhistorianstilloptedtogoto
theconqueredcityjustdaysafterMehmedIItookit,andofferedhisservicestothenewruler. Michaelis
consideredtobeoneofthegreatestsourcesonthefalloftheByzantineEmpire,andtohavebeenlevel-
headedinhishistoriesofMehmed'sreign

7. Laonicus Chalcocondyles (1423-
1490)
· LaonicusChalcocondyleswasanotherByzantinehistorian,borninAthens,andcousinofthe
apparentlymuchmorepopularDemetriusChalcocondyles

8. Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani
(1658-1725)
· Sulkhan-SabaOrbelianiwasaGeorgianfabulistandlexicographer,translator,diplomat,andscientist. He
belongedtotheprincelyfamilyofKartli.

9. Kabir (1398-1448/1518)
· “Admirethediamondthatcanbearthehitsofahammer.Manydeceptivepreachers,whencriticallyexamined,turnouttobe
false./Don'topenyourdiamondsinavegetablemarket.Tietheminbundleandkeeptheminyourheart,andgoyourownway./A
diamondwaslayinginthestreetcoveredwithdirt.Manyfoolspassedby.Someonewhoknewdiamondspickeditup.”
· KabirwasanIndianPoetandsectarianHindureformerwhowasbornatBanarasandprobablyraisedby
Muslimfoster-parents.Hehasbeengreatlyidolizedandmuchmysticismsurroundshislifeandespeciallyhis
death.

10. Nguyen Trai (1380-1442)
“Sincethewarbeganinoursacredcountry,Thepeoplehavecriedoutgroaning;theydon’tknowhowtoreact!I’mlikeTuMy,whose
painedheartwasloyaltotheTangDynasty.BaNhanshedtwowaterfallsoftearsforhisChenDynasty.Somanythingshavechanged,I
growoldquickly.Whenautumncomestothisstrangeland,Ifeelpassionate,Havingspentthirtyyearsoffalseprideforwhat?Looking
back,Iseethateverything’sadrunkenNamKhastory.”
· NguyenTraiwas“aVietnamesestatesman,scholar,andpoet.” InadditiontowritingthefirstVietnamese
geographybook,hewasalsoprofoundlyinvolvedintheVietnameserebellionagainsttheChineseMingDynasty

11. Tulsi Das (1532-1623)
· TulsidaswasanIndianpoet,aBrahman,andwasprobablybornin
Rajapur,UttarPradesh. HelivedmostofhisadultlifeinBanaras
asadevoteeoftheVaisnavaavatarRam.Today,acloudof
mysticismsurroundshislife.

12. Shaikh Nuruddin Ar-Ranir
(fl. 1621-1644)
· ShaikhNuruddinAr-RanirwasaSumatran,aMalaytheologian,andaMuslimHistorian. BorninGujerat,hewent
toMeccain1621.

13. Nawa'i, better known as
Mir ' Ali Shir (1441-1501)
· Nawa'iwastheTurkishpoeticalpen-nameofMir'AliShir,amanwhoapparentlylikedpen-names,ashehadat
leastoneothersuchmajoridentity. HeiscreditedasthegreatestpoetofclassicalEasternTurkish
literature.

14. Hamzah Fansuri
(Hamzah of Barus; fl. 1550-1600)
· HamzahFansuriwasaMalaySufipoetandwriter,probablybornatAyuthayainThailandalthoughhisfamily
hailedfromBarusinNorthSumatra(wherehewouldlaterlive)

15. Raage Ugaas (18th
Century)
· RaageUgaaswasaSomalioralpoetoftheOgadenclan,withastrongorthodoxMuslimbackground. Today,his
worksarestilledlearnedorally,andcanbefoundinmanyahomeinSomalia.

16. Saiyit Abdullah bin Ali bin Nasir
(1720-1810)
· SaiyitAbdullahbinAlibinNasirofLamuwasaSwahilipoetofthelineofShaikeAbuBakrbinSalim,likeat
least4otherSwahilipoets.

17. How much Synergy?

18. Arguing points
· Pro-SynergisticRenaissanceWorld
· ByzantineHistorians'InfluenceonWesternEurope
· StrongMuslimFiguresPrevalentinAfricaandtheFarEast
· Con-SynergisticRenaissanceWorld
· SeverelackofRenaissanceeraAfricanscholars,poets,etc.
· VietnameseSpurningofChina

19. Arguing points (cont...)
· RiseandFallofNations
· Trade
· DiplomaticMissions
· Debate

20. Summary
· Thoughitisnotcomparabletothesynergyweseetoday,thehistoriesdosuggestthattheworldwasatleast
movingalongalineofconnectedness,whetherornotanyoneknewit.Byzantinescholarsscatteredacrossthe
worldafterthefalloftheEmpire,andmorescholarlyindividualsbegintoshowup,suchasinAfrica,where
theywerealmostnon-existentbefore. Theworldisinexorablybecomingmoreself-cognizantalbeitata
slowerratethanithasinmorerecentyears.
· Questioneverything.

21. Works Cited
· "Ali-ShirNava'i."Wikipedia.WikimediaFoundation,12Mar.2014.Web.20Nov.2014.<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali-Shir_Nava%27i>.
· "DemetriosChalkokondyles."Wikipedia.WikimediaFoundation,12Mar.2014.Web.03Dec.2014.<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demetrios_Chalkokondyles>.
· "GemistusPletho."Wikipedia.WikimediaFoundation,12Feb.2014.Web.20Nov.2014.
· "GeorgiusGemistusPlethon".CatholicEncyclopedia.NewYork:RobertAppletonCompany.1913.
· "GreatZimbabwe."Wikipedia.WikimediaFoundation,12Feb.2014.Web.02Dec.2014.
· "Kabir."Kabir.N.p.,n.d.Web.23Nov.2014.<http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/kabir.html>.
· Lang,D.M.,andD.R.Dudley.ThePenguinCompaniontoClassical,OrientalandAfricanLiterature.NewYork:MacGraw-HillBook,1969.Print.
· "LaonikosChalkokondyles."Wikipedia.WikimediaFoundation,30Nov.2014.Web.03Dec.2014.<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laonikos_Chalkokondyles>.
· "MichaelCritobulus(TurkishHistorian)."EncyclopediaBritannicaOnline.EncyclopediaBritannica,n.d.Web.23Nov.2014.<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/143504/Michael-Critobulus>.
· "Nguy nTrãi."Wikipedia.WikimediaFoundation,12Feb.2014.Web.23Nov.2014.ễ
· Perez,CraigSantos."CounterpathPress:AReviewofThreeBooks."ZolandPoetry.N.p.,n.d.Web.23Nov.2014.
· "SongsofKabir."SongsofKabir.N.p.,n.d.Web.24Nov.2014.
· "Sulkhan-SabaOrbeliani."Wikipedia.WikimediaFoundation,30Nov.2014.Web.2Dec.2014.<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulkhan-Saba_Orbeliani>.
· Taylor,JohnWilson.GemistusPlethoasaMoralPhilosopher.N.p.:n.p.,n.d.JSTOR.Web.03Dec.2014.<http://www.jstor.org/stable/282873>.
· "Tulsidas."Tulsidas.N.p.,n.d.Web.26Nov.2014.<http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/bce_299_200/ramayana/tulsidas/tulsidas.html>.
· Turner,William."CatholicEncyclopedia(1913)/GeorgiusGemistusPlethon."-Wikisource,theFreeOnlineLibrary.N.p.,21Apr.2013.Web.22Nov.2014.

22. Questions?
christianm8295@gmail.com
CONTACT:
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