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The concept of “the history of the Middle Ages”

The concept of “Middle Ages” appeared in everyday life in the XV century. in the environment of Italian humanists. From literary sources it is known that it was the historian Flavio Biondo, when working on the “History of the Fall of Rome,” began to use the notion of the “Middle Ages”.

The humanists perceived their epoch as a “new century”, because they viewed antiquity as an “old age”. The period between these stages in the history of mankind, Italian thinkers called the “middle age”. For them, the Middle Ages was primarily an era of decline – “dark ages.” And in the fifteenth century, that is, “its time,” Italian scholars called it only “Renaissance”. In their imagination it was a time of awakening after a thousand years of sleep and the revival of the ancient heritage.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the negative assessment of the Middle Ages was permanently

entrenched in the minds of Europeans. Note that in our time, remembering something negative, backward, sometimes use the notion of “medieval”. There seemed to be grounds for this: changes in social and spiritual life, technology and science were much slower than in our days. However, the main reason for the negative is that the Middle Ages are a period when severe and cruel laws, customs and traditions dominated. People were suspicious of everything new; New ideas were often condemned by the church that controlled the spiritual life, perceiving innovation as a departure from true faith.

Studying this stage of the history of mankind, scientists emphasized various signs of the Middle Ages. Some perceived it as an era of fear, fanaticism and piety, others – as the heyday of European culture. Some historians considered the Middle Ages to be a regular millennial bridge between Antiquity and the New Time, and another millennial abyss.

So where is the truth, where is the golden mean, what was the era of the Middle Ages? Unequivocally agree with the opinion of this or that researcher, of

course, it is difficult. Undoubtedly, in everyone there is a grain of truth. However, a thousand-year epoch is not only white or black. It should have a color scheme. And such a scale was. In the Middle Ages, human honor and upbringing coexisted, majestic cultural and spiritual values; and at the same time – human savagery, meanness and cruelty, religious fanaticism.

Yes, the Middle Ages were drowned in bloody wars, internecine conflicts, peasant uprisings; In the flames of the fires of the Inquisition, dissenters burned with their high thoughts and dreams of the future. But in the life of people there were also happy moments: victories in tournaments for knights, a rich harvest and liberation from feudal dependence for peasants, reception by the townspeople of privileges, magic colorful carnivals, folk festivals.

This site provides a holistic picture of the history of the Middle Ages, depicts the relationship between peoples and states, the East and the West.

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The concept of “the history of the Middle Ages”

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