A World Lit Only By Fire, By William Manchester

In the book, A World Lit Only By Fire, by William Manchester his thesis was how the Medieval mind needed events or people to help bring the people in the dark ages to the light. It portrays how humanism, Leonardo Da Vinci, Literacy, and the Renaissance all contributed to ending the generations of suffering in the Medieval Age. Humanism was a new way of thinking that allowed people to break free from the church and think for themselves like true individuals. The Renaissance was a new age that manifested into the teachings of science, literature, politics, technology, art, and the drive and determination to innovate. Ferdinand Melligan also brought a new light to Europe. Ferdinand had a determination for glory, fame, and wealth. The people of

Europe finally had someone to model success after instead of being stuck in the dark ages. He traveled a long and dangerous distance and brought new trade routes for other courageous and enlightened people to follow. The Medieval mind was erased and enlightened with the ideology of humanism, the people from the Renaissance, and the determined voyage of Ferdinand Magellan.
The people in the Dark Ages had little to no education and only received information from their religious leaders.

When the spread of humanism reached the people they could finally think independently and become literate through something else besides the church's teachings. “Shackled in ignorance, disciplined by fear and sheathed in superstition, they trudged into the sixteenth century in the clumsy, hunched, pigeon-toed gait of rickets victims, their pale faces pocked by smallpox” (Manchester 27). This quote displays how before humanism the people of the Medieval Ages people we stricken with fear to think for themselves and think about something other than the godly figures that ruled their lives. “Humanism led to the

greatest
threat the Church had ever faced" (112). This quote portrays how humanism helped lead people out of the darkness and fear that forced people into thinking only one way and to enlightenment and generations of education and glory. “There the fiercest threats to their medieval mind-set waited in ambush. A few of the perils had already infiltrated society, though their presence was unsuspected and the havoc they would wreak was yet to come” (29.) This quote shows how the effect the patrons of humanism would ruin the Medieval mind like Sir Thomas Moore, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Vasco da Gama. Humanism was just one aspect that contributed to lessening the darkness of the Middle Ages.
The Renaissance and the people that contributed to it helped to break down the dull and lifelessness of the Medieval Ages. It began with the realistic and new way of painting and creating art. For example, Leonardo Da Vinci created the Mona Lisa which was a new realistic way of painting that highlighted a real individual other than a glorified god. "Linchpin for the men of the Renaissance" (33). This quote displays how men like Leonardo Da Vinci were what made the Renaissance the period of enlightenment it was. Thomas More had began the thought of politics and the thought of being lead by an organization other than the church. “No humanist rose higher in public life than Sir Thomas More, who, until his fall from royal grace, was as distinguished a statesman as he was a scholar” (96). In this quote, Thomas More created a path of leadership that didn’t involve religion, allowing for a separation from church and state. The printing press later created by German Johannes Gutenberg which forever changed the way society functioned. “The invention of printing was denounced by, among others, politicians and ecclesiastics who feared it as an instrument which could spread subversive ideas” (88). The invention of the printing press allowed for the spread of new ideas and literacy, advancing Europe as a whole. The Renaissance and the people that contributed to it helped advance Europe and erase the once dull Medieval mind.
Ferdinand Magellan and his courageous journey was an example to others to gain things for themselves like glory, determination, and fame.

He journeyed to Spain with five ships in search for new trade routes. “They would push on, he said; no doubt there would be hardships, but even if they had to eat the leather on the ships’ yards, he would keep his promise to King Carlos, trusting to God to help them and provide them with good fortune” (234). Magellan pushed on for fame and fortune something the people in Europe hadn’t seen in awhile. His personal gain allowed others to be influenced by him. “Shortly after they had landed on the new island Magellan heard a great cheering and, moving toward the noise, found his servant surrounded by merry natives” (238). Ferdinand Magellan finally succeeded, landing on an island with welcoming natives, where he would collect spices, spread religion, and gain wealth and fame. "Crowning triumph of the age, the final decisive blow to the past" (294). Magellan’s voyage lead Europe to advance and proceed into a new generation with education, wealth, and new trade

routes.
In the book, A World Lit Only By Fire, by William Manchester his thesis highlighted how the dark ages needed to be lifted into an enlightened generation. Humanism was the ideology that humans should question and think about themselves and their individuality rather than supernatural gods. The Renaissance was lead by a group of people that help it manifest into the new teachings of science, literature, politics, technology, art, and the drive and determination to lead people to create. Ferdinand Magellan was a symbol of fortune and fame. Ferdinand lead five ships to find new trade routes and glory. The people of Europe finally had an inspiration of victory, after being trapped in so many years of darkness. The Medieval mind was destroyed and brought out of the darkness by the ideology of humanism, the patrons of the Renaissance, and the determined voyage of Ferdinand Magellan.