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Medieval western civilization
The medieval period
Early Medieval Cultures Essay
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The Middle Ages were characterized by a rigidly hierarchical society, which was justified by the view that, like the branches of a tree, every level of society was preordained and important. While the nobility and the clergy stood at the top of the society hierarchy, Jews and those who pursued dishonorable professions were branded outsiders. The Church acted as guardian of culture, particularly within its monasteries and convents. They preserved the scholarship of antiquity, often through the mediation of Muslim scientists. In the 12th century, the first universities developed from the monasteries and cathedral schools. Opposite to the clergy were the lords and nobility who developed their own culture, which was centered on chivalry. According to this ideal, the duty of a knight was to unite Christian virtues with courage and spirit of battle, demonstrated by jousting. The lords attempted to regulate their lands and reduce the influence of the nobility and the Church. Their power, however, was dependent on their subjects in the economic system of feudalism, which defined power relations. A lord would lend a fiefdom to a vassal, which thus created a social relationship in that the vassal owed service and the lord owed protection. The kings delegated hereditary lands to the nobles who administered them from their well-fortified castles, which simultaneously separated them from the people they ruled. The majority of the people was farmers and was obliged to perform services for their rulers. Living conditions were poor, which contributed to high infant mortality rates. Epidemics spread by rodents erupted from the middle of the 14th century at irregular intervals and claimed the lives of millions of people... ... middle of paper ... ...orists such as Montesquieu and Voltaire not only encouraged the freedom of religion and science, but also a critical examination of the existing balance of power. Throughout the Early Modern Period, absolutism prevailed in most of the lands of Europe as modeled on the French monarchy. Absolutism placed complete authority within the hands of the ruling sovereigns instead of the people. Many of them, however, such as King Frederick the Great of Prussia and Catherine the Great of Russia, were supporters of the Enlightenment. These so-called “Enlightened Absolutists” endeavored to manage the administration of their states with exclusive authority, while limiting the influence of the Church and the aristocracy to a minimum. Simultaneously, these rulers supported the emerging middle class, humanist circles, progressive reformers and the scholars of the Enlightenment.
So the peasants were extremely poor at that time. After the Black Death, population decreased, serfs and peasants were able to move around and they had much more freedom than before. They were no longer belong to the lord, and had choices of who they would work for. Most peasants chose to work for high paid jobs. The landowners, in order to attract people to work for them, provided the workers tools, housing and land. “The worker farmed all he could and paid only the rent.” The better treatment of serfs weakened the manorialism, as well as the decline of nobles.The plague killed so many people, and even nobles could not escape. The wealthy families were incapable of continuing growing, because their descendants died. So their position could not be passed on. Many families extinct. To fix this problem, the government setted up a new inheritance law which allowed both sons and daughter inherited property.
A Comparison of the Characteristics of the Absolutist Rule of Charles I of England and Louis XIV of France
Absolutism describes a form of monarchical power that is unrestrained by all other institutions, such as churches, legislatures, or social elites. To achieve absolutism one must first promote oneself as being powerful and authoritative, then the individual must take control of anyone who might stand in the way of absolute power. The Palace of Versailles helped King Louis XIV fulfill both of those objectives. Versailles used propaganda by promoting Louis with its grandiosity and generous portraits that all exuded a sense of supremacy. Versailles also helped Louis take control of the nobility by providing enough space to keep them under his watchful eye. The Palace of Versailles supported absolutism during King Louis XIV’s reign through propaganda, and control of nobility.
Frederick the Great of Prussia and Joseph II of Austria adopted the newfound ideas of the Enlightenment to different extents with Frederick the Great advancing the ideas by implementing religious toleration, freedom of speech and press, and setting a single code of laws for all of his subjects and not advancing them by not abolishing serfdom for fear of upsetting the “Junkers”, or Prussian nobility; Joseph II advanced the ideas of the Enlightenment eagerly by completely abolishing serfdom paying no heed to what it could cause socially and politically and he didn’t advance these ideas in the end because his many reforms caused alienation of the church and nobility and radical changes in social hierarchy.
This idea of absolutism directly opposes general Enlightenment ideas, which focus mainly on freedoms and rationality. Catherine II, being an absolute monarch of Russia, was rather skeptical toward engaging in a distribution of power, as it would take away from her authority. Document 6 was too written by an absolute monarch. While Frederick II, King of Prussia, advocated slightly for the humanization of rulers and equalization of basic laws and their applications to people, he too attacked others. Citing a less than human nature of the Jews as his defense, Frederick II attempted to expel Jews from the main areas of Prussia and contain them to the very borders. This refusal to accept and build toward religious toleration shows the archaic nature of Frederick II’s actions. Frederick II blatantly states that the only reason for keeping
Voltaire’s ideas also criticized royal absolutism because they had, in his opinion, too much power. He favored an enlightened absolutist, which is an absolutist who adopts enlightenment ideas. Once again, the French commoners took this to heart and agreed with Voltaire that the French government was too powerful.... ... middle of paper ...
A hierarchical society of Kings granting land to nobles, who would then give a fief to a knight in return for service. The knight would then have peasants or serfs working on their fief. However, as the plague spread, many peasants died and their labour could not be replaced. This loss of workforce had a significant impact upon the economy as grain was not being harvested and livestock roamed free. The agrarian economy had been severely damaged, the land became uncultivated and returned back to its natural state.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, absolute monarchies were dominating in European countries. National governments became more centralized and local power and autonomy became more powerful. This rise in power of the monarchy and national government was referred to as the Age of Absolutism. These absolute monarchies began to rise as a result of the violent wars of religion during the Reformation and the increase of power among kings. With the aristocracy dominating in the 17th century, it was difficult to administer the state without directly taking power out of their hands. The basis of absolutism included aristocracy, national churches in which kings had the divine right, bureaucracy, standing armies, and fancy ceremonies. At the expense of freedom, absolutism was able to establish order. Despite this, Niccolò Machiavelli, a well-known Italian historian, philosopher, politician, and author, defended absolutism. He argued for order executed by the prince in the best interest of the people. Machiavelli was influential during a time when political conditions were unstable, prompting him to come to the conclusion that people were naturally irrational and unreliable. Absolutism eventually declined in power when the Enlightenment was introduced. The Enlightenment formed as a result of the Renaissance, Reformation, and Scientific Revolution and undermined absolutism. Differing from the Age of Absolutism, people were regarded as rational and logical beings during this “Age of Reason.” As a result of the Enlightenment, two important philosophers emerged: John Locke and Karl Marx. John Locke, a political scientist and philosopher, was regarded as the founder of the Enlightenment. He advocated ideas of human rights and equality and challen...
During the late 17th and early 18th century, many European nations such as France and Russia were absolute monarchies. Even countries such as England had kings who at least attempted to implement absolutism. Indeed the concept of absolutism, where the monarch is the unquestionably highest authority and absolute ruler of every element in the realm, is certainly appealing to any sovereign. However, this unrestricted power was abused, and by the end of the 18th century, absolutism was gone. Absolutism failed because the monarchs' mistreatment of the population caused the people to revolt against their rule and policies. There are many factors which caused this discontent. For one, there was a great loss of human lives. Louis XIV of France participated in four wars, while Peter of Russia ruthlessly executed anyone who stood against his will. Secondly, monarchs attempted to change religious beliefs. This was notable in England where rulers such as James II desired to convert the Anglican nation into Catholicism. Finally, the burden of taxation was more than the population could support. France was brought into huge foreign debt, English kings constantly attempted to raise money, and Peter of Russia increased taxes by 550 percent. These are some of the key reasons why absolutism failed in Europe.
Charles Louis XIV was the leader of France when he was five years old. That is just one example of the hereditary monarchies. European Absolutism was made up of monarchs that had supreme rule over their kingdom. Although it led to some great outcomes, some leaderships were not so great. The period of European Absolutism between the 16th and 17th centuries was a period of tyranny because of the leaders misuse of power and God-like character.
Throughout the time of the Middle Ages the Roman Catholic Church served as one of the most influential institutions in all of Medieval Europe, the Church served as a significant force in the arts, crafts and culture of Europe. The Church had a ranking structure (hierarchy) that was in many ways almost identical to the Feudal System, this showed that the Church had much power in those times then they do today and showed the influence that the Church had in those times. The power and the influence of the Church in those times were mainly roo...
The Reformation was a decisive period in the history not only for the Catholic Church, but also for the entire world. The causes of this tumultuous point in history did not burst on the scene all at once, but slowly gained momentum like a boil that slowly festers through time before it finally bursts open. The Reformation of the Church was inevitable because of the abuses which the Church was suffering during this period. At the time of the Reformation, a segment of the Church had drifted away from its mission to bring Christ and salvation to the world. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Church had gradually become weaker because of abusive leadership, philosophical heresy, and a renewal of a form of the Pelagian heresy.
The Renaissance period brought about changes in the cultural and social arrangements of the people living during this era. The Catholic Church was still the major religion during this era. One of the major strengths of the Catholic Church during the beginning of the Renaissance was its ability to hold the norms and traditions of the society. During the Renaissance period, the church was an integral part of the society. It defined what rules and regulations people were to follow and how they lived their lives. The Catholic Church provided an avenue for people to hold onto the cultural and social beliefs they had developed over time (Wolffe 89). In the midst of all the changes that were taking place at the time, it was important to find a way to retain the traditions that the people had followed for so long. Even with the growing opposition to the Catholic Church, people still held onto some of the teachings that had become part of them as taught by the church. In fact, even when people moved away from the Catholic Church, they still carried some of the traditions as defined by the Catholic Church. In addition the Catholic Church also provided a well defined hierarchy in the church. There lineage of the church was well developed and people had become familiar with it. This was a positive aspect since people were familiar with the structure of the Catholic Church.
Between 1000 and 1300 were the Middle Ages, also referred to as the Age of Faith. During this time, the Roman Catholic Church dominated influencing much of the medieval culture and values. Christendom, the Christen community of this time, and their beliefs had infused the writings, art, drama, and music as well. However, by the thirteenth century, the fusion of architecture, sculpture, painting, metalwork, literature, and music had focused primarily of the Gothic Cathedral. With these cathedrals also came “visionary” sculpture, stained glass windows, painted altarpieces, illuminated manuscripts, and much more artistic expression that reflected the religious vitality of the Age of Faith (Fiero 147). The Chartres Cathedral, also known as the
Monastics have been responsible for creating, preserving, and enhancing religious institutions for learning, medical treatment, and political and military function all while dividing their time between prayer and work (Bharati & Johnston, 2016). If monastics did not occur during the middle ages, schools and books would not exist, our medical establishments would not have been created, and military and political functions would not be at the standards they are today. The impact of monasticism has greatly affected the world and continues to influence us today.