AP EUROPEAN HISTORY SUMMER ASSIGNMENT Macrigiane
Responses may be typed, must be original and should be with you in hand on the first day of class.
PART I: Read the primary and secondary source excerpts from Dennis Sherman’s book, Western Civilization: Sources, Images, and Interpretations, from the Renaissance
to the Present, and answer the questions that follow.
*do not answer the chapter questions found at the end of the excerpts, only these:
1.
In The Old Testament, how many of the Ten Commandments pertain to man’s relationship to man? How may pertain to man’s relationship with God?
What do you see as the overall purpose of these commandments?
2.
In The History of the Jews, what can we gather is the most significant achievements of the Hebrews according to the author?
3.
What is the main idea brought forth by Thucydides in Pericles’ report of the
Peloponnesian War? How does Pericles view the Athenians and the
Spartans?
4.
Plato’s Republic is written as a dialogue. What are Plato’s ideas regarding democracy? How do they compare to those of Pericles in the earlier excerpt you read? What is the benefit of presenting an argument in the form of a dialogue in your opinion?
5.
How does Finley Hooper describe the nature of the Greeks as a people? Did the Greeks believe in a person’s inalienable rights in society?
6.
What are the two main parts of Roman history? When did Rome’s history actually begin according to the timeline?
7.
Polybius was a Greek historian who reported on Rome’s Republic. What does he say about the distribution of power in Rome with regard to the roles of the consuls, senate and people?
8.
Sallust appears to have some very strong opinions about the Republic. What are his chief complaints when it comes to the Republic and the people of
Rome?
9.
When did Christianity make its appearance in the Roman Empire? When was it recognized as the official religion of the Roman Empire? When did the
Roman Empire “fall”?

10.
According to the introduction of The Early Middle Ages on page 126, what was the reason behind the fall of Rome? According to the timeline – can we say the Middle Ages were totally “dark ages”? Explain your answer.
11.
What did the feudal system seem to provide for the people of western
Europe? What is fealty?
12.
In Pope Urban’s call to the Crusades, what are his “selling” points to the
Christians of Europe encouraging them to go to Jerusalem?
13.
Summarize the five ways in which St. Thomas Aquinas proves the existence of God.
14.
In Bocaccio’s Decameron, the Black Death is described along with the panic that surrounded its outbreak. Identify some of the more startling parts of this excerpt regarding both the physical description of the plague and the effects it had on society.