Culture of the Middle Ages

Samantha Stavropoulos and Kate Michels

What were the Middle Ages?

500-1500 A.D.- Began after the fall of RomeNo central power or government during the timeNamed the middle ages because it was the middle time in between the Roman Empire and Renaissance

Life was difficult because of poverty, and most of the population was impoverished

The closest thing to a form of government was manorialism, or rule over peasants by a lord

Background on Christianity

30 B.C.- Jesus Christ established Christianity 64-68 A.D.- Christians were seen as a threat to the Roman Empire, so Emperor Nero began to prosecute them

313 A.D.- Constantine legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire1378-1417- the Great Schism between the Eastern and Western Christian Churches was complete Great Schism was caused by Pope Urban IV

Faith in the Middle Ages-The Catholic Church

Imposed taxes and had its own land and lawsAccepted gifts and donations: that was how people got into Heaven

Excommunicated (banned from the church) non-believers

Started to translate the Bible-led to want for education and knowledge

The pope was infallible(incapable of error) and had power over all religious and political mattersThe priests drank, gambled, and kept mistresses

This thirst for intelligence also influenced literature

Background on Islamic Religion

Practiced in mainly Spain, Middle East, and North Africa

There was little contact between Christians and Muslims

Islam was founded by Muhammad in the 7th century

It is a monotheistic religion based off the teachings of the Qur’an and the 5 Pillars of Islam

Islam During the Middle Ages

Almost all of the people of Spain were Muslim, but the rest of Europe was Christian

Despite the cultural divide, Muslims added to the knowledge in science and technology

Both Christians and Muslims viewed the other badly, and they did not often encounter each other

Islamic scribes translated Roman and Greek texts, contributing to the want for knowledge

Background on Knights

Duty: to learn how to fight and serve their LordExpected to guard the castle and support his lord in Middle Age warfareMust train as a page, then a squire before becoming a knightTrained for many yearsThey practiced their skills in tournaments of jousting

At the end of Knighthood ceremony, they would take the title of sir

ChivalryChivalry was the knightly system of the

Middle AgesThe chivalric orders were first used against

non-Christian statesIt was a moral system

that introduced ideal qualities such as bravery, courtesy, honor, and gallantry toward womenIdeas of chivalry were written in poems, ballads, writings, and literary works

Myths such as Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table show the medieval code of chivalry

Chivalry-The Knight’s Code

Chivalry was used for knights in combat and in overall life When knights were sworn in, they had to agree to the code The Knights’ Code of Chivalry emphasized faith, charity, justice, sagacity, prudence, temperance, resolution, truth, liberality, diligence, hope, valorThe Knights’ Code was also related to defending God, showing the lack of separation between church and state

Literature

Literature flourished during the middle ages

There was a lack of paper, so calf’s skin and parchment were the typical choiceThe books and illustrations were done by hand by monksRomance novels and epic battles were written and described along with fiction and poetry

The spread of literature was also influenced by troubadours

Troubadours

A troubadour was a traveling musician

They spread news and entertained noblesThe stories they sung were about chivalry and romance, or battles and recent news

Troubadours assisted in the spread of literature, except instead of written stories they were spoken, then later on written down

JongleursJongleurs were assistants to the

troubadoursThey juggled, danced, and did

acrobatics along with the singing and instrument playing

They also performed acts of stupidity which eventually led to jesters

The man on the left is the jongleur because he is acting oddly with additional flutes in his mouth

Questions

Why were they called the Middle Ages?

What was chivalry?

What were the troubadours?

Works Cited http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/middle-ages-religion.h

tm http://www.freeessays.cc/db/21/emr39.shtml http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1661946?term

s=religion+in+the+middle+ages

http://www.nipissingu.ca/department/history/muhlberger/2805/christ.htm http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/614382?terms=middle+ages+ http://eawc.evansville.edu/essays/seaman.htm

http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/knights-code-of-chivalry.htm http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/troubadours.htm http://www.medieval-life.net/literature_main.htm

http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/ http://www.ais.org/~bsb/Herald/Previous/95/science.html http://geography.about.com/od/historyofgeography/a/islamic

geo.htm http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-music/jongleurs.htmhttp://www.middle-ages.org.uk/middle-ages-knights.htm

Works Cited: Picture Sources

http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Globe_Photo/2007/05/01/1178028959_6791.jpg

http://www.tattoosymbol.com/articles/celtic-cross.jpg http://www.pioneertroubadours.com/images/troubadoursPic.jpg http://jameswmiller.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/knighthood.jpg http://www.wall-maps.com/Classroom/Atlas/worldSpreadOfIslam750.gif http://www.wall-maps.com/Classroom/Atlas/worldSpreadOfIslam750.gif http://religioncompass.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/11th-century-north-african-qur_an-in-the-british-museum.jpg

http://heraldictimes.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/knights-tournaments.jpg http://lacsknights.pbworks.com/f/christianity%20map.gif

The picture on slide 1 was found in clip art

http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/images/medieval-musicians.jpg