Dr.

Christoph Greger
Humanities 41B
Spring 2019

Study Guide for Unit 2:

The Northern Renaissance and Reformation
Below are some topics – concepts, questions, ideas and objects – that are fairly important to the course.
These are all topics that either we’ve covered in class or that are covered in some detail in our textbook,
Culture and Values (volume 2). In order to assure yourself of a good grade on quizzes, midterm and final
exams, you should familiarize yourself with most of these concepts – an awareness of why they’re important,
what some of the questions are about them, what’s unique about them… and you should be able to
communicate some of this stuff in writing, of course. You should be able to think of specific examples that
demonstrate some of these concepts…

Some Concepts you should be familiar with

 Erasmus, and some of his contributions to
Humanism in the North, and some of his
general attitudes about the church.
 Thomas More, some of his contributions
to Humanism in the North, and some of
his general attitudes about the church.
 Utopia – a little about what the book is,
what the concept refers to, and a couple of
the beliefs an customs of its inhabitants.
 A little about the political and cultural
situations in the North – similarities and
differences to Italy.
 The idea of indulgences
 Martin Luther – a little about who he was
and what he did.
 Some innovations that Northern European
Renaissance artists make in painting and
the visual arts, and some of the key
differences between art in the north and
art in Italy during the Renaissance
 Some of the new styles and genres of
painting that show up in the North, once
the Protestant churches pull back on
patronizing artists.
 Hieronymus Bosch -- who he is and what
he’s known for.
 Pieter Bruegel -- who he is and what he’s
known for.
 Perhaps the names of the artists Altdorfer
and Grunewald, and the kind of art
they’re associated with.

 Some of the arguments Luther makes in
his “95 Theses;” what they are and why
they got so much attention.
 Some causes of the Reformation and ideas
about why it caught on so quickly in some
places.
 Albrecht Durer -- who he is and what he’s
known for. You should be able to
discuss/describe a couple of his well-
known works.
 A little about what’s new and unique in
the work of Shakespeare.

 Some consequences of the Reformation.  The development of “self-consciousness,”

as observed in the work of Durer and in
 Some key differences between Hamlet.
Catholicism and Protestantism.
 The concept of a soliloquy, and some key
soliloquies in Hamlet.