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What is the “history of the Middle Ages”?

Italian scientists back in the XV century. introduced the term “Middle Ages” or “Middle Ages”. They considered the Middle Ages a difficult page in European history, its “dark era.” Like, then, the high achievements of the Greco-Roman civilization were lost – people became uncultured, cruel, destroyed each other in numerous wars, and in their political life there was chaos. Later, scientists abandoned such a simplified understanding of the essence of the Middle Ages. They took into account the obvious fact that the Middle Ages brought a lot of useful things to humanity.

Until now, the Middle Ages have been assessed differently by different scientists. Some still see the “dark era” of the European past in the Middle Ages. Many of the troubles of our time – wars, reprisals against dissidents, negligent attitude to nature, etc. – they consider a medieval heritage. Well, it is easier and more convenient to take everything

back on the past than to seek out the reasons for the appearance of negative phenomena in society. Others, on the contrary, notice in the Middle Ages only the bright side: “chivalrous” attitude towards women, respect for human dignity, honor rules, etc. In such divergences of views, the very nature of man is displayed. After all, people have always looked at the world with different eyes: for example, for some, piracy is a robbery, and for others – romance that is fanned by the sea winds.

So what really brought the Middle Ages to humanity: good or evil? Both. It was woven from disagreements. It combined human nobility, high cultural values - on the one hand, and the hardness of man, ignorance, religious fanaticism – on the other. In addition, there are “dark pages” in the history of later societies. Is there not a lot of bloody wars, other serious crimes knows our recent past? Therefore, we will not be too strict towards the Middle Ages, which is able not only to frown, but also to smile.

Religious fanaticism is a blind devotion to one’s faith, associated with extreme intolerance of any other beliefs.

Politicians are people who are engaged in public administration.

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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 […]...

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 […]...

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 […]...

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 […]...

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, […]...

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 […]...

Basic dates and facts on the history of the Middle Ages Main dates on the history of the Middle Ages 395 The division of the Roman Empire into the Eastern and Western 476 The demise of the Roman Empire 486 Foundation of the Frankish Kingdom 610 Beginning of sermons by Mohammed 622 Relocation of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina 732 The Battle of Poitiers – the […]...

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 […]...

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 […]...

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 […]...

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, […]...

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., […]...

The ups and downs of China in the Middle Ages “Celestial” fully learned what the vicissitudes of historical destiny are. It was then slipping into an abyss of confusion and chaos, even becoming the prey of foreign conquerors, it reached the heights of power. Its flowering in the Middle Ages occurs during the reign of the Tang dynasty. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Chinese developed […]...

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 […]...

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. […]...

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 […]...

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 […]...

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 […]...

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 […]...

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 […]...

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 […]...

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, […]...

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. […]...

The best literary works of the Middle Ages Prominent in the medieval literature of Europe was the heroic Epos, which originated in the era of the Great Migration of Nations. For a long time, in the depths of the bygone years, A living song was composed by the poet About the wise, kind kings And about their artful enemies, About the knights, who […]...

The collapse of Byzantium. End of the Middle Ages Resurrected Byzantium was a weak state. She was feverishly stricken by the cruel struggle for the throne, one area after another vanished from her, her wind was walking in her treasury, she was mercilessly plundered by the Genoese merchant class. Of the external enemies, it was most of all pestered by the Italian Normans, the […]...

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 […]...

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, […]...

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 […]...

Normans in the Middle Ages The Scandinavian peninsula is almost 2,000 km deep in Europe. Long ago it was inhabited by the northern Germanic tribes, which in Western Europe were called Normans, that is, “people of the North”. Of these, Danes, Swedes and Norwegians separated, who later formed their states. Most of the Scandinavian Peninsula was occupied by forests and […]...

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 […]...

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 […]...

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 […]...

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 […]...

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 […]...

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 […]...

Resettlements and internal colonization in the Middle Ages Population growth caused the overpopulation of many territories in Europe, where there was an acute shortage of land. The lack of land frightened those who worked on it, the specter of hunger. Therefore, many peasants, leaving their native land, settled in cities or sought vacant land on the outskirts of Europe. Such lands were still […]...