European Civilization in the Middle Ages

This study will analyze the development of European civilization during the Middle Ages, relating intellectual and aesthetic developments to political and social conditions.

The 11th century, writes Slavin, "was a time of recovery from the invasions: in the growth of its economy, in the revival of public authority, and in the assertion of leadership in society by the Church. On eleventh-century foundations in mental and artistic life the twelfth century erected an impressive and expansive culture. This matched the general dynamism of Western society in the 1100s and was a part of it. And just as that society reached a peak of institutional creativity and power economically and politically in the thirteenth century, so in the arts and in every sort of literature the 1200s saw the maturation of a splendid civilization" (551).

Art developed throughout the Middle Ages in Europe and in the High Middle Ages saw remarkable achievements. Specifically, two major styles, Romanesque and Gothic, were developed and perfected between 1000 and 1300.

As Harrison, Sullivan and Sherman write in this context, "Impressive new buildings adorned almost every town and village. Most of these were churches, for the Church was the prime agency promoting artistic endeavor. Architecture was queen; the other arts were used to adorn structures. The Romanesque and Gothic styles were the fruits of a long artistic evolution" (293-294).

The aesthetic and intellectual developments in the Middle

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and historical accuracy completely disregarded . . ." (293). Again, this development in literature could not have occurred in the earlier era preceding the Middle Ages due to the fact that society was unstable, political and religious authority had been diminished, and entertaining literature had given way to the need of people to merely survive. Intellectually, the Middle Ages saw the development of both Neoplatonism and Christian theology. The early Middle Ages saw the development of a vision of the natural world which was based in Neoplatonism. This vision "considered the natural world an inferior order of reality, representing an illusory reflection of nonmaterial perfect forms." In other words, the earliest development in philosophy in the Middle Ages was essentially a borrowing of Platonic ideas, but it was not long before the innovative thinkers of that era developed their own vision of the world, as Harrison, et al. go on to say: "As this Neoplatonic concept was translated into a Christian idiom, nature came to be viewed as part of the universe corrupted by the Fall. Given powerful impetus by a monastic ideal that spurned material things, early medieval thought was biased against serious concern with nature. Tha

Category: History - E