Question 1

Medieval History
-Who benefitted most from the Magna Carta?

Accepted Answer

Feudal barons benefitted the most from the Magna Carta. Signed by King John of England in 1215, the Magna Carta was the first document in English history through which a monarch's powers were limited by the will of the people, in this case through the will of the feudal barons. It was the legal establishment that the people had rights that their leader was bound by law to honor. One of the most notable liberties protected through the document was the right of all freemen to be protected from arbitrary applications of power, meaning that citizens could only justly be punished by the government if the law warranted the punishment, not just because the king was displeased by them. It wasn't always very effective at limiting the king's powers, but its core idea, that even the king was bound by law, inspired England's later political course. The Magna Carta's supreme importance, in a historical context, is what followed it. The document inspired the concept of a written constitution that applied to all the citizens of a nation, even those with the most power.

Question 2

Medieval History
-In the Middle Ages, what did it mean to be the Holy Roman Emperor?

Accepted Answer

The Holy Roman Emperor was crowned by the pope as the senior monarch among all the Catholic monarchs in Central Europe. The empire had within it various monarchies, from whom the emperor was chosen or elected. However, the position was rather confusing, for several reasons. There were considerable periods of time in which there was no Holy Roman Emperor. Technically, Christian England was Catholic until the foundation of the Church of England, but it was not included in the Holy Roman Empire, and parts of Catholic France were also not in the empire. Also, while the emperor reigned with the blessing of the pope, there were instances in which reigning emperors came in conflict with the papacy (like the Investiture Controversy), only adding to the complexity of the role.

Question 3

Medieval History
-The fall of the former Eastern Roman Empire occurred in 1453 when Constantinople was captured by the:

Accepted Answer

Constantinople fell in 1453 to the Ottomans, leading to the establishment of the Ottoman Empire. The end of Byzantine Empire- the former Eastern Roman Empire- marked a total end of the Roman Empire of antiquity, which had endured, at least in part, for about 1,500 years. Constantinople became the capital of the new Ottoman Empire.

Question 4

Medieval History
-The Islamic Caliphate monopoly over the Silk Road and world trade ended with the start of the:

Accepted Answer

When Genghis Khan rose to power and established the Mongol Empire he wrested control of the Silk Road from the Islamic Caliphate, ending Muslim control of world trade. Subsequently, Italian merchants could travel into Asia to trade, though they only traveled part of the trade route since middlemen along the Silk Road sold to each other to minimize travel (the goods traveled far, but the merchants did not). The goods from trade with the East encouraged a popular interest in far-away places and, ultimately, the Age of Exploration. Trade- both naval trade and land trade on the Silk Road- also increased the wealth of Italian merchants, which led to improved education, the desire for luxury and art, and, eventually, the Renaissance.

Question 5

Medieval History
-How did the Black Death develop in Europe?

Accepted Answer

The bubonic plaque that turned into Europe's Black Death started in Mongolia, traveled the Silk Road, and entered Europe by way of Italian merchants (carried by the fleas on black rats that ran rampant on merchant ships). The plague spread west from Italy, striking cities the hardest, since people were in closer proximity and merchant posts were in cities. However, people of that time didn't understand how diseases really spread, so they blamed a host of culprits, including the Jews, a displeased God, a conjunction of three planets, lepers and other people visibly afflicted with an unrelated malady, and the always popular but nevertheless ambiguous "bad air."

Question 6

Medieval History
-Which of the following is not true of Jewish history during the Middle Ages?

Accepted Answer

The statement that Jews were vilified by Christians for charging higher interest on loans than Christian lenders charged is not true. During the Middle Ages, the church prohibited Christians from charging interest on loans, so Christians who wanted loans went to Jewish lenders instead. However, this became a source of tension between the two groups; Jewish lenders weren't vilified for charging higher interest than Christian lenders because there were no Christian lenders (since they couldn't make any profit). Jewish persecution has existed virtually as long as Christianity has, and the Jewish people had a turbulent experience in the Middle Ages, just as they have throughout most of the Common Era. Medieval societies varied in their laws regarding forced conversion of Jews to Christianity, but it did occur. Widespread misfortune or calamity that did not have a clearly understood cause during that time was often attributed to Jews, as was the case with the Black Death. (For example, in Strasbourg in 1849, at the height of the Black Death in Europe, 900 Jews were burned alive.) In the High Middle Ages, several Western European nations, including England and France, banished Jews from their countries altogether.

Question 7

Medieval History
-Which of the following was not invented during the Middle Ages?

Accepted Answer

The slide rule was not invented until the early 17th century. Eyeglasses were created after transparent glass was developed, making optics possible. More complex devices like telescopes soon followed. Vertical windmills were developed in France and England in the late 12th century. Inventors in both the Near East and Europe developed the astrolabe and an armillary sphere in the Middle Ages. And, medieval agricultural innovations included horseshoes, heavy plows, wheelbarrows and horse collars.

Question 8

Renaissance and Reformation
-What bloody event happened on August 23, 1572, two days after the attempted assassination of Admiral Gaspard de Coligny? During this event thousands of Huguenots were murdered in the streets. This event was considered the fulcrum of change for the French Protestants because they lost all of their influential leadership with the massacre.

Accepted Answer

During the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, over thousands of Huguenots were killed by Catholics. This was one of the bloodiest days during the French war of Religion which was a culmination of three events: The Peace of St. Germain, the marriage of Henry III of Navarre to Margaret of Valois, and the failed assassination of Admiral Gaspard de Coligny. Because of the frustration and anger of fanatical Catholics, led by the Guise family, of the situation in the French court, they lashed out and first killed the Admiral in his sleep and threw his body out of the window. This was the spark that ignited the Huguenot killing spree throughout France.

Question 9

Renaissance and Reformation
-Who is the writer of the oft misunderstood piece of literature, The Prince? This book is considered the first modern philosophical treatise, was based in Florence, Italy in the 15th to 16th century.

Accepted Answer

Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian writer and political thinker who wrote the first modern political theory treatise, The Prince. Machiavelli's masterpiece is often equated with stringent and reactionary policies, yet a more thorough reading would show that the writer himself prefers a republican style of governance, instead of the former. His theories were shaped by his time served in the Florentine government, which at the time was not under the strong influence of the Medicis.

Question 10

Renaissance and Reformation
-What was the epic poem, written by a 14th century Florentine writer, which is now regarded as the most representative of Italian Renaissance Period literature due to its synthesis of classical Greek philosophy and Christian theology? This work creates an allegory of a soul's journey to find the divine?

Accepted Answer

Florentine Humanist, Dante, wrote in the 14th century the epic poem, Divine Comedy, which is now regarded as most representative of Renaissance literature. It helped shape a standardized Italian language based on the Tuscan dialect. His allegory of a soul's quest for redemption combines classical characters of Greek and Roman mythology with his contemporaries, which also translates his blend of Greek philosophic themes and the Medieval Christian theology. The Divine Comedy is the most recognized product of literature of its time and it has since inspired countless artists.

Question 11

Renaissance and Reformation
-The Italian Renaissance began in:

Accepted Answer

The Italian Renaissance began in Florence in the 14th century and spread throughout Europe by the 16th century. Florence experienced a confluence of factors that made it a favorable location for such a sudden burst of creativity and progressive thought. The naval experience acquired through the Crusades and the additional trade experience that came from the re-established Silk Road made Italian merchants incredibly wealthy. The Renaissance-era leader of Florence, Lorenzo de Medici, was from an affluent banking family, and he began to patronize the arts, leading other moneyed Florentines to do the same. Advanced knowledge in science and math from the Far East and the Levant made its way to Italy, improving the quality of education. Johannes Gutenberg's later development of the printing press and the beginning of the Printing Revolution only fanned the flames of learning, artistic expression and mass communication, which were already raging in Florence. Prior to the Renaissance, Florence began using a free enterprise system, which had an impact on local economics and access to education.

Question 12

Renaissance and Reformation
-The Italian Renaissance was encouraged by all of the following except:

Accepted Answer

The Catholic Church's involvement didn't decline during the Renaissance; the Church was one of, if not the, biggest patron of Renaissance artists. Though the Reformation began during the late Renaissance and the common approach to theology was changed (emphasizing life on Earth over the afterlife in Heaven, for example), the Church remained incredibly wealthy. Many of the greatest artistic works of the period were commissioned by the Church.

Question 13

Renaissance and Reformation
-Which of the following Renaissance figures did not receive funding or support from the Catholic Church?

Accepted Answer

Machiavelli's The Prince was critical of the Church, and therefore he did not receive funding or support from this institution. His interest was limited strictly to politics, and he no need for or interest in patronage from the Church. Copernicus was a Catholic cleric. When he formulated his treatise on the heliocentric model, he specifically chose to have it published after his death, so that he didn't face a rebuke from the Church. Galileo received patronage from the Church early in his career. The relationship only soured when he promoted scientific theories that conflicted with Church doctrine. Though in the present day the Church and science are generally adversaries in many fields of thought (particularly medicine), that was not at all the case until later in the Renaissance. The Church used to be a great patron of science and had a keen interest in astronomy and anatomy. The rift between the two factions began in the Renaissance when scientific thought challenged Church doctrine and the Church refused to yield to empirical evidence. As science demonstrated that nature controlled the natural world and human experience more than the Church encouraged the laity to believe, they felt God and Christianity were being threatened, which, of course, would potentially put the Church itself in peril.

Question 14

Renaissance and Reformation
-Which man made the following statement regarding Renaissance artists: "One must treat these people of extraordinary genius as if they were celestial spirits, and not like beasts of burden."

Accepted Answer

Cosimo de Medici made the statement. The Medicis were the greatest patrons of Renaissance artists and saw art as more than an ornamental luxury, so it is only fitting that a Medici would have spoken with such regard for the artists of the age. The Renaissance began before the family rose to political power in Florence, and, similarly, other affluent families patronized artists, so the Medicis weren't solely responsible for launching the Renaissance or funding it. However, the extent to which they financed large-scale projects upfront and promoted the cultural value of art (and all humanist pursuits) was exceptional.

Question 15

Renaissance and Reformation
-Which of the following subjects would not have been part of a Renaissance humanist education?

Accepted Answer

Science would not have been part of a Renaissance humanist education. Science is not one of the humanities, though many Renaissance scientists were also humanists. The fundamental purpose of humanism was to promote classical thought and the values of the Greek and Roman philosophers. They primarily sought to elevate teachings that reinforced the concept of a man's individual identity and his capacity for intellectual rigor. That kind of thought largely died at the beginning of the Dark Ages of the medieval period, as intellectual and academic pursuits were directed toward Christian theology and philosophy. Even the Scholastics, like Thomas Aquinas, who tried to find a meeting of the minds between classical thought and Christian theology, only pursued individual intellectual pursuit to solve conflict, not for the sheer sake of challenging oneself. In the Middle Ages, in the field of education, almost everything was tied to the Church. In the Renaissance, that shifted, and the thinker became the focus of his own intellectual work.

Question 16

Renaissance and Reformation
-Prior to the Renaissance, most Italian regions were:

Accepted Answer

The economic and political structure of Italy in the 13th century differed from than that of other European nations: Italy was a collection of city-states that operated with free market economies. Also, the wealthy merchants had the greatest access to political power in the city-states. Though feudalism was on the decline in the 13th century elsewhere in Europe, Italy was ahead of the game, and their wealth and the social mobility afforded by a free market economy, allowed the Renaissance to develop earlier in Italy than it did in other places.

Question 17

Renaissance and Reformation
-Italian politician and writer Coluccio Salutati promoted republican government through:

Accepted Answer

Salutati developed an ideology of civic humanism, which was like academic humanism because both schools of thought advocated incorporating classical culture into Medieval life. Specifically, civic humanists wished to incorporate the political values of the Roman Republic into their culture. He thought that the political rights of the individual were vital, just as Humanism advocated that intellectual individualism was paramount. Salutati was the Chancellor of Florence in the Florentine Republic before the Medicis rose to power.

Question 18

Renaissance and Reformation
-This 15th century Italian text was considered the "Manifesto of the Renaissance":

Accepted Answer

Pico della Mirandola's Oration on the Dignity of Man was a defense of humanist philosophy, advocating the necessity and dignity of thought for the sake of thought, not for the sake of theology. The theme of the Renaissance- that philosophers (or any person, for that matter) should engage in intellectual pursuits for personal reasons rather than the promotion of the Church- was a radical concept. To the 14th and 15th century Church, at face value, the notion seemed to deny the importance of God or faith. Mirandola believed that intellectual pursuits brought a person closer to the "angels."

Question 19

Renaissance and Reformation
-The Leonardo da Vinci work above is called:

Accepted Answer

Vitruvian Man was inspired by the writings of the Roman architect Vitruvius, who described the human form as the standard for proportions in orders of architecture. Da Vinci read Vitruvius' work and was compelled to draw the perfectly proportioned male figure. He spent a lot of time perfecting the aesthetic of human anatomy in his art, which was also an interest shared by his contemporaries. However, da Vinci's interest in the subject was much more involved. Many of the sketches from his anatomical studies have survived, some of which were based on autopsies he conducted to better understand internal anatomy.

Question 20

Renaissance and Reformation
-Leonardo da Vinci was educated by which Florentine painter?

Accepted Answer

At the age of 14, da Vinci was sent to apprentice in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio, one of the most renowned Florentine painters of the era, and he remained an apprentice there for about seven years. Much of the work in Renaissance painters' workshops was ultimately accomplished by the apprentices, in joint efforts with the masters. Da Vinci contributed to Verrocchio's The Baptism of Christ, and a story has persisted for centuries that when Leonardo painted the young angel in the scene, Verrocchio felt so inferior to his apprentice that he set down his paintbrush on the spot and never painted again.

Quiz 10: CLEP: Western Civilization

Medieval History -Who benefitted most from the Magna Carta?

Medieval History -In the Middle Ages, what did it mean to be the Holy Roman Emperor?

Medieval History -The fall of the former Eastern Roman Empire occurred in 1453 when Constantinople was captured by the:

Medieval History -The Islamic Caliphate monopoly over the Silk Road and world trade ended with the start of the:

Medieval History -How did the Black Death develop in Europe?

Medieval History -Which of the following is not true of Jewish history during the Middle Ages?

Medieval History -Which of the following was not invented during the Middle Ages?

Renaissance and Reformation -Who is the writer of the oft misunderstood piece of literature, The Prince? This book is considered the first modern philosophical treatise, was based in Florence, Italy in the 15th to 16th century.

Renaissance and Reformation -The Italian Renaissance began in:

Renaissance and Reformation -The Italian Renaissance was encouraged by all of the following except:

Renaissance and Reformation -Which of the following Renaissance figures did not receive funding or support from the Catholic Church?

Renaissance and Reformation -Which man made the following statement regarding Renaissance artists: "One must treat these people of extraordinary genius as if they were celestial spirits, and not like beasts of burden."

Renaissance and Reformation -Which of the following subjects would not have been part of a Renaissance humanist education?

Renaissance and Reformation -Prior to the Renaissance, most Italian regions were:

Renaissance and Reformation -Italian politician and writer Coluccio Salutati promoted republican government through:

Renaissance and Reformation -This 15th century Italian text was considered the "Manifesto of the Renaissance":

Renaissance and Reformation -The Leonardo da Vinci work above is called:

Renaissance and Reformation -Leonardo da Vinci was educated by which Florentine painter?