Unit One AP EUROPEAN HISTORY

Renaissance

• Definition: A cultural, artistic, political, and intellectual “rebirth” in Europe, roughly between the 14th and 17th centuries, emphasizing a revival of classical learning and human-centered subjects.

• Historical Context: Originated in Italy (Florence) due to wealth from trade, political structures (city-states), and access to classical texts from Greece and Rome. Spread across Europe over the 15th-16th centuries.

• Key Examples/People: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Petrarch, Machiavelli

Renaissance Significance

• Significance: Marked the transition from medieval to modern Europe; emphasized art, science, literature, and human experience. Sparked developments in exploration, politics, and education.

Classical Era

• Definition: The period of ancient Greek and Roman civilization (roughly 8th century BCE to 5th century CE) known for advances in philosophy, government, art, and science.

• Historical Context: The Renaissance “looked back” to this era, seeing it as a model for beauty, reason, and civic virtue. Humanists studied classical texts to recover lost knowledge.

• Key Examples/People: Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Virgil, Roman architectural achievements (Colosseum, aqueducts)

Classical Era Significance

• Significance: Provided intellectual foundations for Renaissance thought, including humanism, secularism, and artistic techniques like perspective

Humanists

• Definition: Scholars and thinkers of the Renaissance who studied classical texts to promote secular education, moral philosophy, and civic responsibility.

• Historical Context: Emerged in 14th-century Italy; challenged medieval scholasticism that focused primarily on theology.

• Key Examples/People: Petrarch (“father of humanism”), Erasmus, Thomas More, Leonardo Bruni

Humanist Significance

• Significance: Influenced education, politics, literature, and science; emphasized the potential and dignity of humans, shaping modern Western thought.

Secular/Secularism

• Definition: Concerned with worldly rather than spiritual or religious matters; non-religious.

• Historical Context: During the Renaissance, secular ideas grew as Europeans became more interested in art, politics, science, and personal achievement rather than only religious devotion.

• Key Examples/People: Renaissance art depicting classical myths (rather than solely religious themes)

Secular/Secularism Significance

• Significance: Allowed for the rise of science, political theory, and individual expression; challenged the dominance of the Church in all aspects of life.

Individualism

• Definition: The belief in the importance and value of the individual, personal achievement, and self-expression.

• Historical Context: A key Renaissance idea influenced by classical models; contrasted with medieval focus on community and divine order.

• Key Examples/People: Portraits by Michelangelo and da Vinci celebrating the individual, Erasmus’ writings on personal moral development

Individualism Significance

• Significance: Encouraged creativity, personal ambition, and secular achievements; laid groundwork for modern ideas of personal rights and identity.

Petrarch

• Definition: (1304-1374) Italian scholar, poet, and early humanist, often called the “Father of Humanism.”

• Historical Context: Lived during the early Renaissance in Italy; sought out classical manuscripts and emphasized a return to classical Latin texts.

• Key Works: Famous for his sonnets and poems, especially Canzoniere, and for rediscovering Cicero’s letters.
  Significance: Pioneered humanist scholarship; promoted the study of classical antiquity for moral and practical guidance rather than purely religious purposes.

Cicero

• Definition: (106–43 BCE) Ancient Roman statesman, orator, and philosopher whose writings on rhetoric, politics, and ethics were highly influential during the Renaissance.

• Historical Context: Renaissance humanists revered Cicero as a model of eloquence and civic virtue; his letters and treatises were studied to revive classical wisdom.

• Key Works: Works like De Officiis (On Duties) and De Republica.

• Significance: Inspired humanists to combine intellectual pursuits with active political engagement; his emphasis on moral philosophy shaped Renaissance ethics.

vernacular

• Definition: The everyday language spoken by ordinary people in a region, as opposed to Latin or other scholarly languages.

• Historical Context: Renaissance writers began producing literature in the vernacular to reach broader audiences, making ideas more accessible beyond the educated elite.

• Key Examples/People: Dante’s Divine Comedy (Italian), Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (English).

• Significance: Expanded literacy and cultural participation; contributed to the development of national literatures and identities.

philological

• Definition: Relating to the study of language, texts, and their historical development to determine original meanings.

• Historical Context: Renaissance humanists used philology to recover and correct classical manuscripts, often exposing errors in medieval copies.

• Key Examples/People: Lorenzo Valla’s critical analysis of the Donation of Constantine.

• Significance: Strengthened textual scholarship and critical thinking; helped separate historical fact from later church or political additions.

Lorenzo Valla