49.
old Crete: *
Minoan culture takes its name from king Minos, associated in Greek mythology with the labyrinth & the Minotaur. Some of its best art is preserved in the city of Akrotiri on the island of Santorini. Although the Minoan language & writing (Linear A) remain undecipherable it is entirely different from the later Greek. Reasons for the end of the Minoan civilization (around 1400 BC) is unclear; theories include Mycenaean invasions Greece and or the volcanic eruption of Mount Thera.
50.
Dionysus religion: *
Nietzsche claimed in The Birth of Tragedy that the Greek tragic playwright embraced life in all its pain by indulging in the "craving for the ugly" as reflected in the satyr chorus (the physical image of Dionysus); the ‘ugly’ refers to the low, animal passions of human beings. This natural, primeval self is suppressed but not extinguished by the knowledge of culture. Dionysian tragedy gets us in touch with our bodies and their deepest longings, it invites us to feel the presence of the god, not simply to see or hear him.
Socratic philosophy, the thinking of the theoretical man of science or philosophy, has a different approach to tragedy; it craves the "beautiful" rather than the ugly. Science and philosophy celebrate the human mind and the rationality of the universe. While Plato (the greatest student of Socrates) preserves the tragic art form in his Dialogues, Euripides (also a student of Socrates) destroyed the Dionysian tragedy entirely. He did this by bringing the demos along with their everyday reality onto the stage. This brought the individual, separated from his god, onto stage. Euripides celebrated the unadorned individual because only the individual is accessible to human reason. He insisted that art be comprehended by mind, that it be rationally understood. He has this rationalizing drive because, as a student of Socrates, his primary audience was Socrates. In this way it is Socrates who is the true opponent of Dionysus, Euripides was just his vehicle.
[adapted from: Socrates and Dionysus: Philosophy and Art in Dialogue, (ed. A. Ward), published 2013, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, page 1.]
51.
German free cities: *
Unlike a territorial city which was subordinate to a territorial prince or ecclesiastical lord, an imperial city was subordinate only to the Holy Roman Emperor. Examples include Basel, Augsburg, Cologne Strasbourg, all initially ruled by a prince-bishop, but who progressively gained independence. Like other Imperial Estates, they could wage war, make peace & control their own trade; they permitted little interference from outside. In the later Middle Ages, several of Free Cities formed City Leagues such as the Hanseatic League or the Alsatian Décapole, to promote and defend their interests.
52.
Huguenot wars: *
Main players were the independent principalities: the Duchy of Lorraine, the Duchy of Savoy, the Kingdom of Navarre and French Burgundy. Sometimes involved Spain (1595-1598), northern Italy, as well as some German states of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Low Countries. Some 3 million died. Although chiefly religious it included feuds between the rich & powerful nobility, notably the Guise allied with Anne de Montmorency, Constable of France (commander of the French army) versus the House of Condé (a branch of the House of Bourbon), less wealthy but direct heirs to the throne & sympathetic to Calvinism. Spain supported Guises; England Conde & Protestant King of Navarre.
Moderates (close to the crown, known as Politique, in particular Catherine de' Medici) tried to avoid open bloodshed & aimed at strong central government to restore order. They gave concession to the Huguenots. However in 1572 Medici suddenly sided with the Guises, leading to the infamous St Bartholomew's Day Massacre: Catholic mobs massacred 5,000 to 30,000 Protestants over several weeks in Paris and around the kingdom. It was a complete breakdown in order.
In 1598, the Protestant Henry of Navarre (heir to the throne) converted to Catholicism & was crowned Henry IV; he issued the Edict of Nantes, giving Huguenots substantial rights and freedoms but not ending Catholic hate.
53.
Bruges: *
City entrepreneurs linked up with the wool-producing districts in England & Scotland. Hanseatic ships filled the harbor, Norman grain & Gascon wines flowed in. In 1277 a Genoa merchant fleet arrived linking it with Mediterranean & Levant trade. The city benefited from advanced commercial & financial techniques & flood of capital. In 1309 the world's first stock exchange, the Bourse, opened and became the most sophisticated money market of the Low Countries in the 14th century. It became a hub for Mediterranean and European trade.
In the 15th century, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, set up court here, attracting artists, bankers, and other prominent personalities; its weavers and spinners considered the best in the world and its population grew (200,000 in 1400). The new oil-painting techniques of the Flemish school gained renown and the first printed book in English was published here by William Caxton.