Chapter 14Section 4

Life and Culture

In the Middle Ages

Review

What grew larger along with the revival of trade in the Middle Ages

What helped the Black Death spread quickly around the world?

the decline in trade in medieval times was caused by the _______ system

Under what system do workers made a part of a product in their homes?

Literature and Languages Since the fall of the Roman Empire, Latin had

remained the spoken and written language of educated people in western Europe

People with little education spoke vernacular languages- every day speech that varied from region to region

During the Middle Ages writers began to use vernacular languages in their works.

Troubadour’s- traveling singers and writers- songs were one of the first forms of vernacular literature

Romances, French fabliaux- comedic short stories written in rhymed verse- epics, and dramas were all popular with medieval audiences

A Troubadour

…or at least what one might have looked like.

The Flowering of Vernacular Literature

{Dante Alighieri and Geoffrey Chaucer wrote in vernacular languages instead of Latin}

Dante wrote The Divine Comedy which was considered to be his greatest work. In the book, Dante takes a journey through the three realms, hell, purgatory and heaven .

Chaucer’s most famous work was considered to be The Canterbury Tales. It was a group of stories told from the point of view of 30 pilgrims traveling to the shrine of St. Thomas Beckett.

Chaucer pokes fun at English society, especially the clergy

Dante and Chaucer

Education

Schooling was mostly carried out in monasteries but as cities grew, other schools opened.

Teachers would set up a school and admit any males who wanted to study and could pay a fee

{In time teacher and students united to form guilds called universitas to protect their rights}

Universities began to open up all over Europe and all universities had the same programs

Students had to pass certain stages of study before they could receive degrees

Medieval Universities

Philosophy

Medieval European philosophers tried to bring together faith and reason in what is called scholasticism.

Peter Abelard wrote a book called Sic et Non (yes and no) which included passages from the Bible, statements from popes and writings of church philosophers. He showed that many of them conflicted with each other

Thomas Aquinas the most famous Medieval philosopher and a monk of the Dominican Order, wrote Summa Theologiae which summarized medieval Christian thought

Science

Few advances were made in science in the Middle Ages because the church was the main source for information

Only two subjects got much attention: Mathematics and optics- the study of light

{Science of the Middle Ages focused on practical use more than theory}

They designed better wenches and pulleys. They made iron plows and better oxen yokes

They also began to use the Asian inventions of windmills and waterwheels

Architecture

During the Middle Ages architecture was the main form of art In the early Middle Ages architects followed the

Romanesque style of architecture, using arches domes and vaults.

To support the weight of the roof the buildings had to be low with few windows, making the inside very dark

{The main style of architecture during the middle to later Middle Ages was called Gothic}

Gothic churches had tall spires. Supporting structures called flying buttresses connected with the church’s walls with arches and carried some of the roof’s weight

Everything in Gothic churches seemed to reach toward heaven

They used stained glass, statues of holy figures and saints

Romanesque style church

Example of a Flying Buttress

Review

Dante Alighieri and Geoffrey Chaucer wrote in vernacular languages instead of what?

In time teacher and students united to form guilds called ___________ to protect their rights

Science of the Middle Ages focused on what more than theory?

The main style of architecture during the middle to later Middle Ages was called?

Gothic Cathedral in Köln, Germany. Began building in 1248 but did not fully finish until 1880. As a matter of fact when we went there they were still doing renovations