The Middle Ages

Lets get medieval!The Middle AgesFeudalism A political and economic system based on the relationship of lord to servantMonasticism A way of life in which a higher level of religious experience is pursued by living together in a small communityCodex Parchment papers bound together between hard coversTrope Elaborations on texts that were commonly used during Catholic massMonophony Music with one melodic line (One sound)Polyphony Music with multiple melodic lines (Many sounds)Strophic Songs with several stanzas that are sung to the same melodyVocabularyTroubadours Traveling poets/musiciansChivalry A more feminine code of conduct and ethicsAllegory A story that uses symbols and figurative language to represent a spiritual messageMystery play A religious play performed by occupational guildsSecularism The rejection of religion and religious considerationsRomance Literary form containing long narratives about knights and ladies

VocabularyThe Middle Ages, or Medieval Period, spans the time between the fall of the Roman empire(c400C.E.) and the beginning of the Renaissance (c1450C.E.) Virtually every part of life during the Middle Ages was influenced heavily by religionSociety functions under the Feudal systemFeudal communities develop around the amount of land the lords owned and farmedDuring the latter part of the Middle Ages, the rise of a Middle Class leads to industrialization and the rebirth of citiesThe Middle AgesThe Rise of CharlemangeCreated the first centralized government in Europe since the fall of RomeThe CrusadesSeries of holy wars to drive the Muslims out of sacred areas like JerusalemThe Hundred Years WarA lengthy series of battles over territory in France between the French and the EnglishAlso contained the exploits of Joan of ArcRise of the Middle ClassDevelopment of merchants and trade guilds created a wealthier type of citizen that narrowed the gap between nobles and peasants Important Events of the Middle Ages

UniversitiesHad no official buildings or classrooms. Consisted of groups of scholars who sought knowledge for the sake of knowledgeSpanish InquisitionA group of Catholics who persecuted Jews and others that they believed to be in league with Satan in order to get them to repent and convert to Christianity. The Inquisition often used torture as a means of achieving this goalThe Black PlaguePlague epidemic that swept through Europe and killed nearly 1/3 of the entire populationImportant Events of the Middle Ages

IndustrializationAdvancements in textile manufacturing, metalworking, and printing developed to fulfill the rising demand for products and helped the young Middle Class developThe Gutenberg Printing PressThe first printing press with movable type greatly increased the speed books could be produced and made education much more available to the populationRise of ChivalryA reaction to the masculine dominance of feudalism. A code of conduct that was developed to emphasize service, manners, and morality for knights and nobles. Also brought about the concept of courtly love

Important Events of the Middle AgesInitially focused on the presence of the devil and the fear of being sent to HellThis cultivated a kind of fascination with demons and the devil in the arts, especially theatreDuring the High Middle Ages a shifting of focus occurred that emphasized the Virgin Mary and the newborn Christ childThis transition occurred alongside the development of Chivalry and is reflected in Gothic style artThe Medieval Church

The Feudal system granted political and military power to a wealthy landownerLandowners comprised the nobility during this time (dukes, counts, etc.)Knights would swear oaths of allegiance to the landowners that would exchange food and shelter for military serviceSerfs or peasants would also be in service to the landownerA serf was not permitted to be educated and had to serve the landowner in exchange for food and shelterThe life of a serf was bound to the land and they would have to serve whomever owned the land at the time

FeudalismFeudal lords owned large amounts of farm land which formed the base of the feudal communityAgriculturally based communities existing of the landowner and the servantsFighting among feudal lords for land and money was constantThe system associated power with land so landowners constantly sought to gain more land and power through violenceFeudalism

In an effort to rid themselves of the temptations of the world, people sought solitude to devote themselves to their faithMonasticismThese people founded MonasteriesFunctioned as small farming communitiesDaily life was devoted to serving God in some wayMonks were also educated enough to read and writeMonasteries became the outposts of charity during the Middle AgesDuring the transition from the Early Middle Ages into the High Middle Ages, there was a shift in the social order of EuropeA group of entrepreneurs helped usher in advancements in industries such as mining, metallurgy, and printingThe Gutenberg Press greatly changed the way books were made and directly impacted education throughout the worldThis growth of industry led to the emergence of a Middle Class to narrow the gap between nobles and peasantsShift in Social OrderGrowing industry also helped to revive cities in place of the feudal farming communitiesThe economic growth of society helped reestablish the power of medieval kings as they developed centralized governments to make laws and tax the peopleUniversities grew out of the monastery system and became places of learning for those who wished to gain knowledge for the sake of knowledgeEarly universities didnt have official buildings or classroomsThey met wherever they could gather to hear lecturesDiscussion of Class Structure

Shift in Social OrderAs a feminine response to the overtly masculine nature of feudalism, the concept of Chivalry emerged in the 12th centuryChivalry emphasized a code of behavior for knights and nobles that focuses on courtly traditionsA chivalrous knight was skilled in battle, loved and served a Lady from afar, showed compassion and mercy to the downtroddenChivalry also introduces the idea of courtly love which became the focus of the literary form of romanceChivalry

A rejection of religion and religious considerationsThe growth of Secularism comes as a result of learning and the growing distance between religion and politicsWhat secularism ultimately represents is a shifting of focus away from religion to the material world we live inSecular arts become more prominent and appreciated during the High Middle Ages

SecularismChristian painting during the early Middle Ages served several purposesReflection of belief in another lifeAiding rites of the ChurchDepicting and recording Christian historyChristians began to develop Manuscript Illuminations (Images that correlate to the text of the Bible)Illuminations were made possible by the introduction of the codex (early form of book)PaintingPainting

The Gothic Style developed during the latter part of the Middle Ages in the area around Paris, FranceCharacteristics of Gothic style include:Beginnings of three-dimensionalityUse of space to give images mobilityExpression of spiritualityReflecting the more feminine aspects of Chivalry and the refocusing of the Medieval Church, Gothic paintings focus on the Virgin Mary

Painting

The most prominent and expressive style of architecture during the Middle ages was the Gothic styleGothic architecture is characterized byUse of windowsPointed archesFlying buttressesThe pointed arches and flying buttresses helped to distribute the weight of the stone used in building the cathedrals in a way that allowed more windows to be added to the structureThis gave Gothic structures more interior light than previous churchesArchitecture

The most well known and established form of Gothic architecture is the Gothic CathedralOne of the most famous Gothic cathedrals is the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, FranceThe name Notre Dame means Our Lady which is a reference to the Virgin MaryArchitectureNotre Dame Cathedral

An early form of Church drama was the tropeTropes were simple illustrations of the texts that were read during mass.On special occasions tropes would be performed in various sections of the church and viewers would walk around the church in a cycle to see the various scenes of a storyMystery PlaysDuring the High Middle Ages, drama emerged that featured Bible stories performed by occupational guilds.

TheatreStaging for plays during the Middle Ages began inside the churchEventually, theatre moved outside of the churches and into the town squareStages were rectangular in shape and meant to be viewed from either of the sidesOne of the most prominent features of Medieval staging was the hellmouthThis was the place where the sinners were cast or dragged into HellHellmouths became very intricate and were the most impressive special effects of the early stageTheatreTheatre

In northern parts of Europe, stages would be built onto wagons that would travel through the city like a paradeEach wagon would feature a different stage with actors performing a different scene in one play

Theatre

EverymanThe most famous play that remains from the Middle Ages is EverymanEveryman is an allegory (story with a religious message that is revealed through figurative language and symbolThe play itself is a morality playA morality play teaches a religious lesson through the use of allegory

Theatre

Everyman cont.In the play, Death comes to take Everyman to his final judgment. Along the way Everyman tries to convince other characters whose names are qualities that people can possess (Fellowship, Kindred, Good deeds, etc.)Good Deeds is the only one who agrees to travel with Everyman but he is weak from neglect and cannot travelEveryman then performs penance(an act to absolve him of sins) and Good Deeds is revived and travels with Everyman until the very end.The allegory here is that if every man performs penance and asks for the forgiveness of God, their good deeds will stay with them until the final judgment.

TheatreMusic during the Middle Ages falls into two categories Sacred ReligiousSecular Non-religiousBy the year 500CE a strong body of monophonic music called plainchant had emerged for use in church servicesPlainchant is often called Gregorian Chant because of the influence that Pope Gregory I had on the selection of the melodies and chants used in the churchPlainchant uses a single melodic line that is sungMost plainchant involves reading from texts that were regularly used during the Catholic MassThe Kyrie was typically the first one to be sungKyrie is a prayer for mercy upon the congregation Music

Polyphony emerged between the 8th and 10th centuriesSongs that contained more than one melodic lineSecular music became more prominent in the 11th centurySongs that were sung in the language of the common people as opposed to the Latin used in church services helped increase the popularity of these songsMost songs were strophic (several stanzas sung to the same melody) and featured love as a prominent themeMusicAround the Mediterranean coast of France, Spain, and Italy a new class of performer emerged: the TroubadourTroubadours were poets and musicians who performed for courts and played a variety of instrumentsSome of the instruments troubadours usedHarpViols or FiddlesFlutesTrumpetsDrums

Music

Dance during the Middle Ages was very limited by the Medieval ChurchMost likely this was due to the pagan use of dance in religious ceremoniesEarly dances were comprised of ring dances where participants danced within a circleMore formal dance presentations were performed in courtsMost dances were reactions to the frightening world that the people were living inThis lead to the introduction of the Danse Macabre (Dance of Death) which sometimes featured Death as a character in the danceAnother ring dance from the Middle Ages is the tarantellaThis dance was performed in order to heal the victims of spider bites (Specifically tarantula bites)It would be used later as a courtship danceTarantella DanceDanceDuring the Middle Ages we find examples of both Sacred and Secular literatureSacred literature involved stories of a religious nature with some kind of religious message at their coreGeoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales contains several stories that are told by the principal characters while they journey to the tomb of Thomas a Becket in Canterbury.Each characters story reveals something about who they are and what they valueChaucers work was very ambitious but remains unfinished because of his deathAnother piece of religious literature is the Divine Comedy by Dante AlighieriDantes work describes the journey of a soul after deathThe Divine Comedy is told using an allegory

LiteratureMost secular literature from the Middle Ages comes in the form of legendsOne of the most well known legends of the Middle Ages is BeowulfBeowulf is the oldest document to be written in the English language (Although it is written in Old English)The story of Beowulf contains several adventures including Beowulfs battle with the monster Grendel, Grendels mother, and a dragonLiterature

Beowulf (Old English)

Secular writing also manifests itself in the form of the RomanceRomance grew as a literary form alongside the rise of Chivalry and typically featured the adventures of knightsSir Thomas Mallorys Le Morte dArthur is one of the most well known medieval romancesMallory gathered the various stories of the legendary King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table

Literature