SAT II World History : The Renaissance
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Example Questions
Example Question #41 : The Renaissance
Who is often referred to as the "Father of Humanism and the Renaissance"?
Petrarch
Dante
Socrates
Voltaire
Thomas More
Petrarch
Petrarch was an Italian poet in the fourteenth century. He is often described by historians as the father of humanism and the father of the Renaissance.
Example Question #4 : Other Renaissance History
The rising wealth of towns and the growth of the urban middle class led most directly to the decline of which of these in Europe?
Representative democracy
Monarchies and absolute rulers
The Catholic Church
The Enlightenment
The feudal system
The feudal system
The feudal system had prevailed in Europe since the fall of the Roman empire. In the feudal system, a lord owns a large tract of land, and he provides grants of land to peasants or “serfs" who work the land and live on the land. The serfs provide food and resources to the lord; in exchange, he protects them with a hired army and/or fortification. The rising wealth of towns and the growth of the urban middle class during the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods gradually eroded the feudal system and strengthened the power of monarchies and parliaments across Europe. A new era of absolute monarchy dawned, and was itself slowly (in some cases very quickly) replaced by constitutional monarchy and republicanism.
Example Question #2 : Other Renaissance History
The Courtier, written by Castiglione, describes __________.
the history of the "Dark Ages"
the ideal Renaissance man
how to establish a utopian society
the life and writings of Petrarch
the virtuous nature of human beings
the ideal Renaissance man
The Courtier is an important literary work of the Italian Renaissance. It was written by Baldassare Castiglione in the early sixteenth century. In the book, Castiglione describes the ideal Renaissance Man: how he should be artistic, athletic, scientifically-minded, etc.
Example Question #3 : Other Renaissance History
In Praise of Folly is one the most celebrated works of which Northern-Renaissance writer?
Albrecht Durer
Petrarch
Jan van Eyck
Thomas More
Erasmus
Erasmus
Erasmus is one of the most celebrated writers of the Nothern-Renaissance movement. His most famous work, In Praise of Folly, was written in the early sixteenth century and is essentially a satirical work, in which "folly" praises itself. It was meant as an attack on the abuses of the clergy within the Catholic Church and was widely influential at the time.
Example Question #4 : Other Renaissance History
Miguel de Cervantes is most famous for writing __________.
Paradiso
Inferno
The Canterbury Tales
The Natural Rights of Man
Don Quixote
Don Quixote
Miguel de Cervantes was a Spanish writer during the Renaissance. He published his most famous work, Don Quixote, in the early seventeenth century. It is one of the most famous novels of all time, and its influence on the Spanish language and Spanish culture is unparalleled.
Example Question #12 : Secularization Of Learning
This philosophy was centered around the study of classical writings and emphasized the inherent potential of human-beings.
Classicism
Socialism
Calvinism
Dogmatism
Humanism
Humanism
Humanism arose in the early part of the Renaissance period. It was based on the study of classical writings, and the early humanists revered the Greek philosophers like Aristotle and Plato. Humanism emphasized the inherent ability of people to reason, to think critically, and to examine phenomena via evidence.
Example Question #5 : Other Renaissance History
Which of these answers best describes a "Renaissance Man?"
An individual who studies classical texts and can speak multiple languages.
An individual who dedicates his life to the pursuit of artistic perfection.
An individual who is loyal to both the Pope and the King.
An individual who is willing to die for his country and places national pride above all else.
An individual who is accomplished in both the artistic and the scientific field.
An individual who is accomplished in both the artistic and the scientific field.
A "Renaissance Man" is an individual who is dedicated both to the sciences and to the arts. Indeed, to a Renaissance Man the distinction between science and art would be wholly unclear. They used science to understand how to produce better works of art. The classic example of a Renaissance Man is Leonardo da Vinci. He was a consumate artist, but also an inventor and a theorist.
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