The best literary works of the Middle Ages

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1. Heroic epos and knightly culture of the Middle Ages At the end of the early Middle Ages, the first records of the heroic epic appear, which previously existed only in oral recounts. Heroes of folk tales were mostly warriors who bravely defended their land and people. In these works, two worlds interwoven: real and fairy. Heroes often won with the help of magic powers. […]...
2. Heroic epic of the Middle Ages The epic of the mature Middle Ages is a heroic knightly epic. Compared with the early Middle Ages, a change in the consciousness of the characters occurs. Heroes are notable knights. Gradual democratization of the heroes (for example, Sid, this is due to the reconquest). An important place in the epic is the image of […]...
3. Knighthood and knights in the Middle Ages Knighthood entered the bright page in the history of medieval European culture. In their epic works, those knights whom God bestowed on the “honey of poetry” sang the boundless devotion of the knight to the beautiful and noble lady, layman to the church, vassal to the seigneur. In the XII century. from ancient Celtic legends […]...
4. General characteristic of the literature of the Middle Ages Literature of the Middle Ages, briefly described, in the era of the IV to XV century, due to its existence, three sources: 1. folklore – it included ritual and labor songs, tales, epics; 2. ancient literature – especially the works of Virgil and Ovid; 3. Christianity – Holy Scripture, Lives of Saints, religious songs and […]...
5. Where do our knowledge of the Middle Ages come from? The Middle Ages is closer to us in time than antiquity, and therefore there are more historical sources left from it. In particular, many buildings, tools, weapons, works of art, etc., have been preserved from the Middle Ages. Some of them were discovered by archaeologists during excavations, some of them carefully preserved by descendants as […]...
6. Development of knowledge in the Middle Ages. Alchemy Until the XIII century. Europeans drew knowledge mainly from the Bible and ordinary observations. This knowledge was not backed by experience, so it was often fantastic. For example, the world was represented to man in the form of three whales, which hold the Earth, inhabited by pesigolovtsami and other monsters. We thought that the “heavenly […]...
7. Hungary in the Middle Ages The lands between the rivers Tisza and the Danube were inhabited long ago by Slavic tribes and, perhaps, by the ancestors of modern Romanians and Moldavians. At the end of IX c. there were migrated through the Carpathians Ugrians, who were pressed from the southern Russian steppes of the Pechenegs. They defeated the Great Moravian […]...
8. The main sources on the history of the Middle Ages The history of the Middle Ages is studied using numerous historical sources: architectural landmarks, material monuments, written historical sources, ethnographic sources, etc. The preserved architectural monuments seem to transfer us to the distant past. And today in many cities of Europe you can see old churches and cathedrals, castles and fortress walls, as well as […]...
9. Legacy of the Middle Ages People study the past in order to better understand the present, make fewer annoying mistakes and, as far as possible, foresee the future. But does the Middle Ages have any relation to the present? It turns out, has, and the most direct. It was in the Middle Ages that modern states and peoples appeared in […]...
10. Complication of the social structure in the Middle Ages Over time, society developed, an increasingly prominent role in medieval life begins to play cities and, accordingly, artisans and merchants, who in the scheme of the medieval classes did not find a place. Subsequently, the townspeople were ranked in the third estate, the skeleton of which nevertheless was the peasantry. In the life of the […]...
11. Germany at the end of the Middle Ages. The German Empire of the 14th-15th centuries The dynasty of the Habsburgs did not remain in power for long. At the beginning of the XIV century. the feudal lords elected King Henry VII of Luxembourg. He founded the Luxembourg dynasty, which persistently tried to conquer Italy, quarreled with the popes. All this, in the end, fed up with the princes. To the […]...
12. Migration, epidemics, war and famine in the Middle Ages In the Middle Ages Europe was inhabited by Greeks, Romance peoples, Celts, Thracians, Germans, Balts, Slavs, Finno-Ugrians, and Asian and African minorities. In the V-XI centuries. the tribes and peoples of Europe have already sufficiently mixed up among themselves. Medieval people were restless. The merchants, schoolchildren, students, beggars, tramps, monks, pilgrims, masters, artists, singers, etc., […]...
13. Chronology and periodization of the history of the Middle Ages Human society is constantly developing, becoming more complex, improving. To better reflect this forward development, the scholars agreed to divide the world history into Periods. In the XVIII century. they singled out three such periods: “antiquity”, “medievalism” and “new time”. To them was later added a fourth, “new” period. In this chain of periods in […]...
14. Culture and art of the Arab world in the Middle Ages Not only the Arabs, but also other peoples of the Caliphate who took up Islam, the Arabic language and writing took part in the formation of Arab culture. Successfully developed in the Arab world natural sciences: mathematics, astronomy, geography, medicine. Arab mathematicians have created algebra. In Baghdad and Damascus already in the IX. there were […]...
15. Culture of the Arab world of the Middle Ages The culture of the countries of the caliphate is predominantly called the Arab one. This is not entirely correct, because it also included the culture of the Syrians, the Egyptians, the Iranians, the peoples of Central Asia. However, the language of this culture was Arabic, and the unifying element was Islam. In addition, the Arabs […]...
16. Faith and science in the Middle Ages. Philosophy The worldview of a medieval man was religious, he perceived the world through religious images and concepts. Few doubted that the beginning and end of all there is God. They argued only about how to learn it – by faith or by the mind? Some thought: by faith and only by it! Say, God gave […]...
17. Bibliographic Dictionary of the Middle Ages Abelard Pierre. An outstanding thinker of medieval Europe. The predecessor of the scholastics. I sought reinforcement of the dogma of reason, so I inevitably fell into heresy. The church condemned him for “the impudence with which he delves into divine secrets.” I wrote a brilliant memo of medieval literature – “The History of My Disasters”. […]...
18. Three classes: the clergy, chivalry and the peasantry. Who worked for whom in the Middle Ages? In the idea of ​​a medieval man, a properly organized society consists of three Estates – the clergy, chivalry and peasantry. XI century. From the work of Bishop Adalberon Lansky The community of believers is a single body, but the state consists of three bodies, because another law, human, distinguishes two great estates… One class […]...
19. The Spiritual World of Northern European Nations in the Middle Ages The Scandinavians were pagans. Their mythology is a collection of stories about the warlike gods who lived in Asgard – the Scandinavian Olympus. In Asgard, three major gods dominated – One, Thor and Freyr. The Supreme God was One – the god of war and wisdom. He was one-eyed, because he gave the second eye […]...
20. Poland in the Middle Ages The Poles formed their state in the late 10th century. The first reliable Polish prince Mieszko I married a Czech princess Dubravka. He himself became a Catholic and turned all the Poles into Catholicism. His son Boleslaw I the Brave defeated the Germans who encroached on the Polish lands, and tried to capture the Old […]...
21. Scandinavian states of the Middle Ages At the end of IX c. Vikings from Norway settled on a large treeless island. They called it Iceland – “The Land of Ice”. The climate in Iceland was very unfavorable for agriculture, but the presence of fat pastures allowed to graze livestock. Soon the entire coast of Iceland was dotted with the hamlets of […]...
22. European culture of the early Middle Ages At the heart of medieval culture is a combination of ancient heritage and traditions of barbarian peoples. Christianity fell by force, which managed to unite them. At the turn of the V-VI centuries. the center of cultural and spiritual development was the Ostrogothic Kingdom in Italy. The outstanding personality of the “Ost-Goth Revival” was the […]...
23. Man and nature in the Middle Ages In the Middle Ages, the population depended entirely on the natural and climatic conditions. The peculiarities of nature prompted which dwellings and settlements should be built, which transport – water or land – to use, which tools to produce. From the landscape and climate depended even the character of the man himself. Medieval Europe was […]...
24. Clergy in the Middle Ages Medieval man was deeply convinced that the most important thing in his life was a relationship with God, and care for the salvation of the souls of Christians was just the responsibility of the clergy. Therefore, an exceptionally important, much more weighty, than fulfilling any other duties, was God’s belonging to a spiritual dignity. The […]...
25. Chronological framework and periodization of the history of the Middle Ages The Middle Ages are an epoch in the history of Europe, spanning over a thousand years. The beginning of the Middle Ages is considered to be 476, when the leader of the Germans Odoakr defeated the last Roman Emperor Romulus Augustul. The Middle Ages ended in 1492 with the discovery of America. In the history […]...
26. The Legacy of the Middle Ages The era of the Middle Ages is long gone. However, it should not be forgotten that it was in the Middle Ages that the foundation of the modern world was laid. The Middle Ages largely changed the map of Europe, since most European and Asian states arose. European nations were formed and languages ​​were formed, […]...
27. The architecture and influence of the church on it in the Middle Ages. Gothick style In medieval Europe, architecture and art felt a strong church influence. This was due to the fact that the church culture was understandable and accessible, and the church – the main customer of architectural structures and works of art. Until the XI century. In the European church architecture, the Romanesque style dominated. It was formed […]...
28. Interesting facts from the history of the Middle Ages There were also purely children’s entertainment. Every year puppets brought puppies to the school for Shrovetide. And instead of sitting in class, the kids all morning watched the cockfighting. To medieval children’s theatrical representations it is possible to carry and unusual ceremony with “the boy-bishop”. On the day of St. Nicholas or St.. Innocent in […]...
29. The interaction of man and nature in the Middle Ages Man during the Middle Ages was much closer to nature than we are now. However, it would be wrong to consider that the relationship between man and nature was harmonious. Nature often forced a man to feel his weakness. Reserves in the barn of a peasant or a feudal lord, on which their life depended, […]...
30. Good and evil in literary works Good and evil… Eternal philosophical concepts, at all times disturbing minds of people. Arguing about the difference between these concepts, it can be argued that good, of course, brings people close to you pleasant experiences. And evil, on the contrary, wants to bring suffering. But, as is often the case, it is difficult to distinguish […]...
31. Christianity in the early Middle Ages At the beginning of the Middle Ages, Christianity for almost two centuries was the official religion of the Roman Empire. Support for the church by the state contributed to its administrative and economic strengthening. From the middle of the IV century. there is a certain difference in the relations between church and state in the […]...
32. Roger Bacon and the emergence of experienced knowledge in the Middle Ages Scholastic approach to the knowledge of the surrounding world was not shared by all medieval scientists. After all, scholasticism called for believing authorities and learning the world through the book. Since the XIII century, there has been a deep interest in the study of nature and its phenomena. One of the first to insist on […]...
33. Marriage and children in the Middle Ages At the dawn of the Middle Ages, marriages in Europe were influenced by Roman and barbarous traditions. Thus, Roman law legalized early marriages – from the age of 12, but until the end of the Middle Ages, the marriage age in Europe increased by several years. Traditions of the barbarians, unlike the ancient, allowed marriages […]...
34. Culture of the Middle Ages After the death of the Western Roman Empire, the West plunged into the darkness of decline and barbarism. This resulted not so much in the barbaric conquests, as in the confusion and indifference of the population. People did not have neither the strength nor the desire to resist the oppression of life’s circumstances. But the […]...
35. The city in the Middle Ages. Description The city was located so that it was convenient to surround it with a protective wall, but that the environment should serve as protection for it. The first medieval cities were surrounded by an earthen rampart and a wooden palisade, the later ones were already renewed with one, two or even three stone battlements with […]...
36. The development of technology in the Middle Ages In the Middle Ages, the development of technology passed slowly, in the process of accumulation and transfer of practical experience. In agriculture, mainly agricultural implements were improved, for example, in the 11th-12th centuries. Instead of a light plow, they started using a heavy iron wheeled plow with a blade and a gear harrow. In general, […]...
37. Marriage and family in the Middle Ages In the Middle Ages, marriage was considered a family affair and was in charge of the church. This guardianship consisted in the attempt of the church to control the conclusion of marriages. Marriage was considered legal if the young and their families performed a special ceremony of betrothal, orders for a dowry of the bride, […]...
38. Law and Justice in the Middle Ages The barbarous peoples who settled in the territory of the former Roman Empire preserved their legal customs. They were transmitted orally, from generation to generation, and changed very slowly. With the emergence of barbarous states, it became necessary to fix their customs in writing. This was prompted by the immediate neighborhood with the Romans, who […]...
39. Rise of the papacy in the era of the developed Middle Ages Dependence on secular power reduced the moral standards of the clergy and church discipline. Monastic regulations were not observed, monasticism degenerated, monks were looked upon as ignoramuses and idlers. This led to monasticism in the movement for the reform of monasteries, the rise of the role of the clergy and the liberation of the church […]...
40. Schools and universities in the Middle Ages. Foci of Education and Culture The European Middle Ages borrowed the school education system from antiquity, but enriched it, adapted it to new conditions. In the Middle Ages, both secular and secular schools were opened. They studied the children of feudal lords, townspeople, clergy, well-to-do peasants. The schools taught “seven free arts”: grammar, rhetoric, dialectics, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music. […]...