Medieval and Renaissance Europe: Key Concepts and Events

Middle Ages

Date = 400s/500s-1400s/1500s

Foundations of Medieval European Civilization

Four major influences: Roman, Greek, Barbarian, Catholic.

Roman Influence

Law, government, architecture, roads, and engineering inherited from the Roman Empire.

Greek Influence

Philosophy, literature, science, mathematics, and art from classical Greece.

Barbarian Influence

Germanic tribes contributed warrior culture, feudal structures, and new political systems.

Catholic Influence

The Church unified Europe spiritually, provided education, moral guidance, legal structure, and cultural continuity after the fall of Rome.

Clovis

King of the Franks (ruled 481-511) who united all Frankish tribes and converted to Catholic Christianity around 496.

Charlemagne

King of Franks (768-800) and emperor of Rome (800-814) who restored civilization and education.

Treaty of Verdun

Agreement that split Charlemagne's empire among his three grandsons.

Saint Patrick

Bishop who started Irish monasticism in Italy, from NE.

Saint Benedict

Monk who started Roman monasticism, from Italy and SE.

Saint Boniface

Monk who spread the Catholic faith to German Barbarians.

Power of the Church in Middle Ages

Spiritual, political, economic, educational, warfare, and architectural influence.

Manorialism

Economic system of the Middle Ages where 80% of the population lived on manors.

Feudalism

Decentralized, land-based social and political system where lords granted land to vassals in exchange for loyalty.

Crusades

Causes: reclaim Holy Land, respond to Pope Urban II's call; Effects: boosted trade, weakened feudalism.

Black Death

Deathly plague that wiped out ⅓ of Europe's population in the mid 1300s.

Excommunication

Cut off from the church after serious offenses, likely not entering heaven.

Holy Inquisition

Catholic Church's effort to identify and punish heretics, using trials and sometimes torture.

Lords

Powerful landowners who granted land and protection in the feudal system.

Vassals

Received fiefs in exchange for loyalty and military service.

Peasants

Worked the land and provided goods or labor in the feudal system.

Serfs

Peasants legally bound to the land, could not leave without permission.

Oath of Fealty

Declaration of loyalty sworn by a vassal to a lord.

Reconquista of Spain

Longest war in history; Spanish vs. Muslims.

Muslims

711-1492; long campaign by Spanish Christians to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim (Moors) control; marked by gradual military advances, religious conflict, and political consolidation; ended with the capture of Granada by Ferdinand and Isabella, completing the unification of Spain under Catholic monarchy.

Pope Urban II

1095; pope who called for the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont in France; urged Christian nobles to reclaim the Holy Land from Muslim control; promised spiritual rewards such as indulgences for those who fought.

Saladin

12th century; Muslim military leader and sultan of Egypt and Syria; known for recapturing Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187; respected for his chivalry, leadership, and role in the Third Crusade.

Rise of Italian city-states

Italy was a natural transit hub for trading between Europe, Africa, and the East meaning city states were necessary and would bring easier business; merchant class growth; weak central authority so city states could build up more; feudalism was weak.

Major city-states in Italy

Florence, Venice, Milan, Genoa.

Consequences of Italian city-states

Economic prosperity, patronage of arts and learning, foundation for Renaissance culture, political experimentation and competition between city-states.

Medieval Towns

Unsophisticated, tiny; sprung up at ports, crossroads, hilltops, and rivers; swelled with people; narrow streets, human and animal waste everywhere, no bathing, many fires, lack of light, fresh air, and clean water.

Guilds

Association of people of the same trade in Medieval towns; regulated prices and made sure things were fair, maintained monopolies; set standards for work quality, production, wages, and conditions.

Hundred Years' War

1337-1453, England vs. France.

Hundred Years' War

Dispute over French throne, English kings held French lands, national identity.

Battle of Crécy

1346 battle where English longbowmen had an advantage.

Battle of Agincourt

1415 battle where English forces achieved a significant victory.

Joan of Arc

Inspired French forces and lifted the Siege of Orléans in 1429.

Consequences of Hundred Years' War

Rise of nationalism, decline of feudal armies, increased use of professional armies.

Renaissance Dates

1300s-1600s.

Renaissance Origin

Began in Italy due to wealthy city-states and thriving trade.

Humanism

Focus on human values, capacities, and achievements, emphasizing classical Greek and Roman culture.

Naturalism

Focus on nature and natural causes; includes geocentrism and heliocentrism.

Secularism

Separation of state from religious institutions, focusing on worldly affairs.

Michelangelo

Painter and sculptor known for the Sistine Chapel and the statue of David.

Leonardo da Vinci

Painter known for The Last Supper and Mona Lisa, exemplifying realism.

William Shakespeare

Renaissance writer known for plays such as Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet.

Shift from Middle Ages

Redirection of focus from God to man, emphasizing secularism.

Reformation Date

1517.

Long Term Causes of Reformation

Corruption within the Catholic Church and dissatisfaction with its power.

Christendom

Western world united under Catholic faith, began to fall apart due to rising competition.

Peace of Augsburg

Formalized division where northern German states adopted Protestantism and southern states remained Catholic.

Babylonian Captivity

Period where seven popes resided in Avignon, France instead of Rome.

Great Schism

Split within the Catholic Church with multiple claimants to the papacy.

Martin Luther

Catholic priest who initiated the Reformation by nailing 95 Theses to church door.

Luther's Major Doctrines

Sola Fidei, Sola Scriptura, priesthood of all believers, and worship in vernacular.

Luther's Revolt Consequences

Church condemned Luther, leading to his excommunication and the spread of his ideas.

Indulgences

Payments to reduce punishment in purgatory, which Luther protested against.

Sola Fidei

Doctrine that faith alone saves souls; good works are worthless.

Sola Scriptura

Doctrine that the Bible alone is the word of God or rule of faith.

Spread of Lutheranism

Luther's ideas spread throughout the Holy Roman Empire and into Scandinavian countries.

True Belief

Freedom from paying church taxes to Pope in Rome, chance to gain monastic lands, resentment of Holy Roman Emperor.

Luther's Revolt

Results included Peasant's Revolt in 1520s leading to 100,000s of dead, counterattack led by Emperor Charles, and Peace of Augsburg in 1555.

John Calvin

French theologian and reformer who published 'Institutes of the Christian Religion' and established a Calvinist theocracy in Geneva.

Institutes of the Christian Religion

Published in 1535, it is the first systematic presentation of Protestant belief.

Calvinism

Emphasized predestination, strict moral discipline, and austere worship.

King Henry VIII

Devout Catholic who needed a male heir and initiated the English Reformation by breaking from the Catholic Church.

Act of Supremacy

Declared Henry VIII as the head of the Church of England in 1534.

95 Theses

Luther's formal statements against the selling of indulgences, posted in 1517.

Heresy

Belief or practice contrary to established religious doctrines.

30 Years' War

1618-1648 conflict in the Holy Roman Empire between Catholics and Protestants, resulting in significant population loss and political fragmentation.

Treaty of Westphalia

Ended the 30 Years' War and established state sovereignty and religious diversity.

Edict of Nantes

Granted toleration to Huguenots in officially Catholic France in 1598.

Annulment

Court declaration that a marriage was never valid, making it void from the start.

Council of Trent

1545-1563 assembly that addressed Protestant teachings and clarified Catholic doctrine.

Society of Jesus (Jesuits)

Catholic religious order founded in 1540 by Ignatius of Loyola, focused on education and combating Protestantism.

Ignatius of Loyola

Founded the Society of Jesus in 1540 and emphasized education and missionary work.

Catholic Counterreformation

Efforts by the Catholic Church to reform itself and bring back those who had left.

Pope Paul III

Investigated indulgence selling and called the Council of Trent.

Pope Paul IV

Created the Index of Forbidden Books and burned offensive literature.

Savonarola

Preached against church abuses and led the 'bonfire of vanities'.

Huguenots

French Protestants influenced by Calvinism.

Presbyterians

Scottish Calvinists led by John Knox.

Puritans

English Protestants who sought to purify the Church of England.

Calvinist Theocracy

A government run by religious leaders based on Calvinist principles.

Religious Wars

Conflicts primarily between Catholics and Protestants in Europe during the Reformation.

Lutheranism

Branch of Protestantism founded on the teachings of Martin Luther.

Catholicism

The faith, practice, and church order of the Roman Catholic Church.

Jesuits

Goal to stop the spread of Protestantism, overcame drift toward Protestantism in Poland and southern Germany.

French Wars of Religion

Conflict between Huguenots and Catholic majority from 1560-1598.

Louis XIV

Revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685, leading to forced conversions or flight of Huguenots.

Anglicans

Church of England; Protestant church created for political reasons by Henry VIII via the Act of Supremacy in 1534.

Lutherans

Followers of Martin Luther; core beliefs include Sola Fidei, Sola Scriptura, and rejection of papal authority.

Calvinists

Followers of John Calvin; core beliefs include predestination and total depravity of humans.

Theocracy

Government system in Geneva under Calvin where church and state are combined.

Spain

Royal Family - Hapsburgs; Established Religion - Catholic; Expansion aimed at spreading faith and acquiring wealth.

France

Royal Family - Bourbons; Established Religion - Catholic; Expansion aimed at increasing trade and wealth.

Russia

Royal Family - Ruriks, Romanovs; Established Religion - Russian Orthodox; Expansion across Asia and to the Baltic Sea.

Austria

Royal Family - Hapsburgs; official religion - Catholic; became absolute within Austria.

Prussia

Royal Family - Hohenzollerns; Lutheran; faced obstacles from Junkers and the 30 Years' War.