1. What was the Black Death, and how did it affect European society?
2. How did the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism weaken the papacy?
3. How did thought concerning the relationship between clerical and secular authority develop during the Late Middle Ages?
4. What were the traditional Christian literary themes? To what extent did late-medieval literature continue to explore those themes? Use at least three examples to illustrate your answer.
5. How did a significant vernacular literature develop during the Late Middle Ages? Who were the important authors to contribute to that development?
6. How does late-medieval sculpture demonstrate continuity with earlier sculptural tradition? What new interests and concerns does it show?
7. What stylistic innovations did Giotto introduce, and what effect did those have on the course of European painting?
8. What were the principal innovations of the ars nova music? Why did the church condemn them?
9. In what ways did feudalism persist after the end of the Middle Ages?  How did it contribute to the development of modern ideas of liberty and the rule of law?
10. What are the principal differences between the medieval and modern views of nature, society, the universe, and human reason?