| Glossary Term |
Definition |
| Niccolo Machiavelli | Florentine political theorist, believed that the state was an artifice of human creation to be conquered, shaped and administered by princes according to the principles of power politics described these principles in his novel The Prince |
| Byzantine Empire | Founded by Constantine I. Created out of the Eastern Roman Empire and had its capital sacked by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. After its fall western merchants were forced to look for sea routes to India, because the fall of Constantinople closed the land rou |
| Duchy of Milan | Had been under dynastic rule since the fourteenth century, the most powerful Italian principality, a military state, uninterested in the support of the arts. Turned to a republic in 1447, turned back into a duchy and then came under Spanish rule |
| Visconti | The dynasty that ruled Milan until 1447, when the powerful group of lords failed in an attempt to unify northern and central Italy, after the last duke of Visconti died without an heir, the city was declared a republic |
| Treaty of Lodi | 1454, settled decades of warfare between the city states, established a balance of power between the major Italian city states and maintained relative stability in the peninsula for a half a century, the system collapsed in 1494 with the French invasion |
| War of the Roses | England’s intermittent civil war, fueled by factions among nobles and regional discontent and abroad by Franco-Burgundian intervention, did relatively little damage to England, did not affect English economic growth |
| House of Tudor | ultimate winners of the War of the Roses, lead by Henry Tudor, who proclaimed himself Henry VII after the victory |
| Ferdinand and Isabella | Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile married in 1469, taking the first step towards a unified Spain. The unity of Aragon and Castile crushed the last of the Iberian Muslim states, Granada, yeilded into a Christian-dominated Spain |
| Converses | Jewish converts to Christianity in Spain, often suspected of practicing their ancestral religion while pretending to support their new faith… this lead to investigations of those suspected of religious lapses |
| Auto da fe | a public confession which was one of the punishments if found guilty of practicing one’s old religion and not Christianity, other punishments were anything from monetary fines to burning at the stake |
| Louis XI of France | captured Burgundy after the death of Charles the Bold, also inherited the southern region of France after the Anjou dynasty died out, promoted industry and commerce, kept western Europe’s first standing army, removed meetings with the Estates General |
| Pragmatic Sanction | 1438, Charles asserted an authority of a general church council over the pope |
| Gallicanism | French king controlled the ecclesiastical revenues and the appointment of French bishops |
| The Ottoman Empire | lead by Sultan Mehmed II, a serious threat to Christian Europe, declared a holy war and laid siege to Constantinople and won, earning Mehmed II the name of the “Conqueror” |
| Muscovy | Began to assert their independence with the collapse of the Mongol power. Ivan III the first prince to declare himself Tsar, was very successful: crushed the city state of Novgorod, pushed Mongols back, claimed absolute power, defended Russian Orthodox |
| Tsar | Ivan III declared himself the Tsar of Muscovy, the absolute ruler of Muscovy |
| Marco Polo, 1324 | a Venetian trader and explorer, one of the first westerners to travel the Silk Road in China, visited the Great Khan of Mongol, and met Kublai Khan |
| Vasco da Gama | Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful during the age of discovery and was the first person to sail from Europe to India, reached Calicut |
| Calicut | Vasco da Gama reached Calicut, the center of the Indian spice trade |
| Ferdinand Magellan, 1512 | a Portuguese sailor in Spanish service, lead the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe |
| Pedro Alvares | accidentally discovered Brazil in 1500 on a voyage to India |
| Christopher Columbus, 1492 | funded by Isabella and Ferdinand, Columbus set sail across the Atlantic in 1492 with only three ships and ninety men, found modern day Bahamas and mistook the islands for part of the East Indies, encountered the a group of Indians, the Arawaks |
| Hernan Cortes | one of the most prominent Spanish explorers, lead an expedition to New Spain (Mexico) in search of gold, captured the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán in 1519 |
| Aztec | a large urban capital in New Spain, overtaken by Cortes in 1519 in his search for gold |
| Francisco Pizarro | another prominent Spanish explorer, conquered the Andean highlands, exploiting a civil war between rival Incan kings |
| Mayan | subdued by the Spanish on the Yucatán peninsula |
| Treaty of Tordesillas | 1494, settled disputes between Spanish and Portuguese by dividing the Atlantic between the two countries, this was the agreement that allowed Portugal to claim Brazil |
| Jacques Cartier | 1534, led three voyages that explored the St. Lawrence River as far as Montreal, early attempts to settle Canada failed because of the harsh winter and Indian hostility |
| Constantinople | Capital of the Byzantine Empire, named after Constantine I. Sacked by the Turks in 1453 |
| Matteo de Pasti | Court Painter and architect of the Rimini city-state in modern day Italy. Mehmed II requested that Matteo be sent to the newly conquered city of Constantinople. He was intercepted and turned around by the Venetians in Crete and sent back to Rimini. |
| Renaissance | Means rebirth in French. Used to label the period of time during the 15th century where a renewed interest in classical art and philosophy coupled with Humanist philosophy brought about a cultural “rebirth.” Centered in Italy. |
| Humanism | Philosophy stating that man is the measure of all things. And that man can do whatever he puts his mind to. Raised the importance of the liberal arts in Europe. |
| Florence | City State in what is now modern day Italy. Home to Cosimo de Medici and the Platonic Academy. Played a major roll in the renaissance, and the birth and spread of Humanism. |
| Arno River | A river in Italy that flows through Florence. |
| Cosimo de Medici | Rich and relatively powerful Florentine Banker who sponsored the Platonic Academy and other early renaissance establishments. |
| Platonic Academy | A discussion group sponsored by Cosimo de Medici and headed by Marsilo Ficino. It discussed the philosophies and ideals of Plato and his followers. |
| Marsilo Ficino | Headed the Platonic Academy in Florence. Cosimo de Medici was his Patron. |
| “returning to the sources” | Renaissance term that referred to the renaissances fixation with the past and looking back at it. This was a slogan used to justify their study of past philosophy to their Christian faith. |
| Italian City States | Main ones: Venice, Florence, Milan, the Papal States, Naples. Can be divided into two categories: republics (preserved tradition of the medieval commune), such as Venice and Florence, and principalities (ruled by dynasty), such as Milan and Naples. |
| Invention of Paper in China | Paper was invented by the Chinese (Some believe as early as the 2nd Century B.C.E) and brought to Europe by Arab traders. |
| Printing Press | Created by Johannes Gutenburg of Germany in the 1440’s. The invention of the Printing Press allowed for the quick spread ideas. Crucial to the spreading of ideas throughout many stages of the development of western society. |
| Johannes Gutenberg | German Goldsmith and inventor of the Printing Press. His most famous books are the Gutenberg bibles. It is a two volume set written in Latin and only 185 copies were produced. |
| Scriptoria | A workshop in which documents were copied by hand for sale to upper and middle class. |
| The Bible | The Christian Holy Book. Actually a collection of many books divided into an old testament (Before Jesus) and a new testament (From the Birth of Jesus and on.) |
| Patrons | Rich upper or middle class people who would give money and support to artists and intellectuals. |
| Leonardo Da Vinci | Widely considered “the renaissance man”. He was a master of many trades and is widely known as the painter of the Mona Lisa. He was also an accomplished inventor and scientist. |
| Donatello | Master Florentine sculptor. Worked under Medici patronage and produced a famous sculpture of the biblical king David before Michelangelo. |
| Michelangelo | Famous Renaissance artist who was a favorite of Pope Julius II. Some of his most famous work include the Statue of David and the Roof of the Sistine Chapel. |
| Cesare Borgia | Served as the model for a ruthless ruler in Machiavelli’s “The Prince”. Son of Pope Alexander VI, a pope who had many mistresses and questionable moral fiber. |
| Government Brothels | Brothels set up by the government in Florence. These Brothels were created to "eliminate a worse evil by a lesser one." By worse evil they are reffering to homosexuality and prostitution. |
| Ospedale degli Innocenti | 1445, Florentine government opened this shelter to deal with the large with the large amounts of abandoned children |
| Dowry Fund | 1425, public fund established to raise state reveneues and a major investment instrument for the upper classes. 1433, the fund paid annual interest of between 15 and 21%, fathers could hope to raise dowries to marry their daughters to more prominent men |
| Abandoned Children | many came from poor families who were unable to feed these children and women who had given birth out of wedlock
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| Sandro Botticelli | Italian painter of “Spring” and “The Birth of Venus.” |
| Jan Van Eyck | Widely considered the greatest of the painters from the north countries. Attributed with the creation of oil painting. |
| Giovanni Pico della Mirandola | Wrote Oration on the Dignity of Man which has been called the "Manifesto of the Renaissance." |
| Visual perspective | Modern visual perspective was first mastered by Filippo Brunneleschi in the early 1440's. Important part of renaissance advancements to art. |
| Lorenzo Ghiberti | Headed the project to create a set of bronze doors for the baptistry of the cathedral in Florence. His "Gates of Paradise" showed old testament scenes created with sense of visual perspective that was considered revolutionary for the time. |
| “the Gates of Paradise” | Set of inner doors at the Baptistry of the Cathedral in Paris. Beared "old testament" scenes sculpted with regards to visual perspective. |
| Filippo Brunelleschi | Famous Italian architect who designed the dome for the cathedral in Florence. |
| Leon Battista Alberti | Famous Italian Writer,Poet, Linguist, architect and philosopher. Argued for large-scale urban planning. Designed Rucellai Palace in Florence. |
| "Fat People" | used by Florentines to describe 30% of the urban population, including wealthier merchant, the leading artisans, notaries, doctors and other professionals |
| "Little People" | a term used by the Florentines to describe 60% of all households, the workers, small merchants and artisans |
| Frankfurt-am-Main | German city that became the international meeting place for buying and selling books. |
