Problem:   Was there a change in the way Europeans "thought" about the world after 1400?   If so, could such a change in thinking have contributed to the change in Europe's place in the world system?

The Historiographic Problem:   Can anyone "see" changes in thinking?   How can historians "see" changes in thinking that happened in the past?   Does the art that people create and enjoy offer historians some evidence of how people thought?

Opening Journal Entry    How can we study other people's thinking?   Do you think that art tells us something about a people's ideas, values and beliefs?  Does it help us understand how others think? Do you think that the pictures, music, books, television, movies you enjoy or create tells us something about your ideas, values and beliefs?  Explain your thinking and provide examples.

Our primary sources for this problem will be European art.

Let's begin with art created during the European Middle Ages.  Go to The Book of Hours an example of late medieval art.