Important Questions For Class 11 History Chapter 5 Changing Cultural Traditions
Important Questions for Class 11 History Chapter 5 Changing Cultural Traditions
Changing Cultural Traditions is Chapter 5 of the Class 11 History book Themes in World History, published by NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training). The chapter covers the Renaissance in Italy and Europe. It explains humanism, the revival of the Italian city-states, the work of artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, the printing press, Copernicus, the Protestant movement and the response of the Catholic Church.
These Class 11 History Chapter 5 important questions and answers are all 5-mark long answer questions, most of them picture-based, with the paintings, sculptures, maps and portraits from the chapter. They help students revise for exams, help parents check preparation at home, and give teachers ready material for class practice. A free printable PDF of the complete set is also available for download.
Important Questions For Class 11 History Chapter 5 Changing Cultural Traditions
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Question 1. Give a personality sketch of Cassandra Fedele.
Answer: A few women were intellectually very creative and sensitive about the importance of a humanist education.
'Even though the study of letters promises and offers no reward for women and no dignity', wrote the Venetian Cassandra Fedele (1465–1558), 'every woman ought to seek and embrace these studies.'
She questioned the idea that women were incapable of achieving the qualities of a humanist scholar.
Fedele was known for her proficiency in Greek and Latin, and was invited to give orations at the University of Padua.
Fedele's writings bring into focus the general regard for education in that age. She was one of many Venetian women writers who criticised the republic 'for creating a highly limited definition of freedom that favoured the desires of men over those of women'.
Question 2. The name of the very famous painting shown above is The Last Supper, painted by the renowned painter Leonardo da Vinci. What do you know about this painting?
Answer: Leonardo da Vinci painted The Last Supper in the 1490s in Milan, Italy.
The painting illustrates the last meal which Jesus shared with his disciples before he was captured and taken away.
It is said that Jesus declared at this supper that Judas had betrayed him.
The painting was eventually characterised and labelled as a masterpiece of Renaissance art.
Question 3. The Luddite movement, which emerged during the Industrial Revolution, was intended to oppose the arrival of new machinery. What were the demands of the Luddites?
Answer: The movement known as Luddism (1811–17) was led by the charismatic General Ned Ludd.
Under this, Luddite participants demanded the following:
1. A minimum wage.
2. Control over the labour of women and children.
3. Work for those who had lost their jobs due to the use of machinery.
4. The right to form trade unions so that they could legally present these demands.
Question 4. A series of inventions, which changed the lives of ordinary people, sparked the biggest change in human life. These changes, which are still being felt at the beginning of the twenty-first century, came in two stages. How was the first stage different from the second stage?
Answer: The transformation of industry and the economy in Britain between the 1780s and the 1850s is the First Industrial Revolution. It was based on water and steam power, textiles and iron.
The First Industrial Revolution merged into the Second Industrial Revolution during the 1850s, when technological and economic progress gained momentum with the arrival of steam-powered ships and railways.
That is why the arrival of railway transport is said to have taken the Industrial Revolution to a second stage.
The second stage lasted from about 1850 to 1940 and occurred primarily in the United States as well as in Continental Europe, built on steel, electricity, chemicals and petroleum.
Question 5. Who was Lorenzo Valla and why did he believe that studying the humanities could change lives?
Answer: Lorenzo Valla (1406–57), a humanist, was the author of the book On Pleasure.
He believed that the study of history leads man to strive for a life of perfection.
Simultaneously, he criticised the Christian injunction against pleasure.
Question 6. This is a picture of a famous scientist who authored De revolutionibus (The Rotation) in which he laid out his theory. Identify him and elaborate his theory.
Answer: The scientist is Nicolaus Copernicus, a famous astronomer.
He asserted that the planets, including the Earth, rotate around the Sun.
He authored De revolutionibus.
A devout Christian, Copernicus was afraid of the possible reaction to his theory by traditionalist clergymen.
Question 7. The Protestant movement sparked off a major reaction against the excessive practices of the Roman Catholic Church. Discuss the reaction of the Roman Catholic Church to the massive wave of Protestantism in Europe.
Answer: The Catholic Church in Europe did not escape the impact of the ideas of Protestantism, and began to reform itself from within.
In Spain and in Italy, churchmen emphasised the need for a simple life and service to the poor.
In Spain, Ignatius Loyola, in an attempt to combat 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.
Question 8. Apart from men, there were a few women in Europe who expressed their creativity and intelligence during the Renaissance period. Discuss the contribution of women who displayed their creativity during the Renaissance period.
Answer: A few women were intellectually very creative and sensitive about the importance of humanist education.
The Venetian Cassandra Fedele (1465–1558) questioned the idea of women being incapable of achieving the qualities of a humanist scholar. She was known for her proficiency in Greek and Latin.
Another remarkable woman was the Marchesa of the small state of Mantua, Isabella d'Este (1474–1539).
She ruled the state during her husband's absence, and the court of Mantua was famed for its intellectual brilliance.
Question 9. This machine was instrumental in the circulation and reading of books throughout Europe, during the Renaissance era, on a massive scale. Who designed this machine and what did it do?
Answer: During the Renaissance period, the written word, which was written in Italy, travelled to other countries.
This was due to the greatest revolution of the 16th century – printing technology.
For this, Europeans were indebted to the Chinese for printing technology, and to the Mongols, as European traders and diplomats had become familiar with it during visits to their courts.
Earlier, texts existed in a few hand-written copies. But in 1455, 150 copies of the Bible were printed in the workshop of Johannes Gutenberg (1400–58), a German who made the first printing press.
As printed books became available, it was possible to buy and read books on a large scale. Ideas, opinions and information moved more widely and more rapidly than ever before.
This made it possible for individuals to read books, since it was possible to buy copies for oneself. This developed the reading habit among people.
From the end of the fifteenth century, as printed books were circulated, intellectual movements, earlier limited to particular regions, spread more rapidly.
Question 10. This is a very famous sculpture made by a Renaissance sculptor. Artists and sculptors created art which looked as realistic as possible. Can you identify the statue and the sculptor?
Answer: Michelangelo Buonarroti was a famous Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet and engineer.
He created the famous statue called The Pietà.
This famous artwork depicts the body of Jesus in the lap of Mother Mary after his crucifixion.
Apart from this, Michelangelo also painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel for the Pope and designed the dome of St Peter's Church, all in Rome.
Question 11. The Arabs contributed immensely to the growth of the Renaissance, especially through their writings and translations. What do you know about these writings?
Answer: Arab translators preserved and translated ancient Greek and Roman texts, which were later read by European scholars.
Arab and Persian writings were translated by Greeks and then transmitted to other parts of Europe.
These were works on natural science, mathematics, astronomy, medicine and chemistry.
Muslim writers were regarded as men of wisdom in Italy:
1. Ibn Sina – an Arab physician and philosopher from Central Asia.
2. Al-Razi – author of a medical encyclopaedia.
3. Ibn Rushd – a Spanish Arab philosopher who resolved the tension between philosophical knowledge and religious beliefs.
Question 12. Terms like Dark Ages, Middle Ages and the Modern Age have often been used to classify the periods of European history. How did these terms originate?
Answer: Humanists thought that they were restoring 'true civilisation' after centuries of darkness, for they believed that a 'dark age' had set in Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire.
Later scholars assumed that a 'new age' began in Europe from the fourteenth century.
The term 'Middle Ages'/'medieval period' was used for the millennium (thousand years) after the fall of Rome.
In the 'Middle Ages', they argued, the Church had such complete control over men's minds that all learning of the Greeks and Romans had been blotted out.
The humanists used the word 'modern' for the period from the fifteenth century.
Periodisation used by humanists and later scholars:
5th–14th century: The Middle Ages – (1) 5th–9th century: The Dark Ages; (2) 9th–11th century: The Early Middle Ages; (3) 11th–14th century: The Late Middle Ages.
15th century onwards: The Modern Age.
Question 13. After the decline of the Roman Empire, Italy became weak and fragmented. There was no unified government and the Pope had no power. Yet, the Renaissance came in the urban Italian states. Discuss the reasons for the revival.
Answer: Many factors contributed towards the revival of the Italian states.
During the medieval period, Western Europe was reshaped by feudal bonds and unified under the Latin Church.
Simultaneously, Eastern Europe was ruled by the Byzantine Empire, while Islam created a common civilisation further west.
As trade expanded between the Byzantine Empire and Islamic countries, it led to the revival of ports on the Italian coast.
From the 12th century, as the Mongols opened up trade with China via the Silk Route, and as trade with Western European countries increased, so did the importance of Italian towns.
They no longer saw themselves as part of a powerful empire, but as independent city-states, especially Florence and Venice, which grew as republics.
Among these, Genoa and Venice became the most vibrant cities. Here, neither the clergy nor the feudal lords were politically dominant.
Rich merchants and bankers actively participated in governing the cities, helping the idea of citizenship to strike root.
Question 14. The Swiss scholar Jacob Burckhardt was known for coining a term associated with the revival of the Italian states. What was the term and what did it imply?
Answer: The Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt (1818–97) used the term Renaissance (rebirth) to describe the revival of the Italian states during the 14th–17th centuries.
He was dissatisfied with the then study of history, which was concerned mainly with states and politics. He felt that history was equally concerned with culture.
He wrote 'The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy' in 1860.
In this, he emphasised the literature, architecture and painting of a new 'humanist' culture that had flowered in the Italian towns from the 14th to the 17th centuries.
This culture, he wrote, was characterised by a new belief – that man, as an individual, could make his own decisions and develop his skills.
He was 'modern', in contrast to the 'medieval' man whose thinking was controlled by the Church.
Question 15. The Italian Renaissance brought about a great change in the human sphere of life. From a unified trend marked by the church and guilds, society and man became more individualistic. Explain these changes.
Answer: During the Renaissance period, human life was classified into two different spheres: private and public.
A person had public as well as private roles to perform.
The public sphere meant the area of government and formal religion.
The private sphere included the family and personal religion.
Humanists emphasised the worth and dignity of the individual.
Renaissance thought was expressed in a political form in the belief that all individuals have equal political rights.
There was a spread of a sense of identity, both personal and national.
Related Study Material on Extramarks
- Important Questions for Class 11 History Chapter 1
- Important Questions for Class 11 History Chapter 2
- Important Questions for Class 11 History Chapter 3
- Important Questions for Class 11 History Chapter 4
- Important Questions for Class 11 History Chapter 6
- Important Questions for Class 11 History Chapter 7