Ch. 4 Sec. 2 Medieval Culture

Flowering of Medieval Culture due to:

• Expansion of trade and commerce

• Rise of wealthy class/bourgeoisie

• Importance of education and the arts

Importance of Religion

• Cathedrals built to glorify god, art and the people

• Took years to complete

• Expensive to build

• Dominated the skyline and life in towns and cities

Architectural Types:

• Romanesque– Early 1000’s

– Influenced by Roman architecture

– Rounded arches and domed roof

– Outside walls thick

– Small windows

• Gothic– 1050 - 1300

– Tall, light, airy

– Flying butress support weight of the roof

– Walls thin, higher and windowed

– Tall arches

Romanesque Gothic

Literature:

• Vernacular– Languages of the regions developed

• British, German, Scandinavia based on German

• France, Italian, Spain strongly influenced by Latin

• Troubadours spread the use of vernacular languages– Chanson de geste or a long narrative poem ‘Song of

Roland’

• Fables: humorous poems mocking nobles• Dante ‘Divine Comedy’ (Dante and Virgil

talk to great historical figures such as Homer about Hell, Purgatory and Heaven) written in Italian vernacular so it could be read by many

• G. Chaucer ‘Canterbury Tales’, talks about lives of ordinary people!

Centers of Learning:

• Churches, monastaries, Cathedrals

• Towns attracted scholars– Universities: group of scholars and students– Eventually came under the control of the

church– Had to obtain official charters– Often officials were members of the church

• Student interests protected

• Excluded women• Trained for positions

in the church and universities

• Few comforts, cold, few manuscripts

Revival of Classical Knowledge

• Roman Law• Aristotle’s system of knowledge relied on

‘reason’. This conflicted with the teachings of the church which were based on faith.

• ‘Scholasticism’ – used reason and logic to support Christian beliefs.– Thomas Aquinas - ability to reason was a gift of God ;

if differences exist its caused by mistaken reasoning.

Science and Technology

• Church was the authority, no scientific reasoning

• Arabic numerals, lead to new mathematics

• Plow windmill, clock flying butress, glass

• Roger Bacon: noted importance of experiments

Medieval Medicine

• Relied on folk medicine

• Traditional remedies

• Superstition

• Christian beliefs

• Evil spirits

• pilgrimages