AP European History Placement Study Guide Flashcards

Transformation of European Thought ($1450$-$1648$): The Big Picture

• Definition of the Renaissance: A period of "rebirth" beginning in the mid-$1300s$ in northern Italy and eventually spreading across the continent ($p.\,4$).

• Intellectual Shift: Scholars moved away from medieval, religion-centered thinking toward a belief in human dignity and potential ($p.\,4$).

• Classical Engagement: Re-engagement with ancient Greek and Roman (classical) texts and ideas occurred.

• Institutional Factors: The weakening of the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire created an environment of intellectual freedom ($p.\,4$).

• Key Global and Social Themes ($p.\,2$):

  • Rediscovery of classical texts and the observation of nature fundamentally changed European worldviews.

  • Religious pluralism challenged the concept of a unified Europe.

  • Europeans explored and settled overseas territories.

  • Commercial capitalism increasingly shaped European society.

  • The struggle for sovereignty led to varying degrees of political centralization ($p.\,3$).

Humanism and the Revival of Classical Learning

• Core Definition: Humanists were Renaissance intellectuals who studied classical civilization with a focus on human beings and their inherent dignity rather than just religious questions ($p.\,5$).

• Departure from Scholasticism: Humanism moved away from medieval philosophy, which was limited by Catholic beliefs and focused primarily on proving God's existence ($p.\,5$).

• Fundamental Humanist Values ($p.\,5$):

  • Secularism: Emphasis on worldly life over theology.

  • Individualism: Growth of personal interests and achievements.

  • Ethics: A focus on moral philosophy outside of strictly religious contexts.

  • Education: Seen as a means to achieve human potential and active citizenship ($p.\,6$).

• Major Humanist Thinkers:

  • Petrarch: Known as the "Father of Humanism"; an Italian poet who criticized medieval Latin, rediscovered Cicero, and developed philological methods of text analysis ($p.\,5$).

  • Lorenzo Valla: Used philology to expose the Donation of Constantine as a forgery in $1440$ ($p.\,5$).

  • Castiglione: Author of The Book of the Courtier, which defined the ideal Renaissance gentleman as classically educated, skilled in arts, and civic-minded ($p.\,7$).

  • Machiavelli: Author of The Prince ($1513$); famous for separating politics from morality and arguing that rulers must use any means necessary to maintain power ("the ends justify the means") ($p.\,8$).

• Civic Humanism and Political Models:

  • The Italian peninsula in the $15\text{th}$ century was a collection of city-states (e.g., Florence, Venice, Milan) ($p.\,7$).

  • Humanists used classical Greek democracy and the Roman Republic as models for representative government ($p.\,7$).

  • Civic Humanism involved applying classical values to active political and civic life.

  • Machiavelli's The Discourses praised the Roman Republic specifically ($p.\,8$).

• Intellectual Accessibility:

  • Arabic-speaking Islamic scholars preserved Greek texts during the Middle Ages, which reached Europe during the Crusades ($p.\,6$).

  • The Catholic Church and universities lost their monopoly on intellectual life as classical texts and scientific methods replaced theology at the center of education ($p.\,6$).

The Printing Press Revolution and Educational Shifts

• Evolution of Universities:

  • Medieval Focus: Grammar, logic, arithmetic, and astronomy; texts were read aloud in Latin due to a lack of books ($p.\,6$).

  • Renaissance Focus: Added history, moral philosophy, and poetry; required students to read Classical Latin and Greek directly ($p.\,6$).

  • Renaissance Man: The ideal goal of education was to create an individual excelling in many areas ($p.\,7$).

• Invention of the Press:

  • Johannes Gutenberg developed movable metal type and the printing press between $1445$ and $1450$ ($p.\,8$).

  • The Gutenberg Bible was the first known book produced from movable type ($p.\,8$).

• Widespread Impact of Printing ($p.\,9$):

  • Literacy and Economics: Dramatically lowered costs and increased book availability.

  • Vernacular Literature: Books were printed in local languages (not just Latin), expanding readership and national cultural identity.

  • Growth: By the $1470s$, printing spread across Europe; by $1500$, there were over $1,000$ printers, with nearly $100$ in Venice alone.

  • Religious Reform: Martin Luther's 95 Theses ($1517$) were printed as German pamphlets, sparking the Protestant Reformation.

  • Demand for Bibles: Protestant services required the Bible in the vernacular, driving the demand for affordable local-language Bibles.

Renaissance Ideas in the Visual Arts

• Italian Art Techniques:

  • Style Change: Shifted from medieval (flat, symbolic, religious) to Renaissance (realistic, humanistic, naturalistic) ($p.\,9$).

  • Naturalism: Close observation and imitation of the natural world ($p.\,10$).

  • Geometric Perspective: A mathematical technique used to create depth and space on a $2\text{D}$ surface ($p.\,10$).

• Patronage:

  • Rulers and Popes commissioned art to increase their personal prestige ($p.\,10$).

  • The Medici Family: Dominated Florence and sponsored much of the era's greatest art.

  • Cosimo de' Medici: Commissioned Brunelleschi to rebuild the Church of San Lorenzo using classical columns, rounded arches, and the largest dome since ancient Rome ($p.\,10$).

• High Renaissance Artists ($1480$-$1520$):

  • Leonardo Da Vinci: The model "Renaissance man"; conducted experiments and dissections; painted the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper (utilizing perspective and idealized figures) ($p.\,11$).

  • Michelangelo: Sculptor, painter, architect, and poet; created the sculpture David ($1501$); painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling (scenes from Genesis); involved in rebuilding St. Peter's Basilica ($p.\,11$-$12$).

  • Raphael: Painted the Vatican Palace frescoes including School of Athens ($∼1510$-$1511$), portraying Aristotle, Plato, and other classical scholars using perspective ($p.\,12$).

Northern Renaissance, Mannerism, and Baroque

• Northern Renaissance Qualities ($p.\,13$):

  • Geography: Spread north of the Alps in the late $15\text{th}$ century.

  • Focus: More religious and less concerned with idealized human forms; focused on exquisite detail (illuminated manuscripts and altarpieces).

  • Art Center: Flanders (France/Belgium region).

  • Jan van Eyck: Flemish artist; noted for close observation of nature and depictions of everyday life and individuals.

  • Decline: Religious artwork declined in northern Europe after the spread of Protestantism due to associations with idolatry ($p.\,14$).

• Mannerism:

  • Characteristics: Broke from High Renaissance balance; utilized distortion and illusion for dramatic effect; reflected post-Reformation spiritual turmoil ($p.\,14$).

  • El Greco: Spanish church painter; known for elongated figures, dark colors, and intense emotion ($p.\,14$).

• Baroque Art ($p.\,14$):

  • Context: Combined classical traditions with strong religious emotion; commissioned by Catholic rulers and the Church to stimulate devotion after the Reformation.

  • Peter Paul Rubens: Prominent northern Baroque painter; used light, color, and nude forms dramatically.

  • Bernini: Italian Baroque architect and sculptor; completed St. Peter's Basilica ($p.\,15$).

The Scientific Revolution: Astronomy and Cosmology

• Origins: Rooted in Renaissance humanism's emphasis on Greek learning, mathematics, and observation ($∼1550$-$1750s$) ($p.\,15$).

• Geocentric vs. Heliocentric Models:

  • Geocentric: Earth at the center; accepted for over $1,400$ years ($p.\,15$).

  • Copernicus: Polish philosopher; used math to prove the heliocentric (sun-centered) model; published On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres ($1543$) shortly before death to avoid criticism ($p.\,15$).

  • Johannes Kepler: German; proved planetary orbits are elliptical (not circular); challenged the idea of the circle as a divine "perfect shape" ($p.\,16$).

  • Galileo Galilei: Italian; first to use a telescope for astronomy; discovered Jupiter's moons and craters on Earth's moon; published The Starry Messenger ($1610$); found guilty of heresy and placed under house arrest ($p.\,16$).

  • Isaac Newton: English; synthesized Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo; discovered the universal law of gravitation; published Principia ($1687$); viewed the universe as a giant machine set in motion by God ($p.\,16$).

Anatomical and Medical Discoveries

• Medieval Precedent: Dominated by Galen (2nd century C.E.); believed in the four humors (blood, yellow bile, phlegm, black bile) and two separate blood systems ($p.\,16$-$17$).

• Early Modern Advancements ($p.\,17$):

  • Paracelsus: Proposed disease was caused by chemical imbalances in specific organs; used chemical remedies.

  • Vesalius: Emphasized dissection of human bodies for research.

  • William Harvey: Refuted Galen; proved the heart is the starting point for a single circulatory system of blood; established the foundation of modern physiology.

The Scientific Method and Persistence of Traditional Views

• Development of Methodology ($p.\,17$-$18$):

  • Francis Bacon: Promoted inductive reasoning (specific observations to general conclusions); coined "natural science."

  • René Descartes: Promoted deductive reasoning (general principles to specific conclusions); prioritized geometric thinking.

  • Isaac Newton: Combined both into the modern scientific method to formulate natural laws.

• Traditional Overlap ($p.\,19$-$20$):

  • Religion: Most scientists still believed in God; science and religion were seen as separate paths of inquiry.

  • Alchemy: Proto-chemistry focused on transforming metals into gold (practiced by Newton).

  • Astrology: Study of celestial influence on humans; Kepler studied astrology.

Historical Comparisons: Medieval vs. Modern

• Universities:

  • Medieval: Focused on Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy, Music; instructors read aloud.

  • Renaissance: Added History, Moral Philosophy, Eloquence, Poetry; required direct reading of Classical Greek/Latin.

• Science:

  • Goal: Medieval science sought to demonstrate Christian truths; post-Renaissance science sought to understand the natural world.

  • Background: Medieval scientists were mostly clergy; post-Renaissance were mostly secular.

  • Sources: Medieval relied on Aristotle, Ptolemy, Galen; post-Renaissance drew on a broad range of classical and observed sources.

  • Methods: Medieval relied on logical analysis; post-Renaissance combined observation, experiments, logic, and math.

  • Church Role: Medieval Church judged scientific validity; post-Renaissance science and religion became separate inquiry paths.

Essential Vocabulary of the Renaissance and Scientific Revolution

• Renaissance: "Rebirth"; the transition from Middle Ages to the modern world ($p.\,4$).

• Classical Era: Ancient Greece and Rome ($∼800\text{ B.C.E.}$ to $500\text{ C.E.}$) ($p.\,4$).

• Theology: Study of ideas about God; dominant in medieval times ($p.\,4$).

• Scholasticism: Medieval philosophy limited by Catholic beliefs ($p.\,5$).

• Philological: Methods of analyzing texts based on the history of language ($p.\,5$).

• Liberal Arts/Humanities: Areas of study for general knowledge and human potential ($p.\,6$).

• Despotism: Exercise of absolute and oppressive power ($p.\,8$).

• Vernacular: The native language of a specific region ($p.\,9$).

• Natural Philosopher: An early term for a scholar who studied the physical world (scientist) ($p.\,15$).

• Epistemology: The philosophy of knowledge ($p.\,19$).

Key Historical Figures and Chronology

• Petrarch ($1304$-$1374$): Father of Humanism.

• Brunelleschi ($1377$-$1446$): Architect of San Lorenzo.

• Jan Van Eyck ($∼1390$-$1441$): Flemish naturalistic painter.

• Johannes Gutenberg ($∼1400$-$1468$): Inventory of the printing press ($∼1445$-$1450$).

• Botticelli ($1445$-$1420$): Painter of Primavera.

• Leonardo da Vinci ($1452$-$1519$): High Renaissance "Renaissance Man."

• Machiavelli ($1469$-$1527$): Author of The Prince.

• Copernicus ($1473$-$1543$): Heliocentric theory.

• Michelangelo ($1475$-$1564$): Sistine Chapel painter.

• Raphael ($1483$-$1520$): School of Athens artist.

• Martin Luther ($1483$-$1546$): Sparked Reformation in $1517$.

• Paracelsus ($1493$-$1531$): Chemical theory of disease.

• Vesalius ($1514$-$1564$): Human anatomical research.

• Galileo ($1564$-$1642$): Used telescope; moon craters; house arrest.

• Kepler ($1571$-$1630$): Elliptical planetary orbits.

• William Harvey ($1578$-$1657$): Circulatory system.

• René Descartes ($1596$-$1650$): Deductive reasoning.

• Isaac Newton ($1642$-$1727$): Principia ($1687$); universal gravitation.