Key Concepts of the Renaissance and Reformation

Papal States

Territories in central Italy under direct control of the Pope.

Patrons of the Arts

Wealthy supporters who financed artists, writers, and architects during the Renaissance.

Renaissance Person

Someone who is skilled in many fields, like art, science, and literature (e.g., Leonardo da Vinci).

Sistine Chapel

Famous chapel in the Vatican with ceiling painted by Michelangelo.

Humanist

Scholar who focused on classical texts and human potential and achievements.

Secularism

Focus on worldly rather than religious matters.

Printing Press

Invention by Gutenberg that spread ideas quickly and helped start the Reformation.

Commercial Revolution

Period of economic growth in Europe with increased trade, banking, and capitalism.

Mercantilism

Belief that a nation's power came from its wealth; emphasized colonies and trade.

Capitalism

Economic system based on private ownership and the investment of resources for profit.

Tariffs

Taxes on imported goods to protect domestic businesses.

Domestic System

System where work like spinning and weaving was done at home.

Factory System

System of manufacturing where workers and machines are housed under one roof.

Joint-Stock Company

Business in which investors buy shares and share in the profits and losses.

Dividends

Share of a company's profit paid to shareholders.

Protestants

Christians who broke away from the Catholic Church during the Reformation.

Reformation

16th-century movement to reform the Catholic Church that led to Protestantism.

Indulgences

Payments made to the Church to reduce time in purgatory.

Ninety-Five Theses

List of arguments by Martin Luther criticizing Church abuses, especially indulgences.

Purgatory

Catholic belief in a place where souls are purified before going to Heaven.

Peace of Augsburg

1555 agreement allowing German princes to choose between Catholicism or Lutheranism.

Act of Supremacy

Law declaring the English monarch as head of the Church of England.

Huguenots

French Protestants who were often persecuted.

Puritans

English Protestants who wanted to "purify" the Church of England of Catholic practices.

Counter-Reformation

Catholic Church's effort to reform and respond to the Protestant Reformation.

Council of Trent

Meeting of Catholic leaders to reform the Church and confirm key doctrines.

Jesuits

Society of Jesus; Catholic missionaries who promoted education and fought Protestantism.

Spanish Armada

Fleet sent by Philip II of Spain to invade England in 1588; it was defeated.

St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre

Mass killing of Huguenots in France in 1572.

Treaty of Westphalia

Ended the Thirty Years' War; allowed for religious tolerance and sovereign states.

Age of Exploration

Direct sea route from Europe to Asia to avoid overland routes.

Jamestown

First permanent English colony in America, founded in 1607 in Virginia.

Imperialism

Policy of extending a country's power through colonization or military force.

Leonardo da Vinci

Renaissance artist, scientist, and inventor (Mona Lisa, The Last Supper).

Michelangelo

Renaissance sculptor and painter (Sistine Chapel, David).

Lorenzo de Medici

Florentine banker and patron of the arts during the Renaissance.

Pope Julius II

Pope who commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel.

Niccolò Machiavelli

Author of The Prince, supported realism and political pragmatism.

Francesco Petrarch

Father of Humanism; revived interest in classical learning.

Giovanni Boccaccio

Wrote The Decameron, a collection of tales about life during the Black Death.

Johann Gutenberg

Invented the printing press.

Francois Rabelais

French humanist who wrote Gargantua and Pantagruel.

Desiderius Erasmus

Dutch humanist who called for Church reform.

Rembrandt van Rijn

Dutch Baroque artist known for portraits and use of light.

Queen Elizabeth I

English queen who led a golden age and defeated the Spanish Armada.

William Shakespeare

English playwright known for humanist themes.

Miguel de Cervantes

Wrote Don Quixote, a satire of chivalry.

Martin Luther

German monk who started the Protestant Reformation.

Henry VIII

English king who broke from the Catholic Church and created the Church of England.

Catherine of Aragon

First wife of Henry VIII; her divorce led to England's break from the Catholic Church.

John Calvin

Reformer who developed the doctrine of predestination.

Ignatius Loyola

Founded the Jesuits to spread Catholicism.

Francis Xavier

Jesuit missionary who spread Christianity in Asia.

Philip II

Spanish king who led the Counter-Reformation and sent the Spanish Armada.

Henry of Navarre (Henry IV)

Converted to Catholicism to gain the French throne; issued Edict of Nantes.

Prince Henry the Navigator

Portuguese royal who funded early voyages of exploration.

Vasco da Gama

First European to reach India by sea.

Bartolomeu Dias

Rounded the Cape of Good Hope in Africa.

Christopher Columbus

Italian explorer who reached the Americas in 1492.

Ferdinand Magellan

Led first expedition to circumnavigate the globe.

John Cabot

Explored the North American coast for England.

Martin Frobisher

Explored Arctic in search of Northwest Passage.

Henry Hudson

Explored river and bay in North America; searched for Northwest Passage.

Jacques Cartier

Claimed Canada for France.