Unit 1: Renaissance and Age of Discovery Flashcards

1
Q

Patronage

A

The act of commissioning artists to create art. Done especially by wealthy Italian merchants as a sign of their wealth. Patrons would decorate their courts with the art of famous Renaissance artists as a sign of wealth that often rivaled those of traditional nobility.

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2
Q

Communes (N/A)

A
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3
Q

Oligarchy

A

A government made up of a small group of people. Most Italian city-states were oligarchies controlled by signoris.

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4
Q

Condottieri

A

Italian captains who were hired during the Middle Ages and the Italian Renaissance by monarchs and Popes. They served especially during the wars between Italian city-states during the Renaissance.

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5
Q

Signori

A

The wealthy ruling class in Italy that created oligarchies in Italian city-states and exhibited great control over Italian citizens.

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6
Q

City-State

A

A city, sometimes including the surrounding area, that is autonomous and functions as its own nation. Italy was not a country during the Renaissance, but rather a collection of city-states loosely grouped together by geography only. If one city- state got too powerful, the others would work together to keep the delicate power balance between them all.

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7
Q

Medici

A

A wealthy banking family from Florence who exerted a lot of influence over Florence and many monarchies of Europe for hundreds of years. They also gained a lot of influence for being the bank of the Papacy. The Medici family sponsored a great number of artists and commissioned many art pieces.

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8
Q

Giolamo Savanarola (N/A)

A
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9
Q

Bonfire of Vanities (N/A)

A
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10
Q

Habsburg-Valois Wars

A

Wars between the Hapsburgs and France over control of the Holy Roman Empire, and therefore much of Europe. Left Germany divided, leading to the slow unification of German nations.

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11
Q

Petrach

A

Considered the “Father of Humanism”, he believed he was better than those around him because he was well versed in a variety of topics, including antiquity. He believed a person’s value came from their intellect and reason, a central idea of Humanism.

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12
Q

Dark Ages

A

Another name for the Middle Ages that was given because, especially in comparison to the Renaissance, the Middle Ages were very dark. The Black Plague as well as other aspects of European culture were very different from those of the Renaissance, often seeming darker.

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13
Q

Humanism

A

The central idea of the Renaissance that emphasizes the potential and value of the individual and the ability of that individual to use reason and intellect. A change from the emphasis on God, religion, and the Catholic Church During the Middle Ages.

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14
Q

Cicero

A

A Roman statesman and scholar who believed that the ideal government was a combination of a monarchy, democracy, and aristocracy. His work was praised during the Renaissance for his oration and rhetoric as well as his ideas about philosophy, politics, and education.

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15
Q

Leonardo Bruni

A

A Humanist writer who wrote a biography of Cicero calling for the combination of politics and literary creation.

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16
Q

Platonic Academy

A

A group of scholars in Florence sponsored by the Medici family that studied and discussed antiquity, especially the teachings of Plato.

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17
Q

Mirandola

A

An Italian philosopher who believed in the free will of humans to decide what to do with their destiny. He rejected the belief in predestination of the Middle Ages, instead embracing the Humanist belief in the ability and intellect of humans.

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18
Q

Virtu

A

The idea of striving for excellence and being a virtuous person. Excelling in the gifts God gave you as per Humanist beliefs.

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19
Q

Thomas More

A

An English writer who wrote Utopia about a perfect society in which war, poverty, and other contemporary problems did not exist. It combined civic humanism with More’s religious ideals and stated that in order to achieve harmony, people had to sacrifice their personal ambitions and gains for the common good.

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20
Q

Baldassare Castiglioni

A

An Italian author who wrote The Courtier about how members of Italian courts should act. He wrote that they should be well-versed in a variety of different topics from antiquity to arts and music.

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21
Q

Charles VII

A

The King of France who created the first standing army and the Pragmatic Sanction in 1438 that limited the power of the church over France. Established the taille, or a direct tax on land and property.

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22
Q

Concordat of Bologna

A

Created under the reign of Francis I, it gave the French monarch the power to appoint bishops in France as well as establishing Gallicanism, or the idea that the power of monarchs is independent of the church’s.

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23
Q

Edward IV (N/A)

A
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24
Q

Henry VII

A

King of England who worked to lessen the power of high nobility and bring up lower nobles. Created the Star Chamber where obnoxious nobles would be tried and punished.

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25
Q

Civic Humanism

A

A form of Humanism that emphasized making society better. Modeled on the teachings of Cicero, it was the belief that it is the duty of the individual to be involved in politics, especially if they are an intellectual.

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26
Q

Niccolo Machiavelli

A

Wrote The Prince in which he said it is better for a leader to be feared rather than loved, because love will crumble in times of stress and despair, where fear will not.

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27
Q

Cesar Borgia (N/A)

A
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28
Q

Machiavellian (N/A)

A
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29
Q

Christian Humanism

A

A strand of humanist belief that focused on studying the classics and the humanities as Humanism did, but also piety, humility, and reform.

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30
Q

Northern Humanists

A

More focused on reconciling Humanism with Christianity. Scholars still studied antiquity, but there was more of a focus on love, piety, and humility (Christian Humanism).

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31
Q

Desiderius Erasmus

A

Dutch writer of the Northern Renaissance who wrote In Praise of Folly about how the Catholic Church had strayed from its initial purpose and far too many church officials were using religion for their own gain.

32
Q

Printing Press

A

A machine for printing pages very quickly that was improved by Johan Gutenberg in 1450. He created moveable type pieces that made printing even easier and quicker than it had been.

33
Q

Johan Gutenberg

A

Inventor of the printing press with moveable type. His Gutenberg Bible was the most sold book in Europe for centuries.

34
Q

Prohibited Books (N/A)

A
35
Q

Lorenzo de Medici (N/A)

A
36
Q

Michelangelo (N/A)

A
37
Q

Jan Van Eyck

A

A Flemish painter who founded a school of painting and pioneered modern oil-painting techniques.

38
Q

Albert Durer

A

A Northern Renaissance painter who used Italian Renaissance techniques like linear/aerial perspective, depth, and proportion with his woodcutting techniques.

39
Q

Mannerism

A

An artistic movement of the Renaissance that rebelled against the perfect symmetry and proportions of mainstream Renaissance art.

40
Q

Leonardo da Vinci

A

An Italian Renaissance artist and inventor who is best known for the Mona Lisa, but also his flying machines and study of human anatomy.

41
Q

Christine de Pizan

A

An Italian poet who wrote in support of women’s rights and was a precursor to the later feminist movement of the 1800s.

42
Q

Conversos

A

During the Spanish Inquisition, conversos were Jews who converted to Catholicism to avoid being driven from the country, but were still suspected to be practicing in secret.

43
Q

New Christian (N/A)

A
44
Q

Isabella and Ferdinand

A

King and Queen of Spain who united the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile and ended Muslim control in Spain in the Roconquista after centuries. They conducted the Spanish Inquisition to create religious unity as a way of centralizing power under them. They negotiated with the Pope to allow them to appoint bishops in Spain, giving them more power.

45
Q

Marco Polo (N/A)

A
46
Q

Ottoman Expansion

A

During the Renaissance, the Ottoman Empire was expanding, especially in Istanbul, previously Constantinople. The Muslim empire charged Christians more to bring their goods through Muslim territories, so Christian Europeans had to find another route to the lucrative ports of Asia.

47
Q

Conquistador

A

Spanish explorers who came to the Americas and conquered the indigenous peoples there for the Spanish Empire.

48
Q

The Travels of Sir John

A

An account of fantastical stories of Asia that influenced Europe’s perception of Asia for centuries. Created many misconceptions about Asia and the people who lived there.

49
Q

Caravel

A

A new type of ship that was faster and could carry more cargo than the galley. It allowed the Portuguese to explore the world

50
Q

Ptolomy’s Geography

A

Translated into latin during the Renaissance, it improved cartography and showed how worldy endeavours mattered more after the Renaissance, and that the individual should seek to improve their standing (Humanism).

51
Q

Compass

A

Allowed for more accurate navigation across long distances.

52
Q

Astrolabe

A

A device that allowed sailors to calculate latitude.

53
Q

Prince Henry

A
54
Q

Vasco da Gama

A

A Portuguese explorer who traveled around the Cape of Good Hope to reach India.

55
Q

Spain (N/A)

A
56
Q

Christopher Colombus

A

A Genoese sailor sponsored by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, who sought a shorter route to the East Indies across the Atlantic. He landed on Hispaniola and established the first Spanish colony in the Americas.

57
Q

Reconquista

A

The war in Spain that ended in 1492 that led to the expulsion of the Muslim Moors from Spain.

58
Q

Amerigo Vespucci

A

Florentine explorer who realized that the Americas were a new continent. The continents are named for him.

59
Q

Treaty of Tordesillas

A

Created a line through modern-day Brazil that gave the eastern side of the line to Portugal and the western side to Spain.

60
Q

Ferdinand Magellan

A

A Portuguese explorer whose crew was the first to circumnavigate the globe. He died in the Philippines early on in the journey, but a skeleton crew returned to Portugal after 3 years.

61
Q

John Cabot

A

An Italian explorer sailing for Henry VII, who claimed Newfoundland and other parts of the North American coast for England.

62
Q

Aztecs (N/A)

A
63
Q

Cortes

A

A Spanish conquistador who conquered the Mexica (Aztec) Empire by exploiting internal dissension to defeat Montezuma.

64
Q

Pizarro

A

A Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca empire by capturing Emperor Atahualpa and taking Cuzco.

65
Q

Zero-Sum (N/A)

A
66
Q

Samuel de Champlain

A

A French explorer and founder of Quebec in 1608. French colonies in the Americas were more focused on trading furs, and many formed amicable relationships with indigenous tribes there.

67
Q

Robert de La Salle

A

A French explorer who led an expedition along the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers from Quebec to modern-day New Orleans. This allowed the French to establish New Orleans and control the Mississippi for over a century.

68
Q

Encomienda

A

A system that gave landowners the right to employ or demand tribute from indigenous people who had previously lived on their new land in exchange for providing food and shelter. It was forced labour, so it was basically slavery.

69
Q

Reparimiento

A

A later system of labour that replaced the Encomienda System. It required adult indigenous men to devote a certain number of days each year to working for Spanish enterprises. It was intended to fix the problems of the Encomienda System, but it still abused workers because of the urgency and exploitation it brought.

70
Q

Haciendas

A

Large estates in the Americas given to Spanish landowners for livestock or agriculture. Often given through the encomienda system.

71
Q

Mestizo

A

People in the Americas born of Spanish and Native parents. The colonies had a strict caste system based on how closely related someone was to Spain, with Spaniards born in Spain (peninsulares) at the top, and enslaved people at the bottom.

72
Q

Columbian exchange (N/A)

A
73
Q

Black Legend

A

A book by Bartolome de Las Casas that criticized slavery by the Spanish in the Americas. He called it cruel and barbaric. Despite his and others’efforts, many indigenous people were still forced into slavery and many then died from the hard labour.

74
Q

Noah’s Curse (N/A)

A
75
Q

William Shakespeare

A

A poet and playwright during the English Renaissance (much later than the Northern or Italian) who wrote plays like Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Hamlet, and The Tempest.

76
Q

The Tempest

A

A play by Shakespeare that dealt with the complexities of race and religion that Europe was grappling with at the time.