Name _____________________________ Review Packet- please look at PowerPoints, maps, prior
tests. homeworks, notes and other material listed on the website. You may want to also look at other
DHS W. Civ. teachers website for more material.
The fill in the blank packet is a comprehensive review of the material we covered this semester. If you
complete it on your own you have a strong understanding of the material we covered. Moreover, you
will also get extra credit. If you complete at least 70%- 3 points for your final, 80%- 4 points for your
final. 90%+ 5 points. You are not allowed to copy from other students and are expected to work alone. If
it’s determined that you worked with another student or plagiarized, you will be referred to the
office for a violation of the academic integrity rules and receive no credit for this review sheet.
You will have a review session during the exam week, it will begin at 12:40) and last until
approximately 2:30 PM. The specific day of review will be announced later. The review session will be
in room A101B. This packet must be handed in no later than prior to the beginning of your exam.
Save your maps, you might be allowed to use them on your tests.
The story begins in this rocky and mountainous country named ________________ located on the
Balkan Peninsula. It is (was) surrounded by the countries such as Albania, Bulgaria and the modern day
country of ____________________ previously called Asia Minor. In addition to its difficult terrain, the
area is surrounded by three Seas, the Ionian Sea _____________________ and Mediterranean Sea As a
result rather than unifying into one powerful nation states the area developed into polises which are
__________________________________________.
The first known civilizations, were the Mycenaea which was located on the mainland and the
_________________ which was centered on the large island, Crete. Both civilizations were known for
being relatively sophisticated and literate. Scientists believe the societies were founded in approximately
2000 BCE and terminated in approx. ____________________ BCE. Interestingly both these societies
included a polytheistic (which means _________________) religion. Their gods still provide characters
for modern day stories.
The gods lived on top of this tallest Mountain in Greece named ____ __________________. Unlike
many modern day religions, the gods often descended to earth and interacted with humans. The stories
that developed were called myths, which sought to explain _____________ _________________ and
human relationships. Some of the best known gods were ______________ who was Father of the gods,
Apollo the god of ______________________, Poseidon god of the Sea, Aphrodite goddess of love and
her daughter ____________________, who together with the god of the underworld, Hades, provided
the story of the creation of the seasons.
It is unclear why both these civilizations, died out, some believe it was the “People of the Sea.”
Afterward was the next civilization, the __________________.These people were ____________,
meaning unable to read and write. Despite their apparent lack of sophistication, their long heroic poems
called ______________________ developed. Stories included the Trojan Horse which involved Helen
of Troy, in this story the Horse was used as a decoy. Later in the 19th century Heinrich Schliemann, the
German amateur ___________________ (science of studying ancient remains) located the City of Troy.
The most famous story of this time period was by this blind poet named _____________ who is credited
with the stories the Odyssey and the __________________. The lead character in the stories possessed
this highest of character traits called arête, which means
_________________________________________________________________________. Another
later society (Roman) would have its own character trait called ____________________ which was
based on somberness, seriousness of purpose and humility. The trait arête was often shown in this
quadrennial athletic competition called the __________________ which started in _______________
BCE (modern ______________ Games reestablished by Baron de Coubertin in 1896 CE. The best
known competition was this five part event called the _________________________.
As time went on, society began to change. The early political leaders of the _______________ period
were ______________________ (not the Disney film about cats), these people had the following
characteristics. They were able to maintain their power during the __________ Ages because they
possessed the weapons. However, as new metal alloys were formed the ________________- Age came
about, this led to weaponry becoming cheaper and stronger. As a result common people were able to rise
up in rebellion, the early leaders of these rebellions were called ____________________ (ironically,
today we have a relatively negative definition associated with this word). The ______________
overthrew the old leaders and helped the common people by
_________________________________________________________.
Life was clearly starting to change, two polises, one, named_____________, for the Greek Goddess of
Wisdom, __________, was located on the mainland, and the other, Sparta located on the Peloponnesian
Peninsula would begin to dominate. Sparta had previously managed to dominate the people from
Messenia. These people called ________________ would be in some ways similar to the serfs of the
early middle ages, who were required to work the land but were not slaves. Despite not being slaves the
___________ rose up against the Spartans, they outnumbered the Spartans ______ to 1. As a result,
there was a lot of nervousness in Sparta, the leader, _____________________ helped develop Sparta
into a society that was highly militaristic. Virtually everything about this society was devoted to
maintaining the power structure. Infanticide, which is _________________ was common since the
society did not want to devote undue resources to less than healthy babies. Likewise at the age of
__________ males had to leave home and entered into the military, which is where they would live until
they were __________________.
Meanwhile in Athens, there were problems as well, the poor common people were rising against the
elite ruling class. Two leaders, Solon in ___________ BCE and _________________________ in 508
BCE would lead Athens to a new form of government called _____________________ meaning rule by
the people. Initially Solon created reforms such as ____________________________, while
Cleisthenese included reforms such as _________________________.
Both societies dominated the southern Balkan Peninsula area, but to the east was a Persian King, named
_______________, who after dominating Asia Minor sought to dominate Greece. This began the first of
two wars, not surprisingly called the ____________ Wars. He amassed an enormous army to fight.
Meanwhile the Greeks, who had developed strong and sturdy citizen soldiers called ________________,
who in units called ______________________ would fight with their ___________________, which
were as long as 8 feet (later under Alexander they would grow to as large as 16 feet). The Greeks
managed to fend off the Persians, the most famous battle was the Battle of __________________, which
later would be known as a 26.2 mile running race, the distance from ___________________ to Athens,
where the exhausted soldier relayed the message of the invasion and then collapsed and died.
Later, his son, Xerxes sought to avenge his father’s defeat. Again gathering an enormous army, he
crossed the __________________ Sea and entered onto the mainland. Moving southward, he made
significant victories. The Athenians and Spartans formed an alliance, to fight the Persians. Rather than
provide their resources to the Persians, the people of Athens, led by this soon to be famous general,
_____________________ their City leaving the Persians with nothing. At the
_____________________, the Spartan general, ________________ fended off a Persian army 30 times
or more larger than his, before succumbing to them. Finally at the ___________ of Salamis, the navy
using their ______________________ (boats) managed to defeat the Persians. The Greeks had done the
unthinkable, they had defeated the Persians. The victory led to a new and _________________ Age in
Athens. Led by the great orator and leader, _______________________, the Athenians, for a period of
approximately 100 years created a culture that to this day plays an incredibly strong role in our society.
With money which Athens received from the other polises as part of the ______________ League, the
city enriched itself. One of the most famous buildings in the world, called the
_________________________ was built in honor of the City’s goddess, on the highest area in the city
which was called the __________________________ (meaning high city). There in the Agora, which is
___________________________________________, people would meet and discuss events and learn.
Education and civics were extremely important in Athens. People would learn about politics and life in
plays performed in the _______________________________, by playwrights such as Aristophanes and
____________________________, who wrote the tragedy we read in class,
________________________ (name of play).
Other endeavors included Philosophy, which means ___________________________. The most famous
philosopher was probably _________________________, he caused people to question even the most
basic ideas through a dialogue called the ___________________ Method. However, due to both his
arrogance and the perception that he was corrupting youth by questioning the existence of
__________________. He was tried by a jury of ______________, who based on a unanimous, supermajority, majority or minority? (circle the correct one) vote convicted him, his punishment was to
commit suicide by drinking ___________________. This caused his student _____________________
to become incredibly upset. Seeing how the will of people could mean the death of one of the brightest
people of all time, he wrote the book, The ____________________ . For ____________________ rule
by the People was not the answer. People were too easily influenced. In his government, modeled after
the Spartan government, society would be divided into 3 parts, 1)_________________________, 2)
soldiers and 3)_______________________ with a Philosopher King to lead. Today we have a mixture
of this idea of rule by the people and representative government, which we call a
___________________ ____________________.
As time went on, in _____________________ the Spartans and Athenians developed bigger and bigger
problems, until finally, the parties entered into the _________________________________ War. The
walls built to protect Athens from outsiders led to __________________________ as disease spread
through the population, meanwhile on the island of Sicily in the City of
____________________________. The Spartans defeated the Athenians. The ___________________
Age of Athens was now over.
Less than 100 years later, in _____ BCE a new leader from Macedon named
_____________________________ would expand the Greek culture as far east as the
__________________ River, which is today in India. With the eastern movement the culture would
adapt and change, with Persian influence as well as others, it would be known as
____________________________. The most well-known city, _________________________ would be
in Egypt, strategically located on a delta, abutting the Nile River and the
______________________________ Sea. There an enormous library consisting of
_________________________ volumes would be built along with an enormous
____________________ to help sailors. As importantly, learning would take place, theories of a
heliocentric meaning ____________ centered universe arose, individuals like Aristarchus, who
_____________________________________________________, Euclid who developed this form of
mathematics ___________________________, Pythagoras who developed
____________________________________, showed how advanced a society it was. Why there wasn’t
an industrial revolution at this time is not 100% clear but many believe it was due to
________________________________________________________________________
The ____________________ period also ushered in a new form of art, more emotional and expressive
than the Classical period which predated it and which exited from approximately ___________ to 400
BCE. Before the Classical period was the _______________ period where the statues were often,
expressionless, ________________ and with the ____________ leg slightly bent. The Greeks also used
this form of pottery called terracotta which means ______________________________, friezes which
are _____________________ and various types of column capitols which are __________________
which is the most elaborate, ionic, and ___________ which is the plainest.
While all this was going on a new power was growing to the west, in Italy, the city of Rome. It all began
in 753 BCE, when the legend of Romulus and Romulus, surrounded by _____ hills and sitting on the
________ River, Rome was strategically located. In _______ BCE, Rome ousted its Kings and formed a
Republic, which is a form of government based upon
______________________________________________________________________________ . In
this new form of government, the executive branch and commander in chief would be two people, who
would be called _________________ they had a brief 5 5
term of office of only ______ year(s), could not be reelected to the position for _______ years and had
the right to _______ each other, which means they could ____________ each others vote. There was
also the ______________ which was limited to the Patrician class (similar to the ________________
branch in early Greece). There were initially 100 office holders and they had a ___________ term of
office. Finally there was a weaker branch called the ________________________ which included the
plebeians, who were poorer citizens who owned land. Like Greece all citizens (only male) were also
soldiers.
For the Romans, somberness, seriousness, modesty and sense of purpose were the character trait they
called _________________ which they looked up to. Early in the Republic’s history it was threatened
and under a special provision of the government law they named a dictator, named
_____________________________. Showing his character, this leader for 15 days led the army to
victory, and then despite the demands of many to have him become King. He then returned to his farm,
showing that service to his people was his obligation, but a simple and plain life as a farmer was all he
wanted in life.
Roman society was quite interesting. They adopted many ideas from the Greeks, such as their gods, this
combination of Greek and Roman cultures is not surprisingly called ________-_________________.
The gods often had different names than the Greeks, for instance for the Romans the God of War was
________________ and the father of the Gods __________________.
Culturally in roman society the father of the family ruled under the doctrine called __________
_____________________. Despite this women in Rome had many more rights than women in Athens.
To ensure that all people had more rights, in the mid 5th Century the Romans passed a new set of laws
called the ____________ _______________ (not sofas). The laws were favored by the
__________________ class which felt the laws were being arbitrarily and unfairly applied to them.
Many of these laws we still use today.
As time elapsed Rome expanded its borders, defeating the Greek General _____________ in the late 3rd
century, before going to war with its North African rival __________________. In 264 BCE the first of
what would become three wars called the ____________ Wars, ended. In this first War, Rome defeated
__________________. But as the 3rd Century BCE was coming to an end, a second war started.
__________________ was led by ______________________ who’s name would go down in history
when he managed to bring his army through Spain, across the ________________ mountain range
separating Spain and France, and then across the _________ mountain range into Italy, where he
ravaged the farms in the ______ Valley. Finally, Scipio ____________________ crossed the
Mediterranean Sea and in the Battle of Zama in ________ BCE defeated the Carthaginians. Rome now
dominated the ______________________ Sea. Its’ citizen soldiers were able to defeat the paid
professionals of Carthage called _______________________________. Just to put icing on the cake, in
________ BCE Rome led by the grandson of Scipio _____________________, Scipio Aemilianus once
again defeated _____________. This time for good measure they allegedly sowed the ground with salt,
to ensure that nothing could ever grow their again.
All powerful Rome though had a problem, the ravaging of the farmland in the 2nd _________ War, had
destroyed the farms of the _______________ class, forced to sell their land to the Patrician class, they
moved into the city of Rome where they formed a new class of people called the
_____________________________. Meanwhile the Patricians began to live outside of Rome in their
enormous estates called ______________________. The growing ____________________ class
(landless poor) in Rome would present problems. The Gracchus brothers in the office of
_____________ fought for the rights of the poor and landless class. Both ended up _______________.
As Rome’s influence throughout the region expanded, the Rome’s government began to go into disarray.
Two generals, Marius and ______________ began a power struggle. The rules of the original Republic
such as limited terms of office were no longer abided by. By ___________ CE there was an enormous
slave uprising led by _________________ (played by Kirk Douglas in the movie), Rome was no longer
under control despite subduing the rebellion.
As the last century before the common era moved forward, a new leader would take center stage,
___________ Caesar. Together with ______________ and Pompey, he formed the 1st
_____________________. But that would not be enough for this leader. After defeating the barbarians
in ______________ (now France), Caesar wanted to return to Rome, ordered not to enter Rome with his
troops, he signaled his intent to begin a civil war by crossing the ___________ River. Caesar defeated
___________________, who’s head was given to Caesar. Soon Caesar was elected dictator for ten years
and then for life. Finally, his friend ____________ together with a host of other senators, fearful that
Caesar was attempting to become a King ( a violation of Roman law, punishable by death), stabbed and
killed Caesar.
A new power struggle began, Caesar’s nephew _______________, together with Lepidus and Marc
Antony formed a 2nd ___________________. They defeated Cassius and _________________. But
now the trio would enter into its own rivalry. A ___________ vacuum formed with all parties seeking to
win. Lepidus quit and ____________ __________________ together with his Egyptian queen
____________________ commit suicide.
The Republic was over, now it was the Empire, led by ____________ . To restore order, a civil service,
which is __________________________ was expanded, the ___________________ system (sounds
like money) was improved so that people wouldn’t be forced to barter meaning ___________
___________________________________. People in the new provinces of the Empire would be
allowed to become _____________________ thereby helping to create the period of time called the
Roman peace. Moreover, in the provinces, the Romans sought to ensure a certain quality of life by
building _____________ to carry clean water into the city, as well as plumbing to take waste away,
theatres and _________________ for gladiator fights and other forms of entertainments, and of course
roads, since all roads would eventually lead to Rome. These underlying systems, often called by the
term, ________________________, helped allow roman society to flourish. Sadly one thing that wasn’t
strongly considered was how to ensure that future leaders were capable. Future Emperors such as Nero,
who was said to __________ while Rome burned, and Caligula, who named his ________, co-consul.
were direct descendants, were often deemed “bad emperors”. In contrast, Trajan, the first Emperor from
the province of Spain, Hadrian, who expanded the Roman Empire to
its greatest expanse in the year ________ CE, all the way to Hadrian’s wall located in Scotland and
_______ ___________________, who was a stoic, and wrote down his ideas in a book called
Meditations. were adopted successors and later deemed “good emporer.” By the 2nd century the Roman
Empire had expanded all the way to this river, the ________________, which goes through the cities of
Budapest and Vienna, amongst others.
As Rome struggled to maintain its power, a new movement was starting in the land called
_____________________. A monotheistic (meaning ________ ________) religion called
_____________, was causing problems for the empire. Unlike so many others they were unwilling to
___________ to the Roman Emperors. They had built a large temple in the City of
____________________ and were having trouble Romanizing. It was in this environment that a new
movement started called the cult of _____________, it initially was a branch of the religion
___________. Led by _________________, who preached to people about a God of love and
forgiveness amongst other things, quickly began to expand. His life and stories were later told in four
chapters of the New Testament of the _______, called the ____________, meaning the “good news”.
For followers of the new religion it is believed that ________ was crucified and then rose from death to
join his father in heaven. One apostle (which means _________________ ) who was critical to the new
movements development, was ____________ who went to Rome and became known as its first bishop.
Today he is often called the ______ of the Roman Catholic Church. Sadly he was a _____________
having died for his faith. Another apostle, Saul, who later became known as ___________ allegedly had
a vision on the road to Damascus and became an ardent follow of the new cult. Travelling through the
roads and waterways of the Roman Empire, made safe by the _____ Romana, he wrote letters,
__________ which became the first entries to the New Testament, and expanded the potential reach of
new religion by allowing non-semites to join religion. New followers would not have to be circumsized,
_____________ (word for strict jewish dietary food laws) or learn hebrew. Later in the year ________
CE, Roman armies under Trajan attacked Jerusalem, eventually destroying the 2nd Temple. In 133 CE,
all Jews would leave what they considered their homeland in what became known as the ____________
or dispersion of people around the world. One group known as ________________ living in a site called
Massada in 66 CE allegedly chose to commit suicide rather than surrender.
Rome struggled with the new religion, the old _______-___________ polytheism was no longer
providing enough for the people. One philosophy which became popular was
______________________ which would lead to a lavish lifestyle, another was ________________ (see
Marcus Aurelius) which fit neatly with the Roman trait of Gravitas, since they both demanded
somberness and sense of purpose. The new religion now known as ________________, was growing
rapidly and since like its related religion it required that its adherents do not pray to the Roman gods or
Emperors the Empire decided to persecute the followers. Marcus Aurelius and the later
Emperor______________________, who tried to restore order by dividing the Empire into 4 parts were
well known persecutors of the new Christians. Still the religion grew, in part because of its promise of
an _____________ for those who’s life on earth was extremely difficult. Finally, in 312 CE after
winning the Battle of _________ __________ Constantine became Emperor. He later credited his
victory to a vision he
had of a shield made of swords in the shape of a cross, this combined with his mother’s Christianity led
him to issue the _____ of Milan, ending the persecution of Christians. Moreover Constantine sent his
mother to Jerusalem where she allegedly found the cross on which Jesus was crucified as well as other
__________ (saints bones and items related to Jesus). Lastly she established the Church of the _______
________________ which is allegedly located on the site of Jesus’ crucifixion. The Empire under the
Emperor ________ accept Christianity as its own religion, banning the others.
From the death of Marcus Aurelius Rome itself began a continual decline. Over one fifty year period in
the early 3rd Century there were _________ different leaders. Famine, plague and the first raid by
barbarians of what would eventually decimate Rome. By the 5th Century the City of Rome had declined
from a peak population of 1 million to approximately _____________ people. In 410 Alaric, King of the
_____________ attacked Rome. Perhaps the fiercest of all barbarians was Attila the _______ who was
apparently talked out of attacking Rome by Pope Leo I. The Roman army was no longer invincible. The
army was now made up in large part by paid for professionals called _________________ many of these
were barbarians themselves. Finally one of them allowed the barbarians to enter into Rome and in the
year _____________ CE, the Emperor Romulus Augustulus was dethroned by ___________.
While the West was defeated, the East remained powerful. In the early 6th century the Emperor
___________ had temporary success regaining the Western Empire. He also built the enormous
cathedral, Hagia ________ . Slowly the divide between East and West grew. In the year 800, Pope Leo
III crowned the Frank, Charles the Great, more commonly known as _________________, Holy Roman
Emperor. During the same period the Eastern and Western church disagreed on these artistic
representations of human religious forms called __________ . By the year _________ the disagreements
had extended to issues such as the language of church services and the marriage and celibacy of priests
causing each church to excommunicate the others (meaning ____________________________) each
labeling the other a _________ (starts with an H). There would now be two churches the Roman
Catholic Church and the Eastern ____________ Church.
Kings throughout Europe would begin to choose which church they would follow. Much earlier in
France the leader ____________________ chose to accept the Western Roman Catholic Church, but
__________ years later, the Russian Tsar Vladimir of _____________ descent chose Eastern Orthodox.
One new group that was creating a new issue in Europe arose out of Arabia, ________________ began
the new religion, Islam. Within approximately 100 years Islamic armies had marched as far west and
north to the Battle of Tours in _______________ where Charles “the Hammer” Martel stopped them,
but in the meantime they managed to establish magnificent cities in Baghdad, which is in modern day
Iraq, and in Cordova which is in modern day ______________. Unlike the western areas dominated by
the Roman Catholic Church, Islamic society accepted “pagan” culture, including Socrates, Plato and
Aristotle. As a result, while Western Europe was in the midst of a ___________(unlit) age where
illiteracy was common, mathematics achievements such as __________________________ and medical
achievements such as __________________________________ showed the dominance of the new
Islamic societies.
There were a few in Europe who managed to maintain the prior cultural achievements, chiefly these
religious organizations called ______________________ that required vows of poverty, isolation,
celibacy and prayer. The first was started by _______________ . Much later the Franciscan order was
established by ___________________ of Assisi.
In the late 11th Century, religious issues again were raised, following the earlier destruction of the
Church of the Holy Sepulcher, (it had been rebuilt) Christians nervous about Islamic control of the
_____ lands, sought to regain them. An army was amassed, and in the year _______CE the
_______________ marched into Jerusalem, defeating the Islamic group their. There would eventually be
a total of ________ crusades. The holy lands would continuously change hands, clearly the success of
the crusades was quite limited.
For the next few centuries there would be battles betweens Popes who held Spiritual power and Kings
who possessed _____________ power. Since power is a ________ sum game, the increase in power of
one person means the decrease in power of the other. As early as the 8th Century a French King,
______________________, (hint: he wasn't tall) was anointed by the Pope. But as the Kings solidified
power in their Christianized countries in Europe, disagreements with religious and temporal power
grew. Pope Gregory VII and King Henry IV had a major spat, leading to Henry’s excommunication
which means _____________________________ _______________________________, But after
kneeling in the snow and getting Gregory’s forgiveness he managed to bring in a Pope more to his
liking. Disagreements included who would name church officers, finally, the Pope banned lay
_______________. By the ____ Century, the battles between Kings and Popes would lead the Pope to
vacate the City of Rome and move to the City of _____________ in modern day France. For the next
_____ years the Papacy would sit in France. Finally, there would be _____ Popes for over 30 years and
even three Popes for a brief period. The Roman Catholic Church which dominated Western and Central
Europe was in disarray. While all this was going on major changes were happening in the rest of Europe.
When Rome fell in 476 CE, the old provinces witnessed a major change in power. Leaders were no
longer chosen by who was most capable, but rather who was most powerful. The Trial by ___________,
which is ___________________________________________________________________
Became the means to determine guilt or innocence. As time elapsed a new political system evolved, one
that essentially made public power private, this system became called ______________. This new
system, was largely based upon the exchange of property for security. At the top of the pyramid of
power and property lied the Kings and lords, they divided up their land into parts called and gave them
to ________________ who in exchange for the land, provided Knights to the Kings for a period of 40
days per year. At the bottom of the pyramid were the serfs who were tied to the land but different from
slaves because __________________________. Life was difficult, the Lords/vassals owned everything
in their self-sufficient community called a __________, including the mill, the fish in the ponds and the
deer in the woods. By managing the vassals Kings could ensure their power. Perhaps the best of these
was _______________ the Conqueror. Upon defeating King Harold in the Battle of ______________ in
1066, the new King from Normandy, France, overthrew all the old lords and vassals and to ensure the
loyalty of the new lords and vassals replaced them with his own allies. This would allow the country of
England to form the first modern day nation-state which is
____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________. Approximately 150 years later,
the nobles and vassals demanded more power, forcing King John to enter into a written agreement
(contract) called the _________ __________. This document forms the modern day foundation for a
government with limited power. As the 14th Century began, the king seeking to expand his own power,
sought the alliance of the new growing class of people living in the towns and so formed a group called
_____________________, which would have a House of Lords and a House of Commons.
In France it wasn’t quite so simple, it would take a 116 year war, which became better known as the
__________ year war between France and ____________. The war would solidify power in France, as
the English lords were eventually ousted from France. Jean D’ ______ became perhaps the best known
person from this event, after having a vision she inspired the French to victory. But as importantly the
new war showed that War would now require larger and more professional armies. The new armies
would signal the beginning of the end of the era of knights, the practice of chivalry which was
__________ __________________________________________ would fall aside as new weapons
made the knights outmoded.
In the Battle of Agincourt in the year 1415 CE, knights battled _______________ (new form of warfare)
archers and were easily defeated.
New forms of warfare provided one area of technological change, other technological changes from the
Middle Ages included, ________ (things for horses) along with _____ field crop rotation. Between the
11th and 13th Century the population of Western Europe grew 300%. The population increases, along
with growing trade led to the development of towns called _____________. Along with this also came
Universities, such as this one in England _________________ (not Cambridge). Learning, trade and
population increases allowed cities such as Genoa and __________ (famous city for its canals) to
blossom. In one of these city-states, Florence, a famous domed cathedral was built by
________________, who used the new art form called perspective to achieve a certain balance. The poet
________ and writer Dante also lived in Florence. Dante wrote The Divine Comedy which in addition to
its mixture of earthly and heavenly ideas was not written in Latin but in his native language, this use of
the native language or _________________ moved people away from the Church where only Latin was
allowed. This age of new ideas arguably began in Italy as early as 1300 became known as the
__________________, or rebirth. To this day, the focus of western culture remains the here and now.
The focus of intellectualism was moving away from a solitude and contemplative life, as was common
in the monasteries of the medieval ages, where prayer was paramount, to an “active” life. The new
learned class would be called Christian humanists which means
___________________________________________. Religion was also 11 11
looking more outward, a new Roman Catholic religious group, Friars came about, the Friars were
different than the monks because _________________________________ ___________________. In
Politics things were changing in Italy as well, the city states were much like in ancient Greece, which
called them ________ (name for Greek City-States
In the early 14th Century just as the renaissance was starting, a disease of unknown origin called the
_________ __________ spread throughout Europe. When it finally appeared to be over over ____rd of
the population had been killed. Including, Laura whom Petrarch lovingly wrote about and longed for.
The burgeoning renaissance would be delayed for a short time.
As the plague ended, the Italian city-states would witness an explosion of art and culture. Its proximity
to the Silk Road of Asia, as well as its’ location on the Mediterranean, had allowed traders to center their
activities in places like Florence, Genoa and Venice. In fact, the word banker originated in the City of
____________________. These bankers would charge a usury, which is
__________________________ , which previously the Church had banned. One banking and ruling
family in Florence, the ________________ became quite wealthy. They quickly dominated politics as
well as using their vast sums of money for artists and writers. Artists of Florence included; Brunelleschi,
a ___________________, sculptors such as _____________________ (early 15th Century Florentine,
sculpted an early David) and _____________________ (late 15th Century Florentine, sculpted a later
David as well as the ___________ Chapel in Rome). This artwork was largely based upon the
________-_____________ culture that dominated Europe over 1000 years earlier. During the middle
ages, art was primarily seen as a vocation, where one apprenticed so that they could repeat same patterns
over and over, now, creativity was appreciated as well as realism which is ________ Now the artist had
an insight on the world that escapes most of us but may benefit all of us.
But art wasn’t the only place where life was changing, unlike England which was developing a strong
national government, the city-states of Florence, Rome, Genoa, Milan, and Venice were rivalries, each
with there own armies and governments. An early political theorist, named ___________________,
developed a book which was really a guide to government leaders called The Prince. The focus of the
book was on how leaders could maintain their power. For Machiavelli, the means to an end were not
important, only the __________________________. The theory of political realism meant
____________________________________________________, and would gain adherents for the next
500 years. The book, The Prince, remains one of the most famous books on government.
While Italy remained a group of city-states, England, France and by the end of the 15th Century Spain
would develop into nation-states. In order to unify, Spain sought to make everyone Christian. Spain had
a very diverse culture which included a large Islamic population, which formed in the early 8th Century
when the Ummayads conquered the Iberian Peninsula, as well as a large Jewish population which as part
of the diaspora, (which means
____________________________________________________________________) had spread
throughout Europe, but was primarily centered in Spain because of the tolerant attitude of the earlier
Islamic rulers. To ensure their place in society many Jews and Moslems (people of the Islamic faith)
gave up their prior faiths and become Christian. These people (primarily Jews) would be called
_______________. However several of recent converts still either secretly practiced their religion or
merely still followed some of the old rituals. Sadly this placed them in mortal danger. In the early 13th
Century, the Roman Catholic Church established a legal-like procedure called an inquisition which is
__________________________________________________________. In a trial like process, the
converted Christian would often be accused of failing to follow the rules of the Church. Punishment
could be very mild, but in cases where someone was determined to be a ______________ (starts with an
“h”) they would be ex-________________________ , meaning that they would be excluded from the
religious community, which at this time, basically meant everything, including marriage, baptism,
communion and the last rites. In a few cases the punishment included execution. In France, Jean d’Arc
was burned at the stake after being labeled a heretic and excommunicated. In Spain many Jews left
(made more difficult since England and France amongst other countries had forced their Jewish
populations out in the 14th Century). The Islamic population was continuously pushed southward until
finally in1492, Queen _______________ of Castille and her husband, King ________________ of
Aragon, drove the _________ out of Grenada. Now Spain was thoroughly Christianized.
By the year 1500, Western Europe was looking more outward, wealth through trade was growing at a
fast pace, learning was buttressed through the humanists who studied at the new universities, art was
transformed through the rich paints from the east, and the use of perspective and realism, the nation-state
was becoming the dominant political force, as armies became more and more expensive requiring larger
and larger governments, and the cannon had made the lords and vassals vulnerable. All these changes
would eventually lead to a religious, social and industrial revolution, that will be the dominant force to
this day.