NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS CLASS – 11 | HISTORY | INDIAN CONSTITUTION AT WORK NOTES | CHAPTER- 6 | THE THREE ORDERS | EDUGROWN |

In This Post we are  providing  CHAPTER 6 THE THREE ORDERS NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION for Class 11 HISTORY which will be beneficial for students. These solutions are updated according to 2021-22 syllabus. These MCQS  can be really helpful in the preparation of Board exams and will provide you with a brief knowledge of the chapter.

NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION ON THE THREE ORDERS

Question 1.
Discuss the following:
(i) Serf
(ii) Monk
(iii) Cathedrals
Answer:

• Serf: Serf occupied a distinct place in medieval Europe. They did a lot for the development of agriculture. They cultivated plots of land which belonged to the lord. A large portion of its product had to be given to the lord. They were not allowed to leave the estate without the prior permission of their lords. The lord could only decide about the marriage of their serfs.
• Monk: A group of deeply religious people chose to lead the life of isolation. They lived in religious communities called abbeys or monasteries. Monks took vows to remain in the monasteries for the rest of their lives. They spent most of their time in prayer, meditations and studies. Men or women could also lead such sort of life. Men became monks and women became nuns. There were separate monasteries for men and women. Monks and nuns did not marry.
• Cathedrals: Large churches were called cathedrals. They were built in France. Different groups of people contributed a lot to their monasteries, particularly the rich merchants. Cathedrals were built of stone. They were designed in such a way so that the priest’s voice could be heard within the hall v/here a large number of people gathered. Stained glass windows narrated the stories in the Bible through pictures. Illiterate people could also read it.

Question 2.
Why do you think the people of new towns were considered of fourth order? Explain.
Answer:
The people of new towns were considered of fourth order because of the following:

• These newly flourished towns were developed with the fair and small market centers, as a result of expansion of trade.
• The social and the political conditions of the people were totally different from the people who belonged to the former three orders.
• There were banks and lawyers in these towns. There was a distinct economic organisation in the form of guild. Each trade and craft industry was organised into a guild.
• Craftsmen found it easier to settle in the towns as goods could be produced and traded for food.
• The rich traders and merchants developed better than the nobility. They were generous to the people and engaged in trade related activities.
• Later on cathedral towns began to develop, which belonged to monastery and rich merchants.

Question 3.
Which causes were responsible for the rise of middle class?
Answer:
The causes responsible for the rise of the middle class were :

• In the crusade, a lot of feudal lords had been killed.
• The growth of commerce and trade made the trading class quite rich and prosperous. They, in turn, sought the favor of king and helped him, whenever needed.
• The wealthy merchants and rich traders got many towns and cities freed from the clutches of feudal control.
• The new cities soon grew into centers of trade, commerce and education and consequently gave rise to the new classes.
• New classes of the rich merchants patronized art, science, literature and education.

Question 4.
How did technological changes affect agriculture during 11th century?
Answer:
Technological changes affected agriculture in many ways:

• Wooden ploughs were replaced with heavy iron-tipped ploughs.
• The method of harnessing animals to the plough improved which enabled animals to exert greater power. Horses were now better shod with iron horseshoes. It prevented foot decay.
• The increased use of wind and water energy for agriculture enhanced agricultural production.
• The most innovative change was the switch from a two-field to a three field system. Now, peasants could use a field two years out of three if they planted it with one crop in autumn and a different crop in spring a year and a half later.
• Now the farmers could plant one with wheat or rye, the second in spring to raise peas, beans and lentils and the other
• part was left fallow.

As a result, there was an immediate increase in the amount of food produced from each unit of land. Food production almost doubled. There were better opportunities for cultivators. They could now produce more food for less land. The average size of peasants’ farm shrank from about 100 acres to 20 to 30 acres. As a result of holding, smaller lands could be more efficiently cultivated. It also reduced the amount of labour. The new technological changes cost a lot of money.

Question 5.
Discuss the achievements of the nation-states.
Answer:
The nation-states are known for achievements. Some of them were:

• The rise of nation-states crushed the power of the lords and this made people free from their excesses.
• They paved way for setting up peace.
• They taught the people to give support to their kings.
• They infused the spirit of nationalism among the people of different classes.
• They took remarkable steps for the consolidation of the economy of states.
• They contributed a lot in the development of language, literature and architecture.

Question 6.
What were the causes that led to the decline of feudalism in Europe?
Answer:
From the eighth to twelfth century CE, feudalism prospered in Europe. There was a steep decline of feudalism in Europe. The following causes led to its downfall:

• Rise of the powerful monarchies: Powerful monarchies paved the way for the decline of feudalism. It rose in France, Spain and England.
• Rise of nationalism: Education spread in the nation. The spread of education aroused the spirit of nationalism among the educated middle class. But the feudal lords were quite opposed to nationalism. That was why the educated people turned against feudalism. They could not tolerate its existence. They were to the side of their ruler and not with the lords. The result was that rulers became more and more powerful.
• Rise of the middle class: New inventions encouraged trade and industry. The result was the emergence of the middle class in towns and cities. The middle class desired peace for the promotion of commerce, industry and crafts. They wanted to get rid of the nobles who were always engaged in constant wars.

Question 7.
Discuss in detail about the emergence of cathedrals.
Answer:
From 12th century, large churches were built in France. They were known as cathedrals. These belonged to monasteries. Various groups of people contributed a lot to their construction in the form of labor, material and money. Along with it, the rich merchants also spent money by making donations to churches. Cathedrals took many years in their completion. After their completion, they became the centers of pilgrimage. Small towns also grew a lot. The specialty of the design of cathedrals was that the voice of priest could be clearly heard within the hall where a number of people gathered. Their voice could be heard even from a far off distance.

For windows stained glass was used. During the day, the sunlight would make them radiant for people inside the cathedral, and after sunset the light candles would make them visible to people outside. The stained glass windows narrated the stories in the Bible through pictures, which even the illiterate people could read

Question 8.
Discuss the political changes which occurred during 15th and 16th centuries in Europe.
Answer:
The political changes that occurred during 15th and 16th centuries were as follows:

• European kings strengthened their military as well as financial power during 15th and 16th centuries. They created powerful new states. These were much significant for Europe. Economic changes were also occurring. Historians have, therefore, called these kings “the new monarchs”.
• Louis XI in France, Maximilian in Austria, Henry VII in England and Isabelle and Ferdinand in Spain were absolutist rulers. They initiated the process of organizing standing armies, permanent bureaucracy and national taxation. In Spain and Portugal, they began to play a role in European expansion overseas.
• Rulers dispensed with the system of feudal levies for their armies and introduced professionally trained infantry equipped with guns and siege artillery directly under their control.
• The social changes started to take place in the 12th and 13th centuries after the triumph of monarchies. The dissolution of the feudal system of lordship vassalage, and the slow rate of economic growth had given the first opportunity to kings to increase their control over their powerful and not so powerful subjects.
• With the increase in taxes, the treasury of monarchs filled. They had enough revenues to support larger armies. They also defended and expanded their frontiers and ruthlessly destroyed the internal bickerings. Without resistance from the aristocracy, centralization could not be done. In England, the rebellions occurred in 1497, 1536, 1547, 1549, and 1553 simultaneously.
• In France, Louis XI (1461-83) waged a long struggle against dukes and princes. In the 16th century, the religious wars in France were a contrast between royal privileges and regional liberties.
• The king was now the center of an elaborate courtier society and a network of patron-client relationships.
• All monarchies, whether weak or powerful, needed the cooperation of those who could command authority. It did not matter whether they were weak or strong. Patronage became the means of ensuring cooperation. It could also be obtained by means of money.
• For ensuring survival, the nobility managed a tactical shift. They quickly transformed themselves into loyalists. Loyal absolutism has been called a modified form of feudalism. The lords were given permanent position in the administrative service. Now they started dominating the political scene.

Question 9.
“Why did Europe’s economic progress slow down by the early 14th century”? Give
reasons?
Answer:
Europe’s economic progress slowed down due to the following reasons:

• The warm summers of the last 300 years had given way to bitterly cold summers in Northern Europe by the end of 13th century. It became quite difficult to grow crops on higher ground. Storms and flood destroyed the entire crops, which resulted into less income in taxes for government.
• Before thirteenth century, the climatic conditions had led to the large scale reclamation of the land of forests and pastures for agriculture. Intensive ploughing had exhausted the fertility of soil. The shortage of pastures reduced the number of cattle. Europe was hit by severe famines between 1315 and 1317. By 1320s, there occurred massive cattle
• deaths.
• Trade was hit by a severe shortage of metal money because of the shortfall in silver mines in Austria and Serbia. It forced the governments to reduce the silver content of the currency , and to mix it with cheaper metals.
• With the expansion of trade in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, ships carrying goods from distant countries had started arriving in European ports. Along with the ships came rats with deadly bubonic plague infection (the Black Death). Western Europe was isolated in earlier centuries, but was hit by the epidemic between 1347 and 1350.
• As a result, the trade centers and cities were hit. In enclosed communities like monasteries and covents, when one individual contracted the plague, a lot of people got affected to it. The plague took its worst toll among infants, the young and elderly.

Question 10.
Discuss the major drawbacks of feudalism which prevailed in medieval Europe.
Answer:
The major drawbacks of feudalism which prevailed in medieval Europe were as follows:

• It divided the country into small fiefs held by the feudal lords. They were selfish. They cared more for themselves and ignored the interests of the country as a whole. Hence, feudalism gave a blow to national unity.
• The central government became very weak. The feudal lords became more powerful and supreme. The vassals ignored the order of the king. The king was entirely dependent on feudal lords both for military and money. Sometimes they asserted their independence and king could not control them.
• Feudalism encouraged rebellions and wars. The power of the lords was increasing day by day and the kings were becoming more and more weak. This encouraged rebellious tendency among the nobles. The nobles were also eager to get new lands. So there was constant warfare among them. It destroyed peace and security and created chaos and confusion in the society.
• Feudalism was responsible for the defective military organization. Every lord organised his army in his own way. Their weapons and methods of lighting also differed as a result of national crisis.
• Feudalism led to maladministration of justice. Every lord had his own court and laws. He decided the cases and punished the people for the same crime that varied from estate to estate.