Topic 2.2: Luther and the Protestant Reformation 8
How did Martin Luther respond in May 1525, when the peasants' revolt had spread across Thuringia?Catholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912), New Advent, "War of the Peasants (1524-25)"; course topic 2.2
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion: "eternal life is fore-ordained for some, and eternal damnation for others." Which doctrine is Calvin setting out?John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, chapter on predestination, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.2
Martin Luther, Ninety-five Theses (1517), thesis 27: "They preach only human doctrines who say that as soon as the money clinks into the money chest, the soul flies out of purgatory." Which practice is Luther attacking?Martin Luther, Ninety-five Theses (1517), theses 27 and 86, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.2
Martin Luther, On the Freedom of a Christian (1520): the soul "is justified by faith alone and not by any works." Which belief does the passage state?Martin Luther, On the Freedom of a Christian (1520), Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.2
Show all 46 questions (42 more)
Topic 2.2: Luther and the Protestant Reformation, continued
Martin Luther, To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation (1520): "all Christians are truly of the spiritual estate, and there is no difference among them, save of office alone." Which idea does Luther advance here?Martin Luther, Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation (1520), "The Three Walls of the Romanists", Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.2
Thesis 86 of Luther's Ninety-five Theses (1517) asks why the pope does not "build this one basilica of St. Peter with his own money rather than with the money of poor believers." The question is best evidence that Luther's protestMartin Luther, Ninety-five Theses (1517), theses 81 to 86, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.2
The Twelve Articles of the German peasants (1525) asked for an end to serfdom, on the ground that Christ had made all people free, and for the right of a village to choose its pastor. What do these demands best show?Catholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912), New Advent, "War of the Peasants (1524-25)"; course topic 2.2
What set the Anabaptists apart from Lutherans and Zwinglians in the 1520s?Catholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912), New Advent, "Anabaptists"; course topic 2.2
Topic 2.3: Protestant reform continues 7
Article XXIV of the Church of England's Thirty-nine Articles (1571) calls it "plainly repugnant to the Word of God" to hold public prayer "in a tongue not understanded of the people." Which change does the article defend?The Thirty-nine Articles (1571), article XXIV, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.3
The English Reformation under Henry VIII began chiefly overCatholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912), New Advent, "Henry VIII"; course topic 2.3
The first Reformed (Huguenot) churches of France, organized from 1555, took as their model the church of which city?Catholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912), New Advent, "Huguenots"; course topic 2.3
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion: "it is our duty to be obedient to any governors whom God has established over the places in which we reside." What view of political authority does the passage express?John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, on civil government, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.3
The oath in Elizabeth I's Act of Supremacy (1559) had officeholders swear that the queen "is the only supreme governor of this realm ... as well in all spiritual or ecclesiastical things or causes, as temporal." What did the oath establish?Elizabeth's Act of Supremacy (1559), Hanover Historical Texts Project, Hanover College; course topic 2.3
While hidden at the Wartburg castle after the Diet of Worms, Luther translated the New Testament into German. Why did reformers put such weight on Bibles in the vernacular?Catholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912), New Advent, "Martin Luther"; course topic 2.3
Who were the Puritans of Elizabethan England?Catholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912), New Advent, "Puritans"; course topic 2.3
Topic 2.4: Wars of religion 10
Article XLIX of the Peace of Westphalia (1648) ratified an agreement on church lands and "the Liberty of the Exercise of Religion," and applied it "also with those call'd the Reformed." Which group gained legal standing?Treaty of Westphalia (Münster, October 24, 1648), article XLIX, The Avalon Project, Yale Law School; course topic 2.4
The Confederation of Warsaw (1573) is an example ofUNESCO Memory of the World, "The Confederation of Warsaw of 28th of January 1573: Religious tolerance guaranteed"; course topic 2.4
Elizabeth I told her troops at Tilbury that she thought "foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realms." Which event was she facing?Elizabeth I, speech against the Spanish Armada (1588), Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; Catholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912), New Advent, "Philip II"; course topic 2.4
Henry of Navarre led the Protestant party in the French wars of religion. What did he do in July 1593 to secure the French throne?Catholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912), New Advent, "Henry IV"; course topic 2.4
In January 1631 Cardinal Richelieu, chief minister of Catholic France, made the treaty of Bärwalde with Gustavus Adolphus, the Protestant king of Sweden, who pledged to carry on the war against the emperor. What does the treaty best show about the Thirty Years' War?Catholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912), New Advent, "Thirty Years War"; course topic 2.4
Jacques-Auguste de Thou, who saw the events of August 1572 in Paris as a youth, wrote: "So it was determined to exterminate all the Protestants and the plan was approved by the queen." Who is "the queen"?Jacques-Auguste de Thou, account of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; Catholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912), New Advent, "Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre"; course topic 2.4
Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, ambassador of the Holy Roman Emperor at the sultan's court, wrote: "No distinction is attached to birth among the Turks; the deference to be paid to a man is measured by the position he holds in the public service." What was his purpose in praising the Ottomans?Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, The Turkish Letters (1555-1562), Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.4
The Religious Peace of Augsburg (1555) gave legal standing in the Holy Roman Empire to which two confessions?Catholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912), New Advent, "The Reformation"; course topic 2.4
Revoking it in 1685, Louis XIV described his grandfather's edict "granted at Nantes in the month of April, 1598" as one that regulated "the places in which they might meet for public worship." Who were "they"?Louis XIV, Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (October 22, 1685), Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.4
What did the Union of Utrecht (1579) create?Catholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912), New Advent, "The Netherlands"; course topic 2.4
Topic 2.5: The Catholic Reformation 8
Council of Trent, sixth session, canon 9: "If any one saith, that by faith alone the impious is justified ... let him be anathema." Whose teaching does the canon condemn?Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent, sixth session, canon IX, Hanover Historical Texts Project, Hanover College; course topic 2.5
Francis Xavier wrote to the Society of Jesus at Rome from India in 1543 and later from Japan. What feature of the Catholic Reformation do his letters illustrate?Francis Xavier, Letter from India, to the Society of Jesus at Rome (1543), Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University, with his Letter from Japan (1552) at the same project; Catholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912), New Advent, "The Society of Jesus"; course topic 2.5
In 1542 Pope Paul III set up a tribunal of six cardinals as the final court of appeal in trials concerning faith. What was it?Catholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912), New Advent, "Inquisition", section "The Holy Office at Rome"; course topic 2.5
On the sources of religious authority, the Council of Trent held in 1546 thatCatholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912), New Advent, "Council of Trent"; course topic 2.5
Rule IV of the Council of Trent's rules on prohibited books: if the Bible is allowed "everywhere and without discrimination in the vernacular, there will by reason of the boldness of men arise therefrom more harm than good." Who would decide whether a layperson might read it?Council of Trent, Rules on Prohibited Books, rules II and IV, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.5
Teresa of Ávila is an example of Catholic renewal because sheCatholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912), New Advent, "St. Teresa of Jesus (Teresa of Avila)"; course topic 2.5
The Ursulines, founded by Angela Merici and gathered as a community in 1535, were formed for what purpose?Catholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912), New Advent, "The Ursulines"; course topic 2.5
Which reform of the Council of Trent was aimed at the poor training of the parish clergy?Catholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912), New Advent, "Council of Trent"; course topic 2.5
Topic 2.6: 16th-century society and politics 7
A canon of Trier, an eyewitness, wrote: "it was popularly believed that the continued sterility of many years was caused by witches through the malice of the Devil," and so "the whole country rose to exterminate the witches." Which cause of witch hunts does he point to?Canon Linden on the witch persecutions at Trier, Hanover Historical Texts Project, Hanover College; course topic 2.6
In 1628 Johannes Junius, burgomaster of Bamberg, was tried for witchcraft. The court minutes record that he was first "examined without torture" and confessed nothing; "he was put to the torture" afterward. The record is most useful as evidence thatMinutes of the trial of Johannes Junius at Bamberg (1628), Hanover Historical Texts Project, Hanover College; course topic 2.6
John Knox's First Blast of the Trumpet (1558) attacked rule by women, and John Aylmer answered it in 1559 in support of Elizabeth I. The exchange belongs to which wider debate of the period?John Aylmer, An Harborow for Faithful and True Subjects (1559), Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.6
Ordinances for the churches of Geneva (1547) set fines for inviting another to drink, closed taverns during the sermon and sent anyone who danced to prison and then "to the consistory." What do the rules show?Ordinances for the Regulation of the Churches Dependent upon the Seigniory of Geneva (1547), Hanover Historical Texts Project, Hanover College; course topic 2.6
William Harrison (1577) lists among England's "thriftless poor" the "vagabond that will abide nowhere, but runneth up and down from place to place." Views like this lay behind which 16th-century trend?William Harrison, Description of Elizabethan England (1577), on the poor, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.6
William Harrison, Description of England (1577): "Rogues and vagabonds are often stocked and whipped; scolds are ducked upon cucking-stools in the water." These punishments were meant chiefly toWilliam Harrison, Description of Elizabethan England (1577), on punishments, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.6
William Harrison, Description of England (1577): "We in England, divide our people commonly into four sorts, as gentlemen, citizens or burgesses, yeomen, and artificers or labourers." What does the passage best show about 16th-century society?William Harrison, Description of Elizabethan England (1577), "Of Degrees of People", Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.6
Topic 2.7: Mannerism and Baroque art 6
The Council of Trent's decree on sacred images (1563) taught that through paintings of the story of redemption "the people is instructed, and confirmed in (the habit of) remembering" the articles of faith. What followed for art in Catholic lands?Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent, twenty-fifth session, on sacred images, Hanover Historical Texts Project, Hanover College; course topic 2.7
El Greco, born in Crete and trained in Venice, had settled in Toledo by 1577. According to the National Gallery, London, his "intense, colourful" style isThe National Gallery, London, "El Greco"; course topic 2.7
Gian Lorenzo Bernini became architect of St. Peter's in Rome in 1629 and built the colonnade before it. His career best illustratesCatholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912), New Advent, "Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini"; course topic 2.7
In 1622 Peter Paul Rubens was commissioned to fill two galleries in Paris with scenes from the lives of Marie de' Medici and her late husband, Henry IV. The commission best illustratesThe National Gallery, London, "Peter Paul Rubens"; course topic 2.7
The National Gallery, London, describes one style as "works of a dramatic and exuberant nature which employ diagonal compositions and illusionistic effects in order to impress the viewer." Which style?The National Gallery, London, glossary, "Baroque"; course topic 2.7
Who, according to the Victoria and Albert Museum, used the Baroque style "to persuade as well as impress"?Victoria and Albert Museum, "The Baroque style"; course topic 2.7
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to Unit 2 (Age of Reformation, c. 1450 to c. 1648) of the College Board's AP European History Course and Exam Description, effective fall 2026, https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-european-history-course-and-exam-description.pdf, read 2026-10-07. Each fact was read on 2026-10-07 in the public page named under its question: the Internet History Sourcebooks Project at Fordham University, the Hanover Historical Texts Project, the Avalon Project at Yale Law School, the Catholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912) at New Advent, UNESCO, the National Gallery, London, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Licence: Own work. Short quotations from the public documents named under each question.
How it works
This AP Euro Unit 2 practice test has 46 questions of our own on the Age of Reformation, many built on a line from a period document. It is unofficial and not affiliated with or endorsed by the College Board.
Read the full guide
What Unit 2 covers
The College Board's course description, read October 7, 2026, gives Unit 2 eight topics. Six have a set of questions here: 8 on Luther and the Protestant Reformation, 7 on later Protestant reform, 10 on the wars of religion, 8 on the Catholic Reformation, 7 on 16th-century society and politics, and 6 on Mannerist and Baroque art. The opening topic on context and the closing one on causation are practiced inside those sets.
Where the answers come from
Under each answer is the public page its fact was read on, usually the quoted document itself.
Anchor the unit on three dates: Luther's theses in 1517, the Peace of Augsburg in 1555 and the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.
For each war, ask what the rulers wanted besides religion. The course treats faith and politics as tangled, not separate.
Questions and answers
What is Unit 2 in AP Euro?
Age of Reformation, about 1450 to 1648: the Protestant and Catholic reformations, the wars of religion that followed, 16th-century society and politics, and Mannerist and Baroque art.
How much of the AP Euro exam is Unit 2?
Between 10 and 15% of the exam, by the College Board's course page. Each of the nine units carries the same weighting.
Is this AP Euro Unit 2 practice test the real unit test?
No. Teachers assign the College Board's own Progress Check in AP Classroom. These questions were written for this site from the published unit outline and public documents, and none repeats or rewords a real question.
What comes after Unit 2 in AP European History?
Unit 3, Absolutism and Constitutionalism, about 1648 to 1815. It starts where this unit ends, with the Peace of Westphalia.