HISTORY: Renaissance ItalyWritten examination

Friday 14 November 2014 Reading time: 3.00 pm to 3.15 pm (15 minutes) Writing time: 3.15 pm to 5.15 pm (2 hours)

QUESTION AND ANSWER BOOK

Structure of bookSection Number of

questionsNumber of questions

to be answeredNumber of

marks

A 2 2 20B 3 3 20C 2 1 20D 3 3 20

Total 80

• Studentsarepermittedtobringintotheexaminationroom:pens,pencils,highlighters,erasers,sharpenersandrulers.

• StudentsareNOTpermittedtobringintotheexaminationroom:blanksheetsofpaperand/orwhiteoutliquid/tape.

• Nocalculatorisallowedinthisexamination.

Materials supplied• Questionandanswerbookof22pages.ThereisadetachableinsertforSectionDinthecentrefold.• Additionalspaceisavailableattheendofthebookifyouneedextrapapertocompleteananswer.

Instructions• Detachtheinsertfromthecentreofthisbookduringreadingtime.• Writeyourstudent number inthespaceprovidedaboveonthispage.

• AllwrittenresponsesmustbeinEnglish.

Students are NOT permitted to bring mobile phones and/or any other unauthorised electronic devices into the examination room.

©VICTORIANCURRICULUMANDASSESSMENTAUTHORITY2014

SUPERVISOR TO ATTACH PROCESSING LABEL HEREVictorian Certificate of Education 2014

STUDENT NUMBER

Letter

2014HISTRENEXAM 2

SECTION A – Question 1–continued

Question 1 (10marks)ExplainhowgeographicfeaturesinthreeItaliancity-statesinfluencedtheirtradeandindustry.

SECTION A

Instructions for Section AAnswerboth questionsinthespacesprovided.BothquestionsfocusonUnit3Outcome1:TheItalianpeninsulaandtheRenaissance.

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SECTION A – Question 2–continued

Question 2 (10marks)Explain,withexamples,fivedifferentreasonsforculturalpatronageduringtheItalianRenaissance.

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SECTION B – continued

Source 1

‘… in the year 1455 … the government found a difficulty in resuming its authority; and this was occasioned1, remarkably enough, by Cosmo’s2 private friends, and the most influential men in the state; for, not fearing the opposite party, they became anxious to abate3 his power … The chief offices of state being again filled by lot, the mass of the people began to think they had recovered their liberty, and that the decisions of the magistrates were according to their own judgments, unbiased by the influence of the Great … Those who had previously been very powerful were reduced to an equality with men whom they had been accustomed to consider inferior; and those formerly far beneath them were now become their equals. No respect or deference4 was paid to them; they were often ridiculed and derided5, and frequently heard themselves and the republic mentioned in the open streets without the least deference; thus they found it was not Cosmo but themselves that had lost the government.’

Niccolo Machiavelli, History of Florence and of the Affairs of Italy, Harper Torchbooks/The Academy Library, New York, 1960, pp. 311–312

1occasioned – caused, brought about2Cosmo – Cosimo de’ Medici3abate – reduce4deference – politeness5derided – mocked, made fun of

Source 2 – An imaginary dialogue; this extract is spoken by Bernardo

‘To speak frankly about this, if one could establish a regime in which the city really enjoyed political freedom, and in which the leading citizens, that is the wisest and best men, enjoyed more rank and status than the others, and in which important affairs didn’t have to be discussed and arbitrarily1 decided on by the ignorant, this is what I would call the best government … But I am of the firm opinion, and experience will always show it to be the case, that in Florence power must necessarily either be held by one man alone or pass totally into the hands of the people.’

Francesco Guicciardini, Dialogue on the Government of Florence, ed. Alison Brown, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1994, p. 19

1arbitrarily – randomly, without reason

SECTION B

Instructions for Section BExamine the following written material and answer all three questions in the spaces provided. All questions focus on Unit 3 Outcome 2: Renaissance Florence.

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Question 1 (5marks)a. AccordingtoMachiavelli,whoweakenedMediceancontrolin1455andwhydidthey

dothis? 2marks

b. AccordingtoMachiavelli,whatwerethesignsthatthepowerfulmenhadlostcontroloftheFlorentinegovernment? 2marks

c. WhatdidBernardobelievewasthebestformofgovernment? 1mark

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SECTION B – Question 3–continued

Question 2 (5marks)Selectonepoliticalcrisisthatoccurredbefore1434orafter1494,andexplaintheshort-termandlong-termeffectsonthedistributionofpowerinFlorence.

Question 3 (10marks)SelecttwoMediceanleadersandexplaintheextenttowhicheachleaderchangedthedistributionofpowerinFlorence.Supportyourresponsewithreferencetoprimarysourcesandhistorians’opinions.

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SECTION C – continued

SECTION C

Instructions for Section CChoose one of the following essay topics which focus on Unit 4 Outcome 1: Social life in Renaissance Italy.

Question 1 (20 marks)

Florence

‘Ties of friendship, residence, and kinship were absolutely necessary for social and psychic1 survival, but such ties were not without great hazard.’

Ronald FE Weissman, Ritual Brotherhood in Renaissance Florence, Academic Press Inc., New York, 1982, p. 29

1psychic – emotional

To what extent were social relationships both necessary and dangerous for all Florentines?

OR

Question 2 (20 marks)

Venice

‘Alongside this … integration, manifested in residence patterns and topographical landmarks1, there was nonetheless an implicit hierarchy in the city’s social fabric, inscribed in law and the Christian religion and embedded in the rich visual representation …’

Joanne M Ferraro, Venice: History of the Floating City, Cambridge University Press, 2012, p. 80

1topographical landmarks – prominent buildings

To what extent were Venetian social relationships characterised by both social integration and the deliberate maintenance of social distinctions?

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Question No.

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SECTION C–continued

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SECTION C–continued

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END OF SECTION C

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SECTION D–continuedTURN OVER

‘MarcoPolo’sdeparturefromVenice,fromtheTravels of Marco Polo,c.1400.’

Question 1 (4marks)IdentifyhowthisvisualrepresentationshowsfourelementsoftheMythofVenice.

SECTION D

Instructions for Section DRemovetheinsertfromthecentreofthisbookbeforeansweringthissection.Answerthefollowingthree questionsinresponsetothevisualrepresentation.AllquestionsfocusonUnit4Outcome2:RenaissanceVenice.

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SECTION D – Question 3–continued

Question 2 (6marks)Explainthesignificanceoftworituals,sacredorcivic,thattookplaceinthecivicspaceshowninthevisualrepresentation.

Question 3 (10marks)TowhatextentistheMythofVeniceavalidportrayaloftheVenetianRepublicduringthe14thto16thcenturies?Whenexplainingyourobservations,refertoarangeofeventsandvisualand/orwrittenprimarysources,aswellassecondarytextsbyhistorians.

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END OF QUESTION AND ANSWER BOOK

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Extra space for responses

Clearly number all responses in this space.

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Ananswerbookisavailablefromthesupervisorifyouneedextrapapertocompleteyouranswer.Pleaseensureyouwriteyourstudent numberinthespaceprovidedonthefrontcoveroftheanswerbook.At the end of the examination, place the answer book inside the front cover of this question and answer book.

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Insert for Section DPlease remove from the centre of this book during reading time.

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END OF INSERT FOR SECTION D

‘Marco Polo’s departure from Venice, from the Travels of Marco Polo, c. 1400.’ Illumination on parchment, 16 × 19 cm, The Bodleian Libraries, The University of Oxford, MS. Bodl. 264, fol. 218r

Patricia Fortini Brown, The Renaissance in Venice, Everyman Art Library, George Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd, London, 1997, p. 11

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