Dragons of the Medieval World
In the book, “A World Lit Only By Fire” William Manchester describes who will make the medieval world come to an end. There are many dragons that he describes but the most famous ones were Ferdinand Magellan, Nicolaus Copernicaus, and Niccolo Machiavelli.
Ferdinand Magellan is famous for his voyage around the world. He was the first European to make the trip. The voyage started in Spain on August 10, 1519. It is not widely know that he did not finish the voyage. He died while he and his crew were in a battle known as the Battle of Mactan. His crew returned to Spain on September 6, 1522. Through the completion of sailing expedition new opportunities opened up to the European world.
Nicolaus Copernicaus developed the Heliocentric model of the universe. This model said that the sun was the center of the universe and the earth rotated around it. For centuries the world was believed to be the center of the universe. Ptolemy developed the geocentric model where the Earth was the center of the universe. The Church took Ptolemy’s theory as truth and ably made the world believe it as truth. Copernicaus’s theory was not popular to the medieval world due to the Church saying it was false. The medieval times were controlled by the Church.
Niccollo Machiavelli is best known for his book entitled “The Prince.” The book is used as a guideline to obtain and sustain power. Modern times relate this literary work as an inhumane book. Machiavelli’s point was to show how a monarchial society should be ruled. The king is not supposed to do all the peoples wants but use excessive force to rule his people and give rewards for those who do well. Most of the medieval ages were poorly ruled because there was no real system of law. The king ruled and the peasants were to be loyal to him in return for nothing. “The Prince” gave a structure to the king and peasant monarchy. Although Niccolo Machiavelli only made suggestions on how a monarchial society...