AP European History Placement Study Guide Flashcards

This flashcard set covers the transformation of European thought from roughly 1450 to 1648, focusing on the Renaissance, Humanism, the Printing Press, Art movements, and the Scientific Revolution.

Renaissance

French for "rebirth"; a period of transition from the Middle Ages to the modern world beginning in the mid-$1300s$ in northern Italy, characterized by a move toward human dignity and potential.

Humanists

Renaissance intellectuals who studied classical civilization and focused on human beings and their inherent dignity rather than just religious questions.

Scholasticism

A medieval philosophy limited by Catholic beliefs that focused on religious inquiries, such as proving the existence of God.

Secular

A term meaning worldly or non-religious; humanists emphasized this type of life, individualism, and ethics over theology.

Individualism

A focus on personal interests and achievements rather than institutional or religious interests.

Philological

Scholarly methods of analyzing texts with a specific focus on the history of language.

Petrarch

$1304-1374$; Known as the "Father of Humanism," he was an Italian poet who rediscovered Cicero and criticized medieval Latin.

Lorenzo Valla

A humanist who used philology in $1440$ to expose the Donation of Constantine as a forgery.

Castiglione

Author of The Book of the Courtier, which defined the ideal Renaissance gentleman as classically educated, skilled in arts, and civic-minded.

Machiavelli

Author of The Prince ($1513$); he separated politics from morality and argued that rulers must use any means necessary to maintain power.

Civic Humanist Culture

The application of classical Greek and Roman values to active political and civic life in Italian city-states.

Johannes Gutenberg

Developed the printing press with movable metal type between $1445$ and $1450$, which dramatically increased literacy and the spread of ideas.

Vernacular Literature

Literature written in the native language of a region (such as German or Italian) rather than in Latin.

Protestant Reformation

A revolutionary shift in European Christianity sparked by Martin Luther's $95$ Theses in $1517$, which were spread via printed pamphlets.

Naturalism

An artistic style where artists observed the natural world closely and imitated it, creating realistic and humanistic works.

Geometric Perspective

A mathematical technique used to create the appearance of depth and space in two-dimensional paintings.

Medici Family

The powerful family that dominated Florence and sponsored much of the greatest Renaissance art, including the rebuilding of the Church of San Lorenzo.

Leonardo Da Vinci

$1452-1519$; The model "Renaissance man" who painted the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, and conducted experiments in anatomy and nature.

Michelangelo

$1475-1564$; A sculptor and painter who created the David ($1501$) and painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

Raphael

$1483-1520$; Artist who painted the School of Athens, portraying classical scholars using Renaissance perspective.

Northern Renaissance

The spread of humanism and art north of the Alps later in the $15^{th}$ century, characterized by a more religious focus and exquisite detail.

Jan van Eyck

A Flemish artist of the Northern Renaissance known for close observation of nature and depicting individuals in everyday life.

Mannerism

A $16^{th}$-century art style that replaced High Renaissance balance with distortion and illusion for dramatic effect.

Baroque

An art style beginning around $1570$ that combined classical traditions with strong religious emotion, often commissioned by the Catholic Church.

Scientific Revolution

The development of new systematic methods of studying the natural world through observation and experimentation between the mid-$16^{th}$ and late-$18^{th}$ centuries.

Copernicus

A Polish natural philosopher who used mathematics to prove the heliocentric (sun-centered) model of the universe.

Johannes Kepler

$1571-1630$; A German astronomer who proved that planetary orbits are elliptical and supported the heliocentric model.

Galileo Galilei

The first European to use a telescope for astronomy; he discovered Jupiter's moons and was found guilty of heresy by the Catholic Church.

Isaac Newton

English scientist who published Principia ($1687$) and discovered the universal law of gravitation, viewing the universe as a giant machine.

Humoral Theory

Galen's medieval medical theory that the body is composed of four humors (blood, yellow bile, phlegm, and black bile) and disease is caused by imbalance.

William Harvey

$1578-1657$; An English physician who proved the heart is the starting point for a single circulatory system of blood.

Inductive Reasoning

A method promoted by Francis Bacon that involves moving from specific observations to general conclusions.

Deductive Reasoning

A method promoted by René Descartes that involves moving from general principles to specific conclusions.

Natural Law

General principles about how the world works, often expressed as mathematical formulas.

Alchemy

A medieval and Renaissance proto-chemistry focused on the transformation of metals into gold.

Astrology

The study of heavenly bodies and their supposed influence on human activity, which was originally synonymous with astronomy.