Humanities Test 3 – Flashcards
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Upon what earlier model did Charlemagne base his administration and decrees?
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Rome
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Who was an important Anglo-Saxon scholar at Charlemagne's court in Aachen?
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Alcuin of York
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Who was the author of the most famous "Rule" in western monasticism?
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Saint Benedict of Nursia
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What was the Divine Office?
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Schedule of monastic worship
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Who was Hildegard of Bingen?
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Benedictine nun
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What type of chant grew most directly out of the Roman musical tradition?
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Gregorian chant
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What is a melisma?
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an Intricate series of musical notes often on a single syllable of text
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Why can early medieval drama be described as "liturgical drama"?
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Based on religious themes
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What was the primary purpose of a reliquary?
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Served as a place for sacred objects
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What is the oldest and most famous of the chansons de geste?
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The Song of Roland
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Who were the jongleurs?
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Traveling minstrels
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What was the principal material used for manuscripts in the Middle Ages?
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parchment
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What is an "illuminated" book?
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Lavishly decorated book
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What illuminated book is considered the literary masterpiece of the Carolingian Renaissance?
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Utrecht Psalter
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What was Carolingian minuscule?
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A precise and rounded form of calligraphy
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In what town did Charlemagne build his palace and royal chapel?
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Aachen
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What was the name of the most important style of architecture between 1000 and 1150?
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Romanesque
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What were two characteristics of the architecture between 1000 and 1150?
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Heavy stone arches and walls; small windows
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What is the subject of the Bayeux Tapestry?
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The Norman Invasion of England in 1066
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Why was Charlemagne's "palace school" at Aachen important?
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The establishment of Charlemagne's "palace school" at Aachen brought together some of the brightest scholars of the period, increased literacy throughout the kingdom, and led to the establishment of a standard curriculum (The Seven Liberal Arts) and systemized pedagogy.
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What were the important requirements of the monastic life as set forth by Saint Benedict?
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Saint Benedict of Nursia was the author of the "Rule" in western monasticism. The requirements of a monastic life were to live a communal life under a chosen abbot, to live in poverty, chastity, and stability, and to live a life of prayer, work, and study.
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How did the Quem Queritis trope affect the development of western drama?
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The Quem Quaeritis trope is the point where the dialogue elements developed with the exchange between the angels and the Marys. From this starting point, over time additional words (not exclusively in the Bible) and characters were inserted. This evolved into short liturgical dramas which eventually developed into western drama.
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What are the themes of the morality play Everyman?
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The main themes of the play are that life is a pilgrimage, that death is inevitable, and that man's willingness to learn, act, and convert make the difference between salvation and damnation.
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Singing without instrumental accompaniment
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A cappella
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Latin for "plainsong" or "plainchant"
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Cantus planus
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Grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic
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Trivium
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A social structure of landowners and serfs
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Feudalism
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Location of Charlemagne's palace school
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Aachen
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Chanson de geste about Charlemagne's Spanish campaign
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The Song of Roland
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Symbols used for notation in Gregorian chant
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Neum
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The room used by monks for the copying of manuscripts
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Scriptorium
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The covered interior gardens and walkways in a monastery
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Cloister
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A book of psalms
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Psalter
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From c. 1150 to 1300, what city was the intellectual and cultural center of Western civilization?
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Paris
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For what contribution is Abbot Suger most famous?
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He introduced or united the major features which defined Gothic architecture.
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What were major characteristics of Gothic architecture?
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Increased height, unified space, pointed arches, flying buttresses and stained-glass windows
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What did NOT help make possible the increased height of Gothic cathedrals?
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domed ceiling
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Which medieval cathedral is famous for its 173 stained glass windows?
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Chartres
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What was the specific reason that La Sainte Chapelle was built?
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To house relics of Christ's Passion, including the Crown of Thorns
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What was the functional purpose of the Gothic gargoyles?
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rain gutters
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What was the purpose of the "signature frames" found at the bottom of many stained-glass windows?
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to designate group or person who donated the window
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Who was Villard de Honnecourt?
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Architect and engineer
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Who invented the system of musical notation that contributed most to the one we use today?
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Guido d'Arezzo
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What was innovative about organum?
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It introduced polyphony
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Which are the oldest universities in Europe?
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University of Bologna
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Who was the most famous teacher at the University of Paris in the early 1100s?
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Peter Abelart
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What was the original meaning of the term universitas?
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Corporation
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Why did medieval universities require their students to participate in note-taking and copying?
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Books were so expensive
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In what parts of Europe did women study at universities?
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Italy and Germany
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Who was the most famous teacher of "Golden Age of the University of Paris"?
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Thomas Aquinas
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What was the subject of the Summa Theologica?
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Reconciling classical philosophy and Christian faith
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What did Francis of Assisi believe was necessary for a life of perfect freedom?
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Total poverty
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What was the subject of the stained glass window "Notre Dame de Belle Verrière"? How is the depiction of Mary in glass a religious metaphor?
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The Virgin Mary is the subject of the stained glass window "Notre Dame de Belle Verrière." This window serves as a metaphor for the figure of Virgin Mary in that she is the mother of Christ (the light) and it was through her body (the glass) that he came into this world.
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What factors explain the rise of formal educational institutions in twelfth-century Europe?
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The increase in urbanization and the need for educated administrators and bureaucrats, the reemergence of Aristotle's texts, collaboration between Christian and Arabic scholars in the sciences and mathematics, and the rise of theology all contributed to the surge of formal educational institutions in twelfth-century Europe.
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How did the cathedral play an integral part in the lives of the townspeople?
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In addition to its primary role as religious guide for the public, the cathedral also was an important center of social structure and power: It was the site where births, marriages and deaths were recorded. It was the primary focus of education and culture. It provided a major source of economic vitality in the community through the pilgrims (tourism) and trade fares as well as being a place of employment for craftspeople.
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How does Gothic sculpture differ from Romanesque sculpture?
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Instead of the Romanesque emphasis on damnation and judgment, Gothic sculpture focused on scenes of redemption, including moments from the life of Jesus or visions of the Apocalypse. Gothic sculpture also put the Virgin Mary in a role of primary importance.
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What characterizes the music of the school of Notre-Dame?
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The music of the school of Notre-Dame used organum, especially in motets, but still focused on clear pronunciation of the text. Music became increasingly complex and innovative, making use of multiple melodic lines and complex counterpoint.
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Multiple melodies moving in contrast to one another
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Counterpoint
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A moral example used in preaching and theology.
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Exemplum
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External masonry supports for Gothic cathedrals.
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Flying buttresses
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Fraternal associations of craftsmen or merchants.
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Guild
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Method for reconciling conflicting theological opinions.
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Scholasticism
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Friars who rejected ownership of property and lived by begging.
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Mendicant
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Musical compositions with three voices, often singing in different
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Motet
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Intellectual techniques using reason to draw logical conclusions.
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Dialectics
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A church designated as a destination for traveling worshippers.
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Pilgrimage church
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Marks on the body resembling the wounds of Christ.
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Stigmata
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What is the meaning of the term "trecento"?
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Three Hundred
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What dramatic event in 1348 greatly reduced the population of Europe?
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Bubonic Plague
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What Italian author used the events of 1348 as a backdrop for his work the Decameron?
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Boccaccio
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How was the plague spread to Europe?
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Rats aboard trade ships
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Where was the residence of the Papacy from 1309 to 1367?
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Avignon
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After the return of the papacy to Rome, what name was given to the split (1378-1417) in the Roman Catholic Church?
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TheGreat Schism
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Which two European countries were the main combatants in the Hundred Years' War?
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France and England
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Who was crowned poet laureate of Rome in 1348?
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Petrarch
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Who was the primary subject of the 300 sonnets and 49 canzoni (songs) in Petrarch's Canzoniere (Songbook)?
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Laura
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Which writer was exiled from Florence for political reasons in 1300?
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Dante
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Who was the greatest English writer of the 1300s?
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Chaucer
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What is the narrative framework of Canterbury Tales?
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Pilgrimage
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Which character in the Canterbury Tales argues against misogyny and also sees sexual relations as a good given by God?
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Wife of Bath
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Who was one of the first women in medieval Europe to make a living as a professional writer?
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Christine de Pisan
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What was the subject matter of The Book of the City of Ladies (1404)?
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Presented an argument against the antifeminine writers
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What book, published in 1550, documents the relationship between Giotto and Dante?
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Lives of the Artists
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Who did author Giorgio Vasari consider to be the first Renaissance artist?
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Giotto di Bondone
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Which Italian sculptors (father and son) demonstrate the Roman and northern Gothic influences in their work?
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Nicola and Giovanni Pisano
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What was the subject of the painting the Lamentation?
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Body of Christ surrounded by disciples and angels
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What style is exemplified by Simone Martin's Annunciation?
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International style
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What building is the city hall of Venice?
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Doge's Palace
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What architect was responsible for the magnificent dome of Florence Cathedral?
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Brunelleschi
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What name is given to the style of late Gothic architecture in England?
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Perpindicular
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What musical qualities distinguished ars nova from the music of the previous era?
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Rhythmic and melodic complexity
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Who composed the Messe de Notre Dame?
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Guillaume de Machaut
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What were the various responses that people had to the catastrophe of the plague?
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In response to the plague, some people turned to debauchery, some to religious mania, some fled to the countryside, some took their vengeance out upon others (Jews, "witches"), and the poor revolted.
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How did the plague impact economic stability in fourteenth-century Europe?
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The plague led to a huge deficit in agricultural labor and manpower in general. This in turn brought about famine and a series of uprisings of the lower classes.
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In what respects did the art of Cimabue and Duccio di Buoninsegna move beyond the Italo-Byzantine tradition?
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The paintings of Cimabue and Duccio di Buoninsegna exhibit more realism and attention to the emotional expressions of their subjects than was typical of the Italo-Byzantine tradition.
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What shift occurred in the role of the musician and composer in the fourteenth century?
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Fourteenth-century musicians and composers performed and composed music for secular audiences as well as for religious services.
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What are the five parts of the Mass Ordinary?
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The five parts of the Ordinary are the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei.
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Songs for two or three voices with no accompanying instruments (eventually even more voices)
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madrigal
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Artistic technique of creating illusion of three-dimensionality through light and shadow
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chiaroscuro
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Medieval verse tales with comic, ribald themes
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fabliaux
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In a polyphonic work, a voice given a single, repeating line
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Isorhythm (and/or cantus firmus---the old monophonic line of Gregorian chant upon which other parts were built)
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Poetic form using sets of three lines with rhyme scheme aba, bcb, cdc, etc.
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Madrigals
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Embellishment or improvising upon noted music with sounds not written on the page
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musca ficta
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Italian for "Public Palace" begun in 1288
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Palazzo Vecchio
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Short poem of fourteen lines
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sonnet
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Refers to the 1300s in Italy
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trecento
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Author of Lives of the Artists
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Vasari
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Which city was the most important center of the early Italian Renaissance?
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Florence
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What was most revolutionary about Masaccio's painting?
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It's two-dimentionality
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Who were the two most famous competitors in the 1401 competition for the decoration of the doors of the Florence Baptistery?
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Brunellischi and Ghiberti
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What name did Michelangelo give to East Doors of the Florence Baptistery?
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The Gates of Paradise
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What was Brunelleschi's contribution to Florence Cathedral?
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The designed the dome.
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What was the primary source of the Medici family's wealth?
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Banking
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Who was the greatest Florentine sculptor of the first half of the 1400s?
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Donatello
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What was the subject of Donatello's most famous near-life size sculpture?
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David
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What was innovative about Donatello's portrayal of David?
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He combined a classical nude with Biblical texts
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What Florentine banker founded an academy for the study of Plato?
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Cosimo de Medici
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What is the message of The Song of Bacchus?
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Enjoy the present moment
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What famous painting of Sandro Botticelli celebrates the spring?
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La Primavera
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Which of the following was NOT designed by Brunelleschi?
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Palazzo Rucellai
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Which artist wrote the first theoretical treatise about creating perspective in art?
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Piero della Franscesca
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Which Dominican monk preached against Florentine art and culture?
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Fra Savonarola
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What two earlier "renaissances" were there in the 800s and 1100s?
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The eleventh-century Spanish and Netherlandish Renaissances
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What were seen as the advantages of humanist education and learning?
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It would perfect and ennoble man
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What did Pico della Mirandola write?
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Oration of the Dignity of Man
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Who invented printing with movable type?
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Johannes Gutenburg
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In the 1500s, who was the most important Christian humanist in Europe?
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Aldus Manutius
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What is the subject of The Praise of Folly?
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A satirical criticism of society
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Who was the most famous composer of the fifteenth century?
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Guillaume Dufay
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What two innovations were made to European music during this period?
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The development of muscial notation and the invention of the harpsichord
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What is the frottola?
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The Venetian secular ode to court life
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According to Jacob Burckhardt's The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy (1860), how did the values and beliefs of the Renaissance differ from those of the Middle Ages?
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According to Jacob Burckhardt, the Renaissance heralded a period of political evolution, in which people strove for achievement and fame. This contrasted acutely with the values of asceticism and humility which characterized the Middle Ages.
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Do you think Donatello's David emphasizes physical beauty or religious truth? Explain.
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Donatello's David is more pagan than Christian and emphasizes physical beauty over religious truth—but both, if seen through the eyes of the Renaissance neo-Platonists.
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How was Botticelli's Birth of Venus influenced by Platonic idealism as well as the Christian view of the Virgin Mary?
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Botticelli's Birth of Venus depicts an image of idealized beauty modeled after the Platonic ideal of the Venus pudica or "Modest" Venus. The positioning of her hands, head and overall stance evoke the Christian view of the Virgin Mary.
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Which book of Machiavelli is often considered the first purely secular study of political theory? According to Machiavelli, what was the role of morality in the exercise of power? What justification did he offer for the use of cruelty or hypocrisy?
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Machiavelli's The Prince is often considered the first purely secular study of political theory. In it, Machiavelli gives no role to morality in the exercise of power and is completely pragmatic about the circumstances in which a ruler should or should not be cruel or hypocritical, indicating that whichever serves to maintain power is the preferred course of action.
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From what class did most women who received a humanistic education come? What pressures did women scholars confront? Who in the text exemplifies the pressures women faced?
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Most women who received a humanistic education were from the upper classes or from families who particularly prized education. These women faced censure from both men and women who were threatened by their freedom and intellectual prowess. The writing of Laura Cereta who defended women's learning exemplifies the pressures women of the period faced.
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Humorous or amorous poem set to music
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frottola
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The period named after Lorenzo de' Medici's accomplishments
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Laurentian Era
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Four-lobed frame used in the Baptistery competition
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quatrefoil
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Artistic style of Fabriano's paintings
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International Style
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Renaissance system of learning and reform
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humanism
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Lines that converge on a single point in a painting
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orthogonals
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Collection of ancient Jewish learning
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Talmud
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Books that included psalms and passages to be recited at certain times during the day
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Books of hours
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Famous book by Machiavelli
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The Prince
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Flemish painter of Giovanni and His Wife
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Jan Van Eyck
