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. … Read more

“Magna Carta”. King John the Landless

Henry II left his heirs strong royal power. But right after his death they faced serious challenges. The war with France, England, in the end, lost. The scapegoats for this and other setbacks were made by the barons of John the Landless, the youngest son of Henry II. This king, as luck would have, quarreled … Read more

Rajputs

Rajputs were the descendants of nomadic tribal leaders from Central Asia. They lived mainly in Rajputana. Many of the princes of India also took their place. These Indian knights neglected the work of farmers, artisans and traders and engaged exclusively in hunting and military affairs, which they learned almost from their diapers. They did not … Read more

Technical and engineering achievements of medieval Europe

The world of things surrounded by a medieval man was created primarily by hand. The technique was introduced slowly, first in handicraft production – thanks to the appearance of cities and the development of metallurgy. It was in the manufacturing industry that the first mechanisms appeared, which were set in motion either by the man … Read more

Feudal fragmentation

During the reign of the Carolingians, the state system became more complex and ramified, but it remained imperfect. Charlemagne tried to prevent the excessive autonomy of his officials. He eliminated the position of the Dukes, who led the conquered large tribes. The whole territory of the state was divided into almost 200 counties. They were … Read more

Christianity and the Church at the dawn of the Middle Ages

Christianity appeared in the Roman era, but the world religion became in the Middle Ages, when its organization – the church was formed and strengthened. At the dawn of the Middle Ages the Church hierarchy already existed. In the Western Roman Empire, the head of the church was the pope, and in the Eastern Roman … Read more

City culture of medieval Europe

In medieval cities, a democratic secular culture was born and formed, closely related to folk art. Most brightly it manifested itself in the urban literature created by the national language, not Latin. From time immemorial, amusing entertaining stories, fables, parables were popular among the people, which were literally processed during the heyday of the cities. … Read more

The Frankish state of Merovingians

In the middle of the V century. On the territory of modern Belgium arose the kingdom of seaside francs. In 481, their king became Clovis, of the sort of the legendary King of Merovei. In honor of him, the dynasty of Frankish kings in the first half of the VIII cc. called the Merovingians. The … Read more

Estate monarchy

In the XII century. the royal power appreciably strengthened. There were several reasons for such changes. The need for a strong royal power was felt by the petty and average feudal lords, who sought protection from power seniors. In addition, the feudal lords sought to increase profits. However, direct pressure on the peasants could lead … Read more