Culture of the Middle Ages.
The term "Middle" arose during the Renaissance. Time of decline. Conflicting culture.
Western European medieval culture spans more than a thousand years. The transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages was caused by the collapse of the Roman Empire and the great migration of peoples. With the fall of Western Roman history, the beginning of the Western Middle Ages emerged.
Formally, the Middle Ages arose from the collision of Roman history and barbarian history (Germanic beginning). Christianity became the spiritual basis. Medieval culture is the result of a complex contradictory principle of barbarian peoples.
INTRODUCTION
The Middle Ages (Middle Ages) - the era of dominance in Western and Central Europe of the feudal economic and political system and the Christian religious worldview, which came after the collapse of antiquity. Replaced by the Renaissance. Covers the period from the 4th to the 14th centuries. In some regions it persisted even at a much later time. The Middle Ages are conventionally divided into the Early Middle Ages (IV–1st half of the 10th century), the High Middle Ages (2nd half of the 10th–13th centuries) and the Late Middle Ages (XIV–XV centuries).
The beginning of the Middle Ages is most often considered to be the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476. However, some historians proposed to consider the beginning of the Middle Ages to be the Edict of Milan in 313, which meant the end of the persecution of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Christianity became the defining cultural movement for the eastern part of the Roman Empire - Byzantium, and after several centuries it began to dominate in the states of the barbarian tribes that formed on the territory of the Western Roman Empire.
There is no consensus among historians regarding the end of the Middle Ages. It was proposed to consider it as such: the fall of Constantinople (1453), the discovery of America (1492), the beginning of the Reformation (1517), the beginning of the English Revolution (1640) or the beginning of the Great French Revolution (1789).
The term “Middle Ages” (lat. medium ?vum) was first introduced by the Italian humanist Flavio Biondo in his work “Decades of History, Beginning with the Decline of the Roman Empire” (1483). Before Biondo, the dominant term for the period from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the Renaissance was Petrarch's concept of the "Dark Ages", which in modern historiography refers to a narrower period of time.
In the narrow sense of the word, the term “Middle Ages” applies only to the Western European Middle Ages. In this case, this term implies a number of specific features of religious, economic and political life: the feudal system of land tenure (feudal landowners and semi-dependent peasants), the vassalage system (the relationship between feudal lord and vassal), the unconditional dominance of the Church in religious life, the political power of the Church ( the Inquisition, church courts, the existence of feudal bishops), the ideals of monasticism and chivalry (a combination of spiritual practice of ascetic self-improvement and altruistic service to society), the flourishing of medieval architecture - Romanesque and Gothic.
Many modern states arose precisely in the Middle Ages: England, Spain, Poland, Russia, France, etc.
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, and the development of literature, fine arts, and 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 testimony to 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 a complete picture of the world .
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 high 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 appearance and use of windmills and 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 the 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, who to this day remains one of the most famous heroes of world literature.
Developed urban culture. The poetic short stories depicted dissolute and self-interested 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)
4. Medieval culture
Culture can be viewed differently middle ages, some believe that in the Middle Ages there was some kind of cultural stagnation; in any case, they cannot be thrown out of cultural history. After all, even in difficult times there have always been talented people who, despite everything, continued to create. It is impossible to say exactly when the historical period called the Middle Ages or Middle Ages began and ended. This period follows the history of the ancient world and precedes the modern era. It spans about ten centuries and is divided into two stages:
1) early Middle Ages (V–XI centuries);
2) classical Middle Ages (XII–XIV centuries).
Early Middle Ages
The main feature of the early Middle Ages is the spread of Christianity.
Christianity appeared in the first century in Palestine, then, spreading throughout the Mediterranean, in the fourth century it became the state religion of the Roman Empire. Gradually it begins to take shape Institute of Priesthood.
The influence of religion on the cultural life of the Middle Ages was so great that it is impossible to consider cultural achievements without taking into account the important spiritual factor. The church becomes the center of all cultural and social processes in society. That is why it was theology (theology) during the Middle Ages that became the head of all other cultures, which in one way or another had to obey it.
Theology, first of all, had to protect the official church from all kinds of heresies. This concept arose in the early Middle Ages and meant those movements of Christianity that deviated from the official doctrines of the Christian church. They were treated.
1. Monophysitism- a movement that denied the duality of Christ, his Divine-human nature.
2. Nestorianism- a movement that preached the position that the human nature of Christ exists in itself. According to their teaching, Christ was born human, and only then took on divine nature.
3. Adoptian heresy- the doctrine that Christ was born man and then adopted by God.
4. Cathars- a heresy according to which everything earthly and material is the creation of the devil. Its supporters preached asceticism and were against the institution of the church.
5. Waldenses- adherents of heresy who opposed the clergy and the official church, were supporters of asceticism and poverty.
6. Albigensians- a heretical movement that opposed the official church, its dogmas, church land ownership, and the clergy.
The official church did not tolerate heresies and fought in every possible way against their spread. In the classical Middle Ages such a method as Inquisition.
Among the various cultures of the Middle Ages, philosophy can be distinguished.
Philosophy in the Middle Ages was the first “handmaiden” of theology. Among the philosophers who fully satisfied the wishes of theologians, one should highlight Thomas Aquinas(1225–1275 AD) e.). In his works he sought to prove the existence of God. In his opinion, God is the supreme cause of all phenomena and processes, and it is to her that the mind seeking an answer must come.
Astronomy, history, geometry, etc. were considered lower sciences. They were subordinate to philosophy, which itself was subordinate to theology. Therefore, everything created and founded by these sciences was under the constant control of the church. The accumulation of knowledge resulted in the creation of encyclopedias, textbooks on mathematics and medicine. But everywhere there was still a religious dominant that did not give free rein to the thoughts of scientists. The Church even managed to touch artistic creativity. The artist had to strictly follow church canons. First of all, it had to reflect the perfection of the world order. During the early Middle Ages, the Romanesque style in art emerged. All architectural structures of the Romanesque style (temples, castles, monastery complexes) were distinguished by their massiveness, severity, serf character, and great height. The most famous examples of the Romanesque style are such buildings as the Notre Dame cathedrals in Poitiers, Toulouse, Arne (France), the cathedrals in Norwich, Oxford (England), the church of the monastery of Maria Lach (Germany), etc.
In literature, there has been a predominance of works of heroic epic. The most famous works are “The Poem of Beowulf” (England) and “The Elder Eda” (Scandinavia). These works belonged to oral poetry and were transmitted by singer-musicians.
In addition to the epic, during the early Middle Ages there were widespread sagas The most famous of them were “The Saga of Egil”, “The Saga of Njal”, “The Saga of Eric the Red”, etc. The sagas told about the past, they were sources from which one can learn about ancient peoples.
Classical Middle Ages
During the classical period of the Middle Ages, the influence of religion on cultural life became even more significant. Of great importance, as mentioned above, have become widespread Inquisition(from lat. inqusitio –"wanted") Inquisitions were church trials of non-believers. Inquiries were carried out using torture, after which public executions were carried out when heretics were burned (auto-da-fé). IN period of the classical Middle Ages in art there was a predominance gothic style, which replaced the Romanesque style. The architecture of the Gothic style was characterized by the fact that the temple buildings seemed to be carried upward by slender columns, the windows were decorated stained glass, the towers had openwork decorations, many curved statues and complex ornaments. Vivid examples of the Gothic style in architecture are Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Notre Dame Cathedral in Reims, Notre Dame Cathedral in Amiens (France), etc. A new direction appears in literature - knightly literature. Its main character is a feudal warrior. Vivid monuments of knightly literature are such works as “The Song of Roland” about the campaigns of Charlemagne (France), “Tristan and Isolde” - a tragic novel about the love of the knight Tristan and the wife of the Cornish king Isolde (Germany), “The Song of My Side” ( Spain), “The Song of the Nibelungs” - a legend about the destruction of the Nibelungs by the Huns (Germany).
During the classical Middle Ages appears church theater. During liturgies, small skits on biblical themes began to be staged. (mysteries). Later, these sketches began to be staged outside the church, and scenes from ordinary people’s lives were added to religious themes. (farces).
At the beginning of the fourteenth century, interest in the human personality intensified in cultural life. This marks the advent of a new period in the development of Western European culture - Renaissance, which is also called Renaissance.
Renaissance (Renaissance)
The first trends towards the advent of a new cultural era emerged in Italy back in the thirteenth century, while the Renaissance came to the rest of Western European countries only in the fourteenth century.
At its initial stage, the Renaissance was presented as a return to the achievements of antiquity. In Italy, forgotten literary works and other cultural monuments of antiquity began to emerge. But one should not assume that the Renaissance is just a retelling of the culture of the ancient world. By absorbing all the best from ancient cultural values, the Renaissance created its own vision of the world, in the center of which is man. Unlike the opinions of the ancient world, according to which man should learn from nature, according to the thinkers of the Renaissance, man is the creator of his own destiny, he is able to do what he wants, even when separated from nature. By this, the Renaissance contradicts the teachings of the Middle Ages, according to which the head of the world is not man, but God, the Creator.
The new direction of thinking is called humanism(from lat. humanus –"humane"). This idea, placing man at the center of everything, influenced people’s desire for personal success, which is possible with constant development, enrichment of their scientific and cultural knowledge, and development of creative energy. As a consequence of this approach, there is a huge cultural heritage that the Renaissance left us. And above all, this High Renaissance, to which the cultural period in Italy belongs.
Italian Renaissance
As already mentioned, the Renaissance period began in Italy back in the thirteenth century. This initial period, which lasted from the thirteenth to the early fourteenth centuries, was called Proto-Renaissance. The basis for the Italian Renaissance was given by such cultural figures as painters Pietro Cavallini(c. 1240/1250-1330)– author of the mosaic in the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, the frescoes in the Church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere; Giotto di Bondone(1266/1267-1337) – his frescoes are in the Chapel del Arena in Padua and in the Church of Santa Croce in Florence; poet and creator of the Italian literary language Dante Alighieri(1265–1321) (story “New Life”, poem “Divine Comedy”, etc.); sculptor and architect Arnolfo Di Cambio(c. 1245–1310)(Church of San Domenico in Orvieto); sculptor Niccolo Lizano(c. 1220–1278/1284)- He owns the pulpit of the Baptistery in Pisa.
The Renaissance itself in Italy is usually divided into three stages:
1) early Renaissance (tricento and quatricento)(mid-XIV–XV centuries);
2) high Renaissance (cinquecento)(end of the 15th – mid-16th centuries);
3) late Renaissance(second third of the 16th – first half of the 17th centuries).
The literary creativity of the early Renaissance is primarily associated with such names as Giovanni Boccaccio(1313–1357) And Francesco Petrarca(1304–1374).
Main achievement Petrarch is that he was the first humanist who put man at the center of everything. His most famous work is “Canzoniere” (“Book of Songs”), consisting of sonnets, ballads and madrigals on the life and death of Madonna Laura.
Work Giovanni Boccaccio “The Decameron,” consisting of several short stories, is permeated with humanistic ideas; it remains very instructive to this day, although it was created more than six hundred years ago.
In the fine arts of the early Renaissance, it is worth noting the outstanding Italian painter Sandro Botticelli(1445–1510). Most of his works were of a religious and mythological nature, permeated with spiritual sadness, lightness, and distinguished by a subtle coloring. His most famous masterpieces: “Spring” (1477–1478), “Birth of Venus” (c. 1483–1484), “Lamentation of Christ” (c. 1500), “Venus and Mars” (1483 .), “Saint Sebastian” (1474), “Pallas and the Centaur” (1480), etc.
Among the sculptors of the early Renaissance in Italy, the most famous is the representative of the Florence school Donato di Niccolo Betto Bardi, better known as Donatello(1386–1466). He created new forms of sculpture: the type of round statue and sculptural group. An example would be his works such as “David” (1430), “Judith and Holofernes” (1456–1457).
Another talented sculptor and architect of the early Renaissance Philippe Brunelleschi(1377–1446). He was the creator of the theory of linear perspective. Based on the architecture of antiquity, he constantly used the achievements of modernity and introduced innovative ideas into his works. That is why his architectural structures (Pazzi Chapel in the courtyard of the Church of Santa Croce, the dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, etc.) can rightfully be called the standard of engineering and construction thought.
The High Renaissance is associated with the names of three great artists: Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael And Michelangelo Buonarroti.
Leonardo da Vinci(1452–1519) was a painter, architect, sculptor, scientist and engineer. There are few cultural figures who could be compared with a brilliant creator and thinker. The title of his painting “La Gioconda” cannot leave anyone indifferent; everyone immediately understands what work we are talking about. This portrait became the most famous portrait not only of the Renaissance, but, perhaps, in the entire history of culture.
The image of man in the works of Leonardo da Vinci fully corresponds to the ideas of humanism and carries high ethical content. It is worth looking at least at the famous painting “The Last Supper” in the monastery of Santa Maria della Grazie in Milan, where all the characters have very clear and distinct facial expressions and understandable gestures. The artist’s sketches are well known (“Heads of Warriors”, “Saint Anne with Mary, the Child Christ and John the Baptist”, “Women’s Hands” and “Women’s Head”), in which he very successfully conveys the emotions, feelings of the characters, their inner world. Leonardo da Vinci's notes have been preserved, in which he himself talks about his many-sided talents and the possibility of using them.
Another prominent artist of the High Renaissance Rafael Santi(1483–1520). His enormous talent was revealed already at an early stage of his work. An example of this is his painting “Madonna Conestabile” (c. 1502–1503). Raphael's works are the embodiment of the humanistic ideal, the strength of man, his beauty and spirituality. Perhaps the most famous work of the master is the Sistine Madonna, painted in 1513.
Closes the top three legendary Italian painters Michelangelo Buonarroti(1475–1564). His most famous artistic work is the painting of the vault of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican Palace (1508–1512). But Michelangelo Buonarroti was not only a talented painter. The master gained fame as a sculptor after his work “David”. In it, he, like a true humanist, admires human beauty.
In the literature of the high Renaissance it is worth highlighting the Italian poet Ludovico Ariosto(1474–1533), the author of the heroic knightly poem “Furious Roland” (1516), imbued with the ideas of humanism, and the comedies “The Warlock” (1520) and “The Pimp” (1528), permeated with subtle irony and lightness.
The further development of humanistic ideas was hampered by the church, which tried in every possible way to restore the rights that it had in the Middle Ages. Various repressive measures were taken that were directed against cultural figures. This could not but affect the further development of Renaissance culture. As a result, many creative people began to move away from the ideas of humanism, leaving only the skills that the masters of the early and high Renaissance achieved. This programming, with which cultural figures began to work, was called mannerism. And of course, it cannot lead to anything good, because all creative meaning is lost. But despite the leading position of mannerism, there were masters who still followed humanistic ideals. Among them were artists Paolo Veronese(1528–1588), Jacopo Tintoretto(1518–1594), Michelangelo da Caravaggio(1573–1610), sculptor Benvenuto Cellini(1500–1571).
The end of the Renaissance was marked by the publication of the List of Prohibited Books in 1559 by order of Pope Paul IV. This list was constantly replenished, and disobedience to this instruction was punished by excommunication. The “List of Prohibited Books” also includes works of the Renaissance, for example books Giovanni Boccaccio.
So, by the forties of the seventeenth century, the last stage of the Italian Renaissance, the late Renaissance, had ended.
But the Renaissance affected not only Italy, there was also the so-called Northern Renaissance, which belonged to such countries as England, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, etc. These countries cannot be left without attention, since their culture at this stage is no less significant than the culture of Italy, and even on the contrary, very interesting although would be the fact that it did not have such a rich ancient cultural layer as Italy had, and was formed during the difficult period of the Reformation.
Northern Renaissance
The literature of the Northern Renaissance reached great heights.
In the Netherlands, the flowering of literature is associated primarily with the name Erasmus of Rotterdam(1469–1536). The most famous works of this humanist are “Praise of Folly” (1509) and “Home Conversations”. In them, he ridicules many vices and calls people to free-thinking and the pursuit of knowledge. In France, the ideas of humanism were developed in their literary works Francois Rabelais(1494–1553) (his magnum opus "Gargantua and Pantagruel") and Michel de Montaigne(1533–1592), who affirmed the ideas of rationalism in his main work “Experiments”.
The work of the Spanish writer had a huge influence on world literature Miguel de Cervantes(1547–1616). It is especially worth noting his main work, the novel Don Quixote. It is the standard for humanistic literature. Cervantes' compatriot, another Spanish writer Lope de Vega(1562–1635) thanks to his works “Dog in the Manger”, “Blood of the Innocents”, “Star of Seville”, “Dancing Teacher”, etc., he remains relevant today. Having raised issues that are important to every person, it does not lose its novelty and significance today.
And finally, in England, Renaissance literature is associated with the name of an outstanding author William Shakespeare(1564–1616). He owns thirty-seven plays (“Hamlet”, “Othello”, “King Lear”, “Richard III”, “Romeo and Juliet” and many others), the productions of which to this day do not leave theater stages all over the world.
It was thanks to W. Shakespeare that theatrical art in England received enormous development during the Renaissance.
There were outstanding creators not only in the literary environment. Painting received a big boost. Major painters in the Netherlands were Jan Van Eyck(c. 1390–1441)- author of a new technique of oil painting at that time, Hieronymus(c. 1460–1516), France Hale(1581/1585-1666) - virtuoso painter, Pieter Bruegel(1525–1569). And perhaps the most significant names in the world of painting are Peter Paul Rubens(1577–1640) And Harmens Van Rijn Rembrandt(1606–1669). Rubens's works are characterized by pomp, high spirits, and a lot of decorations and decorations. The main theme of his works were religious and mythological subjects (“The Union of Earth and Water” (1618), “Perseus and Andromeda” (early 1620), “The Judgment of Paris” (1638–1639)), as well as portraits (“Portrait of Helena Faurment with her children” (c. 1636), “The Chambermaid” (c. 1625)). Rembrandt mainly painted portraits, which were characterized by extreme accuracy and vitality of the images. For example, it is worth noting his portraits “Portrait of Floris Soop”, “Philosopher”, “Rembrandt’s Mother”, etc. Rembrandt also painted paintings on religious (“Return of the Prodigal Son”) and historical (“Conspiracy of Julius Civilis”) themes.
Among the German painters, it is worth noting the masters of realistic portrait Hans Holbein the Younger(1497/1498– 1543), humanist Grunewald (1470/1475-1528), as well as a graphic artist Lucas Cranach the Elder(1427–1553).
Spanish painting has reached great heights thanks to the work of great artists El Greco(1541–1614) (“Opening of the fifth seal”, “Savior of the world”, “Christ drives out the merchants on the hill”, “Descent of the Holy Spirit”, etc.) and Diego Velazquez(1599–1660) (“Surrender of Breda”, “Breakfast”, “Portrait of Prince Carlos Balthazar on a Pony”).
The Renaissance, which originated in Italy, was of such great importance for the culture of the whole world that it could not remain in the territory of one state and spread throughout Western Europe. In each country, the Renaissance had its own national characteristics, but there were also many similarities. Firstly, the idea of humanism, characteristic of the Renaissance in all countries, which can be seen in most works of art. And although the church tried in every possible way to stop the development of this new thinking of people, sometimes resorting to the most extreme measures, the Renaissance was the basis for all further cultures of Western European civilizations and even largely influenced the cultures of the countries of the East.
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At the end of the Middle Ages
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? The concept of “Middle Ages”, 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, originate in the Middle Ages (the idea of the value of human life, the idea that an ugly body is not an obstacle to spiritual perfection, attention to the inner world of man, the belief in the impossibility of appearing 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 (by origin - often 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.
Many researchers consider the monopolization of military affairs by the ruling class to be one of the most important signs of feudalism. 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 the 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 helped to overcome feudal fragmentation - a characteristic feature of 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 feature was characteristic of Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece (Greek colonization), and 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, the directional movement of 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 of 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 of the Catholic Church on society and the state as a consequence of the strengthening of royal power based on cities, the decreasing 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.
Bibliography
- Bakhtin M. M. The work of Francois Rabelais and folk culture of the Middle Ages.
- Gurevich A. Ya. Categories of medieval culture.
- Gurevich A. Ya. Kharitonov D. E. History of the Middle Ages.
- Kulakov A.E. Religions of the world Theory and history of world culture (Western Europe).
- Yastrebitskaya A.P. Western Europe of the 11th-13th centuries: era, life, costume.
Culturologists call the Middle Ages a long period in the history of Western Europe between Antiquity and Modern Times. This period spans more than a millennium from the 5th to the 15th centuries.
Folk culture this era is a new and almost unexplored topic in science. The ideologists of feudal society managed not only to push the people away from the means of recording their thoughts and moods, but also to deprive researchers of subsequent times of the opportunity to restore the main features of their spiritual life. “The great dumb”, “the great absentee”, “people without archives and without faces” - this is what modern historians call the people in an era when direct access to the means of recording cultural values in writing was denied. The folk culture of the Middle Ages was unlucky in science. Usually, when they talk about it, they mention at most the remnants of the ancient world and epic, the remnants of paganism.
Early Middle Ages - from the end of the 4th century. The “great migration of peoples” began. Wherever the rule of Rome took deeper roots, “Romanization” captured all areas of culture: the dominant language was Latin, the dominant law was Roman law, the dominant religion was Christianity. The barbarian peoples who created their states in the ruins of the Roman Empire found themselves either in a Roman or Romanized environment. However, it should be noted the crisis of the culture of the ancient world during the period of the barbarian invasion.
High (classical) Middle Ages- at the first stage of late feudalism (XI-XII centuries), crafts, trade, and city life were poorly developed. Feudal landowners reigned supreme. During the classical period, or high Middle Ages, Western Europe began to overcome difficulties and revive. The so-called knightly literature emerges and develops. One of the most famous works is the greatest monument of the French folk heroic epic - “The Song of Roland”. During this period, the so-called “urban literature” rapidly developed, which was characterized by a realistic depiction of the urban everyday life of various segments of the urban population, as well as the appearance of satirical works. Representatives of urban literature in Italy were Cecco Angiolieri and Guido Orlandi (late 13th century).
Late Middle Ages continued the processes of formation of European culture that began during the classical period. During these periods, uncertainty and fear ruled the masses. Economic growth is followed by long periods of recession and stagnation.
In the Middle Ages, a complex of ideas about the world, beliefs, mental attitudes and systems of behavior, which could conventionally be called “folk culture” or “folk religiosity,” was in one way or another the property of all members of society. The medieval church, wary and suspicious of the customs, faith and religious practices of the common people, was influenced by them. The entire cultural life of European society of this period was largely determined by Christianity.