front 1 Plague | back 1 A general term for devastating epidemics, most notably the Black Death (1347–1351), a pandemic of the bubonic plague that killed an estimated 30–60% of Europe's population. |
front 2 Hundred Years' War | back 2 A series of conflicts (1337–1453) fought between the Kingdoms of England and France over control of the French throne and territories. |
front 3 Joan of Arc | back 3 A French peasant girl who, believing she was acting under divine guidance, led the French army to several key victories during the Hundred Years' War before being captured and executed in 1431. |
front 4 Jaquerie | back 4 A massive, violent peasant uprising that took place in Northern France in 1358, driven by economic hardship, social resentment, and the turmoil of the Hundred Years' War. |
front 5 Mehmed II | back 5 The Ottoman Sultan (reigned 1444–1446, and 1451–1481) known as "the Conqueror" for capturing Constantinople in 1453, ending the Byzantine Empire. |
front 6 Great Schism | back 6 A split within the Catholic Church (1378–1417) where two (and eventually three) competing Popes claimed legitimacy, resided in Rome and Avignon, and divided the allegiance of Europe. |
front 7 Indulgences | back 7 In the Catholic Church, the remission of temporal punishment (time in Purgatory) due for sins whose guilt has already been forgiven. The perceived abuse of selling them was a major catalyst for the Reformation. |
front 8 Humanism | back 8 A Renaissance intellectual movement focusing on human values and capabilities, inspired by the study of classical antiquity (Greece and Rome), often emphasizing secular concerns over purely religious ones. |
front 9 Francis Petrarch | back 9 An Italian scholar and poet (1304–1374) widely regarded as the "Father of Humanism." He championed the study of classical literature and the rebirth of classical learning. |
front 10 Hanseatic League | back 10 A powerful commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe from the 13th to the 15th centuries. |
front 11 Medici | back 11 A powerful banking family and political dynasty that rose to prominence in Florence during the 15th century, becoming patrons of the arts and effectively ruling the city for generations. |