Feudalism A political and economic system based on the
relationship of lord to servant Monasticism A way of life in which
a higher level of religious experience is pursued by living
together in a small community Codex Parchment papers bound together
between hard covers Trope Elaborations on texts that were commonly
used during Catholic mass Monophony Music with one melodic line
(One sound) Polyphony Music with multiple melodic lines (Many
sounds) Strophic Songs with several stanzas that are sung to the
same melody Vocabulary
Slide 4
Troubadours Traveling poets/musicians Chivalry A more feminine
code of conduct and ethics Allegory A story that uses symbols and
figurative language to represent a spiritual message Mystery play A
religious play performed by occupational guilds Secularism The
rejection of religion and religious considerations Romance Literary
form containing long narratives about knights and ladies
Vocabulary
Slide 5
The Middle Ages, or Medieval Period, spans the time between the
fall of the Roman empire(c400C.E.) and the beginning of the
Renaissance (c1450C.E.) Virtually every part of life during the
Middle Ages was influenced heavily by religion Society functions
under the Feudal system Feudal communities develop around the
amount of land the lords owned and farmed During the latter part of
the Middle Ages, the rise of a Middle Class leads to
industrialization and the rebirth of cities The Middle Ages
Slide 6
The Rise of Charlemange Created the first centralized
government in Europe since the fall of Rome The Crusades Series of
holy wars to drive the Muslims out of sacred areas like Jerusalem
The Hundred Years War A lengthy series of battles over territory in
France between the French and the English Also contained the
exploits of Joan of Arc Rise of the Middle Class Development of
merchants and trade guilds created a wealthier type of citizen that
narrowed the gap between nobles and peasants Important Events of
the Middle Ages
Slide 7
Universities Had no official buildings or classrooms. Consisted
of groups of scholars who sought knowledge for the sake of
knowledge Spanish Inquisition A group of Catholics who persecuted
Jews and others that they believed to be in league with Satan in
order to get them to repent and convert to Christianity. The
Inquisition often used torture as a means of achieving this goal
The Black Plague Plague epidemic that swept through Europe and
killed nearly 1/3 of the entire population Important Events of the
Middle Ages
Slide 8
Industrialization Advancements in textile manufacturing,
metalworking, and printing developed to fulfill the rising demand
for products and helped the young Middle Class develop The
Gutenberg Printing Press The first printing press with movable type
greatly increased the speed books could be produced and made
education much more available to the population Rise of Chivalry A
reaction to the masculine dominance of feudalism. A code of conduct
that was developed to emphasize service, manners, and morality for
knights and nobles. Also brought about the concept of courtly love
Important Events of the Middle Ages
Slide 9
Initially focused on the presence of the devil and the fear of
being sent to Hell This cultivated a kind of fascination with
demons and the devil in the arts, especially theatre During the
High Middle Ages a shifting of focus occurred that emphasized the
Virgin Mary and the newborn Christ child This transition occurred
alongside the development of Chivalry and is reflected in Gothic
style art The Medieval Church
Slide 10
The Feudal system granted political and military power to a
wealthy landowner Landowners comprised the nobility during this
time (dukes, counts, etc.) Knights would swear oaths of allegiance
to the landowners that would exchange food and shelter for military
service Serfs or peasants would also be in service to the landowner
A serf was not permitted to be educated and had to serve the
landowner in exchange for food and shelter The life of a serf was
bound to the land and they would have to serve whomever owned the
land at the time Feudalism
Slide 11
Feudal lords owned large amounts of farm land which formed the
base of the feudal community Agriculturally based communities
existing of the landowner and the servants Fighting among feudal
lords for land and money was constant The system associated power
with land so landowners constantly sought to gain more land and
power through violence Feudalism
Slide 12
In an effort to rid themselves of the temptations of the world,
people sought solitude to devote themselves to their faith
Monasticism These people founded Monasteries Functioned as small
farming communities Daily life was devoted to serving God in some
way Monks were also educated enough to read and write Monasteries
became the outposts of charity during the Middle Ages
Slide 13
During the transition from the Early Middle Ages into the High
Middle Ages, there was a shift in the social order of Europe A
group of entrepreneurs helped usher in advancements in industries
such as mining, metallurgy, and printing The Gutenberg Press
greatly changed the way books were made and directly impacted
education throughout the world This growth of industry led to the
emergence of a Middle Class to narrow the gap between nobles and
peasants Shift in Social Order
Slide 14
Growing industry also helped to revive cities in place of the
feudal farming communities The economic growth of society helped
reestablish the power of medieval kings as they developed
centralized governments to make laws and tax the people
Universities grew out of the monastery system and became places of
learning for those who wished to gain knowledge for the sake of
knowledge Early universities didnt have official buildings or
classrooms They met wherever they could gather to hear lectures
Discussion of Class Structure Shift in Social Order
Slide 15
As a feminine response to the overtly masculine nature of
feudalism, the concept of Chivalry emerged in the 12 th century
Chivalry emphasized a code of behavior for knights and nobles that
focuses on courtly traditions A chivalrous knight was skilled in
battle, loved and served a Lady from afar, showed compassion and
mercy to the downtrodden Chivalry also introduces the idea of
courtly love which became the focus of the literary form of romance
Chivalry
Slide 16
A rejection of religion and religious considerations The growth
of Secularism comes as a result of learning and the growing
distance between religion and politics What secularism ultimately
represents is a shifting of focus away from religion to the
material world we live in Secular arts become more prominent and
appreciated during the High Middle Ages Secularism
Slide 17
Christian painting during the early Middle Ages served several
purposes Reflection of belief in another life Aiding rites of the
Church Depicting and recording Christian history Christians began
to develop Manuscript Illuminations (Images that correlate to the
text of the Bible) Illuminations were made possible by the
introduction of the codex (early form of book) Painting
Slide 18
Slide 19
The Gothic Style developed during the latter part of the Middle
Ages in the area around Paris, France Characteristics of Gothic
style include: Beginnings of three-dimensionality Use of space to
give images mobility Expression of spirituality Reflecting the more
feminine aspects of Chivalry and the refocusing of the Medieval
Church, Gothic paintings focus on the Virgin Mary Painting
Slide 20
The most prominent and expressive style of architecture during
the Middle ages was the Gothic style Gothic architecture is
characterized by Use of windows Pointed arches Flying buttresses
The pointed arches and flying buttresses helped to distribute the
weight of the stone used in building the cathedrals in a way that
allowed more windows to be added to the structure This gave Gothic
structures more interior light than previous churches
Architecture
Slide 21
The most well known and established form of Gothic architecture
is the Gothic Cathedral One of the most famous Gothic cathedrals is
the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, France The name Notre Dame means
Our Lady which is a reference to the Virgin Mary Architecture
Slide 22
Notre Dame Cathedral
Slide 23
An early form of Church drama was the trope Tropes were simple
illustrations of the texts that were read during mass. On special
occasions tropes would be performed in various sections of the
church and viewers would walk around the church in a cycle to see
the various scenes of a story Mystery Plays During the High Middle
Ages, drama emerged that featured Bible stories performed by
occupational guilds. Theatre
Slide 24
Staging for plays during the Middle Ages began inside the
church Eventually, theatre moved outside of the churches and into
the town square Stages were rectangular in shape and meant to be
viewed from either of the sides One of the most prominent features
of Medieval staging was the hellmouth This was the place where the
sinners were cast or dragged into Hell Hellmouths became very
intricate and were the most impressive special effects of the early
stage Theatre
Slide 25
Slide 26
In northern parts of Europe, stages would be built onto wagons
that would travel through the city like a parade Each wagon would
feature a different stage with actors performing a different scene
in one play Theatre
Slide 27
Everyman The most famous play that remains from the Middle Ages
is Everyman Everyman is an allegory (story with a religious message
that is revealed through figurative language and symbol The play
itself is a morality play A morality play teaches a religious
lesson through the use of allegory Theatre
Slide 28
Everyman cont. In the play, Death comes to take Everyman to his
final judgment. Along the way Everyman tries to convince other
characters whose names are qualities that people can possess
(Fellowship, Kindred, Good deeds, etc.) Good Deeds is the only one
who agrees to travel with Everyman but he is weak from neglect and
cannot travel Everyman then performs penance(an act to absolve him
of sins) and Good Deeds is revived and travels with Everyman until
the very end. The allegory here is that if every man performs
penance and asks for the forgiveness of God, their good deeds will
stay with them until the final judgment. Theatre
Slide 29
Music during the Middle Ages falls into two categories Sacred
Religious Secular Non-religious By the year 500CE a strong body of
monophonic music called plainchant had emerged for use in church
services Plainchant is often called Gregorian Chant because of the
influence that Pope Gregory I had on the selection of the melodies
and chants used in the church Plainchant uses a single melodic line
that is sung Most plainchant involves reading from texts that were
regularly used during the Catholic Mass The Kyrie was typically the
first one to be sung Kyrie is a prayer for mercy upon the
congregation Music
Slide 30
Polyphony emerged between the 8 th and 10 th centuries Songs
that contained more than one melodic line Secular music became more
prominent in the 11 th century Songs that were sung in the language
of the common people as opposed to the Latin used in church
services helped increase the popularity of these songs Most songs
were strophic (several stanzas sung to the same melody) and
featured love as a prominent theme Music
Slide 31
Around the Mediterranean coast of France, Spain, and Italy a
new class of performer emerged: the Troubadour Troubadours were
poets and musicians who performed for courts and played a variety
of instruments Some of the instruments troubadours used Harp Viols
or Fiddles Flutes Trumpets Drums Music
Slide 32
Dance during the Middle Ages was very limited by the Medieval
Church Most likely this was due to the pagan use of dance in
religious ceremonies Early dances were comprised of ring dances
where participants danced within a circle More formal dance
presentations were performed in courts Most dances were reactions
to the frightening world that the people were living in This lead
to the introduction of the Danse Macabre (Dance of Death) which
sometimes featured Death as a character in the dance Another ring
dance from the Middle Ages is the tarantella This dance was
performed in order to heal the victims of spider bites
(Specifically tarantula bites) It would be used later as a
courtship dance Tarantella Dance Dance
Slide 33
During the Middle Ages we find examples of both Sacred and
Secular literature Sacred literature involved stories of a
religious nature with some kind of religious message at their core
Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales contains several stories
that are told by the principal characters while they journey to the
tomb of Thomas a Becket in Canterbury. Each characters story
reveals something about who they are and what they value Chaucers
work was very ambitious but remains unfinished because of his death
Another piece of religious literature is the Divine Comedy by Dante
Alighieri Dantes work describes the journey of a soul after death
The Divine Comedy is told using an allegory Literature
Slide 34
Most secular literature from the Middle Ages comes in the form
of legends One of the most well known legends of the Middle Ages is
Beowulf Beowulf is the oldest document to be written in the English
language (Although it is written in Old English) The story of
Beowulf contains several adventures including Beowulfs battle with
the monster Grendel, Grendels mother, and a dragon Literature
Slide 35
Beowulf (Old English)
Slide 36
Secular writing also manifests itself in the form of the
Romance Romance grew as a literary form alongside the rise of
Chivalry and typically featured the adventures of knights Sir
Thomas Mallorys Le Morte dArthur is one of the most well known
medieval romances Mallory gathered the various stories of the
legendary King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table
Literature