Download Ch 8 Notes for Sec 4-5

The High or Central Middle Ages
• The Culture of the Middle Ages began to advance
rapidly once people began to live in towns.
• During Middle Ages people began to speak local
languages or use the vernacular. English, Spanish,
Italian and French.
• The songs of the Troubadours were examples of the
earliest use of the vernacular.
• National Epics were also ways of spreading the
vernacular language, King Arthur in England, Song of
Roland in France and the Nibelungenlied in Germany.
• Towns began to consume short comic stories such as the
fabliaux, which poked fun at local traditions. Animal
stories like Reynard the Fox.
We didn’t drop water bombs
Speaking of trade
Dante and Chaucer
• Another form of vernacular were the Miracle Plays,
usually dramas of biblical stories. Noye’s Fludde.
(Noah’s Flood), and Second’s Shepherd’s Tale.
• Medieval Literature reached its zenith in the works of
Geoffrey Chaucer and Dante Alighieri.
• Dante in his Divine Comedy uses Virgil as his guide
through heaven, purgatory, and hell. Dante uses a
vernacular form of Italian to tell his tale.
• Chaucer’s work the Canterbury Tales is required
reading in most English Literature courses. Chaucer
uses his tales to teach, and poke fun at the English and
the clergy.
• At first most of the education was provided by the
Catholic Church. Towns attracted teachers, who
attracted students, and set up schools.
Universities and Philosophy
• Students and Teachers united to form guilds or
universitas or later Universities. Four great Universities,
Oxford, Paris, Salerno, and Bologna.
• Each had its own specialty Oxford and Paris – theology,
Salerno-medicine, and Bologna – Canon and Roman
law.
• The schools set up the requirements for a degree, and
students could earn a Bachelor’s degree – like a
journeyman, or a masters and could teach.
• The works of the ancient Greek and Roman
philosophers came to Medieval Europe from the
Crusades in Spain and the Holy Land.
• They tried to reconcile faith with reason – called
Scholasticism – Thomas Aquinas and Peter Abelard.
Aquinas and Abelard
• Peter Abelard – writes Sic et Non – Yes and No which
raises many questions about Church Doctrine and then
answers them with decisions of the church.
• Thomas Aquinas – wrote Summa Theologica which
summarized church doctrine of the time. Still used by
the Catholic Church.
• In Science most reasoning was deductive not empirical
or derived at by observation. Galen and Ptolomey were
two known authorities and their writings were
considered sacrosanct. The Bible as well
• The study of optics and mathematics were given serious
attention by scientists. Not until the Renaissance is
inductive reasoning applied to science.
Art and Architecture
• Most Art was church sanctioned and dedicated to the
glory of God. 1000-1500 architects who used arches and
domes but with heavy walls and high small windows.
Romanesque style of architecture.
• Gothic architecture, high walls, huge stained glass
windows-the famous rose window. Flying buttresses for
wall support. High spires and tall arches.
• Statues adorned the inside of the church. The play of
light from the large windows emphasized the glory of
God.
• Romanesque-Church of San Vitale and the Cathedral
group at Pisa. Gothic Notre Dame in Paris and Chartres
as well as Reims, and Salisbury Cathedral.
The Hundred Years’ War
• The Hundred year’ war lasted
from 1337 until 1453.
• It started because of the close
ties between England and
France and a dispute over the
succession to the French throne.
• Edward III claimed the throne
of France, the French picked
the Valois, Charles IV.
• England and France also fought
for control of Flanders the rich
trading, and intellectual center
of N. Europe.
The Black Death
• The Black Death or Bubonic Plague swept into
Europe around 1346 AD. It was spread by
merchant ships, rats, and the fleas on those rats.
• Two forms of plague Bubonic, which effected
lymph glands, and pneumonic which effected the
lungs. Over 1/3 of the population of Europe was
wiped out.
• 75 million people worldwide died of the plague.
• The plague changed the face of Europe and the
world and it took Europe over 100 years to
recover. Many people thought it was the end of
the world.
The Church in the
th
13
Century
• The Church on first examination may have
appeared powerful and healthy as an institution.
The H.R.E. Frederick II was dead, a brief
reunion occurred with the Eastern Orthodox
Church.
• The French king Louis IX went on two Crusades,
which ended in misery and death for many
French nobility
• However there were some glaring problems.
Innocent III represented the Catholic Church
and papal power at its zenith. By concentrating
on the secular political world he neglected the
spiritual. Urban IV expanded the church court
system. Rome often came before local interests.
Political Fragmentation of the Church
• The internal political system of the catholic
church began to break down. Rulers tried to
bribe the College of Cardinals.
• Celestine V, a hermit was chosen as Pope, but
died after a short time in office. Boniface VIII
replaced him as Pope.
• Boniface came in direct conflict with English and
French rulers. The English Kings Henry III, and
Edward I help centralize English power.
• Philip IV or the Fair was the real thorn in
Boniface’s side. He was a ruthless politician who
wanted to throw the English out of France.