| A | B |
|---|
| Humanism | The scholarly interest in the study of the classical texts, values, and styles of Greece and Rome. Humanism contributed to the promotion of a liberal arts education based on the study of the classics, rhetoric, and history. |
| Christian humanism | a branch of humanism associated with northern Europe. Like their Italian counterparts, the Christian humanists closely studied classical texts. However, they also sought to give humanism a specifically Christian content. Christian humanists like Desiderius Erasmus were committed to religious piety and institutional reform. |
| vernacular | the everyday language of a region or country. Miguel de Cervantes, Geoffrey Chaucer, Dante, and Martin Luther all encouraged the development of their national languages by writing in the vernacular. Desiderius Erasmus, however, continued to write in Latin |
| New Monarachs | European monarchs who created professional armies and a more centralized administrative bureaucracy. The new monarchs also negotiated a new relationship with the Catholic Church. Key new monarchs include Charles VII, Louis XI, Henry VII, and Ferdinand and Isabella. |
| Taille | a direct tax on the French peasantry. The taille was one of the most important sources of income for French monarchs until the French Revolution |
| Reconquista | the centuries-long Christian "reconquest" of Spain from the Muslims. The Reconquista culminated in 1492 with the conquest of the last Muslim stronghold, Granada |
| indulgence | a certificate granted by the pope in return for the payment of a fee to the church. The certificate stated that the soul of the dead relative or friend of the purchaser would have his time in purgatory reduced by many years or cancelled altogether. |
| anabaptist | protestants who insisted that only adult baptism conformed to Scripture. Protestant and Catholic leaders condemned Anabaptists for advocating the complete separation of church and state. |
| predestination | doctrine espoused by John Calvin that God has known since the beginning of time who will be saved and who will be damned. Calvin declared that "by an eternal and immutable counsel, God has once and for all determined, both whom he would admit to salvation, and whom he would condemn to destruction." |
| huguenots | French Protestants who followed the teachings of John Calvin |
| politiques | rulers who put political necessities above personal beliefs. For example, both Henry IV of France and Elizabeth I of England subordinated theological controversies in order to achieve political unity. |
| columbian exchange | the interchange of plants, animals, diseases, and human populations between the Old World and the New World |
| mercantilism | economic philosophy calling for close government regulation of the economy. Mercantilist theory emphasized building a strong, self sufficient economy by maximizing exports and limiting imports. Mercantilists supported the acquisition of colonies as sources of raw materials and markets for finished goods. THis favorable balance of trade would enable a country to accumulate reserves of gold and silver. |
| putting-out system | a preindustrial manufacturing system in which an entrepreneur would bring materials to rural people who worked on them in their own homes. For example, watch manufacturers in Swiss towns employed villagers to make parts for their products. The system enabled entrepreneurs to avoid restrictive guild regulations. |
| joint-stock company | a business arrangement in which many investors raise money for a venture too large for any of them to undertake alone. They share the profits in proportion to the amount they invest. English entrepreneurs used joint-stock companies to finance the establishment of New World colonies. |
