Test: Changing Cultural Traditions

The universities of Padua and Bologna were the two earliest universities in Europe set up in Italian towns. The earliest subject to be taught in both universities was law. Later, there was a shift in emphasis, in the context of ancient Roman culture.

The Gregorian calendar is an international calendar, used throughout the world. It is a solar calendar based on arithmetical calculation.

Realism in the visual arts and literature is the depiction of subjects as they appear in everyday life, without embellishment or interpretation.

From the 12th century, Mongols started trade relations with China, via the Silk Route, and trade with European countries also increased. Due to this increase in trade, the Mediterranean towns developed.

Machiavelli emphasised in this book that humans were motivated due to self-interests. He wrote about human nature in the 15th chapter of his book, 'The Prince'.

Renaissance is a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th century to the 17th century. This movement began in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spread to the rest of the Europe. Although the Renaissance saw revolutions in many intellectual pursuits, as well as social and political upheavals, it is best known for its artistic developments.

The position of women in the families of merchants was somewhat different from that of aristocratic families. Shopkeepers were very often assisted by their wives in running their shops. In families of merchants and bankers, wives looked after the businesses when the male members were away on work.

During 14th century, many scholars read translated ancient works of Greek writers, which had earlier been translated and preserved by Arab scholars. In Arab manuscripts, Plato was known as Aflatun and Aristotle as Aristu.

Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci in the 16th century, in oil, during the Renaissance period in Florence, Italy. Mona Lisa is named after Lisa del Giocondo, a member of the Gherardini family of Florence and Tuscany, and the wife of wealthy Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo.

Petrarch was an Italian scholar, poet and humanist. A major force in the development of the Renaissance, he was famous for his poems addressed to Laura. He was crowned as a poet laureate in Rome.