The Middle Ages & Renaissance

Question 1

What concept helped shift education away from a focus on theological writings to a liberal arts education?

Answer 1

The Humanist revival of Greek and Roman texts.

Question 2

Who was among the first to promote a revival of classical literature?

Answer 2

Petrarch

Question 3

Who is one of the best known political theorists of the Italian Renaissance?

Answer 3

Niccolo Machiavelli

Question 4

Why was the Catholic Church not threatened by Renaissance thinking when it frequently promoted values of secularism and individualism?

Answer 4

While some Renaissance thinkers (like Pico della Mirandola) were viewed as heretical by the church, others such as Marsilio Ficino and Petrarch found connections between the classics and Christian theology.

Question 5

What are the names of the four painters that have the same names as what we call ‘the ninja turtles’?

Answer 5

Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello.

Question 6

What was the disease that killed millions of the population and how did this disease spread so fast?

Answer 6

Black Death: It came from rats (fleas) and spread to humans. It was highly contagious and deadly within 2-3 days.

Question 7

Who was Joan of Arc and what was her importance?

Answer 7

She was a peasant girl who claimed to have had mystic visions. Charles VII of France allowed her to co-command the French forces and she was very successful–she is credited with turning around Hundred Years War.

Question 8

What did the wealthy do to show off their wealth in the Renaissance?

Answer 8

They would buy or commission art work, or have something made for them like a huge statue, painting, or architectural design.

Question 9

Who were the main artists in the Renaissance and what did they all have in common?

Answer 9

Michelangelo, Raphael Sanzio, Titian, and Leonardo da Vinci. They were well-known artists of their time and all could be tied into humanism and a new era of art and lifestyles.

Question 10

Who benefited from the Black Death?

Answer 10

Surviving peasants. They were able to improve their standard of living and increase wages for European workers.

Question 11

What is the program of study designed by Italians that emphasized the critical study of Latin and Greek literature with the goal of understanding human nature called?

Answer 11

Humanism

Question 12

What artist is famous for painting Mona Lisa?

Answer 12

Leonardo Da Vinci

Question 13

Who combined his father’s power with his own ruthlessness to build up a state of his own in Central Italy?

Answer 13

Cesare Borgia

Question 14

What is the significance of Machiavelli’s “The Prince?”

Answer 14

“The Prince” is often seen as the first modern guide to politics though Machiavelli was denounced for writing it. People later came to use the word Machiavellian to mean cunning and also ruthless.

Question 15

Who was the king when Florence and Naples entered into an agreement to acquire Milanese territories and Milan called on France for support?

Answer 15

King Charles VIII

Question 16

A region that produced a lot of the Northern Renaissance artists.

Answer 16

Flemish region (Flanders: Northern Belgium)

Question 17

An event in which converted Jews and Muslims came under heavy scrutiny by the Catholic Church. Started under Ferdinand II and Isabella I in 1478 and wasn’t officially disbanded until 1834 under Isabella II.

Answer 17

Spanish Inquisition

Question 18

Why did humanists disagree about education for women?

Answer 18

Many saw the value of exposing women to classical models of moral behavior and reasoning, but they also wondered whether a program of study for women, emphasizing eloquence and action was proper.

Question 19

What years did the Hundred Years war span?

Answer 19

1337-1453

Question 20

What was commonly true of the clergy during the Black Plague?

Answer 20

They stayed and cared for the sick, while physicians fled.

Question 21

When and where were the first Black Plague symptoms described?

Answer 21

In 1331, in southwestern China and then part of the Mongol Empire.

Question 22

What is the most widely accepted estimate of deaths after the first wave of the plague in Western Europe and the Mediterranean?

Answer 22

Around 1/3 of the total population of Europe, between 75 and 200 million people.

Question 23

When was the first large scale peasant rebellion? Where? (the poor against the rich)

Answer 23

In the 1320’s in the Flanders region or modern day Belgium.

Question 24

Why did the populations of Europe fail to control or halt the spread of the Black Death?

Answer 24

They had poor sanitation/hygiene and a lack of scientific understanding.

Question 25

What did Petrarch do to contribute to Humanism?

Answer 25

He read writings from the classics, when religion was hardly in writing, and translated it so that it could be interpreted in a Christian values way.

Question 26

Is Humanism seen as a threat to Christianity or the church? Why or why not?

Answer 26

No, because of he fact Petrarch showed Christianity in a positive light with Humanism.

Question 27

What was the dispute in the Catholic church, which produced multiple popes at once, called?

Answer 27

The Great Schism

Question 28

Who wrote Utopia, the book about a perfect society?

Answer 28

Thomas More

Question 29

Instead of religious ideals, what did Renaissance art generally show?

Answer 29

Human ideals

Question 30

What did people believe caused the plague ?

Answer 30

Some believed it was a punishment from God, others believed Jews spread it.

Question 31

Did the Italian Renaissance promote gender equality?

Answer 31

No, art was for men and women were not provided as much exposure to popular art. They couldn’t study with men or learn some of the techniques. Works made by female artists were regarded as “minor” or “decorative”.

Question 32

What was the of the causes of the Hundred Years’ War?

Answer 32

The war started from disagreements over land, a argument over the French Throne, and economic conflicts between England and France.

Question 33

What are Flagellants?

Answer 33

They whipped themselves because they thought that the plague was a punishment from god, and if they punished themselves god would stop the plague.

Question 34

What was the Babylonian Captivity?

Answer 34

The Babylonian Captivity was when the pope lived in Avignon instead of Rome.

Question 35

What was the Great Schism?

Answer 35

The Great Schism was when there was 2-3 popes at a time because France and their allies recognized a pope, and England and their allies recognized a pope.

Question 36

What were the three main social hierarchies?

Answer 36

Race and slavery, wealth and nobility, and gender

Question 37

What did art have to do with wealth in the late 15th century?

Answer 37

Wealthy people began commissioning art as a way to show off their wealth.

Question 38

Why is it impossible to tell the original artist of embroidery?

Answer 38

Because it was made by women, and their works weren’t regarded as important, so they didn’t put their name on it.

Question 39

What are “the classics” and what are some examples?

Answer 39

Well known and famous writers from the middle ages that people eventually started discovering in the Renaissance. Ex. Aristotle, Leon Alberti, Plato, Cicero

Question 40

What was a common form of government in the city-states of Italy?

Answer 40

Communes became a common form of government, made by groups of merchants who sought independence nobles.

Question 41

Which French province was disputed between the English and French crowns, leading, in part, to The 100 Years’ War?

Answer 41

Aquitaine

Question 42

What type of government began more popular between 1250 and 1450?

Answer 42

Representative government became more popular throughout European nations like England, which was one of the only ones to continue past this period.

Question 43

What teachings did Marsilio Ficino spread in Florence?

Answer 43

Ficino spread the teachings of Plato, a Greek philosopher. His lectures taught against materialism and were supported by the Catholic Church.

Question 44

what was Jacquerie u-y

Answer 44

1358, French taxation for war fell on the poor shoulders

Question 45

What were the the Papal States u-y

Answer 45

a series of cities states owned by the church. located in central italy

Question 46

what was House of Medici u-y

Answer 46

the greatest bank in Europe owned by the Medici family in Florence.They also had a high amount of influence in Italy.

Question 47

What were the the Papal States

Answer 47

a series of cities states owned by the church. located in central italy

Question 48

What teachings did Marsilio Ficino spread in Florence?

Answer 48

Ficino spread the teachings of Plato, a Greek philosopher. His lectures taught against materialism and were supported by the Catholic Church.

Question 49

What was the common government found across Italian cities during the Renaissance?

Answer 49

Oligarchies were a common form of government across Italy during the Renaissance, though Republican governments came and went, never lasting.

Question 50

what was the 1527 sack of Rome u-y

Answer 50

A conflict between the French and Spanish for control Italy . in which the Spanish were called into help the Italians .But ended up ruling until 1870

Question 51

What is Neoplatonism u-y

Answer 51

created by Marcilio Ficino which conceptualize both Plato’s ideas and the ideas of Christianity based on an hierarchy of substance