Greek, Roman, and Renaissance vs. Hebrew, Christian, and Medieval

The Decameron and The Canterbury Tales seem to have a closer outlook to the Greek and Roman literature than the Hebrew, Christian, early Medieval, and late Medieval literature.  The Hebrew literature is the Old Testament, the Christian is the New Testament, the some of the early and late Medieval literature are The City of God, and The Little Flowers of St. Francis.  The Decameron and The Canterbury Tales were written in the time of the Early Renaissance when some people started moving a bit away from Christianity (although very many people still believed in God and Jesus Christ as the source of the full potential of man) and started reading more of the Roman and Greek literatures.

Machiavelli and Three Renaissance Artists

Machiavelli, an important figure in the Renaissance, loved the Roman ethic over his present-day ethic.  He wrote a book, The Prince, about how the society should use the concepts of the medieval works in politics and that princes, in his time, should be more like the princes in the ancient world.  The Renaissance marked a new beginning for art work.  Paintings and other works of art became more realistic.  Ghiberti, Masaccio, and Correggio were three spectacular artists during the time of the Renaissance.

Christian Living According to Two Medieval Literatures

In both the Song of Roland and the Little Flowers of St. Francis, we find a few thoughts about the typical way of Christian living.  Both agree that the person in charge is God, although, the Little Flowers, also thinks of St. Francis as almost an equal to God, after Francis’ own death.  Therefore, a typical Christian should realize that the Person in charge is God and he or she should live their Christian lives for God and God alone.

Wyclif and the Great Western Schism

John Wyclif was a Christian, but he had a few different beliefs from that of the Christian belief system.  He believed that high priests and popes no longer or did not ever need to be in existence.  The Great Western Schism helped John Wyclif in his teachings and beliefs against popes, as the Western Schism was started by two popes, Pope Clement VII and Urban VI.

Beyond the Grave

In the Little Flowers, a book about the life and followers of the Franciscan Order, we do not really read that much about the life after the grave, whether it is Heaven or Hell.  The Little Flowers does tell us that the way we get into Heaven is by our good works.  However, later in the book, we find that we can only go to Heaven through the Son, Jesus Christ.  But the question is now: “How is life beyond the grave?”.