European History AP summer reading 2008

 

William Manchester      A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind

                                             And the Renaissance     Back Bay Books  

                                            ISBN:    0-316-54556-2

 

 

Matters to pay special attention to:

1.         the “medieval mind”  i.e.   How did people in the Middle Ages see themselves and the world around them?  What was the role of the Church?  How did government function?

2.         the Renaissance Papacy     How did it function? Who were the major figures? What were the annates and indulgences? How did the Pope try to exert control over national monarchs?

3.          Martin Luther     What were his major ideas?  How did his upbringing affect his personality and ideas? What were the main events of the Lutheran Reformation?

4.         John Calvin    What were his main ideas? How much did he agree with Luther? What were the differences?

5.          Henry VIII and Archbishop Cranmer    What were the political reasons for the English Reformation?  Originally, Henry wanted to be Catholic without the Pope; how did that change?

6.         Magellan      What were the new ideas and technologies that led him to propose sailing around the world?