"Middle Ages" is a term coined much later than the time he designated. It was introduced initially in order to determine the time of a strict ban on everything that was connected with Antiquity. This was the period that followed the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, and continued until the beginning of the Renaissance, when interest in ancient Rome and Greece flared up with renewed vigor.

Timelines fluctuate

Approximately, it is limited to the VI and XVI centuries, and this millennium is usually called the Middle Ages. But, of course, the exact time frame of the Middle Ages has not been established. There are a lot of opinions. The end of the 17th century is also called, because after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 (one of the borders of the end of the Middle Ages), with short breaks, epochal events followed one after another, giving more and more freedom to mankind. And each of them for a certain group of historians serves as the date of the end of the "dark times", although this term is more appropriate in relation to the Early and Middle Middle Ages. The milestone dates include the discovery of America (1492) and the beginning of the Reformation (the fight against the abuses of the Catholic Church), falling on 1517. This was followed by the English Revolution, the end of the Thirty Years' War, the conclusion of the Peace of Westphalia and the equalization of the rights of Catholics and Protestants. And each of these fateful events for Europe is considered by modievists as possible final time frames of the Middle Ages.

Different schools - different views

Representatives of modievistics studied mainly the history of the European Middle Ages, and yet similar events took place in Russia, and further, in Asia, Africa, and in the newly discovered America. Among scientists there are supporters of the long Middle Ages. In their theories, they are based on more complete data on radical changes in absolutely all strata of human society. They consider the beginning of the New Age to be the beginning of the French Revolution. There is also no agreement on the beginning of this time period. In the "History of Humanity" - the UNESCO encyclopedia - the border between the Ancient World and the Middle Ages is connected with the moment. Obviously, every scientist has the right to his point of view.

The breadth of the concept

So what is the "Middle Ages"? This, by the standards of human history, is a rather short period, which included a lot. The stages of development of society changed, new religions and countries arose, continents opened up and brilliant scientists were born who changed the idea of ​​the world and science in general, there was a “great migration of peoples”. It is obvious that such a multifaceted concept must be considered in different planes. Indeed, given how brutal the Inquisition was, how cruelly it suppressed even a hint of dissent, then the end of this time should be considered the equalization of the rights of representatives of different faiths, and not the appearance of masterpieces of the geniuses of the Renaissance.

twin brothers

What is the Middle Ages? In short, it sounds like this - the period of historical development of society between Antiquity (the Ancient World) and the New Age. Another thing is where Antiquity ends and New Times begins. Each historical stage corresponds to its own socio-economic formation: Antiquity - the slave system, the Middle Ages - feudal, the New Age - capitalist. The time frame of the Middle Ages in Europe, and not only, completely coincides with feudalism, but, for example, in Russia, its remnants were destroyed only in October 1917. In some countries, the residual effects of feudalism have not yet been overcome. And with regard to Europe, the opinions of researchers differ. It is argued that for a long time medieval society was multiform, and in all areas. Obviously, the way it was, because it is not on command that a change of formations occurs.

The emergence of the concept

The common version is that the origin, domination and decay of feudalism - the Middle Ages. And this term itself was introduced by Italian humanists (for example, Flavio Biondo), who directed significant efforts towards the revival of classical Latin.

They designated the period preceding their time and separating them from the antiquity they idolized with the phrase medium aevum, which sounds like “me im aeuim”, which means “Middle Age”. No matter how short the age of the Middle Ages was in comparison with the existence of the Ancient World, distinctive features were inherent in its various periods, and therefore there is a periodization of the Middle Ages.

The need for periodization

It represents the division of the 12-century domination of this historical period into three main periods. The first includes the time that stretched from the end of the 5th century to the middle of the 11th century, and it is called the Early Middle Ages. Classical, or came immediately after the previous stage (XI century) and ended in the XIV century. Later, the final Middle Ages, is also called the Early Modern Age. His period is XIV-XVI centuries. The historiography of the 20th century changed a lot under the influence of the French school that formed around the journal Annales, after which it was named. They put forward the idea of ​​a "long Middle Ages".

Characteristic features of the Early Middle Ages

The beginning of the Middle Ages coincided with a significant expansion of the areas on which Western European civilization was born. A characteristic feature of the Early Middle Ages is the formation of states on the territory of England, France, Saxony, and Russia. During this period, lasting approximately 5 centuries, there was a "great migration of peoples", which is based on the invasion of the Huns from Asia to Eastern Europe, which was the periphery of the Western Roman Empire. The peoples ousted by the Huns moved mainly to the territories of Gaul, Spain, Italy and Dacia. Another distinguishing feature of this historical period is the transition from paganism to the Christian religion, taking place under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Church, whose role in this time period is difficult to overestimate.

Frankish Empire

The Middle Ages is the dominance of the church. It was the core of all Western civilization, it rallied nations around itself, and it was also the center of culture. New relations of production are also being laid down - feudalism arises, which is based on the domination of large landed property. It is impossible not to mention the emergence during this period of the state of the Franks, which was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, whose representative, Charlemagne, united territories approaching in size the area occupied by the Western Roman Empire. Save this empire failed. The Early Middle Ages is generally characterized by the variability of the borders of emerging states. Everything is in the process of formation and formation. Certain literary trends begin to develop - the Early Middle Ages became a golden time for the emergence of the Heroic epic. In general, the “Middle Ages” are “The Tale of Igor's Campaign” and the French “Song of Roland”, the Spanish “Poem of Side” and the German “Song of the Nibelungs”. So the times were not exactly "dark".

Wars and uprisings as engines of progress

The very name of the next stage - "high", "classical", "mature" Middle Ages - indicates that during this period everything that had begun in the previous time was completed and reached its peak (became the most productive).

Feudal relations were finally formed, centralized power was strengthened, estate-representative monarchies were formed (when representatives of different estates took part in the drafting of laws). This era had only its inherent characteristic features - parliaments and political parties begin to emerge. This time was not bypassed by bloody strife. The dynastic war of the Scarlet and White Roses, which claimed a quarter of the country's population, when part of the population, devoted to the representatives of the Plantagenet-Lancaster families, killed supporters of the Yorks, that is, the British destroyed the British. Another distinguishing feature of this period are the peasant uprisings, such as John Ball and Wat Tyler in England.

Treasures of medieval architecture

What is the Middle Ages? This is a great architecture that combines 4 styles - the Carolingian Renaissance (named after the ruling dynasty in the Frankish state), Ottonian art (named after the representative of the Saxon dynasty Otto I the Great), Romanesque and Gothic styles. The heyday of the latter, which originated in France in the XII century, just fell on the time of the Late Middle Ages. Amazing examples of these architectural trends are scattered all over Europe. And "Gothic" is generally an adornment of Europe, its calling card. Cologne Cathedral (1248-1437), Notre Dame de Paris (1163-1437), Gothic churches and cathedrals of Prague - what can be compared with this incomprehensible beauty. They are not one iota inferior to the masterpieces of the Renaissance.

The horrors of the dark Middle Ages

What is the Middle Ages? This is the Great Famine, the plague pandemic, or the Black Death, this is the Inquisition, the bloody crusades and the Jacquerie - a major anti-feudal uprising of French peasants (Jacques the simpletons) in 1358. However, the Late Middle Ages is also called the Early Modern Age, that is, rapid growth began in all directions - cities grew stronger, crafts developed, manufactories were born, trade was gaining momentum. Enormous changes took place in the social, cultural, scientific and political life of Europe. The papacy - the core of the Middle Ages - is in decline. The change of formations was prepared by revolts of the lower strata of the population, unprecedented in size and power, - the Dutch uprising and the Great Peasant War in Germany.

Traditional understanding

In our time, the periodization of the Middle Ages is determined taking into account the characteristics of each country, but also with the recognition that in one form or another this historical process is inherent in all states of the world. Therefore, there are no specific time frames. The 17th century is the time when feudal relations become obsolete, and the birth of capitalism begins.

But it is precisely the misfortunes that occurred in the 15th century - famine, terrible diseases, the atrocities of the Inquisition, that create a gloomy picture, as if belonging to the brush of Hieronymus Bosch, and are associated with the Middle Ages. Therefore, most often, not beautiful works of literature and architecture, the Great Discoveries, fall under the definition of the Middle Ages, but bonfires on which heretics were burned, including Giordano Bruno, terrible white masks with a long beak, in which doctors walked through the dirty streets of plagued cities. At that time, Europeans still did not bathe. Therefore, for a long time the term "medieval" will be synonymous with such concepts as "dense", "backward", "downtrodden".

The Middle Ages is an extensive period in the development of European society, covering the 5th-15th centuries AD. The era began after the fall of the great Roman Empire, ended with the beginning of the industrial revolution in England. During these ten centuries, Europe has come a long way of development, characterized by a great migration of peoples, the formation of major European states and the appearance of the most beautiful monuments of history - Gothic cathedrals.

What is characteristic of medieval society

Each historical era has its own unique features. The historical period under consideration is no exception.

The era of the Middle Ages is:

• agrarian economy - most people worked in the field of agriculture;
• the predominance of the rural population over the urban (especially in the early period);
• the great role of the church;
• observance of Christian commandments;
• Crusades;
• feudalism;
• the formation of nation states;
• culture: gothic cathedrals, folklore, poetry.

What are the Middle Ages?

The era is divided into three major periods:

• Early - 5th-10th centuries. n. e.
• High - 10-14th centuries. n. e.
• Later - 14th-15th (16th) centuries. n. e.

The question "The Middle Ages - what are the centuries?" does not have an unequivocal answer, there are only approximate figures - the points of view of one or another group of historians.

The three periods are seriously different from each other: at the very beginning of a new era, Europe experienced a troubled time - a time of instability and fragmentation, at the end of the 15th century a society with its characteristic cultural and traditional values ​​was formed.

The eternal dispute between official science and alternative

Sometimes you can hear the statement: "Antiquity is the Middle Ages." An educated person will grab his head when he hears such a delusion. Official science believes that the Middle Ages is an era that began after the capture of the Western Roman Empire by barbarians in the 5th century. n. e.

However, alternative historians (Fomenko) do not share the point of view of official science. In their circle one can hear the statement: "Antiquity is the Middle Ages." This will be said not from ignorance, but from a different point of view. Who to believe and who not - you decide. We share the point of view of official history.

How It All Began: The Fall of the Great Roman Empire

The capture of Rome by the barbarians is a serious historical event that served as the beginning of an era

The empire existed for 12 centuries, during this time invaluable experience and knowledge of people was accumulated, which sunk into oblivion after the Ostrogoths, Huns and Gauls captured its western part (476 AD).

The process was gradual: first, the captured provinces came out of the control of Rome, and then the center fell. The eastern part of the empire, with its capital in Constantinople (now Istanbul), lasted until the 15th century.

After the capture and sack of Rome by the barbarians, Europe plunged into the dark ages. Despite a significant setback and turmoil, the tribes were able to reunite, create separate states and a unique culture.

The early Middle Ages is the era of the "dark ages": 5th-10th centuries. n. e.

During this period, the provinces of the former Roman Empire became sovereign states; the leaders of the Huns, Goths and Franks declared themselves dukes, counts and other serious titles. Surprisingly, people believed the most authoritative personalities and accepted their power.

As it turned out, the barbarian tribes were not as wild as one might imagine: they had the rudiments of statehood and knew metallurgy at a primitive level.

This period is also notable for the fact that three estates were formed:

• clergy;
• nobility;
• people.

The people included peasants, artisans and merchants. More than 90% of people lived in villages and worked in the fields. The type of farming was agricultural.

High Middle Ages - 10th-14th centuries n. e.

The heyday of culture. First of all, it is characterized by the formation of a certain worldview, characteristic of a medieval person. The horizons expanded: there was an idea of ​​beauty, that there is a meaning in being, and the world is beautiful and harmonious.

Religion played a huge role - people revered God, went to church and tried to follow biblical values.

A stable trade relationship was established between West and East: merchants and travelers returned from distant countries, bringing porcelain, carpets, spices and new impressions of exotic Asian countries. All this contributed to the general increase in the education of Europeans.

It was during this period that the image of a male knight appeared, which to this day is the ideal of most girls. However, there are certain nuances that show the ambiguity of his figure. On the one hand, the knight was a brave and courageous warrior who swore to the bishop to protect his country. At the same time, he was quite cruel and unprincipled - the only way to fight hordes of wild barbarians.

He always had a "lady of the heart" for whom he fought. Summing up, we can say that a knight is a very controversial figure, consisting of virtues and vices.

Late Middle Ages - 14th-15th (16th) centuries. n. e.

Western historians consider the discovery of America by Columbus (October 12, 1492) as the end of the Middle Ages. Russian historians have a different opinion - the beginning of the industrial revolution in the 16th century.

The autumn of the Middle Ages (the second name of the late era) was characterized by the formation of large cities. Large-scale peasant uprisings also took place - as a result, this estate became free.

Europe has suffered serious human losses due to the plague epidemic. This disease took many lives, the population of some cities was halved.

The Late Middle Ages is the period of the logical conclusion of a rich era in European history, which lasted about a millennium.

Hundred Years War: the image of Joan of Arc

The late Middle Ages is also a conflict between England and France, which lasted more than a hundred years.

A serious event that set the vector for the development of Europe was the Hundred Years War (1337-1453). It was not quite a war, and not quite a century. It is more logical to call this historical event a confrontation between England and France, sometimes turning into an active phase.

It all started with a dispute over Flanders, when the king of England began to claim the French crown. At first, success accompanied Great Britain: small peasant units of archers defeated the French knights. But then a miracle happened: Joan of Arc was born.

This slender girl with a masculine posture was well brought up and from her youth she was versed in military affairs. She managed to spiritually unite the French and repulse England due to two things:

• she sincerely believed that it was possible;
• she called for the unification of all the French in the face of the enemy.

It was the victory of France, and Joan of Arc went down in history as a national heroine.

The era of the Middle Ages ended with the formation of most European states and the formation of European society.

The results of the era for European civilization

The historical period of the Middle Ages is a thousand of the most interesting years of the development of Western civilization. If one and the same person had visited first at the beginning of the Middle Ages, and then moved to the 15th century, he would not have recognized the same place, the changes that took place were so significant.

We list briefly the main results of the Middle Ages:

• the emergence of large cities;
• distribution of universities throughout Europe;
• the adoption of Christianity by the majority of European residents;
• scholasticism of Aurelius Augustine and Thomas Aquinas;
• the unique culture of the Middle Ages is architecture, literature and painting;
• the readiness of Western European society for a new stage of development.

Culture of the Middle Ages

The era of the Middle Ages is primarily a characteristic culture. It means a broad concept that includes the intangible and material achievements of the people of that era. These include:

• architecture;
• literature;
• painting.

Architecture

It was during this era that many famous European cathedrals were rebuilt. Medieval masters created architectural masterpieces in two characteristic styles: Romanesque and Gothic.

The first originated in the 11th-13th centuries. This architectural direction was distinguished by rigor and severity. Temples and castles in the Romanesque style to this day inspire a sense of the gloomy Middle Ages. The most famous is the Bamberg Cathedral.

Literature

European literature of the Middle Ages is a symbiosis of Christian lyrics, ancient thought and folk epic. No genre of world literature can be compared with books and ballads written by medieval writers.

Some battle stories are worth something! An interesting phenomenon often turned out: people participating in major medieval battles (for example, the Battle of Gunstings) involuntarily became writers: they were the first eyewitnesses of the events that took place.

The Middle Ages is an era of beautiful and chivalrous literature. You can learn about the way of life, customs and traditions of people from the books of writers.

Painting

Cities grew, cathedrals were built, and accordingly, there was a demand for decorative decoration of buildings. At first, this concerned large city buildings, and then the houses of wealthy people.

The Middle Ages is the period of formation of European painting.

Most of the paintings depicted well-known biblical scenes - the Virgin Mary with a baby, the Whore of Babylon, the "Annunciation" and so on. Triptychs (three small paintings in one) and diptrichs (two paintings in one) spread. Artists painted the walls of chapels, town halls, painted stained-glass windows for churches.

Medieval painting is inextricably linked with Christianity and the worship of the Virgin Mary. The masters depicted her in different ways: but one thing can be said - these paintings are amazing.

The Middle Ages is the time between Antiquity and New History. It was this era that paved the way for the start of the industrial revolution and the great geographical discoveries.

The period of the Middle Ages (from lat. media - the middle) occupies a middle position between the time of the Ancient World and the New Age. The transition to it was marked by the Renaissance, the Great geographical discoveries, the industrial revolution and the emergence of a market economy.

The chronology of the beginning of the Middle Ages is beyond doubt. The starting point is considered to be the 5th century AD, more precisely, 476 AD, when the leader of the Germanic barbarian tribes, Odacar, deposed the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, Romulus Augustulus. The word "barbarians" comes from "barbaros", as the Greeks called everyone who incomprehensibly chatted in an unknown and dissonant language.

This word has become a household word for the destroyers of material and spiritual values. In addition, representatives of the tribes - the conquerors of Rome were at a lower level of general cultural development than the Greeks and Romans.

For all those who study the economic history of mankind, it seems most reasonable to start the starting point of the New Age, following the Middle Ages, with the events of the industrial revolution in England in the 60s.

Conventionally, the entire Middle Ages can be divided into three stages:

the first - the early Middle Ages from the end of the 5th - the beginning of the 6th century.

the second - the heyday of medieval civilization from the 10th to the 15th centuries;

the third - the late Middle Ages - from the end of the 15th to the middle of the 18th century.

So, the duration is set.

Location - Europe. This word comes from "Erebus" - "West" (translated from Semitic). Under the Greeks and Romans, Europe was seen as an object for collecting indemnities. It was, as it were, a barbarian periphery, the border of the Roman Empire. From north to south, the continent is located from the Arctic Ocean to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, from west to east - from the Atlantic coast to the Ural Mountains.

So, since antiquity, the concept of Europe has been identified with the geographical definition of "West" and opposed to "Asu" (translated from the Semitic "Asia"), or East. For the peoples and countries that already inhabited Europe in those centuries, one can distinguish common features of economic, socio-political and socio-cultural development.

The countries of Western Europe have long stood out on the continent: England, France, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Scandinavian countries. Here, faster than in Eastern Europe, the processes of feudalization and industrialization took place, achievements in science and technology were more clearly manifested. The Celtic and Germanic tribes were part of the Roman Empire and had the opportunity to meet and adopt some of the achievements of the advanced for that time ancient civilization.

Western European countries with the end of the Great Migration of Peoples established themselves within the state borders. They actively used the advantages and benefits of their geographical position. The seas and rivers surrounding them, crossing the plains and mountains, facilitated trade and primary exchanges of information about various kinds of innovations in material culture.

Eastern Europe has become a place of settlement of Slavic tribes, which turned out to be geographically farther from the seas and the ancient world centers of culture.

A kind of outpost of Europe in the east was Byzantium - the successor of the Eastern Roman Empire.

The main feature of the early Middle Ages was the emergence of feudalism in the young European states.

A qualitatively new civilization - Western (European) - is formed precisely in the Middle Ages on the basis of a synthesis of the relations of private property and the colony (lease relations) of antiquity and the communal-collectivist principles of European tribes.

The third component of this synthesis of a new civilization was the material and spiritual culture of the Ancient East - the foundation of the entire world civilization. Without taking into account these closely interrelated processes that determined the material basis of European civilization, one cannot understand the features of the progress of the European economy in the Middle Ages, the formation of world economic relations.

By the beginning of the Middle Ages, the productive forces of Ancient Greece and Rome were largely destroyed, the monuments of material and spiritual culture perished in fires during the raids of barbarian tribes, in continuous wars, with the active migration of large masses of the population.

Many labor skills were forgotten, the qualifications of artisans were lost. In the early Middle Ages, the development of technology and people's knowledge of the surrounding world was at a very low level.

This led to low labor productivity.

Middle Ages

Manual, handicraft production prevailed. For the successful development of vast new spaces in the north and in the center of Europe, covered with dense forests, the means of communication were primitive. Poor communication between individual regions made it difficult to exchange experience in economic life, which also held back progress. Wars, epidemics of plague and cholera, mass diseases of people and domestic animals greatly undermined the productive forces of society.

But at the same time, the most important process of the formation of modern states was taking place, within the framework of which national economic complexes began to gradually form.

Appearance already in the XIII century. in England, the Parliament, then the first constitutions in a number of countries legislated the right of private ownership of the main means of production. The works of scientists in chemistry, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, mechanics were used in technical improvements, navigation; rising living standards of the people. The dissemination of knowledge accumulated by mankind was facilitated by printing. 1000 years after the fall of ancient Rome, a galaxy of brilliant thinkers, rightfully headed by Leonardo da Vinci, put the production and cultural experience of antiquity at the service of people.

They reached new heights in technology, science, art, often looking far ahead, ahead of their time. The Renaissance was not only the heyday of medieval civilization, but also worthily introduced human society into the New Age, leading it through the Great Geographical Discoveries.

So, there was no smooth transition, progressive movement in the development of productive forces along an ascending line from the era of the Ancient World to the Middle Ages, but there was undoubtedly economic progress, especially characteristic of the third period of the Middle Ages.

Early Middle Ages (V-X centuries)

The question of the population of Europe as a whole and its individual regions in the era of the Early Middle Ages in modern historical science is still debatable. Due to the lack of accurate statistics, we can only name the most approximate figures.

So, by the middle of the 5th c.

Italy remained the most densely populated region of Europe, where 4-5 million people lived, 3-5 million lived on the territory of modern France, about 4 million lived in Spain, up to 3 million in Germany, and about 1 million in the British Isles.

What years are the Middle Ages?

The population of Europe was constantly changing. Crop failures, epidemics, incessant wars led to a demographic decline. But from the beginning of the 7th c. the European population begins to gradually increase.

However, population growth in Europe during the Middle Ages was neither consistent nor constant.

To a large extent, it depended on changes in life expectancy, fertility and mortality. In the Early Middle Ages, the average life expectancy for a man was 40-45 years, for women - 32-35 years.

Such a short lifespan can be explained by the depletion of the body due to constant malnutrition, frequent epidemics, constant wars, and nomad raids. Also, factors influencing the reduction in the average life expectancy of women were early marriages and short intervals between the births of children.

High and late Middle Ages (XI-XV centuries)

The general population growth, which began as early as the 7th century, continues until the beginning of the 14th century.

By this time, 10-12 million people lived in Italy, France and Spain each, in Germany - 9 million, in the British Isles - about 4 million people. This was the maximum that the traditional agricultural economy could feed.

In the middle of the XIV century. An incomparable blow to the European population was dealt by a terrible plague epidemic, called the Black Death.

According to various sources, it claimed from half to two-thirds of the population of Europe. After this, the most terrible wave, the plague returned to Europe more than once. So, the plague epidemic of 1410-1430 was accompanied by huge victims. It was only by the beginning of the 16th century that the population losses caused by the plague could be replenished. Material from the site http://wikiwhat.ru

average life expectancy

Coming to the beginning of the XI century.

socio-political stabilization, productivity growth, general economic recovery, a decrease in the frequency and intensity of epidemics led to an increase in average life expectancy: for men - up to 45-50 years, for women - up to 38-40 years.

The number of people over 50 years old in the XII century. accounted for 12-13% of the total population. In the XI-XII centuries. the number of children in families is increasing, which is associated with a decrease in the level of infant mortality due to improved living conditions.

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• Population in the Middle Ages

The Middle Ages cover the period from the 5th to the 17th centuries. In the early periods of the Middle Ages, many peoples began to form statehood, which was accompanied by large-scale conquests and the creation of huge early feudal states.

All the battles and battles that took place at that time were distinguished by particular cruelty, bloodshed and total plunder of enemy territories. In the future, the development of feudal relations became the basis for political fragmentation and long internecine wars.

At the junction of antiquity and the Middle Ages in the history of Europe, Asia and North Africa, there was another period, which was called the "Great Migration of Peoples".

There was a migration of the barbarian tribes of Asia and Europe to the territory of the ancient centers of civilization, where barbarian states were created. They became the basis of medieval states. At the same time, the new social relations and culture that developed in them later had a huge impact on neighboring peoples, whose development no one interrupted by force.

As a result, medieval feudal states with more or less significant political and economic differences were formed.

The early Middle Ages (V-XI centuries) are considered by many historians as a period of decline in military affairs. Only from time to time were short-term military successes of one or another people, commander or some state. Among them are certain moments of the Arab-Muslim conquests, Viking campaigns, the military achievements of the Frankish empire of Charlemagne, the Chinese Tang empire, the state of Mahmud Gaznevi.

There was a simplification of military affairs, i.e.

e. everything was like in the days of military leaders, only now in Christian states. As a result of this, the number of troops was sharply reduced, but the quality of a professional fighter who devoted his life to the art of war increased markedly. Battles in the early Middle Ages took place between tiny armies of a few hundred or thousands of fighters.

There was a catastrophic lack of people for complex formations and maneuvers.

The armament and equipment of the knights remained unpretentious. The main weapons were the sword and spear. In addition to them, there were battle axes and clubs. Foot soldiers began to use composite bows of the eastern type.

By the XI century, a crossbow appeared in Europe. An interesting fact is that the bow and crossbow were considered at that time the most dangerous weapons, because an arrow fired at close range easily pierced chain mail.

In order to get as close as possible to the enemy, the troops began to build a column and a wedge.

The knights, as a rule, tried to save their horses for the attack. They let them rest, because the heavy equipment of the warriors was extremely tiring for the animals. The knights usually rode at a pace, and at this time they were ideal targets for archers and crossbowmen.

And such troops in the 11th-12th centuries during the Crusades clashed with the armies of Muslims.

Problems began to arise immediately. Muslim warriors inherited the wonderful military traditions of Iran and the eastern regions of the Roman Empire.

They were protected by chain mail and a caftan quilted on cotton wool, over which a shell was put on, consisting of interconnected plates. The spheroconic helmet was equipped with a steel half-mask and a chain mail aventail (a part of the helmet that covers the neck and sometimes the face).

Muslim warriors carried round, small shields, greaves made of leather reinforced with steel plates.

The collision of a simplified European military machine with a much more complex and developed eastern nevertheless highlighted two important advantages of Europeans - stamina and endurance.

European rulers in the East recruited mercenaries from local residents for horse archers. Such warriors were called turkopulas. To strengthen discipline, the knights had to give up many of the joys of life, tame pride and arrogance, and observe subordination. Then spiritual and chivalric orders began to appear.

Uccello. "Battle of San Romano"

The military traditions of the Roman Empire were almost entirely adopted by the Byzantines. They used a combination of squads belonging to the emperor and nobles, with mercenary and allied detachments, as well as militias of military settlers. The armament of the Byzantines, although it resembled the Muslim one, was closer to the ancient Roman prototypes.

There were good prerequisites for the development of military affairs in China, where, in addition to practical, detailed military treatises, the military leader had at his disposal numerous fighters, detachments of nomadic federates, as well as a wide selection of weapons and a powerful production base.

The Japanese received the initial impetus for the development of military affairs from Korea and China, where there was a cult of weapons.

The Japanese had especially great achievements in the production of blades, which in the 7th-8th centuries began to be made using the Damascus method.

In the 13th century, the Mongol invasion almost completely changed military affairs in Asia and Europe. Genghis Khan and his successors had military successes only thanks to the strictest discipline based on a system of material incentives and the most severe punishments for various misconduct.

The squads of the steppe people turned into a real army that retained all the advantages of a nomadic army - speed of movement, maneuverability on a campaign and on the battlefield, as well as the traditions of dividing troops and allocating reserves, methods of false retreats with luring into an ambush.

Under the Mongol influence, Western European armor changed. The metal now hugged every part of the knight's body.

Turkey also made its contribution to the development of military affairs. Although the striking force of the Ottoman army, as before, was heavily armed horsemen, the basis of the army was made up of foot shooters and saber fighters - Janissaries, who were brought up in special schools.

In the middle of the 16th century, the horseman was armed with a shield made of thick leather, a long spear, a saber, or a konchar, a knack and a pair of pistols. The effectiveness of such cavalry in battle was so great that it served in the future as a prototype of two types of cavalry - lancers and hussars in Europe.

Since the development of crafts and manufactories continued, commodity-money relations also developed. As a result, centralized states began to form in Europe. All these transformations created the prerequisite for changing the methods of warfare, i.e.

e. permanent troops began to arise, surpassing in their organization, armament and preparedness of personnel the previously existing feudal detachments and non-permanent armies. During this period, firearms appeared in the arsenal of the armies, which simply revolutionized the way wars were waged.

In connection with the advent of firearms, the composition and organization of armies changed radically.

For example, the heavy knightly cavalry disappeared from the battlefields, and the infantry was armed with firearms, and it became the main branch of the military. In addition, another branch of the armed forces arose - artillery.

New social relations, mostly capitalist, were established in the most economically developed countries, which included, among others, England and the Netherlands. In the period from the 12th to the 18th centuries, mercenary troops, as a rule, prevailed, and mass armies did not exist.

Zurbaran. "Defense of Cadiz from the British"

At that time, the target for hostilities was not the army, but the territory of the enemy, because all wars were fought just for the sake of capturing new lands without decisive battles. The troops maneuvered a lot, forcing the enemy to retreat, that is, the war was waged not to destroy the enemy, but to exhaust him. This strategy became known as maneuvering.

Its essence was to exhaust the enemy with maneuvers without resorting to major battles. In this regard, powerful fortresses with strong garrisons were built on the borders of states. Therefore, the soldiers at that time had to be able not only to perform maneuvers, but also to storm the fortress or besiege them.

In the Middle Ages, battles took place in a variety of territories.

For example, we can name the attempt of the Mongols under the command of Kublai Khan to invade Japan, and the Japanese - to Korea, the struggle for dominance in the Mediterranean between Christians and Mohammedans, the wars between European states for influence in the world and authority on trade routes and in the colonies.

J. S. Copley. "The Death of Major Pearson"

All these reasons contributed to the promotion of talented military leaders, including admirals, who became the founders of naval combat tactics.

The most characteristic example is the Anglo-Dutch wars, which at first used armed commercial ships. During the battles, the ships lined up in different ways, but most often - in two wake columns.

The tactics developed by the Dutch admiral Ruyter were countered by the onslaught of the English flagships, who had advanced from the cavalry commanders.

Having won this war, England found itself in the position of the largest maritime power, for which the waterways were of vital importance. It is quite natural that it was in the British fleet that there were many capable admirals, distinguished by their firmness of character, fortitude and ability to fight at sea.

Among them are Anson and Benbow, who most successfully proved themselves in battles with France, Spain, Holland and other countries. But the French sailors also showed great courage and excellent knowledge of maritime affairs.

The most prominent of these were Duquesne and Tourville.

Publication date: 2015-01-10; Read: 85 | Page copyright infringement

studopedia.org - Studopedia.Org - 2014-2018. (0.003 s) ...

The Middle Ages (Middle Ages) is the designation of the period of world history adopted in historical science, following the history of the ancient world and preceding modern history. The concept of the Middle Ages (Latin medium aevum, literally - the middle age) appeared in the 15-16 centuries among Italian humanist historians, who considered the period of history preceding the Renaissance to be the "dark ages" of European culture.

The 15th century Italian humanist Flavio Biondo gave the first systematic exposition of the history of the Middle Ages in Western Europe as a special period of history, in historical science the term "Middle Ages" was established after a professor at the University of Halle X.

Keller called one of the three books of his textbook "History of the Middle Ages" (Ch. Cellarius, Historia medii aevi, a tempori bus Constantini Magni ad Constantinopolim a Turcas captain deducta..., Jenae, 1698). Keller divided world history into antiquity, the Middle Ages, modern times; believed that the Middle Ages lasted from the time of the division of the Roman Empire into East and West (395) and the fall of Constantinople (1453). In the 18th century, a special branch of historical science arose that studied the history of the Middle Ages - medieval studies.

In science, the Middle Ages date from the end of the 5th century - the second half of the 15th century. The conditional date for the beginning of the Middle Ages is the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476, and the end date of the Middle Ages is associated with the fall of Constantinople in 1453, with the discovery of America X.

Columbus in 1492, the Reformation in the 16th century. Supporters of the theory of the "Long Middle Ages", based on data on changes in the life of ordinary people, connect the end of the Middle Ages with the Great French Revolution. Marxist historiography has preserved the traditional three-part division of history into ancient, medieval, and new - the so-called "humanistic trichotomy".

She considered the Middle Ages as the era of the birth, development and decay of feudalism. Within the framework of the theory of the change of socio-economic formations, Marxists associated the end of the Middle Ages with the time of the English Revolution of the mid-17th century, after which capitalism began to actively develop in Europe.

The term "Middle Ages", which arose in relation to the history of the countries of Western Europe, is also used in relation to other regions of the world, especially to the history of those countries that had a feudal system. At the same time, the time frame of the Middle Ages may differ. For example, the beginning of the Middle Ages in China is usually dated to the 3rd century AD, in the Near and Middle East - from the spread of Islam (6th-7th centuries).

In the history of Russia, the period of Ancient Russia stands out - before the Mongol-Tatar invasion. Consequently, the beginning of the Middle Ages in Russia refers to the 13th-14th centuries. The end of the medieval period in Russia is associated with the reforms of Peter the Great. Differences in chronology and the impossibility of applying the unambiguous application of the term "Middle Ages" to all regions of the world confirms its conditional nature.

In this regard, it seems reasonable to consider the Middle Ages at the same time as a global process, and as a phenomenon that had its own characteristics and chronological framework in each country.
In the narrow sense of the word, the term "Middle Ages" is used only in relation to the history of Western Europe and implies a number of specific features of religious, economic, political life: the feudal system of land use, the system of vassalage, the dominance of the church in religious life, the political power of the church (the inquisition, church courts, feudal bishops), the ideals of monasticism and chivalry (a combination of the spiritual practice of ascetic self-improvement and altruistic service to society), the flowering of medieval architecture - Gothic.

The European Middle Ages is conditionally divided into three periods: the early Middle Ages (end of the 5th - the middle of the 11th centuries), the high, or classical, Middle Ages (the middle of the 11th - the end of the 14th centuries), and the late Middle Ages (15th-16th centuries).

The term "Middle Ages" was first introduced by the Italian humanist Flavio Biondo in his work "Decades of History since the Decline of the Roman Empire". Before Biondo, the dominant term for the period from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the Renaissance was the concept of "Dark Ages" introduced by Petrarch, which in modern historiography means a narrower period of time.

The humanists intended to designate in this way the boundary epoch between antiquity.

which inspired them, and contemporary times. Since humanists primarily assessed the state of language, writing, literature and art, this "middle" period seemed to them the embodiment of the savagery of the ancient world, barbarism and "kitchen" Latin.

In the 17th century, the term "Middle Ages" was introduced by the professor of the Gallic University J.

Keller. He divided world history into antiquity, the Middle Ages and modern times. Keller believed that the Middle Ages lasted from 395 until 1453.

In the narrow sense of the word, the term "Middle Ages" applies only to the Western European Middle Ages.

In this case, this term implies a number of specific features of religious, economic and political life: the feudal system of land use, the system of vassalage, the unconditional dominance of the Church in religious life, the political power of the Church, the ideals of monasticism and chivalry, the flowering of medieval architecture - Gothic.

In a broader sense, this term can be applied to any culture, but in this case it either denotes a predominantly chronological affiliation and does not indicate the presence of the above features of the Western European Middle Ages, or, conversely, indicates a historical period that has signs of the European Middle Ages, but does not coincide in chronology with the Middle Ages of Europe.

Knighthood in the Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is the era of domination in Western and Central Europe of the feudal economic and political system and the Christian religious worldview, which came after the collapse of antiquity.

Replaced by Renaissance. Covers the period from the 4th to the 14th centuries. In some regions, it was preserved even at a much later time. The Middle Ages are conditionally divided into Early Middle Ages, High Middle Ages and Late Middle Ages.

The most important feature of medieval culture is the special role of the Christian doctrine and the Christian church. In the context of the general decline of culture immediately after the destruction of the Roman Empire, only the church remained for many centuries the only social institution common to all countries, tribes and states of Europe.

The church was the dominant political institution, but even more significant was the influence that the church had directly on the consciousness of the population. In the conditions of a difficult and meager life, against the background of extremely limited and most often unreliable knowledge about the world, Christianity offered people a coherent system of knowledge about the world, about its structure, about the forces and laws acting in it.

The Early Middle Ages in Europe is the period from the end of the 4th century.

until the middle of the tenth century. In general, the early Middle Ages was a time of deep decline in European civilization compared with the ancient era.

This decline was expressed in the dominance of subsistence farming, in the fall of handicraft production and, accordingly, urban life, in the destruction of ancient culture under the onslaught of an unliterate pagan world. A characteristic feature of life in the early Middle Ages was constant wars, robberies and raids, which significantly slowed down economic and cultural development.

In the period from the 5th to the 10th centuries.

Against the background of a general lull in construction, architecture and fine arts, two striking phenomena stand out that are important for subsequent events. This is the Merovingian period and the Carolingian Renaissance on the territory of the Frankish state .. Merovingian art. The architecture of the Merovingian era, although it reflected the decline of building technology caused by the collapse of the ancient world, at the same time prepared the ground for the flourishing of pre-Romanesque architecture during the Carolingian Renaissance. The Carolingian Renaissance.

In Carolingian art, which adopted both late antique solemnity and Byzantine grandeur, as well as local barbarian traditions, the foundations of European medieval artistic culture were formed. Temples and palaces were decorated with multicolored mosaics and frescoes.

The era of the Middle Ages

Russian and Western medieval studies consider the collapse of the Western Roman Empire at the end of the 5th century to be the beginning of the Middle Ages, however, in the encyclopedic edition of the UNESCO History of Humankind, the milestone was drawn at the time of the emergence of Islam.

Regarding the end of the Middle Ages, historians have no consensus. It was proposed to consider as such: the fall of Constantinople, the invention of printing, the discovery of America, the beginning of the Reformation, the Battle of Pavia, the beginning of the English Revolution, the end of the Thirty Years' War, the Peace of Westphalia and the equalization of the rights of Catholics and Protestants on the principle of cujus regio, ejus religio in 1648, 1660- years, the turn of the 1670s-1680s, the turn of the 1680s-1690s and some other periods.

Supporters of the so-called Long Middle Ages, based on data on the development of not the ruling elite, but the common people, consider the end of the Middle Ages, which entailed changes in all layers of European society, the Great French Revolution.

In recent years, Russian medieval studies attribute the end of the Middle Ages to the middle or end of the 15th to the beginning of the 16th centuries. The most correct is to consider the Middle Ages both as a global process and as a phenomenon that had its own characteristics and its own period in each country. For example, if Italian historians consider the XIV century to be the beginning of the New Age, in Russia it is customary to attribute the beginning of the New History to the end of the 17th and the first decades of the 18th century.

It is very difficult to systematize within the framework of the European Middle Ages, for example, the history of the states of Asia, Africa, pre-Columbian America. Disagreements in the chronology of the era and the impossibility of applying the term Middle Ages to all states of the world confirm its conditional character.

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Ecology of knowledge: If you have ever turned to texts created more than five centuries ago, then you will agree that the events described in them are presented in a completely different way than we are used to. Perhaps this is due to the fact that at that time the world was still presented to people in a wonderful dress of mystery, and European society had not yet lost faith in the supernatural. Let's try to figure out in what light life appeared when humanity and the world were younger.

Often the Middle Ages are considered a dark spot on the pages of history, the realm of obscurantism - witches were burned at the stake, and fear and ugliness reigned in the streets. The name itself emphasizes the facelessness of this era, which is overshadowed by two neighboring ones: antiquity and the Renaissance, richer in the aesthetic and cultural sense.

If you have ever turned to texts created more than five centuries ago, then you will agree that the events described in them are presented in a completely different way than we are used to. Perhaps this is due to the fact that at that time the world was still presented to people in a wonderful dress of mystery, and European society had not yet lost faith in the supernatural. Let's try to figure out in what light life appeared when humanity and the world were younger:

Brightness and sharpness of life

Human feelings were expressed more directly. The soul did not hide feelings, and the mind did not try to suppress them. Joy and sorrow, laughter and tears, poverty and wealth were demonstrated publicly without hesitation or fear. The ritual permeated every action or deed, "elevating them to another extraterrestrial lifestyle."

As one of the main researchers of the era, Johan Huizinga, noted, all aspects of life were then put on display.

This applied not only to the most important events of a person’s life (birth, marriage and death, reaching the brilliance of mystery), but also to social events: the solemn meeting of the king or execution, which became not only moralizing, but also a vivid spectacle.

Of course, the life of a medieval person was not distinguished by beauty in itself. Living conditions without electricity, sewerage and heating were far from being called beautiful, and therefore beauty had to be created artificially.

Pursuit of a wonderful life

In the Middle Ages aesthetic worldview prevailed over logical and ethical. The forms of the way of life were transformed into artistic ones, and the society became more and more playful, to such an extent that any action turned into a ritual.

The art of the Renaissance did not appear in world history from scratch. Culture at the end of the Middle Ages - "the coloring of aristocratic life with ideal forms of life, flowing in the artificial lighting of knightly romance, this is a world disguised in the clothes of the times of King Arthur."

Such an artificial, aesthetic coverage of all events created a strong tension, shaping the thoughts and customs of a medieval person.

The life of the courtiers was imbued with aesthetic forms to the point of obscenity, the diversity of colors blinded the townspeople here, which once again proved and substantiated the power of the upper class. Dirty beggars, merchants and rednecks saw the true proof of noble birth in the beauty of noble robes and court decorations.

Formalization of life

Earthly life, clothed in aesthetic forms, not only attracted attention, but also acquired a dimension previously unknown to mankind. Formalism in relationships sometimes interfered with natural communication between people, however, gave them the greatest aesthetic pleasure, occupying an intermediate position between sincerity and etiquette.

There is something touching in the fact that the "beautiful forms" developed in the bitter struggle of a generation of people of ardent disposition sometimes turned into endless polite bickering. A visit to the temple turned into a kind of minuet - when leaving, rivalry arose for granting a person of a higher rank the right to cross a bridge or a narrow street before others. As soon as anyone reached his house, he had - as the Spanish custom still requires - to invite everyone to come to his house for something to drink, such an offer everyone had to politely refuse; then the others had to be seen off a bit, and all this, of course, was accompanied by mutual bickering.

Loud suffering for show was considered not only appropriate, but also beautiful, which turned everyday life into genuine dramatic art.

Pain takes on a rhythm

Funeral rites were also accompanied by a celebration of suffering, in which grief was clothed in beautiful and even sublime forms.

Reality moved into the realm of the dramatic. In more primitive cultures, funeral rites and poetic funeral laments are still one; mourning, with its splendor, was intended to emphasize how grieved the afflicted with grief.

In such forms, real experiences are easily lost. Here is an excerpt from the notes of Eleanor de Poitiers about the widowed Isabella of Bourbon: “When Madame remained on her own, she did not at all stay in bed, just as in the chambers.” Which indicates a conscious desire for drama, the cause of which was social customs.

People liked it when everything that had to do with the realm of the ethical took on aesthetic forms.

Preachers and ascetics were a special category of people to whom the townsfolk had a genuine interest. Amazement before the humility and mortification of the flesh of the holy ascetics, before the repentant renunciation of sins reached the highest degree of admiration and admiration. Any personal experience, excitement and achievement had to find the necessary public form of expression, fixed in culture.

Love and friendship

A special form of friendship appears, called a minion - it lasted until the 17th century. Every self-respecting courtier had a close friend whose habits, dress, and appearance had to necessarily repeat his own. Minions were taken with them on dates, walks, work. Such friendship was purely aesthetic meaning and was designed to dilute loneliness and boredom, as well as add symmetry to life.

Courtesy and etiquette were directly related to clothing, which had certain meanings.

For example, if a girl wanted to declare allegiance to her lover, then she wore blue clothes, while green clothes testified to love.

In love, for those who did not break with all earthly joys in general, the purpose and essence of enjoying the beautiful as such was manifested. The feeling of falling in love was valued much more than relationships, and even more so marriage. It often happened that a young married woman remained the lady of the heart of many knights who shouted her name on the battlefield.

Everything beautiful - every sound or flower - adorned love. Literature, fashion, customs streamlined the attitude towards love, created a beautiful illusion that people dreamed of following.

Love has become a form of fantastic desire. The jousting tournament offered the game of love in its most heroic form. The winner got a special gift in the form of a handkerchief or a kiss from his beloved.

Short circuit

It is important to understand that medieval man lived in a completely different world than we do. His life was permeated with divine mystery, and therefore any phenomenon was regarded as a sign from above. He lived in a semiotically saturated world. Full of semantic references and higher meanings of manifestations of God in things; he lived in nature, which constantly spoke the language of heraldry.

Lion, eagle, snake - not only real animals, but symbols that show a person the path to truth, that mattered more than the objects themselves. Allegorism extended to all phenomena of life and even served as calls to action.

Often, when the sound of rain is trance-like, or the light of a lamp is refracted in a certain way, we too can experience a different range of feelings, usually hidden in everyday life and affairs. This gives us a sense of the infinite mystery of the world and can make us a little happier, return to the state that medieval man has always experienced.

The Dark Ages are the cause of the light of the Renaissance

The beauty of everyday life was considered sinful, due to which it acquired a double attraction, and if they surrendered to it, then they enjoyed it more passionately than ever.

In art, the religious plot saved beauty from the seal of sin. If in the Middle Ages music and visual arts were seen as meaningful only if they were part of the veneration of Christ, and outside the church it was reprehensible to engage in art. That is already the Renaissance, having overcome the outdated idea of ​​the joys of life as sinful, "strives to enjoy the whole life as a whole."

All life becomes art, and even the most unaesthetic forms are transformed into the highest evidence of beauty and admiration.

In the era of the New Time, people begin to enjoy art in isolation from life, it begins to rise above it, and life itself loses its aesthetic dimension. With this loss is connected the longing for the Middle Ages, an era in which the sky was higher and the grass greener. published

05.02.2015

Demons, skeletons and inquisitors and other important concepts and characters of the Middle Ages with the most understandable illustrations.

Recently, thanks to the public " Suffering Middle Ages"Users of VKontakte got acquainted with the irrepressible imagination of the people of that era and the diversity of their lives.

One of the community administrators, Yuri Saprykin, described how he sees the “gloomy millennium” in the form of a very explanatory dictionary.

A - Hell

Habitat of devils and demons. In Dante's "Divine Comedy" it is presented in the form of a funnel that rests on the center of the earth. The opinions of the rest about the geography of the underworld varied: in the Middle Ages, hell was either in the north, or in the third heaven, or opposite to paradise, or even on some island.

Apocalypse

The last book of the New Testament (Revelation of John the Theologian), where you can read about the events that precede the second coming of Jesus to earth. It is about all sorts of burning skies, the appearances of angels and the resurrection of the dead. The usual thing.

B-disease

According to Christian doctrine, all diseases are the legacy of original sin and the payment for all other sins. If in paganism a disease is a temporary misfortune, then in Christianity it is a flawed way of existence, a demonstration of the weakness of man and the fragility of all living things, and in addition to everything else, a test that had to be overcome. If a person passed the test, then he got rid of sin, and if not, then ... sorry, it happened, you are a sinner.

V-Witch

The belief in witches was an important component of popular culture in the Middle Ages. God was the only legal source of supernatural phenomena, and a miracle was justified only for saints, so with whatever superpowers a witch came across, she went to the stake.

G-City

Symbol of European civilization. It was there that schools, universities, cathedrals were built. A dependent person who spent a year and one day in the city became free. But not everything is so joyful: the city is still hunger, disease, dirty water and other factors of the miserable life of ordinary people.

D-Discomfort

In the Middle Ages, everyone experienced discomfort, especially in terms of hygiene. According to legend, medieval people practically did not bathe. It's us Russians - once a month in a bathhouse, but Isabella of Castile washed herself twice in her life.

Devil

If in the Bible he is depicted as a malevolent spirit that cannot compete with God, then in the Middle Ages his power in the minds of people became almost limitless, and his presence became ubiquitous. Whatever happened - everyone blamed the devil.

E-Heretic

Apostate. Witch's Neighbor. Most often, heretics fought against the wealth of the Catholic Church, proclaiming evangelical poverty. The fate of heretics was usually sad - the fires of the Inquisition or the punitive campaigns of the feudal lords.

I-Indulgence

Church-sanctioned absolution. The practice has evolved since the 11th century, and with the onset of the Crusades, all participants were granted full absolution. At the end of the Middle Ages, with the development of printing presses, indulgences were so widespread that they aroused a smile from any reasonable person and in many ways led to the Reformation.

C-courtly love

Responsibility for the male part of the population fell considerable. The lover always turned pale at the sight of his beloved, ate little and slept badly, and at the same time it was necessary to follow certain rules: to be generous and faithful, to perform feats. The knights probably practiced for a long time before approaching their future lady.

L-People go crazy

Beautiful Thomas Aquinas expanded the concept of sodomy. Lesbian love has become a sin - to the stake. All kinds of sex, except penetration into the vagina, is a sin, on a fire. Masturbation was also punished, as was changing positions in sex. And if a person tried to somehow diversify his sexual life, then at best he remained without genitals.

M-Microcosm and Macrocosm

In the XII century, the idea arose that man and the world consist of the same elements. Flesh - from the earth, blood - from water, etc. The desire to embrace the world and man, somehow connect them - the main task of medieval science.

O-Order

Knightly orders were created for the crusades or the fight against infidels and pagans. Ordinary knights took monastic vows and were subject to general discipline, which made them quite effective. After the fashion for hiking ended, they quickly degraded. In France, for example, the saying arose "to drink like a Templar."

P-Pilgrimage

The longest hiking trips, a form of pious travel. The task is this: you need to walk 1000 km to the centers of worship of Christian shrines and not die, which is not easy, because on foot, and sometimes barefoot. In the Middle Ages, the only justification for travel, which was usually seen as a manifestation of idleness.

Dance of death

A macro where man and skeleton meet, with a verse commentary reminding us that we are all equal in the face of death.

torture

The main entertainment of the Middle Ages. Torture was widely used both as a punishment and to establish the guilt of the suspect. Needless to say, public executions and torture were one of the most popular folk entertainments.

R-Relics

In the Middle Ages, it was believed that the saint was present in objects associated with him, or in his bodily remains. With their help, the rulers demonstrated their power, and therefore the fate of the relics has always been difficult: they were stolen, they were traded, they were given as gifts.

S-Sexual life of a single woman

Dildos didn't have any official name until the Renaissance. In the Middle Ages they were called whatever they wanted. In particular, the word "dildo" comes from the name of an oblong loaf of bread with dilldough.

T-Trouvers

French troubadours of the 11th-14th centuries. They went and sang folk romances, recited poetry. With the advent of the cult, the Ladies finally moved on and wrote only pop music about love.

U-Universities

Centers for urban learning, where initially only theology was taught. However, universities quickly became a source of fundamental knowledge. Within the walls of universities, the concept of "nation" appeared - this was the name of student communities-communities.

F-Flagellantism

Religious fanatics of the Black Death period walked around the cities in white cloaks and cut the skin so that everyone would be forgiven. But things only got worse: one of them became infected with the plague, and the flagellants turned from costumed fanatics into peddlers of death.

Realizing that this was not enough and they needed to come up with something else to popularize "themselves", the flagellants began to call for the destruction of ... whom? That's right, Jews. After everything was over, the flagellants dispersed. The mission to save the planet has come to an end.

X-Christ Superstar

The church fathers Jerome Stridon and Aurelius Augustine wrote that Jesus had to have a perfect body and a beautiful face, and Thomas Aquinas continued their thought. According to some reports, enthusiasts created fake sources that contained a description of Christ of angelic beauty.

C-Church

One of the distinguishing features of the period is the dominance of religion, in connection with which the holy fathers become the most influential and wealthy people along with the feudal lords. As time went on, the church became more and more in conflict with kings and emperors, and she had to give up part of her earthly power.

C-purgatory

The device of purgatory resembles hell. In Dante, it is depicted in the form of a seven-tiered cake. If a person is not good enough for paradise and is not completely kinky in this world, he ends up in purgatory. By the way, in the seventh circle at Dante all sorts of sodomites wander, who did not heed the decrees of the Church and copulated with bulls. This is the last tier, where you atone for sin and find yourself in Eden.

Black Death

A third of the population of the Middle East and Europe died from the plague in the Middle Ages. People of that period believed that it was transmitted through the air, and tried to limit contacts as much as possible and wash less. In reality, rats and fleas were to blame for everything, and hygiene could save everyone.

E-Exemplum

A short story that was passed off as true. Today it is called propaganda. A literate person talked about some situation, not necessarily true, but demonstrating a specific type of behavior that they tried to impose. In the 13th century, when the church needed to recruit classes, they began to tell all sorts of stories to illiterate believers. The people, judging by the sources, it really inspired. The authority of the church grew before our eyes.

Anniversaries

They are also called "holy years". Initially established in the Catholic Church as centenary jubilees of the church (1300) - during these years, pilgrims who visited Rome were granted full remission of sins. Subsequently, the periods between jubilee years were reduced to 50 (1350), 33 (1390) and 25 years (1475). It’s just that one saint once said: “It’s impossible to have fun once every 33 years, we’ll reduce it to 25.”

I am Poison

The Italians borrowed the tradition of poisoning in the Middle Ages from their ancient predecessors. First, Alexander VI Borgia dabbled in arsenic with his wife Lucrezia and son Cesare, then Catherine de Medici joined the topic. Poisons were used in the most sophisticated way: for example, they first sharpened and then smeared the toilet door handles with poison. The poison was poured into the wine from the ring (as is usually shown in the movies). They also sprinkled it on pasta.

, .