1. Why did the Byzantine Emperor, Alexius I, make an appeal to Pope Urban, and what was the Pope’s response to his appeal, i.e. what role did the church play in the first Crusade to the Holy Land? What were the political and/or spiritual stakes for the kings, nobility, and peasants who went on Crusade and what did Europeans gain culturally and intellectually from their contact with societies in this region? In your opinion, was the Crusade a success for Europeans? Explain your answer.
2. How did the plague of the 14th century affect different levels of society (the laborers, the nobles) both positively and negatively? In what way did the Catholic Church and the state (king as well as local governments) lose or gain influence as a result of the Plague. Explain your answer.
3. Briefly explain when and why the Hundred Year’s War begin in France. What was the Treaty of Troyes, and how did it relate to the role Joan of Arc played in the war?
4. What were the causes of the Protestant Reformation (at least two examples) – i.e. what reforms did “Protestants” want to make? What characterized Jean Calvin’s Protestant theology and how did the French kings in the first half of the 16th century (Francis I and Henry II) deal with the growing popularity of Calvin’s theology in France?
5. Who invented the printing press, and how did it have an impact on the slow spread of literacy in France? Explain how the printing press helped the spread of the Protestant Reformation as well as the ideals of the Renaissance. Give specific examples.
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