AP European History Unit Test One

The Renaissance Period and Northern Monarchies

Directions

This Unit Test will comprise both formative and stimulus styles of questions. Additionally there will be some short answer questions at the end of the exam. Be sure to read/examine the stimulus information closely and pay attention to the sources in forming your response.

1. Which of the following time frames best describes the Renaissance and Age of Exploration:

a. 1400 - 1500b. 1450-1600c. 1400 - 1750d. 1300-1500

2. Which of the following would NOT have been a factor explaining the development of the Italian Renaissance Period

a. Its location astride major trade routes on the Mediterranean Sea.

b. Its proximity to centers of classical culture

c. Its highly centralized monarchy was able to project power in the region

d. It high degree of urban expansion and development

Use the Image to the right to answer questions 3-5

3. The School of Athens by Raphael (1510) is an

embodiment of which philosophical idea:

a. Scholasticismb. Nationalism

c. Humanismd. Epicurianism

4. Raphael's work reflects Italian works of the period for

all of the following reason EXCEPT

a. The use of geometric balance to impart

stability in a somewhat volatile age.

b. The use of religious figures from the Greco-

Roman traditions.

c. The use of sfumato and chiaroscuro to create

a more realistic scene.

d. The glorification of natural philosophy.

5. Works such as the one by Rachael would most differ from medieval compositions because

a. Medieval works were largely colorless reflecting the phrase "Dark Ages"

b. Medieval artists never would have painted secular subjects

c. Medieval works strayed from painting the human form because this was seen as usurping God's position as creator.

d. Medieval compositions usually lacked depth and perspective

Use the source below to answer 6-9 questions

"On man when he came into life the Father conferred the seeds of all kinds and germs of every way of life. Whatever seeds each man cultivates will grow to maturity and bear in him their own fruit/ If they be vegetative, he will be like a plant. If sensitive, he will be brutish. If rational, he will grow into a heavenly being. If intellectual, he will be an angel and son of God. And if happy in the lot if no created thing, he withdraws into the center of his own unity, his spirit, made one with God, in the solitary darkness of God, who is set above all things, shall surpass them all."

-Pico de Mirandola, Oration on the Dignity of Man, 1486-

6. In this passage Pico asserts the philosophic idea that mankind is

a. Are free to choose the path that people will take in adulthood.

b. Are predestined by God to become one way or the other.

c. Are chosen by God one form of life or the other but can then set their own course.

d. Are completely unbounded by moral or religious restraints.

7. Which passage best reveals the idea of the Neo-Platonist school that was common among educated Italians?

a. If intellectual, he will be an angel and son of God.

b. If sensitive, he will be brutish.

c. If rational, he will grow into a heavenly being

d. If they be vegetative, he will be like a plant

Use the source below to answer 7-11 questions

"Master Leonardo-Hearing that you are staying in Florence we have conceived and hoped for so long my come true; something by your hand. When you were here and did our portraits in charcoal, you promised us one day something in color. But because this would be almost impossible as you cannot move here, we beg that you keep your good faith with by substituting for our portrait another figure that is acceptable to us; that is to do a youthful Christ of about age 12 as when he disrupted the doctors in the temple, and executed with the sweetness and soft ethereal charm that is of particular excellence in your work. If we are so gratified by you of this strong desire you shall know that beyond the payment which you shall fix we will remain obligated to you. ."

-Isabelle d'Este, Letters to Leonardo da Vinci, May 1504-

"Having attended to the temporal affairs of the city, Cosimo de Medici became increasingly aware of the fact that if God were to have mercy upon him and conserve him in the possession of temporal goods, he had to turn a pious ways, otherwise he knew that he would lose them. It occurred to him that some of his money had been earned not quite cleanly. He went to talk to Pope Eugenius who told him that he should spend ten thousand florins on buidling works to satisfy himself and unburden his conscience. Cosimo de Medici finished the job by spending forty thousand florins in building a monastery."

-Vespario da Bisticci, The Life of Cosimo de Medici 1498-

8. The ideas in the first passage differ from those held in the Middle Ages in that

a. Artists must be required to display works in a natural and realistic manner

b. Commissioned artists must be compensated in a fair and generous manner

c. Artists should be lauded for their genius and individual talents

d. Artists worked for the greater glory of God and did not expect individual recognition

9. In the second passage which was NOT a motive for Cosimo de Medici in financing the monastery building?

a. He likely felt obliged to the Pope and followed his suggestion.

b. He wanted to compete with other Renaissance princes in Florence.

c. He wanted to atone for his past sins

d. He wanted to make a deal with God so that he might keep his earthly possessions.

10. After reading both excerpts it is likely that Isabelle d' Este and Cosimo de Medici that by becoming patrons of the arts, they

a. Helped lower the unemployment rate of "starving artists."

b. Glorified themselves and their cities

c. Assisted the Church in new building projects

d. made the Habsburg emperors and Ottoman sultans jealous of Italian wealth.

11. The idea best expressed in the second passage was known as

a. Civic Humanismb. Neoplatonismc. Scholasticismd. the cult of Bacchus

Use the source below to answer 12-14 questions

" Every one understands how praiseworthy it is in a prince to keep faith, and to live uprightly and not craftily. Nevertheless we see, from what has taken place in our own days, that princes who have set little store by their word, but have known how to overreach men by their cunning, have accomplished great things, and in the end got the better of those who trusted to honest dealing.

Be it known, then, that there are two ways of contending,one in accordance with the laws, the other by force; the first of which is proper to men, the second to beasts. But since the first method is often ineffectual, it becomes necessary to resort to the second. A prince should, therefore, understand how to use well both the man and the beast. But inasmuch as a prince should know how to use the beasts nature wisely, he ought of beasts to choose both the lion and the fox; for the lion cannot guard himself from the toils, nor the fox from wolves. He must therefore be a fox to discern toils, and a lion to drive off wolves.

To rely wholly on the lion is unwise; and for this reason a prudent prince neither can nor ought to keep his word when to keep it is hurtful to him and the causes which led him to pledge it are removed. If all men were good, this would not be good advice, but since they are dishonest and do not keep faith with you, you in return need not keep faith with them; and no prince was ever at a loss for plausible reasons to cloak a breach of faith. Of this numberless recent instances could be given, and it might be shown how many solemn treaties and engagements have been rendered inoperative and idle through want of faith among princes, and that he who has best known how to play the fox has had the best success."

The Prince: Power Politics During the Italian Renaissance Niccolo Machiavelli (1513)

12. According to the passage what best describes Machiavelli's use of the expressions "lion and fox?"

a. Religion and politicsb. Church-state relationships

c. Wealth and Powerd. Power and diplomacy

13. Which of the following figures would most embody Machiavelli's concept of the "lion and fox?"

a. Michel Chrysolorasb. Louis XI of France

c. Francisco Petrarchd. Erasmus Desiderius

14. The political nature of Italy represented in the passage above shows that

a. Italy was a unified state under the control of a powerful prince.

b. There political instability and civil conflicts were common.

c. The Vatican served as rallying point unifying the Italian state.

d. The king of Italy was weak and vacillating.

Use the source below to answer 15 - 17 questions

"The substitution of Plato for Aristotle was hastened by the contact of with Byzantiune scholarship. Already the Council of Ferrera nominally reunited Eastern and Western Churches but there was still a debate in which Byzantines maintained the superiority of Plato to Aristotle. The Medicis were addicted to Plato. They founded the Florentine Academy which was largely devoted to the study of Plato..The humanists of the time were too busy acquiring knowledge of classical antiquity to produce anything of value."

Bertrand Russell, Western Philosophy, 1946

15. The Florentine Academy and its interest in the mysteries of antiquity specifically expressed itself in a philosophy known as

a. Neo-classicalismb. Scholasticismc. Mannerismd. Neo-Platonism

16. The fragments of ancient Greco-Roman philosophers had been returned to Italy by which group?

a. Arabic scholarsb. Phoenician sailorsc. Italian tradersd. Greek historians

17. One of the Florentine academics, Pico della Mirandola, achieved fame for doing all of the following EXCEPT

a. enunciating the definition of Renaissance individualism

b. becoming the first Christian scholar to master Jewish mysticism.

c. creating syncretism, which harmonized different philosophies based upon shared truths

d. accepting the position of consigliore to the Sforza family.

Use the painting below to answer 18 - 20 questions

18. At the time of the painting of the Mona Lisa most artists like Da Vinci supported themselves through:

a. the support of a wealth patron

b. Commercial sales of their works

c. offerings collected at daily Mass

d. taxes levied by the local government

19. The rush for artistic accomplishment in the Renaissance was fueled by all of the following EXCEPT

a. The desire for artistic glory and fame.

b. The growth of the merchant middle class

c. The rediscovery of ancient texts and methods

d. a sense of impending doom because of the Hundred Year War's eruption.

20. The guild system that supported the growth of artists in the Renaissance would have persisted until

a. The arrival of the Black Plague killed many patrons

b. Mechanized reproductions became common during the Industrial Revolution

c. The state took over funding of the arts in the 20th century

d. The economic downturn of the 19th century ended patronage.

Use the painting below to answer 21- 23 questions

21. Artists of the Northern Renaissance such as Hieronymus Bosch contrasted from their Italian counterparts in that

a. They used darker images and subdued tones

b. They focused upon balance and symmetry

c. They followed the Florentine Academy methods

d. They generally ignored background

22. Northern artists apparent lack of interest in classical motifs and methods stemmed from

a. The fact that the Alps mountains served as a barrier to the spread of artistic knowledge.

b. The fact that many rebelled against classical culture seeing it as the product of invasion.

c. There were no guilds in Northern Europe

d. Royal patrons favored humorous subjects.

23. The critical works of many Northern artists reflected

a. a growing criticism of monarchy as opposed to democracy.

b. a jealousy of the wealth of the Italian banking class.

c. a growing discontent with the Roman Catholic Church.

d. a fascination with natural philosophy

24. Which of the following best describes the political system of most Italian city-states?

a. Direct Democracyb. Socialismc. Plutocracyd. Congregationalism

25. Which statement about slavery during the Italian Renaissance is most accurate?

a. Slaves worked almost exclusively in cash crop production

b. Slaves were considered chattel for the rest of their lives once purchased

c. Italian slavers sent vast armies into the African interior to capture its victims

d. Most slaves served in domestic positions

Use the source below to answer 26 - 30 questions

"In all humblenes complayninge, sheweth and informeth on Your highnes behalf Edward Coke, Esquire, Your Ma[jes]ties Attorney gen'all: That whereas aboute the ende of November in the xxxvth yere of yor Ma[jes]ties Reigne Edmund Mathewe of Cardiff in the Countie of Glamorgan, Esquire, was appointed and by Yor Ma[jes]ties comission vnder the greate seale of England aucthorized to be highe Sheriff of yor said Countie of Glamorgan during yor highnes pleasure; Wherevppon at his firste entraunce into the said office, he the said Edmund Mathewe did take his othe accordinge to the generall course of other yor higness Sheriffs of this and other counties, wherein (amonge other thinges) he did expreslie sweare that he shoulde trulie and rightfullie treate the people of his Sheriffwick, and doe righte aswell to pore as to riche, in all that belonged to his said office, and shoulde doe no wronge to any man for guifte or other beheste"

R.O. Star Chamber Proceedings. Bundle I.A., No. 10. 39 Eliz. 1597

26. In the passage above what is the probable status of Edmund Mathewe?

a. A noblemanb. A Priest

c. A Peasantd. An adviser to the king

27. What was King Edward VII aim in creating the Star Chamber?

a. Weakening the power of the Scots and Irish.

b. Weakening the power of the Catholic Church in England

c. Weakening the power of rebellious nobles

d. Strengthening the power of the Anglican Church in Wales.

28. The existence of the Star Chamber revealed

a. the decentralization of royal authority

b. the strengthening of calls to weaken papal authority in England

c. the centralization of royal authority

d. the transformation of the nobility into the middle class

SHORT ANSWER SECTION

The following questions are with 3 points apiece and should be answered in brief paragraph form.

29. The creation of nation-states during the Renaissance period relied upon several important factors.

A. List and explain THREE factors that contributed to the rise of the New Monarchies.

B. Of the factors that you listed which do you believe was the most important?

C. Which factor do you think was least critical to unification of the Renaissance Nation-State?

30. The following question relates to humanism in Renaissance Europe.

A. What was the foundation of Italian Renaissance humanism?

B. How was humanism in Northern Europe different?

C. Name a famous humanist from both regions

31. The earliest powerful monarchies consolidated power through various methods. Choose 2 on the Northern Monarchies and cite examples of how they dealt with each of the following:

EconomicsThe Church/ReligionRebellious nobles

32. List and explain THREE ways showing how slavery in European History was different than it would be by the 17th century.

33. Contrast the status of women in the Renaissance Period by class structure? What legal recourse did women have in cases of abuse like rape?

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