HIST 395: Renaissance & Reformation
Study Guide for Exam I
I. Quotes.
A. “A chicken in its cooking pot every Sunday”
B. “I shall gain while I am able”
C. “As you now are, so once were we. As we now are, so shall ye be.”
D. “Others conquer, Hapsburgs marry.”
E. “In them for the first time we detect the modern political spirit of Europe, surrendered freely to its own
instincts, often displaying the worst features of an unbridled egotism, outraging every right, and killing every
germ of a healthier culture. But, wherever this vicious tendency is overcome or in any way compensated, a new
fact appears in history the state as the outcome of reflection and calculation, the state as a work of art.”
F. “It is better to be feared than loved”
G. “The sword of the Lord will soon come over the earth with great speed.”
H. “Read authors who can help you not only by their subject matter, but also by the splendor of the their style
and their skill in writing; that is to say, the works of Cicero and of any who may possibly approach his level.”
I. “Let us enjoy the papacy, since God has given it to us.”
J. “The successors of the Apostles were ordered to lead the Lord’s sheep to pasture; not to fleece them.”
K. “Loved the smell of smoke and the blood of battle”
L. “Conquered Italy with piece of chalk”
M. “In a few years, they will remember me only for my buildings.”
N. “With every downward step I asked myself this: If we are ready to endure so much sweat and labour in order
that we (319)may bring our bodies a little nearer heaven, how can a soul struggling toward God, up the steeps of
human pride and human destiny, fear any cross or prison or sting of fortune?”
O. "I have always believed, I must imitate antiquity not simply to reproduce it, but in order to produce something
new.”
II. Listing
A. List the Divisions within the Aristocracy/ Peerage in descending order of precedence
B. Three Levels of the guilds
C. Four primary characteristics of the Renaissance
D. Four myths Laslett tries to dispel
E. Five Demographic characteristics of the Renaissance
F. List four characteristics of European cities in 1300s. (Not a specific list– just pick four)
G. Name three renaissances prior to the Italian Renaissance and a characteristic of each.
H. Five reasons for the Renaissance beginning in Italy
I. List the four regions of the Italian scene and a city in each
J. Name six characteristics of Italian Renaissance culture
K. Name three book collectors of the Renaissance
L. Name six figures of the Pre-Renaissance/ early Renaissance and their work/ achievement.
M. List Medieval Trivium & Quadrivium
N. List Renaissance subjects of the Studia humantatis
O. Name four Renaissance artists and two works for each.
III. Terms for Identify & Show significance.
Francesco Petrarch
Alexander VI
Julius II
Pazzini Conspiracy
Savonarola
Hansa League
Swiss Cantons
Visconti Family
Sforzas
Condottieri
Guelf vs. Ghibbeline
Tuscany
Republic of St. Mark
Arsenal of Venice
Bank of St. George
Nicholas V
Avignon Papacy
Great Western Schism
Angevins of Naples
Vicar General
Baldesar Castiglione
Princeps
Ermolao Barbado
Balance of Power
Charles VIII
Battle of Fornovo
Julius Exclusus
Leo X
Sprezzatura
Fiorenza
Peace of Lodi
Duke of Urbino
Manuscripts collectors
Cosimo di Medici
Henry VIII
Bonfire of the
Vanities
Wolf of Rimini
Pico della Mirandola
Lorenzo di Medici
Doge of Venice
Wat Tyler Rebellion
War of the Roses
Studia humanitatis
Ad fontes
William of Ockham
Thomas Aquinas
Universitas
Francesco Guicciardini
Lovato dei Lovati
Brunetto Latini
Albertino Massato
Niccolo Machiavelli
Fall of Constantinople
Italic League
Poggio Bracciolini
Cesare Borgia
Doce Stil Nova
Cola di Rienzo
Council of Florence
Dante Alighieri
Civic Humanism
Giovanni Boccacio
Leonardo Bruni
Lorenzo Valla
Coluccio Salutati
Isabella D’Este
Sixtus IV
Women humanists
Scholasticism
scittori
Council of Constance
Council of Florence
IV. Essay Questions
1. Compare and contrast the Italian Renaissance with its predecessors. What made the Italian Renaissance different? Or
was it? Discuss the differences.
2. Discuss the situation of Italian politics in the early Renaissance. Consider the characteristics, players, problems and
innovations of Italian politics.
3. The other half of the Renaissance is the Reformation. Discuss the characteristics and problems of the Papacy from
1300 -1520. How might this lead to reform?
4. Discuss the progress of the early Renaissance from its first origins to the development of Doce Stil Nova and the
subsequent changes in education and thought. Explain the different ideas of the leading figures.
5. Discuss the events and importance of the Pazzi Conspiracy. Explain who the players were and their motives. What
does this episode indicate about the nature of Florentine and Italian Renaissance politics?
6. Consider the pros and cons of Medici rule in Florence. What were the arguments for both the Medici and the
Florentine Republic? Be sure to come to a conclusion either pro or con.
7. Two of the major powers involved in Italian Politics were the Pope and the HRE. Explain the different factions
associated with these two powers, and who supported each side. How did these affect Italian politics?
8. Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince discusses the qualities required for a successful ruler. Explain these and how they
apply to at least three specific rulers/ people in Renaissance Italian politics.
9. Humanism is uniquely associated with the Italian Renaissance. Discuss the development, definition and importance of
humanism within the context of the Renaissance and explore how it developed in the writings of those associated with the
Italian Renaissance.