The Fifteenth Century: A Time of Profound Change

The fifteenth century is a time of profound change. Europe is divided by the Western Schism that originated in the late war of the XIV century. The marriage between the Catholic Monarchs improves the political situation. The development of trade and the growth of cities provided opportunities for the bourgeoisie, which encouraged the new class appreciation of worldly values. Culture became a sign of distinction between nobles and wealthy bourgeois, and the courts and universities replaced monasteries as the main centers of learning. In this new atmosphere, humanism began to diffuse, and in 1450, Gutenberg invented the printing press.