Week 5 - 16th Century Introduction Study Guide

what the premier language at the beginning of the period?

Latin

where does the name Tudor come from?

it was named for Owen Tudor, an ambitious Welshman who himself had no claim to the throne but who married Catherin of Valois, widow of the Lacastrian King Henry V.

how did the intrigues and anxiety of those in the British court lead to the development of “poetic” language?

in this anxious atmosphere, courtiers become highly practiced at implementing what these Italian writers recommended and at crafting and coining new and graceful words with double or triple meanings. the English language expanded as a result, not least because a habit of Anglifying Latin quickly doubled the number of words available in English. and several of the best poets in the period were courtiers.

how did Protestantism increase literacy?

literacy seems to have increased during the fifteenth century and still more during the sixteenth as printed texts became more widely accessible. greater availability of books may have reinforced the trend toward silent reading.

the Renaissance involved the “rebirth of…”?

education shifted from preparation for the Church to…

the general acquisition of “literature,” in the sense both of literacy and of cultural knowledge.

why do we find references to paganism in the works of devout Christians?

though originating in pagan times, ancient truths could be reconciled to the moral vision of Christianity. the result, perplexing for some modern readers, is that pagan gods and goddesses flourish on the pages of even such a devoutly Christian poem as Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene.

the official religion in the early sixteenth century England…

Catholicism

in England, what triggered the reformation?

in England, the reformation began less with popular discontent and theological disputation than with politics and greed.

why was Protestantism not a result of the English reformation?

the Act of Supremacy was passed under Henry VIII, which formally declared the king to be “Supreme Head of the Church in England” and required an oath.

who were the Puritans and what did they want?

they attempted to “purify” the Church from any vestige of Catholicism, seeking to purge the church service of ritual practices deemed to have no basis in Scripture, to dress the clergy in simple garb, and to smash idolatrous statues. they also objected to the calendar of “pagan” folk customs

freedom of the press: how was literature and the written/published word viewed by the government and Church?