NCERT Summary: The Early Societies (Theme 7: Changing Cultural Traditions) | NCERT Video Summary: Class 6 to Class 12 (English) - UPSC PDF Download

Changing Cultural Traditions

• Many significant changes took place in cultural traditions of Europe between 14th to 17th centuries.
• The church mainly influenced the life of people a lot.
• Renaissance is a French word.
• Fall of feudalism, the religious wars between Christians and Muslims, commercial properties, etc. were the main reasons for the rise of Renaissance in Europe.
• Renaissance at first started in Italy. Then it started in Rome, Venice and Florence.
• In 1455, printing press was invented by Gutenberg.
• First printing press was set up by Caxton in 1477 in Europe.
• The invention of printing press increased the volume of books. It also helped in the spread of education.
• Milan, Naples, Venice and Florence gained the status of trade centers because of flourishing of trades.
• Humanism was one of the movements that started in Italy in 14th century.
• Petrarch is known as the ‘Father of Humanism’. He vehemently criticized the superstitions and lifestyle of clergy.
• Dante was an eminent poet and philosopher of Italy.
• Dante is known for his classics, The Divine Comedy.
• William Tyndale (1494-1536) translated the Bible into English in 1506.
• Boccaccio was the greatest writer and humanist.
• Decameron is a classic work of Giovanni Boccaccio. It is the collection of 180 stories.
• Leonardo-da-Vinci was one of the greatest painters. He was born in Florence in the year 1452.
• ‘Mona Lisa’ and ‘The Last Supper’ were the most famous paintings of Leonardo-da-Vinci.
• Michelangelo was another great painter. His greatest painting was ‘The Last Judgement’.
• Nicholas Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Issac Newton were well-known scientists of the Renaissance period.
• The theory of the earth as a part of the sun centered system was made popular by Kepler’s Cosmographical Mystery.
• The revolution in science reached at its climax with Newton’s theory of gravitation.
• Aristocratic families dominated the way of life during 14th-century medieval Europe.
• Social, political and economic life of people were deeply affected by Renaissance.
• Renaissance aroused the spirit of equality among the people and attacked on the superstitions and rituals prevailing in the society.
• Literature of Renaissance period brought about a great change in political thinking of the people.
• Reformation movement was a protest movement that took place in the 16th century against the church and the pope.
• Martin Luther wrote Ninety-Five Theses challenging the authority of the church.
• Nation-state received new power and vigour from Reformation.
• The Society of Jesus was founded by Ignatius Loyala in 1540. It made an attempt to combat Protestantism.

Important terms

• Renaissance: A French word meaning rebirth.
• Renaissance man: A person with many interests and skills.
• Document of Indulgences: A document issued by the church which guaranteed a written promise to absolve the holder of all his sins.
• Humanism: A movement which gave priority to present life rather than life thereafter.

Timeline

The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries

The Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries