Renaissance and Reformation Study Guide

Renaissance and Reformation Study Guide and Notebook Checklist

(Answers in Bold)

1. What is the Renaissance Movement the rebirth of? Art and learning

2. Where did the Renaissance movement begin?

Italy (Florence)

3. What is humanism?

The focus on human potential and achievements on earth

4. What did the following people contribute to the Renaissance?

a. Erasmus: the first humanist writer

b. Michelangelo: the Sistine Chapel, David

c. Shakespeare: plays, sonnets

d. Leonardo de Vinci: Mona Lisa, the Last Supper

e. Gutenberg: invented the printing press

5. What is a patron of the arts? Who was the Medici family?

A patron is someone who supports artists with money. The Medici’s were a wealthy banking family who supported many artists.

6. How did the Renaissance movement help lead to the Protestant Reformation?

It supported the breaking away from the church by focusing on human individual achievements.

7. In what country is the seat of power for the Catholic Church located? Italy

8. Other than the church being corrupt, what other conflicts challenged the authority of the Church in Rome? Princes and nobles and merchants did not want to continue paying money to the church

9. Why was the church corrupt? Explain simony, indulgences, and usury.

Simony: church officials can be bought

Indulgence: the act of paying in order to be forgiven of a sin or future sins

Usury: charging a fee for using money (like interest on a loan)

10. Who started the Protestant Reformation? Martin Luther

11. Where did the Protestant Reformation originate and why did Martin Luther start the Reformation? Germany-Martin Luther started the Reformation because he was upset about the corruption in the church

12. Why did Martin Luther write the 95 Theses? To start a discussion about the corruption but it led to his excommunication (being kicked out of the church)

13. Martin Luther’s 95 Theses led to the birth of what branch of Christianity? Lutheranism

14. Why were these new religions called protestant religions?

They were protesting against the Catholic Church. Protestant means protest.

15. According to Martin Luther, how do you reach salvation? How is this different from the Catholic Church’s stance on salvation?

ML: you can reach salvation through faith alone

Catholic Church: you can only reach salvation through faith and good works

16. List Martin Luther’s 3 views that differed from the Catholic Church

1. Salvation is gained through faith alone

2. Bible is the only authority (not the priests)

3. All people are equal

17. How did John Calvin (French) help spread the Protestant Reformation?

He wrote “Institutions of Christian Religion” about his beliefs.

18. Describe these Calvinist traditions

a. Predestination: God already knows who will be saved

b. Strict work ethic: If you work hard (no bright clothes/games) your faith will be revealed

19 Who founded the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits)? Ignatius of Loyola

20. How did the following help the Catholics reestablish Catholic doctrine and authority?

a. Society of Jesus (the Jesuits): founded to educate people about the Catholic Church. The priest members travelled around teaching and doing missionary work

b. The Council of Trent: reestablished church authority and said that Martin Luther’s ideas were wrong, indulgences should no longer be sold, and the church’s interpretation of the Bible is the only right one

c. Inquisition: established to enforce Catholic ideas. People who went against the Catholic Church (guilty of heresy) would be punished.

21. Explain the following:

a. Secularism: the exclusion of religion and supernatural beliefs—lives no longer revolved around the church

b. individualism: The idea of being yourself and not necessarily what the church wants.

c. religious tolerance: religious freedom for all individuals

22. How did the Reformation aid in the growth of secularism, individualism and religious tolerance?

It aided in the growth of these ideas by reducing the power of the Catholic Church and promoting the importance of the individual.

23. What role did the printing press play in the Reformation? (List 3)

1. It helped increase literacy

2. It spread Renaissance and Reformation ideas

3. It made it so that the Bible could be printed in English, French, and German

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