AP Euro unit 1+2 Exam Vocabulary

Great Famine

A terrible famine in 1315-1322 that hit much of Europe after a period of climate change.

Black Death

Plague that first struck Europe in 1347 and killed perhaps one-third of the population.

The Decameron

book of tales by Giovanni Boccaccio in the preface of which was narrated the progression of the Black Plague in Florence

flagellants

people who believed the plague was God’s punishment for sin and sought to do penance by flagellating (whipping) themselves

Hundred Years War

A war between England and France from 1337 to 1453, with political and economic causes and consequences

Agincourt

battle during which Henry’s army defeated the French force with the use of longbowmen which resulted in their reconquest of Normandy.

Avignon

a city in France to which 7 popes relocated and stayed from 1309-1376 after motivation from King Philip.

Great Schism

period from 1378-1417 during which the authority of the church was uncertain; support from countries was based on political standpoint.

Conciliarists

People who believed that the authority in the Roman church should rest in general council composed of clergy, theologians, and laypeople, rather than in the pope alone.

Jacquerie

A massive uprising by French peasants in 1358 protesting heavy taxation.

English Peasants’ revolt

Revolt by English peasants in 1381 in response to changing economic conditions. (caused by a reimposition of a tax on all adult males.)

Vernacular

common language spoken in a certain area and usage of which expanded in European literature after ethnic differences were established.

Divine Comedy

Described the three realms of the next world, portrays contemporary and historical figures, comments on affairs, and embodies psychological tensions of the age.

Canterbury Tales

collection of stories in lengthy rhymed narrative, 30 people of various social backgrounds tell tales on a pilgrimage to a shrine; reflects cultural tensions of the times

Renaissance

A French word meaning rebirth used to describe the rebirth of the culture of classical antiquity in Italy during the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries.

Patronage

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

Communes

Sworn associations of free men in Italian cities led by merchant guilds that sought 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 that emphasized the critical study of Latin and Greek literature with the goal of understanding human nature.

Virtu

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

Christian humanists

Northern humanists who interpreted Italian ideas about and attitudes toward 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 they included Christians whose families had converted centuries earlier.

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 (often involved payment)

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 2 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 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 of public worship to Calvinists, which helped restore peace in France

Union of Utrecht

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