Review Questions
Pre-modern period;
Renaissance
1. All of the following are true of the Black
Death EXCEPT
A. It is believed to have been carried to
Europe by seaborne rats
B. It caused discoloration in its victims.
C. It was highly contagious.
D. It could be cured by flagellation
E. It probably came to Europe from the Black
Sea area
2. Which social group suffered the greatest
decline in power as a result of the plague of
the 14th century?
A. Noble landholders
B. Urban elites
C. Peasants
D. Clergy
E. artisans
3. The Statute of Laborers was typical of noble
response to post plague peasant demands in
that it
A. Guaranteed a minimum wage for artisans.
B. Barred laborers from moving from one city to
another.
C. Governed working conditions in early
factories.
D. Barred laborers from moving from one
profession to another.
E. Limited wages to pre-plague levels
4. Which papal doctrine contributed to the
transformation of the papacy into a great
secular power?
A. Papal primacy
B. Plenitude of power
C. Petrine Doctrine
D. Papal infallibility
E. Donation of Constantine.
5. In his Defender of the Peace, Masilius of
Padua stressed the
A. Independence of the papacy.
B. Independence and autonomy of secular
governments.
C. Role of the church in preventing war.
D. Need for a unified Christendom.
E. Valor and righteousness of Pope John XXII.
6. English strength in the Hundred Years’ War
was due in part to its
A. Superior naval warfare.
B. Use of the longbow.
C. Ability to fight primarily on its own lands.
D. Secret allies among the French privileged
classes.
E. Superior armor
7. The church during the Late Middle Ages is best
characterized as
A. Growing increasingly focused on secular
matters.
B. Growing increasingly focused on spiritual
matters.
C. Enjoying harmonious relationships with
European monarch.
D. Enjoying popular support
E. Enjoying an improved relationship with local
diocese
8. Unam Sanctum expressed which of the
following views?
A. Temporal power was subject to the spiritual
power of the church.
B. The power of the church was subject to the
power of the monarch.
C. Only one pope could serve as the head of the
church.
D. The Conciliar Movement was unjust.
E. Joan of Arc was a heretic.
9. For the most part, Italian city-states during
the Renaissance
A. Were governed by democratically elected
bodies.
B. Were dominated by despotic rule.
C. Worked in cooperation with neighboring
city-states.
D. Were characterized by extreme poverty.
E. Were characterized by central organization
10. The cultural center of the Italian
Renaissance was
A. Naples
B. Milan
C. Venice
D. Rome
E. Florence
11. Which of the following figures in Italian
history is most responsible for the French
invasion of Italy in 1495?
A. Girolamo Savonarola.
B. Cosimo de Medici
C. Ludovico il Moro
D. Cesare Borgia
E. Lucrezia Borgia
12. Which of the following books examines
Renaissance court life and conduct?
A. Castiglion’s Courtier
B. Machiavelli’s Prince
C. Boccaccio’s Decameron
D. Eramus Adages
E. More’s Utopia
13. Which of the following conditions was most
responsible for the extraordinary cultural
developments that occurred in Italy during the
Renaissance?
A. A lack of European conflicts.
B. A unified country
C. A lack of conflicts among the Italian city-states
D. An abundance of wealth
E. Politically conservative, despotic rulers
14. Which of the following developments
stimulated the spread of humanism in
Northern Europe?
A. The publication of Erasmus’ Adages
B. The creation of the Vulgate
C. Artistic patronage of Renaissance Italy
D. The collapse of humanism in Italy
E. The French invasion of Italy
15. Humanists believed that education should
A. promote individual virtue,
B. promote public virtue
C. promote individual virtue and public
service
D. be available to both men and women.
E. be available to people of all social classes.
16. Italy’s decline at the end of the fifteenth
century was precipitated by the
A. Spanish invasion of Italy
B. Collapse of the Ottoman Empire
C. Revival of the papacy
D. Alliance between the papacy and the
Habsburgs
E. French invasion of Italy.
17. The marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and
Isabella of Castile allowed the two rulers to
do all of the following EXCEPT
A. Subdue unruly elements of their realms.
B. Secure their borders against attacks.
C. Secure a lasting peace with Muslim Spain
D. Christianize the whole of Spain.
E. Venture abroad militarily.
18. The attitude of Renaissance artists toward
their medieval predecessors could best be
described as
A. equal to their respect for the ancient Greeks
and Romans.
B. Disdainful.
C. Respectful for the efforts and advances they
made.
D. uninterested
E. Unsure as to how to understand their work.
19. Machiavelli’s solution to Italy’s problems
was
A. A renewal of religious fervor.
B. The unification of Italy.
C. The establishment of dictatorships in each
city-state.
D. An alliance between Italy and Spain.
E. The establishment of democracy in each
city-state.
20. The significance if the sack of Rome by the
troops of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor,
was
A. It ended the influence of the papacy in the
affairs of European nations.
B. It was a key factor in the outbreak of the
Protestant Reformation.
C. It led to economic depression in most of the
Italian peninsula.
D. It is considered the end of the Italian
Renaissance.
E. It helped bring about the Counter Reformation.