APEH – Unit 1 – Chapter 10 Reading Comprehension Guide 1
Renaissance and Discovery – Study Guide
The Western Heritage, since 1300.10th Ed. Kagan, Ozment, and Turner.
Name: _______________________________ Class: _________________
ATTENTION: Read the instructions carefully as you move through this study guide.
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL READING COMPREHENSION GUIDES: You have
two options when it comes to answering the majority of the questions in this or any study guide in
this class. You may download an electronic copy of this assignment from my website and either
handwrite or type your answers on that copy OR you may write out the answers on loose-leaf
paper or in a spiral notebook. However you choose to complete your study guide ALL
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS MUST be included and as always you are expected to do your
own work (think, Honor Code).
If an IDENTIFICATION TERM or DEFINITION is asked for, please do the following: All ID
TERMS are to be written on index cards with the unit number and term on the front and a
thorough description written in your own words on the back. A thorough description includes
information addressing WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, and WHY DO I CARE (i.e. what is the
significance of…)
All DEFINITIONS should be written on index cards with the unit number and term on the front
and the definition (taken from the glossary of your textbook or the dictionary) on the back.
MAJOR THEMES / BIG QUESTIONS: (as you work through the chapter, bear these
questions in mind)
1. What were the politics, culture, and art of the Italian Renaissance like?
2. What was the political climate like within Italy and how was it affected by foreign
intervention?
3. Who were the powerful new monarchies of northern Europe and how did they differ from the
Italian states?
4. In what ways were the thought and culture of northern Europe influenced by the Italian
Renaissance and in what way did they distinguish themselves from it?
Reading Comprehension Questions Start HERE!!!
Unit 1. Day 1: pp. 283-289
1. Kagan (the author of out textbook) refers to three crises of the late Middle Ages: the demographic,
the political and the religious. To what three specific crises is he referring? Look back in chapter 9, if
necessary.
2. Explain how Italy’s geographic location between East and West helped bring about the
Renaissance.
3. Write DEFINTION CARDS for the following words:
city-state vernacular nationalism mercantilism
The Renaissance in Italy (1375-1527)
4. Write an ID TERM for Jacob Burckhardt, Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy (1860) and a
DEFINITION CARD for Renaissance.
APEH – Unit 1 – Chapter 10 Reading Comprehension Guide 2
5. Compare and contrast Medieval Europe with Renaissance Italy. Complete the chart.
Medieval Europe (before Renaissance Europe (after 14th century)
th
12 century)
Describe (political) Growing sense of nationalism and
society increasingly centralized governments (around
a king)
Describe economy Primarily agrarian (farmers
y’all)
Describe realm of
thought /culture
6. What two events signal the “beginning” of the Renaissance and which event its “end”?
7. Explain how it is that “the great Italian cities were the bankers for much of Europe” by the 15th
century.
8. Explain the role of warfare in Italy during the Renaissance. How did the Guelf and Ghibelline
factions actually help city-states to thrive/survive during this period?
9. Write DEFINTION CARDS for the following words: despotism oligarchy
10. Make note of the different types of governments and political systems employed by the five major
Italian city-states. We will look at this more closely in class.
11. How did social class create conflict? Describe the situation in Florence.
12. Write an ID TERM for the Ciompi Revolt, 1378.
13. Describe the rise of the Medici in Florence, from Cosimo (1389-1464) to Lorenzo the Magnificent
(1449-1492). What aspects, if any, of their history, their ruling style, their political beliefs were
reflected in Machiavelli’s The Prince?
14. Write DEFINTION CARDS for the following words: podestà condottieri
15. Explain the important role of diplomacy in the Renaissance.
Humanism
16. What are the three schools of thought on the meaning of “humanism”?
17. Write a DEFINTION CARDS for the following: humanism
18. Compare and Contrast: What do the renaissances of the 9th and 12th centuries have in common
with the Italian Renaissance? In what way does the Italian Renaissance distinguish itself from the
others?
19. Renaissance scholars were diligent about returning ad fontes (to the source) when they did their
research. Given the information in this chapter, to what does ad fontes refer?
20. When studying history if is important to be familiar with a number of authors and their texts.
Unfortunately, we will not have enough time to really delve into most of these texts BUT when and
author and text are mentioned in some detail in our textbook we should take note and try to familiarize
ourselves with an author and their work. That said; briefly describe the importance of Francesco
Petrarch, Dante Alighieri, and Giovanni Boccaccio.
21. What is the goal of humanist studies?
22. According to Vittorino da Feltre, what did a well-rounded educated person look like?
23. Write an ID TERMS for Baldassare Castiglione and Book of the Courtier AND Christine de Pisan.
Unit1. Day 2: pp. 289, 291, 294-299
The Florentine “Academy” and the Revival of Platonism
1. Which Greek scholar was studied the most? How did Florence become the center for Greek
studies?
2. Who sponsored the Florentine Platonic Academy? What was the function of the Florentine
humanists?
3. Write a DEFINITION CARD for Platonism.
4. Write an ID TERM for Pico della Mirandola’s Oration on the Dignity of Man.
APEH – Unit 1 – Chapter 10 Reading Comprehension Guide 3
Critical Work of the Humanists: Lorenzo Valla
5. Write DEFINTION CARDS for the following words: anachronistic Latin Vulgate
6. Write an ID TERM for Lorenzo Valla and his exposé of the Donation of Constantine.
Civic Humanism
7. What is the purpose of education in the Renaissance?
8. Did all scholars follow the path of civic humanism? What two options did one have?
Renaissance Art
9. Write a DEFINITION CAED for the word laity.
10. Describe how the laity came to have increased influence in the areas of education, culture and
even religion. Areas that had been predominately influenced by the Church prior to the 15th century.
11. Compare and contrast the main themes/precepts if medieval art and High Renaissance art.
12. In addition to the availability of oil paints, what new techniques were integral to the painting of the
High Renaissance?
13. How did the early painters of the Renaissance (Giotto, Masaccio, and Donatello) lay the
foundation for the High Renaissance?
14. What made Leonardo da Vinci a true Renaissance man (universal person)?
15. Write a DEFINITION CARD for mannerism.
Slavery in the Renaissance
16. How was slave-owning in the Renaissance justified?
17. What peoples were held as slaves?
Italy’s Political Decline: The French Invasions (1494-1527)
18. Write and ID TERM for the Treaty (Peace) of Lodi (1454-1455).
19. How did the French come to invade Italy?
Charles VIII’s March Through Italy
20. Write DEFINITION CARDS for: appeasement theocracy
21. How did Savonarola excuse/explain/rationalize Charles’ invasion?
22. Who were the members of the League of Venice? What were its goals?
Pope Alexander VI and the Borgia Family
23. Read this section and then explain in what way(s) Pope Alexander VI was “probably the most
corrupt pope who ever sat on the papal throne”.
Pope Julius II
24. Why was Julius II known as the “warrior pope” and what is a “secular papacy”?
25. Write an ID TERM for Concordat of Bologna, 1516.
Niccolò Machiavelli
26. What prompted Machiavelli to determine that “Italian political unity and independence were ends
that justified any means?”
27. What is virtù?
28. According to Machiavelli how had the Italian people brought on their own political destruction?
29. What are the conflicting historical views of Machiavelli’s The Prince? Given that you have read
the text, where do you stand on this argument?
Unit1. Day 3: pp. 299-305
Revival of Monarchy in Northern Europe
1. Write a DEFINITION CARD for sovereign.
APEH – Unit 1 – Chapter 10 Reading Comprehension Guide 4
2. Design a graphic organizer that shows the basic structure of feudalism in the High Middle Ages and
how it was broken down by the Great Schism and the Hundred Years’ War. Include the increasing
importance of towns and townspeople by the mid-fifteenth century.
3. What three “acts” could now be carried out by a sovereign state?
4. Why was it important for monarchs interested in centralizing their governments to find ways to
work around political bodies like the Cortés, the Estates-General, and Parliament?
5. No one ruler can control all of the people all of the time, but they can try… Explain the new role of
civil servants in the 15th century and how they often aided in centralization.
6. From what did the concept of standing armies evolve? How were they manned? How were they
financed?
7. What are the basic differences between a national tax on food and clothing (e.g. gabelle) and a
direct tax (e.g. taille)?
8. How did monarchs go about “raising” money from nobility differently than they did from
peasantry?
France
9. Identify the steps taken during the reign of Charles VII (1422-1461) to move France toward a more
centralized state.
10. What two political events served as the strong foundation for the French nation in the 15th century?
11. Write and ID TERM for Louis XI, (r. 1461-1483).
Spain
12. What unified Spain? In what way were Castile and Aragon they unified, in what way(s) were the
independent? Who felt threatened by this unity?
13. What were Isabella and Ferdinand’s main accomplishments?
14. What role did the Catholic Church play in Spain and what role did I. and F. play within the
Church?
15. Draw a family tree of Ferdinand and Isabella’s family using the information page 301.
16. How did the discovery of the “New World” impact Spain in the 16th century?
England
17. What was the War of the Roses? Who won?
18. What was Richard III’s legacy?
19. What happened on Bosworth Field in August 1485?
20. How did Henry VII unite England?
21. Write an ID TERM for Court of Star Chamber.
22. How was Henry VII able to “govern without dependence on Parliament for royal funds”?
Holy Roman Empire
23. Write a DEFINITION CARD for Golden Bull, 1356.
24. In what way(s) was the Holy Roman Empire unable to begin the political centralization process
which France, Spain and England had begun?
The Northern Renaissance
25. What three groups helped to transmit the learning of Italian Renaissance to northern European
during the 15th century?
26. Describe the culture of northern humanists.
The Printing Press
27. Explain the impact that the expansion of schools and universities in the late Middle Ages as well
as the invention of more cheaply manufactured paper had on the ultimate invention of the printing
press.
APEH – Unit 1 – Chapter 10 Reading Comprehension Guide 5
28. Think about the types of books, pamphlets, texts, and posters being printed after the advent of
moveable type. Who read these? Who benefited the most from the printed word? Who would have
felt the most threatened by new-found literacy?
Erasmus
29. Write an ID TERM for Desiderius Erasmus, 1466?-1536.
30. Consider the idea philosophia Christi and how the classical ideals of humanity and civic virtue
might be united with the Christian ideals of love and piety.
Humanism and Reform
Germany
31. Who brought Italian humanism to the German states?
32. In what way(s) is the Reuchlin affair emblematic of the Renaissance humanism?
England
We will speak more later about Saint Thomas More and his Utopia.
France
33. Who were the leaders of French humanism and which future Protestant reformers were influenced
by them?
Spain
34. Who was Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros and what role did he play in the Church?
35. How did Spain maintain strict national Catholicism?
Unit1. Day 4: pp. 305-313
Voyages of Discovery and the New Empires in the West and East
1. Explain the importance of Prince Henry “the Navigator” (1394-1460) and of Portugal in the early
days of the Age of Exploration.
2. How did navigating the African coastline in turn better equip sailors to later cross the Atlantic and
the Pacific?
3. Describe the Muslim/Arab problems/issues/situations faced by non-Italian traders and merchants in
Europe.
The Spanish Voyages of Columbus
4. What previous information did Columbus have pertaining to the existence of an all-water westward
route to India?
5. What became clear to explorers like Vespucci and Magellan as they continued to map out the
coastline of the New World?
6. Complete the explorer handout provided using the information in your textbook and Map 10-2 on
pg, 306. All the information you need is here. You will be responsible for knowing these important
explorers and their discoveries.
Intended and Unintended Consequences
7. Name at least two different ways Spain’s increased expansion into the New World impacted other
European countries.
8. Which three diseases were “traded” most vigorously between the New and the Old World?
The Spanish Empire in the New World
9. By the early 15th century what similarities and differences could one identify between the Aztec
empire and the growing “new monarchies” of northern Europe?
10. Cortés only had ~500 men when he landed in Mexico. How then, was he able defeat the mighty
Aztec empire?
11. Pizarro had even fewer men than Cortés, only 200. Explain how he was able to conquer the Incan
Empire which stretched some 2500 miles from north to south on the western coast of South America
and had a population of close to 12 million.
APEH – Unit 1 – Chapter 10 Reading Comprehension Guide 6
The Church in Spanish America
12. What was the two-fold desire of missionaries in the New World? What moral conflict(s) arose
once conquest began?
13. Write and ID TERM for Bartolomé de Las Casas (1474-1566).
14. In what way(s) did the church profit from Spanish colonialism?
The Economy of Exploitation
15. Write DEFINITION CARDS for:
conquistador monopoly hacienda encomienda
16. Describe the relationship between mining and agriculture and forced labor or servitude.
17. What was the ultimate outcome of the replacement of encomienda with repartimiento?
18. What is debt peonage?
19. What was the ultimate cost of Spanish (and later additional European countries’) labor servitude
on the Native American and African populations?
The Impact on Europe
20. How did Columbus’ discovery increase skepticism about long-held ancient wisdom/beliefs?
21. Write a DEFINITION CARD for inflation.
22. What impact did spices and precious metals have on the economy in Europe?
23. What did this new wealth enable governments and private entrepreneurs to do?
24. Describe the characteristics / virtues of early capitalism.
25. What was the social impact of new wealth? How did this affect the poor? The wealthy?