The History Teacher's Magazine, Vol. I, No. 3, November, 1909

by Various

The order in which the main topics shall be presented to the class is settled in part for the teacher by the particular text-book in use. In fact, this feature of a book may have been an important factor in its selection. Almost every possible combination of topics may be found in the text-books now on the market, ranging all the way from the strictly chronological presentation of the events to an apparent disregard of the time element altogether. Among the former are to be found authors who, though endeavoring to follow the chronological order seek so to bind together the events of a given century or more that they may be considered as one great topic. Such attempts at generalization, however, may prove misleading to the student. Almost any book, if rightly used, allows the teacher a little latitude not only in the choice of topics, but also in the order of presentation. If the teacher skips about too much it may lead to misconception and confusion on the part of the student. If, however, the text-book and the library facilities at the command of the teacher allow of considerable freedom in respect to order, it is at the best a very perplexing question to settle. It may be a comparatively easy matter to reach a conclusion as to the order of the first few topics, say to the revival of the empire by Otto I, but from that time forward to the Renaissance so many combinations and arrangements are possible that it becomes increasingly difficult to hit upon an order which is entirely satisfactory. The Crusades, for example, may be considered before the teacher has finished the struggle between the popes and the emperors, for the most important of these movements overlap this great contest. Then there is the question of how and where to give the student some insight into English conditions so that he may understand the relation of that country to the main stream of European development. Again there is the question of just where and in what connection to present the life and culture so that it may leave the most lasting impression. There are many good reasons for leaving the presentation of the Crusades until after the struggle between the popes and emperors and then considering the life of the times especially in its connection with the rising towns. It is an easy and a natural transition from the development of trade as affected by the Crusades to a consideration of the towns themselves and town life. Conditions here can be presented in a sharp contrast to those discussed earlier in connection with feudalism.

The Thirteenth Century as a Turning Point.

It has been suggested that 1268 be selected as a turning point in the history of Europe, marking as it does the practical disappearance for the time being of the empire as a factor in politics, the beginning of the decline of the papacy, and the rise of the third estate, which is illustrated in England by the growth of the House of Commons and in Germany and Italy by the two great city leagues and the power of Venice, Florence and Genoa. If this suggestion is followed, the Hundred Years’ War and the history of the papacy in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries may serve to introduce the Renaissance if a discussion of the latter is preceded or followed by a general summary of the political situation in Europe at the opening of the sixteenth century, with special reference to those powers, both new and old, which are to dominate in the new period.

Absence of Unifying Elements.

The attempt to bridge the period between the Hundred Years’ War and the Renaissance and Reformation is attended with a great many real difficulties, which are aggravated rather than lightened by the usual arrangement of material to be found in the text-book. There is not only an apparent absence of unifying elements, but the impression created on teacher and student is that of turmoil and confusion, with here and there a situation full of dramatic interest. “Only the closest attention,” declares one writer, “can detect the germs of future order in the midst of the struggle of dying and nascent forces, ... The dominant characteristic of the age is its diversity, and it is hard to find any principle of coördination.”[5] Although the task before the secondary teacher is not an easy one, it is possible by confining the attention of the student to a few fundamental facts successfully to meet the problem.

The stories of the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism can be so presented that they will serve not only to accentuate the great change which was taking place in Western Europe in the formation of powerful States like England, France and Spain, but in such a manner as to make clearer the Renaissance in Italy, and the wave of religious reform which swept over Europe before this earlier movement had entirely spent its force. The student can easily appreciate the contrast presented by the condition of the papacy in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and its might in the days of Gregory VII and Innocent III.

It is more difficult just here to show how these events were connected with the Renaissance. A number of circumstances combined together in Italy to accentuate city development, not the least of which was the failure of the popes and emperors to realize their dreams of universal dominion. The final overthrow of the Hohenstaufen has already been discussed. Probably no set of circumstances contributed more to bring the papacy into disrepute and reduce them to the position of Italian princes forced to look after their own private affairs than the conditions which prevailed in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The effects, then, of the residence at Avignon and the circumstances attending the return to Rome, call for special emphasis.

Although the schism was healed by the Council of Constance, so little was done by this assembly and the other councils which followed it to reform the abuses which had crept into the Church, that it is not strange that the demand for a reform voiced by such men as Erasmus and Luther in the sixteenth century met with a warm reception in so many quarters. This great movement, which has been called the Protestant revolt, becomes clearer if the attention has been drawn to the teachings and work of Wycliffe and Huss, who even at this early date uttered words which were by no means lost. With these facts in mind, not forgetful of the decided tendencies toward the formation of strong states, each sufficient unto itself, to which reference has already been made, the establishment of national churches in the sixteenth century does not impress the student as a strange phenomenon incapable of explanation.

Europe at Opening of Sixteenth Century.

A survey of the political situation at the beginning of the sixteenth century will not only serve to deepen some of the impressions already made, but will furnish the student with a vantage point from which he can appreciate the better the great changes which were soon to follow. Such a summary should be made with a map before the class, and all should be urged to marshal the salient facts in the history of the different countries as they come up for consideration. The order to be followed will, of course, depend somewhat on the treatment of the Renaissance. The logical order perhaps would be to take the older states first and then the more recent powers, like Spain, the Ottoman Turks, Switzerland, possibly including the Baltic peninsula. The following simple outline is offered merely as a suggestion, and can be amplified at the discretion of the teacher so as to include a wider survey.