AP Euro – Brysiewicz
Ancient & Medieval Culture Test Close Reading Guide
Directions: Using the space provided as a guide, answer the questions in this study guide,
following along in your summer reading packet. Your answers should be brief and precise, but
these questions are meant to help you engage in the close reading necessary for doing well on
our first AP test of the year. Good luck!
Ancient Greco-Roman Cheat Sheet (Brysiewicz hand-out)
1. What was the difference between pre-Socratic and Socratic philosophers?
2. Among the two great Socratic philosophers Plato and Aristotle, briefly describe the
differences in their methodologies for approaching the “Truth.”
3. Independent Research Question (optional). What is the Septuagint and how does Philo of
Alexandria help bring Judaism to Hellenic society? Later, what distinctions does
Saul/Paul of Tarsus bring the Christianity that set it on a path separate from Judaism?
The Three Pillars of Medieval Society (Brysiewicz hand-out)
4. What caused the rise of manorialism as the widespread economic structure of medieval
Europe? Include in your response an indication that you understand the basic features of
manorialism.
5. How did both feudalism and Latin Christendom reinforce the cultural norm of hierarchy
throughout medieval society? Include in your response an indication that you understand
the basic features of both medieval pillars.
Excerpt from Mysteries of the Middle Ages – Thomas Cahill (Secondary Source)
“The Hellenistic Spread of Christianity”
6. How were Christians treated in pre-Constantine Rome? What was the dominant faith?
7. Using Cahill’s text, Define the terms bishop (episkopos) and diocese in their fourth
century context.
8. What did Constantine’s move to Byzantium mean for the Roman bishops? Define the
challenges, but also the opportunities for Western Christianity apart from Eastern
Christianity.
9. What reason(s) does Cahill give for the runaway success of the “illegal Jesus movement”
in second through fourth century Rome (100s-300s AD)? Push beyond spiritual answers
to political and social reasons for Christianity’s growing popularity.
10. Read Cahill’s apologia for Christianity (in the right margin of the page with the peacock!)
How does he counter claims that Christianity was ruined by its marriage to Constantine’s
Imperium Romanum?
“Augustine, Abelard, & Aquinas: Medieval Scholarship”
11. In his opening paragraphs of this section, how does Cahill push against the stereotypes of
medieval culture (Such as the one given by [William] Manchester)? What distinctions
does he draw between Northern and Southern Europe?
12. How does Cahill depict Medieval Paris, especially its Latin Quarter?
13. Why are medieval universities seen as the ancestor of modern higher education?
14. What are the trivium and quadrivium, and why are they important to universities?
15. How does Cahill characterize the thinking of Plato? Why would his “Theory of Forms”
be beloved by the Church and its Saint Augustine of Hippo?
16. Now characterize Aristotle’s thinking: why does Peter Abelard prefer the methodologies
of Aristotelian philosophy over the Platonic?
17. By what geographical and historical processes did Thomas Aquinas come into contact
with the wider writings of Aristotle? How do Averroes and Albert the Great represent this
context?
18. What larger religious-philosophical shifts occur as a result of the Aquinas’ popular
writings? How does this change medieval thinking? A longer response is appropriate
here, contrasting Aquinas’ Christianity with the earlier ideas of Augustinian faith.
Excerpt from A History of Western Society – John P. McKay (Tertiary Source)
19. How would one characterize the climatological and ecological status of medieval
Europeans regarding food and health? (pp.379-380)
20. Capture key ideas from McKay’s discussion of the Plague of the 1340s and 50s. What
concrete transformations occurred throughout Europe as a result? (pp.380-384)
21. Same topic (Plague), but consider the social and economic effects. How did this crisis
affect socio-economic manorialism and the cultural power of Latin Christendom?
(pp.384-386)
Excerpt from Summa Theologica – Tomas Aquino (Primary Source)
1. Supply context and background for this excerpt from Summa Theologica.
2. Write a brief (3-sentence) summary of this excerpt from Summa Theologica
3. Record at least two notable quotes from the text of Summa Theologica
Decoding Europa: Follow the instructions at the end of the summer reading packet