5. the middle ages - monash arts staff...

5. The Middle Ages(inc. the Medieval Village, the rise of Islam and the

High Middle Ages)

The Middle Ages lasted for approximately a thousand years, dating from the fall of the

Western Roman Empire in the 5th century toWestern Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in

the 15th century

The term ‘Middle Ages’ was first used by 15th-century scholars to designate the period between their own time and the fall of the

Western Roman Empire.

The Middle Ages: from darkness into the light

Roman Empire : Middle AgesIn the West

Between the 5th and 8th centuries, new peoples and powerful individuals filled the political void left by Roman centralized government. Elite

families from both Roman aristocracy and barbarian nobility establishedfamilies from both Roman aristocracy and barbarian nobility established regional hegemonies within the former boundaries of the Empire, creating

weak kingdoms like that of the Ostrogoths in Italy, the Visigoths in Spain and Portugal, the Franks and Burgundians in Gaul and western Germany,

and Saxons in England The socialand Saxons in England. The social effects of the fracture of the Roman

state were manifold. Cities and merchants lost the economic benefits

of safe conditions for trade andof safe conditions for trade and manufacture, and the intellectual life

suffered from the loss of a unified cultural and educational milieu of

f i tifar-ranging connections.http://www.carrotcake.eu/middle_ages_en.html

Battle between Clovis (the Franks and the Visigoths


Visigoths

The Dark Ages The Dark Ages is a term applied in its widest sense to that

period of intellectual depression in the history of Europe from the establishment of the barbarian supremacy in the fifth

t t th i l f l i b t th b i i f thcentury to the revival of learning about the beginning of the fifteenth, thus nearly corresponding in extent with the Middle Ages…The Dark Ages and the Middle Ages . . used to be the same; two names for the same period. But they have come to ; p ybe distinguished, and the Dark Ages are now no more than the first part of the Middle Age, while the term mediaeval is often restricted to the later centuries, about 1100 to 1500.

Charles Martel: Battle of Tours 732 AD

-T, Mommsen, p. 226. If we must choose a point at which, rather than at any other,

we are to put the breach between the old and the new, if we t l t th di idi li b t i t

The region of Poietiers and Tours...is the scene of the great victory won by Charles Martel over the Saraceans, A.D. 732, which gave a decisive must select any year as the dividing-line between ancient

history and the Middle Ages, it is impossible to choose a better date than 476. Down to the day on which Flavius Odoacer deposed Augustulus there was always at Rome or

A.D. 732, which gave a decisive check to the career of Arab conquest in Western Europe, rescued Christendom from Islam, preserved the relics of ancient civilization, and p g y

Ravenna a prince who represented in clear heritage the imperial succession that descended from Octavian and Trajan and Constantine.

C O 3

,re-established the old superiority of the Indo-European over the Semitic family of mankind.-Creasy, p. 171.


- C, Oman, p. 3.

The Rise of Monasticism and Islam

The early age of Christianity was the age of monks. Monasticism...encouraged asceticism and otherworldliness, without leading to excess... From the sixth to the tenth centuries, during the times of cultural and economic stagnation that followed the fall of Rome, the monks held the Western world t thtogether.Bishop, p.11-12

During the seventh and eighth centuries the Arabs inspired During the seventh and eighth centuries the Arabs, inspired by Mohammed, conquered half the Western World. Their empire extended from India to Spain, threatening the Eastern Roman Empire and France and Italy...In the year 712 the Arabs crossedEmpire and France and Italy...In the year 712 the Arabs crossed the Pyrenees and briefly held the French coast of the Mediterranean. They mounted a great invasion of France in 732...and were thrown back...by Charles Martel.yBishop, p.18.


R E i Middl ARoman Empire : Middle AgesIn the East

The decision by Constantine to move the capital of the Roman Empire eastward from Rome to Byzantium also had immense consequences for the West, for after the empire’s division into an eastern and western sector, and after the western empire’s

collapse in the wake of the barbarian migrations, a political and cultural vacuum occurred in much of Europeand cultural vacuum occurred in much of Europe. (Tarnas, 160)

The city of Constantinople became the centre of imperial life in the early 5th century with the ascension to the throne of

Justinian (527) His stated intention was to restore the empireJustinian (527). His stated intention was to restore the empire to a state of grandeur… Because Byzantium was Greek

speaking the culture of ancient Greece was kept alive in that centre until the middle of the 15th century, when the city fell to

Justinian I, 527-565

the Ottoman Turks. The removal of much of that culture to the West was a strong influence on the development of the

Renaissance. (Cunningham & Reich, 159 & 175)


Western Medieval Christianity

The first truly great medieval philosopher was Augustine of Hippo a North African rhetorician andAugustine of Hippo, a North African rhetorician and

devotee of Manichaeanism who converted to Christianity under the influence of Ambrose and

devoted his career to the exposition of apphilosophical system that employed neoplatonicelements in support of Christian orthodoxy. The

keynote of Augustine's method is "Credo ut intellegiam" ("I believe in order that Iintellegiam ( I believe in order that I

may understand"), the notion that human reason in general, and philosophy in particular, are useful only

to those who already have faith.yhttp://www.philosophypages.com/hy/3b.htm

Augustine (354-430)Text of The City of God (c 1470)written by Augustine of Hippo around 410-420


tte by ugust e o ppo a ou d 0 0

A summing up by Tarnas:Thus the primitive Christian revelation took on various cultural and intellectual

inflections – Judiac, Greek and Hellenistic, Gnostic and Neoplatonist, Roman and near Eastern – which Christianity brought into an often

contradictory but singularly durable synthesis. Pluralistic in its origins butcontradictory but singularly durable synthesis. Pluralistic in its origins but monolithic in its developed form, that synthesis would effectively govern the

European mind until the Renaissance….And thus, Establish a monotheistic hierarchy in the cosmos through the recognition of one supreme God Establish a monotheistic hierarchy in the cosmos through the recognition of one supreme God ... Reinforce Platonism’s spirit-matter dualism by infusing it with the doctrine of Original Sin, the fall of

man and nature and collective human guilt … Dramatise the relation of the transcendent to the human in terms of God’s rulership of history, the

narrative of the Chosen people, the historical appearance of Christ on earth, and his eventual ki d i f l i d ll l i hi d ireappearance to save mankind in a future apocalyptic age….yet gradually relocating this redemptive

force in the ongoing institutional Church…. Absorb and transform the pagan Mother Goddess mythology into a historicized Christian theology

with the Virgin Mary as the human Mother of God… Diminish the value of observing, analysing or understanding the natural world, and thus to g, y g g ,

deemphasize or negate the rational and empirical faculties in favour of emotional, moral and spiritual…

Renounce the human capacity for independent intellectual or spiritual penetration of the world’s meaning in deference to the absolute authority of the Church and Holy Scripture for the final definition of truth. p. 165.


p

Ch h d St tChurch and StateCharlemagne [c742-814] was crowned g [ ]

emperor of the Roman Empire in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome on

Christmas Day 800 by Pope Leo IIIChristmas Day 800 by Pope Leo III… Charlemagne’s rule was essentially

feudalCunningham & Reich p 197Cunningham & Reich, p. 197.

Charlemagne, after having unitedmuch of Europe by military conquestmuch of Europe by military conquest

to form a Western Christendom in the late 8th century, encouraged a cultural renaissance of scholarship that restedrenaissance of scholarship that rested

as much on classical ideals as Christian.

T 172


Tarnas, 172.

But at the midpoint of the medieval period, around the year 1000, with Europe finally

attaining a measure of political security afterattaining a measure of political security after centuries of invasion and disorganisation,

cultural activity in the West began to quicken on of

ra y g qmany fronts: population increased, agriculture

improved, trade within and beyond the continent grew contacts with neighbouring Islamic andat

ion

al E

r

grew, contacts with neighbouring Islamic and Byzantine cultures became more frequent, cities

and towns emerged along with a literate upper f for

ma

diev

a

class, guilds of workmen formed, and a general rise in the desire for learning led to the founding of universities. The fixed world of the old feudalns

foM

ed

of universities. The fixed world of the old feudal order was giving way to something new.

Tarnas, p. 173.Tran

the


Middle Ages and the Academy

Several contemporary institutions have their roots in the Middle Ages

I have recently discovered that you live dissolutely and slothfully, preferring license to restraint and play to work and have their roots in the Middle Ages.

Trial by jury is one, constitutional monarchy another. By far the best-

p ystrumming the guitar while the others are at their studies, whence it happens that you have read but one volume of y y

known and most widely diffused cultural institution that dates from the Middle Ages is the university

flaw while more industrious companions have read several. I have decided to exhort you herewith to repent utterly to Middle Ages is the university….

Oxford and Cambridge in England; the University of Paris in France; the

p yyour dissolute and careless ways that you may no longer be called a waster and that your shame may be turned to good

University of Bologna in Italy.Cunningham & Reich, p. 233

y grepute.

(Parent to a son at the universityin Orleans, 14th century)


The academy and dialectics

In ancient Greece the work dialectics originally meant the ‘art of conversation’. By the 5th century, dialectics took on the meaning of techniques used to come to logical

fconclusions based on a rigorous style of reasoning. Plato singled out dialectic in the Republic as a mark of the philosopher-king whereas Aristotle saw it containing the ‘path to the principles of all inquiries’.

The rediscovery of dialectic (common medieval term for ‘logic’) coincided with the rise of the university. The study of theology and philosophy were increasingly cast into terms that could be expressed in logic modes like that of the deductive syllogism…

The great weakness of this emphasis was the temptation to turn the logical process into an end in itself: forgetting the search for truth in a desire to dazzle people with the sheer technique of logic. Dante would open Canto X! of the Paradiso with a

iti f h t l t h i h l i d f th h l icritique of such mental pyrotechnics as he complained of those who were useless in their ‘reasoning’ (literally the ‘syllogisms’) that make the wings of the mind bend ‘in downward flight’.

Cunningham & Reich, p.235


A philosopher and his legacyHe who is virtuous is wise; and he ;

who is wise is good; and he who is good is happy.

Boethius, (c480-525)

Boethius sets out a basic problem and provides an answer that would become normative Christian thought for subsequent centuries In The Consolation Boethiusfor subsequent centuries. In The Consolation, Boethius asks how one can reconcile human freedom with with the notion of an all-knowing God. Put another way, if God knows what we do before we do it how can we be said toknows what we do before we do it, how can we be said to be free agents who must accept responsibility for person acts. The answer: … look at the problem from the point of view of God God lives in eternity Eternity means no

Copy of the text Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius

view of God… God lives in eternity.. Eternity means no time… God does not foresee the future… God sees everything in one simple moment…

Cunningham & Reich, p. 158


Cunningham & Reich, p. 158

Culture : East and West

Charlemagne’s reign saw the standardization of monasticism, worship,

i d d ti i th Ch h Thmusic and education in the Church. Thosereforms would give general shape to Western Catholicism that in some ways endured into the modern period Equallyendured into the modern period. Equally important was Charlemagne’s assumption of the title of Holy Roman Emperor. This act would establish a political office that wouldact would establish a political office that would exist in Europe until the end of WW1. It also became a cause for friction between Rome and Constantinople because the Byzantine emperors saw Charlemagne’s act

Crowning of Charlemagne, 25 December 800

because the Byzantine emperors saw Charlemagne s act as an intrusion on their legitimate claim to be the successors of the old Roman Empire.Cunningham & Riech, p. 215.


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Culture : East and West

To those of the Eastern world, the invasion of the Frankish people was not one of enlightenment. It was instead an attempt to conquer a land that was for centuries in the

hands of eastern civilizations ranging from Arabs, Kurds, Armenians, and many more peoplehands of eastern civilizations ranging from Arabs, Kurds, Armenians, and many more people of different ethnic descent. To the Muslims and the non-Muslims of the east, the Crusades was a war of a barbarous nature that needed to be repelled. It was a war against their faith

and their customs. However, the decline of the Arab civilization soon after coming out victorious in the Crusades suggests that there were deeper issues in the conflict between

th t d t Whil th C d d h i d t di fthe west and east. While the Crusades opened up new horizons and new trading areas for the west, the eastern world’s establishments began to decline and deteriorate and the lands

they conquered became lost in the political power struggle between the Arabs….

Th h it f G k i ili ti t itt d t W t E th h A bThe heritage of Greek civilization was transmitted to Western Europe through Arab intermediaries, both translators and continuators. In medicine, astronomy, chemistry,

geography, mathematics, and architecture, the Franj drew their knowledge from Arabic books, which they assimilated, imitated, and then surpassed. Many words bear testimony to this even today: zenith nadir azimuth algebra algorithm or cipher In the realm of industrythis even today: zenith, nadir, azimuth, algebra, algorithm or cipher. In the realm of industry, the Europeans first learned and then later improved upon the processes used by the Arabs

in paper-making, leather-working, textiles, and the distillation of alcohol and sugar – two more words borrowed from the Arabic language.

Maalouf ‘The Crusades through Arab Eyes’


Th C dThe Crusades

The Crusades were a series of military campaigns fought by Catholic, or Latin, Christians in the Middle Ages against peoples who, they believed,

th t i th i t f th iwere threatening the existence of their Christian faith. Some of those campaigns were against Muslimscampaigns were against Muslims, some were against other Christians, and some were against pagans.g p g

Nicholson, p. xxv.


Thomas AquinasIn the Middle Ages, the tradition of systematic critical thinking was

embodied in the writings and teachings of such thinkers as Thomas Aquinas (Sumna Theologica) who, to ensure his thinking met the

test of critical thought always systematically stated consideredtest of critical thought, always systematically stated, considered, and answered all criticisms of his ideas as a necessary stage in

developing them. Aquinas heightened our awareness not only of the potential power of reasoning but also of the need for reasoning

to be systematically cultivated and "cross-examined." Of course, y y ,Aquinas’ thinking also illustrates that those who think critically do not always reject established beliefs, only those beliefs that lack

reasonable foundations. Center for Critical Thinking

http://www.criticalthinking.org/aboutCT/briefHistoryCT.cfm

The recovery of Aristotelian logic by Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century was primarily used to defend the dogmas of Christianity and during the next couple of centuries, other thinkers pursued these goals to defend every aspect of faith with logic Unfortunatelythese goals to defend every aspect of faith with logic. Unfortunately for the Catholic Church, the tools of logic could not be confined to the uses it preferred and it was therefore only a matter of time before the Renaissance humanists would use logic to develop a belief that tradition should be used to promote change.St. Thomas Aquinas 1225-1274


p g

Summary : High Middle Ages

The 12th and 13th centuries were times of intense intellectual ferment and advance. New sources of k l d h h A bi i hknowledge came through Arabic sources either as original contributions (eg medicine and science) or in the form of lost works of the classical past (eg. writings of Aristotle)of Aristotle)… One conspicuous characteristic of medieval culture was its belief that everything knowable could be

d i bl d ti l h lexpressed in a manageable and rational whole. Whether it appeared in stone (Chartres) or technical prose (Thomas Aquinus) or poetry (Dante) the medieval mind saw hierarchy order intelligibility andmedieval mind saw hierarchy, order, intelligibility and above all, God in all of observable creation.

Cunningham & Reich, p. 245.


The Black Plague : transition toThe Black Plague : transition to the Renaissance and modernity

The emergence of the Renaissance [was not] all light and splendour for it arrived in the wake of alight and splendour, for it arrived in the wake of a series of unmitigated disasters and thrived in the midst of continuous upheaval. Beginning in the mid-14th t th bl k l t th h E14th century, the black plague swept through Europe and destroyed a third of the continent’s population, fatally undermining the balance of economic and y gcultural elements that had sustained the high medieval civilisation…. It was against this backdrop of massive cultural decay violence and death thatof massive cultural decay, violence, and death that the ‘rebirth’ of the Renaissance took place….

Tarnas, p. 225.


Middle Ages Summary

Church and State East and West The Academyy


Module 5 : Macro-skills

That is the end of the Module 5 Content: The Middle Ages

Follow the links belowFollow the links belowto commence the macro and micro skills training for this module

The rationale of referencing [link] The limitations of theory

Methodological individualism [link]

Methodological nominalism [link]g [ ]

Philosophies of history [link] Developmental logics [link] Internal logics [link] Internal logics [link]


5. the middle ages - monash arts staff...

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