MEDIEVAL HISTORY                           VOCABULARY FOR CHAPTER 6

 

A NEW AGE IN EUROPE

 

Renaissance: the period of the rebirth of learning in Europe between about 1300 and 1600

 

humanism: a system of thought that focuses on the nature, ideals, and achievements of human

                      beings, rather than on the divine

 

Reformation: the effort to change or reform the Roman Catholic Church, which led to the

                         establishment of Protestant churches

 

Protestant: referring to Christian religions that grew out of the Reformation

 

Age of Exploration: the period of European exploration overseas from about 1400 to 1600

 

Cape of Good Hope: the southern tip of Africa

 

Northwest Passage: a sea route through North America

 

Strait of Magellan: a waterway near the southern tip of South America

 

circumnavigate: to sail or fly completely around something, such as earth

 

divine right of kings: the belief that the authority of kings comes directly from God

 

absolute monarch: a king or queen with complete authority over the government and people in

                                    a kingdom

 

Versailles: the palace built for the French king Louis XIV

 

Elizabethan Age: a golden age of English history when Elizabeth I was queen, 1558-1603

 

tsar: the Russian emperor

 

conquistador: a Spanish conqueror in the Americas

 

Hernan Cortes: the Spanish conquistador who conquered the Aztecs

 

encomienda: a system in which the Spanish king gave Spanish settlers the right to the labor of

                         the Native Americans who lived in a particular area

 

Francisco Pizarro: the Spanish conquistador who conquered the Incas