Martin Luther: Good or Bad?

Martin Luther was a catholic monk who was very religious, however he had his own ideas on the Catholic Religion. He believed that people made it into heaven themselves and not by paying for indulgences. As he says in the 95 Theses  "I do not bring accusation against the outcries of the preachers, which I have not heard, so much I grieve over the wholly false impressions which the people have received from them (the indulgences.)"  Martin Luther challenged the Church because he didn't think that their intentions were to make the citizens believe that by buying indulgences they would get into heaven. He wasn't against the indulgences he just thought that the people were seeing them as something they weren't. Martin Luther didn't know that the Catholic Church was actually intentionally preaching to the citizens about paying for passage way into heaven. They did this so they could send money to Rome to build cathedrals. Martin Luther wrote the 95 Theses to explain all the things wrong with the indulgences he sent this to the Archbishop. He didn't think that the Archbishop knew what was happening and that he should inform him, but instead the Pope took it as being heretical and excommunicated Luther from the Catholic Church. 

Martin Luther's intentions were good at first for the people, but then his intention changed. Martin Luther had gotten power from writing the 95 theses. Martin Luther was sympathetic to the peasants because the peasants believed that Luther could change their lives and give them more freedom. So what Martin Luther did was make an admonition to Peace. However, when the peasants started the Peasants Revolt Martin Luther decided that he was going to side with the German rulers. Once he was on the German rulers side he wrote documents such as Against the Murderous and Thieving Hordes of Peasants. Martin Luther had so much power that the Prince saw these documents as the approval for harsh military action. Martin Luther's writing had allowed German soldiers and mercenaries to slaughter the peasants. In the end about one hundred thousand peasants were killed and hundreds of thousands were now homeless. So all though Luther may have helped the peasants and people out at first he made decisions that were not for the good of the people. 

Links: 

95 Theses document: 

http://www.edline.net/files/_4XLpw_/803fa369abd8e34c3745a49013852ec4/Martin_Luther_Document_Analysis_Packet.pdf 

Indulgences video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZTKKjxvBhE&feature=youtu.be

Peasants Revolt Video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzZYmcW8T-U&feature=youtu.be 

Definitions:

Heretic - Person who has betrayed the Church and it's laws.

Excommunicated - Banished from the Church. The Pope banished Luther on June 15, 1520.

The Fight to Power

Throughout this lesson my class has been trying to figure out how the wealthy in Florence used their money to inspire new art and ideas during the Renaissance. We created a better understanding of this by looking at a map, watching videos, and reading articles about the Medici and Machiavelli family. In Florence wealthy people used patronage to support artists, so family's could gain power and respect. he wealthy would hire an architect or painter depending on what they wanted. They would then have the artist make a work of art specially for the family and they would be paid in return. The Medici family was know for their patronage; their goal was to gain wealth and power. They first sponsored a pirate who became the Pope and then they sponsored Brunelleschi who constructed a temple for Giovanni's tomb, an orphanage, and the dome to the Cathedral which was an essential part of Florence. Machiavelli wanted to gain their power back from the Medici so he wrote The Prince which was about his ideas of leadership in which he dedicated to the Medici. However he didn't impress them and was not able to work their their new Florentine regime. 

In the excerpt Concerning Cruelty and Clemency, and Whether it is Better to be Loved than Feared it states that a Prince would be better off being feared by his subjects than loved by them. It is better for the Prince to be feared by his subjects because when they turn against him he will be stronger then if he relies entirely on their promises and doesn't take precautions. Men respond to someone they fear better then someone they love because they are ungrateful and overlook the love, so if they are in fear they will be more likely to give up anything for the Prince. The Prince wants to make sure that he is not hated though, but only feared. If the Prince stays away from the property and wife of his citizens then he will be both feared and liked.  

I think Machiavelli's points may be somewhat valid. If we had a president that loved everybody then he would never enforce the rules that are needed. The environment around us would change and their would be limited organization of important matters. I think the President does have to be feared a little so everybody thinks twice about impressing him and doing the right thing in order to not be punished. I also agree that in order for the President or anyone in charge to not be hated that they don't do anything negative to the citizens property. If the people in charge didn't let the citizens take care of their own personal property they would be hated because each individual person needs control of at least something. However, the president or person in charge should not be feared to the extent that people are afraid to do anything without their permission because then people would not be able to produce new things that may be needed. 

Links: 

Birth of a Dynasty Video - 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FFDJK8jmms&feature=youtu.be 

The Prince article:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/prince-excerp.asp 

Machiavelli & a new generation of Medici article:

http://www.pbs.org/empires/medici/renaissance/machiavelli.html 

Sources of Death

Our class learned about The Black Death through many sources. We used an interactive map, watched two videos and examined two different article. Throughout our lesson we were trying to find the best sources for the truth about the Black Death.

The Florentine Chronicle is a passage written about what happened to the Florentine and it's people when Black Death came open them. It was written in the late 1370's to the early 1380's by Coppola di Stefano Buonaiuti. Coppola di Stefano Buonaiuti was born in 1336 and lived in Florence when the Black Death struck. This source is believable because in the article it states "as was said" which means what was written he heard from other people as well as experiencing for himself. This source is not believable because Coppola di Stefano Buonaiuti was only two when the black death was around. Most people can't remember anything from when they were two and if Coppola did his memories could have been altered by other people because he wrote the passage many years after the Black Death had occurred.  

The Decameron is a passage about the Black Death and what had happened. The Decameron was written by Boccaccio in 1351.Boccaccio was ten at the time of the Black Death. This source is believable because Boccaccio actually lived through the Black Death in Florence and was able to experience it himself making him a primary source. This article is not believable because it is a piece of fiction. This makes it less believable because fiction does not have to include real facts and it can be changed to make the article more interesting.

In my opinion the Florentine Chronicle is a more believable source. I think the Florentine Chronicle is more believable because even through Coppola di Stefano Buonaiuti  was only two at the time is memories may be mixed with other stories that people who can actually remember the Black Death told him. The Decameron is fiction which means all of it could be made up while the Florentine Chronicle includes actually facts and thoughts of the Black Death. 

Lasting Impressions

I am a ninth grade blogger and the purpose of this blog is to share my true ideas and opinions. It will contain accurate facts but should not be depended on completely.This blog was created to share my point of view on the concepts of ninth grade history.

My definition of a great teacher is someone who understands the point of view of a ninth grader. A good teacher prepares their student for the future. Their goal is to make every kid understand the information being presented and for their students to get the best grades they can. The best teachers push their students to be the best they can be and they always know when to enforce the rules.

I agree with John Green. We go to school so that we can get an education. An education will help the world achieve goals and invent new technology. My goal for this year in swimming is to qualify for states. In order to achieve this goal I will have to work extra hard a practice and improve my stroke technique. My goal for the future is to get an education in school so I can become a teacher and teach students.