A World Lit Only By Fire Analysis

The Renaissance is the central bridge between the Medieval Era and modern history. It changed the concept of the individual, shifting outdated beliefs of the Medieval Era and forwarding modern ideals. Medieval beliefs consisted of outdated thinking and suppression. For example, the social class that an individual was born into was the stopping point of their growth. New, innovative ideas came about in the Renaissance Era, such as working hard to change an individuals’ social status. William Manchester’s “A World Lit Only by Fire” demonstrated how the Medieval Era shifted perspectives into modern thinking. The historical novel describes the change to modern thinking through three chapters, “The Medieval Mind”, “The Shattering”, and “One Man

through 1400 A.D. This period is known as the “Dark Ages” because of the deteriorating living standards, corrupt political institutions, illness, and religious domination. The medieval people are described as “savage” and “uncivilized”. Manchester describes the medieval period as if it was moving backwards in time, after the fall of the Roman Empire, there was a stop in technological and cultural growth. “Was the medieval world a civilization, comparable to Rome before it or to the modern era which followed? If by civilization one means a society which has reached a relatively high level of cultural and technological development, the answer is no.” (Manchester, p. 15). The second chapter, “The Shattering” details the initiation of the Renaissance. The Renaissance brought forth new art and ideas that were lost from classic Roman and Greek lifestyles. The intellects behind renaissance humanism reincarnated classic Roman and Greek culture. This new found interest in education and respect for reason was untimely the undoing of the Christians dominance in Europe. It was at this time that the Protestant Reformation demolished the Catholic Church and created the nation-state

The first being Desiderius Erasmus, a renaissance scholar, that started to rediscover Roman and Greek logic, science, and various educational discipline that was lost with the fall of the Roman empire. Erasmus began to look at the world in a more rational and organized way, which revisited the authority of the church. Erasmus also released writings about the corruptions of the church, which brought a new light to the corruptions of Christianity and its authority. The second influential individual was Martin Luther, the founder of the Protestant Church. He believed the enemy of faith was reason, and was extremely dedicated to the church. However, he recognized that the church had many dark secrets, including the pope himself. Luther was open about his disapproval of these events which ultimately minimized the role of the church and promoted rationalism. Some of Luther’s statements include, “The pope is Satanissimis.”” And: “The papacy is Satan’s highest head and greatest power.” (Manchester, p. 157). There were few technological and social development during the Medieval Era because the pope was seen as infallible, which meant if everything was already perfect there was no need for change. The last vital individual for the movement into the modern era was Ferdinand Magellan. Magellan circumnavigated the world proving that Europe was not the center of the world, and civilizations