Euro 1 & 2

Late medieval Catholic Church

A central institution in European life that functioned not only religiously but also as a political authority, major landowner, educator (universities/schools), legal system (church courts), and organizer of community life (parishes, festivals, charity).

Sacraments

Rituals the Catholic Church taught as channels of grace that guided salvation (notably baptism and the Eucharist), reinforcing the Church’s authority over spiritual life.

Clergy as mediators of grace

The Catholic belief that priests and other clergy were necessary intermediaries who administered sacraments and helped guide people toward salvation.

Latin Christendom

The shared Western European Christian world linked by Latin ritual, a common calendar, and papal moral authority; its fracturing opened space for national/territorial churches.

Reform from within

Late medieval and Renaissance efforts to correct abuses and improve spirituality while remaining inside Catholicism, rather than breaking away to form a new church.

Pluralism

Holding multiple church offices at the same time, often criticized because it looked like office-holding for income rather than pastoral service.

Absenteeism

The practice of bishops/clerics collecting income from positions while not residing locally or performing duties, fueling perceptions of a profit-driven Church.

Simony

The buying and selling of church offices, reinforcing the belief that money could purchase institutional or spiritual advantage.

Clerical celibacy (criticism)

A Catholic discipline requiring priests not to marry; criticized as unnatural and blamed by some for sexual misconduct and illegitimate children.

Vernacular languages

Local spoken languages (e.g., German, English) whose increased use in texts and worship broadened religious participation beyond Latin-educated elites.

Indulgence

A Church-granted remission of temporal punishment for sins already forgiven, linked to good works (prayer, pilgrimage, charity) and sometimes to donations; controversial when it appeared to monetize salvation.

Temporal punishment

In Catholic theology, the remaining penalty for sin after forgiveness, understood as something that could be remitted (e.g., through indulgences).

Purgatory

In Catholic belief, a state of purification after death for those ultimately saved; indulgences were tied to reducing time/penalties associated with purgatory.

John Wycliffe

A 14th-century English reformer who argued the Bible should be available to ordinary people (including in English) and criticized Church wealth and corruption.

Lollards

Followers of John Wycliffe who continued spreading his reform ideas after his death, helping normalize critiques of Church authority.

Jan Hus

A 15th-century Bohemian reformer who denounced corruption and indulgences and supported vernacular worship; condemned for heresy and executed in 1415.

Girolamo Savonarola

A late 15th-century Florentine reform preacher who condemned clerical corruption and called for moral renewal; executed for heresy in 1498.

Waldensians

A dissenting Christian movement that rejected aspects of Catholic authority; persecuted in the late medieval period, with some communities surviving into the early modern era.

Papal authority (criticisms)

Objections to strong centralized control by the pope, including arguments that popes should not have final say in all matters of faith and that claims of definitive authority were excessive.

Renaissance humanism

An intellectual movement emphasizing classical learning, rhetoric, languages, and moral philosophy, reshaping how educated Europeans evaluated texts and authority.

Christian humanism

The application of humanist methods to Christian sources, urging renewal through a return to the Bible and early Church writings rather than relying solely on later traditions.

Erasmus of Rotterdam

A leading Christian humanist who criticized superstition and clerical abuses and promoted moral reform and careful study of scripture, while generally opposing a Protestant break with Rome.

Printing press

A mid-1400s technology (associated with Gutenberg) that made texts cheaper and enabled rapid, wide circulation of religious arguments, accelerating public controversy.

Popular religion

Everyday religious practice blending official teaching with local customs (shrines, relics, pilgrimages, charms), often attacked by reformers as superstition or idolatry.

Iconoclasm

The destruction or removal of religious images to prevent idolatry; promoted by some Protestant reformers, though Protestant attitudes toward art varied by region.

Justification by faith alone

Luther’s core doctrine that salvation is God’s gift received through faith, not earned by good works—undermining the Church’s role as gatekeeper of salvation.

Sola Scriptura

The Protestant principle that the Bible is the ultimate authority for Christian faith and practice, above church tradition or papal decrees.

Sola Fide

The Protestant principle that salvation comes through faith alone, not through meritorious works.

Sola Gratia

The Protestant principle that salvation is a free gift of God’s grace, not something humans can earn.

Priesthood of all believers

The Protestant idea that every Christian has direct access to God through Christ, weakening the need for clergy as exclusive spiritual mediators.

Ninety-Five Theses

Martin Luther’s 1517 critique of indulgence-selling and related theology, spread quickly through print and escalating into a broader challenge to papal authority.

Frederick the Wise

A German prince who protected Luther, illustrating how political support and the Holy Roman Empire’s fragmentation helped Protestant reform survive.

German Peasants’ War (1524–1525)

A major uprising mixing social/economic grievances with reform language; brutally suppressed with tens of thousands killed, revealing limits of reformers’ support for social revolution.

Thomas Müntzer

A radical leader associated with the German Peasants’ War who used reform ideas to push for broader social change.

John Calvin

A major Reformation theologian whose ideas helped form the Reformed/Calvinist tradition and spread across borders, often aligning with political resistance to Catholic monarchs.

Predestination

A Calvinist doctrine that God has eternally chosen who will be saved; disciplined moral life was often treated as a sign of election, not the cause of salvation.

Geneva (Calvinist civic discipline)

The city where Calvin helped build a tightly regulated, church-influenced civic order, using moral oversight and discipline to shape daily life.

Huldrych Zwingli

A Zurich reformer whose movement resembled Luther’s in rejecting many Catholic practices; famously disagreed with Luther over the Eucharist, highlighting Protestant divisions.

Anabaptists

Radical reformers who rejected infant baptism in favor of adult belief-based baptism; often advocated separation of church and state and were persecuted by both Catholics and mainstream Protestants.

Royal Supremacy

The English Reformation principle that the monarch, not the pope, is the highest authority over church governance in England (central under Henry VIII).

Dissolution of the monasteries

Under Henry VIII, the suppression of monasteries and redistribution of their lands/wealth, strengthening the crown and creating elites invested in the new religious order.

Elizabethan Settlement

Elizabeth I’s policy stabilizing England’s church by maintaining royal supremacy and establishing a distinct national Protestant identity while enforcing conformity (not full toleration).

Council of Trent (1545–1563)

A Catholic Reformation council that reaffirmed Catholic doctrine (faith and works, sacraments, tradition alongside scripture) while reforming abuses through improved clerical discipline and education (seminaries).

Society of Jesus (Jesuits)

A Catholic religious order founded in 1540 emphasizing disciplined spirituality, education, and missionary work, aiding Catholic renewal and global expansion.

St. Teresa of Avila

A Catholic reformer who renewed the Carmelite order and emphasized personal prayer and devotion, showing Catholic reform was also deeply spiritual.

Roman Inquisition

A Catholic institution for investigating and prosecuting heresy, reflecting early modern assumptions that religious unity was necessary for social order.

Peace of Augsburg (1555)

A settlement in the Holy Roman Empire between Catholics and Lutherans that institutionalized territorial religion but left major issues unresolved (especially for Calvinists and mixed areas).

Edict of Nantes (1598)

Henry IV’s decree granting limited toleration to French Calvinists (Huguenots), aimed at stabilizing France through pragmatic statecraft rather than modern equality.

Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648)

A devastating conflict that began in the Holy Roman Empire amid confessional tensions and expanded into a great-power struggle; notable for massive civilian suffering and the blend of religious and political causes.

Peace of Westphalia (1648)

The treaties ending the Thirty Years’ War that recognized the independence of the Dutch Republic and Switzerland, reinforced state sovereignty, and confirmed ongoing political fragmentation within the Holy Roman Empire.

Renaissance

A “rebirth” describing cultural, intellectual, and artistic changes beginning in Italy in the 1300s and spreading across Europe in the 1400s–1500s, with influence lasting into the 1600s.

Renaissance as Transition

AP framing of the Renaissance as a gradual shift in inquiry and cultural emphasis (classical learning, individual, politics, art) rather than a sudden break from the Middle Ages.

Continuity and Change

A historical-thinking approach that evaluates what changed and what persisted (e.g., new humanist methods alongside enduring Christianity, monarchy, hierarchy, and patriarchy).

Italian City-States

Independent urban states (e.g., Florence, Venice, Milan, Genoa) where Renaissance culture first flourished due to wealth, politics, and proximity to Roman antiquity.

Political Fragmentation (Italy)

Italy’s division into competing city-states; rivalry encouraged rulers and elites to use art and learning as political “advertising” to project legitimacy and civic pride.

Patronage

Financial/political support by wealthy individuals or institutions for artists and scholars, enabling large projects and shaping subject matter (religious scenes, classical myths, portraits).

Humanism

An educational/intellectual movement focused on classical Greek and Roman texts and the humanities to form ethical, persuasive leaders for civic life (not simply anti-Christian).

Humanities

Fields emphasized by humanists: grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history, and moral philosophy, often studied through classical texts.

Civic Humanism

Italian humanism linking classical learning to responsible citizenship; promoted service to the community through public office, diplomacy, and moral leadership.

Scholasticism

Medieval intellectual tradition emphasizing theology and logical disputation; humanists reacted against its style by stressing language, texts, and moral philosophy.

Classical Antiquity

The Greek and Roman past; Renaissance scholars and patrons believed reviving classical texts and styles could improve morality, politics, and artistic achievement.

Vernacular

Local spoken languages (instead of Latin); grew in importance in Renaissance literature and expanded further with printing, shaping regional literary cultures and identities.

Linear Perspective

Renaissance artistic technique using geometry to create the illusion of depth and three-dimensional space, reflecting confidence in observation and a knowable world.

Realism and Naturalism

Renaissance artistic priorities that depict lifelike bodies, anatomy, emotion, and convincing settings, even in religious scenes.

Leonardo da Vinci

A major Italian Renaissance figure often described as a “Renaissance man” for broad curiosity; associated with works like the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.

Niccolò Machiavelli

Renaissance political thinker who analyzed power as it operated in practice, shaped by Italy’s instability and threats among city-states.

The Prince

Machiavelli’s work arguing rulers should prioritize state strength and stability, treating politics as its own sphere with its own rules (more than a simple slogan).

Northern Renaissance

Renaissance developments north of the Alps (Low Countries, France, England, German lands) that adapted Italian ideas to different political, religious, and market conditions.

Christian Humanism

Northern movement applying humanist methods (language study, textual criticism) to Christian sources, emphasizing inner piety and reform from within the Church.

Desiderius Erasmus

Christian humanist who promoted education and scriptural study, criticized abuses, and urged a practical ethical “philosophy of Christ.”

Thomas More

Northern humanist author who used imaginative writing to critique European politics and society while still working within Christian moral ideals.

Utopia

More’s work describing an imagined society to satirize and criticize European corruption, inequality, and poor governance.

Oil Painting

A Northern Renaissance artistic medium that enabled rich color and extremely fine detail, supporting portrait markets and symbolic domestic scenes.

Movable-Type Printing Press

Mid-1400s technology (movable metal type, oil-based ink, press mechanism) that made texts cheaper and faster to produce than hand-copied manuscripts.

Johannes Gutenberg

Developer of a key European movable-type printing system in the mid-1400s, helping spark a communication revolution and faster diffusion of ideas.

Standardization of Texts

A print-era effect: more uniform editions allowed scholars to reference the “same” text, strengthening debate, scholarship, and broader intellectual exchange.

New Monarchies

Strengthened European monarchies (c. 1450–1600, with effects to 1648) that improved state capacity through taxation, bureaucracy, armies, and diplomacy.

State Building

Processes that expanded royal power: more reliable taxation, larger bureaucracies, professional armies, stronger law enforcement over nobles/local institutions, and diplomacy.

Bureaucracy

Growing administrative systems—officials, courts, record-keeping—used by monarchs to govern more effectively and centralize authority.

Standing Army

A more professional, permanent military force funded by the state (increasingly shaped by gunpowder warfare), supporting stronger central authority.

Composite Monarchy

A state made of distinct regions with their own institutions under one ruler (e.g., Spain under Ferdinand and Isabella remained regionally diverse despite stronger monarchy).

Holy Roman Empire

A contrast case in state building: remained politically fragmented, with significant autonomy for princes and cities, rather than consolidating like some monarchies.

Age of Exploration

European state-sponsored voyages (1400s–1600s) seeking routes, resources, and power, driven by mixed motives (economic, religious, political, technological).

Caravel

A maneuverable ship design that helped make long-distance Atlantic and coastal exploration more feasible for Europeans.

Lateen Sail

A sail type that improved maneuverability and allowed tacking against the wind, supporting longer and more flexible sea voyages.

Compass

A navigation tool adopted and used to aid direction-finding at sea, helping make ocean travel more feasible (though still dangerous and imprecise).

Astrolabe

A navigational instrument used to estimate latitude, aiding European ocean navigation as part of broader maritime investment and knowledge adoption.

Cartography

Mapmaking that improved through classical knowledge, portolan charts, and new observational data, supporting exploration and reshaping geographic understanding.

Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)

Agreement dividing newly claimed lands between Spain and Portugal, illustrating early attempts to manage imperial rivalry through diplomacy.

Spanish Conquest (alliances & disease)

Pattern explaining Spain’s defeat of the Aztec and Inca: exploitation of internal divisions and alliances plus devastating epidemics (especially smallpox), alongside military factors.

Encomienda System

Spanish colonial labor/tribute grant to colonists in exchange for supposed protection and Christian instruction; in practice often produced severe exploitation.

Columbian Exchange

Transfer of plants, animals, people, pathogens, and goods between Old and New Worlds after 1492, causing major biological, social, and economic transformations.

Smallpox

An Old World disease that caused catastrophic demographic collapse in the Americas, destabilizing societies and shaping conquest and coerced labor systems.

Atlantic Slave Trade

Large-scale forced transport of Africans to the Americas to supply plantation labor, contributing to racialized, hereditary chattel slavery and rigid social hierarchies.

Middle Passage

The transatlantic voyage that carried enslaved Africans to the Americas under brutal conditions as part of the Atlantic slave trade system.

Triangular Trade

A commonly taught (simplified) model: European goods to Africa, enslaved people to the Americas, and plantation goods (e.g., sugar, tobacco) to Europe; real routes were more complex.

Commercial Revolution

Transformations in European commerce and finance tied to overseas expansion, including expanded trade circuits and new financial tools and business organizations.

Joint-Stock Company

A business organization allowing investors to pool capital and share risk/profit, supporting long-distance trade and imperial ventures.

Price Revolution

Sustained 1500s inflation linked to multiple factors (including population pressures and increased money supply associated with American silver), often hurting wage earners.

Mercantilism

State-managed economic policies treating trade and colonies as tools of national power (encourage exports, control imports, colonies benefit the mother country).