HIS 104 Final Exam ID Cards

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Sumerians

Existed between 4500-1900 BCE and lived in the Fertile Crescent. Uruk was its biggest city by 3000 BCE. They spoke a language completely unrelated to the semitic tribes of the north and they succumbed to famine and invaders from east and west. They left behind cuneiform, the language they spoke, and their mathematics. A mother civilization that would influence societies millennia later. Relates to lecture because it is one of the first civilizations recorded in the area as they had just began to have a surplus of food from agriculture. Also was one the laundry list of civilizations given.

Polis

City states in Greece. Because of their geographical layout, these city-states often operated independently, each with its own government and way of life. They formed the backbone of Greek political and social organization. Relates to lecture because it is how Greece organized itself and is important to later lectures.

Xerxes I

He was the Persian King at the time of the Battle of Thermopylae. He is the one that send thousands to millions of men to Greece in order to conquer it. He was a descendant of Darius the Great, and was looking to expand his empire also. He is the one that sends his men to fight the Greeks in the mountain pass and then also sends his men to Athens on boats. However, he ultimately does not succeed.

“History Lesson”

A story made by the Walt Disney company that showcased aliens discovering earth after a major extinction event (another ice age), finding evidence of life, and trying to make something out of it. It compares how we go about trying to learn about societies that are long gone with only what has survived from the ancient age to the current day, showing that we may interpret something totally differently than it was meant to be interpreted.

Gordian knot

A knot tied by the Phrygian King that prophesied kingship of Phrygia to whomever could untie it. However, it was an impossibly tied knot. Alexander the Great supposedly came upon this knot and instead of trying to untie it, he drew his sword and slashed it, therefore becoming king. This shows that cheating is sometimes the way to glory, as he cheated here.

Hellenistic

The spread of greek culture and influence over a span of around centuries starting in the fourth century. Further, it was used to describe the intermixing of cultures that it came into contact with and how it influenced them in the future.

Aristophanes

He popularized Greek comedy beginning in around the fifth century BC. He wrote amidst the Peloponnesian War and criticized the politicians that lead Athens, the war, and even the democracy. His humor was direct, crude, and aimed at authority figures.

Black Orpheus

A modern retelling of the tale of from Ancient Greece, it follows a Brazilian Orpheus and Eurydice. It puts a different spin on the tale, as Orpheus is a singer and Eurydice is country girl that fled to Rio de Janeiro trying to escape death. It shows how greek culture has influenced the modern day, even though it is so far removed.

Haruspex*

A priest that did divinations by “reading” the entrails of an animal. This was in the very early beginnings of Rome.

Ab Urba Condita

The History of Rome written by Livy. He was a historian from Rome and some of his works survived until the modern day. He tells much about what Roman society was like, including what effect Pompeii had on the republic as he was there when it happened.

Ides of March

The day that the roman senators killed Caesar on the Senate floor. He had walked in and they began taking out knives and stabbing him. Among those stabbing him was his close friend, Marcus Brutus. They ended up stabbing him 23 times. They did this because they believed that by killing Caesar that they were acting for the good of the Roman people. 

Marcus Brutus

Close friend of Julius Caesar. However, while he loved Caesar, he loved the Roman people more, and participated in the conspiracy to kill Caesar in a scheme he believed would be helping the Roman people. His participation in the murder would directly lead to his death in the ensuing civil war.

Oppian Law

A law introduced during the second punic war that restricted a woman’s every move even more than she was already restricted. It was only supposed to be a wartime law so that money would not be spent on trivial things and that the women would stay out of the way, but twenty years after the fact it had still not been repealed. As a result, women took to the streets and to the assembly to protest and demand the repeal of the law. Many men did not wish to repeal the law, but in the end the law was repealed. It shows that, though women were not granted anywhere near the same amount of rights and privileges as men, they were not wilting flowers.

Mark Antony

The Caesar’s other Consul at the time of his death. He and Caesar are very close. When he found Caesar’s body, he will prophesy of the civil war to come. He was Caesar’s most trusted ally, served as a trusted general in Gaul, Caesar’s most trusted general in the civil war. He delivered the eulogy for Caesar’s funeral and incited the public to riot against those that killed Caesar. He would later have a child with Cleopatra and be killed for leading an army against Gaius Octavius.

Pax Romana

A golden age of about 200 years. There was increased trade and imperialism. It was also a time of relative peace, as Rome had conquered most of the surrounding area and, while there were people at the borders that were attacking, they could be handled because of the Roman military might.

Paul

Originally a persecutor of the christians and jews before he converted to Christianity. His works and missions would shape the future of Christianity. He would deliver the message of Christ across the entirety of the Roman Empire, and when he found an area or group of people that seemed open to the ideas, he would set up christian communities. Had he not done this, Christianity would not have spread this far nor developed into what it became. Christianity also became a mostly gentile faith because of this.

“The Great Revolt”

Jews of Palestine revolted against Rome in 66 AD because of the bad treatment. Mostly led by the zealots, they revolted against the romans and it ended with the romans sacking Jerusalem. Their point was to completely root out judaism and christianity, but christianity had already took root in other areas of the Roman Empire, thanks to Paul, and Judaism is extremely resilient.

Diocletian

Started turning the Roman Empire into a totalitarian state. Along with Constantine, he will play a major role in this. He rose to rank based upon merit and divided the Roman Empire into a tetrarchy because he knew that one man would not be able to rule as expansive of an empire as Rome was with only one man. However, Diocletian would remain the most important person in the tetrarchy. Because the christians would not sacrifice to him, he began a terrible persecution of them.

Constantine the Great

The second emperor that led to the Roman Empire becoming a totalitarian state, though he is viewed in a much better light than was Diocletian. The reason for that was because he is the emperor that made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, made a city for the christians that he titled after himself, and was the first Roman Empire to be baptized before death. Of course, the totalitarian state was part of what led to the fall of the Roman Empire, but he made a huge leap for christianity.

Augustine of Hippo

Born in North Africa to a christian mother, though he was pagan when he was younger. He had been ordained a priest, became a theologian, and served for around 30 years in the city of Hippo. He was also a bishop. He is known for his writings that involve confessions and his writing “City of God".” He argued against romans, saying that Rome is falling because of the following of their traditional faiths. He argued that there were two plains, the city of god, and the city of man. Since Rome was a city of man, it is not incorruptible and pure.

Perpetua

A young Christian woman that had been caught up in the purges in Carthage. She was a recent convert to the faith and upheld it steadfastly. She refused her father when he asked her to give it up and come home so that she might be safe and because he loved her, but she would not and stood by her faith until the very end. Even in the end, she was not afraid to die because she had her faith, and actually put the sword of a roman soldier to her throat. It is a terrible thing to read about, but important to see the perspectives of a martyr.

Byzantine Empire

The surviving portion of the Roman Empire after it had been split into eastern and western empires. It rose to power in the 5th and 6th centuries and collapsed from Ottoman siege in 1453. During the empire, Christianity will become the official religion, specifically Eastern Orthodoxy, and will combine Greek and Roman influences.

Hagia Sophia

Built in Constantinople between 532-537, this was one of the most impressive cathedrals at the time and is still one of the most impressive religious-historical buildings and monuments. It is extremely important in Eastern Orthodox Christianity and was built by the famous (or infamous) Justinian I. It also has ties to Islam as it had been converted to a mosque after the siege of Constantinople in 1453, and is still a mosque today (though it was a museum from 1935 to 2020).

Corpus Juris Civilis

The basis for most European law, codified by Justinian I’s lawyers. It was created at the order of Justinian I and was published in 534. It would become the basis for both civil and common law in Europe in the following centuries, drawing from Greek and earlier Roman influences and will continue to influence the future.

Islam

An Abrahamic religion that began with Mohammed, the prophet (peace be upon him). Having a vision from God, he goes to create Islam. This unites most of the Arabic world in the 7th century and will keep gaining momentum as it gives unity to a region that had not had it before. They conquered many areas, including Spain and Portugal, and would defeat the Byzantines in 1453. The Byzantine world would influence Islam in art, science, architecture, and law. Islam would influence the byzantine world by conquering the area, translating writings into arabic, and seeing a cultural exchange in religion.

Arcos de Lapa

An 18th century aqueduct in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This is a relatively recent development as most earlier aqueducts made elsewhere were constructed in the Roman Empire much earlier. It used to carry water but is now a tramway. It shows the influence of Roman ideas and inventions used elsewhere because it was convenient.

Memorial Hall

A lecture hall on campus that was built in 1929 that is based on Roman architecture. This can be seen in the roman columns and the triangle on top. Shows Roman influence even in modern buildings today.

Pliny the Younger

A lawyer from Rome that made a first hand account of the eruption at Pompeii, which erupted in 79 AD. He was only 18 when the account was made. This has survived until modern times and has shed new light on the tragedy of Pompeii.

Pompeii

A village that was seated at the bottom of the a bottom of Mt. Vesuvius, a volcano. This volcano had a disastrous eruption that covered the entirety of Pompeii and the surrounding areas in ash. This preserved the buildings, art, animals, and people that were there at the time of the eruption so it is able to be studied today to give insight into Greek life.

“Angels on a Pin”

A story about a student retaking an exam and how multiple answers can be correct, not just the one that they are looking for. It is essentially saying that education is too closed minded at that it would be good if there were multiple ways to get to one conclusion.

Abbey of Montecassino

One of the great Benedictine Monasteries, it was built in the village of Cassino, Italy. It was founded by St. Benedict and was one of the longest surviving monasteries in Europe. However, it was bombed by Allied Powers during World War II because they thought that germans were hiding out in it, though they were not. It has been rebuilt since, but its original state is lost forever with the war. This also relates to Walter M. Miller, Jr. because he flew on the mission that bombed the abbey.

Cassiodorus

A roman statesman that would impose that monks should be learned in Latin and copy down texts in classic Latin. With these implements, he indirectly saved many different texts that may not have been salvaged otherwise. He also founded several monasteries in which he put this into effect.

Walter M. Miller, Jr.

A radio operator during WWII, he was with the pilots that bombed the Abbey of Montecassino. When he discovered that they had essentially bombed and destroyed that piece of history for nothing, he was so guilty that he converted to catholicism, though he was never able to truly absolve himself of his guilt in the end, unfortunately. He wrote several short stories that showcased this fried, one of which was a reading we had called “The Canticle for Leibowitz” in which a monk in a dystopian future finds a remnant of he believes is the founder of his monastery. From there, he copies down what he found on this remnant memo, even though the reader knows that it is simply a grocery list. He uses the medieval period to influence what he thinks would happen, and shows how the church was the factor that kept everyone together.

“The Foundation”

A science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov, a renowned science fiction novelist, about a solar system that is going backwards instead of forwards. He shows how people are only copying things down, not learning. Trusting and not testing that trust. Losing the technology they already had and going back to more primitive ways. More fighting from more “barbaric” planets. This is reminiscent of the medieval era because they had the same problems, and the church had the role of copying things but never truly understanding them. It was a period of setback, and “The Foundation" by Isaac Asimov puts its own spin on it.

Merovingians

A dynasty created by the Frankish king Clovis I. They would rule this era from the mid 5th century to 751 AD where they would be felled by Pepin (a Carolingian). The strongest part of this reign was when Clovis I ruled, as his descendants kept splitting up the territory to the point it was unable to be ruled over. They were also not good at ruling either, and so power consolidated in local leaders. The feudalistic social structure will emerge and it will be the time of the aristocrats. Their fall was inevitable.

Weregild

The concept of giving money to the family of the person that died/was killed in a feud. Depending on who was killed, whether it be commoner, nobleman, woman, man, or even if it was a limb, there would be a set amount of recompense expected. This was to reduce blood feuds because it would end up killing many people. This was also part of the justice system the Franks had that continues to affect us today.

Charlemagne

Son of Charles Martel who will conquest over the entirety of Europe and was brave in battle. The church could not control him, and though illiterate he knew the value of education and brought monks and scholars to help with his empire. He would further religious advances and was even crowned emperor of the romans by Pope Leo III, even though there was an emperor in Constantinople. However, he realized that he wouldn’t be able to hold on to his empire because though he was a decent king, most of his relationships were personal, not institutional. His sons would squander the empire and fought over who would inherit what.

Holy Roman Empire

What is left of the Roman Empire after the western side collapsed. It was composed of many different countries and had many different rulers across time. It was the seat of the Roman papacy. However, it was also very corrupt and fragmented. Though it was the seat of catholicism, corruption permeated and it was not able to be held together very well, forgetting that it had been the Roman Empire in the first place.

Salic Law

An ancient Frankish legal code that laid out how civil and criminal matters were supposed to be pursued. It included fixed punishments for crimes like theft and assault and excluded women from succession. It was what kept people in line most of the time, and was not church written.

Black Death

A terrible, terrible plague that swept across Europe from Asia. Over 4 years, somewhere between 25 and 50 million people would die in Europe, 30-60% of the population gone. Beyond Europe, the numbers were closer to 200 million, and cities were most vulnerable. This would go on to affect every aspect of European life. Social, economic, political, and religious effects. There was even a study that said that modern political leadings can be traced back to the Black Death. Because of this, people had a closer relationship with death.

Danse Macabre

Death had been normalized so much during the period of plague that there had to be a way to cope with it, and it was with this art genre. It showcased skeletons in the paintings and emphasized that everyone was, at a base level, the same and that no one could escape death. It likely provided some comfort to those suffering through this period.

“Constitutional Peasant”

This is from a Monty Python skit in which King Arthur comes upon two serfs and asks who lives in the castle not much farther beyond, then who the lord was. The serfs, the “constitutional peasant” then told him that they were an anarcho-syndicalist group that elected leaders. This plays off of the feudalistic system because they were supposed to be under a lord and doing work under him. This is the same era that the plague happened.

Pope Urban II

He is the pope that encourages the crusades. When the Seljuk Turks invaded, he saw it as an opportunity to reunite the west and east after the destruction of christianity by German kings (turning it into something that was not catholicism). He traveled to France in 1095, urging bishops and abbots to bring their lords so that he could request military support to push back against the Turks. He tells them that if they fight this holy war and die, they will automatically go to heaven for their deeds to god (something he had no basis for). People turned towards religion in dire times, and he used this to his advantage.

Reconquista

The reconquering of what Europeans thought was their land, the Spanish Peninsula. This takes 400 years and many Spaniards saw this as a type of holy war. They strived to die on behalf of their God. This was the crusades.

University of Salamanca

Universities were a new thing in this era, and this university was founded in 1134 and royally chartered in 1218. It is one of europe’s oldest universities and pioneered in law and theology. Only men could attend and evidently the college student life has not changed much since its opening, as they are writing to their parents for the same thing that we are calling them for today, money lol

Peter Lombard

A priest that published a foundational book called the “Four Book’s of Sentences”, which is something that every monk would have read. He was also one of the first men in theology that would not use religion to undermine women, stating that if Eve was meant to be below or above men, why not take from Adam’s foot or head? He said that God took Eve from Adam’s side so that she did not rule over him nor slave to him, but be at his side in partnership. This protected the dignity of women during this period.

Héloïse

She is from one of our readings. It is a series of letters between her and her previous husband and lover, Abelard. Both had gone into the church, her a nun and Abelard a monk. The story speaks to the constraints placed upon both women and men. For men, Abelard’s story shows that as a scholar at the time, he was not supposed to take a lover, though he took Heloise as his lover. For women, Heloise was a young lady that was not supposed to have a lover until she was married, and she ended up pregnant with Abelard’s child before being married. They married in secret, so as not to disrupt Abelard’s scholastic career, but her uncle found out about the arrangement, aired it out to the general public, and sent thugs to castrate Abelard. Neither could have the other because of the constraints on both, and to cover this guilt, she went to a convent and he a monastery.

Henry V

An English king that lead an army to France in 1415 in the Battle of Agincourt because he believed that he should not be a vassal in France but should be the king because he was the descendant of William the Conqueror. He had taken the coastal forts of Harfleur earlier in the year, which emboldened him. He felt as if he had a stake in the land and wished to take it.

Battle of Agincourt

A battle fought in 1415 between England and France in which the English were far out numbered but prevailed anyway. It was a battle that had been sewn 400 years in advance, starting with the Battle of Hastings, and occurred because Henry V thought that he had a right to the French throne because he was the descendant of a great French king, William the Conqueror. The king of France will abandon his own son and name Henry V the heir of the throne of France.

Battle of Hastings

A battle fought in 1066 while the Anglo-Saxons ruled a unified England. Edward the Confessor ruled until the point but passed with no heir. In his will, he named the Duke of Normandy his successor as his mother was a Norman princess and he would be next in succession anyway. However, after his death a council came together and selected someone different, Harold Godwinson, as the heir because they didn’t want a Norman as their king. William the Conqueror gathered his forces to invade England after hearing this because it was his rightful throne. Harold Godwinson is killed by an arrow shot by William and William is named king, having major consequences for the English throne because England will now be connected to France.

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Was married to the first son of William the Conqueror, Henry I. More land was gained when they married. They married in 1152. She was a French princess by birth, and by marrying Henry I gained much control over the lands she now occupied. This further strengthens the relationships between France and England.

Magna Carta

After having two incompetent kings, Richard I and John I, the church, noblemen, and peasants revolt because of the conditions they had been living beneath. They forced them to sign this document, which gave the nobility, peasantry, and church more power from the king. It was forcibly signed in 1215. This document was an inspirational document for the Constitution of the United States.

Petrarch

A man who was originally studying law, but was later ordained to the lower orders of the Catholic priesthood, though he never became a fully fledged priest. He would move to Avignon in his youth so that his father could continue to work with the newly moved papacy. He was a gifted writer and frequently called out hypocrisy and human failure. He would often call out the corruption of the Catholic Church, saying that it was becoming a secular institution that was more rooted in politics than God.

Dominicans

A movement that arose within the church during Pope Innocent III’s reign along with the Franciscans. Founded by Dominic in 1216, they prioritized poverty and intellectualism during a time where the catholic church prioritized secular power and wealth, something that is not christlike.

Philip IV (of France)

A French king that would come into conflict with the Roman papacy. France and England were taxing the clergy at this time so that they could finance the conflict between one another. Pope Boniface did not like this, and decreed that the clergy could not be taxed without permission from him, so Philip IV decrees that France will no longer finance the pope in any manner. Boniface was astounded by this and could not believe this happened. He would continue to attack the kings of England France, making them out to be heretics, even on celebratory days in Rome. In response, Philip IV will call the estates council together to denounce papal affairs. In 1303, he had had enough of this pope and attempts to have the pope kidnapped and murdered in Italy. While the pope is not killed, he is a broken man and dies shortly after. This directly correlates to the next pope that is elected, Pope Clement V, as he was a French pope and moves the papacy from Rome to Avignon, France.

Avignon Papacy

A French papacy. It was moved here when Clement V was elected the pope. From 1314, it will last 50 years in France instead of Rome and will be characterized by French popes. Because of this, the French throne was able to control papal politics, and the rest of the catholic world does not like this. Italian families were especially unhappy because they used to control papal politics and they no longer did. During this period, they would also get into the habit of selling indulgences and simony was rampant.

Simony

Selling ecclesiastical privileges. The selling of indulgences was simony because they were selling spiritual goods. This was very corrupt but unfortunately in line with the Catholic Church at the time.

Western Schism

A time when there were two popes elected and then three popes elected. It starts when Pope Gregory XI, the pope that moved the papacy back to Rome, dies and the people rise up, claiming that they would not allow another French pope, so they elect Pope Urban VI. He was difficult to deal with, and some think that they did not consider who they were picking, just as long as he wasn’t French. Well, back in France, a council came together to pick a new pope, though Urban VI was still in power, that wishes to move the papacy back to Avignon. Typically, this antipope, Clement VII, would be condemned, but he was selected by canon law following cardinals. They were competing, and this would have secular consequences. They grant favors earlier pope’s never would have to keep their position. Castille, France, Aragon, Naples, and more would ally with Clement VII. England, Hungary, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, and more would ally with Rome. If this had continued, it would have destroyed the Catholic Church. Eventually both were disgraced and they elected a new pope, but they would not heed the council, so then there were three popes. the Council of Constance finally met and elected Martin V and encouraged everyone else to step down, which they did.

“The Seventh Seal”

A Swedish film that was watched during recitation. It follows a knight as he plays games of chess with death, stipulating that if he won the game he would keep his life. It shows themes of both the Catholic Church and what life was like during the plague for someone that was not an elite.

St. Crispin’s Day Speech

A dramatization of the Battle of Agincourt written by Shakespeare in which Henry V gave a speech to his outnumbered soldiers encouraging them through the encounter. While it is unlikely this happened in real life, it shows what they were fighting for and their motives.

Pope Alexander VI

An extremely corrupt pope that hails from the Borgia family. They are the start of the severe corruption in the church. He was known to sleep with women as pope, kill people, and have people be killed. He essentially did every vice he was not supposed to do as pope and got away with it because he had the backing of powerful families that wanted him to stay in charge. He will be the start of the reason that people wished to split from the Catholic Church.

Martin Luther

An Augustinian friar that would nail his 95 theses (complaints) to the door of his local church outlining the corruption in the Catholic Church in 1514. The tipping point for him came from the indulgences being sold, and he thought that the corruption could no longer be ignored. He didn’t originally intend to split from the church, only to reform it from the inside out, but as time continued he realized that he no longer wished to be associated with the Catholic Church. So, the protestant reformation would begin, with him at the helm.

Andreas Karlstadt

He and Martin Luther would originally be good friends and stand for the same things, but Luther thought that he was moving too fast and excommunicates him from the reformation movement (crazy stuff can’t lie).

Thomas Müntzer

Another reformer of the time that emphasized the soon second coming of Christ. He did not like the political climate at the time and often called for reforms and had peasants rising up against the nobility because of his teachings. Luther did not like his teachings because, while he had sympathy for peasants, he did not condone violent uprisings.

Puritans

Part of the reformation movement, but specifically in England. They did not think that the English reformation had moved far enough away from catholicism and wished for them to become more protestant. Popular during the 16th and 17th centuries and would go on to heavily influence early America.

Sir Thomas More

A former Lord Chancellor to King Henry VIII and was imprisoned for high treason. He was a devout catholic that refused to try and acquire a divorce/annulment for Henry with Catherine of Aragon. Because of this, he was cast down in place of another. When he did not swear the oath of supremacy to Henry, saying that he was the head of the English church, he was imprisoned and ultimately put to death. He represents the foundational values of the catholic counter-reformation because he stood his ground and his beliefs.

Henry VIII (of England)

An infamous king of England known for splitting from the Catholic Church ad creating the Church of England as well as his 6 wives (divorced, beheaded, dead, divorced, beheaded, survived). He created the Church of England so that he would be able to divorce Catherine of Aragon.

Catherine of Aragon

The first wife of Henry VIII, who he married in 1509. She was five years older than him and had been briefly married to his older brother. She served as a regent in his stead when he was off fighting. She was not able to have a son for him, though she did have a daughter, and so he wished for a divorce. She was also a deeply devout catholic.

Act of Supremacy

This is an act the named the king of England (at the time Henry VIII) the head of the Church of England. It would allow him to make all of the decisions about religion in England and would also start the persecution of catholics within England. This would be a turning point for the Catholic Church as they realized that they were losing control.

Counter-Reformation

A spiritual reformation of the Catholic Church which came from more than just responding to protestantism. They wished to go back to the earlier times of the Catholic Church, when poverty, chastity, and obedience were the norm. When they were not imperialistic, when they actually followed the teachings of god. This would get rid of much of the corruption, which is what people had been hoping for for centuries.

Society of Jesus

An order made because of the catholic counter-reformation. They are now known as the Jesuits and was created by Ignatius of Loyola. He would go across the world and make bases of operations and schools. The church would be the monk’s whole world in which they were highly trained and organized, only wanting to help spread the gospel. You had to have 8-12 years of training and run militaristically. They were sent to fight heresy.

Francis Xavier

The first jesuit missionary to go on missions outside of Europe. He will go to Asia and land in French Goa. He would go on to preach there and in China until his death in 1552.

Pope Paul III

He was the first pope to make changes within the papacy itself, not just make different orders. He was known as a reformer, a humanist, and a lover of art. He got rid of the bureaucrats in Rome and continues to reform. He lays the blame of the corruption on the papacy itself. He will also call a council to deal with doctrine to distinguish itself from protestantism. He will be one of the main leaders of the counter-reformation as well.

John Gerard

the goatees goat to ever live. He was a jesuit missionary that was sent on a secret mission by Pope Paul III to bring the Catholic Church back to England, as he was an Englishman himself. When he gets to England, he will go on many adventures, narrowly avoiding priest hunters, and somehow manage to get himself out of persecution. He does not accept bribes and only stays in one place for so long, showing the influence of the jesuit order upon him. He is very humble but cunning in his preaching.