Culture of Medieval Europe
The cultural period of the early (V - XI centuries) and classical (XII - XIV centuries) Middle Ages covers ten centuries, from the fall of the Western Roman Empire until the active formation of the Renaissance culture. In a civilization expanding to the north, northwest and northeast, a new cementing force appears - Christian teaching, which determined not only the features of spiritual formation, but also the political and economic existence of the Middle Ages.
The new worldview was set forth in the Bible, a collection of books consisting of the Old Testament and the New Testament. The principle of the ancient worldview is the principle of a thing, a body, nature, a sensory-material cosmos. The principle of the medieval Christian worldview is the principle of personality, society, history, the creation of the cosmos by a superperson, the general fall from grace and the salvation of the sinful world with the help of personal God-manhood.
The separation of these two principles determined the content of theological debates in the first four centuries of Christianity. From now on, a person appears not in two dimensions: “body” and “soul”, but in three – “body”, “soul”, “spirit”. Spirit in the precise sense is participation in the divine through faith, man's openness to the divine word, divine wisdom. A true Christian lives in the Church, among the congregation of righteous people.
The Christian God becomes much closer to man than the previous mythological gods. In the tradition of religious thinking, the concept of “confession” arises, reflecting confidential and spiritual communication with God. Christianity attempts to understand life in the “throwing of the soul” (from the Greek repentance) through the conflict between the “excitement of the heart” and reality. This state of a person created special conditions for him to understand himself in the world around him.
In the view of Christianity, an irreparable tragedy of the historical development of man arose, generated by original sin and man’s falling away from God. It took the human incarnation of the deity himself to show the true path of salvation to humanity, and the decision depended on the person himself. Therefore, the idea of the second coming of the God-man and the Last Judgment of all people was preached, which determined their eternal salvation or eternal death. The Last Judgment is the coming of the Kingdom of God in all its fullness.
The emergence of heresies (from the Greek special creed) dates back to the early Middle Ages. Supporters of the heretical doctrine of “Nestorianism” denied the dogma of the divine essence of Christ, arguing that he was a mortal man. The heretical doctrine of “Monophysitism,” on the contrary, saw only God in Christ and denied his human nature. The Catholic papacy, which arose in the 8th century, actively resisted the spread of heresies.
The weapon in the fight against heresies was the Inquisition (from the Latin search), which acted as a church court. Along with heretics, freethinkers, witches, sorcerers, healers, predictors of the future and clairvoyants, whom the church accused of connections with evil spirits, were punished. The Catholic Church taught that the devil possesses people and causes them to do evil. The charge of collaborating with the devil was enough to carry a death sentence.
Monasticism played a huge role, which took upon itself the obligation of leaving the world, celibacy, and also renouncing property. Many monasteries were centers of education and culture. Since the middle of the 12th century, the most educated part of the population, receptive to spiritual food, has been concentrated in developing cities. This is how the Dominican and Franciscan mendicant orders arise. One of the most important aspects of the activities of the mendicant orders was pastoral service, preaching and confession, and missionary work.
In the XII - XIII centuries, the Roman Catholic Church acted as an arbiter in disputes between states, was the largest financial center in the world, and was actively involved in commercial and general economic activities.
Klemeshov Alexey Stanislavovich, senior lecturer, associate professor, candidate of historical sciences
The spiritual life and mentality of the feudal society of Western Europe were distinguished by deep religiosity. The Catholic Church was a powerful feudal institution. Christianity and figures of the Catholic Church played an important role in the transmission of the traditions of ancient civilization, in the development of social studies and science. Christian morality and ethics introduced moral values into the public consciousness, which served as the basis for universal human culture and European civilization. When studying the history of the Middle Ages, it is extremely important to emphasize the positive role of Christianity and the Catholic Church, the educational activities of the clergy, the social function of protecting the disadvantaged, political institutions, in the formalization of family and marriage relations and overcoming the remnants of customary law, blood feud and arbitrariness. The history of Catholicism is as controversial as the entire medieval era. Christianity in Western Europe was established through the most severe violence against the individual. The merciless struggle against pagan cults and heresies was accompanied by the extermination of tens and hundreds of thousands of people who saw a different interpretation of the Holy Scriptures. Christian fanaticism reached its apogee during the Inquisition. Humanistic ideology, the conciliar movement, and then the Reformation led to significant changes in religious ideology and the organization of religious communities. The course examines all stages of the evolution of the Roman Church over a whole millennium (from the 6th to the 16th centuries). Its history is presented in close connection with the history of feudal society and the peculiarities of the ideology of medieval Europe.
In terms of studying educational material on the topics of lectures, it is planned to conduct seminars and tests.
Topic: Christianization of the peoples of Europe and the Roman Church in VI – VIII centuries
The main forms of Christianity in Western Europe: Catholicism, Nestorianism, Arianism. Popular pagan beliefs in the early Middle Ages. Spread of Christianity in barbarian kingdoms. Religious policy of royal power. The influence of the Catholic Church on moral and emotional behavior. Ways to achieve high holiness: healing lepers and the blind with a sign and prayer, piety, mercy, chastity, caring for the construction of churches. Modesty and humility as norms of Christian ethics. The Christian Church in Ireland as a center of missionary activity.
Topic: The Christian ideal of self-denial and the first monastic brotherhoods in Western Europe V – VIII centuries
The religious and philosophical ideal of monasticism. Eastern hermitage as a form of self-denial and asceticism. Social and evangelical motives for renouncing worldly life. Types of complete self-denial: excessive abstinence from the sources of real life (from food, sleep, clothing), bodily self-torture, seclusion. Features of monastic communities in Ireland. Activities of St. Martin (316–397) in Gaul. Destruction of pagan sanctuaries, construction of churches and founding of monasteries in Poitiers and Mormoutiers. The first charters for monasteries: in Marseille (St. Cassian - 5th century), in Monte Cassino (St. Benedict - 6th century). Convents in Gaul (“Ecclesiastical History” by Gregory of Tours – IX, 33, 43; X, 12, 15, 16). The first monasteries in Italy: Bobbio, Nonantula, Monte Cassino, Vivarium of Flavius Cassiodorus (490-585). The main aspects of the activities of monks, conversion of pagans to the Christian faith, participation in internal colonization, intellectual pursuits. Monasteries as centers of education, book culture and Christian learning. Formation of a monastic brotherhood based on the principles of strict discipline, common property, and joint labor. Rules of monastic life, daily routine. Election of the abbot and his functions. The constructive role of monasticism in the early Middle Ages.
Topic: Christianization of Europe in IX - XI centuries
Expanding the sphere of influence of the Catholic Church. Political consequences of the Christianization of the peoples of Europe. Strengthening the authority of the Roman Church. Church policy of Charlemagne. Creation of a system of Christian upbringing and education. Theologians of the 9th century (Alcuin, Agobard of Lyons, Walafrid Strabo, Rabanus the Maurus) and their role in the formation of medieval scholasticism. Church and feudal wars. Political preconditions of the movement for “peace”. Catholic doctrine of “just”, later “Holy” war. The significance of Catholic canons on war in the formation of knightly ideology. Religious morality and feudal life. The influence of church ideology on upbringing, education, morality, morals and customs of the era.
Topic: The crisis of the Roman Church and the prerequisites for its reformation ( X – XI centuries). Cluny movement
Spiritual crisis and secularization of the church. Sale of church positions. Feudalization of the Catholic Church. The growth of church and monastic land ownership. The rise of monastic intellectual culture in the 10th–11th centuries. and the strengthening of the ideological influence of monasteries. The growth of the prestige of monasteries in social and political life. Scientific and educational activities of monks, learned theologians and teachers. Ideas for the moral cleansing of the church and renewal of church life. The activities of Benedict of Anian (IX century) to strengthen the discipline of monastic life and strengthen the power of the abbot. Introduction in monasteries of the Rule of St. Benedicta. The role of the Benedictines and Cistercians in the reform movement of the 10th–11th centuries. Reform tasks. Monastic reform in England (966), its ideological and political orientation. The Order of Cluny is “the soul of the Middle Ages” (D. Botti). Founding of the monastery (910). Cluny Congregation of Monasteries. Council resolutions on the introduction of celibacy and the prohibition of simony. Results of the Cluny reform. Strengthening the organizational foundations of the Roman Church. Raising the authority of papal power. Streamlining church worship. Approval of the dogmas of the Catholic Church. Development of the Catholic Church into a powerful feudal institution. Recognition of the church's right to collect "tithes" and fees for rituals. Political dependence of European states on the Roman throne. Development of reform in the 12th century.
Topic: Spiritual knightly orders in XII - XV centuries
The role of the papacy in organizing the military defense of the interests of the Catholic Church. Prerequisites for the emergence of monastic brotherhoods of warrior knights. Taking the four monastic meals: celibacy, poverty, obedience, military function of defense of the Catholic faith. Jerusalem Order - “Order of the Defenders of the Holy Sepulcher” (1114). The symbolism of the order, dedicated to Jesus Christ and the pilgrim. Union with the Order of Hospitallers (late XV - Pope Innocent VIII). Order of the Temple (“Secret Knighthood of Christ”) – 1118. The feudal elite of France as part of the brotherhood. St. Bernard on the secret mission of the Order of the Temple. “Magna Charter” of the Order of the Temple (1139): patronage and guardianship of the pope, exemption from tithes. Papal bull of 1162 on the privileges of the Templars, exemption from the jurisdiction of local bishops, the right to absolution and receive tithes as alms. Charter of the Order of the Temple. Structure and management. Military-political, diplomatic and financial activities of the Order of the Temple. The reasons for the conflict between the order and the French king Philip IV. Inquisition process 1307–1312 Dissolution of the order by the pope (1312). Execution of the Grand Master. The first hospital for pilgrims in Jerusalem (1071) and the "Religious Brotherhood" for the care of the sick and poor (1099). "Order of the Equestrians of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem" (1113). The unification of the Knights Hospitaller into a monastic community (1128). Charitable activities of the order: caring for pilgrims, helping sick and crippled crusaders, protecting them from the Saracens. The military-political function of the Knights Hospitaller during the Crusades. Structure of the Order of Hospitallers. Transformation of the Order of the Hospitallers into the Order of the Knights of Rhodes (1310) and into the Maltese Order of St. John of Jerusalem (beginning of the 16th century) with the function of protecting Christians from the soldiers of the Turkish Sultan. Spiritual knightly orders and the Reconquista in Spain. Founding of the Teutonic Order (1198) and the transfer of military activities of the “Brothers of the German House” to the Baltic states (1206). “Ice Crusades” with the goal of Christianizing the Prussians, the peoples of Livonia, and subjugating the Russians to the Catholic Church. Teutonic knights as carriers of the idea of national superiority. The significance of the activities of the Teutonic Order. Decline and collapse of the Teutonic Order (from the beginning of the 15th century). Adoption of Protestantism by Grand Master Albert of Brandenburg (1525).
Topic: Monastic and evangelical movement ( XII – XV centuries)
Monastic asceticism as part of a religious worldview. The Christian idea of salvation through the liberation of the soul from the flesh and earthly passions. The introduction of asceticism into the consciousness of the people by theologians and preachers (church ministers, monks). Ideologists of asceticism. The goal of asceticism: the desire for salvation. Forms of asceticism: prayers, fasting, wearing chains and hair shirts, strict monastic rules (complete withdrawal from the world), voluntary confinement in walled cells, self-flagellation, night vigils, refusal of food and clothing. Contents: imitation of Christ until the repetition of his sufferings, return to God through mortification of the flesh. The concept of “mortal sin” in medieval theology. Seven basic vices in the formulation of Gregory I the Great. From the 13th century “saligia” - the order of the main sins: pride (with vanity) - superbia, greed - avaritia, voluptuousness - luxuria, anger - ira, gluttony - gula, envy - invidia, sadness - acedia. Types of church punishment: anathema, interdict. Veneration of ascetics among the people, canonization by the church. Formation of monastic orders and congregations in the XII–XIV centuries. Hermitage and pilgrimage as ways to achieve salvation, ways of cleansing from sinful flesh. Cistercian order. Activities of the Cistercians: physical labor, agriculture. Participation in internal colonization in Europe. Studies in science and sacred arts. Cistercian monks and abbots are prominent representatives of theology: Bernard of Clevros (XII century), Joachim of Flores (XIII century). Carmelite Order (1156). Order of St. Francis. Franciscan movement. Biography of Francis of Assisi (1207–1290). Preaching absolute poverty and humility for the sake of fidelity to the “poor Christ.” Charter of the Order of St. Francis. Hierarchy of the Franciscan Order. Activities of the Franciscans: preaching the official teachings of the Catholic Church, performing the sacraments on the roads of pilgrimage. Order of St. Dominic. The order was founded in 1215 by the Spanish monk Dominic de Guzman. Charter of 1216, approved by the pope. Functions of the order: training theologians to combat heresies, Inquisition (1232). Monasteries are the intellectual centers of Western Europe. Evangelical movement in the XII-XIV centuries. Social prerequisites for turning to the evangelical principles of early Christianity. Main events of the evangelical movement. Popularity of the Christian concept of strict evangelical life. Popular theology and folk culture. The problem of religious and social behavior of the flock. Popular religiosity. Features of religious psychology. Popular religious movements in Christianity. Heresies. Social and anti-clerical orientation of medieval heresies of the 11th–15th centuries.
Topic: Church, government and society in XII – beginning XIV centuries
Ideological, political and economic power of the Catholic Church. The clergy in the class structure of feudal society. The ideological influence of the church on upbringing, education, culture and public morality. Defense and justification of the justice of the feudal social order. The role of the Catholic Church in the preservation of ancient cultural heritage (philosophy, law, literature). The church is at the center of social contradictions. The weakening of the political influence of the papacy in the 14th century. Peculiarities of the position of the national Catholic Church in Western European countries. Development of independent centralized states. The struggle of European monarchs to expand their sovereignty. Growing social tension in feudal society. Prerequisites for the Great Schism of the 15th century. Strengthening the church as a feudal institution.
Topic: Demonology, witchcraft and the role of the Inquisition in the “witch hunt”
Theological interpretation of the image of the Antichrist and the devil. Theological essence of demonology. Christian writers about the atrocities of the devil and the demonic army. The doctrine of incubi and succubi. Everyday dual faith. Witchcraft, witchcraft, fortune telling, predictions, dream interpretation. The theological interpretation of magical practice is “service to the devil.” Demonological legends of the Middle Ages. The Church in the fight against magic, witchcraft and witchcraft. Council resolutions on the punishment of sorcerers. Theological treatises and writings of the inquisitors of the 12th–14th centuries. Guides for conducting witchcraft processes. The activities of the Inquisition to detect and punish heretics and “servants of the devil.” Features of the inquisition process and the work of the inquisition tribunal. The role of the Dominicans in defending the holy faith. Vedic trials in the 15th–16th centuries. The results of the activities of the Inquisition and its elimination in the 16th century. Preservation of the methods of inquisitorial proceedings in secular courts in cases of witchcraft.
Topic: Reformation and Counter-Reformation in Europe in XVI V.
Features of the historical development of Western European countries in the 16th century. Formation of large national states. Development of absolutism. The genesis of capitalism and its influence on feudal institutions. Socio-political preconditions of the Reformation. The rise of the bourgeoisie. Strengthening social contrasts. Expropriation of the peasantry and pauperization of the population. Economic, political and cultural role of the bourgeoisie. Ideological preparation of the Reformation. Development of sciences and social thought. The importance of printing (from the mid-15th century) for the development of secular education and the establishment of international contacts in the field of intellectual culture. Humanists' criticism of the papal theocratic doctrine and the moral state of the clergy. Ideological origins of the Reformation. Anti-Catholic, anti-feudal orientation of the social movement in the 16th century. Reformation as a form of affirmation of bourgeois ideology in the religious sphere. The aggravation of class conflicts and the popular peasant-plebeian understanding of the Reformation. Uniting the efforts of European monarchs to defend Catholicism. Rome is the organizing center for the fight against Protestantism. The Roman Church is in the struggle to maintain its influence and strengthen the position of Catholicism. Support of Catholic circles of the feudal nobility. The establishment of absolutist regimes based on the centralizing power of the Catholic Church. Convening of the XIX Ecumenical Council in Trent (1545), strengthening of repressive measures and inquisitorial activities in Rome. The role of the council in strengthening the position of Catholicism. Organization of the Jesuit Order to protect the Catholic Church. Charter of the Order of “Soldiers of Christ” – “Spiritual Exercises”. Principles of organization. Order management. Activities of the Jesuit Order. The significance of the activities of the Jesuits in strengthening the ideological influence of the Catholic Church. Conclusion. The split of Western Christianity. Strengthening the importance of national churches. The weakening influence of the papacy in the international arena. Secularization of public consciousness.
Sources
1. Abelard. The story of my disasters. – M., 1959.
3. Antipapal movement in Rome in the 12th–13th centuries. Documentation. Questions of the history of religion and atheism. 1962. Issue. 10.
4. Bubnov N. M. Collection of Herbert's letters. Tt. 1–3. 1890.
5. Helmold. Slavic Chronicle. – M., 1963.
6. Gregory of Tours. History of the Franks. – M., 1987.
7. Dante Alighieri. New life. The Divine Comedy. – B.V.L., 1967.
8. Documentation about the relationship of the papal curia with the Grand Duke of Kyiv Izyaslav Vsevolodovich and the Polish prince Boleslav II the Bold // Bulletin of Moscow University. Story. 1975, no. 5.
9. Ideas aesthetic education. T. 1. M., 1973 (Thomas Aquinas. Should chants be included in worship?).
10. Innocent III. About contempt for the world. // Italian humanism of the Renaissance. Part II. – Ed. Saratov University, 1988.
11. Historians Carolingian era. – M., 1999.
12. Italian humanists of the 15th century about church and religion. – M., 1963.
13. Italian Renaissance humanism. Part II. – Ed. Saratov University. 1988.
14. Canons or the book of rules of the holy apostles, holy ecumenical and local councils and holy fathers. – M., 2000.
15. Legend about Doctor Faustus. – M., 1978.
16. Lorenzo Valla. About true and false good. About free will. – M., 1989.
17. Luther M. Selected works. – St. Petersburg, 1994.
18. Munzer T. Prague Appeal. Letters from T. Münzer. NE. No. 52. – M., 1989.
19. Monuments medieval Latin literature of the 4th–9th centuries. – M., 1970.
20. Monuments medieval Latin literature of the 10th–11th centuries. – M., 1972.
21. Papal texts of absolution // Questions of the history of religion and atheism. 1954. Issue. 4.
22. Devotees: selected biographies and works. - Samara. 1998.
23. Messages master John Hus. – M., 1903.
24. Richer of Reims. Story. – M., 1998.
25. Essays Italian humanists of the Renaissance (XV century). – Moscow State University, 1985.
26. Suger from Saint Denis. A book about the consecration of the Church of St. Dionysius. // Ideas of aesthetic education. T. I. – M., 1973.
27. Ulrich Strasbourg. The amount about the benefit. History of Aesthetics. Monuments of world aesthetic thought. T. I. – M, 1962, pp. 291–301.
28. Ulrich von Hutten. Dialogues. Journalism. Letters. – M., USSR Academy of Sciences, 1959.
29. Thomas a Kempis. On the imitation of Christ // Theology in the culture of the Middle Ages. – Kyiv, 1992.
thirty. " Flowers» St. Francis of Assisi. – M., 1990; M., 2000.
31. Sprenger J., Insistoris G. "Witches Hammer" – M., 1990.
32. Erasmus of Rotterdam. Conversations are easy. – M., 1969.
33. Erasmus of Rotterdam. Philosophical works. – M., 1987.
Literature
1. Averintsev S.S.. The fate of the European cultural tradition in the era of transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages // From the history of culture of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. – M., 1976.
2. Bedwell G. History of the Church / Transl. from French K.N. Korsakov. – M., 1996.
3. Betzold F. History of the Reformation in Germany. Tt. 1–2. – St. Petersburg, 1900.
4. Bicilli P.M.. Elements of medieval culture. – Odessa, 1919.
5. Bicilli P.M.. Essays on Italian life of the 13th century. – Odessa, 1916.
6. Theology in the culture of the Middle Ages. – Kyiv, 1992.
7. Borgosh Yu. Thomas Aquinas. – M., 1966.
8. Bezeskul V.P.. The Papacy and Arnold of Brescia. – Kharkov, 1884.
9. Bezeskul V.P.. On the history of the papacy in the 11th century. – St. Petersburg, 1911.
10. Veselovsky A.N.. Where did the legend of the Holy Grail originate? – St. Petersburg, 1900.
11. Vilfius A.G. The Waldensian movement and the development of religious individualism. – M., 1916.
12. Vilfius A.G. The character and composition of the early Waldensian communities. – M., 1914.
13. Whipper R.Yu. Church and state in 16th-century Geneva during the Calvinist era. – M., 1984.
14. Vyazigin A.S. Essays on the history of the papacy in the 11th century. – St. Petersburg, 1911.
15. Vyazigin A.S.. Gregory VII. His life and social activities. – St. Petersburg, 1891.
16. Geyser. History of the Reformation. – M., 1892.
17. Genking M. Devil. – M., 1930.
18. Gergey E. History of the papacy (XII–XX centuries). – M., 1996.
19. Gerye V.I.. Western monasticism and the papacy. – M., 1913.
20. Gerye V.I.. The rise of Western theocracy. – M., 1916.
21. Golenishchev-Kutuzov I.N.. Medieval Latin literature of Italy. – M., 1972.
22. Grevs I.M.. A new work on the religious history of medieval Italy in Russian scientific literature. – St. Petersburg, 1913.
23. Gregorovius F. History of the city of Rome in the Middle Ages. Tt. 1–5. – St. Petersburg, 1903–1907.
24. Grigulevich R.I.. Inquisition. – M., 1985.
25. Gurevich A.Ya. The medieval world: the culture of the silent majority. – M., 1990.
26. Dunham B. Heroes and heretics. Political history of Western thought. – M., 1967.
27. Dashkevich N.P.. The Legend of the Holy Grail // From the history of medieval romanticism. – K., 1877.
28. Demonology Renaissance. – M., 1995.
29. Dobiash-Rozhdestvenskaya O.A.. Western pilgrimages in the Middle Ages. - Pg. 1924.
30. Dobiash-Rrozhdestvenskaya O.A.. Culture of the Western European Middle Ages. – M., 1987.
31. Dobiash-Rozhdestvenskaya O.A. The cult of St. Michael in the Latin Middle Ages. V–XIII centuries – Pg., 1917.
32. Dobiash-Rozhdestvenskaya O.A.. Cross and sword. The Adventures of Richard I the Lionheart. – M., 1991.
33. Zaborov M.A.. History of the Crusades in documents and materials. – M., 1977.
34. Zaborov M.A.. Crusaders in the East. – M., 1980.
35. Zaborov M.A.. Crusades. – M., 1956.
36. Zaborov M.A.. Papacy and the Crusades. – M., 1960.
37. Kantarovich. Medieval witch trials. 1899.
38. Karsavin L.P. Fundamentals of medieval religiosity in the 12th–13th centuries, mainly in Italy. – Pg., 1915.
39. Karsavin L.P.. Essays on religious life in Italy in the 12th–13th centuries. – St. Petersburg, 1912.
40. Karsavin L.P.. Holy fathers and teachers of the church. – M., 1994.
41. Karsavin L.P.. Monasticism in the Middle Ages. – M., 1992.
42. Kartashev A.V.. Ecumenical councils. – M., 1994.
43. Klyachin V.P.. Political meetings and political organization of Calvinists in France in the 16th century. – Kyiv, 1888.
44. Kerov V.L.. Ideas of the Apocalypse in the Middle Ages. – M., 1992.
45. Kowalski Jan Wierusz. Popes and the papacy. – M., 1991.
46. Witches and witches. – M., 1996.
47. Korelin M.S.. The most important moments in the history of the medieval papacy. – St. Petersburg, 1901.
48. Kotlyarevsky S.A.. Franciscan Order and the Roman Curia in the XIII–XIV centuries. – M., 1901.
49. Kuznetsov E.V.. Lollard movement in England (XIV–XV centuries). – Gorky, 1968.
50. Culture eras of the Renaissance and Reformation. – M., 1981.
51. Kurtz I.G.. Essay on church history. – St. Petersburg, 1868.
52. Lanfra P. Political history of the papacy. – St. Petersburg, 1870.
53. Lebedev A.P.. From the history of the moral state of the clergy from the 2nd to the 8th century. 1903.
54. Lekki G. History of the emergence and influence of rationalism in Europe. T.1. 1871.
55. Leman. An illustrated history of superstitions and magic. 1901.
56. Lee G.Ch. History of the Inquisition in the Middle Ages. Tt. 1–2. – St. Petersburg, 1911–1912.
57. Lozinsky S.G.. History of the Papacy. – M., 1986.
58. Lortz Joseph. History of the Church. T. 1. Antiquity and the Middle Ages. – M., 1999; T. 2. – M., 2000.
59. Luchitsky I.V.. Huguenot aristocracy and bourgeoisie in the south after St. Bartholomew's Night. – St. Petersburg, 1870.
60. Luchitsky I.V.. Feudal aristocracy and Calvinists in France. – Kyiv, 1871.
61. Luchitsky I.V.. Catholic League and Calvinists in France. 1877.
62. Malitsky. The struggle of the Gallic church against the popes for independence.
63. Markin S. Meeting Erasmus. – M., 1971.
64. Melville Marion. History of the Templar Order. – St. Petersburg, 2000.
65. Men A. History of Christianity. T. 2. – M., 1992.
66. Miroshkin N. Ancient British church. ZhMN Ave. No. 163, 1872.
67. Michelet J. Witch. – M., 1997.
68. Osinovsky I.N.. Thomas More. – M., 1985.
69. Osinovsky I.N. Thomas More - utopian communism, humanism, Reformation. – M., 1978.
70. Osokin N.A. History of the Albigenses until the death of Pope Innocent III. – Kazan, 1872.
71. Osokin N.A. History of the Albigenses and their time. – Kazan, 1869–1872.
72. Osokin N.A. The First Inquisition and the conquest of Languedoc by the French. – Kozlov, 1872.
73. Parnov E. Throne of Lucifer. – M., 1991.
74. Pernu R., Klan M-V. Joan of Arc. 1992.
75. Pertsev V.N. The Catholic Church and the new culture of the 13th–15th centuries. – Minsk, 1938.
76. Pleshkova S.L. French monarchy and church (XV - mid-XVI centuries). – M., 1992.
77. Posnov M.E.. History of the Christian Church. – Brussels, 1964.
78. Potekhin A. Essays on the history of the struggle between Anglicanism and Puritanism under the Tudors (1550–1603). – Kazan, 1894.
79. Ramm B.Ya. Papacy and Rus' in the X–XV centuries. – M.-L., 1959.
80. Revunenkova N.V. Renaissance freethinking and the ideology of the Reformation. – M., 1988.
81. Rozhkov V. Essays on the history of the Roman Catholic Church. – M., 1998.
82. Savin A.N. English secularization. – M., 1906.
83. Savin A.N.. Religious history of Europe during the Reformation. – M., 1914.
84. Samarkin V.V.. The Dolcino Rebellion. – M., 1971.
85. Sidorova N.A.. Essays on the history of early urban culture in France. – M., 1953.
86. Skazkin S.D.. Historical conditions of the Dolcino uprising. – M., 1955.
87. Skazkin S.D.. Selected works on history. – M., 1973.
88. Skazkin S.D.. From the history of the socio-political and spiritual life of Western Europe in the Middle Ages. – M., 1981.
89. Smirin M.M.. The People's Reformation by Thomas Münzer. – M., 1955.
90. Speransky N. Witches and witchcraft. – M, 1906.
91. Sumtsov N. Essay on the history of witchcraft. 1878.
92. Talberg N. History of the Christian Church. – M., 2000.
93. Tarje J. The world of pilgrimage. – M., 1998.
94. Trakhtenberg O.V.. Essays on the history of Western European medieval philosophy. – M., 1957.
95. Tukholka S. Witchcraft trials in Western Europe in the 15th–16th centuries. – St. Petersburg, 1909.
96. Ukolova V.I. Ancient heritage and culture of the early Middle Ages. – M., 1989.
97. Uskov N.F.. Christianity and monasticism in Western Europe in the early Middle Ages. – Aletheia, 2001.
98. Ferguson D. Christian symbolism. – M., 1998.
99. Flory Jean. Ideology of the sword. – St. Petersburg, 1999.
100. Huizinga Johan. Autumn of the Middle Ages. – M., 1995.
101. Hermann H. Savonarolla: the heretic from San Marco. – M., 1982.
102. Hughes R. Heaven and hell. – M., 1998.
103. Shevkina G.V. Siger of Brabant and the Parisian Averroists of the 13th century. – M., 1972.
104. Steckli A. Thomas Munzer. – M., 1961.
105. Erasmus Rotterdam and his time. – M., 1989.
Approximate topics of abstracts for the course:
1. Benedict and his charter.
2. German preacher Berthold of Regensburg.
3. Werner Sadovnik’s poem “Mayer Helmbrecht” – as a reflection of the corporate consciousness of medieval man.
4. Traditions and beliefs of the ancient Germans.
5. Templars. The essence of the conflict with royal power.
6. Medieval man’s perception of earthly and afterlife.
7. St. Columban and his charter.
8. The main ways of Christianization of the Germanic peoples in the 4th–9th centuries.
9. Monasticism in Western Europe X-XI centuries.
10. Church and education in the early Middle Ages.
11. John Cassian and monastic education in the East and West.
12. Knightly education.
13. Urban schools, scholasticism and the university in the Middle Ages.
14. Speech by M. Luther against the Roman Curia. "95 Theses against Indulgences."
15. The teachings and activities of John Calvin.
16. The Jesuit Order and its charter.
17. Elizabeth Tudor and the Anglican Reformation.
18. State and church through the eyes of the Puritans.
19. Erasmus of Rotterdam on scholasticism, monasticism and the church (“Praise of Folly”).
20. Criticism of the clergy and the papacy by Ulrich von Hutten.
21. Ulrich von Hutten on the plan to combat the dominance of the church.
22. Criticism of the social system of England in “Utopia” by Thomas More.
23. Society of the Future according to “City of the Sun” by Tomaso Campanella.
24. Formation of the spiritual and intellectual elite in the Middle Ages: monastery, royal court, university.
25. Gassendi’s ethical ideal and his attitude to religion.
26. St. Bartholomew's Night in memoirs of the 16th century.
27. Mary Stuart in the political struggle of the Reformation era.
28. Demonology and the activities of the Inquisition in the 15th–16th centuries.
Test questions for the course:
1. Gods and beliefs of the Germanic pagan era.
2. The main ways of penetration of Christianity to the Germanic peoples.
3. The adoption of Christianity by the Anglo-Saxons and northern Germans - Scandinavians.
4. Christian missionary work in the 7th–8th centuries.
5. Christianization as one of the weapons of external expansion under the Carolingians.
6. Adoption of Christianity by the Franks during the Merovingian era.
7. Paganism and “folk Christianity”.
8. State and church of the early Middle Ages.
9. The emergence of the ascetic movement.
10. Origen's teaching about the true Christian.
11. Paul of Thebes - “the founder and king of monastic life.”
12. Basic forms of hermitage.
13. Anthony of Egypt.
14. Pachomius, his life and work.
15. Monasteries of Basil the Great.
16. Spread of the ascetic movement in Western Europe.
17. Activities of St. Martina.
18. The first attempts to codify monastic charters (Cassien’s Charter).
19. The process of changing original monasticism, its essence, the institution of novitiate.
20. Attempts to reform monasticism (activities of Charlemagne, monastic capitulary of 817).
21. The concept of “church”. Organizational structure of the Catholic Church. The main functions of the church in Western European countries.
22. Church in the system of feudal relations.
23. The place of the clergy in the class structure of society.
24. Strengthening the power of the church in the 11th–13th centuries.
25. The Catholic Church and the process of political centralization in Western Europe.
26. The role of the church in the Middle Ages.
27. The process of political centralization and the strengthening of royal power in Western Europe.
28. City schools: content of education and organization of the educational process.
30. Franciscans and Dominicans.
31. The universal nature of medieval preaching.
32. Fundamental acts of the Holy Inquisition.
33. Inquisitorial proceedings.
34. Medieval man’s perception of earthly and afterlife life.
35. Cluny movement.
36. What contributed to the sustainability of folk magic.
37. System of sacraments and sacramentals.
38. Sacred-magical rituals of the Christian church, their purpose and connection with paganism.
39. The main features of Luther's church reformation program. The emergence of the Lutheran Church.
40. T. Munzer and his reform activities.
41. Formation of the Calvinist Church.
42. Activities of the Inquisition in the 16th century.
43. Council of Trent and its significance in strengthening the Catholic Church.
44. Religious and church policies of Spanish absolutism at the end of the 15th – beginning. XVII centuries
45. The formation of the doctrine of Anglicanism.
46. The Reformation in France and the causes of religious wars.
47. “The Witches Hammer.”
48. Some features of the social psychology of the population of Western Europe in the 16th century.
The Catholic Church and the Christian religion played a huge role in the life of medieval society. The Catholic Church was a tightly organized, well-disciplined hierarchical structure headed by a high priest, the Pope. Since it was a supranational organization, the pope had the opportunity, through the white clergy, as well as through the monasteries, to carry out his line through these political institutions. In conditions of instability, before the emergence of centralized absolutist states, the church was the only stabilizing factor, which further strengthened its role in the world. Therefore, the entire medieval culture until the Renaissance was exclusively religious in nature, and all sciences were subordinated to and imbued with theology. The church acted as a preacher of Christian morality and sought to instill Christian standards of behavior throughout society. For a long time, the church had a monopoly in the fields of education and culture. In special “writing workshops” (scriptoria) at monasteries, ancient manuscripts were preserved and copied, and ancient philosophers commented on the needs of theology. According to one of the churchmen, “the monks fight with pen and ink against the insidious machinations of the devil and inflict as many wounds on him as they rewrite the words of the Lord.”
Christianity became a kind of unifying shell, which determined the formation of medieval culture as an integrity.
Firstly, Christianity created a unified ideological and worldview field of medieval culture. Being an intellectually developed religion, Christianity offered medieval man a coherent system of knowledge about the world and man, about the principles of the structure of the universe, its laws and the forces operating in it.
Christianity declares the salvation of man to be the highest goal. People are sinners before God. Salvation requires faith in God, spiritual efforts, pious life, and sincere repentance of sins. However, it is impossible to be saved on your own; salvation is possible only in the bosom of the church, which, according to Christian dogma, unites Christians into one mystical body with the sinless human nature of Christ. In Christianity, the model is a humble person, suffering, thirsting for atonement for sins, salvation with God's mercy. The Christian ethic of humility and asceticism is based on an understanding of human nature as “infected” with sin. Evil, as a result of the original Fall, took root in human nature. Hence the preaching of asceticism and humility as the only way to combat the sinful principle that resides in man (and not the very nature of man). Man himself is godlike, worthy of immortality (the righteous will receive a bodily resurrection after the Last Judgment). However, it is difficult for a person to cope with the sinful thoughts and desires that have taken root in his soul, so he must humble his pride, renounce free will, and voluntarily hand it over to God. This voluntary act of humility, the voluntary renunciation of one’s own will, is, from the point of view of Christianity, the true freedom of man, and not self-will leading to sin. Proclaiming the dominance of the spiritual over the carnal, giving priority to the inner world of man, Christianity played a huge role in shaping the moral character of medieval man. The ideas of mercy, selfless virtue, condemnation of acquisitiveness and wealth - these and other Christian values - although they were not practically implemented in any of the classes of medieval society (including monasticism), nevertheless had a significant influence on the formation of the spiritual and moral sphere of medieval culture.
Secondly, Christianity created a single religious space, a new spiritual community of people of the same faith. This was facilitated, first of all, by the ideological aspect of Christianity, which interprets a person, regardless of his social status, as the earthly incarnation of the Creator, called to strive for spiritual perfection. The Christian God stands above the external differences of people - ethnic, class, etc. Spiritual universalism allowed Christianity to appeal to all people, regardless of their class, ethnicity, etc. accessories. In conditions of feudal fragmentation, political weakness of state formations, and incessant wars, Christianity acted as a kind of bond that integrated and united disunited European peoples into a single spiritual space, creating a religious bond between people.
Thirdly, Christianity acted as an organizational, regulating principle of medieval society. In the context of the destruction of old tribal relations and the collapse of “barbarian” states, the church’s own hierarchical organization became a model for creating the social structure of feudal society. The idea of a single origin of the human race corresponded to the tendency towards the formation of large early feudal states, most clearly embodied in the empire of Charlemagne, which united the territory of modern France, a significant part of future Germany and Italy, a small region of Spain, as well as a number of other lands. Christianity became the cultural and ideological basis for the consolidation of a multi-tribal empire. Charlemagne's reforms in the cultural sphere began with a comparison of various copies of the Bible and the establishment of a single text for the entire state. A reform of the liturgy was also carried out, which was brought into line with the Roman model.
During the dramatic period of cultural decline after the destruction of Rome, the Christian Church was for centuries the only social institution common to all European countries. The church acted as a regulatory principle in the life of medieval society, which was facilitated by the very position of the Catholic Church, which not only did not submit to the supreme political authority, but also retained almost complete independence in solving internal and a number of political problems. Having become the dominant political institution already in the 5th century, when the bishop of Rome was proclaimed pope, the church concentrated enormous power over politically fragmented Western Europe, placing its authority above the authority of secular sovereigns. After a period of sharp weakening (X - mid-XI centuries), when the papal throne was temporarily subordinated to the secular power of the German emperors, in the subsequent period (XII-XIII centuries) the power and independence of the church, its influence on all spheres of public life were not only restored , but increased even more. Being a supranational organization, using its own rigidly organized hierarchical structure, the church was aware of all the processes that were taking place in the Catholic world, skillfully controlled them, pursuing its own line.
The main, central idea of the medieval man’s picture of the world, around which all cultural values, the entire structure of ideas about the universe were formed, was the Christian idea of God. The medieval worldview and attitude, which was based on Christian consciousness, has the following features:
“Two-worldliness” - the perception and explanation of the world comes from the idea of two-worldliness - the division of the world into the real and the otherworldly, the opposition in it of God and nature, Heaven and Earth, “above” and “below”, spirit and flesh, good and evil, eternal and temporary , sacred and sinful. In assessing any phenomenon, medieval people proceeded from the fundamental impossibility of reconciling opposites and did not see “intermediate steps between absolute good and absolute evil.”
Hierarchism - according to the divinely established order, the world was seen as built according to a certain pattern - in the form of two symmetrical pyramids folded at the bases. The top of the top is God, below are the apostles, then, respectively, archangels, angels, people (among which the “top” is the pope, then cardinals, below are bishops, abbots, priests, dwarfs of lower levels and, finally, simple believers. The top hierarchical vertical included animals (immediately behind the laity, then the plants, at the base of the top row there was earth.) Next came a kind of negative reflection of the heavenly and earthly hierarchy as evil grew and approached Satan.
The hierarchical organization of the church influenced the formation of the social structure of medieval society. Like the nine ranks of angels, forming three hierarchical triads (from top to bottom) - seraphim, cherubim, thrones; domination, power; angels - and on earth there are three classes - clergy, knighthood, people, and each of them has its own hierarchical vertical (up to “wife - vassal of her husband”, but at the same time - “lord of domestic animals”, etc.). Thus, the social structure of society was perceived by medieval man as corresponding to the hierarchical logic of building the heavenly world.
Symbolism. The symbol played a huge role in the picture of the world of medieval man. Allegory was a familiar form of existence of meaning for medieval people. Everything, one way or another, was a sign, all objects were just signs of entities. The essence does not require objective expression and can appear directly to those who contemplate it. The Bible itself was filled with secret symbols that hid the true meaning. Medieval man viewed the world around him as a system of symbols, which, if correctly interpreted, could comprehend the divine meaning. The Church taught that the highest knowledge is revealed not in concepts, but in images and symbols. Thinking in symbols made it possible to find the truth. The main method of cognition was to comprehend the meaning of symbols. The word itself was symbolic. (The word was universal, with its help the whole world could be explained.) The symbol was a universal category. To think meant to discover secret meaning. In any event, object, natural phenomenon, a medieval person could see a sign - a symbol, for the whole world is symbolic - nature, animals, plants, minerals, etc. The deeply symbolic mentality of medieval man determined many features of the artistic culture of the Middle Ages, and above all, its symbolism. The entire figurative structure of medieval art is symbolic - literature, architecture, sculpture, painting, theater. Church music and the liturgy itself are deeply symbolic.
The worldview of medieval man was characterized by universalism. At the heart of medieval universalism is the idea of God as the bearer of a universal, universal principle. The spiritual universalism of Christianity has formed a spiritual community of people - fellow believers. Christianity affirmed the universality of man, treating him, as already noted, regardless of ethnicity and social status, as the earthly incarnation of God, called upon to strive for spiritual perfection (although this idea was in deep contradiction with the class structure of society). The idea of the religious unity of the world, the predominance of the universal over the individual, transient, played a huge role in the picture of the world of medieval man. Until the late Middle Ages, the dominant was the desire for the general, the typical, the fundamental rejection of the individual, the main thing for medieval man was his typicality, his universality. A medieval person identified himself with some model or image taken from ancient texts - biblical, church fathers, etc. Describing his life, he looked for his own prototype in Christian literature. Hence traditionalism as a characteristic feature of medieval mentality. Innovation is pride, departure from the archetype is distance from the truth. Therefore, medieval art prefers typification to individualization. Hence the anonymity of most works of art, the canonicity of creativity, i.e. limiting it to the framework of developed schemes, norms, ideas. Fundamental novelty was condemned, and adherence to authority was encouraged.
The worldview of medieval man was characterized by integrity. All areas of knowledge - science, philosophy, aesthetic thought, etc. - represented an indivisible unity, because All issues were resolved by them from the standpoint of the central idea of the medieval man’s picture of the world - the idea of God. Philosophy and aesthetics set the goal of understanding God, history was seen as the implementation of the Creator's plans. The man himself recognized himself only in Christian images. The holistic embrace of all things, characteristic of the medieval mentality, was expressed in the fact that already in the early Middle Ages, culture gravitated towards encyclopedia, the universality of knowledge, which was reflected in the creation of extensive encyclopedias. Encyclopedias or encyclopedic collections (sums) did not simply provide the reader with a sum of knowledge, but were supposed to prove the unity of the world as God's creation. They contained comprehensive information on various branches of knowledge. Medieval literature also gravitated towards encyclopedicism - here are numerous hagiographies and collections of maxims. The desire for the universality of knowledge is enshrined in the name of the centers of development of medieval scientific thought and education - universities.
The integrity of the worldview did not mean that medieval man did not see the contradictions of the world around him; it was simply that the removal of these contradictions was thought of in the spirit of Christian ideology, primarily expressed in eschatology (the doctrine of the end of the World). The Last Judgment will establish the kingdom of eternal life for the righteous and free man from the need to live in an unjust world, where there is no due reward for good and evil, where evil, enmity, selfishness, and malice often triumph.
Medieval people were inclined to see moral meaning in everything - nature, history, literature, art, everyday life. Moral assessment was expected as a necessary completion, as a fair reward for good and evil, as a moral lesson, edifying morality. Hence the openness of medieval art and literature to moral conclusions.
History as a science did not exist in the Middle Ages; it was an essential part of the worldview, which was determined by its Christian understanding. Human existence unfolds in time, starting with the act of creation, then the Fall of man and ending with the second coming of Christ and the Last Judgment, when the goal of history will be realized. The Christian understanding of history is characterized by the idea of spiritual progress, the directional movement of human history from the Fall to salvation, the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth. The idea of spiritual progress stimulated a focus on novelty during the mature Middle Ages, when the growth of cities and the development of commodity-money relations determined a new stage in the development of medieval culture.
The church played a very important role in medieval society. With its religious and moral authority, it promoted the idea of the divine origin of royal power, and also called on the people to humility and submission. The church parish was one of the most important forms of organizing social communication between people. It exercised ideological and moral control over the population.
The Catholic Church was built as an authoritarian-monarchical organization. All senior clerics were appointed by the Vatican. The power of the popes was considered superior to the power of the Ecumenical Councils (meetings of the highest clergy). The religiosity of the population strengthened the role of the church in society, and the economic, political and cultural activities of the clergy contributed to the maintenance of religiosity in a canonized form.
One of the main tasks of the church was the formation and support of a religious worldview of life. It was based on the requirement of mortification of the flesh and liberation of the spirit, which is contained in the philosophy of asceticism. Under these conditions, the church cultivated the institution of monasticism. The first form of monasticism was hermitage on the principle of solitude in the desert, following the example of St. Anthony, and later - unification into communities, following the example of St. Pachomius. Then the black and white clergy appear. In 529, Thomas of Naursia organized the first communal monastery in Montecassino (Italy). Contempt for the world, expressed in the desire for monastic life, is one of the most important features of medieval culture.
Naturally, in real life it was not possible to completely neglect everyday human activity, due to which the church created an extensive system of regulation of social life by limiting its manifestations with various rules, regulations, customs, etc. At the same time, in order to maintain the unquestioning authority of the church, preserving purity of its dogmas, emphasis is placed on the development not of a rational, but mainly of an emotional perception of reality and the foundations of doctrine. On the one hand, any manifestations of carnal passions were recognized as sinful. They were replaced by passionate, sometimes fanatical love for Christ and the Virgin Mary. On the other hand, irreconcilable hatred was cultivated towards the enemies of Christianity. Belief in visions, miraculous healings, and visits to people by evil spirits were an integral part of individual and social consciousness. People lived in an atmosphere of miracle, which was considered an everyday reality.
In the struggle for the religious unity of Western Europe, the need to maintain its authority and the inviolability of the position of the Catholic Church. constant protection of the official church doctrine in the field of dogma and cult was required from numerous heresies. The heresies themselves arose during the early Middle Ages. At that time, they largely reflected the process of formation of the church, its hierarchical structure, so that heretical movements were even led by representatives of the episcopate. Among the most common early heresies one can highlight, for example, Monophysitism (denied the doctrine of the dual, divine-human nature of Christ), Nestorianism (proved the position of the “independently existing” human nature of Christ) Adoptian heresy, which was based on the idea of adoption (adopcio) of humanity by God son of Christ.
During the heyday of the Middle Ages, heresies were directed against the very institution of the church, a significant part of the clergy (gr. kleros - the general name of church ministers, against the all-pervasive church regulation of life. Such heresies include the heresies of the Cathars (Italy, Flanders, France, XI-XIII centuries .), Waldensians (France, end of the 12th century), Lollards (Antwerp, especially widespread in England), Albigensians (France, 12th–13th centuries), etc. The heretical movements of the classical Middle Ages reflected mainly the interests of the poor classes and opposed church land ownership, preached the philosophy of asceticism.At the same time, they put forward ideas directed against certain dogmas of the church.
The Catholic Church, during the period of its greatest power, mercilessly suppressed heresies. To combat heresies at the end of the 12th century. a system of special church tribunals was created - the inquisition (from the Latin inqusitio - search). From the 13th century it became an independent institution under the supreme authority of the popes. The activities of the Inquisition were directed not only against heretics, but also against various manifestations of freethinking, witchcraft, witchcraft, etc. Denunciation was widely used. During the process of secret interrogation in the dungeons of the Inquisition, a confession of guilt was extracted from the victims, usually through torture. In addition, to intimidate, church tribunals practiced auto-da-fé (Latin actus fidei, Spanish auto de fe, lit. - act of faith) - public executions, burning of heretics, because it was believed that fire most completely destroys the criminal. Significant was the fact that part of the costs of maintaining the Inquisition was covered from amounts confiscated from executed heretics.
Another weapon of the church against heretics were the mendicant monastic orders - the Franciscans and Dominicans. Both orders were founded in the 13th century. The Inquisition courts were usually formed from representatives of the order of “brothers-preachers” - the Dominicans, who were also called the dogs of God. The Franciscan Order was proclaimed mendicant: the monks were ordered to live only on alms, dress in rough clothes, walk barefoot, gird themselves with rope and not have any property. His goal was to distract the urban poor from heresies.
In addition, the practice of the Catholic Church includes the sale of indulgences - certificates of remission of sins. a whole doctrine of indulgences was developed. The price of an indulgence depended on the severity of the crime committed; there was a kind of “price list” of prices for the remission of sins. Proceeds from the sale became an important source of replenishment of the church treasury. Over time, the trade in indulgences takes on the character of shameless profit and indirectly begins to contribute to the spread of vices. This activity of the Catholic Church greatly contributed to the spread of heretical movements.
People of the Middle Ages lived in constant anticipation of the Last Judgment and the end of the world, in fear of the devil. In order to strengthen its own authority, the church aggravated these fears, often played on them, and also pointed to the “servants” of the devil: Muslims, Jews, women, witches and sorcerers. Dominicans in the 15th century. claimed that every third Christian is a witch or sorcerer. At the same time, the book “The Hammer of Witches” was written, which described who witches were, how to expose, judge and punish them. The peak of witch persecution occurred between 1560 and 1630. Hundreds of thousands of people were burned at this time. The total number of victims of the Inquisition is estimated by some historians at several million people.
Religious motives often played a major role in wars of conquest. So, in the XI–XIII centuries. the so-called crusades of Western European feudal lords to the East were undertaken. In the fall of 1095, Pope Urban II first called on Western Europe for crusades. The official goal of the Crusades was the liberation of the “Holy Sepulcher.” However, along with this, the crusades were called upon to solve other problems.
By the 11th century. in Western Europe, the land was already almost completely divided between secular and church feudal lords. According to custom, only his eldest son could inherit the lord's land. This principle of inheritance is called primordacy. The younger sons formed a large layer of feudal lords who did not have land and wanted to get it by any means. The Catholic Church, not without reason, feared that these knights would encroach on its vast possessions. In addition, the Catholic Church, led by the Pope, sought to extend its influence to new territories and at their expense increase their income. Rumors about the riches of the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean, which were spread by pilgrim travelers who visited Palestine, aroused the greed of the knights. The motto of the crusaders was the call of the Pope: “Let a double reward crown those who previously did not spare themselves to the detriment of their flesh and soul.” The liberation of the “Holy Sepulcher” was accompanied by the seizure of overseas lands, cities, and wealth by the crusading knights.
As a result of the first campaigns (the First Crusade took place in 1095–1099), the crusaders managed to create their own states in Palestine. The first to be founded on the fertile lands of the Holy Land, as Europeans then called Palestine, was the Kingdom of Jerusalem (in the territory of Southern Syria and Palestine), then the Principality of Antioch, the Counties of Edessa and Tripolitan were founded. The peasants who came with the knights received almost nothing, and therefore, in the future, fewer and fewer of them participated in the crusades.
In order to strengthen the possessions of the crusaders, soon after the First Crusade, special organizations were created - spiritual knightly orders. The Order of the Templars (or Templars) was created to protect pilgrims going to Jerusalem. The Johannites (or Hospitallers) maintained the hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, where the sick, poor pilgrims, and wounded knights were treated. At the end of the 12th century. An order dedicated to the Virgin Mary arose, most of whose members came from Germany, so it was called Teutonic (or German). The orders were half-military, half-monastic associations. Under the monastic cloak of the “order brothers” (for the Templars - white with a red cross, for the Hospitallers - red with a white cross, for the Teutonic knights - white with a black cross) hid knightly armor. The tasks of the orders were the defense and expansion of the possessions of the crusaders, as well as the suppression of protests by the local population. The orders had a centralized structure. They were led by grand masters and reported directly to the pope. The orders enjoyed many privileges and over time became the richest landowners not only in the East, but also in Western Europe.
In the 12th century the knights had to gather for war many times under the sign of the cross (Second Crusade - 1147-1149; Third Crusade - 1189-1192) in order to retain the captured territories. However, all crusades failed. When at the beginning of the 13th century. At the call of Pope Innocent III, the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was organized; French, Italian and German knights did not fight against Muslims, but attacked the Christian state of Byzantium. In April 1204, knights captured and sacked its capital, Constantinople. The fall of Constantinople was followed by the capture of half of the Byzantine Empire, where the crusaders founded their own state, the Latin Empire, which lasted only 57 years (1204–1261).
The Crusades brought many disasters; they not only did not achieve their direct goal, but also brought death to hundreds of thousands of their participants and were accompanied by the waste of colossal funds of European states. At the same time, they stimulated the development of contacts with the East. The influence of the Islamic world (Egypt, Morocco, Spain, Persia and even India), where the crusaders visited, was manifested in acquaintance not only with a new religion - Islam, but also with a new culture.
The significance of the Crusades for Western Europe was great. Navigation reached unprecedented prosperity. Trade relations expanded, the main conductors of which were Italian merchants from Venice, Genoa, Pisa, Amalfi, etc. Money flowed into Europe, which led to the decline of the natural economy and contributed to the economic revolution and the development of commodity-money relations. Many useful plants were brought from the east to Europe, such as saffron, apricot, lemon, pistachios (these words themselves are Arabic). Rice came into widespread use, and sugar appeared. Works of the highly developed weaving industry in the East were imported in significant quantities - chintz, muslin, expensive silk fabrics (velvet, satin), as well as carpets, jewelry, paints, etc. Acquaintance with these items and the method of their manufacture led to the development of similar industries in Europe (for example, in France - carpet weaving according to oriental patterns, and the carpets were called “Saracens”). In the East, many items of clothing and household items were borrowed, which still bear Arabic names: skirt, alcove, sofa, etc. Arabic concepts and words denoting them penetrated and became entrenched in European languages: admiral, amulet, talisman, customs, etc. .
The Crusades introduced Western scholars to Arab and Greek science (in particular, the works of Aristotle). The geographical knowledge of Europeans expanded significantly; mathematics, astronomy, medicine, natural science, and history also made progress. In European art since the era of the Crusades, the influence of Byzantine and Muslim art has been noticeable. For example, horseshoe and pointed arches, trefoil arches, flat roofs appear in architecture; in artistic crafts, the arabesque pattern (so named because it looks like Arabic script) is becoming popular. Thanks to the Crusades, poetry was enriched - new subjects and new poetic forms appeared.
The era of the Middle Ages is usually understood as a rather long historical period, the framework of which includes the origin and formation of European medieval civilization and the long process of its transformation - the transition to the New Age. The Middle Ages usually begin with a conventional date - with the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476. However, according to modern medievalists, it is more fair to draw the border somewhere in the 6th - early 7th centuries, after the invasion of Italy by the Lombards. In Russian historiography, the end of the Middle Ages is traditionally considered to be the English bourgeois revolution of the mid-17th century, although the last centuries before it have special, far from medieval features.
1. Introduction. Defining the medieval time frame
era. p.3
2. Main socio-economic characteristics
European feudalism. p.4
3. The role of religion and church in medieval life
society. p.8
4. Conclusion. p.11
5. List of references. p.13
The work contains 1 file
1. Introduction. Defining the medieval time frame
era. p.3
2. Main socio-economic characteristics
European feudalism. p.4
3. The role of religion and church in medieval life
Society. p.8
4. Conclusion. p.11
5. List of references. p.13
The place of religion and the church in the life of medieval society
1. The era of the Middle Ages is usually understood as a rather long historical period, the framework of which includes the origin and formation of European medieval civilization and the long process of its transformation - the transition to the New Age. The Middle Ages usually begin with a conventional date - with the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476. However, according to modern medievalists, it is more fair to draw the border somewhere in the 6th - early 7th centuries, after the invasion of Italy by the Lombards. In Russian historiography, the end of the Middle Ages is traditionally considered to be the English bourgeois revolution of the mid-17th century, although the last centuries before it have special, far from medieval features. Therefore, modern researchers tend to single out the period mid-XVI - early. XVII centuries as an independent era of early modern times and limit it to the eve of the history of the Middle Ages proper. See: Medieval Europe through the eyes of contemporaries and historians. Ed. Filippov B.A., M.: Interprax, 1994., Part 1, pp. 18-19. Thus, the Middle Ages is the period of the 7th-15th centuries, although this periodization is largely conditional.
It was during this period that the European world was formed within its modern boundaries and ethnic boundaries, a period of geographical and scientific discoveries began, and the first rudiments of modern democracy - a system of parliamentarism - appeared.
Domestic medieval studies, having today abandoned the interpretation of the Middle Ages only as a period of “dark ages” and “obscurantism”, strives to objectively illuminate the events and phenomena that turned Europe into a qualitatively new civilization. Ibid., pp. 8-9. In the latest research, the Middle Ages appears to us as an era with its own special social relations and special culture. This is the time of the dominance of the feudal mode of production and the agrarian element, especially in the early period, and the corresponding specific forms of existence of society: an estate where the master, with the help of the labor of dependent people, satisfies most of his material needs; A monastery, which differs from an ordinary estate only in that it is a “collective lord”, and that here from time to time there are literate people who are capable of writing books and have “appropriate leisure” for this; and finally, the royal court, which moves from place to place and organizes its life and administration on the model of an ordinary estate.
The objectives of this work include determining the main socio-economic characteristics of this feudal civilization and describing the main features of the medieval Christian world. It is also intended to touch upon the heterogeneity of the following questions: what impact did the church have on medieval man, was she a spiritual dictator or, rather, a source of inspiration and development of that era?
2. The development of social structure and statehood among the peoples of Western Europe during the Middle Ages went through two stages. The first stage is characterized by the coexistence of modified Roman and Germanic social institutions and political structures in the form of "barbarian kingdoms". At the second stage, feudal society and the state act as a special socio-political system, described below. At the first stage of the Middle Ages, royal power played a major role in the feudalization of barbarian societies. Large royal land grants, as well as the distribution of tax and judicial privileges to church magnates, created the material and legal basis for seigneurial power. In the process of social stratification and the growing influence of the landed aristocracy, relations of dominance and subordination naturally arose between the owner of the land - the lord and the population sitting on it.
The economic conditions that had developed by the 7th century determined the development of the feudal system, characteristic of all regions of medieval Europe. This is, first of all, the dominance of large land ownership, based on the exploitation of small, independently managing peasant farmers. For the most part, peasants were not owners, but only holders of plots and therefore were economically, and sometimes also legally and personally dependent on the feudal lords. The peasants usually retained the basic tools of labor, livestock, and estates.
An important role was played by non-economic coercion of the main producers, which was explained by their economic independence: violence against the personality of the producer was widespread - from personal dependence to class inequality of peasants and artisans.
Feudal property acted primarily in the form of private ownership - estates, fiefdoms, seigneuries, in which the exploitation of peasants was carried out mainly in favor of one owner (king, nobles, monastery).
Thus, the basis of the feudal system was the agrarian economy. The economy was predominantly subsistence, that is, it provided itself with everything it needed from its own resources, almost without resorting to the help of the market. The gentlemen bought only mostly luxury goods and weapons, and the peasants only bought iron parts of agricultural implements. See: History of Europe. T.2. Medieval Europe. M.: Nauka, 1992. P. 8-9; Medieval Europe..., Part 2. pp. 39-40. Trade and crafts developed, but remained a minor sector of the economy.
The social class structure of medieval European society was determined by the feudal mode of production. Its main classes were land owners (feudal lords) of various ranks and peasants (of various legal status). An important social stratum of the period of mature feudalism was also formed by townspeople who did not form a single class due to significant property differentiation.
The relationships within the ruling class were most fully and clearly expressed in the vassal-feudal system and the feudal hierarchy. It was determined by a conditional form of ownership (feudal), which the vassal received upon fulfilling any obligations (most often for military service) in favor of the superior feudal lord.
A characteristic feature of the feudal society of the Middle Ages was its estate-corporate structure, resulting from the need for separate social groups. For both peasants and feudal lords, it was important not so much to increase material wealth as to maintain the acquired social status. Right there. Neither the monasteries, nor the large landowners, nor the peasants themselves showed any desire for a continuous increase in income during this period. The rights of individual estate groups were secured legally. Gradually, with the development of cities, an urban class also emerged: the burghers, which in turn also consisted of a number of groups - the patriciate, the full burghers and the incomplete plebs.
The corporatism of feudal European society was also manifested in the fact that various types of unions played a large role in it: rural and urban communities, brotherhood, craft guilds and merchant guilds in cities, knightly and monastic orders.
The institution of the state played an important role in the formation of medieval civilization, providing protection to the population both from external threats and from feudal freemen. At the same time, the state itself was one of the main exploiters of the masses, since it primarily represented the interests of the ruling classes.
During the second period of the Middle Ages, the evolution of society accelerated markedly under the influence of the exchange of commodity production and monetary relations, although they still had only a limited influence. An ever-increasing role is played by the medieval city, which at first still remained in political, administrative and political subordination to the estate - the seigneury, and ideologically to the monastery. Subsequently, the emergence of the political and legal system of the New Time (and therefore new ideas about the relationship between the individual and society, the citizen and the state) is associated with the development of cities. This process will traditionally be perceived as a consequence of the creation and development of urban communes that defended their liberties in the fight against the lord. Indeed, it was in the cities that those elements of legal consciousness that are commonly called democratic took shape. However, according to modern historians, it would be wrong to look for the origins of modern legal ideas only in the urban environment. Representatives of other classes also played a major role in the formation of legal consciousness in the late Middle Ages. For example, the formation of ideas about the dignity of the individual occurred mainly in the class consciousness of feudal lords and was initially of an aristocratic nature. Consequently, democratic freedoms also grew out of aristocratic love of freedom.
Gradually, the city undermines the foundations of the Middle Ages, transforming itself and transforming its “opponents” - the feudal lords. In the acute and social struggle between the peasantry and the feudal lords, between the cities and the lords, between various factions within the feudal class itself, between the supporters of separatism and the adherents of centralization, the Middle Ages gradually came to an end.
Thus, the material basis of feudalism was the rural lordship, and feudalism as a European civilization had two foundations: military - in accordance with the main function of the vassals, and agricultural - the source of their livelihood.
3. The place of religion and the church in the life of medieval society, which many historians call Christian society or the Christian world, was comprehensive: religion and the church filled the entire life of a person in the feudal era from birth to death. The church claimed to govern society and performed many functions that later became the property of the state. The medieval church was organized on strictly hierarchical principles. It was headed by the Roman high priest - the pope, who had his own state in Central Italy; archbishops and bishops in all European countries were subordinate to him. These were the largest feudal lords, who owned entire principalities and belonged to the top of feudal society. Having monopolized culture, science, and literacy in a society consisting mainly of warriors and peasants, the church had enormous resources that subordinated the man of the feudal era to it. Skillfully using these means, the church concentrated enormous power in its hands: kings and lords, needing its help, showered it with gifts and privileges, trying to buy its favor and assistance.
At the same time, the church pacified society: it sought to smooth out social conflicts, calling for mercy towards the oppressed and disadvantaged, for an end to lawlessness, and for the distribution of alms to the poor. Poverty was even given moral priority. See: Ibid. Part 1. P. 201. The Church attracts under its protection many peasants in need of protection, provides them with land for settlement, and encourages the liberation of other people's slaves, who at the same time became dependent on it.
In turbulent feudal times, people sought the protection of the monastery. The monastery was also the most demanding owner, preserving the most severe forms of feudal exploitation. The Church was the largest landowner in the feudal world and tirelessly increased its material wealth. Monasteries were among the first to switch to commodity farming, to production for the market, taking treasures and money for storage, and providing loans. Under the auspices of the church, in conjunction with church holidays, fairs and markets arise, pilgrimages to holy places merge with trade travel. Continuing to use economic power for its own purposes, the church in the XI-XIII centuries. in fact, he heads the trade and colonization movement of Europeans to the East (“crusades”), organizing huge monetary collections to finance them. After the cessation of the “campaigns,” these funds began to be used to strengthen the papal treasury.
The church organization reached its highest power in the 12th-13th centuries, turning into a powerful financial organization with unlimited power over its structures and exceptional political influence. Kosminsky E.A. Feudalism in Western Europe. M. 1932. pp. 123-136. Taking a conservative position, the church taught that each member of society should live in accordance with his legal and property status and not seek to change it. The ideology of the three "estates", which spread in Europe in the 10th century, put monks in first place, people devoted to prayer and standing above society. There was a gradual aristocratization of the clergy and monasticism.
However, along with the official church doctrine in the Middle Ages, popular religiosity was widespread, going far beyond the framework of the church and Christian dogma. God was perceived as a mysterious force present in sacred places, the personification of goodness and justice. This popular religiosity was shared by the bulk of priests, with the exception of the church elite - learned bishops and abbots. Of great importance was the belief in intermediaries between God and people - angels and saints, in whom the laity were more attracted not by Christian virtues, but by the miracles they performed, perceived as proof of their power and holiness.
However, one cannot fail to note the positive role of the church and Christian doctrine in the formation of Medieval civilization. The Church cared for the sick, the poor, orphans and the elderly. She controlled education and book production. The church, according to the modern historian Bishok, "was more than a patron of medieval culture, it was the medieval culture itself." Medieval Europe... Part 2. P. 227. Thanks to the influence of Christianity, by the 9th century a fundamentally new understanding of family and marriage had established itself in medieval society; the familiar concept of “marriage” was absent in the late antique and ancient Germanic traditions; there was no concept of “family” that is familiar to us then. In the early Middle Ages, marriages between close relatives were practiced; numerous marriage ties were common, which were also inferior to consanguineous ties. It was precisely this situation that the church struggled with: the problems of marriage, as one of the Christian sacraments, have become almost the main theme of many theological works since the 6th century. The fundamental achievement of the church of this period of history should be considered the creation of the marital unit as a normal form of family life that still exists today.
Loading...