Ap euro units 1+2 key terms

Great Famine

Severe food shortage from 1315-1322 due to poor weather and crop failure; increased death and social instability.

Black Death

Deadly plague that killed one-third of Europe's population (1347-1351); led to economic and social upheaval.

The Decameron

Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio described plague life in The Decameron, offering insight into medieval society and reactions to the Black Death.

Flagellants

Radical Christians who whipped themselves to atone for sins, believing it would stop the plague; often caused panic.

Hundred Years' War

1337-1453 war between England and France over land and succession; fostered nationalism and military evolution.

Agincourt

1415 English victory in Hundred Years' War; English longbowmen defeated larger French forces, boosting English morale.

Avignon

City where popes resided (1309-1376) during the Babylonian Captivity; weakened papal authority and credibility.

Great Schism

1378-1417 split with multiple popes; divided Europe and weakened Church unity and power.

Conciliarists

Reformers who believed Church authority should rest in general councils, not just the pope; tried to resolve the Schism.

Jacquerie

1358 French peasant revolt due to taxes and war suffering; brutally suppressed but symbolized widespread unrest.

English Peasants' Revolt

1381 uprising over taxes and serfdom; briefly forced concessions from nobility but ultimately failed.

Vernacular

Everyday spoken language; authors began using it instead of Latin, increasing literacy and cultural identity.

Divine Comedy

Italian poet Dante's Divine Comedy explored sin and salvation; helped shape modern Italian language.

Canterbury Tales

English author Chaucer's Canterbury Tales portrayed diverse medieval characters and promoted English vernacular literature.

Renaissance

A French word meaning "rebirth," used to describe the revival of the culture of classical antiquity in Italy during the 14th-16th centuries.

Patronage

Financial support of writers and artists by cities, groups, or individuals, often to produce specific works or works in specific styles.

Communes

Sworn associations of free men in Italian cities led by merchant guilds seeking political and economic independence from local nobles.

Popolo

Disenfranchised common people in Italian cities who resented their exclusion from power.

Signori

Government by one-man rule in Italian cities such as Milan; also refers to these rulers.

Courts

Magnificent households and palaces where signori and other rulers lived, conducted business, and supported the arts.

Humanism

A program of study designed by Italians emphasizing the critical study of Latin and Greek literature to understand human nature.

Virtù

The quality of being able to shape the world according to one's own will.

Christian Humanists

Northern humanists who interpreted Italian ideas about classical antiquity and humanism in terms of their own religious traditions.

New Christians

A term for Jews and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula who accepted Christianity, in many cases including conversion of entire families.

Anticlericalism

Opposition to the clergy.

Indulgence

A document issued by the Catholic Church lessening penance or time in purgatory, widely believed to bring forgiveness of all sins.

Protestant

The name originally given to followers of Luther, which came to mean all non-Catholic Western Christian groups.

Spanish Armada

The fleet sent by Philip II of Spain in 1588 against England as a religious crusade against Protestantism; weather and the English fleet defeated it.

Predestination

The teaching that God has determined the salvation or damnation of individuals based on His will and purpose, not on their merit or works.

The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Calvin's formulation of Christian doctrine, which became a systematic theology for Protestantism.

Holy Office

The official Roman Catholic agency founded in 1542 to combat international doctrinal heresy.

Jesuits

Members of the Society of Jesus, founded by Ignatius Loyola, whose goal was the spread of the Roman Catholic faith.

Huguenots

French Calvinists.

Politiques

Catholic and Protestant moderates who held that only a strong monarchy could save France from total collapse.

Edict of Nantes

A document issued by Henry IV of France in 1598, granting liberty of conscience and public worship to Calvinists, which helped restore peace in France.

Union of Utrecht

The alliance of seven northern provinces (led by Holland) that declared independence from Spain and formed the United Provinces of the Netherlands.