Renaissance Quiz

One reason the Renaissance began in Italy was that

• Italy had a calm political atmosphere.

• people in other parts of Europe were uneducated.

• wealthy Italian bankers and merchants supported the arts.

• the Church controlled every aspect of life in Italy.

Galileo had to withdraw his theories about the Earth’s rotation because

• he found out he was wrong.

• the Church threatened him with death if he did not.

• the ideas had caused him public ridicule.

• he wished to do more research.

The new scientific method was based on

• religion

• ancient teachings

• observation and experimentation

• reasoning

Descartes believed people could discover basic truths through

• observation

• experimentation

• reason

• religion

Which of the following was an idea held by most Renaissance thinkers?

• Life on earth is merely a preparation for an afterlife.

• There is little value in the study of history.

• The writings of Aristotle are the final authority on philosophical questions.

• Life on earth should be lived as fully as possible.

The geographical location of the northern Italian city-states helped them become centers of

• agriculture

• education

• trade

• religious tradition

Machiavelli pointed out that rulers often lied, broke treaties, and killed in his book titled

• The Praise of Folly

• Gargantua and Pantagruel

• The Prince

• Don Quixote

Literacy spread in the late 1400’s because

• the works of new writers made literature more interesting.

• the decline of Catholicism made people search for other answers.

• the invention of movable type made books more affordable.

• the Renaissance spirit made people eager for self-improvement.

Utopia was a book about

• An ideal society

• The narrow mindedness of scholars, scientists, and clergy

• The adventures of an elderly knight

• The follies of the enemies of humanism

The artists of the Renaissance focused on all of the following topics EXCEPT

• Humans and their experiences

• Roman and Greek world

• The universe

• The Catholic Church