Chapter 13 Vocab

Question 1

The Renaissance

Answer 1

The period between about 1350-1550 which is named after the French word meaning “rebirth” because of the renewal of classical antiquity.

Question 2

Popolo

Answer 2

Disenfranchised and heavily taxed common people in Italian cities who resented their exclusion from power. They used armed forces to take over cities, creating several republics. They, however, were unable to maintain this for long.

Question 2

Communes

Answer 2

Sworn associations of free men in Italian cities led by merchant guilds that sought political and economical independence from local nobles. They built the city walls, regulated trade, collected taxes, and kept civic order. Communes were often politically unstable because of the rivaling nobles.

Question 2

Oligarchy

Answer 2

A small group that ruled the city and surrounding countryside, usually formed of merchant aristocracies.

Question 2

Patrons

Answer 2

Cities, groups, and individuals who financially supported writers and artists to produce specific works or works in specific styles.

Question 3

Signori

Answer 3

Government by one-man rule in Italian cities such as Milan; also refers to these rulers. This is handed down to the ruler’s son.

Question 4

City-states

Answer 4

Political divisions that demonstrated political loyalty and feeling centered on the city.

Question 5

The Medici family

Answer 5

A banking family that ruled Florence for three centuries, starting in 1434

Question 6

Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola

Answer 6

Promised Florence a greater glory if they followed his instructions on how to reform. His followers kicked out the Medici family. Savonarola became the political and religious leader in Florence. He made laws against same-sex relations, adultery, and drunkenness, while forcing men to patrol the streets for immoral clothes and behaviors. He was excommunicated by the pope, tortured, and burned.

Question 7

The Habsburg-Valois wars

Answer 7

Internal warfare in the Italian city states where France tried to take over, and the Germans were called in to expel them. This was a result of city-states fighting each other, they were seen as weak and France tried to gain Italian territories. This created political instability.

Question 8

Humanism

Answer 8

A program of study designed by Italians that emphasized the critical study of Latin and Greek literature with the goal of understanding human nature.

Question 9

Virtù

Answer 9

The quality of being able to shape the world according to one’s own will.

Question 9

Giorgio Vasari

Answer 9

The artist and Renaissance thinker that was the first to use the word “Renaissance.” His most famous work is his book titled “The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects.”

Question 10

Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374)

Answer 10

A Florentine poet and scholar who searched libraries and Roman ruins, becoming obsessed with the classical past. He was the man that originated the idea that the revival of ancient texts would spark a new golden age that had not been repeated since the Roman Empire. He was the man that created the term known as the “dark ages” between the Roman Empire and Renaissance. He proposed a new type of education that studied Roman authors, classical history, and how to write and speak Latin.

Question 10

Leonardo Bruni (1374-1444)

Answer 10

The Florentine humanist and historian who believed that the decline of the Latin language was closely linked to the decline of the Roman empire once Cicero died. He was also the first to divide history into three eras; ancient, medieval, and modern.

Question 11

Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499)

Answer 11

A scholar, under the patronage of Cosimo de’ Medici, created an informal lecture group on the Florentine cultural elite, known as the Platonic Academy. He connected Plato’s ideas with Christianity all while translating his dialogues into Latin and writing commentaries on Christian and Platonic teachings.

Question 12

Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

Answer 12

A student of Marsilio Ficino who agreed with him in the idea that there was a hierarchy of beings made by God, with spiritual beings at the top and material beings at the bottom. Humans were said to be right in the middle and possessed qualities of both. Mirandola wrote “On the Dignity of Man” explaining this.

Question 13

Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472)

Answer 13

A “Renaissance man” or man with achievements or comprehension in many fields who was incredibly proud of himself. He wrote an autobiography explaining his amazing qualities and accomplishments in the third person.

Question 14

The Courtier

Answer 14

A book written by Baldassare Castiglione that was designed to educate young men on how to be a gentleman. The book states that a man should be educated, understand a variety of subjects, and should train spiritual and physical faculties as well as intellect. He also discussed women, and they had to maintain similar standards like men, but had to be knowledgeable on music, dancing, painting, and be beautiful, modest, and delicate.

Question 15

The Prince

Answer 15

A book on political science written by Machiavelli. It was made for Cesare Borgia. It uses examples to show that weakness leads to disorder and that a king must do whatever he needs such as manipulation, lying, and brutality, to be a successful leader. However, they must not be hated.

Question 16

Cesare Borgia

Answer 16

Part of the Medici family, Cesare is the son of a Spanish nobleman who became pope Alexander VI. He used power and ruthlessness to built a state of his own, but lost it all after his father’s death.

Question 17

Machiavellian

Answer 17

Cunning, ruthless and based on the author Machiavelli

Question 18

Christian humanism

Answer 18

Humanistic ideas that stem from northern humanists who interpreted Italian ideas about and attitudes toward classical antiquity and humanism in terms of their own religious traditions.

Question 19

Utopia

Answer 19

A dialogue composed by Thomas More, meaning “nowhere” in Greek, is about a community on an island where everyone is educated, primarily in Greek and Roman classics; adults spend their time split up between labor or business and intellectual activities; and problems like famine and poverty have been solved by the government. This was seen as the perfect place. But because of the name, it is obvious that this place cannot exist. This was created in order to promote humanistic peace.

Question 20

Erasmus

Answer 20

A famous dutch humanist writer. He is best known for “The Praise of Folly” which is satire but pokes fun at the political, social, and religious institutions. He also translated the New Testament into Latin and created the first printed Greek version of it. He believed that every person deserves to read it. Two fundamental themes ran through his works: education in the Bible and classics leads to reform of the current church which has strayed from these ideals, and renewal should be based on the “philosophy of Christ”; an emphasis on inner spirituality and personal morality rather than scholastic theology.

Question 21

Printing press

Answer 21

A metal type designed in Germany in the 1440’s as a combination of existing technologies. The main creator is Johann Gutenberg.

Question 22

Filippo Brunelleschi

Answer 22

An architect who built the dome on the Cathedral of Florence. He also created a hospital with proportion, balance, and harmony based on classics.

Question 23

Lorenzo Ghiberti

Answer 23

Designed the bronze doors on the Baptistery.

Question 24

Giotto

Answer 24

A Florentine painter who was one of, if not, the first artists to have realistic human anatomy and the lack of stiffness or artificiality that was incorporated in medieval art.

Question 25

Donatello

Answer 25

A sculptor who revived the style of classical figures with balance and self-awareness. He is famous for his works such as David, St. George, and Penitent Magdalene.

Question 26

Michelangelo

Answer 26

A Renaissance painter and sculptor who is known for painting the ceilings of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, David, The Creation of Adam, the tomb of Lorenzo de’ Medici, The Last Judgement, and La Pietà.

Question 27

Jan van Eyck

Answer 27

A Flemish painter who is one of the first to successfully use oil paints correctly. He creates religious scenes and portraits that accentuate personality.

Question 28

Titan

Answer 28

A sixteenth century artist that produced portraits, religious subjects, mythical scenes, etc. in oil paints without having to do an elaborate drawing first, speeding up the process of art. Titan and other artists at the time developed mannerism.

Question 29

Mannerism

Answer 29

Late Renaissance art that elongated figures, exaggerated muscles, heightened color, and displayed unusual positions to increase the visual drama.

Question 30

Raphael

Answer 30

A painter and sculptor who was the most sought after portraitist. His most famous piece is The School of Athens.

Question 31

Leonardo da Vinnci

Answer 31

A Renaissance artist known for creating the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, Vitruvian Man, and Lady with an Ermine.

Question 32

Querelle des femmes

Answer 32

A debate about women among writers and thinkers in the Renaissance about women’s qualities and proper role in society.

Question 33

Christine de Pizan

Answer 33

A woman who was famous for righting and advocating for female rights. She defended women and explained why they have a secondary status.

Question 34

Misogynist

Answer 34

A person who dislikes or is prejudice against women.

Question 35

Reconquista

Answer 35

The Spanish efforts to regain southern Spain’s land occupied by Muslims.

Question 36

Conversos/New Christians

Answer 36

Forty percent of the Jewish population in Spain was killed off. For the Jews, and Muslims, who survived in the Iberian Peninsula, Conversos or New Christians were those who accepted Christianity; in many cases they included Christians whose families converted centuries earlier. They were generally well-educated. They made up a decent portion of the Spanish population, but had an extreme impact on Spain’s government, business, laws, medicine, and church.

Question 37

Spanish Inquisition

Answer 37

Under the rule of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, conversos were trialed, punished, and killed if they were suspected of not being fully Christian. The trials killed many Jews and the survivors had to expel themselves before they were killed.

Question 38

Secularism

Answer 38

A basic concern with the material world instead of the eternal world.

Question 39

Individualism

Answer 39

Stressing personality, uniqueness, genius, and full development of one’s capabilities and talents.

Question 40

Princely courts

Answer 40

The fifteenth century center of political power and elite culture that gave oligarchs or despots a chance to display their wealth and power. They had ceremonies and flaunted patronage. They were a court that was the space and personnel around a prince as he made laws, received ambassadors, and made appointments.

Question 41

Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges

Answer 41

Published by King Charles VII of France, it asserted and established the first permanent royal army. It gave the council superiority over the papacy by controlling the appointed bishops and depriving the pope from ecclesiastical revenues.

Question 42

The court of Star Chamber

Answer 42

A court in England with stars painted on the ceiling that applied a Roman system of law that dealt with aristocratic threats. This directly went against the English common law because the accused person was not entitled to see the evidence against them, they could be tortured, and juries were not called.

Question 43

Justices of Peace

Answer 43

Local influential landowners in England that handled the local government. They punished criminals, enforced parliamentary statutes, fixed wages and prices, maintained proper standards of weights and measures, and checked up on moral behavior.

Question 44

Hermandades

Answer 44

Spanish groups in towns that were given authority to act as local police forces and judicial judges. Their punishments were harsh but effective.

Question 45

The royal council

Answer 45

The center of the royal authority that is governed at a national level. Because of Henry VII’s distrust in the nobility, the 12-15 men on this council were usually part of the middle class and educated on law. They handled any business the king tasked them with.

Question 46

The Urban Nobility

Answer 46

A new social class consisting of the commercial aristocracy and feudal nobles seeking urban wealth. This social class became tied together by blood, marriage, common interest, and social connections.

Question 47

The Decameron

Answer 47

A tale that described secular spirits, specifically ambitious merchants, lecherous friars, and cuckolded husbands.

Question 48

Perspective

Answer 48

In paintings, the linear representation of distance and space on a flat surface

Question 49

Vernacular

Answer 49

The language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country or region.

Question 50

Dante

Answer 50

Wrote the Divine comedy which is divided into three sections, follows a man, generally assumed to be Dante himself, as he visits Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise.