AP Euro Renaissance

AP Euro

Renaissance

Renaissance

A period of revival in art, literature, and learning in Europe, marking the transition from the Middle Ages to the modern world.

Communes

Self-governing city-states led by local merchants and guilds, playing a key role in the region's political and economic life.

Signori

Powerful lords or despots who ruled over Italian city-states during the Renaissance, often governing as authoritarian rulers.

Savonarola

An Italian Dominican friar known for his calls for moral reform and his role in the "Bonfire of the Vanities."

Humanism

An intellectual movement during the Renaissance that focused on classical texts, individual value, and human achievement.

Petrarch

An Italian scholar and poet, often called the "Father of Humanism," credited with initiating the Renaissance through his rediscovery of classical texts.

Secularism

The principle of separating religion from civic affairs, with a growing emphasis on worldly matters during the Renaissance.

Castiglione

An Italian writer known for "The Book of the Courtier," which outlined the qualities of the ideal courtier.

Machiavelli

An Italian diplomat and philosopher best known for "The Prince," a political treatise on statecraft and power.

Christian Humanists

Scholars who sought to combine classical learning with Christian faith, advocating for religious reform.

Thomas More

An English author known for "Utopia," which describes an ideal society, and was executed for refusing to accept King Henry VIII's authority over the Church.

Erasmus

A Dutch Christian Humanist known for his satirical critique of society and the church in "The Praise of Folly."

Gutenberg

A German inventor who introduced the movable-type printing press to Europe, facilitating the spread of Renaissance ideas.

Lorenzo de’ Medici

An Italian statesman and major patron of Renaissance art, under whose rule Florence became the center of the Renaissance.

Lorenzo Valla

An Italian humanist known for his critical textual analysis, particularly proving the "Donation of Constantine" was a forgery.

Conquest of Granada

The final campaign of the Reconquista, marking the end of Islamic rule in Spain and the unification under Christian rule.

Habsburg-Valois Wars

Conflicts between the House of Habsburg and the House of Valois over control of territories in Italy, impacting the balance of power in Europe.

New Monarchs

European rulers in the late 15th and early 16th centuries who centralized power and reduced the influence of the nobility, laying the foundation for modern nation-states.