AP European History: Protestant Reformation, Wars of Religion, and Catholic Reformation

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering the Protestant Reformation, European Wars of Religion, Catholic Counter-Reformation, early modern social structures, and Mannerist and Baroque art.

Indulgences

Official Church certificates stating that an individual's sins were forgiven, often sold to raise money (such as by Johann Tetzel for Pope Leo X in 1517) to release souls from purgatory.

Simony

The corrupt practice within the Church of buying and selling ecclesiastical offices and spiritual positions.

Nepotism

The corrupt practice of church officials appointing relatives or family members to lucrative ecclesiastical offices.

Christian Humanism

A Renaissance intellectual movement, exemplified by Erasmus's 'In Praise of Folly' (1509), that emphasized studying classical texts and the Bible to reform the Catholic Church and cultivate deeper Christian morality.

95 Theses

The academic propositions posted and published by Martin Luther on October 31, 1517, challenging papal corruption and the sale of indulgences.

Primacy of Scripture (Sola Scriptura)

The Lutheran doctrine asserting that the Bible is the sole infallible source of religious authority, rejecting the authority of papal decrees and unwritten church traditions.

Faith Alone (Sola Fide)

The central Lutheran theological doctrine stating that salvation and justification come exclusively through faith in God rather than through good works or financial payments.

The Priesthood of All Believers

The Protestant principle asserting that all baptized Christians have direct spiritual access to God and can read Scripture and receive forgiveness without needing a specialized priest as an intermediary.

Consubstantiation

The Lutheran sacramental doctrine holding that the bread and wine coexist with the literal spiritual body and blood of Christ during Communion, contrasting with the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation.

Diet of Worms

The 1521 imperial assembly where Holy Roman Emperor Charles V ordered Martin Luther to recant his writings; Luther refused, leading to the Edict of Worms declaring him a heretic and an outlaw.

German Peasants' War

The 1525 popular rebellion across German lands in which peasants invoked Luther's idea of Christian freedom against feudal oppression, prompting Luther to fiercely condemn them and urge princes to crush the revolt.

Peace of Augsburg

The 1555 settlement between Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Lutheran princes establishing 'cuius regio, eius religio' (his realm, his religion), legally recognizing Lutheranism and Catholicism within the Holy Roman Empire.

John Calvin

The French Protestant reformer who established a strict theocracy in Geneva, Switzerland, and authored 'Institutes of the Christian Religion,' systematizing Reformed theology.

Predestination

The Calvinist theological doctrine holding that God, in His absolute sovereignty, has eternally chosen who will receive salvation (the Elect) without regard to human free will or good works.

The Elect

In Calvinist doctrine, the group of individuals predestined by God from the beginning of time to be granted eternal salvation.

Protestant Work Ethic

The Calvinist concept that moral discipline, hard work, sober living, and financial success serve as potential visible indicators of God's favor and election.

Anabaptists

Radical Reformation groups that rejected infant baptism in favor of adult believer baptism, practiced strict pacifism, and refused to recognize the secular state's authority over the church.

Huguenots

French Calvinists who formed a significant minority and challenged the authority of the Catholic French monarchy during the French Wars of Religion.

Catherine de' Medici

The French queen mother who served as regent and ruler for her young sons during the French Wars of Religion and sanctioned the 1572 St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.

St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre

The targeted mob killing of as many as 20,000 Huguenots in Paris and across France in 1572, initiated during the wedding celebrations of Henry of Navarre and Margaret of Valois.

War of the Three Henrys

The 1587–1589 civil war fought for control of the French monarchy between King Henry III, the ultra-Catholic Henry of Guise, and the Protestant Henry of Navarre.

Politique

A 16th- and 17th-century European ruler or statesman (such as Henry IV of France or Cardinal Richelieu) who prioritized political unity and state survival above strict religious orthodoxy.

Henry of Navarre (Henry IV)

The Huguenot leader who ascended the French throne, converted to Catholicism declaring 'Paris is worth a mass,' and issued the Edict of Nantes to stabilize France before his 1610 assassination.

Edict of Nantes

The 1598 decree issued by French King Henry IV granting Huguenots limited religious toleration, freedom of conscience, and fortified towns to secure civil peace.

Defenestration of Prague

The 1618 incident where Protestant Bohemian nobles threw two Catholic imperial representatives out of a castle window, serving as the immediate catalyst of the Thirty Years' War.

Thirty Years' War

A major continental conflict (1618–1648) spanning Bohemian, Danish, Swedish, and French phases that originated over religious divisions in the Holy Roman Empire and transformed into a geopolitical struggle against Habsburg dominance.

Gustavus Adolphus

The King of Sweden ('The Golden King') who modernized military tactics using combined arms and field artillery to secure key Protestant victories during the Thirty Years' War.

Cardinal Richelieu

The chief minister of France under Louis XIII who acted as a politique by subsidizing Protestant armies and directly warring against Catholic Habsburgs to safeguard French hegemony.

Peace of Westphalia

The 1648 treaty that concluded the Thirty Years' War, added Calvinism to the Peace of Augsburg, recognized the independence of the Netherlands and the Swiss Confederation, and established the sovereign nation-state system.

Catholic Reformation

The 16th-century revival of the Catholic Church (also known as the Counter-Reformation) that eliminated financial abuses, refined doctrine, and countered Protestant expansion.

Roman Inquisition

A church judicial body established in 1542 designed to investigate, prosecute, and punish heresy and deter Catholics from converting to Protestantism.

Index of Prohibited Books

A catalogue created in 1559 listing works that Catholics were forbidden to read or publish, with violations treated as punishable heresy.

Council of Trent

An 18-year series of Catholic councils (1545–1563) that outlawed simony and the sale of indulgences for wealth while reaffirming traditional dogmas such as the seven sacraments, clerical celibacy, and saint veneration.

Jesuits (Society of Jesus)

A Catholic religious order founded by Ignatius of Loyola in the 1530s that emphasized moral self-discipline, education, and worldwide missionary activity.

Ignatius of Loyola

A Spanish soldier who, after being severely injured in battle in 1521, underwent a religious conversion, authored the devotional guide 'Spiritual Exercises,' and founded the Jesuits.

Ursulines

An all-female Catholic religious order established in the 1500s by St. Angela Merici dedicated to the education of young women and religious instruction in European convents and colonial missions.

Teresa of Avila

A Spanish Carmelite nun, mystic, and reformer who established the Discalced Carmelites and authored theological works such as 'Way of Perfection' and 'Interior Castle.'

Baroque

An artistic and architectural style developed in Rome and championed by the Counter-Reformation, characterized by intense emotion, dramatic lighting, and theological orthodoxy.

Mannerism

A 16th-century artistic style that abandoned High Renaissance harmony and proportion in favor of elongated forms, artificial postures, and heightened emotional instability.

Primogeniture

The customary legal principle where the eldest son inherits all or the primary estate, property, and titles of the parents.

Charivari

A traditional European community ritual involving loud mock-serenades, clattering pots, and public shaming directed against individuals who violated social or moral norms.

Maleficium

An act of alleged harmful sorcery or malicious magic believed to cause disease, livestock failure, physical injury, or misfortune.