Middle Ages cultural studies briefly. Medieval culture

The era of the Middle Ages was considered by progressive thinkers of modern times as a dark time that gave nothing to the world: the narrow religious worldview imposed by the Catholic Church hindered the development of science and art. In today's lesson we will try to challenge this statement and prove that the Middle Ages, which lasted a thousand years, left a rich cultural heritage for future generations.

In the 11th century, chivalric poetry arose in the south of France, in Provence. Provençal poet-singers were called troubadours (Fig. 1). The imagination of the poets created the image of an ideal knight - brave, generous and fair. The poetry of the troubadours glorified the service of the Beautiful Lady, the Madonna (“my lady”), in which the worship of the Mother of God and the earthly, living and beautiful woman. In Northern France, Italy, Spain, and Germany, knightly poets were called trouvères and minnesingers (translated as singers of love).

Rice. 1. Troubadour ()

In these same centuries, poetic chivalric novels and stories arose. The legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table were especially widely reflected in the novels. Arthur's court was seen as a place where the best qualities of knighthood flourished. The novels transported the reader into a fantasy world, where fairies, giants, wizards, and oppressed beauties awaiting help from brave knights were encountered at every step.

In the 12th century, urban literature began to flourish. The townspeople loved short stories in verse and fables on everyday topics. Their heroes were most often a clever, cunning burgher or a cheerful, resourceful peasant. They invariably left their opponents - arrogant knights and greedy monks - in the cold. Poems by va-gants (translated from Latin as tramps) are associated with urban literature. Vagants were schoolchildren and students who, in the 12th-13th centuries, wandered around the cities and universities of Europe in search of new teachers.

The most outstanding figure of the Middle Ages was Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) (Fig. 2). Dante was born in Florence into an old noble family. He studied at a city school, and then spent his entire life studying philosophy, astronomy, and ancient literature. At the age of 18, he experienced love for young Beatrice, who later married another man and died early. Dante spoke about his experiences with unprecedented frankness for those times in a small book “ New life"; she glorified his name in literature. Dante wrote a great work in verse, which he called “Comedy”. Descendants called it “The Divine Comedy” as a sign of the highest praise. Dante describes a journey to the afterlife: hell for sinners, heaven for the righteous and purgatory for those to whom God has not yet pronounced his sentence. At the gates of hell, located in the north, there is an inscription that has become popular: “Abandon hope, all who enter here.” In the center of the southern hemisphere there is a huge mountain in the form of a truncated cone, on the ledges of the mountain there is purgatory, and on its flat top there is an earthly paradise. Accompanied by the great Roman poet Virgil, Dante visits hell and purgatory, and Beatrice leads him through heaven. There are 9 circles in hell: the more severe the sins, the lower the circle and the more severe the punishment. In hell, Dante placed bloodthirsty power-hungers, cruel rulers, criminals, and misers. In the center of hell is the devil himself, gnawing at the traitors: Judas, Brutus and Cassius. Dante also placed his enemies in hell, including several popes. In his depiction, sinners are not disembodied shadows, but living people: they conduct conversations and disputes with the poet, political strife rages in hell. Dante talks with the righteous in paradise and finally contemplates the Mother of God and God. Paintings the afterlife drawn so vividly and convincingly that it seemed to contemporaries as if the poet had seen it with his own eyes. And he described, in essence, the diverse earthly world, with its contradictions and passions. The poem is written in Italian: the poet wanted to be understood by the widest circle of readers.

Rice. 2. Domenico Petarlini. Dante Alighieri)

Since the 11th century, great construction began in Western Europe. The rich church expanded the number and size of churches and rebuilt old buildings. Until the 11th-12th centuries, the Romanesque style dominated in Europe. The Romanesque temple is a massive building with almost smooth walls, high towers and laconic decoration. The outlines of the semicircular arch are repeated everywhere - on the vaults, window openings, and entrances to the temple (Fig. 3).

Rice. 3. Church of San Martin in Fromista (1066) - one of best monuments Romanesque style in Spain)

From the middle of the 12th century, retail premises, halls for meetings of workshops and guilds, hospitals, hotels. The main decorations of the city were the town hall and especially the cathedral. The buildings of the 12th-15th centuries were later called Gothic. Now the light and high pointed vault is supported inside by bundles of narrow, tall columns, and outside by massive supporting pillars and connecting arches. The halls are spacious and high, they receive more light and air, they are richly decorated with paintings, carvings, and bas-reliefs. Thanks to wide passages and through galleries, many huge windows and lace stone carvings, Gothic cathedrals seem transparent (Fig. 4).

Rice. 4. Notre Dame Cathedral (

In the Middle Ages, sculpture was inseparable from architecture. Temples were decorated inside and out with hundreds, or even thousands, of reliefs and statues depicting God and the Virgin Mary, apostles and saints, bishops and kings. For example, in the cathedral in Chartres (France) there were up to 9 thousand statues, not counting the reliefs. Church art was supposed to serve as a “Bible for the illiterate” - to depict scenes described in Christian books, strengthen in faith and terrify with the torments of hell. Unlike ancient art, which glorified the beauty of the human body, the artists of the Middle Ages sought to reveal the wealth of the soul, thoughts and feelings of man, his intense inner life. In Gothic statues, in their flexible, elongated figures, the appearance of people is especially vividly conveyed, body shapes appear more clearly under the folds of clothing, and there is more movement in poses. The idea of ​​harmony between the external and internal appearance of a person is becoming more and more noticeable; especially beautiful female images- Mary in Reims Cathedral, Uta in Naumburg.

The walls of Romanesque churches were covered with paintings. A great achievement in painting was the book miniature. In abundance bright drawings the whole life of people was reflected. Everyday scenes were also depicted on frescoes, which is especially typical for German and Scandinavian churches of the 14th-15th centuries.

Considering the cultural heritage of the Middle Ages, let us dwell on scientific achievements. Astrology and alchemy flourished in the Middle Ages. Observations and experiments of astrologers and alchemists contributed to the accumulation of knowledge in astronomy and chemistry. Alchemists, for example, discovered and improved methods for producing metal alloys, paints, medicinal substances, and created many chemical instruments and devices for conducting experiments. Astrologers studied the location of stars and luminaries, their movement and the laws of physics. Accumulated useful knowledge and medicine.

In the XIV-XV centuries, water mills began to be actively used in mining and crafts. The water wheel has long been the basis of mills that were built on rivers and lakes for grinding grain (Fig. 5). But later they invented a more powerful wheel, which was driven by the force of water falling on it. The energy of the mill was also used in cloth making, for washing (“enrichment”) and smelting metal ores, lifting heavy objects, etc. The mill and mechanical watches- the first mechanisms of the Middle Ages.

Rice. 5. Top water wheel ()

Appearance firearms. Previously, metal was melted in small furnaces, forcing air into them with hand-held bellows. Since the 14th century, they began to build blast furnaces - smelting furnaces up to 3-4 meters in height. The water wheel was connected to large bellows, which forcefully blew air into the furnace. Thanks to this, a very high temperature was reached in the blast furnace: the iron ore melted, liquid iron ore was formed. Various products were cast from cast iron, and iron and steel were obtained by melting it down. Much more metal was now smelted than before. For smelting metal in blast furnaces, they began to use not only charcoal, but also coal.

For a long time, few Europeans dared to embark on long voyages on the open sea. Without correct cards and marine instruments, the ships sailed “coastally” (along the coast) along the seas washing Europe and along North Africa. Going out to the open sea became safer after sailors had a compass. Astrolabes were invented - devices for determining the location of a ship (Fig. 6).

Rice. 6. Astrolabe ()

With the development of the state and cities, science and navigation, the volume of knowledge increased and, at the same time, the need for educated people, in expanding learning and in books, including textbooks. In the 14th century, cheaper writing material - paper - began to be produced in Europe, but there were still not enough books. To reproduce the text, impressions were made from a wooden or copper board with letters carved on it, but this method was very imperfect and required a lot of labor. In the mid-15th century, the German Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1399-1468) invented printing. After long and persistent work and searches, he began to cast individual characters (letters) from metal; From these, the inventor composed lines and pages of type, from which he made an impression on paper. Using a collapsible font, you could type as many pages of any text as you wanted. Gutenberg also invented the printing press. In 1456, Guttenberg released the first printed book - the Bible (Fig. 7), which was artistically on par with the best handwritten books. The invention of printing is one of the greatest discoveries in the history of mankind. It contributed to the development of education, science and literature. Thanks to the printed book, the knowledge accumulated by people and all the necessary information began to spread faster. They were more fully preserved and passed on to subsequent generations of people. Successes in the dissemination of information, an important part of the development of culture and all sectors of society, made their next important step- a step towards the New Time.

Rice. 7. The Bible of Johannes Guttenberg ()

Bibliography

1. Agibalova E.V., G.M. Donskoy. History of the Middle Ages. - M., 2012
2. Atlas of the Middle Ages: History. Traditions. - M., 2000
3. Illustrated world history: from ancient times to the 17th century. - M., 1999
4. History of the Middle Ages: book. For reading / Ed. V.P. Budanova. - M., 1999
5. Kalashnikov V. Mysteries of history: The Middle Ages / V. Kalashnikov. - M., 2002
6. Stories on the history of the Middle Ages / Ed. A.A. Svanidze. M., 1996

1. Liveinternet.ru ().
2. Pavluchenkov.ru ().
3. E-reading-lib.com ().
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6. Meinland.ru ().

Homework

1. What genres of literature developed in medieval Europe?
2. Why is Dante considered the greatest poet of the Middle Ages?
3. What styles dominated in medieval architecture?
4. Which technical inventions Do you know the Middle Ages?
5. Why is the invention of printing considered one of the most important discoveries in the history of mankind?

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 whose beginning coincided with the extinction 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 should be identified medieval culture :

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 more developed culture Arab East and Byzantium. At the height of the Crusades Arabic science began to play a huge role in Christendom, contributing to the rise of medieval culture in Europe in the 12th century. 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 in medieval science almost obligatory, Christian philosophers sometimes attributed their original thoughts and conclusions to them.

As a result of long-term communication with the population of more than cultural East Europeans accepted many achievements of culture and technology 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, 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 hatred for the lords economic activity, 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 evidence of 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 and events took place. theatrical performances(mystery), sometimes parliament sat in it. 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 building materials, the complexity of the work itself, the 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, reaching greatest development in the construction of light, pointed, skyward cathedrals with pointed arches 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 catholic church 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 it made itself felt creative individuality masters In terms of their emotional impact, the plots of stained glass paintings, conveyed through drawing, stand at last place, and on the first - color and 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 medieval painting no importance was attached. Spiritual beauty came first, moral character person. The sight of a naked body was considered sinful. Special meaning in appearance medieval man was given the face. 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 full picture peace .

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 methodology, and most importantly - the recruitment of teachers and students, they are very quickly coming out ahead.

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, like main form education and movement of scientific thought, appearance in the XII-XIII centuries. large quantity translated literature from Arabic and Greek became incentives intellectual development 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 a 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. From now on it's going fast spreading 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 XII V. - 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 selfish 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,” philosopher's stone", 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 life medieval society, 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)

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- the greatest monument of the French folk heroic epic - “The Song of Roland”. During this period, the so-called “urban literature” developed rapidly, which was characterized by a realistic depiction of the urban everyday life various layers 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.

Introduction.

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.

Within a millennium, it is customary to distinguish at least three periods:

· Early Middle Ages, from the beginning of the era to 900 or 1000 (until the X - XI centuries);

· High (Classical) Middle Ages - from the X-XI centuries to approximately the XIV century;

· Late Middle Ages, XIV-XV centuries.

Some authors, in the context of the Middle Ages, also consider the so-called transition period from the Middle Ages to the New Time (XVI-XVII centuries), however, it seems more reasonable to consider the period of the Reformation and Con-Reformation as a separate period of history and culture, which had a great influence on the further formation of the cultural consciousness of the masses .

The folk culture of 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 written recording of cultural values ​​was closed to them.

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. In those relatively rare cases when a modern specialist turns to the folk religiosity of the Middle Ages, he does not find any other characteristics for it such as “naive”, “primitive”, “uncouth”, “rude”, “superficial”, “pre-logical”, “childish” ”; This is the religion of the “child people”, overflowing with superstitions and focused on the fabulous and fabulous.

The criteria for such value judgments are taken from the “high” religion of the enlightened and it is from their position that consciousness and emotional life commoners, without setting themselves the task of considering it “from the inside,” guided by its own logic.

1. Early Middle Ages.

The Early Middle Ages was a time when turbulent and very important processes took place in Europe, such as the barbarian invasion, which ended with the fall of the Roman Empire. Barbarians settled on the lands former empire, assimilated with its population, creating a new community of Western Europe.

At the same time, the new Western Europeans, as a rule, accepted Christianity, which by the end of Rome’s existence became its state religion. Christianity in its various forms replaced pagan beliefs, and this process only accelerated after the fall of the empire. This is the second most important historical process that determined the face of the early Middle Ages in Western Europe.

The third significant process was the formation of new state entities, created by the same “barbarians”. Tribal leaders proclaimed themselves kings, dukes, counts, constantly fighting with each other and subjugating their weaker neighbors. A characteristic feature of life in the early Middle Ages were constant wars, robberies and raids, which significantly slowed down economic and cultural development.

During the early Middle Ages, the ideological positions of feudal lords and peasants had not yet taken shape and the peasantry, which was just being born as a special class of society, was dissolved in ideological terms into broader and more uncertain layers.

The bulk of the population of Europe at that time were rural residents, whose lifestyle was completely subordinated to routine, and whose horizons were extremely limited. Conservatism is an integral feature of this environment.

The peasantry and its life are almost not reflected at all in social picture world, as it was thought at that time, and this fact in itself is very symptomatic. The society, agrarian in nature, built on the exploitation and subjugation of broad sections of the rural population, seemed to allow itself to ideologically ignore its own majority.

Paradox: ordinary people, first of all the peasantry, despised and ignored by the ruling class, at the same time, in a certain sense, dominated the spiritual life of the early Middle Ages. Country life with its leisurely regularity and periodic change of production seasons, was the main regulator of the social rhythm of society ([1], p. 63)

2. High (classical) Middle Ages.

During the classical, or high, Middle Ages, Western Europe began to overcome difficulties and be reborn. Since the 10th century, state structures have been consolidated, which made it possible to assemble larger armies and, to some extent, stop raids and robberies. Missionaries brought Christianity to the countries of Scandinavia, Poland, Bohemia, and Hungary, so that these states also entered the orbit of Western culture.

The relative stability that ensued provided the opportunity for rapid growth of cities and economies. Life began to change for the better; cities began to have their own culture and spiritual life. A big role in this was played by the same church, which also developed, improved its teaching and organization.

On the basis of the artistic traditions of Ancient Rome and the former barbarian tribes, the Romanesque, and later the brilliant, arose gothic art, and not only architecture and literature developed, but also other types art - painting, theater, music, sculpture... It was during this era that the masterpieces of literature “The Song of Roland”, “The Romance of the Rose” were created.

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”. In the 12th century, romances of chivalry appeared. Among the most popular was a poetic novel about the British King Arthur.

An important monument of German folk literature of the 12th-13th centuries is “The Song of the Nibelungs,” which tells about the invasion of the Huns on the Kingdom of Burgundy at the beginning of the 5th century. The “Song of the Nibelungs” is based on ancient Germanic legends.

Vagantes and their poetry were a significant phenomenon in the literature of France in the 12th-13th centuries. Vagants (from the Latin vagantes - wandering) were called wandering poets. A feature of their work was the constant criticism of the Catholic Church and the clergy for greed, hypocrisy and ignorance. The Church, in turn, persecuted the vagants.

The most important monument of English Literature XIII c - the famous “Ballads of Robin Hood,” who to this day remains one of the most famous heroes of world literature.

2.1 The emergence of “urban culture”.

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).

The development of urban literature testified to a new phenomenon in cultural life Western European society - urban culture, which played a very large role in the formation Western civilization generally. The essence of urban culture boiled down to the constant strengthening of secular elements in all spheres of human existence.

Urban culture originated in France in the 11th-12th centuries. During this period, it was represented, in particular, by the work of “jugglers” who performed in city squares as actors, acrobats, trainers, musicians and singers. They performed at fairs, folk festivals, weddings, christenings, etc. and enjoyed great popularity among the people.

A new and extremely important phenomenon, testifying to the deepening process of development of urban culture, was the creation of non-church schools in cities - these were private schools, financially independent of the church. The teachers of these schools lived off the fees collected from the students, and anyone who could afford to pay the fees could teach their children in them. Since that time, there has been a rapid spread of literacy among the urban population.

2.2 Sermons as a layer folk culture.

European medieval society was very religious and the power of the clergy over the minds was extremely great. The teaching of the church was the starting point of all thinking, all sciences - jurisprudence, natural science, philosophy, logic - everything was brought into line with Christianity. The clergy was the only educated class, and it was the church for a long period that determined educational policy. The entire cultural life of European society of this period was largely determined by Christianity.

An important layer in the formation of folk culture during the classical Middle Ages was sermons.

The bulk of society remained illiterate. In order for the thoughts of the social and spiritual elite to become the dominant thoughts of all parishioners, they had to be “translated” into a language understandable to all people. This is what preachers did. Parish priests, monks, and missionaries had to explain to the people the basic principles of theology, instill in them the principles of Christian behavior and eradicate the wrong way of thinking.

The sermon assumed any person as its listener - literate and illiterate, noble and commoner, city dweller and peasant, rich and poor.

The most famous preachers structured their sermons in such a way as to hold the attention of the public for a long time and convey to them the ideas of church teaching in the form of simple examples.

Some used for this purpose so-called “examples” (exempla) - short stories written in the form of parables on everyday topics.

These “examples” are one of the earliest literary genres and are of particular interest for a more complete understanding of the worldview of ordinary believers. “Example” was one of the most effective means of didactic influence on parishioners.

In these “cases from life” the original world of medieval man is visible, with his ideas about saints and evil spirits as real participants in everyday human life.

However, the most famous preachers, such as Bertold of Regenburg (XIII century), did not use “Examples” in their sermons, building them mainly on biblical texts. This preacher structured his sermons in the form of dialogues, addressing calls and statements to a certain part of the audience or professional categories. He widely used the method of enumeration, riddles and other techniques that made his sermons into small performances. (, page 265)

Church ministers, as a rule, did not introduce any original ideas and statements, this was not expected of them and the parishioners would be unable to appreciate it. The audience received satisfaction from listening to things that were familiar and familiar.

3. Late Middle Ages.

The later Middle Ages continued the processes of formation of European culture that began during the classical period. However, their progress was far from smooth. In the XIV-XV centuries, Western Europe repeatedly experienced great famines. Numerous epidemics, especially the plague, caused innumerable human casualties. The Hundred Years' War greatly slowed down the development of culture.

During these periods, uncertainty and fear ruled the masses. Economic growth is followed by long periods of recession and stagnation. IN the masses complexes of fear of death and the afterlife intensified, and fears of evil spirits intensified.

At the end of the Middle Ages, in the minds of the common people, Satan was transformed from, in general, not a terrible and sometimes funny devil into an omnipotent ruler of dark forces, who at the end of earthly history would act as the Antichrist.

Another cause of fear is hunger, as a consequence of low yields and several years of drought.

The sources of fears are best highlighted in the prayer of a peasant of that time: “Deliver us, Lord, from plague, famine and war.” (, page 330)

The dominance of oral culture powerfully contributed to the proliferation of superstitions, fears and collective panics.

However, in the end, the cities were revived, people who survived the pestilence and war were able to organize their lives better than in previous eras. Conditions arose for a new upsurge in spiritual life, science, philosophy, and art. This rise necessarily led to the so-called Renaissance or Renaissance.

Conclusion.

So. Now we can draw a conclusion from my essay, which is called “Culture of the Middle Ages.” It is clear from the work that since the Middle Ages, a complex of ideas about the world, beliefs, mental attitudes and systems of behavior, which could conditionally be called “folk culture” or “folk religiosity,” was in one way or another the property of all members of society (p. 356 ).

The thinking of the Middle Ages was predominantly theological.

The medieval church, wary and suspicious of the customs, faith and religious practices of the common people, was influenced by them. As an example, we can cite the sanctioning by the church of the cult of saints in its popular interpretation.

The magical approach to nature extended to Christian rituals, and belief in miracles was widespread.

The entire cultural life of European society of this period was largely determined by Christianity.

European medieval society was very religious and the power of the clergy over the minds was extremely great. The teaching of the church was the starting point of all thinking, all sciences - jurisprudence, natural science, philosophy, logic - everything was brought into line with Christianity. The higher clergy was the only educated class, but the medieval European, including the upper strata of society, was illiterate. The level of literacy even for priests in parishes was appallingly low. Only towards the end of the 15th century the church realized the need to have educated personnel and began to open theological seminaries.

Mass medieval culture is a bookless, “Do-Gutenberg” culture. She did not rely on printed word, but to oral sermons and exhortations. It existed through the consciousness of an illiterate person. It was a culture of prayers, fairy tales, myths and magic spells.

Sermons, which represent a significant layer of medieval culture, became the “translation” of the thoughts of the social and spiritual elite into a language accessible to all people. Parish priests, monks, and missionaries had to explain to the people the basic principles of theology, instill in them the principles of Christian behavior and eradicate the wrong way of thinking. Special literature was created that popularly presented the fundamentals of Christian teaching, giving the flock models to follow. This literature was mainly intended for priests to use in their daily activities.

Bibliography.

1. Gurevich A.Ya. “The Medieval World: The Culture of the Silent Majority.” M., 1990

2. Gurevich A.Ya. “Problems of medieval folk culture.” M., 1981

CULTURE OF MEDIEVAL WESTERN EUROPE".

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IMPORTANT FEATURES OF MEDIEVAL CULTURE

The medieval era covers more than a thousand years of dominance of feudalism, which replaced the Greco-Roman slave civilization. With the birth of medieval society, new territories and peoples entered history, no longer limited to the Mediterranean and surrounding areas.

Western European cultural type formed on the basis of a synthesis of ancient heritage, Christianity and spiritual development Germanic tribes. Christianity played the main role in the formation and development of medieval culture.

The term " middle Ages» was introduced into use by Italian humanists of the Renaissance (XV century). They called the era separating them the Middle Ages. Modern times, from classical antiquity. Since then in historical science division is firmly established world history into ancient, middle and modern.

The assessment of medieval culture by Italian humanists was generally negative: they considered the Middle Ages to be “dark centuries”, “the dark night of Christianity”, a break in the development of culture, etc. However, while stating the fact of the largely negative role of the church in the Middle Ages, we should not forget that the medieval era laid the foundations of the cultural community of Europe, that then modern European languages ​​arose, new states arose, new lands were discovered, printing was invented and much more. And if in ancient greece and Rome, many outstanding discoveries and brilliant guesses of Greek and Roman scientists were not used (because cheap slave labor made the use of machines and mechanisms unnecessary), the Middle Ages began with the widespread use of water wheels and windmills.

Medieval culture had a number of distinctive features: This symbolism And allegory(allegory), craving for generality, universalism, anonymity most works of art, etc.

The most important feature of medieval culture is its theocentrism, the dominance of a religious worldview based on Christian theology. The medieval worldview was based on the idea of duality of the world, which, according to theological views, was divided into visible, tangible, perceptible human feelings earthly world And heavenly peace, ideal, otherworldly, existing in our imagination. At the same time, the highest, heavenly, “ mountain"the world, and earthly existence (" the world below") was considered only as a reflection of the existence of the heavenly world. From the doctrine of the dualism of the world came symbolism medieval art: only symbols were taken into account, i.e. hidden meaning real objects and phenomena.

Just as the world is divided into two parts, so in a person, from the point of view of Christianity, there are two principles - body and soul. Of course, the soul takes precedence over the body, called the “prison of the soul.” Therefore, in the Middle Ages, pacification of the flesh was considered the highest virtue, and the ideal of man was monks and ascetics who voluntarily renounced worldly goods.

The dominance of the religious worldview in the Middle Ages predetermined the characteristics of medieval art. Almost all of his creations served a religious cult, reproducing images not of the real, but of the other world, using the language of symbols and allegories. Unlike ancient art, medieval art almost did not express the joy of earthly existence, but was conducive to contemplation, deep reflection and prayer. He was not interested in a detailed, concrete image of space or a person: after all, only the “high” world seemed truly real, true. Therefore, the art of the Middle Ages conveyed only the typical, general, and not the individual and unique.

The dominant role of the church in the Middle Ages led to the fact that the most widespread and popular genre medieval literature(especially in the early Middle Ages) were lives of saints; the most typical example architecture was Cathedral; the most common genre of painting - icon, and favorite images of sculpture - scripture characters.

The influence of religion and the Christian church was especially strong in the first centuries of the Middle Ages. But as secular trends in culture strengthened, secular genres of literature, theater, urban culture, and the developing scientific knowledge and etc.

Historians divide the medieval era into three stages, corresponding to the stages of formation, flourishing and decline of feudalism. So, V-X centuries cover the period early Middle Ages, when a new feudal Europe was born on the ruins of the Western Roman Empire. Massive invasions of various tribes (Celts, Germans, Slavs, Huns, etc.) into Roman territory (this process was called the Great Migration) led to the formation of so-called barbarian kingdoms in Europe: Visigothic - in Spain, Ostrogothic - in Italy, Frankish - in Gaul, etc. During this period, there was a significant economic, political and cultural decline associated with endless wars and the destruction that accompanied them.

Since the end of the 10th century in Western Europe, a period of rapid development begins, affecting a variety of spheres: economic, technological, political, social, religious, artistic, etc. The barbarian kingdoms are being replaced by strong nation states- France, England, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany - in which medieval culture is experiencing its heyday. The rise of cultural life found expression in the emergence and flourishing of new architectural styles - Romanesque And Gothic, in development secular schools And universities, in the broad intellectual movement and spread of education, in the flowering of literature and medieval scholasticism (school science).

THE BIRTH OF MEDIEVAL CULTURE was the result of the meeting between antiquity and the barbarian world:

1. The most important source of the culture of the early Middle Ages was the ancient heritage, which was assimilated and creatively processed in the 5th-10th centuries. Played a huge role in the development of medieval culture Latin, which has retained its significance as the language of the church, government office-work, international communication, science and scholarship. Interacting with various local dialects (Germans, Celts, etc.), the Latin language soon became different from itself and at the same time became the basis for the development of European national languages. The Latin alphabet was also adopted by non-Romanized peoples. Latin was not only the language of learning, but also the only language that was taught. In the Middle Ages, “to be able to read” meant “to be able to read Latin.” On the other hand, a large number of local vernacular dialects and languages ​​continued to exist in the early Middle Ages. Latin language in the Middle Ages there was sacred language, guarantor of the unity of faith. Due to the dominance of Latin in the early Middle Ages, historians often call this era " Latin Middle Ages " Everywhere, the entire Middle Ages passed in the conditions of the coexistence of two languages ​​- local and Latin.

In the process of assimilation cultural heritage played a major role in antiquity rhetoric. IN Ancient Rome it was both part of education and an integral element of the Roman way of life. In the Middle Ages, rhetorical culture retained its importance and significantly influenced the appearance of medieval culture.

Big influence also influenced the culture of the early Middle Ages roman education system, which survived until the 7th century. The Middle Ages adopted such an important element of it as the system “ seven liberal arts"-septem artes liberates, a compulsory set of school disciplines, which included grammar, dialectics (logic), rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy. But if in the Roman rhetorical school the audience was quite narrow and consisted of elected members Roman society, then in the early Middle Ages they began to accept peasants, townspeople, knights, and clergy into schools. Nevertheless, the old Roman classical education turned out to be unnecessary in the Middle Ages. Therefore, the ancient school was replaced by a new one - monastery, or episcopal school(the latter studied the “seven liberal arts”). In the early Middle Ages, the quality of education was low, because... the content of the items was as close as possible to the needs of the church. So, rhetoric considered as the art of composing sermons, dialectics- how to conduct a conversation, astronomy boiled down to the ability to use a calendar and calculate the dates of Christian holidays. Each school student was supposed to know chants and prayers, the main events of sacred history and several quotes from the Bible. Thus, the education system in early Middle Ages was quite primitive and had a utilitarian character.

2. Another important source of culture in the Middle Ages was spiritual life of barbarian tribes, their folklore, art, customs, peculiarities of worldview. Although our knowledge of barbarian culture is very meager, we are quite knowledgeable about, for example, folding heroic epic peoples of Western and Northern Europe(Old German, Scandinavian, Anglo-Saxon, Irish). In the popular consciousness lived remnants of pre-Christian mythology and cults, which even penetrated into church art. Folklore, one of the components of medieval culture, which gave rise to both folk poetry and fairy tales, became the basis of the heroic epic.

Artistic creativity of the barbarians represented mainly by objects applied arts. These are richly decorated weapons, religious and ritual utensils, various brooches, buckles, clasps and household items, indicating a highly developed technology for processing metals, leather and other materials. In the works of art of the barbarians, preference was always given ornament.

Ideas about the mighty Germanic and Celtic gods, heroes and their struggle with evil forces gave rise to bizarre ornaments of the so-called “animal” style, in which images of fantastic animals were woven into intricate patterns. The “animal” style was subsequently widely used in applied arts and in Romanesque architecture. Images penetrated into early medieval Irish and English miniatures Irish sagas(epic), Celtic pagan symbols, found even in images of saints. And the construction technology of the barbarian tribes, embodied in wooden architecture, made the glory of the Burgundian and Norman carpenters.

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