Class 11 History

Ch-7
Changing Cultural Traditions
By: Renaissance 2.0: New Dawn Of Education
 Changes that occurred in Europe between 14th century and
17th century A.D
• In Europe from 14th century to the end of 17th century, a number of towns had grown in different countries
together with distinctive 'urban culture’.

• The people of towns started to think that they were more civilised than the people of villages.

• Many towns developed as centres of art and education such as Florence, Venice and Rome of Italy.

• The rich and aristocratic class began to patronise artists and writers.

• The invention of printing press made books and other printed materials easily available.

• A new sense of history developed in Europe and people divided history as medieval and modern.

• The developments in science and geography broke all the traditional notions of church like earth was the
centre of solar system and Mediterranean sea was the centre of the world.

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 What Is Renaissance?
• ‘Renaissance’ means ‘Rebirth’.
• From the 19th century, historians used the term Renaissance (literally rebirth)
to describe the cultural changes of this period.
• The historian who emphasised these most was a swiss scholar – Jacob
Burckhardt (1818-97) of the university of Basle in Switzerland.

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 Jacob Burckhardt and his view about Renaissance
• Jacob Burckhardt(1818-97) was a Swiss scholar from the University of Basle of Switzerland.
• He was a student of the German historian Leopold von Ranke (1795–1886). Ranke had taught him
that the primary concern of the historian was to write about states and politics using papers and files of
government departments.
• To him, politics was not the central concern in history writing. History was also concerned with culture
as with politics.
• In his book 'The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy’, he referred the literature ,architecture and
painting to describe how a new humanist culture had flowered in Italian towns from the 14th century to
seventeenth century.
• He also wrote the development of new beliefs of this culture as the man of that age was capable of
making his own decisions and developing his skills as an individual.
• He further wrote that man was modern in matters of thinking in contrast to the medieval man whose
thinking was controlled by the Church.

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 The Revival Of Italian Cities
Or
Factors That Led To The Revival Of Italian Cities
• After the decline of the Roman Empire, the towns of Italy which were political and cultural centres,
were fell into ruin.
• After the fall of Roman Empire, western Europe was restructured by feudal bonds and unified
under the Latin Church.
• Eastern Europe went under the rule of Byzantine Empire and Islam was building a common
society further west.
• At this time, Italy was weak and fragmented.
• All these developments helped in the revival of the Italian culture.
• The ports on the Italian coast revived because of the developments of trade between the
Byzantine empire and the Islamic countries.

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• From the 12th century, the Mongols started trading with china through the Silk
Route and as trade increased with European countries, Italian cities played a vital
role. These cities kept their identity as independent city states. Florence and
Venice were among the republics.
• Many cities came into existence because their administration was in the hands of
rich merchants and bankers, free from the control of clergy or feudal lords and this
helped the idea of citizenship.

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 Role of Universities in spreading Humanism
• In Europe ,earlier universities were established in Italian towns. The universities Padua and
Bologna had been centres of legal studies from 11th century.
• There was a growing demand for lawyers and notaries to write and interpret rules and written
contracts as increasing trade and commerce depended over them.
• There was a change in emphasis and Law became a popular subject of study. Francisco Petrarch
represented this change and stressed the significance of a deep reading of ancient authors.
• The educational programme of that period was a means of study more which religious teaching
alone could not give.
• The term humanist began to be applied in early 15th century for masters who could teach
grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history and philosophy. These subjects had no connection with religion.
They were developed through discussions and debates of individuals.

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• These ideas influenced other universities also especially in newly established university in
Florence ,the home town of Petrarch.
• By 15th century, Florence became famous as trade and education centre.
• A city was known not only for its wealth but also for its citizens and Florence had become
popular because of Dante Alighieri a layman who wrote religious themes and Giotto ,an artist
who painted lifelike portraits. From then it developed as the most exciting intellectual city in
Italy and a centre of artistic creativity.

• Renaissance Man: The term ‘Renaissance Man’ is often used to describe a person with
many interests and skills, because many of the individuals who became well known at this
time were people of many parts. They were schola-diplomat-theologian-artist combined in
one.

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 The Humanist view of History
• The humanists thought that an age of darkness existed for centuries after the decline of the
Roman Empire, which they termed as 'dark age’. Later scholars assumed that 'new age' began
after the 14th century.
• The period of thousand years(a millennium) after the fall of Roman Empire was considered as
'Middle Ages’ or 'Medieval Period’. About 'middle ages, they said that religion or church
controlled the minds of all men in a way that all the learning of the Greeks and Romans had
been washed out.
• The humanists termed the period from the 15th century as 'modern’. Modern historians were
debating over labelling of an age as dark which they thought as an unfair thing.

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Periodisation used by humanists

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 Developments in Science and Philosophy and Arab's Contribution.
• The monks and clergymen were familiar with the works of Greek and Roman scholars from the
'middle Ages’.
• By 14th century many scholars started to read the translation of Greek writers like Plato and
Aristotle. They were translated and preserved by Arab translators.
• Some Europeans read Greek works in Arabic translation and the Greek translated Arabic and
Persian scholars work in European languages. These works were on natural science ,mathematics,
astronomy, medicine and chemistry.
• The Almagest of Ptolemy was the work of 140 CE on astronomy in Greek language and was
translated into Arabic. It carried in Arabic alphabet 'al’ which shows connection with Arabs.
• Ibn Sina, an Arab physician and philosopher of Bukhara and al-Razi the author of medieval
encyclopedia were considered as men of knowledge in Italian states. The Christian thinkers adopted
the method of Arab philosopher of Spain (Ibn Rushd) who tried to resolve the tension between
philosophical knowledge and religious faith.

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 Artists & Realism
• Humanism was not only propagated through education but also by art, architecture and books. The
artists were inspired by studying the works of the past.
• The material remains including fragments of art were found on the ruins of ancient Rome and other
deserted cities.
• Italian sculptors were influenced with perfectly proportioned male and female figures. Donatello
initiated the new ground with his life like statues.
• The artists were helped by the scientists by making accurate human figures. The artists went to
laboratories of medical schools for studying bone structures.
• A professor of medicine Andreas Vesalius at the university of Padua first dissected the human body
,which was the beginning of modern physiology. Painters did not have any older work. So they
painted as realistically and their pictures had a three-dimensional effect due to the use of light effect
of colours.
• The use of anatomy, geometry and physics together with logic of 'what is beautiful' created a quality
called realism introduced in Italian art which continued up to the 19th century.

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 Architectural Developments Of The Period
• In the 15th century, Rome made its mark in a spectacular way. Since the Popes were politically
stronger by 1417,after the weakness caused by the election of two rival Popes in 1378,they actively
encouraged study of Rome.
• The new classical architecture was actually a revival of the Imperial Roman Style. The wealthy
merchants ,popes and aristocrats engaged those architects who were familiar with classical
architecture. Artists and sculptors began to decorate buildings with paintings ,sculptures and reliefs.
Several persons were expert equally as painters, sculptors and architects.
• Michelangelo Buonarroti is remembered for his immortal work in Rome such as the painted ceiling
of the Sistine Chapel, the sculpture called 'The Pieta' and the design of the dome of St. Peter's
Church.
• Filippo Brunelleschi started his career as a sculptor but became famous for designing the Duomo of
Florence. By this time artists were famous individually, by their name instead being a member of a
group or a guild.

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 Development Of Printing Technology
• Europeans borrowed the idea of printing technology from Chinese people .because the
European traders and diplomats became familiar with it during their visits to the Mongol rulers’
courts.
• Earlier texts were found in hand written form. Johannes Gutenberg, a German ,made first
printing press and printed 150 copies of the Bible in 1455 .The same time was taken by a
monk to write a single copy of the Bible. All classical texts in Latin had been printed in Italy by
1500 AD.
• With the availability of printed books ,the dependency of students over lecture notes was
ended. The ideas, opinions and information spread widely and rapidly.
• The printed books promoted new views rapidly. This made it possible for individuals to read
books ,as it was possible to buy a copy for oneself. The printed books were the chief factor to
spread humanist culture quickly across the Alps by the end of 15th century.

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 The New Concept Of Human Beings
• One of the features of humanist culture was a loosening of the control of religion over human life.
Italians remained religious though they were attracted by material wealth, power and glory.
• A humanist from Venice, Francesco Barbaro wrote pamphlet in defence of the possession of the
wealth and called it a virtue. Lorenzo Valla who thought that the study of history leads a man to
attempt for a life of perfection, he in his book On Pleasure condemned the Christian restriction
against pleasure.
• There was a concern over good manners that how one should speak politely and dress properly.
Humanism stressed that individuals were able of shaping their own lives through resources rather
than the mere search of power and money.
• This belief was linked with view that human nature was many-sided which went against the three
separate orders that feudal society believed in. Machiavelli believed that 'all men are bad and ever
ready to display their vicious nature partly because of the fact that human desires are insatiable'.

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 Aspiration Of Women (Condition Of Women)
• The new ideas like individuality and citizenship regarding human beings excluded women. Men
from aristocratic families led the public life and were the decision-makers of their families. The
sons were provided with education to lead a family business or public life.
• Women had no say in business matters though their dowries were invested in family business,
marriages were a means to support business alliances. Those girls whose dowry was not
arranged were sent to convents to lead the life of nuns.
• The women were looked upon as keeper of households only. The condition of women in
families of merchants was in contrast to that of aristocratic families. They assisted their
husbands in running the business. The wives of merchants and bankers looked after their
business when they were away. The early death of a merchant forced his widow to play a
bigger public role rather than the women of aristocratic family.

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• Several women were intellectual humanists .Venetian Cassandra Fedele was one of
them. She was known for her proficiency in Greek and Latin language and was invited to
deliver lectures at the University of Padua. Her works focus the general regard for
education. Fedele was among those women who criticised the republic for creating a
highly limited definition of liberty that favoured the wishes of men over those of women.
• Another outstanding woman was the Marches of Mantua, Isabella d'Este. She ruled the
state in the absence of her husband and the court of that small state got fame for its
intellectual vividness.
• The writings of women of that period revealed their confidence that they should have
economic power, property and education to get individuality in a world dominated by
men.

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 Changes Within The Christianity
• In the 15th and 16th centuries, the north European universities' scholars were attracted by
humanist ideas. Like Italian scholars they also paid attention to classical Greek and Roman texts
together with the sacred books of the Christians. The professional scholars led the humanist
movement which also influenced the members of the church. They discarded the meaningless
rites which they considered as later additions and directed the Christians to follow the religion
mentioned in ancient texts of their religion.
• The Christian humanists like Thomas More of England and Erasmus of Holland assumed that the
church in their respective country had become a centre of greed and extortion money forcibly
from common men. The selling of 'indulgence' document was one of the method to obtain money.
The Indulgences promised the people to free them from the sins committed by them in the past.
The printed Bible in local languages disclosed the Christians that their religion did not allow such
practises.The peasants ,commons and the princes began to rebel against taxes imposed by the
Church and their increasing interference in the work of the state.

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• In 1517,Martin Luther ,a German monk, started the protestant Reformation against the Catholic
Church. He said that a person did not need priest to set up contact with God. That led to the
break-up of German and Swiss Churches with the Pope and Catholic Church.
• In Switzerland, Ulrich Zwingli and Jean Calvin followed Martin Luther's ideas .These reformers
had greater popular support in towns and rural areas. Other German reformers like Anabaptists
were more radical. They blended the idea of salvation to all kinds of social oppression. They
argued that God has created all men as equals and therefore ,they are not expected to pay tax
and have the right to choose their priests. These ideas influenced the feudal oppressed
peasantry and they revolted. Martin Luther opposed radicalism and asked the German rulers to
suppress the rebellions in 1525.In England, the rulers broke the connection with the Pope. The
King or queen was the head of the church from then onwards.
• In Spain, Ignatius Loyola organised the Society of Jesus in 1540.His followers were called
Jesuits. The aim of the society was to serve poor and to widen their knowledge of other
cultures.

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 The Developments In Science & Astronomy
(The Copernican Revolution)
• The scientists had questioned the Christian notion of man as a sinner. The Christians believed that
the earth was a place of sin and the burden of sin made it stationary. The earth was centre of
universe around which celestial planets moved.
• Copernicus developed a theory that earth together with other planets revolved around the sun. He
handed over his manuscript De revolutionibus (The Rotation) to his disciple Joachim Rheticus
before his death. People took time to accept the truth.
• Johannes Kepler popularised the theory that earth is a part of sun-centred solar system. In his
Cosmographical Mystery, he demonstrated that planets revolved around the sun not in circle but in
eclipses. Galileo Galilee in his work 'The Motion' proved the notion of dynamic world.
• The revolution in science reached its climax with the theory of gravitation by Isaac Newton. The
works of extended rapidly into the forms of physics ,chemistry and biology. Historians termed this
new approach to the knowledge of man and nature as the Scientific Revolution.

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• As a result of this ,in the minds of sceptics and non-believers Nature replaced God
as a source of creation.
• The believers of God said that their God did not directly control the act of living in the
world.
• A new scientific culture came into existence as several scientific societies
popularised distant God's idea.
• The scientific societies were formed like the Royal Society of London in 1662 and
the Paris Academy in 1670. They held lectures and carried out experiments for
public viewing.

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 The Concept Of Renaissance
• Modern writers like Peter Burke of England suggested that Burckhardt exaggerated the sharp
distinction between this period and the one that preceded it by terming it as 'Renaissance’.
• The term implied the rebirth of the Greek and Roman civilizations and the substitution of the
pre-Christian world for the Christian world by the artists and scholars of that period.
• Both these arguments were exaggerated. By terming the Renaissance as a period of
imaginative creativity and the Middle Ages as a period of darkness is a easy generalisation.
• The elements of Renaissance were already seen from 12th and 13th centuries. Even in 9th
century in France ,same type of literary and artistic efforts flourished.
• The archaeological and literary findings of Roman culture show that the technologies and skills
in Asia had contributed to the cultural changes of Europe.

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• The expansion of Islam and Mongol invasions linked Asia and North Africa with Europe in trade
and learning skills along with political connections. Europe along with Romans and Greeks got
knowledge from India, China, Iran, Arabia and Central Asia.
• The Asian contributions were soon forgotten with the writing of history from the Europe-centred
view point.
• An important change that did happen in this period was the gradual separation of the public and
private life of a person.
• By 18th century ,in political sense all men had equal political rights. Europe which was united
earlier, now got dissolved into states, each united on the basis of common language.

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 Important Events
I. Important Events Of 14Th Century
➢ Humanism taught as subject in Padua University in Italy(1300)
➢ Petrarch given the title of 'Poet Laureate' in Rome(1341)
➢ Establishment of University in Florence (1349)
➢ Publication of Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer(1390)

II. Important Events Of 15Th Century

➢ Designing of the Duomo in Florence by Brunelleschi(1436)
➢ Defeat of the Byzantine ruler of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks (1453)
➢ Printing of the Bible with movable type by Gutenberg(1454)
➢ Calculation of latitude by observing the sun by Portuguese mathematicians(1484)
➢ Columbus reached America (1492)
➢ The Last Supper painted by Leonardo da Vinci(1495)
➢ Painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo(1512)

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III. Important Events Of 16Th Century
➢ Publication of Utopia by Thomas More(1516)
➢ Martin Luther gave the Ninety Five Theses(1517)and translated the Bible into German (1522)
➢ Peasant uprising in Germany(1525)
➢ Andreas Vesalius wrote 'On Anatomy' (1543)
➢ Anglican church with king/queen as head was established in England
(1559)
➢ Gerhardus Mercator prepared cylindrical map of the earth(1569)
➢ Pope Gregory XIII Introduced the Gregorian calendar(1582)

IV. Important Events Of 17Th Century

➢William Harvey linked the heart with blood circulation(1628)
➢Academy of sciences founded in Paris (1673)
➢Isaac Newton published 'Principia Mathematica'(1687)

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 Important Questions
1. What do you understand by ‘Humanism’? How did Renaissance writers gave importance to
this idea?
2. Write a short note about Jacob Burckhardt and his view on Renaissance.
3. What were the changes that took place in Europe between 14th and 17th century?
4. What were the factors that led to the revival of Italian cities?
5. Explain the role of universities in spreading Humanism.
6. Write a short note on Humanist view on history.
7. What were the developments in science and philosophy and what was Arab’s contribution into
this?
8. Explain in detail about Artists and Realism.

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9. Write a short note on the following:
a) Architectural developments of the period
b) Development of printing technology

10. Explain in detail about the condition and aspirations of women.

11. What were the changes that took place within Christianity?
12. What was the Copernican Revolution?
13. Write a short note on concept of Renaissance.

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Until Next Time…