Middle Ages/intro to the reformation/renisance study guide

Here’s a short and direct study guide organized by theme to help you prep efficiently:

🏰 Middle Ages

  • Feudalism: Land-based social system; lords, vassals, serfs.

  • Primogeniture: Firstborn son inherits everything.

  • Patriarchal: Male-dominated society.

  • Serfs: Peasants tied to land; not slaves but not free.

  • Divine Right: Monarchs rule by God’s will.

  • Crusades: Religious wars to reclaim Holy Land; sparked trade and weakened feudalism.

  • Crusades Tech: Crossbows, siege weapons, navigation tools.

  • Saladin: Muslim leader who recaptured Jerusalem.

  • Richard the Lionheart: English king in 3rd Crusade.

  • Results of First 3 Crusades: Temporary Christian gains, Muslim reconquest, increased East-West contact.

  • Crusades → Europe: Boosted trade, weakened nobles, increased king’s power.

🦠 Black Death

  • Black Death: Plague that killed 1/3 of Europe (1347–1351).

  • 3 Types of Plague: Bubonic (lymph nodes), pneumonic (lungs), septicemic (blood).

  • Spread: Fleas on rats, trade routes.

  • Impact: Labor shortages, decline of feudalism, rise of middle class.

🌆 Growth & Trade

  • Growth of Cities: Trade revival, guilds, urbanization.

  • Start/Growth of Trade: Crusades, Silk Road, Mediterranean trade.

  • Marco Polo: Traveled to China; inspired interest in Asia.

  • Ibn Battuta: Traveled Islamic world—Cairo, Delhi, Baghdad, Granada, Timbuktu.

  • Dar al-Islam: Islamic world; unified by religion, trade, language.

  • Al-Razi & Al-Tusi: Muslim scholars in medicine and astronomy.

  • House of Wisdom: Baghdad center of learning.

🧠 Renaissance

  • Machiavelli (The Prince): Rulers should be feared, not loved; ends justify means.

  • Thomas More: Wrote Utopia; criticized corruption.

  • Vernacular: Writing in local language (not Latin).

  • Shifts in Power: Decline of feudal lords, rise of monarchs and cities.

  • Growth of Middle Class: Merchants, bankers gained wealth and influence.

  • Medici Family: Wealthy patrons of Renaissance art in Florence.

✝ Reformation

  • Pope Urban II: Called First Crusade.

  • Reformation Groups:

    • Lutherans: Faith alone, Bible central.

    • Anglicans: English church under monarch.

    • Anabaptists: Adult baptism, pacifism.

    • Calvinists: Predestination.

    • Catholics: Counter-Reformation, Jesuits.

  • Jesuits (Loyola/Xavier): Catholic missionaries and educators.

👑 Absolute Monarchs

  • Louis XIV: “Sun King,” built Versailles, absolute power.

  • Philip II: Spanish king, Catholic defender.

  • Queen Elizabeth I: Protestant, defeated Spanish Armada.

  • Henry VIII: Broke from Catholic Church; 6 wives.

  • Peter the Great: Modernized Russia, Western reforms.

  • Palace of Versailles: Symbol of royal power and control.

✍ Essay Prep Topics

  • Crusades & End of Feudalism: Crusades weakened nobles, increased trade, empowered kings.

  • Renaissance & Reformation: Shift to humanism, questioning authority, religious fragmentation.

  • Great Monarchs: Centralized power, built strong states, influenced religion and culture.

Let me know if you want flashcards or a quiz based on this guide—I can generate one instantly.