Chapter 2: Renaissance

Question 1

What was the Renaissance?

Answer 1

Period of rebirth/reform in European culture, philosophy, art, politics, and religion

Question 2

What centuries did the Renaissance last?

Answer 2

14th to 17th centuries (1375 to early 1600’s)

Question 3

What is Humanism?

Answer 3

Belief system: emphasizing the importance of humans and their potential value and good

Question 4

What were some key factors in the revival of monarchy during the Renaissance?

Answer 4

1. People and towns allied with the kings
2. The weakening of the church following
3. The fall of feudalism
4. Taxes, armies, and domain being increased/created

Question 5

What was the printing press and why was it significant?

Answer 5

The printing press was the first way to mechanically get ink onto a paper which astronomically influenced the Renaissance, and the overall spread of information.

Question 6

Who was Niccolo Machiavelli?

Answer 6

Niccolo Machiavelli was a Philosopher, Politician, and Author as well

Question 7

Francesco Petrarch

Answer 7

“Father of Humanism”

Question 8

What were some beliefs of Platonism?

Answer 8

Abstract objects exist
High moral values

Question 9

What did Lorenzo Valla do?

Answer 9

He found the Donation to be fraudulent and forged and that it was more recent than thought before

Question 10

Civic Humanism

Answer 10

A form of humanism that believed that humans should have virtue and do self-sacrificing public service

Question 11

What were the two sides of humanism?

Answer 11

Practical Tranparent Politics and Deep Hsitorical Scholarship (which were used differently for certain people)

Question 12

Artists of the time

Answer 12

Leonardo da Vinci
Raphael
Michaelangelo

Question 13

Excessive “need” for slaves caused by what?

Answer 13

The Black Death (bubonic plague) killed an estimated 1/3 of the worlds population fueling a demand for more slaves

Question 14

Why did Charles VIII of France invade Italy the first time and where?

Answer 14

He invaded Naples because the duke of Milan was fighting with Naples at the time so the duke of Milan asked France for help but then Charles VIII was able to conquer the area for a while

Question 15

How was Charles VIII driven out of Italy the first time?

Answer 15

The city-states of Italy banded back together and drove him out

Question 16

What did Savonarola do?

Answer 16

He stated that Charles VIII march through Italy was justified. After Charles was driven out Savonarola was executed for these claims

Question 17

What was the League of Venice?

Answer 17

The league of Venice was formed by Ferdinand of Aragon. After seeing how easily the French invaded Italy, Ferdinand created the alliance with himself (aragon, Spain), Venice, the papal states, and emperor Maximilian I. Milan later joined and they all kicked Charles VIII out of Italy

Question 18

Why was Alexander on good terms with France?

Answer 18

He left the league of Venice and helped Louis XII of France to marry Charles VIII’s widow

Question 19

Who took over the land of Naples and divided it among themselves?

Answer 19

Pope Alexander VI and Louis XII of France

Question 20

Who invaded Milan?

Answer 20

Louis XII of France

Question 21

Who was Pope Julius II?

Answer 21

He was the successor to Pope Alexander VI

Question 22

Why did Pope Julius form the Holy League and who was in it?

Answer 22

Pope Julius II created the Holy League with Ferdinand of Aragon and Venice to drive out the French invaders

Question 23

What did Niccolo Machiavelli practically dream of?

Answer 23

He sought for an Italian despotic ruler who would unite Italy and bring order but he constantly romanticized things

Question 24

What was the Golden Bull

Answer 24

The Golden Bull was an agreement between the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV and the major German territorial rulers that established a 7 person electoral college

Question 25

What was the imperial diet (Reichstag) in The Holy Roman Empire/Germany

Answer 25

The diet consisted of the electoral college established in the Golden Bull, princes, and representatives of free cities in the Holy Roman Empire/Germany

Question 26

Why was the church unable to limit the power of the Monarchs at the time? In other words, why weren’t they able to stop the revival of monarchy?

Answer 26

The church’s power and authority had grown very weak following the One Hundred Years’ War and the Great Schism (division of two types of christianity) so they were lost a lot of their influence in politics

Question 27

What were the implications of the Revival of Monarchy? What helped it flourish?

Answer 27

Taxation was a major aspect in the revival of monarchy because the monarch began to have the power of changing the rules such as taxing people and creating armies rather than these things being controlled by other vassals

Question 28

Who was Desiderius Erasmus and what did he do?

Answer 28

Erasmus was a Dutch philosopher, theologian, teacher, and humanist and studied the past as well. He created translations of religious texts for people to have the ability to educate themselves

Question 29

What was the Ciompi Revolt?

Answer 29

The Ciompi Revolt lasted from 1378 to 1382 and was when the lower classes of society in Florence such as the artisans and merchants revolted against the higher-up classes due to unbearable living conditions