CULTURE OF THE MIDDLE AGES: HISTORY, RELIGION, LITERATURE, ART - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The culture of the Middle Ages or medieval was marked from its beginnings by matters of political, economic and social restructuring. The fall of the Western Roman Empire revealed the need for a new organization.

One of the great influential elements was religion, which would be the new basis for the major changes in the way of life during this time. The Christianization of the population was one of the most important activities.

Copy of 5th century Byzantine mosaic Portrait of Christ

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Middle Ages is a period of a thousand years that is usually located between the fall of the Roman Empire between the 4th and 5th centuries and the arrival of the Renaissance in the 14th and 15th centuries. It is part of the history of Europe.

The term "Middle Ages" is after the time. Its authorship is usually attributed to the Italian humanists. Many references are taken about the different scholars who tried to divide the story.

One of the most popular is that of Petrarca, an influential 14th century humanist. He located the beginning of the Middle Ages in the 4th century with the Christianization of the Roman emperors.

The Middle Ages are often seen as the time of reigning darkness and repression, however, it was not exempt from giving rise to great artistic manifestations that were part of the culture of the time and that still prevail today.

Religion

Rise to power

Christianity played an important role in the Middle Ages and had been gaining strength since the time of the previous Empire. From the fourth century on, the high offices of the religious clergy were taking a certain sacramental authority that was at the same level as civil affairs.

By the 5th and 6th centuries, bishops even replaced local governments, taking over the administration of city affairs.

The large number of rural population posed a challenge for Christianization. Added to this are the "pagan" beliefs that went against Christian ideals, which should be eradicated. Religion served as an instrument to regulate people in a new structuring that ranged from the political to the cultural.

The influence of the Church even reached the kings. These had to maintain a good relationship with religion. The power of the leading members of Christianity was such that bishops could raise armies in times of need.

Influence on the population

The church established the sacraments as fundamental principles. Many of the monks were instructed in reading and writing, things that the common people did not learn to do. It was the monks who taught the children, especially the sons of nobles and also made copies of books by hand.

Church practices also include the introduction of processions and holy days when no work could be done. Besides, they used the theater as a way of transmitting religious content.

In everyday life many people chose to join the clergy in church or monastery and many knights believed in the redemption of their sins by going to the crusades. There was also the idea that the pilgrimage would reduce the time of sentence in purgatory.

Those people who did not profess the Catholic Christian faith were persecuted. Pagan traditions were common among the poorest populations of society, in this sector many were condemned to the stake for being discovered in offensive practices to the church.

As for life in monasteries, the monks lived in much healthier conditions than in towns and villages. Out of duty they fulfilled vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

Conceptions of life and death in the Middle Ages

The theme of death had a great impact on medieval societies. It was a constant element and manifested itself in a common way. High rates of mortality, disease, adding the war conflicts and the deficiency in medicine, made death a fact to which many beliefs adhered.

The idea that the presence in this life was only a test for the transition to the hereafter, moved people to follow the Christian tradition for salvation. Not sinning, fulfilling the sacraments and doing well were fundamental principles to be accepted in a life beyond death.

However, there was also a relationship between the way of dying and the afterlife. People worried about having a "good death", which used to be seen as a death in bed, surrounded by loved ones and family, with a parent interceding to perform the last rites.

It was thought that in this way the ultimate forgiveness was granted and a better path to the afterlife was ensured. On the contrary, "evil death", without forgiveness of sins, suggested a prolonged stay in purgatory and even the possibility of hell.

The idea of ​​purgatory was integrated into Catholic doctrine by the 13th century. It was recognized as a place where souls with more or less moderate sins would seek full purification in order to ascend to heaven. During this time people used to pray for the dead to help them shorten the length of their time in purgatory.

Literature

The literate population was scarce during the Middle Ages, the majority could not read or write, only select groups, including ecclesiastics, had the ability to produce and deal with texts. In this way, most of the people were used to knowing books through listening. Learning through reading was far from what it is today. People learned together more than privately.

The themes in literature ranged from the religious to the fantastic and adventurous. Stories of knights, love, battles, heroes and crimes of sinful people. Texts were also written in Latin that were mostly intended for an audience related to the clergy.

Literature, however, did not only manifest itself through books. The fabrics, the murals and even the wood carvings, were elements that told stories. Many of these productions reflected scenes from religious or secular scenes. For example, rugs, which were largely used by the upper classes of society.

Unlike the textile productions, the murals had better luck in being preserved. Most of them can be found in churches. In them the religious theme is common that includes the stories of the saints and the life of Christ.

Among other curiosities of the Middle Ages there are also books related to the food of the rich houses of the nobles. Other texts also include sections of medicinal remedies of the time.

Medieval art

The long period that defines the Middle Ages witnessed various artistic manifestations. These were marked by periods and zones.

Byzantine Empire

Art in the Byzantine Empire, which made up the region of the Roman Empire that survived, was characterized by moving away from naturalism and being two-dimensional in character. They used to focus on the representation of religious figures and motifs. Bright colors are predominant.

Carolingian art

Carolingian art in Charlemagne's time was born with the idea of ​​using the model of the Christian Empire of Constantine. Unlike Byzantine art, here the aim was to recover three-dimensionality and improve the perception of space.

Gothic art

Another outstanding manifestation is Gothic art. The most outstanding sector is architecture. The structures began to have a great vertical elevation, with pointed vaults, domed roofs and stained glass windows. An example of the pioneering constructions in Gothic architecture is the Basilica of Saint-Denis.

Notre Dame Cathedral. Example of Gothic architecture.

Image by Markus Naujoks from Pixabay

Roman architecture incorporates the use of sculpture as decoration. For the Upper Gothic period, pinnacles, capitals and a characteristic circular window known as a rose window were included. Notre Dame Cathedral is one of the most iconic structures of this period of Gothic art.

Viking art

For its part, Viking art leaned towards the ornamental. It was produced in Scandinavia and in its various settlements abroad. It focused on the representation of animal forms. The figures were made of materials such as wood, metal, cloth and any material that allowed carving or sculpting.

Medieval society

The structure that was implemented in the Middle Ages was rigid. People used to maintain the social class they were born with throughout life. The high positions of hierarchy were mainly occupied by the nobles and the clergy.

The church influenced all levels of society regardless of social class. He even had influence over kings.

Many of the members of the clergy, such as bishops, priests, monks and nuns had roles that were linked to the spiritual life of the people.

For example, priests were in charge of watching over the spiritual life of people. They were responsible for the absolution of sins and for giving the messages that came from the higher command such as the bishops.

References

1. 1. Groeneveld E. (2018). Viking Art. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Recovered from ancient.eu
   2. Cartwright, M. (2018) Byzantine Art. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Recovered from ancient.eu
   3. Beginnings of Gothic Art and Architecture. The Art Story. Recovered from theartstory.org
   4. Graham-Campbell, J. Horn, S. Jansson, I. Viking art. Oxford Press. Oxford Art Online. Recovered from oxfordartonline.com
   5. White, T. (2018). Experiencing medieval literature. British Library. Recovered from bl.uk
   6. Ross N. Carolingian art, an introduction. Khan Academy. Recovered from khanacademy.org
   7. Stearns. P, Herrin. J (2019). The Middle Ages. Encyclopædia Britannica. Recovered from britannica.com
   8. Religion through time in the UK. BBC. Recovered from bbc.co.uk
   9. The Middle Ages. Northeastern Educational Television of Ohio. Recovered from westernreservepublicmedia.org