Download Vocabulary for Renaissance and Reformation

Vocabulary for the Renaissance and Reformation
1.) Black Death - a deadly plague that swept through Europe between 1347 and 1351
2.) Charlemagne - The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire; his name means “Charles
the Great.” Charlemagne was king of France in the late eighth and early ninth centuries
and was crowned emperor in 800. He is especially remembered for his encouragement of
education.
3.) Chivalry - the code of honorable behavior for medieval knights
4.) David - is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created between 1501 and 1504, by
Italian artist Michelangelo
5.) Feudalism - the system of obligations that governed the relationships between lords and
vassals in medieval Europe
6.) Gothic - noting or pertaining to a style of architecture, originating in France in the
middle of the 12th century and existing in the western half of Europe through the
middle of the 16th century, characterized by the use of the pointed arch and the ribbed
vault, by the use of fine woodwork and stonework, by a progressive lightening of
structure, and by the use of such features as flying buttresses, ornamental gables,
crockets, and foils.
7.) Heresy - religious ideas that oppose accepted church teachings
8.) Holy Roman Empire - a Germanic empire located chiefly in central Europe that began
with the coronation of Charlemagne as Roman emperor in a.d. 800 and ended with the
renunciation of the Roman imperial title by Francis II in 1806, and was regarded
theoretically as the continuation of the Western Empire and as the temporal form of a
universal dominion whose spiritual head was the pope.
9.) Humanism - a philosophical position that stresses the autonomy of human reason in
contradistinction to the authority of the Church
10.)
Indulgences - In the Roman Catholic Church, a declaration by church authorities
that those who say certain prayers or do good deeds will have some or all of their
punishment in purgatory remitted.
11.)
John Calvin - French theologian and reformer in Switzerland: leader in the
Protestant Reformation.
12.)
Leonardo da Vinci - Italian painter, sculptor, architect, and engineer: the most
versatile talent of the Italian Renaissance.
13.)
Magna Carta - a document signed in 1215 by King John of England that
required the king to honor certain rights
14.)
Manor - a large estate owned by a knight or lord
15.)
Martin Luther - German theologian and religious reformer who was the catalyst of
the 16th-century Protestant Reformation.
16.)
Medieval - A descriptive term for people, objects, events, and institutions of the
Middle Ages.
17.)
Nation-state - self-governing countries made up of people with a common cultural
background
18.)
Niccolo Machiavelli - Italian statesman, political philosopher, and author
19.)
Ninety-Five Theses - the theses of Luther against the sale of indulgences in the
Roman Catholic Church, posted by him on the door of a church in Wittenberg, October
31, 1517.
20.)
Nobles - a rich and powerful person
21.)
Printing Press - is a device for evenly printing ink onto a print medium (substrate)
such as paper or cloth.
22.)
Protestants - a Christian who protested against the Catholic Church
23.)
Scholasticism - the system of theological and philosophical teaching predominant
in the Middle Ages, based chiefly upon the authority of the church fathers and of
Aristotle and his commentators.
24.)
Serfs – a worker in medieval Europe who was tied to the land on which he or she
lived
25.)
The Crusades - a long series of wars between Christians and Muslims in Southwest
Asia fought for control of the Holy Land from 1096 to 1291
26.)
William Shakespeare - English poet and dramatist.