Home  ›  Middle Age

Middle Age

The Middle Ages was a time period or historical Western located between antiquity and the Renaissance , or the modern era. It extends over a period of nearly a thousand years that historians have divided it into several parts.

Summary

Definition

The term "Middle Ages" was first used by humanists. In 1469, these words are in Latin - media tempest - the correspondence of Giovanni Andrea Bussi dei (Johannes Andrea Bussi (from Buxis) ("Decades from the historical decline of the Roman Empire").

Visiting a site builders.

In the seventeenth century , Christoph Keller , philologist German best known of Latinized Cellarius, resumed the expression of "old age" for its tripartite chronology of history to mark the time elapsing from the Fourth to the XV centuries . The Middle Ages is thus defined by opposition to the renaissance that would follow. The term is taken in bad part and reflects the disdain of scholars for a time considered "obscure" or "Gothic". It was not until the eighteenth century and the writings of Herder , of Joseph de Maistre or Edmund Burke for the period to receive a more generous treatment historiographical .

In French , the adjective corresponding to "Middle Age" is "medieval." "Medieval" old, is in turn usually dressed in a pejorative sense ("a medieval atmosphere," a medieval atmosphere "). The history of the Middle Ages as a discipline, is also called "Medieval History". A historian who studies the Middle Ages is called " medievalist ". However, the term "Middle Ages" does not mean anything as such. It comes from the Latin phrase which means Medium Aevum "middle age" or "average age" of a man. Thus, "average age" is an intermediate age between different eras, different art movements.

The historiography of contemporary tends to regard the Renaissance as a period of transition between medieval and modern times , the chronological limits rather vague (more or less between 1420 to 1630 ). We can therefore speak of a medieval period of the Renaissance.

Chronology of the Middle Ages

The exact boundaries of the Middle Ages and the division into different periods are discussed and are still the subject of debate among historians. Indeed, a single event can only play a symbolic role in a changing era, which is actually a process.

The early Middle Ages is usually located to 500 , with several symbolic dates have been proposed by historians:

The late Middle Ages is usually located towards 1500 , several symbolic dates have been proposed by historians:

More generally, the great discoveries have involved what might be called the beginnings of globalization , , (increase trade between distant countries, helped by new inventions and discoveries).

Medieval West and East

Defining the Medieval West

St. Michael's Church in Hildesheim, Germany

The word refers to both the West territory and a civilization in the Middle Ages. The West is where the sun goes down (to the West, or the Ponant) opposite of the East (the Levant). The territory of the West covers western Europe (the European term is little used before the Renaissance ), without duplicating the exact limits of the Western Roman Empire. In the sense of most authors and contributors who use the term, the West is the sphere of Roman Christianity whose first language is Latin, faithful to the Pope of Rome : he opposes the territories of the Gentiles , the schismatic and Muslims and it corresponds to the area of spreading Christianity Catholic (and later Protestant ) countries in Latin , Celtic or Germanic. This is not always explicitly defined and the eastern boundaries of this set are vague and changing during the period: now they include, sometimes they exclude the Central Europe .

After the Schism of 1054 in fact, the West excludes the Byzantine Empire , remained orthodox , faithful to the four other patriarchs ( Constantinople , Antioch , Jerusalem and Alexandria ). This dichotomy of religious and cultural background is the two halves of the ancient Roman Empire from the division of 395 : the West (especially in Latin culture, but also Celtic and Germanic) and East (especially Greek culture, but also Slavic Armenian or Aramaic). The break with Byzantium was consumed in 1204 , when Constantinople was taken by the crusaders of the Fourth Crusade. This episode will leave deep wounds.

Unifying the primacy of culture must not overshadow the political and linguistic divisions that emerge from the Carolingian period. The emergence of vernaculars of Protestantism and later questioned the alleged Western unity. The Christian West is synonymous with the medieval Christian Latin and extends through the remarkable efforts of missionaries and crusaders, before conquering new worlds, with the great discoveries of the sixteenth century.

The social system is a pyramid at the foot of which are farmers who represent 90% of the population and the king at the summit. There are two branches: the feudal and the clergy. Of these branches, the prince and the bishop are the same rank. Below are the nobles, the gentry and landowners.

Defining the Medieval East

Hippocrates : Byzantine frescoes of the fourteenth century.

The word refers to all East countries to the east of Europe. In the sense of most authors and contributors who use the term, it corresponds to the area of spread of Christianity Orthodox country in Greek in the Balkan countries or Slavic. But again the western limits of this set are fuzzy and Baltic countries , the Hungary , countries Slavic tradition of Catholic ( Poland , Bohemia , Slovakia , Slovenia , Croatia ) are sometimes included, sometimes excluded from the East.

The East of medieval Europe is not defined primarily by religion, but rather by the exclusion of the term ' Christian West. After Cyril and Methodius and once the Christianization of the Slavs in the ninth century ended, there will be in Eastern Europe or medieval missionaries, or the Crusades or Inquisition , and Orthodox churches, multiple, will be in a position of subordination to the political powers of the Czars , the voivodship , the hospodars Christians and even sultans Muslims of the Ottoman Empire. However, in practice, Eastern Europe medieval corresponds roughly to the peoples whose spiritual reference is the Patriarchate of Constantinople , the Orthodox tradition.

In the social system of the East medieval feudalism and the clergy are not equal: the latter is subordinate position. It is the " Caesaropapism , , . The Orthodox Church does not levy taxes: Many priests are poor and work. But the aristocrats can donate to it, and princes give him areas: richer and some monasteries became centers of cultural and artistic importance. Moreover, the aristocracy is not waterproof or inbred : the voivodship and old boyars have the power to ennoble commoners and raise them socially, so that the Church is not the only social elevator opened to commoners, and if it is, it is also a decision by the secular powers.

Catholic Religion

Christianity is at the heart of medieval history: it shapes the thinking of the period, mainly because of its universality and because of the rise in the west of the Catholic Church organized around the papacy in Rome. The boundaries of the medieval West that defies political unit, also coincide with those of the Catholic Church.

Organization of the Catholic Church

Became the state religion in the Roman Empire during Late Antiquity (the Edict of Milan in 313 , gives Christians freedom of worship in 381, Christianity became the state religion), Christianity, indeed , spreads in the Middle Ages from several outbreaks: Ireland, the Frankish kingdoms, the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and Rome.

The expansion of Christianity was accompanied by the establishment of the ecclesiastical hierarchy - the Church coming to designate the latter - and the papacy, which rises at the head of it, becomes a major power in the West The Bishop of Rome, whose spiritual authority based on the primacy of the seat of the apostle Peter, became the sovereign pontiff.

This evolution is slow ( V e - XIII century ) and faces many obstacles:

  • first, to internal resistance: the dogmas of the Church, made at the councils , to progressively define and confront the heresies (the Arianism of the Visigoths still the faith of the kings of the Iberian Peninsula until the seventh century , that of the Lombards threatened a while - until the mid- eighth century - Rome disappearance).

Soon, the Roman church must win against Byzantium , especially during the iconoclastic crisis ( 726 - 843 ). At the eleventh century , the break with the Eastern Christianity is consumed with the Schism of 1054 , thus ending the unity of the church .

Almost as important is the question of the adoption of a liturgy unique national churches have their own traditions which are based only gradually: the Irish liturgy, which fixed Easter on a different date, prevails in the British Isles to the Synod of Whitby ( 664 ). In developing the Christian mission (from 610) and by forging relationships with sovereign "barbarians" (including, based on Anglo-Saxon kings and the expansion of the Franks in Germany), Rome reaches everywhere to unify the traditions of the Church and at the same time, to assert its role as the head of it, except in Eastern Slavic living in the Byzantine sphere of influence.

  • External resistors are opposed to the influence of the papacy, because the secular authorities intend to interfere in the affairs of the church and lead it in their area of influence: the Lombard kings, first , want to submit the Roman Church. Also, the pope appealed to the Carolingians (mid- eighth century ), but they, like their predecessors, do not hesitate to distribute land to the church to the laity. When the Christian Empire was reborn in the West ( 800 ), the ratio between the powers of the Emperor and the Pope are not otherwise defined in terms of relative influence. It rotates in a first time at the expense of the papacy, while the Church, but also the imperial power across all points of view a serious crisis, the tenth century , and it was not until the Gregorian reform (second half of XI century - first third of the twelfth century ) that the Germanic pope confronts the Emperor during the Investiture Controversy. The latter, which ended in a compromise, is crucial to ensure the independence of the Apostolic See. In the thirteenth century , finally, the papacy triumph, with its main weapon: the excommunication , its role in the rise of Christianity through the Crusades , but also with its temporal power and through its wealth. Pope Innocent III applies during his "reign" ( 1198 - 1216 ) the principles of the papal theocracy , which had been formulated for the first time Dad Dictatus of Pope Gregory VII in 1075 ).

Christianization of Western Europe

The baptism of Clovis , by Master of Saint Gilles, wood painting, circa 1500. The ceremony seals the covenant of the Church of Gaul with the Frankish power.
Cathar expelled from Carcassonne in 1209. The Cathar heresy was opposed by the Catholic Church in the thirteenth century.

The rise of the Church can not be dissociated from the effort Christianization of society and consciousness: the latter remains a constant struggle throughout the Middle Ages.

Depending on the model of the apostles in the Gospels , the Church conceived as the congregation united in the faith must be spread "to the ends of the earth." For this, it can rely on the support of its influential members - as in Germany , where she accompanied the conqueror frank - but above all it must be based in principle on a voluntary act: in this it can not count on the effects of preaching. St. Augustine , however, justify the legal use of violence to coerce heretics and schismatics to return within the Church, including interpreting the Order of Christ, "Force them to enter! "( Luke xiv, 23) as a call to conversion forced . The proselytizing that accompanies the spread of Christianity during the Middle Ages can not be reduced "or an evangelistic or a brutal peaceful balance of power "(B. Dumezil, 2007 ): if the persecutions massive are rare, some cases of persecution of Jews being identified, however, as many conversions by force, the Church relies heavily on landowners (the possessor) to encourage the conversion of his serfs or slaves to Christianity, through economic constraints ( such a lowering of land rent Christian peasants, the other dismissing the heathen peasants of his domain, or another offering postage at its 250 slaves, provided they accept the baptism ).

  • Spread of Christianity during the Middle Ages:

During the High Middle Ages, the Christian missions of preachers isolated, supported by Rome where it can successfully push the political boundaries of Christianity by bringing to the conversion of the barbarian kings and relying on the influence of kings Christians - like the Frankish kings, whose adherence to Christianity was in Clovis ( 496 or 498 ) - but their last concern, which is to hear the message of Christ to the peoples of the latter remains an objective of the hardest to quantify. They are most often the work of monks, such as St. Columban into Gaul , St. Augustine of Canterbury in Kent or St. Boniface in Friesland.

To this end, the church also faces some resistance even within Christianity, where the secular clergy at the head of the supervision of the faithful, especially in rural areas: symptomatic, the word " pagan "- paganus, who lives in the country - means one who practices the old religion polytheistic before designating anything that is not Christian. Respect for Christian morality, in particular, is the subject of injunctions of councils , and synods Merovingian and Carolingian. These are constantly reminded taboos, including slavery, convict the pagan customs and attempting to limit private violence.

  • Reforms, fight against violence and heresies

During the feudal period, the synods are committed to combating violence against seigneurial ( Peace of God , Truce of God ), the sale of the sacraments and ecclesiastical functions ( simony ), unworthy clerics ( nicolaism ), and finally against the heresies. Recent develop sporadically (around the year one thousand ) and, very rarely settle permanently as Languedoc , the Cathar or Bohemia , with John Hus ( 1369 - 1415 ), etc.. From the thirteenth century , the papacy for this task may rely on the mendicant orders , Franciscans and especially Dominicans.

But the temptation to use force is big and often characterized violence as a last resort, the struggle for the unity of the Church, his first definition implies: it marks the "Christianization" of forced Saxony by Charlemagne (second half of the eighth century ), gives rise to the Albigensian Crusade , the birth of the court of the Inquisition under Pope Gregory IX ( 1227 - 1241 ), the Hussite Wars , etc..

Events of the Catholic faith

Angel Reliquary of XV century , France.

The faithful express their faith in a visible and religion is everywhere: thousands of people respond to calls for crusade or embark on the pilgrimage routes. Considerable sums are committed to build dozens of churches. We just touch the relics and are released during the processions. The border between the sacred and the profane is still tenuous: the fear of hell and the devil drives many behaviors. The Middle Ages is also the time of the flowering of mystical Christianity.

Importance of the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church collects taxes such as the tithes into the kingdom of France. It receives donations of land, furniture and silver from the powerful who are waiting to return his spiritual help (prayers) and politics. The great abbeys have sometimes very extensive land on which they levy fees and impose tonlieux. In the Holy Roman Empire , bishops are truly at the head of lords wealthy principalities.

The clergy is to obey and respect the faithful. It distributes the sacraments necessary for salvation of the soul. The priest who baptized children, married couples, blessing the harvest and hears confessions is a key figure in everyday life. The church and cemetery are at the heart of the village and are places of refuge and assembly. The bells punctuate the time and calendar celebrates the highlights of the life of Jesus. The clergy has social functions such as charity , education (schools and monastic Episcopal), care ( Hotel-Dieu , Hospice ).

Few studies have been done on the status of women in medieval France. The image of women confined to the domestic sphere and education of children is more than a preconceived idea a reality known or really seriously considered. What we know comes from those women who have had a craft or worked with their man. Family letters are a ratio of marriages that were loving partnerships. According to historian Rgine Pernoud , it seems important to get out of the cartoons that would characterize the status of women in the Middle Ages as the worst. Indeed, it turns out, for example, they had the right to vote (in assemblies). Their field was gradually reduced and confined to the domestic sphere with the advent of ancient classical culture. Previously, they had a real role in society and working life. Do not forget that the queens were also crowned by the Archbishop of Rheims and had their recognized authority in the political sphere. Marie de Medici was the last crowned queen. It was later that the queens will be completely excluded from the political sphere, in the classical period. Let us remember that women have not always been excluded from the throne in the Middle Ages. The first such provision is made by Philippe le Bel. Gradually, religious views are also cloistered, but this has not always been the case in the Middle Ages. Some Abbesses in the Middle Ages had so much power that some lords. The role of women seems to decrease with the rise of the influence of Roman law that they were not favorable and this trend will continue with the Renaissance. The study of deeds is a great source to understand and decipher the status of women, they show that they possessed more autonomy than we imagine. Thus the status of women in both civil and ecclesiastical society seems to modify the XIII century. Only in the sixteenth century a decree of Parliament from 1593 ec arte explicitly to women of any state function. see related topics as well, but there are the following: the Courtly Love - the nuns - widows - marriage - motherhood - the work - the scholarship.

A major aspect of religion in the Middle Ages is its role in the arts and culture: from the ancient late, indeed, the classical Latin culture took refuge in monasteries, where they continued to teach the trivium and quadrivium. Given the illiteracy of the people and aristocrats barbarians, they and the wider church, still under par excellence which survives Written: scholars, theologians , biographers and chroniclers who bear witness to their time, are monks and bishops. Some ideas inherited from ancient Rome , like the state , which disappears in the seventh century , are preserved and penetrated by Christianity.

Through the Carolingian Renaissance , supported by Alcuin , the Cluniac reform , the Gregorian reform and the creation of the mendicant orders and the rise of universities in the thirteenth century , the cultural and spiritual revivals emanate from the people of religion.

Gothic portal of the cathedral of Cologne , Germany, XIII century.

The Romanesque art that spreads with Cluny and Gothic art , which was born in Saint-Denis before winning the whole of Europe are religious arts. You actually have to wait until the Middle Ages ( XIV - XV century ) to a culture profane grows again in France, the royal entourage of lawyers and because of the trouble the king with the papacy.

Finally, in any sense in this context, the texts from which to shape the ideology - in particular social and power - the Middle Ages are Christian sources: the Old Testament gives a framework for medieval kingship (Charlemagne is compared to King David), the works of the Fathers of the Church (including St. Jerome , and especially St. Augustine with The City of God) frame the social relationships and finally, the New Testament , including the Gospels provide both the example of apostolic life that animates the mendicant orders and the soil of humanity through the Incarnation , lies at the ideological heart of the revival that marks the end of the period. Also, to a large extent, the Christian religion inspires and model of medieval society by providing both the hierarchy (at the top of which stands the king, through the Christ who reigns over the heavenly hierarchy) and the first of its institutions: the Church, which compensates for the disappearance of the state.

Kingship in Medieval West

The crown of the Holy Roman Empire , preserved in the Treasury of Vienna.

The medieval West is governed by rulers, but not all power. The royalty is contractual and not absolute. The monarchy is the political system most common in Europe, although some republics appear (Republic of Venice). The king must take account of other political actors such as rulers , the nobles and the Church. In medieval classic, but more likely in the late Middle Ages, the kings of western Europe (England, France, Spain) try to unify their states based on feudalism and the legitimacy defined by the lawyers: the Historians speak of feudal monarchies and the emergence of nation states.

At the time of the disappearance of the last emperor of the West ( fifth century ), the barbarian kings had introduced a new form of power, laying the foundations of medieval kingship. If the election remains in force in theory, the royal power is transmitted in practice within the same family ancestry noble or holy forming a dynasty. King of the Middle Ages under his protection his people during the Middle Ages and even in medieval classic, written sources mention the king of the Franks (rex Francorum), for example.

Some of these kings are sacred (the king of the Visigoths , King of England, the king of the Franks from 752 ), which puts them above the other nobles, all are crowned and wear badges ( regalia ) symbolizing their authority and mission. Above all, the medieval sovereign government in close collaboration with the clergy Christian. In the Papal States , the Pope strengthens its power and becomes a monarch in the thirteenth century , he sometimes even violently opposed to the emperors ( investiture controversy with Holy Roman Emperor) and use the weapon of ' excommunication.

Finally, the emperor is a sovereign individual: he intends to institute a universal power, at least in theory, and protect the Church. He claims to Roman inheritance ( Charlemagne , Otto I ) and is the only one to receive his crown from the hands of the pope.

Vassalage

Iconography of a knight, alleging Summa Vitiorum William Perault
Main article: Vassalage.

Vassalage existed during the Middle Ages. The system evolves in feudal relationships during the eleventh century.

The ceremony follows very specific rules. The vassal to advance his future lord bareheaded as a sign of respect. He kneels before him to express his humility, his hands clasped. The Lord takes them between his own and falls.

The young vassal receives a fee (usually a land that belongs to the lord or a right to levy taxes on a bridge for example) and in exchange, he swore on the holy scriptures, or a relic, its fidelity to the Lord.

Feudalism

Main article: Feudalism.

The period of feudalism covers the ninth to the thirteenth century. It is a hierarchical organization of the nobility binding the members together. The feudal system is designed to protect itself from invaders, wars. Each pledged to a lord lord more powerful: he became his vassal. The power of a lord was measured among his vassals. Each vassal in exchange for his loyalty, received a fief, a territory. All the lords were vassals of vassals, but all are not lords.

Knights of Life

Main article: Knighthood.

Medieval Civilization

The history of rural civilization and material culture of the Middle Ages was renovated by Jean-Marie Weigh at the EHESS , Michel Board at the University of Caen , from the years 1960 and Gabrielle Demians of Archimbaud at the University of Aix-en-Provence.

The excavation of the castrum of Andon have to know better life in a castle around the year thousand.

This section is empty, insufficiently detailed or incomplete. Your help is welcome!

Rise Urban

Carcassonne.
Main article: City in the Middle Ages.

Leave a Reply


Frequently Asked Questions

1 vote, average: 4.00 out of 51 vote, average: 4.00 out of 51 vote, average: 4.00 out of 51 vote, average: 4.00 out of 51 vote, average: 4.00 out of 5 (1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5, rated)
Loading ... Loading ...
Help us improve the wiki Send Your Comments