Deck 20: The Renaissance in Medieval Context

Question 1

What is the best characterization of the Renaissance compared to the Middle Ages?

A) An abrupt departure from the medieval world
B) A culmination of the medieval world
C) Identical to the medieval world
D) Different only in Italy

Answer 1

B

Question 2

What events effectively shattered medieval unity? (Select all that apply.)

A) The Protestant Reformation
B) The application of logic to faith
C) The idea of heresy
D) The discovery of the New World

Answer 2

A,D

Question 3

What best describes the Renaissance economy?

A) Most capital was in the hands of rural landowners
B) Only the aristocracy had money and power
C) Lower workers earned their fair due after the Black Death
D) Capital was unequally distributed due to the power of guilds

Answer 3

D

Question 4

On what might the Renaissance wealthy spend their money specifically to showcase their status? (Select all that apply.)

A) Commissioned art
B) Eastern spices
C) Quality wines
D) Anonymous donations

Question 5

What was the primary focus of humanism?

A) The value of the individual
B) One's place in the machinery of life
C) The supremacy of the social elite
D) Financial gain

Question 6

In what way could humanists best appreciate human experience?

A) Learning a new language
B) Spending time in nature
C) Studying the liberal arts
D) Obtaining a civic position

Question 7

The scholar __________ is usually considered the founder of humanism.

Question 8

In what sense did humanism develop out of the disasters of the fourteenth century?

A) The world made sense and could be properly understood
B) The world was unequivocally dark and depressing
C) In spite of calamities, the present offered opportunities for celebration
D) Nothing mattered at all so appetites could run rampant

Question 9

What notable contribution did humanists make to the appreciation of Classical culture?

A) They recovered and reintroduced ancient texts
B) They were the first to be interested in it
C) They subordinated it to Christian learning
D) They made no notable contribution

Question 10

What feature of this fresco best exemplifies new Renaissance artistic trends?

A) The two-dimensionality of the halo
B) The simplification of the trees
C) The exaggeration of the cliff
D) The naturalism of the cloak folds

Question 11

How did Renaissance scholars contribute to publicizing the Classical literary canon? (Select all that apply.)

A) They established lending libraries
B) They translated texts into Greek
C) They copied manuscripts on an unprecedented scale
D) They located ancient texts in monastic libraries

Question 12

The invention of the printing press by ___________ enabled the rapid spread of written works.

Question 13

What is noteworthy about early printed works?

A) They imitated handmade manuscripts
B) They lacked decorative elements
C) They displayed newly invented fonts
D) They propagated only non-Latin texts

Question 14

What was the Renaissance reaction to the medieval past?

A) Automatic adoption
B) Insistent rejection
C) Devout adoration
D) Indifference

Question 15

The architect ___________ posed the first direct challenge to Gothic architecture with his creation of the domed cathedral of Florence.

Question 16

What best expresses the style of Renaissance architecture compared to Gothic?

A) Simple geometric shapes
B) Pointed arches and spires
C) Stained glass windows
D) Excessive statuary

Question 17

What was one negative aspect of humanism?

A) Interest in the liberal arts
B) Glorification of the Classical past
C) Inherent elitism
D) Democratic appeal

Question 18

What remained the dominant institution in European life through the Renaissance?

A) The Church
B) Civic bureaucracies
C) Guilds
D) Universities

Question 19

The humanist author Giovanni Boccaccio's greatest work is titled ___________.

Question 20

What does Renaissance rejection of the Middle Ages suggest?

A) Both groups shared an interest in the Classical past
B) Renaissance thinkers bore an underlying admiration for the Middle Ages
C) The two were completely divergent
D) They had more in common than Renaissance thinkers wanted to admit