Theme 07

Changing Cultural Traditions

Multiple Choice Questions :

Ques. As per the Europe-centric view the _______ was the centre of
the world.

a) Europe
b) Roman Empire
c) Mediterranean Sea
d) Greece

Ques. In which century towns started growing in European countries ?

a) 11th century
b) 12th century
c) 13th century
d) 14th century

Ques. Who In 1860,wrote a book called “The Civilisation of the

Renaissance in Italy” ?

a) Charles Darwin
b) Dante Alighieri
c) Jacob Burckhardt
d) Leonardo da Vinci

Ques. Who wrote the book “The Commonwealth and Government of

Venice” (1534) ?
 a) Cardinal Gasparo Contarini
b) Charles Darwin
c) Dante Alighieri
d) Leon Batista Alberti

Ques. Who is considered to be the “Father of Humanism” ?

a) Dante Aligheri
b) Francesco Petrach
c) Gitto
d) None of these

Ques. Who was the author of “The Divine Comedy” ?

a) Dante Alighieri
b) Jacob Burckhardt
c) Charles Darwin
d) Francesco Petrach

Ques. Ibn Sina was _______

a) Arab Physician
b) Men of wisdom
c) Philosopher of Bukhara
d) All of these

Ques.The new ideal of individuality and citizenship excluded:

a) peasants
b) men without property
c) Women
d) widows
Ques. Who dominated public life in aristocratic families:

a) Father
b) Son
c) Men
d) women

Ques. In which families, did women have a public life:

a) merchants and bankers’ family

b) aristocratic family
c) both of them
d) none of them

Ques. Early death of a merchant forced his widow to:

a) become a nun
b) marry again
c) work in place of her husband
d) none of them

Ques. Venetian Cassandra Fedele was invited to give a speech in:

a) university of Rome
b) university of Florence
c) university of Venice
d) university of Padua

Ques: What links Italian towns and countries with the world beyond ?

a) Trade and travel

 b) Military conquest
c) Diplomatic contacts
d) All of the above

Ques. In almost every part of Europe , peasant began to rebel against

a) Taxes imposed by Church

b) Humanist idea
c) Harsh rule of King
d) Print revolution

Ques.In 1517 , who launched a campaign against the Catholic Church

a) Ulrich Zwingli
b) Jean Calvin
c) Martin Luther
d) Thomas More

Ques. The movement led by Martin Luther is known as :-

a) Catholic Reformation
b) Protestant Reformation
c) Ninety - Five Theses
d) None of theses
Ques.Luther did not supported :-

a) Radicalism
b) Capitalism
c) Liberalism
d) Socialism

Ques. Who wrote the ' De Revolutionibus?

a) Johannes Kepler
b) Copernicus
c) Galileo Galilei
d) Erasmus

Ques. The revolution in science reaches its climax by which theory?

a) Theory of gravitation
b) Theory of evolution
c) Theory of universe
d) Theory of planets

Ques. Who proved the notion of a dynamic world?

a) Johannes Kepler
b) Martin Luther
c) Erasmus
 d) Galileo Galilei

Ques. When the Royal Society of London formed in which year?

a) 1662
b) 1672
c) 1822
d) 1653

Ques. Who among them suggested that Burckhardt exaggerated the

sharp distinction between this period and the one that preceded it by
terming it as 'Renaissance'.

a) Michelangelo
b) Leon Batista Alberti
c) Peter Burke
d) None of these

Ques. Which among the following well describes the terms

‘Renaissance’

a) the rebirth of the Greek and Roman civilizations

b) the substitution of the pre-Christian world for the Christian world
by the artists and scholars
c) Both (a) and (b)
d) None of these
Ques. The elements of Renaissance were already seen between
which centuries?

a) 11​th​ -12​th​ centuries

b) 14​th​-15​th​ centuries
c) 10​th​- 11​th​ centuries
d) ​ -13
12th ​
​th​ centuries

Ques. During the 9 century where did literary and artistic efforts
flourish?

a) England
b) London
c) Greece
d) France

Ques. What does the archaeological and literary findings of Roman

culture show?

a) Rebirth of old cultures

b) Substitution of pre- Christian world
c) New technological changes
d) the technologies and skills in Asia had contributed to the
cultural changes of Europe.​
Ques. Which among the following linked Asia and North Africa with
Europe in trade and learning skills along with political connections.

a) The expansion of Islam

b) Mongol invasions
c) Both (a) and (b)
d) None of these

Ques. Europe along with Romans and Greeks got knowledge from
___, ____, ____, Arabia and Central Asia.

a) India
b) China
c) Iran
d) All of these

Ques. An important change that did happen during the period of

Renaissance was ______________?

a) Coming of new technologies

b) Rebirth of old Greek cultures
c) the gradual separation of the public and private life of a
person.
d) None of these
Ques.By which century, in political sense all men had equal political
rights
a) 17​th
b) 16​th
c) ​
18th
d) 19​th

Ques. Europe which was united earlier and then was dissolved
into states under which among the following basis?

a) Architecture
b) Literary sources
c) Culture
d) Common language

Fill in the blanks :

Ques. The new culture was admired and imitated by the ​educated
and the ​wealthy​ .

Ques.In the fifteenth and early sixteen centuries , many scholars in

universities in north Europe were attracted to ​humanist​ ideas .
 ​ rganised the Society of Jesus in
Ques. In Spain,​ Ignatius Loyola o
1540

Ques. In England , the rulers ended the connection with the ​Pope.​

Ques. ​ ​William Tyndale​ , an English Lutheran who translated the

Bible into English in 1506 and defended Protestantism.

Ques. The invention of ​printing​ made books and prints available to

many people, including those living in distant towns or countries.

Ques. The term renaissance literally means ​rebirth.​

Ques. ​Religion​ came to be seen as something which each individual

should choose for himself.

Ques. Western Europe was being reshaped by ​feudal bonds​ and

unified under the ​Latin Church.

Ques. With the expansion of trade between the ​Byzantine Empire

and the ​Islamic countries,​ the ports on the Italian coast were revived.

Ques. ​Cosimo de’ Medici​ wanted to make Florence the most

beautiful city

Ques. ​Michelangelo​ designed the finest example of Renaissance

architecture in Rome, the ​Piazza del Campidoglio.

Ques. In the ​fourteenth​ century, many scholars began to read

translated works of Greek writers like Plato and Aristotle
Ques. In 1416, ​Donatello​ broke new ground with his lifelike statues.

Ques. ​Andreas Vesalius,​ a Belgian and a professor of medicine at

the University of Padua, was the first to dissect the human body.

Ques. Sons of aristocratic families often helped in family business and

were sent to join ​church.​

Ques. Even though their ​dowries​ were invested in family business,

women had no say in the business matters.

Ques. ​Marriages​ were a way of strengthening business alliances.

Ques. If dowries for their marriages could not be arranged, women

were sent to convents to become ​nuns.​

Ques. Fedele was known for her proficiency in ​Latin​ and ​Greek​.

Ques. Women were thought to be incapable of achieving the qualities

of a​ humanist scholar​.

Ques. Isabella d’Este ruled the state of ​Mantua​ in the absence of her
husband.

Ques. Women’s writings revealed that they should have economic

power, property and education in a world dominated by ​men.​

Ques. In ​1455​, 150 copies of the Bible were printed in the workshop of
Johannes Gutenberg

True/False
Ques. If people in other countries wanted to see paintings, sculptures
or buildings of great artists, they had to travel to Italy. ​True

Ques. Copernicus developed a theory that earth together with other

planets revolved around the sun. ​True

Ques. Galileo Galilei popularized the theory that earth is a part of the
sun -center solar system. ​False

Ques. The Paris academy was formed in 1675. ​False

Ques. The cosmographic mystery demonstrates that planets revolve

around the sun and in eclipse. ​True

Important dates : 14th-15th century

1300 Humanism taught at Padua University in Italy

1341 Petrarch given title of ‘Poet Laureate’ in Rome

1390 Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales published

1436 Brunelleschi designs the Duomo in Florence

1454 Gutenberg prints the Bible with movable type

1492 Columbus reaches America

1495 Leonardo da Vinci paints The Last Supper

1512 Michelangelo paints the Sistine Chapel ceiling

Important dates : 15th-16th century

1517 Martin Luther writes the Ninety-Five Theses

1522 Luther translated the Bible into German

1543 Andreas Vesalius writes On Anatomy

1569 Gerhardus Mercator prepares cylindrical map of the

earth

1582 Gregorian calendar introduced by Pope Gregory XIII

1628 William Harvey links the heart with blood circulation

Academy of Sciences set up in Paris

1673 Academy of Sciences set up in Paris

1687 Isaac Newton’s Principia Mathematica published

Periodisation used by humanists and by later scholars

5th–14th century The Middle Ages

5th–9th century The Dark Ages
9th–11th century The Early Middle Ages
11th–14th century The Late Middle Ages
15th century onwards The Modern Age

Very Short Answer Questions

Ques. Which cities became centres of art and learning in the 14th
century ?

Ans. Towns particularly Florence, Venice and Rome became centres

of art and learning.

Ques. How were Venice and Genoa different from other Italian cities ?

Ans. Venice and Genoa were different from other Italian cities as there
the clergy were not politically dominant, nor were there powerful
feudal lords. Rich merchants and bankers actively participated in
governing the city, and this helped the idea of citizenship to strike root.

Ques. Where were the universities established in earlier Europe?

Ans. The universities were established in italian town in earlier
Europe.

Ques. Which universities were the centre of legal studies in 11

century?

Ans. Paduna and Bologna were the centre of legal studies in 11

century.

Ques. Why was there a growing demand of lawyers and notaries ?

Ans. There was a growing demand of lawyers and notaries to write

and intercept rules and written contracts as increasing trade and
commerce depended on them. There was a change in emphasis and
law became a popular study.

Ques. What were the views of Francesco Petrarch ?

Ans. To Petrarch, antiquity was a distinctive civilisation which could be

best understood through the actual words of the ancient Greeks and
Romans. He therefore stressed the importance of a close reading of
ancient authors.

Ques. For whom did the humanist term begin to be applied in the early
15th century ?

Ans. Humanist terms began to be applied in the early 15th century for
masters who could teach grammar, poetry , history , rhetoric and
philosophy.

Ques. Why did Florence become famous in the 15th century ?

Ans. Florence became famous in the 15th century because of trade
and education centres.

Ques. A city is known not only for its wealth but also for its citizens.
Explain in the context of Florence ?

Ans. Yes a city is not only known for its wealth but also for its citizens
as in Florence Dante Alighieri,a layman who wrote religious themes
and Gitto, an artist who painted lifelike portraits were the prestige of it.

Ques. What were the views of Niccolo Machiavelli regarding practical

politics ?

Ans. Niccolo Machiavelli believed that the rulers should behave like a
lion (aggressive and powerful) and at other times like a fox (cunning
and practical)

Ques. What are the three parts of the poem “The Divine Comedy” by
Dante Aligheiri ?

Ans. The Inferno (Hell)

Purgatorio (Purgatory)
Paradiso (Paradise)

Ques. What was the dark age ?

Ans. The Humanists believed that a ‘dark age’ had set in after the
collapse of the Roman Empire.

Ques. Who wrote Almagest ? What was it ?

Ans. Ptolemy’s Almagest is a work on astronomy, written in Greek
before 140 CE and later translated into Arabic.
It carries the Arabic definite article ‘al’, which brings out the Arabic
connection.

Ques. What are the various ways through which Humanism

propagated ?

Ans. Formal education,art, architecture and books were wonderfully

effective in transmitting humanist ideas.

Ques. What factors promoted realism ?

Ans. Anatomy, geometry, physics, as well as a strong sense of what

was beautiful, gave a new quality to Italian art and developed realism.

Ques. Name two Christian humanists .

Ans. Two Christian humanist are :-

a) Thomas More ( 1478 - 1535 )
b) Erasmus ( 1466 - 1536 )

Ques. What was the letter of ' indulgence ' ?

Ans. The selling of ' indulgence ' documents was one of the methods
to obtain . The Indulgence promised the people to free them from the
sins committed by them in the past .

Ques. What was Protestent revolution ?

Ans. In 1517 , a young German monk named Martin Luther launched
a campaign against the Catholic Church and argued that a person did
not need a priest to establish contact with God . He asked his
followers to have completed faith in God , for faith alone could not
guide them to the right life and entry into heaven . This movement was
called Protestant Reformation .

Ques. Who popularised the ideas of Martin Luther ?

Ans. In Switzerland,Luther's ideas were popularised by Ulrich Zwingli

(1484-1531) and later by Jean Calvin (1509 - 64) .

Ques. What Ignatius Loyola did in Spain ?

Ans. In Spain,Ignatius Loyola , in an attempt to compact

Protestantism,set up the Society of Jesus in 1540.His followers were
called Jesuits , whose mission was to serve the poor and to widen
their knowledge of other cultures .

Ques. What was Copernicus afraid from?

Ans. The Copernicus was afraid of the reaction to the theory by

traditional clergymen.

Ques. After the Copernicus death, who took the manuscript?

Ans. It was taken by his follower , Joachim Rhectius

Ques. What was Paris academy doing for the promotion of natural
knowledge?

Ans. They held lectures and conducted experiments for public

viewing.

Ques. What was the turning point in European science?

Ans. The turning point came with the work of Copernicus.

Ques. What was the chief reason behind the rapid spread of humanist
culture of Italy ?

Ans. The chief reason that the humanist culture of Italy spread more
rapidly across the Alps from the end of the fifteenth century is that
printed books were circulating.

Ques. What was the major reason behind the neglection of eastern
contribution in renaissance?

Ans. The major reason behind the neglection of eastern contribution in

renaissance was the Europe centric view of the humanists.

Ques. What became the main factor in the separation of European

regions around the 14th century?

Ans. The main factor in the separation of European regions around

the 14th century was common language.
Ques. What was the New Testament ?
Ans. The New Testament is the section of the Bible dealing with the
life and teachings of Christ and his early followers.