Modern World History: Renaissance and Reformations

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the major figures, events, dates, and concepts of the Renaissance and Protestant/Catholic Reformations from the Modern World History Study Guide.

Alexander VI

Renaissance pope known for moral scandals, producing numerous children, and serving as a symbol of papal decline in the 1490s.

Leonardo da Vinci

Ultimate Renaissance "universal man" who was an artist, scientist, and inventor, renowned for the Mona Lisa and Last Supper.

Martin Luther

German reformer who launched the Protestant Reformation in 1517 with his 95 Theses, taught justification by faith alone and scripture alone, and founded the Evangelical church.

John Calvin

French reformer who authored Institutes of the Christian Religion, emphasized predestination, and established a strict Protestant theocracy in Geneva centered around the "elect."

Ulrich Zwingli

Swiss reformer based in Zurich who established the Swiss reformed church, held more radical views than Luther on the Eucharist and church images, insisted all doctrine come directly from the Bible, and died in battle.

Desiderius Erasmus

Leading northern Christian humanist and "Father of the Reformation" who wrote Praise of Folly, called for church reform through education, promoted vernacular scripture, and remained Roman Catholic.

Copernicus

Polish astronomer whose heliocentric theory challenged the traditional geocentric view of the universe.

Charles V

Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain who headed the Hapsburg family, controlled more land than any man in history, opposed Martin Luther, and fought Protestant princes.

Julius II

"Warrior pope" and major patron of the arts who commissioned Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling and initiated the rebuilding of St. Peter's Basilica.

Johan Eck

Catholic theologian and defender of papal authority who debated Martin Luther at Leipzig in 1519.

Henry VIII

King of England who broke with Rome over his desired annulment and divorce from Catherine of Aragon, establishing the Church of England via the Act of Supremacy.

Ottoman Turks

Muslim empire and rivals of the Hapsburgs that conquered Constantinople in 1453 and remained a major military threat to Christian Europe.

Michelangelo

Renaissance master who worked mainly as a sculptor but also achieved renown as a painter and architect (David, Pietà, Sistine Chapel ceiling, dome of St. Peter's).

Raphael

High Renaissance painter renowned for his harmonious depictions of Madonnas and the School of Athens.

Francis I

King of France from the Valois dynasty who was a primary rival of Charles V and an important patron of Renaissance culture in France.

Hapsburg

Powerful European dynasty that derived much of its power from marital alliances, was known for inbreeding, and ruled Spain and the Holy Roman Empire (led by figures such as Charles V and Philip II).

Valois

Catholic French royal dynasty that competed with the Habsburgs and included King Francis I.

Lancaster

Rival English house in the Wars of the Roses symbolized by the Red Rose, forming the background to the Tudor dynasty.

York

Major English house that contested the Wars of the Roses against Lancaster until the conflict concluded with a Tudor victory.

Catherine of Aragon

First wife of Henry VIII whose refusal to accept an annulment triggered the English break with Rome.

Mary Tudor

Catholic daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, nicknamed "Bloody Mary" for executing those who refused to convert to Catholicism during her restoration attempts in England.

Elizabeth I

Protestant daughter of Henry VIII known as the "Virgin Queen"; established the Elizabethan religious settlement, created the Anglican Church, defeated the Spanish Armada (1588), and ended the Tudor dynasty at her death.

Leo X

Medici pope (1513–1531) who authorized the sale of indulgences to rebuild St. Peter's Basilica and initially underestimated Martin Luther's protest.

Medici

Wealthy Florentine banking family that produced several popes (including Leo X) and served as preeminent patrons of Renaissance arts and culture.

Philip II

Staunch Catholic King of Spain and son of Charles V who married his cousin Mary Tudor, enforced orthodoxy, and launched the Spanish Armada against England.

Paul III

Pope who convened the Council of Trent and granted official recognition to the Jesuit order.

Ignatius of Loyola

Former Spanish soldier who established the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), prioritizing education, missionary work, spiritual discipline, and obedience to the pope.

Thomas Cranmer

Archbishop of Canterbury under Henry VIII and Edward VI who served as the primary architect of Anglican liturgy and the Book of Common Prayer.

John Knox

Scottish reformer who brought Calvinist theology to Scotland and helped establish the Presbyterian Church.

1492

The year Christopher Columbus completed his first voyage across the Atlantic.

October 31, 1517

Traditional date Martin Luther posted the 95 Theses in Wittenberg, signaling the start of the Protestant Reformation.

1547

The year of Henry VIII's death and the Battle of Mühlberg, in which Charles V defeated the Protestant Schmalkaldic League.

1555

The year the Peace of Augsburg established a temporary settlement allowing German princes to choose between Lutheranism and Catholicism (cuius regio, eius religio).

1588

The year England under Elizabeth I defeated the Spanish Armada, delivering a major setback to Spanish Catholic dominance.

1603

The year Elizabeth I died, bringing an end to the Tudor dynasty, and James I acceded to the throne (Union of the Crowns of England and Scotland).

Constantinople

Capital of the Byzantine Empire that fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453 (renamed Istanbul), scattering Greek scholars and manuscripts westward to stimulate Renaissance humanism.

Florence

Leading Italian city-state regarded as the birthplace of the Renaissance; home of the Medici, Brunelleschi, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and many humanists.

Medieval Art

Artistic tradition characterized by flat-looking compositions, color coding, hierarchical sizing, and an almost entirely religious focus on divine symbolism over naturalism.

Renaissance Art

Artistic movement defined by realistic representation, linear perspective, classical subjects, precise human anatomy, individual expression, and works signed by artists.

Papal States

Territories in central Italy under direct sovereign rule of the pope.

Black Death

Mid-14th-century bubonic plague that decimated one-third of Europe's population, undermined church authority, and spurred questioning of traditional institutions.

Great Western Schism

Crisis from 1378 to 1417 characterized by rival claimants to the papacy in Rome, Avignon, and later a third location, severely tarnishing church credibility.

Pietà

Michelangelo's sculpture showing the Virgin Mary holding the dead Christ, known for anatomical precision, emotional expression, and classical beauty.

Madonna

Artistic depiction of the Virgin Mary (typically alongside the Christ Child), painted with growing naturalism and tenderness in the Renaissance.

Council of Trent

Ecumenical council (1545–1563) that clarified Catholic doctrine, corrected ecclesiastical abuses, reaffirmed scripture alongside tradition, and initiated the Counter-Reformation.

Act of Supremacy

English parliamentary statute enacted in 1534 establishing Henry VIII as the supreme head of the Church of England and dissolving Rome's authority.

Decline of the Papacy (Factors)

Historical developments including the Babylonian Captivity, Great Western Schism, worldly Renaissance popes, political interventions, and financial scandals that degraded moral authority.

Nominalism

Late-medieval philosophical view holding that universals are merely names or mental abstractions; it challenged scholastic theology and taught that salvation is reached through God's mercy earned by good works.

Renaissance

Cultural and intellectual revival spanning roughly the 14th to 17th centuries that restored Greco-Roman learning, elevated human agency, and fostered developments in art, literature, and science.

Protestant

Christians who broke away from the Roman Catholic Church during the Reformation and rejected the pope as the head of the church.

Dominicans

Mendicant preaching order whose members, such as Johann Tetzel, organized the indulgence sales that prompted Martin Luther's objections.

95 Theses

Martin Luther's 1517 academic disputation attacking the sale of indulgences and ecclesiastical malpractices, rapidly distributed via print.

Debate at Leipzig

Public 1519 debate between Martin Luther and Johann Eck that led Luther to explicitly deny papal supremacy.

Indulgences

Certificates granted by the Catholic Church that remitted temporal punishment in purgatory; their commodification for revenue sparked the Protestant Reformation.

St. Peter’s Basilica

Grand papal basilica in Rome whose Renaissance reconstruction was partially financed by the marketing of indulgences.

Evangelicals

Early designation for Luther's followers and other reformers who prioritized gospel preaching, scripture, and personal faith over church hierarchy.

Humanism

Renaissance intellectual movement emphasizing classical literature, individual worth, education, and secular natural explanations rather than purely theological interpretations.

Vernacular

The indigenous, everyday language spoken by common people (such as German or English) rather than Latin, championed by reformers for preaching and Bible translations.

Printing Press

Movable type technology that permitted cheap, mass production of texts, accelerating the spread of Renaissance scholarship and Reformation treatises.

Swiss Reform Church

Protestant body founded in Switzerland by Zwingli and Calvin that eliminated religious iconography and centered worship straightforwardly on prayer, scripture reading, and sermons.

Geneva

Swiss city transformed by John Calvin into a strictly disciplined Protestant haven and international hub for Reformed theology.

Theocracy

A form of governance where political authority is held by religious rulers or guided by divine sanction, demonstrated in Calvin's Geneva.

Calvinists

Adherents of John Calvin's doctrine who emphasized divine sovereignty, predestination, rigorous moral conduct, prayer, and work.

The Elect

In Calvinist theology, the specific individuals predestined by God for salvation.

Book of Common Prayer

The standardized English liturgical text authored by Thomas Cranmer for worship in the Church of England.

Anglican

The Church of England established following its separation from the Roman Catholic hierarchy.

Wittenberg

German city where Martin Luther served as professor and posted the 95 Theses, making it the cradle of the Lutheran Reformation.

Abuses in the Church

Ecclesiastical corruptions contested by reformers, including simony, nepotism, absenteeism, pluralism, clerical immorality, and the financial exploitation of indulgences.

Patrons of the Arts

Wealthy upper- and middle-class patrons, banking dynasties like the Medici, and popes who financed artists and scholars during the Renaissance.

Predestination

Central Calvinist doctrine stating that God has eternally and unalterably decreed who will be saved (the elect) and who will not.

Anabaptists

Radical reformers who interpreted scripture literally, rejected infant baptism in favor of adult believer's baptism, advocated complete separation of church and state, and faced persecution from both Catholics and Protestants.

Renaissance Popes

Popes of the 15th and early 16th centuries (such as Alexander VI, Julius II, and Leo X) who behaved as secular princes, political rulers, and art patrons rather than spiritual shepherds.

Battle of Mühlberg

1547 military engagement where Holy Roman Emperor Charles V defeated the Protestant princes of the Schmalkaldic League.

Peace of Augsburg

1555 treaty permitting German territorial princes to mandate either Lutheranism or Catholicism within their lands, requiring subjects to adopt the prince's faith or emigrate.

Presbyterian

Reformed church governance led by representative assemblies of elders (presbyters), instituted in Scotland by John Knox.

Puritan

English Calvinist Protestants dedicated to "purifying" the Church of England of residual Roman Catholic traditions and ceremonies.

Huguenot

A French Calvinist Protestant.

Jesuit

Member of the Society of Jesus established by Ignatius of Loyola; bound by a vow of strict obedience to the pope and focused on scholarship, missionary work, and the Counter-Reformation.

Inquisition

Judicial institutions of the Catholic Church (specifically the Spanish and Roman branches) charged with detecting and suppressing heresy.

Index

Official Catholic catalog of prohibited literature used during the Counter-Reformation to suppress Protestant and heretical publications.

Seminaries

Theological colleges established by the Catholic Church to educate, train, and reform the discipline of parish priests.