Comparison of Pitti and Datti

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During the late 14th century and beginning of the 15th century, two businessmen accounted their lives in a diary. The ecclesiastical controversies, religious upheaval and The Great Western Schism affected these men, Buonaccorso Pitti and Gregorio Dati, both of which were savvy money makers and were forced to conform to the change in society as well as any offices they held. Buonaccorso was more affected by these changes because of the several positions he held in society. Dati too was affected because he ran a business and was directly correlated with the economical situations at the time. Religion was one of the main disputes in Modern Europe during this time period because of The Great Western Schism and the many attempts to overthrow the rulers of France. Society within each empire were religiously, linguistically and politically diverse. Effects of the Black Plague proved to be a major factor in the ecclesiastical controversies that would eventually follow. The Babylonian Captivity also assisted the changes that were occurring within the church (Patrouch, 8/31, 9/12, 9/14). It was evident that these two men were somewhat oblivious to their surroundings and the main issues affecting their world.

During this time period religion was beginning to see several changes in modern Europe. Two main empires governed which were The Holy Roman Empire and the Dyzantine Empire. Latin, Hebrew, Arabic and old church Slavonic were the vernacular languages being spoken. Also during this time, monotheism was dominant. The Roman Empire used this to their advantage by making their Army force monotheism within their regions. The main monotheistic religions of this time were christianity, Judaism and Islam. This was just the beginning in the rival that would occur within the patriarch. A huge theological dispute broke out when the bishop of Western Empire Rome claimed authority. This later would lead to a schism and a time known as the 100 years war (Patrouch, 9/31). Buonaccorso, here on referred to as Pitti, wrote between the years of 1412 to 1422. He grew up in the bulk of this, being born in 1353. Gregorio, here on referred to as Dati, wrote between 1384 and 1427 yet was born in 1362. In order to understand their economical and religious controversies these men went through it is important to understand what the economy was going through at the time. There was a huge demographic collapse during the 1340's that was mainly affected by a series of plagues known as "The Black Death.

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