Early Middle Ages. Culture of the Middle Ages briefly Prepare a short report on the culture of the early Middle Ages
Middle Ages - This is a unique period in the history of Europe and all of humanity, the origin of which is associated with a powerful psychological shock caused by the fall of the “eternal city” - Rome. An empire that seemed to stretch across space and time, which seemed to contemporaries the embodiment of civilization, culture and prosperity, suddenly sank into oblivion. It seemed that the very foundations of the universe had collapsed, even the barbarians, who were undermining the foundations of the empire with their incessant raids, refused to believe what had happened: it is known that many barbarian kingdoms, but due to inertia, continued to mint Roman coins for many years and even decades after the fall of Rome, not wanting to recognize the collapse of the empire . The subsequent centuries were marked by attempts to revive the former greatness of the disappeared power - perhaps, it is from this point of view that states that aspired to great power (of course, in the limited sense in which this is applicable to the Middle Ages), “pan-European” status should be considered: empire Charlemagne (the creation of which, culturally, entailed the short period of the Carolingian Renaissance of the late 8th - first half of the 9th centuries) and, in part, the Holy Roman Empire.
A man of the Middle Ages, having ceased to focus on ancient culture and civilization - that bright torch that shone for him through the centuries - began to perceive the world as a center of chaos, as the dominance of forces hostile to him, and that is why, trying to protect himself and his loved ones from the surrounding nightmare, he turned his attention to religion, to zealous service to the Lord, which seemed to be the only salvation from the misfortunes of the new world. Could it have been different? How can one not believe in the wrath of higher powers punishing humanity, if the entire surrounding reality was literally collapsing before our eyes: a sharp cold snap, constant raids of barbarians, the Great Migration of Peoples, devastating epidemics of plague, cholera and smallpox; the seizure of the Holy Sepulcher by “infidels”; constant and ever-increasing fear of attack from the Moors, Vikings (Normans), and later - the Mongols and Turks... All this forced the medieval man to zealously and fervently believe, giving all of himself, his entire personality to the power of the church, the papacy and the Holy Inquisition, going on distant and dangerous Crusades or joining numerous monastic and knightly orders.
The Great Migration of Peoples is the conventional name for a set of ethnic movements in Europe in the 4th-7th centuries. Germans, Slavs, Sarmatians and other tribes on the territory of the Roman Empire.
(Large encyclopedic dictionary)
The feeling of vulnerability often bordered on mass psychosis, skillfully used for their own purposes by the feudal lords and the church - and it is no coincidence that gold from all over Europe flowed in wide streams to papal Rome, allowing them to maintain a perfectly regulated bureaucratic and diplomatic apparatus, which for many centuries was a model of both efficiency and deceit. The papacy fearlessly challenged secular power (for example, fighting with it for church investiture - the right to independently appoint and ordain bishops and other representatives of the clergy and spiritual hierarchs) - and in this matter it had someone to rely on: numerous feudal knights who perceived themselves a single pan-European class and proudly bore the title of “army of Christ”, with much greater pleasure they obeyed the distant Pope than their own kings. In addition, numerous monastic (Benedictines, Carmelites, Franciscans, Augustinians, etc.) and spiritual-knightly (for example, Hospitallers and Templars) orders were a reliable support for the papal throne, concentrating in their hands significant material and intellectual resources, which allowed them become genuine centers of medieval culture and education. It is also important to note that throughout a significant part of the Middle Ages, it was the Church that was the largest landowner and feudal lord, which, in combination with church taxes (for example, church tithes), served as a solid basis for the financial well-being of the spiritual authorities.
The combined effect of the above factors largely determined such a historical and cultural phenomenon of the European Middle Ages as the dominance of spiritual power over secular power, which lasted for more than two centuries: from the end of the 11th to the beginning of the 14th centuries. And a vivid embodiment of this superiority of spiritual power was the notorious “humiliation at Canossa,” when the all-powerful Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV in 1077 was forced to humbly and repentantly kiss the hand of Pope Gregory VII, humbly begging for saving forgiveness. Subsequently, the balance of power changed, and secular power took convincing revenge for its own humiliations (remember, for example, the historical episode known as the Avignon Captivity of the Popes), but the confrontation between the church and the kings was never completed until the end of the Middle Ages, thus becoming most important distinctive feature the era in question.
The basis of the socio-economic and hierarchical structure of medieval European society was feudalism. Subsistence farming and the severance of ancient trade and economic ties turned the feudal lord's castle into a closed and absolutely independent economic system, which did not require the supreme royal power at all. It was on this basis that feudal fragmentation was formed, breaking the previously relatively monolithic map of the European region, consisting of large barbarian kingdoms, into a great many tiny and absolutely independent feudal units, intertwined with each other by hundreds of dynastic threads and vassal-seigneurial ties. Serfdom and the personal dependence of the peasants on the feudal lord strengthened the economic well-being and independence of the knight's castles and at the same time doomed the poor, half-starved peasants to a powerless, miserable existence. The church did not lag behind in greed - it is enough to mention that it was one of the largest feudal lords of the Middle Ages, concentrating untold wealth in its hands.
Feudalism is a specific socio-political economic structure, traditional for the European Middle Ages and characterized by the presence of two social classes - feudal lords (landowners) and peasants economically dependent on them.
Over the centuries, feudalism increasingly became a hindrance socio-economic development of Europe, restraining the formation of bourgeois-capitalist relations, the growth of manufacturing production and the formation of a market for free labor and capital. The creation of powerful centralized states and vast colonial empires objectively contradicted the preservation of feudal rights and privileges, and in this regard, the later Middle Ages present a picture of the progressive strengthening of the power of the king while weakening the economic and political power of the feudal lords. However, these trends are still more characteristic of the Renaissance and the beginning of the New Age, while the Middle Ages are strongly associated with the unshakable dominance of feudalism, subsistence farming and the vassal-seigneurial hierarchy.
Self-study question
What is the phenomenon of medieval city law? What do you think is the role of the burghers, guilds and guilds in the evolution of the socio-economic structure of medieval European society?
European culture of the Middle Ages - just like
and other areas public life- bears a pronounced imprint of the dominance of the religious worldview (a visual evidence of which can be called the brilliant paintings of Hieronymus Bosch, a Dutch artist somewhat more late era), in the depths of which not only medieval mysticism and scholasticism developed (a religious and philosophical movement characterized by a synthesis of Christian dogmas with rationalistic elements and interest in formal logical constructions in the spirit of Aristotle), but also the whole art culture European civilization (Fig. 2.1).
Rice. 2.1.
The process of “secularization” of European culture and, in particular, philosophy, the tendency to strengthen its secular principle is characteristic exclusively of the era of the late Middle Ages, or Proto-Renaissance, illuminated by the first rays of the Renaissance. It is no coincidence that the authoritative British mathematician and thinker Bertrand Russell in his “History of Western Philosophy” notes: “Up until the 14th century, churchmen had a real monopoly in the field of philosophy, and philosophy was accordingly written from the point of view of the church.”
Moreover, almost all the major thinkers of the Middle Ages came from the clergy and, quite logically, built their own philosophical doctrines in strict accordance with the religious, theological worldview. In this context, it is worth highlighting the most prominent theologians who made a huge contribution to the development of medieval philosophical thought: St. Augustine (who, although he lived in the 4th - first half of the 5th centuries, i.e. during the period of Antiquity, before the fall of Rome, however in spirit can rightfully be classified as a medieval thinker), Boethius, John Scotus Eriugena, Meister Eckhart, Pierre
Abelard, Thomas Aquinas, Marsilius of Padua, William of Ockham and Jean Buridan.
The Middle Ages were characterized by a consistent change of two artistic styles, represented in sculpture, painting, decorative and applied arts and even fashion, but most clearly manifested themselves in architecture: Romanesque and Gothic. Perhaps, if the Romanesque style, which combined ancient artistic forms with some later elements, was primarily a tribute to the bygone great era, then Gothic, with its upward thrust and striking geometry of space, can be called a genuine artistic symbol of medieval Europe (Fig. 2.2).
Romanesque style - a style of architecture and art of the early Middle Ages, characterized by the preservation of many of the main features of the Roman architectural style(round arches, barrel vaults, leaf ornaments) combined with a number of new artistic details.
Gothic is a period in the development of medieval art in Western, Central and partly Eastern Europe from the 11th-12th to the 15th-16th centuries, which replaced the Romanesque style.
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Rice. 2.2. Gothic cathedral in Cologne (Germany). Date of construction: 1248
Medieval literature was also based primarily on religious tradition and on mystical experiences and worldviews. At the same time, one cannot fail to mention the so-called knightly literature, which reflected the spiritual culture and creative searches of the feudal class. In many ways, it was the romance of knightly tournaments, campaigns and heroic epics, combined with love lyrics and the plot of the struggle for the heart of a beloved, that would subsequently form the basis of European romanticism of the New Age (Fig. 2.3.).
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Rice. 2.3.
potion. 1867:
Tristan and Isolde are the heroes of a medieval chivalric romance of the 12th century, the original of which has not survived to this day. The tale of the love of Tristan and Isolde had a huge influence on subsequent European literature and art
Fairly speaking about the sharp drop in the cultural level of Europe during the Middle Ages, about the temporary loss of the overwhelming part of the ancient heritage, about the extinction of previously great centers of human civilization, one should not go to the other extreme and completely ignore the Europeans’ remaining desire for the light of knowledge, for the realization of their inner creative freedom and creative potential. The most striking manifestation of this kind of tendency can be called the appearance in the 11th-12th centuries. the first European universities: Bologna (1088) (Fig. 2.4), Oxford (1096) and Paris (1160), and a little later, in the first quarter of the 13th century. - Cambridge (1209), Salamanca (1218), Padua (1222) and Neapolitan (1224).
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Rice. 2.4.
Within the walls of universities, where the entire intellectual life of the classical and late Middle Ages was concentrated, the so-called seven liberal arts the tradition of studying which dates back to Antiquity. The seven liberal arts were conventionally divided into two groups: trivium(grammar, logic (dialectics) and rhetoric, i.e. primary, basic humanitarian disciplines necessary to comprehend deeper knowledge) and quadrivium(arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music).
Thus, despite the general degradation of socio-economic and cultural life characteristic of the Middle Ages, life still glimmered in the depths of European society. The ancient heritage was carefully preserved within the walls of monasteries and universities, and the brighter the dawn of the Renaissance, the bolder and more fearless the creative forces manifested themselves, ready to challenge the ossified, moribund feudal structure of society. The Middle Ages were drawing to a close, and Europe was preparing for the great hour of liberation. However, even from the standpoint of modernity, it seems impossible to fully answer the question of whether the phenomenon of the Middle Ages was an inevitable, natural stage in the evolution of European civilization, necessary for the successful assimilation of ancient experience, or whether it was, as the humanists of the Renaissance believed, a period of comprehensive cultural and civilizational decline , when European society, having lost the guiding thread of reason, left the path of development and progress.
- Subsequently, when the futility of hopes for restoring the previous world order became more than obvious, and the need to adapt to new historical realities was more urgent than ever, the name of this interstate entity was changed to the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation.
- Vassalage is a medieval system of hierarchical relations between feudal lords, which consisted in the fact that the vassal received from his lord (suzerain) a fief (i.e., conditional land ownership or, much less commonly, fixed income) and on this basis was obliged to carry out certain duties in his favor, primarily military service. Often, vassals transferred part of the land received from the overlord into the possession of their own vassals, as a result of which the so-called feudal ladder arose, and in some countries (primarily in France ) the principle was in force: “The vassal of my vassal is not my vassal.”
- Russell B. History of Western Philosophy. pp. 384-385.
Medieval European culture covers the period from the fall of the Roman Empire to the active formation of the culture of the Renaissance and divides the culture early period(V-XI centuries) and culture classical Middle Ages(XII-XIV centuries). The appearance of the term “Middle Ages” is associated with the activities of Italian humanists of the 15th-16th centuries, who, by introducing this term, sought to separate the culture of their era - the culture of the Renaissance - from the culture of previous eras. The Middle Ages brought with it new economic relations, a new type of political system, as well as global changes in people's worldview.
The entire culture of the early Middle Ages had a religious overtones
The basis of the medieval picture of the world was images and interpretations of the Bible. The starting point for explaining the world was the idea of a complete and unconditional opposition between God and nature, Heaven and Earth, soul and body. The man of the Middle Ages imagined and understood the world as an arena of confrontation between good and evil, as a kind of hierarchical system, including God, angels, people, and otherworldly forces of darkness.
Along with the strong influence of the church, the consciousness of medieval man continued to remain deeply magical. This was facilitated by the very nature of medieval culture, filled with prayers, fairy tales, myths, and magic spells. In general, the cultural history of the Middle Ages is a history of the struggle between church and state. The position and role of art in this era were complex and contradictory, but nevertheless, throughout the entire period of development of European medieval culture, there was a search for the semantic support of the spiritual community of people.
All classes of medieval society recognized the spiritual leadership of the church, but nevertheless, each of them developed its own special culture, in which it reflected its moods and ideals.
Medieval culture developed in line with the period of early (V-XIII centuries) feudalism in the countries of Western Europe, the formation of which was accompanied by the transition from barbarian empires to the classical states of medieval Europe. This was a period of serious social and military upheaval.
At the stage of late feudalism (XI-XII centuries), crafts, trade, and city life had a rather low level of development. The dominance of feudal lords - landowners - was undivided. The figure of the king was decorative in nature, and did not personify strength and state power. However, from the end of the 11th century. (especially France) the process of strengthening royal power begins and centralized feudal states are gradually created, in which the rise of the feudal economy occurs, contributing to the formation cultural process.
The Crusades carried out at the end of this period were important. These campaigns contributed to the acquaintance of Western Europe with the rich culture of the Arab East and accelerated the growth of crafts.
During the second development of the mature (classical) European Middle Ages (11th century), there was a further growth in the productive forces of feudal society. A clear division is established between city and countryside, and intensive development of crafts and trade occurs. Royal power assumes significant importance. This process was facilitated by the elimination of feudal anarchy. The royal power was supported by knighthood and wealthy citizens. A characteristic feature of this period is the emergence of city-states, for example, Venice and Florence.
2. Features of the art of medieval Europe.
The development of medieval art includes the following three stages:
1. pre-Romanesque art (V-X centuries) ,
Which is divided into three periods: early Christian art, the art of the barbarian kingdoms and the art of the Carolingian and Ottonian empires.
IN early Christian During this period Christianity became the official religion. The appearance of the first Christian churches dates back to this time. Separate buildings of a centric type (round, octagonal, cruciform), called baptisteries or baptisteries. The interior decoration of these buildings were mosaics and frescoes. They reflected all the main features of medieval painting, although they were greatly divorced from reality. Symbolism and convention prevailed in the images, and the mysticism of the images was achieved through the use of such formal elements as enlarged eyes, disembodied images, prayer poses, and the use of different scales in the depiction of figures according to the spiritual hierarchy.
Barbarian Art played a positive role in the development of the ornamental and decorative direction, which later became the main part artistic creativity classical Middle Ages. And which no longer had a close connection with ancient traditions.
A characteristic feature of art Carolingian and Ottonian empires is a combination of ancient, early Christian, barbarian and Byzantine traditions, which are most clearly manifested in the ornament. The architecture of these kingdoms is based on Roman designs and includes centric stone or wooden temples, the use of mosaics and frescoes in the interior decoration of the temples.
A monument of pre-Romanesque architecture is the Chapel of Charlemagne in Aachen, created around 800. During the same period, the development of monastery construction was actively underway. In the Carolingian Empire, 400 new monasteries were built and 800 existing monasteries were expanded.
2. Romanesque art (XI-XII centuries)
It arose during the reign of Charlemagne. This style of art is characterized by a semicircular vaulted arch that came from Rome. Instead of wooden coverings, stone ones, usually having a vaulted shape, begin to predominate. Painting and sculpture were subordinated to architecture and were mainly used in temples and monasteries. Sculptural images were brightly colored, and monumental and decorative painting, on the contrary, was represented as temple paintings of restrained color. An example of this style is the Church of Mary on the island of Laak in Germany. Italian architecture occupies a special place in Romanesque architecture, which, thanks to the strong ancient traditions present in it, immediately stepped into the Renaissance.
Main function romanesque architecture is defense. In the architecture of the Romanesque era, precise mathematical calculations were not used, however, thick walls, narrow windows and massive towers, being stylistic features of architectural structures, simultaneously carried a defensive function, allowing the civilian population to take refuge in the monastery during feudal strife and wars. This is explained by the fact that the formation and strengthening of the Romanesque style took place in the era of feudal fragmentation and its motto is the saying “My home is my fortress.”
In addition to religious architecture, secular architecture was also actively developing; an example of this is the feudal castle - house - tower of a rectangular or multifaceted shape.
3. Gothic art (XII-XV centuries)
It arose as a result of urban development and emerging urban culture. Symbol medieval cities becomes a cathedral, gradually losing its defensive functions. The stylistic changes in the architecture of this era were explained not only by changes in the functions of buildings, but by the rapid development of construction technology, which by that time was already based on precise calculations and verified design. Abundant convex details - statues, bas-reliefs, hanging arches were the main decorations of the buildings, both inside and outside. The world masterpieces of Gothic architecture are the Cathedral Notre Dame of Paris, Milan Cathedral in Italy.
Gothic is also used in sculpture. Three-dimensional, diverse plastic forms, portrait individuality, and real anatomy of figures appear.
Monumental Gothic painting is mainly represented by stained glass. Window openings are significantly increased. Which now serve not only for lighting, but more for decoration. Thanks to glass duplication, the finest nuances of color are conveyed. Stained glass windows are beginning to acquire more and more realistic elements. The French stained glass windows of Chartres and Rouen were especially famous.
The Gothic style also begins to predominate in book miniatures, a significant expansion of the scope of its application occurs, and mutual influence of stained glass and miniatures occurs. The art of book miniatures was one of the greatest achievements of Gothic art. This type of painting evolved from the "classical" style to realism.
Among the most outstanding achievements of Gothic book miniatures are the psalter of Queen Ingeborg and the psalter of Saint Louis. A remarkable monument of the German school of the early 14th century. is the “Manesse Manuscript”, which is a collection of the most famous songs of the German Minesingers, decorated with portraits of singers, scenes of tournaments and court life, and coats of arms.
Literature and music of the Middle Ages.
During the period of mature feudalism, along with and as an alternative to church literature, which had priority, secular literature also developed rapidly. Thus, the literature of chivalry, which included the epic of chivalry, the romance of chivalry, the poetry of French troubadours and the lyrics of German minisingers, received the greatest distribution and even some approval from the church. They sang the war for the Christian faith and glorified the feat of chivalry in the name of this faith. Sample knightly epic France is "The Song of Roland". Its plot was the campaigns of Charlemagne in Spain, and the main character was Count Roland.
At the end of the 7th century. Under the patronage of Charlemagne, a book-writing workshop was founded, where a special Gospel was produced.
In the 12th century. Knightly novels written in the prose genre appeared and quickly became widespread. They told about the various adventures of the knights.
In contrast to the chivalric romance, urban literature is developing. A new genre is being formed - a poetic short story, which contributes to the formation of townspeople as a single whole.
During the development of Gothic, changes also occurred in music. The art of the Celts represented a separate group in the music of the Middle Ages. The court singers of the Celts were bards who performed heroic songs - ballads, satirical, fighting and other songs to the accompaniment of a string instrument - moles.
Since the end of the 11th century. In the south of France, the musical and poetic creativity of troubadours began to spread. Their songs glorified knightly love and heroic deeds during the Crusades. The creativity of the troubadours evoked many imitations, the most fruitful being the German minnesang. The songs of the Minnesingers - "singers of love" - were not only the glorification of beautiful ladies, but also the glorification of influential dukes. Minnesingers served in the courts of rulers, participated in numerous competitions, and traveled throughout Europe. The heyday of their creativity came in the 12th century, but already in the 14th century. they were replaced by Meistersingers, or “singing masters,” united in professional guilds. The development of these vocal workshops marked new stage medieval singing art.
In the 9th century. there was polyphony, but by the end of the 11th century. voices are becoming more independent. With the advent of polyphony in Catholic churches, an organ becomes necessary. The development of professional church polyphony was greatly facilitated by numerous singing schools at large European monasteries.
XIII century in the history of music is called the century of old art, while the art of the 14th century. it is customary to call it new, and it is at this time that it begins to revive musical art Renaissance.
Conclusion.
The most important feature of European medieval culture is the special role of Christian doctrine and christian church. Only the church for many centuries remained the only social institution uniting all European countries, tribes and states. It was she who had a huge influence on the formation of people’s religious worldview and spread her main values and ideas.
All classes of medieval society recognized the spiritual kinship of the church, but nevertheless, each of them developed its own special culture, in which it reflected its moods and ideals. The dominant class of secular feudal lords in the Middle Ages was knighthood. It was the knightly culture that included a complex ritual of customs, manners, secular, court and military knightly entertainment, of which knightly tournaments were especially popular. Knightly culture created its own folklore, its own songs, poems, and a new one arose in its depths. literary genre- a chivalric novel. Love lyrics occupied a large place.
With all the diversity artistic means and stylistic features, the art of the Middle Ages also has some common features: religious in nature, because the church was the only principle uniting the scattered kingdoms; the leading place was given to architecture. Nationality, because the people themselves were the creator and spectator; the emotional beginning is deep psychologism, the task of which was to convey the intensity of religious feeling and the drama of individual plots.
Along with the dominance of Christian morality and the comprehensive power of the church, which manifested itself in all spheres of life in medieval society, including art and culture, nevertheless, this era was a unique and interesting stage in the development of European culture and civilization. Some elements of modern civilization were laid down precisely in the Middle Ages, which in many ways prepared the age of the Renaissance and Enlightenment.
During the Middle Ages, there was a special influence of the Christian Church on the formation of the mentality and worldview of Europeans. Instead of a meager and difficult life, religion offered people a system of knowledge about the world and the laws operating in it. That is why medieval culture was completely imbued with Christian ideas and ideals, which considered human earthly life as a preparatory stage for the upcoming immortality, but in a different dimension. People identified the world with a kind of arena in which heavenly and hellish forces, good and evil, confronted each other.
Medieval culture reflects the history of the struggle between the state and the church, their interaction and the implementation of divine goals.
Architecture
In the 10th-12th centuries in Western European countries, which is rightfully considered the first canon of medieval architecture, prevailed.
Secular buildings are massive, characterized by narrow window openings and high towers. Typical features of Romanesque architectural structures are domed structures and semicircular arches. Bulky buildings symbolized the power of the Christian god.
During this period, special attention was paid to monastery buildings, as they combined the monks’ home, chapel, prayer room, workshops and library. The main element of the composition is a high tower. Massive reliefs decorating facade walls and portals were the main element of temple decor.
Medieval culture is characterized by the emergence of another style in architecture. It is called Gothic. This style shifts Cultural Center from secluded monasteries to crowded city neighborhoods. At the same time, the cathedral is considered the main spiritual building. The first temple buildings are distinguished by slender columns that soar upward, elongated windows, painted stained glass windows and “roses” above the entrance. Inside and out, they were decorated with reliefs, statues, and paintings, emphasizing the main feature of the style - upward direction.
Sculpture
Metal processing is used primarily for manufacturing
The term “Middle Ages” was introduced by humanists around 1500. This is how they designated the millennium that separated them from the “golden age” of antiquity.
Medieval culture is divided into periods:
1. V century AD - XI century n. e. - early Middle Ages.
2. End of the 8th century. AD - beginning of the 9th century AD - Carolingian revival.
Z. XI - XIII centuries. - culture of the mature Middle Ages.
4. XIV-XV centuries. - culture of the late Middle Ages.
The Middle Ages is a period the beginning of which coincided with the withering away of ancient culture, and the end with its revival in modern times. The early Middle Ages include two outstanding cultures - the culture of the Carolingian Renaissance and Byzantium. They gave rise to two great cultures - Catholic (Western Christian) and Orthodox (Eastern Christian).
Medieval culture spans more than a millennium and, in socio-economic terms, corresponds to the origin, development and decay of feudalism. In this historically long socio-cultural process of development of feudal society, a unique type of human relationship to the world was developed, qualitatively distinguishing it both from the culture of ancient society and from the subsequent culture of modern times.
The term "Carolingian Renaissance" describes the cultural upsurge in the empire of Charlemagne and the kingdoms of the Carolingian dynasty in the 8th-9th centuries. (mainly in France and Germany). He expressed himself in the organization of schools, the attraction of educated figures to the royal court, in the development of literature, visual arts, architecture. Scholasticism (“school theology”) became the dominant direction of medieval philosophy.
The origins of medieval culture should be outlined:
The culture of the “barbarian” peoples of Western Europe (the so-called German origin);
Cultural traditions of the Western Roman Empire (Romanesque beginning: powerful statehood, law, science and art);
The Crusades significantly expanded not only economic, trade contacts and exchanges, but also contributed to the penetration of the more developed culture of the Arab East and Byzantium into barbarian Europe. At the height of the Crusades, Arab science began to play a huge role in the Christian world, contributing to the rise of medieval culture in 12th-century Europe. The Arabs passed on to Christian scholars Greek science, accumulated and preserved in eastern libraries, which was greedily absorbed by enlightened Christians. The authority of pagan and Arab scientists was so strong that references to them were almost obligatory in medieval science; Christian philosophers sometimes attributed their original thoughts and conclusions to them.
As a result of long-term communication with the population of the more cultured East, Europeans adopted many of the cultural and technological achievements of the Byzantine and Muslim world. This gave a strong impetus to the further development of Western European civilization, which was reflected primarily in the growth of cities and the strengthening of their economic and spiritual potential. Between the X and XIII centuries. There was a rise in the development of Western cities, and their image changed.
One function prevailed - trade, which revived the old cities and created a little later the craft function. The city became a hotbed of economic activity hated by the lords, which led, to a certain extent, to population migration. From various social elements, the city created a new society, contributed to the formation of a new mentality, which consisted in choosing an active, rational life, rather than a contemplative one. The flourishing of the urban mentality was favored by the emergence of urban patriotism. Urban society was able to create aesthetic, cultural, and spiritual values, which gave new impetus to the development of the medieval West.
Romanesque art, which was an expressive manifestation of early Christian architecture, throughout the 12th century. began to transform. The old Romanesque churches became too crowded for the growing population of the cities. It was necessary to make the church spacious, full of air, while saving expensive space inside the city walls. Therefore, cathedrals stretch upward, often hundreds or more meters. For the townspeople, the cathedral was not just a decoration, but also an impressive evidence of the power and wealth of the city. Along with the town hall, the cathedral was the center and focus of all public life.
The town hall housed the business and practical part related to city government, and in the cathedral, in addition to divine services, university lectures were given, theatrical performances (mysteries) took place, and sometimes parliament met there. Many city cathedrals were so large that the entire population of the then city could not fill it. Cathedrals and town halls were erected by order of city communes. Due to the high cost of building materials and the complexity of the work itself, temples were sometimes built over several centuries. The iconography of these cathedrals expressed the spirit of urban culture.
In her, active and contemplative life sought balance. Huge windows with colored glass (stained glass) created a flickering twilight. Massive semicircular vaults gave way to pointed, rib vaults. In combination with a complex support system, this made it possible to make the walls light and openwork. The evangelical characters in the sculptures of the Gothic temple acquire the grace of courtly heroes, smiling coquettishly and suffering “subtly.”
Gothic - artistic style, predominantly architectural, which reached its greatest development in the construction of light, pointed, skyward cathedrals with pointed vaults and rich decorative decoration, became the pinnacle of medieval culture. Overall, it was a triumph of engineering and the dexterity of guild artisans, an invasion of the Catholic church by the secular spirit of urban culture. Gothic is associated with the life of a medieval city-commune, with the struggle of cities for independence from the feudal lord. Like Romanesque art, Gothic art spread throughout Europe, and its best creations were created in the cities of France.
Changes in architecture led to changes in monumental painting. The place of the frescoes was taken stained glass. The Church established canons in the image, but even through them the creative individuality of the masters made itself felt. In terms of their emotional impact, the subjects of stained glass paintings, conveyed through drawing, are in last place, and in the first place are color and, along with it, light. The design of the book has achieved great skill. In the XII-XIII centuries. manuscripts of religious, historical, scientific or poetic content are elegantly illustrated color miniature.
Of the liturgical books, the most common are books of hours and psalms, intended mainly for the laity. The artist had no concept of space and perspective, so the drawing is schematic and the composition is static. The beauty of the human body was not given any importance in medieval painting. Spiritual beauty, the moral character of a person, came first. The sight of a naked body was considered sinful. Particular importance was attached to the face in the appearance of a medieval person. The medieval era created grandiose artistic ensembles, solved gigantic architectural problems, created new forms of monumental painting and plastic arts, and most importantly, it was a synthesis of these monumental arts, in which it sought to convey full picture peace .
The shift in the center of gravity of culture from monasteries to cities was especially clearly evident in the field of education. During the 12th century. City schools are decisively ahead of monastery schools. New training centers, thanks to their programs and methods, and most importantly - the recruitment of teachers and students, are very quickly coming forward.
Students from other cities and countries gathered around the most brilliant teachers. As a result, it begins to create graduate School- university. In the 11th century The first university was opened in Italy (Bologna, 1088). In the 12th century. Universities are also emerging in other Western European countries. In England, the first was the university in Oxford (1167), then the university in Cambridge (1209). The largest and first of the universities in France was Paris (1160).
Studying and teaching science becomes a craft, one of the many activities that have been specialized in urban life. The name university itself comes from the Latin “corporation”. Indeed, universities were corporations of teachers and students. The development of universities with their traditions of debate, as the main form of education and the movement of scientific thought, appeared in the 12th-13th centuries. A large amount of translated literature from Arabic and Greek became a stimulus for the intellectual development of Europe.
Universities represented the concentration of medieval philosophy - scholastics. The method of scholasticism consisted in the consideration and collision of all arguments and counterarguments of any position and in the logical development of this position. The old dialectics, the art of debate and argumentation, are receiving extraordinary development. A scholastic ideal of knowledge is emerging, where rational knowledge and logical proof, based on the teachings of the church and on authorities in various branches of knowledge, acquire a high status.
Mysticism, which had a significant influence in the culture as a whole, is accepted very cautiously in scholasticism, only in connection with alchemy and astrology. Until the 13th century. scholasticism was the only possible way to improve the intellect because science was subordinate to theology and served it. The scholastics were credited with developing formal logic and the deductive way of thinking, and their method of knowledge was nothing more than the fruit of medieval rationalism. The most recognized of the scholastics, Thomas Aquinas, considered science to be the “handmaiden of theology.” Despite the development of scholasticism, it was universities that became centers of a new, non-religious culture.
At the same time, there was a process of accumulation of practical knowledge, which was transferred in the form of production experience in craft workshops and workshops. Many discoveries and finds were made here, mixed with mysticism and magic. The process of technical development was expressed in the emergence and application windmills, lifts for the construction of temples.
A new and extremely important phenomenon was the creation of non-church schools in cities: these were private schools, financially independent of the church. Since that time, there has been a rapid spread of literacy among the urban population. Urban non-church schools became centers of free thought. Poetry became the mouthpiece of such sentiments vagrants- wandering school poets, people from the lower classes. A feature of their work was the constant criticism of the Catholic Church and the clergy for greed, hypocrisy, and ignorance. The vagantes believed that these qualities, common to common man, should not be inherent in the holy church. The Church, in turn, persecuted and condemned the vagants.
The most important monument of English literature of the 12th century. - famous Ballads of Robin Hood, which to this day remains one of the most famous heroes world literature.
Developed urban culture. The poetic short stories depicted dissolute and selfish monks, dull peasant villans, and cunning burghers (“The Romance of the Fox”). Urban art was nourished by peasant folklore and was distinguished by great integrity and organicity. It was on urban soil that they appeared music and theater with their touching dramatizations of church legends and instructive allegories.
The city contributed to the growth of productive forces, which gave impetus to development natural sciences. English encyclopedist R. Bacon(XIII century) believed that knowledge should be based on experience, and not on authorities. But the emerging rationalistic ideas were combined with the search by alchemical scientists for the “elixir of life”, the “philosopher’s stone”, and with the aspirations of astrologers to predict the future by the movement of the planets. At the same time, they made discoveries in the field of natural sciences, medicine, and astronomy. Scientific research gradually contributed to changes in all aspects of the life of medieval society and prepared the emergence of a “new” Europe.
The culture of the Middle Ages is characterized by:
Theocentrism and creationism;
Dogmatism;
Ideological intolerance;
Suffering renunciation of the world and craving for a violent worldwide transformation of the world in accordance with the idea (crusades)
Abstract on the topic: Culture of the Middle Ages
Introduction
The Middle Ages... When we think about them, the walls of knightly castles and huge Gothic cathedrals grow before our mental gaze, we remember the crusades and strife, the fires of the Inquisition and feudal tournaments - the whole textbook set of signs of the era. But these are external signs, a kind of scenery against which people act. What are they? What was their way of seeing the world, what guided their behavior? If we try to restore the spiritual appearance of the people of the Middle Ages - the mental, cultural foundation by which they lived, it turns out that this time is almost completely absorbed by the thick shadow cast on it by classical antiquity, on the one hand, and the Renaissance, on the other. How many misconceptions and prejudices are associated with this era? Concept “ middle age”, which arose several centuries ago to designate the period separating Greco-Roman antiquity from modern times, and from the very beginning carried a critical, derogatory assessment - a failure, a break in the cultural history of Europe - has not lost this content to this day. When talking about backwardness, lack of culture, lack of rights, they resort to the expression “medieval”. “The Middle Ages” is almost a synonym for everything gloomy and reactionary. Its early period is called the “dark ages.”
General characteristics of medieval culture
The civilization of the European Middle Ages is a qualitatively unique whole, which is the next stage in the development of European civilization after Antiquity. The transition from the Ancient World to the Middle Ages was associated with a decline in the level of civilization: the population dropped sharply (from 120 million people during the heyday of the Roman Empire to 50 million people by the beginning of the 6th century), cities fell into decay, trade froze , the primitive state system replaced the developed Roman statehood, universal literacy was replaced by illiteracy of the majority of the population. But at the same time, the Middle Ages cannot be considered as some kind of failure in the development of European civilization. During this period, all European peoples (French, Spanish, Italians, English, etc.) were formed, the main European languages (English, Italian, French, etc.) were formed, and national states were formed, the borders of which generally coincide with modern ones. Many values that are perceived in our time as universal, ideas that we take for granted, have their origins in the Middle Ages (the idea of value human life, the idea that an ugly body is not an obstacle to spiritual perfection, attention to the inner world of a person, the conviction that it is impossible to appear naked in public places, the idea of love as a complex and multifaceted feeling, and much more). Modern civilization itself arose as a result of the internal restructuring of medieval civilization and in this sense is its direct heir.
As a result of barbarian conquests, dozens of barbarian kingdoms were formed on the territory of the Western Roman Empire. The Visigoths in 419 founded a kingdom in southern Gaul with its center in Toulouse. At the end of the 5th and beginning of the 6th century, the Visigothic kingdom spread to the Pyrenees and Spain. Its capital was moved to the city of Toledo. At the beginning of the 5th century. The Suevi and Vandals invaded the Iberian Peninsula. The Suevi captured the northwest, the Vandals lived for some time in the south - in modern Andalusia (originally called Vandalusia), and then founded a kingdom in North Africa with its capital on the site of ancient Carthage. In the middle of the 5th century. In the southeast of modern France, the Kingdom of Burgundy was formed with its center in Lyon. The kingdom of the Franks arose in Northern Gaul in 486. Its capital was in Paris. In 493, the Ostrogoths captured Italy. Their king Theodoric reigned for more than 30 years as "King of the Goths and Italics." The capital of the state was the city of Ravenna. After the death of Theodoric, Byzantium conquered Ostrogothic Italy (555), but its dominance was short-lived. In 568 Northern Italy was captured by the Lombards. The capital of the new state was the city of Pavia. On the territory of Britain by the end of the 6th century. Seven barbarian kingdoms were formed. The states created by the Germanic tribes constantly fought among themselves, their borders were unstable, and the existence of most of them was short-lived.
In all the barbarian kingdoms, the Germans constituted a minority of the population (from 2-3% in Ostrogothic Italy and Visigothic Spain to 20-30% in the state of the Franks). Since, as a result of successful campaigns of conquest, the Franks subsequently settled over a significant part of the territory of the former Western Roman Empire, the share of Germanic peoples on average increased slightly, but the concentration of Franks in Northern Gaul decreased. It follows that the history of medieval Western Europe is the history primarily of the same peoples who inhabited it in antiquity. However, the social and government system in the conquered territories changed significantly. In the V-VI centuries. Germanic and late Roman institutions coexisted within the barbarian kingdoms. In all states, the lands of the Roman nobility were confiscated - on a larger or smaller scale. On average, property redistribution affected from 1/3 to 2/3 of land. Large land holdings were distributed by kings to their warriors, who immediately transferred the slaves remaining in Roman villas to the position of dependent peasants, equating them with colons. Small plots were received by ordinary German community members. Initially the community retained ownership of the land. Thus, on the territory of the barbarian kingdoms, large fiefdoms of the new German landowners coexisted, in which former Roman colons and slaves, who had turned into serfs, worked (often by origin, the indigenous inhabitants of these places, who were once converted into slavery for debts, since abolition in Rome debt slavery persisted in the provinces), Roman villas where former landowners continued to farm using late Roman methods, and settlements of free peasant communities, both Germanic and indigenous. The political system was also characterized by eclecticism.
Roman city committees continued to exist in the cities, which were now subordinate to the barbarian king. In rural areas, people's assemblies of armed community members functioned. The Roman tax system remained, although taxes were reduced and went to the king. In barbarian states, two systems of legal proceedings coexisted. German law-barbarian “truth” (for the Germans) and Roman law (for the Romans and the local population) were in effect. There were two types of ships. On the territory of a number of barbarian states, a synthesis of late Roman and Germanic institutions began, but this process, which resulted in the formation of Western European medieval civilization, unfolded fully within the state of the Franks, which in the 8th - early 9th centuries. turned into a vast empire (in 800 Charlemagne was crowned in Rome by the pope as “emperor of the Romans”).
The empire united the territories of modern France, a significant part of future Germany and Italy, a small region of Spain, as well as a number of other lands. Soon after the death of Charlemagne, this supranational entity disintegrated. The Verdun division of the empire (843) laid the foundation for three modern states: France, Italy and Germany, although their borders then did not coincide with the present ones. The formation of medieval European civilization also took place in the territories of England and Scandinavia. In each region of Western Europe, the designated process had its own characteristics and proceeded at different rates. In the future France, where Roman and barbarian elements were balanced, the pace was fastest. And France became a classic country of the medieval West. In Italy, where Roman institutions prevailed over barbarian ones, in the territories of Germany and England, characterized by the prevalence of barbarian principles, as well as in Scandinavia, where there was no synthesis at all (Scandinavia never belonged to Rome), medieval civilization developed more slowly and had slightly different forms.
The role of religion in medieval culture
The Catholic Church and the Christian religion of the Roman Catholic model played a huge role. The religiosity of the population strengthened the role of the church in society, and the economic, political and cultural activities of the clergy helped maintain the religiosity of the population in a canonized form. The Catholic Church was a tightly organized, well-disciplined hierarchical structure headed by a high priest, the Pope. Since it was a supranational organization, the pope had the opportunity, through archbishops, bishops, middle and lower white clergy, as well as monasteries, to be aware of everything that was happening in the Catholic world and to carry out his line through the same institutions. As a result of the union of secular and spiritual power, which arose as a result of the Franks’ adoption of Christianity immediately in the Catholic version, the Frankish kings, and then the sovereigns of other countries, made rich land grants to the church. Therefore, the church soon became a major landowner: it owned one third of all cultivated land in Western Europe. By engaging in usurious transactions and managing the estates in its possessions, the Catholic Church represented a real economic force, which was one of the reasons for its power.
For a long time, the church had a monopoly in the fields of education and culture. In the monasteries, ancient manuscripts were preserved and copied, and ancient philosophers, especially the idol of the Middle Ages, Aristotle, commented on the needs of theology. Schools were originally only located at monasteries; medieval universities were, as a rule, associated with the church. The monopoly of the Catholic Church in the field of culture led to the fact that the entire medieval culture was of a religious nature, and all sciences were subordinated to and imbued with theology. The church acted as a preacher of Christian morality, trying to instill Christian standards of behavior throughout society. She spoke out against endless strife, called on the warring parties not to offend civilians and to observe certain rules in relation to each other. The clergy cared for the elderly, the sick and orphans. All this supported the authority of the church in the eyes of the population. Economic power, a monopoly on education, moral authority, and a branched hierarchical structure contributed to the fact that the Catholic Church sought to play a leading role in society, to place itself above secular power. The struggle between the state and the church took place with varying degrees of success. Reaching a maximum in the XII-XIII centuries. the power of the church subsequently began to decline and ultimately royal power prevailed. The final blow to the secular claims of the papacy was dealt by the Reformation.
The socio-political system that established itself in Europe in the Middle Ages is usually called feudalism in historical science. This word comes from the name of the land ownership that a representative of the ruling class received for military service. This possession was called a fief. Not all historians believe that the term feudalism is appropriate, since the concept underlying it is not capable of expressing the specifics of Central European civilization. In addition, there was no consensus on the essence of feudalism. Some historians see it in a system of vassalage, others in political fragmentation, and still others in a specific mode of production. Nevertheless, the concepts of feudal system, feudal lord, feudal-dependent peasantry have firmly entered into historical science. Therefore, we will try to characterize feudalism as a socio-political system characteristic of European medieval civilization.
A characteristic feature of feudalism is feudal ownership of land. Firstly, it was alienated from the main manufacturer. Secondly, it was conditional, thirdly, hierarchical in nature. Fourthly, it was connected with political power. The alienation of the main producers from land ownership was manifested in the fact that the land on which the peasant worked was the property of large landowners - feudal lords. The peasant had it in use. For this, he was obliged to either work on the master's field several days a week or pay quitrent - in kind or in cash. Therefore, the exploitation of peasants was of an economic nature. Non-economic coercion - the personal dependence of the peasants on the feudal lords - played the role of an additional means. This system of relations arose with the formation of two main classes of medieval society: feudal lords (secular and spiritual) and the feudal-dependent peasantry.
Feudal ownership of land was conditional, since the feud was considered granted for service. Over time, it turned into a hereditary possession, but formally it could be taken away for non-compliance with the vassal agreement. The hierarchical nature of property was expressed in the fact that it was, as it were, distributed among a large group of feudal lords from top to bottom, so no one had complete private ownership of land. The trend in the development of forms of ownership in the Middle Ages was that the feud gradually became full private property, and dependent peasants, turning into free ones (as a result of the redemption of personal dependence), acquired some ownership rights to their land plot, receiving the right to sell it subject to payment feudal lord special tax. The combination of feudal property with political power was manifested in the fact that the main economic, judicial and political unit in the Middle Ages was a large feudal estate - seigneury. The reason for this was the weakness of the central government under the dominance of subsistence farming. At the same time in medieval Europe a certain number of allodist peasants remained - full private owners. There were especially many of them in Germany and Southern Italy.
Subsistence farming is an essential feature of feudalism, although not as characteristic as forms of ownership, since subsistence farming, in which nothing is bought or sold, existed both in the Ancient East and in Antiquity. In medieval Europe, subsistence farming existed until about the 13th century, when it began to transform into a commodity-money economy under the influence of urban growth.
One of the most important signs feudalism, many researchers consider the monopolization of military affairs by the ruling class. War was the destiny of knights. This concept, which initially meant simply a warrior, eventually came to mean the privileged class of medieval society, spreading to all secular feudal lords. However, it should be noted that where allodist peasants existed, they, as a rule, had the right to bear arms. Participation in the crusades of dependent peasants also shows the non-absolute nature of this feature of feudalism.
The feudal state, as a rule, was characterized by the weakness of the central government and the dispersion of political functions. On the territory of a feudal state there was often a number of virtually independent principalities and free cities. In these small state formations, dictatorial power sometimes existed, since there was no one to resist the large landowner within a small territorial unit.
A characteristic phenomenon of medieval European civilization, starting from the 11th century, were cities. The question of the relationship between feudalism and cities is debatable. Cities gradually destroyed the natural character of the feudal economy, contributed to the liberation of peasants from serfdom, and contributed to the emergence of a new psychology and ideology. At the same time, the life of the medieval city was based on the principles characteristic of medieval society. The cities were located on the lands of feudal lords, so initially the population of the cities was in feudal dependence on the lords, although it was weaker than the dependence of the peasants. The medieval city was also based on such a principle as corporatism. The townspeople were organized into workshops and guilds, within which egalitarian tendencies operated. The city itself was also a corporation. This became especially clear after the liberation from the power of the feudal lords, when cities received self-government and urban rights. But precisely because medieval city was a corporation, after liberation it acquired some features that made it similar to the city of antiquity. The population consisted of full-fledged burghers and non-members of corporations: beggars, day laborers, and visitors. The transformation of a number of medieval cities into city-states (as was the case in ancient civilization) also shows the opposition of cities to the feudal system. As commodity-money relations developed, central state power began to rely on cities. Therefore, cities contributed to overcoming feudal fragmentation - characteristic feature feudalism. Ultimately, the restructuring of medieval civilization took place precisely thanks to cities.
Medieval European civilization was also characterized by feudal-Catholic expansion. Its most common cause was the economic rise of the 11th-13th centuries, which caused an increase in population, which began to lack food and land (population growth outpaced the possibilities of economic development). The main directions of this expansion were the crusades in the Middle East, the annexation of southern France to the French kingdom, the Reconquista (liberation of Spain from the Arabs), the crusaders' campaigns in the Baltic states and the Slavic lands. In principle, expansion is not a specific feature of medieval European civilization. This trait was characteristic Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece(Greek colonization), many states of the Ancient East.
The medieval European's picture of the world is unique. It contains such features characteristic of ancient Eastern man as the simultaneous coexistence of the past, present and future, the reality and objectivity of the other world, orientation towards the afterlife and otherworldly divine justice. And at the same time, through the permeation of the Christian religion, this picture of the world is organically inherent in the idea of progress, directed movement human history from the Fall to the establishment of the thousand-year (eternal) kingdom of God on earth. The idea of progress was not in the ancient consciousness; it was focused on the endless repetition of the same forms and at the level public consciousness this was the cause of the death of ancient civilization. In medieval European civilization, the idea of progress shaped the focus on novelty, when the development of cities and all the changes associated with it made change necessary.
The internal restructuring of this civilization (within the Middle Ages) began in the 12th century. The growth of cities, their successes in the fight against the lords, the destruction of the natural economy as a result of the development of commodity-money relations, the gradual weakening, and then (14-15 centuries) the almost universal cessation of the personal dependence of the peasantry associated with the development of a money economy in the countryside, weakening influence Catholic Church on society and the state as a consequence of the strengthening of royal power, based on cities, reducing the impact of Catholicism on consciousness as a result of its rationalization (the reason is the development of theology as a science based on logical thinking), the emergence of secular knightly and urban literature, art, music - all this gradually destroyed medieval society, contributing to the accumulation of new elements, something that did not fit into the stable medieval social system. The 13th century is considered a turning point. But the formation of a new society occurred extremely slowly. The Renaissance, brought to life by the further development of trends of the 12-13th centuries, supplemented by the emergence of early bourgeois relations, represents a transitional period. The great geographical discoveries, which sharply expanded the sphere of influence of European civilization, accelerated its transition to a new quality. Therefore, many historians consider the end of the 15th century as the border between the Middle Ages and the New Age.
Conclusion
It is possible to understand the culture of the past only with a strictly historical approach, only by measuring it with the yardstick that corresponds to it. There is no single scale under which all civilizations and eras could be fitted, because there is no person equal to himself in all these eras.
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