E.H. 'A Little History of the World' 30. Terrible Times

Summary

In 'A Little History of the World' by Gombrich, Chapter 30 delves into the Thirty Years' War, a period of religious conflict and power struggles in Europe. The war began with the Defenestration of Prague in 1618 and escalated into a brutal conflict involving various European nations. It transformed from a religious dispute into a political and territorial fight, with figures like Wallenstein and Gustavus Adolphus playing pivotal roles. The war ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, leaving Germany devastated and the religious landscape largely unchanged. The chapter also touches on the rise of superstition and witch hunts, contrasting with the scientific advancements of the time, exemplified by Galileo's heliocentric model and the emerging understanding of mathematical laws in nature.

Takeaways

• 📜 The script is from 'A Little History of the World' by E.H. Gombrich, discussing the Thirty Years' War.
• 🔥 The war was a chaotic and brutal conflict between Catholics and Protestants, with motivations becoming increasingly political rather than religious.
• 👑 The Habsburg Emperors of Germany sought to reestablish Catholic dominance but faced strong opposition, leading to the Defenestration of Prague in 1618.
• 🗡️ The war escalated into a massive conflict involving various European powers, with commanders like Wallenstein and Gustavus Adolphus playing significant roles.
• 🇸🇪 Sweden's intervention under Gustavus Adolphus aimed to protect Protestantism and establish a Protestant empire, but his death in 1632 marked a turning point.
• 🇫🇷 France, despite being Catholic, joined the war against the Habsburgs to weaken their power and elevate France's status in Europe.
• 🔮 The war's brutality and the subsequent witch hunts were fueled by widespread superstition and fear, leading to the persecution and execution of many innocent people.
• 🌟 Amidst the turmoil, scientific progress continued with figures like Galileo Galilei, who faced persecution for their ideas but laid the groundwork for modern science.
• 📚 The script highlights the contrast between the dark superstitions of the time and the enlightenment thinking that began to uncover the mathematical laws governing nature.
• ⚖️ The Thirty Years' War ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, which largely restored the pre-war religious and political landscape, showing the futility of the conflict.

Q & A

What event is referred to as the Defenestration of Prague and what was its significance?

The Defenestration of Prague was an event in 1618 where discontented Protestants threw three of the Emperor's Catholic councilors out of a window at Prague Castle. This event, while not causing serious harm to the councilors due to their landing in a pile of manure, signaled the beginning of the Thirty Years' War.

How long did the Thirty Years' War last and what was its impact on the population of Germany?

The Thirty Years' War lasted for thirty years, from 1618 to 1648. Its impact on Germany was devastating, with barely half the population surviving the war. The survivors were destitute, leading many to emigrate or join foreign armies.

Who was Wallenstein and what was his role in the Thirty Years' War?

Wallenstein was a poor country nobleman who served as a commander on the Emperor's side during the Thirty Years' War. He was ambitious and skilled in military strategy, leading his armies to capture Protestant towns and nearly deciding the war in favor of the Emperor and the Catholic Church.

Why did Sweden enter the conflict during the Thirty Years' War?

Sweden, under its ruler Gustavus Adolphus, entered the conflict to rescue the Protestant faith and establish a mighty Protestant Empire under Sweden's leadership. Gustavus Adolphus aimed to counter the Catholic forces and support the Protestant cause.

What was the outcome of the Thirty Years' War in terms of religious territories?

The outcome of the Thirty Years' War left religious territories largely as they were before the war began. What had been Protestant remained Protestant, and the lands controlled by the Emperor, including Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia, remained Catholic.

Why did France join the war, and what was Cardinal Richelieu's strategy?

France joined the war not for religious reasons but to exploit the general confusion and weaken the Habsburg rulers, who were the dominant powers in Europe. Cardinal Richelieu aimed to make France the greatest power in Europe by securing German fortresses and towns near the Rhine for France.

What was the role of superstition and witch hunts during the period of the Thirty Years' War?

During the Thirty Years' War, superstition and fear of witchcraft and sorcery became rampant, leading to widespread witch hunts. People lived in constant fear of the unknown and magical powers, which resulted in the persecution and execution of thousands of innocent individuals, often based on false accusations and torture-induced confessions.

How did the ideas of Leonardo da Vinci and the Florentines influence the scientific thought during and after the Thirty Years' War?

Despite the widespread superstition, some individuals continued to uphold the ideas of observation and rational inquiry as advocated by Leonardo da Vinci and the Florentines. They believed in using their eyes to see and make sense of the world, which led to the discovery of mathematical laws governing natural phenomena, a concept that was far more 'magical' and powerful than the superstitions of the time.

Who was Galileo Galilei and what was his significant contribution to the understanding of nature?

Galileo Galilei was an Italian scientist who made significant contributions to the understanding of nature through the application of mathematical calculations. He observed, analyzed, and described natural phenomena, and was one of the first to understand the 'magical' power of applying mathematics to nature, which laid the foundation for modern science and technology.

What was Galileo's stance on the movement of the Earth and the Sun, and what was the reaction to his views?

Galileo supported the heliocentric model, which posited that the Sun does not move and that it is the Earth which moves around the Sun along with the other planets. This view was denounced as unchristian and heretical by both Catholic and Protestant priests, leading to Galileo being brought before the Inquisition. To avoid being burned as a heretic, he signed a declaration recanting his views, but it is said that he muttered 'and yet it moves' under his breath.

Outlines

00:00

🏰 Terrible Times: The Thirty Years' War

This paragraph delves into the tumultuous period of the Thirty Years' War, marked by religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants. It begins with a reflection on the complexity of the era, where the reasons for fighting became obscured. The Habsburg Emperors, despite their limited power, sought to assert Catholic dominance. A pivotal event, the Defenestration of Prague in 1618, ignited the war. The narrative describes the brutalities of war, with mercenaries plundering and killing, and religious allegiances taking a backseat to personal gain. The paragraph introduces key figures like Wallenstein, whose military prowess nearly tipped the war in favor of the Emperor and the Catholic Church, and Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, whose intervention aimed to protect Protestantism. The war's evolution into a broader power struggle, involving France for political advantage rather than religious reasons, is also highlighted. The paragraph concludes with the tragic assassination of Wallenstein and the continuation of the war, which led to widespread devastation and suffering.

05:02

🕊 The Fruitless Outcome of the Thirty Years' War

The second paragraph discusses the aftermath of the Thirty Years' War, which resulted in a peace agreement that essentially restored the religious and territorial status quo ante bellum. Despite the immense loss of life and the devastation of Germany, the war's end saw little change in the religious landscape, with Protestant and Catholic regions remaining largely unchanged. Sweden's influence waned, and France, under Cardinal Richelieu, was the only nation to gain significantly. The paragraph also explores the rise of superstition and the persecution of witches, which intensified during and after the war. It describes how accusations of witchcraft could lead to torture and execution, fueled by fear and superstition. The paragraph contrasts this dark period with the scientific advancements of the time, emphasizing the 'real magic' of arithmetic and the understanding of natural laws, which stood in stark contrast to the irrational fears of the era.

10:04

🔬 The Dawn of Scientific Enlightenment

The final paragraph celebrates the scientific enlightenment that emerged despite the dark times of superstition and war. It focuses on the contributions of Galileo Galilei, who applied mathematical calculations to understand natural phenomena, challenging the prevailing religious dogma. Galileo's heliocentric model, which posited that the Earth moves around the Sun, was in direct conflict with the geocentric model endorsed by the Church. His trial before the Inquisition and his forced recantation are recounted, highlighting the personal risks scientists took to pursue knowledge. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the importance of Galileo's work and the broader scientific method, which has led to modern technological advancements. It suggests that the pursuit of understanding nature's mathematical laws was a form of 'magic' that has profoundly shaped human progress.

Keywords

💡Thirty Years War

The Thirty Years War was a series of conflicts that took place in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, primarily involving the Catholic Habsburgs and various Protestant states. It was one of the longest and most destructive wars in European history, resulting in significant loss of life and property. In the video, the war is depicted as a dreadful era of confusion and violence, with religious faith being secondary to the power struggles and territorial ambitions of the various factions involved.

💡Habsburg Emperors

The Habsburg Emperors were rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, a multi-ethnic complex of territories in Central Europe. They are mentioned in the video as having limited power outside their core territories and being devout Catholics who sought to reestablish the Catholic Church's influence. Their actions, particularly in relation to the Protestants, were a catalyst for the Thirty Years War.

💡Defenestration of Prague

The Defenestration of Prague refers to an incident in 1618 where Protestant Bohemian rebels threw Catholic imperial representatives out of a window, leading to the Thirty Years War. This event is highlighted in the video as a pivotal moment that signaled the start of the long and devastating conflict.

💡Wallenstein

Albrecht von Wallenstein was a general in the Holy Roman Empire's army during the Thirty Years War. He is portrayed in the video as an ambitious military leader who gained significant power and influence, eventually leading his own armies and negotiating with the enemy for peace. His assassination in 1634 is noted as a significant event in the war.

💡Gustavus Adolphus

Gustavus Adolphus was the King of Sweden who intervened in the Thirty Years War on the Protestant side. His military genius and leadership are highlighted in the video as key factors in the conflict, with his death in battle in 1632 being a turning point in the war.

💡Cardinal Richelieu

Cardinal Richelieu was the chief minister of France and a central figure in French politics. In the video, he is depicted as a strategic thinker who used the chaos of the Thirty Years War to advance French interests, aiming to make France the dominant power in Europe.

💡Religious Conflict

Religious Conflict refers to the struggle between Catholics and Protestants during the Reformation era. The video emphasizes how the war started as a religious conflict but evolved into a complex series of political and territorial disputes, with religion becoming secondary to other motivations.

💡Superstition and Witch Hunts

Superstition and witch hunts were prevalent during the period of the Thirty Years War, as described in the video. The fear of witchcraft and sorcery led to widespread persecution and the execution of many innocent people, reflecting the deep-seated fears and irrationality of the time.

💡Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei was an Italian astronomer, physicist, and engineer who played a major role in the scientific revolution. In the video, he is presented as a pioneer of scientific thought who challenged the prevailing geocentric model of the universe with his heliocentric theory, which was at odds with the Church's teachings.

💡Laws of Nature

The Laws of Nature refer to the regularities in the behavior of the natural world that can be described through mathematics and science. The video discusses how the understanding of these laws was a significant development, allowing for the prediction and control of natural phenomena, in stark contrast to the superstitions and fears of the time.

💡Scientific Method

The Scientific Method is a systematic approach to understanding the natural world through observation, experimentation, and the formulation of theories. The video highlights the importance of this method in the advancement of knowledge, particularly in the work of Galileo and others who sought to understand and explain the natural world.

Highlights

The Thirty Years' War was a dreadful era marked by confusion and violence.

The Habsburg Emperors' aim was to reestablish Catholic Church sovereignty.

The Defenestration of Prague in 1618 sparked the Thirty Years' War.

The war escalated into a 30-year conflict with widespread massacre and suffering.

Mercenaries and soldiers looted, killed, and terrorized civilians during the war.

Religious faith was secondary to the soldiers' desire for plunder.

Wallenstein was a key commander for the Emperor, leading Catholic forces.

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden aimed to establish a Protestant Empire.

France joined the war, not for religious reasons, but to weaken the Habsburgs.

Wallenstein's power and ambition led to his murder in 1634.

The war's devastation was immense, with Germany's population and infrastructure severely affected.

The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 ended the war but left little changed.

The fear of witchcraft and sorcery led to widespread persecution.

Despite the superstition, some continued to pursue scientific inquiry and understanding.

Galileo Galilei's work on mathematical laws in nature was groundbreaking.

Galileo's support for the heliocentric model was controversial and led to his trial.

The scientific method and mathematical laws were seen as a form of 'magic' that could explain the natural world.

Transcripts

a little history of the world by eh

Gombrich chapter 30 terrible times if I

wished I could write many more chapters

on the wars between Catholics and

Protestants but I won't it was a

dreadful era events soon became so

confused that people no longer knew why

or against whom they were fighting the

Habsburg Emperor's of Germany ruling now

from Prague now from Vienna had no real

power outside Austria and part of

Hungary they were pious men who wished

to reestablish the sovereignty of the

Catholic Church throughout their empire

nevertheless they did for a while allow

Protestants to hold religious services

until one day a revolt broke out in

Bohemia in 1618 discontented Protestants

through three of the Emperor's Catholic

councilors out of a window at a Prague

Castle they landed in a pile of manure

and so came to little harm nevertheless

this event known as the diffence tration

of prague gave the signal for a dreadful

war to begin which lasted for thirty

years thirty years just imagine if

someone heard about the defense tration

at the age of ten they would have to

wait until they were forty to experience

peace yes they experienced it for a note

for in no time the war had turned into a

dreadful massacre as hordes of ill paid

soldiers from countries far and wide

rampaged through the land looting and

killing the expectation of plunder was

what drew the vilest and most brutal men

of all nations into the ranks of these

armies religious faith was long

forgotten Protestants fought and

Catholic armies Catholics and Protestant

ones friends and foe suffered alight

from their opacity whether they pitched

their tents they did wherever they

pitched their tents they demanded food

and above all drink from local peasants

and if a peasant refused to give them

what they wanted they took it by force

or they killed him in the improbable

patchwork of rags they're great and

they're great plunder their great plumed

hats in their in their improbable

patchwork of rags and they're great

plumed hats

swords dangling from their belts and

pistols at the ready they rode around

burning killing and tormenting the

defenseless peasant

out of sheer wickedness and depravity

nothing could stop them the only person

they would obey was their commander and

if he won their affection they followed

him with blind devotion once that's

cooked one such commander on the

Emperor's side was Wallenstein a poor

country nobleman of immense ambition and

ability he led his armies up into North

Germany to capture the Protestant towns

thanks to his skill and strategy the war

was nearly decided in favor of the

Emperor and the Catholic Church however

a new country entered the conflict

this was Sweden under its powerful pious

Protestant ruler Gustavus Adolphus his

aim was to rescue the Protestant faith

and found a mighty Protestant Empire

under Sweden's leadership the Swedes had

retaken North Germany and were marching

on Austria when in 1632

the 14th year at this dreadful war

Gustavus Adolphus fell in battle

nevertheless many of his battalions

reached the outskirts of Vienna and

wrought havoc there France also joined

the war now you might think that the

French being Catholics would have sided

with the Emperor against the Protestants

of North Germany and Sweden but the war

had long stopped being about religion

each country was out to get what it

could from the general confusion and

because the to have and because the two

Habsburg rulers the Emperor of Germany

and the king of Spain were the dominant

powers in Europe the French under the

guidance of their exceptionally

intelligent Minister Cardinal Richelieu

hopes to exploit the situation to make

it to make Francis Europe's great to

make France here ups greatest power so

that's why Frances soldiers fought

against those of the Emperor

meanwhile wallenstein as the Emperor's

general was at the height of his power

his army worshipped him and his fierce

soldiers fought for him and for the

fulfillment of his aims rather than for

the Emperor or the Catholic faith being

indifferent to both the effect of this

was that Wallenstein increasingly saw

himself as the rightful sovereign

without him and his troops the Emperor

was powerless so he took it upon himself

to hold talks with the enemy about a

possible peace agreement and ignored all

the Emperor's commands the Emperor

decided to arrest him but in 1634 before

he could do so wallenstein was murdered

by an English captain

would once been his friend however the

war continued for 14 more years becoming

increasingly wild and confused whole

villages were burned towns plundered

women and children murdered robbed in a

bet

robbed and abducted there seemed to be

no end to it the soldiers seized the

peasants livestock and trampled their

crops famine disease and roaming packs

of wolves made westward made wastelands

of great structure of great stretches of

Germany and after all these years of

appalling suffering the envoy's of

various rulers finally met in 1648 and

after interminable and complicated

discussions agreed on a peace which left

things more or less as they had been in

the first place before the 30 Years War

had begun what had the prot what had

been Protestant would remain Protestant

the lands the Emperor controlled Austria

Hungary and Bohemia would remain

Catholic with the death of Gustavus

Adolphus Sweden had lost most of its in

most of the influence that had gained

and only held on to a few strips of

conquered land in North Germany and on

the Baltic coast Cardinal Richelieu and

voyeurs were alone in succeeding to

secure a number of German fortresses and

towns near the Rhine for France which

made the wily French Minister the only

true victor in a war which hadn't even

concerned him Germany was devastated

barely half the population had survived

and those who had were destitute and

many left and made their way to America

while others tried to enlist in foreign

armies since they didn't know anything

about fighting on top of all this misery

and despair a terrible madness began to

infect a growing number of people the

fear of evil spells of sorcery and

witchcraft people had also been

superstitious in the Middle Ages and had

believed in all sorts of ghouls and

ghosts as you remember but it was never

as bad as this things had begun to get

worse during the time of the power and

splendour loving popes the time we know

is the Renaissance when the new st.

Peter's Church was being built and

indulgences were sold those popes

weren't pious but that only made them

all the more superstitious they were

afraid of the devil in every conceivable

form of magic and each of the popes on

the period or in

here and each of the Pope's of the

period around 1500 whose names we

associate with the most wonderful works

of art was also responsible for chilling

decrees calling for witches and

sorcerers to be hunted down without

mercy especially in Germany you may ask

how it is possible to hunt down

something that isn't there and never was

and that is precisely why it was so

terrible if a woman wasn't liked in her

village perhaps because she was a little

odd or made people feel uncomfortable

anyone could suddenly say that woman is

a witch she's the cause of all those

hailstorms we've been having or she gave

the mayor his bad back and in fact both

an Italian and German people still use

the expression witch hunt or witch hurt

when talking about a backache when the

woman would be then the woman would be

arrested and interrogated they would ask

her if she was in league with the devil

naturally she would be horrified and

Inayat but then they would torture her

and torment her for so long and in such

a dreadful way the half-dead with pain

she would admit to anything in her

despair and that was it

now she had confessed to being a witch

and she would be burned alive often well

she was being tortured they would ask if

there were other witches in the village

making magic with her and in her

weakness she might blurt out any name

that came into her head in the hope the

torture would stop then others in their

turn would be arrested and tortured

until they confessed and were burned the

year of the devil and witchcraft were

ripe during the dreadful period after

the 30 Years War in Catholic and

Protestant districts alike thousands and

thousands of people were burned the few

Jesuit priests who protested against the

madness were powerless to stop it people

in those days lived in a state of

constant fear of the unknown of magical

powers and the works of the devil only

this fear can begin to explain the

atrocities inflicted on so many

thousands of innocent people what is

most remarkable however is that at a

time when people were at their most

superstitious there was still some who

had not forgotten the ideas of Leonardo

da Vinci and the other great Florentines

people who went on using their eyes in

order to see and make sense of the world

and it was they who discovered the real

magic magic

lets us look into the past and into the

future and enables us to work out what a

star billions of miles away is made of

and to predict precisely when an eclipse

of the Sun is due and from what part of

the earth that will be visible this

magic was arithmetic of course these

people didn't invent it for merchants

had always been able to add and subtract

but they became increasingly aware the

number of things in nature they're

governed by mathematical laws how a

clock with a pendulum 981 millimeters

long needs exactly one second per swing

and why this is so they called these the

laws of nature Leonardo da Vinci had

already said nature doesn't break her

own laws and so it was known with

certainty that if you take any natural

event and measure and record it

precisely you will discover that given

the same circumstances the result will

always be the same no matter how often

it is repeated indeed it cannot be

different this was an extraordinary

discovery and a far greater magic than

anything this was an extraordinary

discovery and a far greater magic than

anything the poor witches were accused

of for now the whole of nature the Stars

and drops of water falling stones and

vibrating violin strings was no longer

just one incomprehensible tangle that

made people fearful and uneasy if you

knew the correct mathematical formula

you had a magic spell for everything you

could say to a violin string to make an

A you must be this long and this tight

and moved backwards and forwards 435

times in a second and the note the

string made would prove it the first man

to understand the extraordinary magical

power of applying mathematical

calculation to things in nature was an

Italian called Galileo Galilei she was

devoted he had devoted many years to

observing analyzing and describing such

things when one day someone denounced

him for writing exactly what Leonardo

had observed but had not explained what

he had written was this the Sun does not

move on the contrary it is the earth

which moves around the Sun together with

the planets this discovery had already

been

by a Polish scholar named Copernicus

after many years of calculation it had

been published in 1543 not long after

Leonardo's death and shortly before his

own but the theory had been denounced as

unchristian and heretical by Catholic

and Protestant priests alike they

pointed to a passage in the Old

Testament in which Joshua the great

warrior asks God not to let dusk fall

until his enemy is destroyed an answer

to his prayer we read the Sun Stood

Still and the moon stayed until the

people had avenged themselves on their

enemies if the Bible says the Sun Stood

Still people argued then the Sun must

normally be in motion and to suggest the

Sun did not move was therefore heretical

and contradicted what was written in the

Bible

so in 1632 when he was nearly 70 years

old Galileo who had devoted his whole

life to scholarship was brought before

the religious tribunal known as the

Inquisition and made to choose between

being burned as a heretic or announcing

his theory about the movement of the

earth around the Sun he signed a

declaration saying that he was adopted

that he was but a poor sinner for he had

taught that the earth moved around the

Sun in this way he avoided being burned

the fate of so many of his predecessors

nevertheless when he signed the

Declaration he is said to have muttered

under his breath and yet it moves

none of these fixed ideas was in the end

able to prevent Galileo's ideas and

methods and all the discoveries he made

from influencing and inspiring people in

ever-increasing numbers and if today

thanks to mathematical formulas we can

make nature do whatever we want so that

we have telephones airplanes computer

and computers and all the rest of our

modern technology we should be grateful

to all those who like Galileo

investigated nature's mathematical laws

at a time when it was almost as

dangerous to do it was almost as

dangerous a thing to do as it was to be

a Christian in Nero's day and that is

the end of the chapter