Unit 5: Renaissance, Reformation, Scientific Revolution, and Enlightenment

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering major figures, concepts, and developments from the Renaissance, Reformation, Scientific Revolution, and Enlightenment.

Renaissance

A period meaning "rebirth" (1300 to 1600) beginning in Italy, during which Europe brought back ideas from ancient Greece and Rome following the Middle Ages.

Patron

A rich person who pays artists to create artwork.

The Medici

A rich banking family in Florence who were famous patrons of the arts.

Humanism

An intellectual movement focused on studying Greek and Roman books and believing that people can do great things.

Perspective

An artistic technique that makes a flat picture look 3D, making close things look big and far things look small.

Leonardo da Vinci

Renaissance artist who painted the Mona Lisa, and an inventor who drew designs for flying machines.

Michelangelo

Renaissance artist who carved the statue David and painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

Raphael

Renaissance artist who painted The School of Athens, showing Greek thinkers.

Dante

A poet from Florence who wrote in Italian, the everyday language of the people.

Brunelleschi

Renaissance architect who designed the giant dome in Florence.

Machiavelli

Author of The Prince (1513), who argued that rulers should do whatever it takes to keep power and that it is safer to be feared than loved.

Gutenberg

German inventor who built the movable-type printing press around 1450, making books faster and cheaper to produce.

Indulgence

A certificate sold by Church figures that was supposed to reduce punishment for sins.

Martin Luther

A German priest and professor from Wittenberg who criticized indulgences, taught that salvation is by faith and God's grace alone, and translated the New Testament into German.

Ninety-Five Theses

A document written by Martin Luther in 1517 attacking the sale of indulgences.

Diet of Worms

A 1521 meeting where Martin Luther was told to recant his ideas, which he refused to do.

Predestination

A doctrine taught by John Calvin in Geneva stating that God has already decided who will be saved.

Act of Supremacy

A law passed by Parliament in 1534 that made King Henry VIII the official head of the Church of England.

Book of Common Prayer

An English-language prayer book introduced in 1549 during the reign of King Edward VI.

Mary I

English ruler who brought back the Catholic Church and the pope, executing about 300 Protestants during her reign.

Elizabeth I

English ruler who made the church Protestant again in 1559, maintaining bishops and some traditional rituals while mandating attendance.

Geocentric

The ancient Greek concept that Earth is the stationary center of the universe, with all celestial bodies orbiting it.

Heliocentric

The astronomical model stating that the Sun is the center of the universe and Earth moves around it.

Copernicus

Astronomer who asserted in 1543 that the Earth goes around the Sun, believing planetary orbits were perfect circles.

Kepler

Astronomer who demonstrated in 1609 that planetary orbits are ovals (ellipses) and that planets move faster when closer to the Sun.

Galileo

Scientist who used a telescope in 1610 to observe 4 moons of Jupiter, mountains on the Moon, and phases of Venus; put on trial by the Catholic Church in 1633.

Newton

Scientist who explained gravity and the 3 laws of motion in 1687, proving that identical physical laws govern Earth and space.

Inertia

Newton's first law of motion stating that a moving object will keep moving unless acted upon by an outside force.

Gravity

The pull between objects that makes objects fall on Earth and keeps planets in orbit around the Sun.

Absolute Monarchy

A system of government in which a hereditary monarch holds almost total power over the state.

Divine Right

The belief that a monarch's authority to rule comes directly from God.

John Locke

Enlightenment thinker who asserted that people are born with natural rights, governments rule only by the consent of the governed, and citizens can replace abusive rulers.

Natural Rights

Basic rights inherent to all humans at birth, identified by John Locke as life, liberty, and property.

Consent of the Governed

The political principle that a government's legitimacy depends on the explicit permission of the people it governs.

Voltaire

Enlightenment philosopher who championed freedom of speech and religious tolerance while fiercely opposing state censorship.

Rousseau

Enlightenment thinker associated with the social contract, popular sovereignty, and the concept of the general will.

Popular Sovereignty

The Enlightenment principle that legitimate political power ultimately belongs to the people.

General Will

Jean-Jacques Rousseau's political concept representing what is best for the entire community or society.