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Medieval culture beginning. Medieval culture of Western Europe

Medieval culture beginning. Medieval culture of Western Europe

20.02.2019

6. Features of medieval culture.

Culture of the Middle Ages.

The term "Medium" originated during the Renaissance. Fall time. Contradictory culture.

Western European medieval culture covers more than a thousand years. The transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages is due to the collapse of the Roman Empire, the great migration of peoples. With the fall of Western Roman history, the beginning of the Western Middle Ages arises.

Formally, the Middle Ages arises from the collision of Roman history and barbarian (Germanic beginning). Christianity became the spiritual basis. Medieval culture is the result of a complex, contradictory principle of barbarian peoples.

INTRODUCTION

Middle Ages (Middle Ages) - the era of domination in Western and Central Europe 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 century. In some regions, it was preserved even at a much later time. The Middle Ages are conditionally divided into the Early Middle Ages (IV-1st half of the 10th century), High Middle Ages (2nd half of the 10th-13th centuries) and the Late Middle Ages (XIV-XV centuries).

The beginning of the Middle Ages is most often considered the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476. However, some historians suggested that the Edict of Milan of 313, which meant the end of the persecution of Christianity in the Roman Empire, was considered the beginning of the Middle Ages. Christianity became the defining cultural trend for the eastern part of the Roman Empire - Byzantium, and after a few centuries it began to dominate in the states of the barbarian tribes that formed on the territory of the Western Roman Empire.

Regarding the end of the Middle Ages, historians have no consensus. It was proposed to consider as such: the fall of Constantinople (1453), the discovery of America (1492), the beginning of the Reformation (1517), the beginning of the English Revolution (1640) or the beginning of the Great French Revolution (1789).

The term "Middle Ages" (lat. medium ?vum) was first introduced by the Italian humanist Flavio Biondo in his Decades of History since the Decline of the Roman Empire (1483). 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.

In the narrow sense of the word, the term "Middle Ages" applies only to the Western European Middle Ages. In this case, the term refers to specific features religious, economic and political life: the feudal system of land use (feudal landowners and semi-dependent peasants), the system of vassalage (relationships between lord and vassal connecting feudal lords), the unconditional dominance of the Church in religious life, the political power of the Church (the Inquisition, church courts, the existence of feudal bishops ), the ideals of monasticism and chivalry (a combination of the spiritual practice of ascetic self-improvement and altruistic service to society), the flourishing of medieval architecture - Romanesque and Gothic.

Many modern states arose precisely in the Middle Ages: England, Spain, Poland, Russia, France, etc.

1. CHRISTIAN CONSCIOUSNESS - THE BASIS OF THE MEDIEVAL MENTALITY

The most important feature of medieval culture is the special role of Christian doctrine and christian church. In the context of the general decline of culture immediately after the destruction of the Roman Empire, only the church for many centuries remained 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 operating in it.

This picture of the world, which completely determined the mentality of the believing villagers and townspeople, was based mainly on the images and interpretations of the Bible. Researchers note that in the Middle Ages, the starting point for explaining the world was the complete, unconditional opposition of God and nature, Heaven and Earth, soul and body.

The entire cultural life of European society of this period was largely determined by Christianity.

Monasticism played a huge role in the life of society at that time: the monks took upon themselves the obligations of “leaving the world”, celibacy, and renunciation of property. However, already in the 6th century monasteries turned into strong, often very wealthy centers, owning movable and immovable property. Many monasteries were centers of education and culture.

However, one should not think that the formation of the Christian religion in the countries of Western Europe proceeded smoothly, without difficulties and confrontation in the minds of people with old pagan beliefs.

The population was traditionally devoted to pagan cults, and sermons and descriptions of the lives of the saints were not enough to convert them to the true faith. They converted to a new religion with the help of state power. However, even a long time after the official recognition of a single religion, the clergy had to deal with persistent remnants of paganism among the peasantry.

The church destroyed idols, forbade worshiping gods and making sacrifices, arranging pagan holidays and rituals. Severe punishments threatened those who practiced divination, divination, spells, or simply believed in them.

The formation of the process of Christianization was one of the sources of sharp clashes, since the concept of people's freedom was often associated with the old faith among the people, while the connection between the Christian church and state power and oppression stood out clearly enough.

In the minds of the masses of the rural population, regardless of belief in certain gods, attitudes of behavior were preserved in which people felt themselves directly included in the cycle of natural phenomena.

In the most general terms, the world was then seen in accordance with some hierarchical ladder, as a symmetrical scheme, reminiscent of two pyramids folded at the base. The top of one of them, the top one, is God. Below are the tiers or levels of sacred characters: first the Apostles, the closest to God, then the figures that gradually move away from God and approach the earthly level - archangels, angels and similar heavenly beings. At some level, people are included in this hierarchy: first the pope and the cardinals, then the clergy of lower levels, below them the simple laity. Then even farther from God and closer to the earth, animals are placed, then plants, and then the earth itself, already completely inanimate. And then comes, as it were, a mirror reflection of the upper, earthly and heavenly hierarchy, but again in a different dimension and with a minus sign, in the world, as it were, underground, according to the growth of evil and proximity to Satan. He is placed on top of this second, atonic pyramid, acting as a being symmetrical to God, as if repeating him with an opposite sign (reflecting like a mirror) being. If God is the personification of Good and Love, then Satan is its opposite, the embodiment of Evil and Hatred.

The medieval European, including the upper strata of society, up to kings and emperors, was illiterate. Terrifyingly low was the level of literacy and education even of the clergy in the parishes. Only by the end of the 15th century did the church realize the need to have educated personnel, began to open theological seminaries, etc. The level of education of the parishioners was generally minimal. The mass of the laity listened to semi-literate priests. At the same time, the Bible itself was forbidden for ordinary laity, its texts were considered too complex and inaccessible for direct perception of ordinary parishioners. Only the clergy were allowed to interpret it. However, their education and literacy were, as said, very low in the mass. The mass mediaeval culture is a bookless, "pre-Gutenberg" culture. She relied not on the printed word, but on oral sermons and exhortations. It existed through the consciousness of an illiterate person. It was a culture of prayers, fairy tales, myths, magic spells.

2. EARLY MIDDLE AGES

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 the non-literate pagan world. In Europe during this period, stormy and very important processes took place, such as the invasion of the barbarians, which ended with the fall of the Roman Empire. Barbarians settled on the lands of the former empire, assimilated with its population, creating a new community of Western Europe.

At the same time, the new Western Europeans, as a rule, adopted Christianity, which by the end of the existence of Rome became its state religion. Christianity in its various forms supplanted pagan beliefs, and this process only accelerated after the fall of the empire. This is the second most important historical process that determined the face of the early Middle Ages in Western Europe.

The third significant process was the formation on the territory of the former Roman Empire of new state formations created by the same “barbarians”. Tribal leaders proclaimed themselves kings, dukes, counts, constantly at war with each other and subjugating weaker neighbors.

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 of the early Middle Ages, the ideological positions of the feudal lords and peasants had not yet taken shape, and the peasantry, which was just being born as a special class of society, was dissolved in a broader and more indefinite stratum in terms of worldview. The bulk of the population of Europe at that time were rural residents, whose lifestyle was completely subordinated to routine, and their horizons were extremely limited. Conservatism is an integral feature of this environment.

In the period from the 5th to the 10th centuries. Against the backdrop 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 (V-VIII centuries) and the "Carolingian Renaissance" (VIII-IX centuries) on the territory of the Frankish state.

2.1. Merovingian art

Merovingian art is the conventional name for the art of the Merovingian state. It relied on the traditions of late antique, Galo-Roman art, as well as the art of the barbarian peoples. The architecture of the Merovingian era, although it reflected the decline in 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 period of the "Carolingian Renaissance". In the arts and crafts, Late Antique motifs were combined with elements of the "animal style" ("the animal style" of Eurasian art dates back to the Iron Age and combines various forms of veneration of the sacred beast and stylization of the image of various animals); especially common were flat-relief stone carvings (sarcophagi), baked clay reliefs for decorating churches, the manufacture of church utensils and weapons, richly decorated with gold, silver inserts and precious stones. A book miniature was widespread, in which the main attention was paid to the decoration of initials and frontispieces; at the same time, pictorial motifs of an ornamental and decorative nature prevailed; bright laconic color combinations were used in the coloring.

2.2. "Carolingian Renaissance"

"Carolingian Renaissance" is a code name for the era of the rise of early medieval culture in the empire of Charlemagne and the kingdoms of the Carolingian dynasty. The "Carolingian Renaissance" was expressed in the organization of new schools for the training of administrative personnel and the clergy, the attraction of educated figures to the royal court, attention to ancient literature and secular knowledge, the flourishing of fine arts and architecture. 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.

From literary sources it is known about the intensive construction of monastic complexes, fortifications, churches and residences during this period (among the surviving buildings are the centric chapel of the imperial residence in Aachen, the rotunda chapel of St. Michael in Fulda, the church in Corvey, 822 - 885, gate building in Lorsch, about 774). Temples and palaces were decorated with multicolored mosaics and frescoes.

3. HIGH MIDDLE AGES

During the classical or high Middle Ages, Western Europe began to overcome difficulties and revive. Since the 10th century, state structures have been enlarged, which made it possible to raise larger armies and, to some extent, to stop raids and robberies. Missionaries brought Christianity to the countries of Scandinavia, Poland, Bohemia, Hungary, so that these states also entered the orbit of Western culture.

coming relative stability enabled the rapid growth of cities and the economy. Life began to change for the better, the cities flourished their own culture and spiritual life. An important role in this was played by the church, which also developed, improved its teaching and organization.

The economic and social takeoff after 1000 began with construction. As contemporaries said: "Europe was covered with a new white dress of churches." Based on artistic traditions ancient rome and the former barbarian tribes, Romanesque, and later brilliant Gothic art arose, and not only architecture and literature developed, but also other types of art - painting, theater, music, sculpture.

At this time, feudal relations finally took shape, the process of personality formation was already completed (XII century). The outlook of Europeans has significantly expanded due to a number of circumstances (this is the era of the Crusades outside Western Europe: acquaintance with the life of Muslims, the East, with a higher level of development). These new impressions enriched the Europeans, their horizons expanded as a result of the travels of merchants (Marco Polo traveled to China and, upon his return, wrote a book introducing Chinese life and traditions). Expanding horizons leads to the formation of a new worldview. Thanks to new acquaintances, impressions, people began to understand that earthly life is not aimless, has great significance, the natural world is rich, interesting, does not create anything bad, it is divine, worthy of study. Therefore, the sciences began to develop.

3.1 Literature

Features of the literature of this time:

1) The relationship between ecclesiastical and secular literature is decisively changing in favor of secular literature. New class directions are formed and flourish: chivalric and urban literature.

2) The sphere of literary use of folk languages has expanded: in urban literature, the folk language is preferred, even church literature refers to folk languages.

3) Literature acquires absolute independence in relation to folklore.

4) Dramaturgy emerges and develops successfully.

5) The genre of the heroic epic continues to develop. There are a number of gems of the heroic epic: "The Song of Roland", "The Song of my Sid", "The Song of the Nebelung".

3.1.1. Heroic epic.

The heroic epic is one of the most characteristic and popular genres of the European Middle Ages. In France, it existed in the form of poems called gestures, that is, songs about deeds, exploits. The thematic basis of the gesture is made up of real historical events, most of which date back to the 8th - 10th centuries. Probably, immediately after these events, legends and legends about them arose. It is also possible that these legends originally existed in the form of short episodic songs or prose stories that developed in the pre-knight's militia. However, very early episodic tales went beyond this environment, spread among the masses and became the property of the whole society: they were equally enthusiastic listened not only to the military class, but also to the clergy, merchants, artisans, and peasants.

Since initially these folk tales were intended for oral melodious performance by jugglers, the latter subjected them to intensive processing, which consisted in expanding the plots, in their cyclization, in the introduction of inserted episodes, sometimes very large ones, conversational scenes, etc. As a result, short episodic songs took gradually the appearance of plot-and stylistically-organized poems - a gesture. In addition, in the process of complex development, some of these poems were subject to a noticeable influence of church ideology, and all without exception - to the influence of knightly ideology. Since chivalry had a high prestige for all sectors of society, the heroic epic gained the widest popularity. Unlike Latin poetry, which was practically reserved for clerics alone, gestures were created in French and were understood by everyone. Originating from the early Middle Ages, the heroic epic took classic shape and survived a period of active existence in the XII, XIII and partly XIV centuries. Its written fixation also belongs to the same time.

Gestures are usually divided into three cycles:

1) the cycle of Guillaume d "Orange (otherwise: the cycle of Garena de Montglan - named after great-grandfather Guillaume);

2) the cycle of "rebellious barons" (in other words: the cycle of Doon de Mayans);

3) the cycle of Charlemagne, King of France. The theme of the first cycle is the disinterested, driven only by love for the motherland, service of the faithful vassals from the Guillaume family to the weak, vacillating, often ungrateful king, who is constantly threatened by either internal or external enemies.

The theme of the second cycle is the rebellion of the proud and independent barons against the unjust king, as well as the cruel feuds of the barons among themselves. Finally, in the poems of the third cycle (“The Pilgrimage of Charlemagne”, “Big-Legs”, etc.), the sacred struggle of the Franks against the “pagan” Muslims is sung and the figure of Charlemagne is heroized, appearing as the center of virtues and the stronghold of the entire Christian world. The most remarkable poem of the royal cycle and of the entire French epic is the "Song of Roland", the recording of which dates back to the beginning of the 12th century.

Features of the heroic epic:

1) The epic was created in the conditions of the development of feudal relations.

2) The epic picture of the world reproduces feudal relations, idealizes a strong feudal state and reflects Christian beliefs, Christian ideals.

3) With regard to history, the historical basis is clearly visible, but at the same time it is idealized, exaggerated.

4) Heroes - defenders of the state, the king, the independence of the country and the Christian faith. All this is interpreted in the epic as a nationwide affair.

5) The epic is associated with a folk tale, with historical chronicles, sometimes with a chivalric romance.

6) The epic has been preserved in the countries of continental Europe (Germany, France).

3.1.2. Knight literature

The poetry of the troubadours, which originated at the end of the 11th century, seems to have been strongly influenced by Arabic literature. In any case, the form of stanzas in the songs of the "first troubadour", which is traditionally considered to be Guillaume IX of Aquitaine, is very similar to zajal - a new poetic form invented by the poet of Arabic Spain Ibn.

In addition, the poetry of the troubadours is famous for its sophisticated rhyming, and Arabic poetry was also distinguished by such rhyming. Yes, and the themes were in many ways common: especially popular, for example, among the troubadours was the theme "fin" amor "(ideal love"), which appeared in Arabic poetry even in the 10th century, and in the 11th century was developed in Arabic Spain by Ibn Hazm in the famous philosophical treatise "The Dove's Necklace", in the chapter "On the Advantage of Chastity": "The best thing a man can do in his love is to be chaste..."

The culture inherited from Ancient Rome had a considerable influence on the poetry of the troubadours: the deity Amor is often found in the songs of the South French poets, in the song of Raimbaut de Vaqueiras, Pyramus and Thisbe are mentioned.

And, of course, the poetry of the troubadours abounds with Christian motifs; Guillaume of Aquitaine addresses his late poem to God, and many songs even parody disputes on religious topics: for example, the famous troubadours de Ussels argue about what is preferable, to be the husband or lover of the Lady. (Similar "disputes" on a variety of topics took shape in specific poetic forms - partimen and tenson.)

Thus, the poetry of the troubadours absorbed the spiritual and secular heritage of antiquity, Christian and Islamic philosophy and poetry. And the poetry of the troubadours became incredibly diverse. The word itself - troubadour (trobador) means "inventing, finding" (from "trobar" - "inventing, finding"). And indeed, the poets of Occitania were famous for their love for creating new poetic forms, skillful rhyming, word play and alliteration.

3.1.3. Urban literature of the Middle Ages

Urban literature developed simultaneously with knightly literature (from the end of the 11th century). 13th century - the flourishing of urban literature. In the XIII century. chivalric literature begins to decline. The consequence of this is the beginning of the crisis and degradation. And urban literature, unlike chivalric literature, begins an intensive search for new ideas, values, new artistic possibilities for expressing these values. Urban literature is created by the efforts of the townspeople. And in the cities in the Middle Ages lived, first of all, artisans and merchants. Mental workers also live and work in the city: teachers, doctors, students. Representatives of the clergy class also live in cities, serve in cathedrals and monasteries. In addition, feudal lords who were left without castles moved to the cities.

Classes meet and interact in the city. Due to the fact that in the city the line between feudal lords and estates is erased, development and cultural communication take place - all this becomes more natural. Therefore, literature incorporates the rich traditions of folklore (from the peasants), the traditions of church literature, learning, elements of knightly aristocratic literature, the traditions of culture and art of foreign countries, which brought trading people, merchants. Urban literature expresses the tastes and interests of the democratic 3rd estate, to which most of the townspeople belonged. Their interests were determined in society - they did not have privileges, but the townspeople had their own independence: economic and political. secular feudal lords wanted to seize the prosperity of the city. This struggle of citizens for independence determined the main ideological direction of urban literature - anti-feudal orientation. The townspeople saw well many of the shortcomings of the feudal lords, the inequality between the estates. This is expressed in urban literature in the form of satire. The townspeople, unlike the knights, did not try to idealize the surrounding reality. On the contrary, the world in the illumination of the townspeople is presented in a grotesque and satirical form. They deliberately exaggerate the negative: stupidity, super-stupidity, greed, super-greed.

Features of urban literature:

1) Urban literature is distinguished by attention to the daily life of a person, to everyday life.

2) The pathos of urban literature is didactic and satirical (unlike literature of chivalry).

3) The style is also the opposite of chivalric literature. Citizens do not aspire to decoration, elegance of works, for them the most important thing is to convey an idea, to give a demonstrative example. Therefore, the townspeople use not only poetic speech, but also prose. Style: household details, rough details, many words and expressions of handicraft, folk, slang origin.

4) The townspeople began to make the first prose retellings of chivalric romances. This is where prose literature comes in.

5) The type of hero is very generalized. This is not an individualized ordinary person. This hero is shown in a struggle: a clash with priests, feudal lords, where privileges are not on his side. Cunning, resourcefulness, life experience are the traits of a hero.

6) Genre-generic composition.

In urban literature, all 3 genera are developed.

Lyrical poetry is developing, which is not competitive with chivalric poetry; you will not find love experiences here. The work of the Vagants, whose demands were much higher, by virtue of their education, nevertheless rendered a synthesis to the urban lyrics.

In the epic kind of literature, as opposed to voluminous chivalric novels, the townspeople worked in a small genre of everyday, comic story. The reason is also that the townspeople do not have time to work on voluminous works, and what's the point of talking about life's little things for a long time, they should be depicted in short anecdotal stories. That's what got people's attention.

In the urban environment, the dramatic genre of literature begins to develop and flourishes. The dramatic genre developed along two lines:

1. Church drama.

Goes back to class literature. Formation of dramaturgy as a literary genre. Something similar to Greek dramaturgy: all the elements of drama were created in the Dionysian cult. In the same way, all the elements of the drama converged in the Christian church service: the poetic, song word, the dialogue between the priest and the parishioners, the choir; re-dressing of priests, synthesis of various types of art (poetry, music, painting, sculpture, pantomime). All these elements of drama were in the Christian service - the liturgy. An impetus was needed to make these elements develop intensively. It became such a sense that the church service was conducted on an incomprehensible Latin. Therefore, the idea arises to accompany the church service with pantomime, scenes related to the content of the church service. Such pantomimes were performed only by priests, then these inserted scenes acquired independence, vastness, they began to be played before and after the service, then they went beyond the walls of the temple, they held performances in the market square. And outside the temple, a word in an understandable language could sound.

2. Secular farce theater, traveling theater.

Together with secular actors, elements of secular drama, everyday and comic scenes penetrate into the church drama. This is how the first and second dramatic traditions meet.

Drama genres:

Mystery - a dramatization of a certain episode of the Holy Scriptures, the mysteries are anonymous ("The Game of Adam", "The Mystery of the Passion of the Lord" - depicted the suffering and death of Christ).

Miracle - an image of miracles performed by saints or the Virgin. This genre can be attributed to the poetic genre. "Miracle about Theophilus" - is built on the plot of a person's relationship with evil spirits.

Farce - a small poetic comic scene on an everyday topic. In the center is an amazing, absurd incident. The earliest farces date back to the 13th century. Develop until the 17th century. The farce is staged in folk theaters and squares.

Morality. The main purpose is edification, a moral lesson to the audience in the form of an allegorical action. The main characters are allegorical figures (vice, virtue, power).

Urban literature in the Middle Ages turned out to be a very rich and versatile phenomenon. This variety of genres, the development of three types of literature, the versatility of style, the richness of traditions - all this provided great opportunities and prospects for this class direction. In addition to it, the townspeople were exposed to history itself. It was in the city in the Middle Ages that new commodity-money relations began to form for the feudal world, which would become the basis of the future capital world. It is in the depths of the third estate that the future bourgeoisie, the intelligentsia, will begin to form. Citizens feel that the future is theirs, confidently look into the future. Therefore, in the 13th century, the century of intellectual education, science, broadening one's horizons, the development of cities, and the spiritual life of the townspeople will begin to change significantly.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

FEDERAL AGENCY FOR EDUCATION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

SEI HPE "SYKTYVKAR STATE UNIVERSITY"

VORKUTA BRANCH

TEST

discipline: Culturology

on the topic: "Peculiarities of the culture of the Middle Ages"

Completed by: 1st year student

group number 4159

Gorelova A.V.

Checked: k. f. PhD, Associate Professor

Vakhnina E. G.

Introduction 3

1. Christian consciousness is the basis of the medieval mentality 5

2.Early Middle Ages 8

2.1. Merovingian Art 9

2.2. "Carolingian Renaissance" 9

3. High Middle Ages 10

3.1 Literature 10

3.1.1. Heroic epic 11

3.1.2. Knight literature 12

3.1.3. Urban Literature of the Middle Ages 13

3.2. Music 16

3.3. Theater 17

3.3.1. Religious Drama or Wonder Plays 17

3.3.2. Medieval Secular Drama 18

3.3.3. Morality plays 19

3.4 Great Architectural Styles 20

3.4.1. Romanesque 20

3.4.2. Gothic style 22

4. Late Middle Ages 25

Conclusion 26

Bibliography 27

Application 28

INTRODUCTION

The Middle Ages (Middle Ages) - 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 century. In some regions, it was preserved even at a much later time. The Middle Ages are conditionally divided into the Early Middle Ages (IV-1st half of the 10th century), High Middle Ages (2nd half of the 10th-13th centuries) and Late Middle Ages (XIV-XV centuries).

The term "Middle Ages" (lat. medium ævum) was first introduced by the Italian humanist Flavio Biondo in Decades of History since the Decline of the Roman Empire (1483). 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.

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 the religious, economic and political life: feudal system of land use (feudal landowners and semi-dependent peasants), system of vassalage (relations between lord and vassal connecting feudal lords), unconditional dominance of the Church in religious life, political power of the Church (inquisition, church courts, existence of feudal bishops), 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 - Romanesque and Gothic.

Many modern states arose precisely in the Middle Ages: England, Spain, Poland, Russia, France, etc.

The object of study of this work is the Middle Ages, the subject of study is culture in the Middle Ages. The purpose of the work is to study the features of the culture of the Middle Ages. The goal is to solve the following tasks:

● study of the role of the church and Christian doctrine

● study of the three periods of the Middle Ages

● identification of cultural characteristics at each stage and in general

1. CHRISTIAN CONSCIOUSNESS IS THE BASIS OF THE MEDIEVAL MENTALITY

The entire cultural life of European society of this period was largely determined by Christianity.

Monasticism played a huge role in the life of society at that time: the monks took upon themselves the obligations of “leaving the world”, celibacy, and renunciation of property. However, already in the 6th century monasteries turned into strong, often very rich centers, owning movable and immovable property. Many monasteries were centers of education and culture.

The formation of the process of Christianization was one of the sources of sharp clashes, since the concept of people's freedom was often associated with the old faith among the people, while the connection of the Christian church with state power and oppression stood out quite clearly.

In the most general terms, the world was then seen in accordance with a certain hierarchical ladder, as a symmetrical scheme, reminiscent of two pyramids folded at the base. The top of one of them, the top one, is God. Below are the tiers or levels of sacred characters: first the Apostles, the closest to God, then the figures that gradually move away from God and approach the earthly level - archangels, angels and similar heavenly beings. At some level, people are included in this hierarchy: first the pope and the cardinals, then the clergy of lower levels, below them the simple laity. Then even farther from God and closer to the earth, animals are placed, then plants and then - the earth itself, already completely inanimate. And then comes, as it were, a mirror reflection of the upper, earthly and heavenly hierarchy, but again in a different dimension and with a “minus” sign, in the world, as it were, underground, with the growth of evil and proximity to Satan. He is placed on top of this second, atonic pyramid, acting as a being symmetrical to God, as if repeating him with an opposite sign (reflecting like a mirror) being. If God is the personification of Good and Love, then Satan is his opposite, the embodiment of Evil and Hatred.

The medieval European, including the upper strata of society, up to kings and emperors, was illiterate. The level of literacy and education even among the clergy in the parishes was appallingly low. Only by the end of the 15th century did the church realize the need to have educated personnel, began to open theological seminaries, etc. The level of education of the parishioners was generally minimal. The mass of the laity listened to semi-literate priests. At the same time, the Bible itself was forbidden for ordinary laity, its texts were considered too complex and inaccessible for direct perception of ordinary parishioners. Only priests were allowed to interpret it. However, their education and literacy were, as said, very low in the mass. Mass mediaeval culture is a bookless, “pre-Gutenberg” culture. She relied not on the printed word, but on oral sermons and exhortations. It existed through the mind of an illiterate person. It was a culture of prayers, fairy tales, myths, magic spells.

2. EARLY MIDDLE AGES

Introduction…………………………………………2

Christian consciousness is the basis of the medieval mentality………….4

Scientific culture in the Middle Ages………….……7

Artistic culture of medieval Europe…….….10

· medieval music and theater………………16

Conclusion………………………………………..21

List of used literature……………….22

INTRODUCTION

Culturologists call the Middle Ages a long period in the history of Western Europe between Antiquity and New Time. This period covers more than a millennium from the 5th to the 15th centuries.

Within the millennial period of the Middle Ages, it is customary to distinguish at least three periods. It:

Early Middle Ages, from the beginning of the era to 900 or 1000 years (up to the 10th - 11th centuries);

High (Classical) Middle Ages. From the X-XI centuries to about the XIV century;

Late Middle Ages, 14th and 15th centuries.

The early Middle Ages is a time when turbulent and very important processes took place in Europe. First of all, these are the invasions of the so-called barbarians (from the Latin barba - beard), who from the 2nd century AD constantly attacked the Roman Empire and settled on the lands of its provinces. These invasions ended with the fall of Rome.

At the same time, the new Western Europeans, as a rule, accepted Christianity. , which in Rome towards the end of its existence was the state religion. Christianity in its various forms gradually supplanted pagan beliefs throughout the territory of the Roman Empire, and this process did not stop after the fall of the empire. This is the second most important historical process that determined the face of the early Middle Ages in Western Europe.

The third significant process was the formation of new state formations on the territory of the former Roman Empire. , created by the same "barbarians". Numerous Frankish, Germanic, Gothic and other tribes were in fact not so wild. Most of them already had the beginnings of statehood, owned crafts, including agriculture and metallurgy, and were organized on the principles of military democracy. Tribal leaders began to proclaim themselves kings, dukes, etc., constantly fighting with each other and subjugating weaker neighbors. On Christmas Day 800, Charlemagne, King of the Franks, was crowned Catholic in Rome and Emperor of the entire European west. Later (900) the Holy Roman Empire broke up into countless duchies, counties, margraviates, bishoprics, abbeys, and other destinies. Their rulers behaved like completely sovereign masters, not considering it necessary to obey any emperors or kings. However, the processes of formation of state formations continued in subsequent periods. characteristic feature life in the early Middle Ages were constant robberies and devastation, which were subjected to the inhabitants of the Holy Roman Empire. And these robberies and raids significantly slowed down economic and cultural development.

During the classical or high Middle Ages, Western Europe began to overcome these difficulties and revive. Since the 10th century, cooperation under the laws of feudalism has allowed the creation of larger state structures and the collection of sufficiently strong armies. Thanks to this, it was possible to stop the invasions, significantly limit the robberies, and then gradually go on the offensive. In 1024, the crusaders took the Eastern Roman Empire from the Byzantines, and in 1099 they seized the Holy Land from the Muslims. True, in 1291 both were lost again. However, the Moors were expelled from Spain forever. In the end, Western Christians won dominion over the Mediterranean and its. islands. Numerous missionaries brought Christianity to the kingdoms of Scandinavia, Poland, Bohemia, Hungary, so that these states entered the orbit of Western culture.

The onset of relative stability provided the possibility of a rapid rise in cities and the pan-European economy. Life in Western Europe has changed a lot, society was rapidly losing the features of barbarism, spiritual life flourished in the cities. In general, European society has become much richer and more civilized than during the ancient Roman Empire. An outstanding role in this was played by the Christian Church, which also developed, improved its teaching and organization. On the basis of the artistic traditions of Ancient Rome and the former barbarian tribes, Romanesque and then brilliant Gothic art arose, and along with architecture and literature, all its other types developed - theater, music, sculpture, painting, literature. It was during this era that, for example, such masterpieces of literature as "The Song of Roland" and "The Romance of the Rose" were created. Of particular importance was the fact that during this period Western European scholars were able to read the writings of ancient Greek and Hellenistic philosophers, primarily Aristotle. On this basis, the great philosophical system of the Middle Ages, scholasticism, was born and grew.

The late Middle Ages continued the processes of formation European culture that began in the classical period. However, their course was far from smooth. In the XIV-XV centuries, Western Europe repeatedly experienced a great famine. Numerous epidemics, especially the bubonic plague (“Black Death”), also brought inexhaustible human casualties. The development of culture was greatly slowed down by the Hundred Years War. However, in the end, the cities were revived, crafts, agriculture and trade were established. People who survived pestilence and war were given the opportunity to arrange their lives better than in previous eras. The feudal nobility, the aristocrats, instead of castles began to build magnificent palaces for themselves both in their estates and in cities. The new rich from the "low" classes imitated them in this, creating everyday comfort and an appropriate lifestyle. Conditions arose for a new upsurge of spiritual life, science, philosophy, art, especially in northern Italy. This rise necessarily led to the so-called Renaissance or Renaissance.

Christian consciousness is the basis of the medieval mentality

The most important feature of medieval culture is the special role of 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. Let us add to this the emotional appeal of Christianity with its warmth, universally significant preaching of love and all understandable norms of social coexistence (Decalogue), with romantic elation and ecstasy of the plot about the redeeming sacrifice, and finally, with the statement about the equality of all people without exception in the highest instance, so that at least approximately evaluate the contribution of Christianity to the worldview, to the picture of the world of medieval Europeans.

The medieval European was, of course, a deeply religious person. In his mind, the world was seen as a kind of arena of confrontation between the forces of heaven and hell, good and evil. At the same time, the consciousness of people was deeply magical, everyone was absolutely sure of the possibility of miracles and perceived everything that the Bible reported literally. According to the apt expression of S. Averintsev, the Bible was read and listened to in the Middle Ages in much the same way as we read fresh newspapers today.

In the most general terms, the world was then seen in accordance with some hierarchical logic, as a symmetrical scheme resembling two pyramids folded at the base. The top of one of them, the top one, is God. Below are the tiers or levels of sacred characters: first the Apostles, the closest to God, then the figures that gradually move away from God and approach the earthly level - archangels, angels and similar heavenly beings. At some level, people are included in this hierarchy: first the pope and the cardinals, then the clergy of lower levels, below them the simple laity. Then even farther from God and closer to the earth, animals are placed, then plants and then - the earth itself, already completely inanimate. And then comes, as it were, a mirror reflection of the upper, earthly and heavenly hierarchy, but again in a different dimension and with a “minus” sign, in the world, as it were, underground, with the growth of evil and proximity to Satan. He is placed on top of this second, chthonic pyramid, acting as a being symmetrical to God, as if repeating him with an opposite sign (reflecting like a mirror) being. If God is the personification of Good and Love, then Satan is his opposite, the embodiment of Evil and Hatred.

The medieval European, including the upper strata of society, up to kings and emperors, was illiterate. The level of literacy and education even among the clergy in the parishes was appallingly low. Only by the end of the 15th century did the church realize the need to have educated personnel, began to open theological seminaries, etc. The level of education of the parishioners was generally minimal. The mass of the laity listened to semi-literate priests. At the same time, the Bible itself was forbidden for ordinary laity, its texts were considered too complex and inaccessible for direct perception of ordinary parishioners. Only priests were allowed to interpret it. However, their education and literacy was in the mass, as said, very low. Mass mediaeval culture is a bookless, “pre-Gutenberg” culture. She relied not on the printed word, but on oral sermons and exhortations. It existed through the mind of an illiterate person. It was a culture of prayers, fairy tales, myths, magic spells.

At the same time, the meaning of the word, written and especially sound, in medieval culture was unusually great. Prayers, perceived functionally as spells, sermons, biblical stories, magic formulas - all this also formed the medieval mentality. People are accustomed to intensely peer into the surrounding reality, perceiving it as a kind of text, as a system of symbols containing some higher meaning. These symbol-words had to be able to recognize and extract the divine meaning from them. This, in particular, explains many features of medieval artistic culture, designed to perceive in space just such a deeply religious and symbolic, verbally armed mentality. Even the painting there was first of all the revealed word, like the Bible itself. The word was universal, suited to everything, explained everything, was hidden behind all phenomena as their hidden meaning. Therefore, for the medieval consciousness, the medieval mentality, culture first of all expressed the meanings, the human soul, brought the person closer to God, as if transferred to another world, to a space different from earthly existence. And this space looked like it was described in the Bible, the lives of the saints, the writings of the church fathers and the sermons of the priests. Accordingly, the behavior of the medieval European, all his activities, was determined.

Scientific culture in the Middle Ages

The Christian Church in the Middle Ages was completely indifferent to Greek and, in general, to pagan science and philosophy. The main problem that the Church Fathers tried to solve was to master the knowledge of the "pagans", while defining the boundaries between reason and faith. Christianity was forced to compete with the mind of the pagans, such as the Hellenists, Romans, with Jewish learning. But in this rivalry, it had to remain strictly on a biblical basis. It may be recalled here that many of the Church Fathers had an education in the field of classical philosophy that was essentially non-Christian. The Church Fathers were well aware that the many rational and mystical systems contained in the works of pagan philosophers would greatly complicate the development of traditional Christian thinking and consciousness.

A partial solution to this problem was proposed in the 5th century by St. Augustine. However, the chaos that followed in Europe due to the invasion of the Germanic tribes and the decline of the Western Roman Empire pushed back serious debate about the role and acceptability of pagan rational science in Christian society for seven centuries and only in X-XI centuries after the conquest of Spain and Sicily by the Arabs, interest in the development of the ancient heritage revived. For the same reason, Christian culture was now capable of accepting the original works of Islamic scholars. The result was an important movement that included the collection of Greek and Arabic manuscripts, their translation into Latin, and commentary. The West received in this way not only the complete corpus of Aristotle's writings, but also the works of Euclid and Ptolemy.

Universities, which appeared in Europe from the 12th century, became centers of scientific research, helping to establish the unquestioned scientific authority of Aristotle. In the middle of the 13th century, Thomas Aquinas synthesized Aristotelian philosophy and Christian doctrine. He emphasized the harmony of reason and faith, thus strengthening the foundations of natural theology. But the Thomist synthesis did not go unanswered. In 1277, after the death of Aquinas, the Archbishop of Paris invalidated 219 of Thomas' statements contained in his writings. As a result, the nominalist doctrine was developed (W. Ockham). Nominalism, which sought to separate science from theology, became the cornerstone in redefining the realms of science and theology later in the 17th century. More complete information about the philosophical culture of the European Middle Ages should be given in the course of philosophy. During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, European scholars seriously touted the fundamental tenets of Aristotelian methodology and physics. The English Franciscans Robert Grosseteste and Roger Bacon introduced mathematical and experimental methods to the field of science, and contributed to the discussion about vision and the nature of light and color. Their Oxford followers introduced the quantitative, reasoning, and physical approach through their studies of accelerated motion. Across the Channel, in Paris, Jean Buridan and others became the concept of momentum, while investing a number of bold ideas in astronomy that opened the door to the pantheism of Nicholas of Cusa.

Alchemy occupied an important place in the scientific culture of the European Middle Ages. Alchemy was devoted primarily to the search for a substance that could turn ordinary metals into gold or silver and serve as a means of indefinitely prolonging human life. Although its aims and means were highly dubious and most often illusory, alchemy was in many respects the forerunner of modern science especially chemistry. The first reliable works of European alchemy that have come down to us belong to the English monk Roger Bacon and the German philosopher Albert the Great. They both believed in the possibility of transmuting lower metals into gold. This idea struck the imagination, the greed of many people, throughout the Middle Ages. They believed that gold is the most perfect metal, and the lower metals are less perfect than gold. Therefore, they tried to make or invent a substance called the philosopher's stone, which is more perfect than gold, and therefore can be used to improve the lower metals to the level of gold. Roger Bacon believed that gold dissolved in aqua regia was the elixir of life. Albertus Magnus was the greatest practical chemist of his time. The Russian scientist V. L. Rabinovich did a brilliant analysis of alchemy and showed that it was a typical product of medieval culture, combining a magical and mythological vision of the world with sober practicality and an experimental approach.

Perhaps the most paradoxical result of medieval scientific culture is the emergence on the basis of scholastic methods and irrational Christian dogma of new principles of knowledge and learning. Trying to find the harmony of faith and reason, to combine irrational dogmas and experimental methods, thinkers in monasteries and theological schools gradually created a fundamentally new way of organizing thinking - disciplinary. The most developed form of theoretical thinking of that time was theology.

It was theologians, discussing the problems of synthesis of pagan rational philosophy and Christian biblical principles, who groped for those forms of activity and transfer of knowledge that turned out to be the most effective and necessary for the emergence and development of modern science: the principles of teaching, evaluation, recognition of the truth, which are used in science today. “The dissertation, defense, dispute, title, citation network, scientific apparatus, explanation with contemporaries using supports - references to predecessors, priority, a ban on repetition-plagiarism - all this appeared in the process of reproduction of spiritual personnel, where the vow of celibacy forced the use of “foreign "For the Spiritual Profession of the Rising Generations".

The theology of medieval Europe, in search of a new explanation of the world, for the first time began to focus not on a simple reproduction of already known knowledge, but on the creation of new conceptual schemes that could unite such different, practically incompatible systems of knowledge. This eventually led to the emergence of a new paradigm of thinking - forms, procedures, attitudes, ideas, assessments, with the help of which the participants in the discussions achieve mutual understanding. M. K. Petrov called this new paradigm a disciplinary (Ibid.). He showed that medieval Western European theology acquired all the characteristic features of future scientific disciplines. Among them - "the main set of disciplinary rules, procedures, requirements for the completed product, ways to reproduce disciplinary personnel." The pinnacle of these ways of reproducing personnel has become the university, the system in which all the above finds flourish and work. The university as a principle, as a specialized organization, can be considered the greatest invention of the Middle Ages. .

Artistic culture of medieval Europe.

Roman style.

The first independent, specifically European artistic style of medieval Europe was Romanesque, which characterized the art and architecture of Western Europe from about 1000 to the rise of the Gothic, in most regions until about the second half and the end of the 12th century, and in some even later. It arose as a result of the synthesis of the remains of the artistic culture of Rome and the barbarian tribes. At first it was the proto-Romanesque style.

At the end of the Proto-Roman period, elements of the Romanesque style were mixed with Byzantine, with Middle Eastern, especially Syrian, which also came to Syria from Byzantium; with Germanic, with Celtic, with features of the styles of other northern tribes. Various combinations of these influences created many local styles in Western Europe, which received the common name Romanesque, meaning "in the manner of the Romans." Since the main number of surviving fundamentally important monuments of the Proto-Romanesque and Romanesque style are architectural structures: the various styles of this period often differ in architectural schools. Architecture V-VIII centuries is usually simple, with the exception of buildings in Ravenna, (Italy), erected according to Byzantine rules. Buildings were often created from elements removed from old Roman buildings, or decorated with them. In many regions, this style was a continuation of early Christian art. Round or polygonal cathedral churches, borrowed from Byzantine architecture, were built during the Proto-Roman period;

later they were built in Aquitaine in the south-west of France and in Scandinavia. The most famous and best-designed examples of this type are the Cathedral of San Vitalo. Byzantine emperor Justinian in Ravenna (526-548) and the octagonal palace chapel built between 792 and 805 by Charlemagne in Ai la Capella (now Aachen, Germany), directly inspired by the Cathedral of San Vitalo. One of the creations of Carolingian architects was the westwork, a multi-storey entrance facade flanked by bell towers, which began to be attached to Christian basilicas. Westworks were the prototypes for the facades of giant Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals.

Important buildings were also constructed in the monastic style. Monasteries, a characteristic religious and social phenomenon of that era, required huge buildings that combined both the dwellings of monks and chapels, rooms for prayers and services, libraries, and workshops. Elaborate proto-Romanesque monastic complexes were erected at St. Gall (Switzerland), on the island of Reichenau (German side of Lake Constance) and at Monte Cassino (Italy) by Benedictine monks.

The outstanding achievement of the architects of the Romanesque period was the development of buildings with stone volts (arched, supporting structures). The main reason for the development of stone arches was the need to replace the flammable wooden ceilings of Proto-Romanesque buildings. The introduction of voltaic structures led to the general use of heavy walls and pillars.

Sculpture. Most Romanesque sculpture was integrated into church architecture and served both structural, constructive and aesthetic purposes. So it's hard to talk about Romanesque sculpture without touching church architecture. Small-sized sculpture of the Proto-Roman era made of bone, bronze, gold was made under the influence of Byzantine models. Other elements of numerous local styles were borrowed from the crafts of the Middle East, known for imported illustrated manuscripts, bone carvings, gold objects, ceramics, fabrics. Motifs derived from the arts of the migrating peoples were also important, such as grotesque figures, images of monsters, intertwining geometric patterns, especially in areas north of the Alps. Large-scale stone sculptural decorations only became common in Europe in the 12th century. In the French Romanesque cathedrals of Provence, Burgundy, Aquitaine, many figures were placed on the facades, and the statues on the columns emphasized the vertical supporting elements.

Painting. Existing examples of Romanesque painting include decorations on architectural monuments, such as columns with abstract ornaments, as well as wall decorations with images of hanging fabrics. Picturesque compositions, in particular narrative scenes based on biblical stories and from the life of saints, were also depicted on the wide surfaces of the walls. In these compositions, which predominantly follow Byzantine painting and mosaics, the figures are stylized and flat, so that they are perceived more as symbols than as realistic representations. Mosaic, just like painting, was mainly a Byzantine technique and was widely used in the architectural design of Italian Romanesque churches, especially in the Cathedral of St. Mark (Venice) and in the Sicilian churches in Cefalu and Montreal.

decorative arts . Proto-Romanesque artists reached the highest level in illustrating manuscripts. In England, an important school of manuscript illustration arose already in the 7th century in Holy Island (Lindisfarne). The works of this school, exhibited in british museum(London), are distinguished by geometric interweaving of patterns in capital letters, frames, and entire pages are densely covered with them, which are called carpet. Drawings of capital letters are often animated by grotesque figures of people, birds, monsters.

Regional schools of manuscript illustration in southern and Eastern Europe developed various specific styles, which is noticeable, for example, in a copy of the Apocalypse of Beata (Paris, National Library), made in the middle of the 11th century in the monastery of Saint-Sever in Northern France. At the beginning of the 12th century, the illustration of manuscripts in the northern countries acquired common features, just as the same happened at that time with sculpture. In Italy, the Byzantine influence continued to dominate both in miniature painting and in wall paintings and mosaics.

Proto-Romanesque and Romanesque metal processing- a widespread art form - were used mainly to create church utensils for religious rituals. Many of these works are kept to this day in the treasuries of great cathedrals outside of France; French cathedrals were robbed during the French Revolution. Other metalwork from this period is early Celtic filigree jewelry and silverware; late products of German goldsmiths and silver things inspired by imported Byzantine metal products, as well as wonderful enamels, especially cloisonné and champlevé, made in the areas of the Moselle and Rhine rivers. two famous masters on metal were Roger from Helmar-shausen, a German known for his bronze products, and the French enameller Godefroy de Claire.

by the most famous example A Romanesque textile work is an 11th-century embroidery called the Baia Tapestry. Other patterns have survived, such as church vestments and draperies, but the most valuable fabrics in Romanesque Europe were imported from the Byzantine Empire, Spain, and the Middle East and are not the product of local craftsmen.

Gothic art and architecture

In place of the Romanesque style, as cities flourished and social relations improved, a new style came - Gothic. In this style, religious and secular buildings, sculpture, colored glass, illustrated manuscripts and other works of fine art during the second half of the Middle Ages.

Gothic art originated in France around 1140 and spread throughout Europe over the next century and continued to exist in Western Europe for most of the 15th century, and in some regions of Europe well into the 16th century. Originally, the word gothic was used by Italian Renaissance authors as a derogatory label for all forms of architecture and art of the Middle Ages, which were considered comparable only to the works of the Goth barbarians. Later use of the term "Gothic" was limited to the period of the late, high or classical Middle Ages, immediately following the Romanesque. Currently, the Gothic period is considered one of the most prominent in the history of European artistic culture.

The main representative and spokesman of the Gothic period was architecture. Although a huge number of Gothic monuments were secular, the Gothic style served primarily the church, the most powerful builder in the Middle Ages, which ensured the development of this new architecture for that time and achieved its fullest realization.

The aesthetic quality of Gothic architecture depends on its structural development: ribbed vaults became a characteristic feature of the Gothic style. Medieval churches had powerful stone vaults, which were very heavy. They sought to open, to push out the walls. This could lead to the collapse of the building. Therefore, the walls must be thick and heavy enough to support such vaults. At the beginning of the 12th century, masons developed ribbed vaults, which included slender stone arches arranged diagonally, transversely and longitudinally. The new vault, which was thinner, lighter and more versatile (because it could have many sides), solved many architectural problems. Although early Gothic churches allowed for a wide variety of forms, the construction of a series of large cathedrals in Northern France, beginning in the second half of the 12th century, took full advantage of the new Gothic vault. Cathedral architects have found that now the external bursting forces from the vaults are concentrated in narrow areas at the junctions of the ribs (ribs), and therefore they can be easily neutralized with the help of buttresses and external arches-flying buttresses. Consequently, the thick walls of Romanesque architecture could be replaced by thinner ones, which included extensive window openings, and the interiors received hitherto unparalleled lighting. In the construction business, therefore, there was a real revolution.

With the advent of the Gothic vault, both the design, the form, and the layout and interiors of the cathedrals changed. Gothic cathedrals acquired a general character of lightness, aspiration to the sky, became much more dynamic and expressive. The first of the great cathedrals was Notre Dame Cathedral (begun in 1163). In 1194, the foundation stone for the cathedral at Chartres is considered the beginning of the High Gothic period. The culmination of this era was the cathedral at Reims (begun in 1210). Rather cold and all-conquering in its finely balanced proportions, Reims Cathedral represents a moment of classical calm and serenity in the evolution of Gothic cathedrals. Openwork partitions, a characteristic feature of late Gothic architecture, were the invention of the first architect of Reims Cathedral. Fundamentally new interior solutions were found by the author of the cathedral in Bourges (begun in 1195). The influence of French Gothic quickly spread throughout Europe: Spain, Germany, England. In Italy it was not so strong.

Sculpture. Following Romanesque traditions, in numerous niches on the facades of French Gothic cathedrals, a huge number of figures carved from stone, personifying the dogmas and beliefs of the Catholic Church, were placed as decorations. Gothic sculpture in the 12th and early 13th centuries was predominantly architectural in character. The largest and most important figures were placed in openings on both sides of the entrance. Because they were attached to columns, they were known as pillar statues. Along with column statues, free-standing monumental statues were widespread, an art form unknown in Western Europe since Roman times. The earliest surviving statues are columns in the western portal of Chartres Cathedral. They were still in the old pre-Gothic cathedral and date from about 1155. The slender, cylindrical figures follow the shape of the columns to which they were attached. They are executed in a cold, strict, linear Romanesque style, which nevertheless gives the figures an impressive character of purposeful spirituality.

From 1180, the Romanesque stylization begins to move into a new one, when the statues acquire a sense of grace, sinuosity and freedom of movement. This so-called classic style culminates in the first decades of the 13th century in a large series of sculptures on the portals of the north and south transepts of Chartres Cathedral.

The emergence of naturalism. Starting around 1210 on the Coronation Portal of Notre Dame and after 1225 on the west portal of Amiens Cathedral, the rippling, classical features of the surfaces begin to give way to more austere volumes. At the statues of the Reims Cathedral and in the interior of the Saint-Chapelle Cathedral, exaggerated smiles, emphasized almond-shaped eyes, curls arranged in bunches on small heads and mannered poses produce a paradoxical impression of a synthesis of naturalistic forms, delicate affectation and subtle spirituality.

Medieval music and theater

medieval music is predominantly spiritual in nature and is essential constituent element Catholic Mass At the same time, already in the early Middle Ages, secular music began to take shape.

The first important form of secular music was the songs of the troubadours in Provençal. Since the 11th century, troubadour songs have been influential in many other countries for more than 200 years, especially in northern France. The pinnacle of troubadour art was reached around 1200 by Bernard de Ventadorne, Giraud de Bornel Folke de Marseille. Bernard is famous for his three lyrics about unrequited love. Some of the verse forms anticipate the 14th century ballad with its three stanzas of 7 or 8 lines. Others talk about the crusaders or discuss any love trifles. Pastorals in numerous stanzas convey banal stories about knights and shepherdesses. Dance songs such as rondo and virelai are also in their repertoire. All of this monophonic music could sometimes have string or wind instrument accompaniment. This was the case until the 14th century, when secular music became polyphonic.

Medieval theatre. Ironically, theater in the form of liturgical drama was revived in Europe by the Roman Catholic Church. As the church sought ways to expand its influence, it often adapted pagan and folk festivals, many of which contained theatrical elements. In the 10th century, many church holidays provided the opportunity for dramatization: generally speaking, the Mass itself is nothing more than a drama.

Certain holidays were famous for their theatricality, such as the procession to the church on Palm Sunday. Antiphonal or question-and-answer, chants, masses and canonical chorales are dialogues. In the 9th century, antiphonal chimes, known as tropes, were incorporated into the complex musical elements of the mass. The three-part tropes (dialogue between the three Marys and the angels at the tomb of Christ) by an unknown author have been considered since about 925 as the source of liturgical drama. In 970, a record of an instruction or manual for this little drama appeared, including elements of costume and gestures.

Religious drama or miraculous plays. Over the next two hundred years, the liturgical drama slowly developed, incorporating various biblical stories enacted by priests or choir boys. At first, church vestments and existing architectural details of churches were used as costumes and decorations, but more ceremonial decorations were soon invented. As the liturgical drama developed, many biblical themes were presented in succession, usually depicting scenes from the creation of the world to the crucifixion of Christ. These plays were called differently - passions (Passion), Miracles (Miracles), holy plays. Appropriate decorations were raised around the church nave, usually with heaven in the altar and with the Hell's Mouth - an elaborate monster's head with gaping mouth, representing the entrance to hell - at the opposite end of the nave. Therefore, all the scenes of the play could be presented simultaneously, and the participants in the action moved around the church from one place to another, depending on the scenes.

The plays, obviously, consisted of episodes, covered literally millennium periods, transferred the action to the most diverse places and represented the atmosphere and spirit of different times, as well as allegories. Unlike ancient Greek tragedy, which clearly focused on creating the prerequisites and conditions for catharsis, medieval drama did not always show conflicts and tension. Its purpose was to dramatize the salvation of the human race.

Although the church supported the early liturgical drama in its didactic capacity, entertainment and spectacle increased and began to predominate, and the church began to express suspicion of the drama. Not wanting to lose the useful effects of the theater, the church compromised by bringing dramatic performances from the walls of the church churches themselves. The same material design began to be recreated in the market squares of cities. While retaining its religious content and focus, the drama has become much more secular in its staged character.

Medieval secular drama. In the 14th century, theatrical productions were associated with the feast of Corpus Christi and developed into cycles that included up to 40 plays. Some scholars believe that these cycles developed independently, albeit simultaneously with the liturgical drama. They were presented to the community for a whole four to five year period. Each production could last one or two days and was staged once a month. The staging of each play was financed by some workshop or trade guild, and usually they tried to somehow connect the specialization of the workshop with the subject of the play - for example, the shipbuilders' workshop could stage a play about Noah. Because the performers were often illiterate amateurs, the anonymous playwrights tended to write in easy-to-remember primitive verse. In accordance with the medieval worldview, historical accuracy was often ignored, and the logic of cause and effect was not always respected.

Realism was used selectively in productions. The plays are full of anachronisms, references to purely local circumstances known only to contemporaries; the realities of time and place received only minimal attention. Costumes, furnishings and utensils were entirely modern (medieval European). Something could be depicted with extreme accuracy - there are reports of how actors almost died due to a too realistic performance of a crucifixion or hanging, and of actors who, playing the devil, literally burned to death. On the other hand, the episode with the retreat of the waters of the Red Sea could be indicated by a simple throwing of a red cloth over the Egyptian pursuers, as a sign that the sea had swallowed them up.

The free mixture of the real and the symbolic did not interfere with medieval perception. Spectacles and folk plays were placed wherever possible, and the infernal mouth was usually a favorite object of application of forces for the masters of mechanical miracles and pyrotechnics. Despite the religious content of the cycles, they increasingly became entertainment. Three main formats were used. In England, carnival carts were the most common. The old church decorations were replaced by elaborate moving scenes, such as small modern ships that moved from place to place in the city. Spectators gathered in each such place: the performers worked on the platforms of the wagons, or on the stages built on the streets. They did the same in Spain. In France, synchronized productions were used - various scenery rose one after another along the sides of a long, raised platform in front of the assembled spectators. Finally, again in England, plays were sometimes staged "round" - on a circular platform, with scenery placed around the circumference of the arena and spectators sitting or standing between the scenery.

Moral plays. In the same period, folk plays, secular farces, and pastorals appeared, mostly by anonymous authors, who stubbornly retained the character of worldly entertainment. All this influenced the evolution of morality plays in the 15th century. Though written on themes of Christian theology with related characters, the moralites were not like cycles in that they did not represent episodes from the Bible. They were allegorical, self-contained dramas and performed by professionals such as minstrels or jugglers. Plays such as "Everyman" usually dealt with the individual's life path. Among the allegorical characters were such figures as Death, Gluttony, Good Deeds and other vices and virtues.

These plays are sometimes difficult and boring for modern perception: the rhymes of the verses are repeated, they are in the nature of improvisation, the plays are two or three times longer than Shakespeare's dramas, and the morality is announced straightforwardly and instructively. However, the performers, by inserting music and action into performances and using the comic possibilities of numerous characters of vices and demons, created a form of folk drama.

Conclusion

So, the Middle Ages in Western Europe is a time of intense spiritual life, complex and difficult searches for worldview structures that could synthesize historical experience and knowledge of previous millennia. In this era, people were able to enter a new path of cultural development, different from what they knew in previous times. Trying to reconcile faith and reason, building a picture of the world based on the knowledge available to them and with the help of Christian dogmatism, the culture of the Middle Ages created new artistic styles, a new urban lifestyle, a new economy, and prepared people's minds for the use of mechanical devices and technology. Contrary to the opinion of the thinkers of the Italian Renaissance, the Middle Ages left us the most important achievements of spiritual culture, including institutions scientific knowledge and education. Among them, first of all, the university as a principle should be named. In addition, a new paradigm of thinking arose, a disciplinary structure of cognition without which modern science would be impossible, people got the opportunity to think and cognize the world much more effectively than before. Even the fantastic recipes of the alchemists played their part in this process of improving the spiritual means of thinking, the general level of culture.

The image proposed by M.K. Petrov seems to be the most successful: he compared medieval culture with scaffolding. It is impossible to build a building without them. But when the building is completed, the scaffolding is removed, and one can only guess what it looked like and how it was arranged. Medieval culture in relation to our modern culture played precisely the role of such forests:

without her western culture would not have arisen, although medieval culture itself was largely unlike it. Therefore, one must understand the historical reason for such a strange name for this long and important era development of European culture.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gurevich A. Ya. medieval world; silent majority culture. M., 1990.

· Petrov MK Socio-cultural foundations for the development of modern science. M., 1992.

Radugin A.A. Culturology: tutorial. M., 1999.

The Middle Ages in the history of Western Europe cover more than a millennium - from the 5th to the 16th centuries. In this period, the stages of the early (V-IX centuries), mature, or classical (X-XIII centuries) and late (XIV-XVI centuries) Middle Ages are usually distinguished. From the point of view of socio-economic relations, this period corresponds to feudalism.

Until recently, the Middle Ages were often perceived as something dark and gloomy, filled with violence and cruelty. bloody wars and passions. It was associated with a certain savagery and backwardness, stagnation or failure in history, with a complete absence of anything bright and joyful.

Image creation "Dark Middle Ages" in many ways contributed to the representatives of this era, and above all writers, poets, historians, religious thinkers and statesmen. In their works, writings and testimonies, they often painted a rather gloomy picture of their contemporary life. In their descriptions, there is no optimism and joy of being, there is no satisfaction from life, there is no desire for improvement. existing world, there is no hope for the possibility of achieving happiness, peace and prosperity in it.

On the contrary, there is deep pessimism, constant complaints about life, which brings only disasters and suffering, the motive of fear of it and fatigue prevails, a feeling of defenselessness and deprivation is expressed, a feeling of the approaching end of the world, etc. Hence the special attention to theme of death which acts as a way to get rid of the unbearable hardships of life. Medieval authors write about a sincere desire to quickly leave this mortal earthly world and go to the other world, where it is only possible to achieve happiness, bliss and peace.

To an even greater extent, poets, writers, philosophers and thinkers contributed to the creation of the image of the "dark Middle Ages". . It was they who declared the Middle Ages " dark night" in the history of mankind, and the Renaissance that followed it - "dawn", "bright day", awakening to life after a thousand years of hibernation.

The Middle Ages appeared to them as entirely barren, wasted centuries. They also accused the Middle Ages of only destroying and preserving nothing of the great achievements of ancient culture. From this followed a logical conclusion about the complete rejection of the Middle Ages and the revival of Antiquity, the restoration of the interrupted connection of times.

In fact, everything was much more complicated, not so simple, unambiguous and monochromatic. Recently, the views and assessments of the Middle Ages have become more and more adequate and objective, although some authors go to the other extreme, idealizing the Middle Ages.

In the Middle Ages, as in other eras, complex and contradictory processes took place on the European continent, one of the main results of which was the emergence of European states and the entire West in its modern form. Of course, the leader of world history and culture in this era was not the Western world, but semi-eastern Byzantium and Eastern China, however, in the Western world there were also important events. As for the correlation of ancient and medieval cultures, in certain areas (science, philosophy, art) the Middle Ages were inferior to Antiquity, but in general it meant an undoubted advance.

The most difficult and stormy was early medieval period when the new, Western world was born. Its emergence was due to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire (5th century), which in turn was caused by its deep internal crisis, as well as the Great Migration of Peoples, or the invasion of barbarian tribes - Goths, Franks, Alemans, etc. From the 4th to the 9th century there was a transition from the "Roman world" to the "Christian world", with which Western Europe arose.

The Western, "Christian world" came into being not as a result of the destruction of the "Roman world", but in the process of merging the Roman and barbarian worlds, although it was accompanied by serious costs - destruction, violence and cruelty, the loss of many important achievements of ancient culture and civilization. In particular, the previously achieved level of statehood was seriously affected, since those that arose in the 6th century. barbarian states - the kingdoms of the Visigoths (Spain), the Ostrogoths (northern Italy), the Franks (France), the Anglo-Saxon kingdom (England) - were fragile and therefore short-lived.

The strongest of them was the Frankish state, founded at the end of the 5th century. King Clovis and turned under Charlemagne (800) into a huge empire, which, however, by the middle of the 9th century. also broke up. However, at the stage of the mature Middle Ages (X-XI centuries), all the main European states - England, Germany, France, Spain, Italy - are formed in their modern form.

Many ancient cities were also seriously affected: some of them were destroyed, while others died out due to the decline in trade or due to changes in the direction of trade routes. At the early stage of the Middle Ages, the level of development of many crafts noticeably dropped, the agrarianization of the entire economy took place, in which the subsistence type of economy prevailed. A certain stagnation was observed in the development of science and philosophy.

At the same time, in some areas of life, already at an early stage of the Middle Ages, there were progressive changes. AT social development the main positive change was the abolition of slavery, thanks to which the unnatural situation was eliminated, when a huge part of people were legally and actually excluded from the category of people.

If theoretical knowledge was successfully developed in Antiquity, then the Middle Ages opened up more scope for applications of machines and technical inventions. This was a direct consequence of the abolition of slavery. In Antiquity, the main source of energy was the muscular strength of slaves. When this source disappeared, the question arose of finding other sources. Therefore, already in the VI century. water energy begins to be used due to the use of a water wheel, and in the XII century. There is a windmill that uses wind energy.

Water and windmills made it possible to carry out the most different types work: grind grain, sift flour, raise water for irrigation, felt and beat cloth in water, saw logs, use a mechanical hammer in a forge, draw wire, etc. The invention of the steering wheel accelerated the progress of water transport, which in turn led to a revolution in trade. The development of trade was also facilitated by the construction of canals and the use of locks with gates.

Positive shifts occurred in other areas of culture as well. Most of them were related in one way or another. , which formed the foundation of the whole way of medieval life, permeated all its aspects. It proclaimed the equality of all people before God, which greatly contributed to the elimination of slavery.

Antiquity strove for the ideal of man, in which the soul and body would be in harmony. However, in the realization of this ideal, the body was much more fortunate, especially if we have in mind the Roman culture. Taking into account the bitter lessons of Roman society, in which a kind of cult of physical pleasures and pleasures developed, Christianity gave a clear preference to the soul, the spiritual principle in man. It calls a person to self-restraint in everything, to voluntary asceticism, to the suppression of sensual, physical desires of the body.

Proclaiming the unconditional primacy of the spiritual over the bodily, emphasizing the inner world of man, Christianity has done a lot to form the deep spirituality of man, his moral elevation.

Main moral values Christianity are faith, hope and love. They are closely related to each other and pass one into another. However, chief among them is love, which means, first of all, spiritual connection and love for God, and which opposes physical and carnal love, which is declared sinful and vile. At the same time, Christian love extends to all "neighbors", including those who not only do not reciprocate, but also show hatred and hostility. Christ urges: "Love your enemies, bless those who curse you and persecute you."

Love for God makes faith in Him natural, easy and simple, requiring no effort. Faith means a special state of mind that does not require any evidence, arguments or facts. Such faith, in turn, easily and naturally transforms into love for God. Hope in Christianity means the idea of salvation, which is central to many religions.

In Christianity, this idea has several meanings: salvation from evil in earthly life in this world, deliverance from the fate of going to hell at the future Last Judgment, staying in paradise in the other world as a fair reward for faith and love. Not everyone will be rewarded with salvation, but only the righteous, those. who strictly follow the commandments of Christ. In list commandments - suppression of pride and greed, which are the main sources of evil, repentance for sins committed, humility, patience, non-resistance to evil by violence, demands not to kill, not to take someone else's, not to commit adultery, honor parents and many others moral standards and laws, the observance of which gives hope of salvation from the torments of hell.

The dominance of religion did not make culture completely homogeneous. On the contrary, one of the important features of medieval culture consists precisely in the emergence in it of quite definite subcultures caused by the strict division of society into three estates: the clergy, the feudal aristocracy and the third estate.

Clergy considered the highest class, it was divided into white - the priesthood - and black - monasticism. He was in charge of "heavenly affairs", caring for faith and spiritual life. It was precisely this, especially monasticism, that most fully embodied Christian ideals and values. However, it was also far from unity, as evidenced by the differences in the understanding of Christianity between the orders that existed in monasticism.

Benedict of Nursia, the founder of the Benedictine Order, opposed the extremes of hermitage, abstinence and asceticism, was quite tolerant of property and wealth, highly valued the physical labor, especially agriculture and gardening, believing that the monastic community should not only fully provide itself with everything necessary, but also to help in this entire district, showing an example of active Christian mercy. Some communities of this order highly valued education, encouraged not only physical, but also mental labor, in particular the development of agronomic and medical knowledge.

On the contrary, Francis of Assisi - the founder of the Franciscan order, the order of mendicant monks - called for extreme asceticism, preached complete, holy poverty, because the possession of any property requires its protection, i.e. the use of force, and this is contrary to the moral principles of Christianity. He saw the ideal of complete poverty and carelessness in the life of birds.

The second layer was aristocracy, acting mainly in the form of chivalry. The aristocracy was in charge of “earthly affairs”, and above all, the state tasks of preserving and strengthening peace, protecting the people from oppression, maintaining faith and the Church, etc. Although the culture of this layer is closely related to Christianity, it differs significantly from the culture of the clergy.

Like monastic ones, in the Middle Ages there were knightly orders. One of the main tasks facing them was the struggle for the faith, which more than once took the form of crusades. The knights also had other duties, in one way or another related to faith.

However, a significant part of knightly ideals, norms and values were secular. For a knight, such virtues as strength, courage, generosity and nobility were considered mandatory. He had to strive for glory, performing feats of arms for this or achieving success in jousting tournaments. External physical beauty was also required of him, which was at odds with Christian disdain for the body. The main knightly virtues were honor, fidelity to duty and noble love for the Beautiful Lady. Love for the Lady assumed refined aesthetic forms, but it was not at all platonic, which was also condemned by the Church and the clergy.

The lowest stratum of medieval society was third estate, which included peasants, artisans, commercial and usurious bourgeoisie. The culture of this class also had a unique originality, which sharply distinguished it from the culture of the upper classes. It was in it that the elements of barbarian paganism and idolatry were preserved for the longest time.

Ordinary people were not too scrupulous in observing strict Christian frameworks, quite often they mixed the "divine" with the "human". They knew how to sincerely and carelessly rejoice and have fun, giving it all their soul and body. Ordinary people created a special laughter culture, the originality of which was especially clearly manifested during folk holidays and carnivals, when the seething streams of general fun, jokes and games, explosions of laughter leave no room for something official, serious and lofty.

Along with religion, other areas of spiritual culture existed and developed in the Middle Ages, including philosophy and science. The highest medieval science was theology, or theology. It was theology that possessed the truth that rested on Divine Revelation.

Philosophy was declared a servant of theology. But even under these conditions, philosophical thought moved forward. Two trends can be distinguished in its development.

The first sought to bring together and even dissolve philosophy in theology as much as possible. This philosophy is called scholastics, since its main task was not the search and increment of new knowledge, but the "school" development of the already accumulated. However, this approach also brought tangible benefits, thanks to it the heritage of ancient thinkers was preserved, it contributed to the improvement and deepening of logical thinking. At the same time, theology itself becomes more and more rational: it was not content with a simple belief in the dogmas of religion, but sought to substantiate and prove them logically. One of the main representatives of this trend was the Dominican Thomas Aquinas (XIII century). who developed the Christian concept of Aristotle's philosophy, formulated five proofs of the existence of God.

The second trend, on the contrary, sought to take philosophy beyond the scope of theology, to affirm the independence and intrinsic value of science in general and natural science in particular. bright representative this trend was the Franciscan Roger Bacon (XIII century). who made a significant contribution to the development of philosophy, mathematics and natural sciences. We can say that he did the same thing three centuries earlier than his more famous namesake Francis Bacon, who became the founder of modern science and philosophy.

Fine, artistic culture achieved more significant success in the Middle Ages, where architecture was the leading and synthesizing art.

The evolution of medieval art marked by profound changes. AT early medieval era the leading position is occupied by the art of the Franks, since the Frankish state occupies almost the entire territory of Europe during this period. Art of the V-VIII centuries. often referred to as Merovingian art, since the Merovingian dynasty was in power at that time.

By its nature, this art was still barbaric, pre-Christian, for elements of paganism and idolatry clearly predominated in it. During this period, the greatest development naturalart associated with the manufacture of clothing, weapons, horse harness and other items decorated with buckles, pendants, patterns and ornaments. The style of such jewelry is called animal, because its peculiarity is that images of outlandish animals are woven into intricate patterns.

Also gaining popularity miniature - book illustrations. The monasteries had special workshops - "scriptoria", where books were written and decorated - liturgical and Gospels. Secular books were rare. At the same time, miniatures were predominantly ornamental, and not pictorial in nature.

As for architecture, little has survived from the Frankish architects of this time: several small churches on the territory of modern France. In general, among the earliest surviving monuments of barbarian architecture, the tomb of the Ostrogothic king Theodoric (520-530), built in Ravenna, stands out. It is a small two-story round building, in which conciseness and simplicity of appearance are combined with severity and majesty.

The art of the early Middle Ages reached its highest flowering under the Carolingians (VIII-IX centuries), who replaced the Merovingian dynasty, and especially under Charlemagne, the legendary hero of the epic poem The Song of Roland.

During this period, medieval art actively turned to the ancient heritage, consistently overcoming the barbaric character. That is why this time is sometimes called "Carolingian revival". Charlemagne played a special role in this process. He created a real cultural and educational center at his court, calling it Academy surrounded himself with outstanding scientists, philosophers, poets and artists, with whom he mastered and developed science and art. Charles contributed in every possible way to the restoration of strong ties with ancient culture.

A significant number of architectural monuments have survived from the Carolingian era. One of them is the remarkable Cathedral of Charlemagne in Aachen (800), which is an octagonal building covered with an octagonal dome.

In this era, the book miniature is still successfully developing. which is distinguished by decorative splendor and bright colors, generous use of gold and purple. The content of the miniatures remains largely religious, although at the end of the early Middle Ages there are more and more narrative plots: hunting, plowing, etc. After the collapse of the Carolingian empire and the formation of England, France. Germany and Italy, as independent states, medieval art enters a new era.

Start mature period Middle Ages- X century - it turned out to be extremely difficult and difficult, which was caused by the invasions of the Hungarians, Saracens and especially the Normans. Therefore, the emerging new states experienced a deep crisis and decline. Art was in the same situation. However, by the end of the X century. the situation is gradually normalizing, feudal relations are finally winning, and in all spheres of life, including art, there is a revival and upsurge.

In the XI-XII centuries. the role of monasteries, which become the main centers of culture, increases significantly. It is under them that schools, libraries and book workshops are created. Monasteries are the main customers of works of art. Therefore, the entire culture and art of these centuries is sometimes called monastic.

In general, the stage of the new upsurge of art received the conditional name "Roman period". It falls on the XI-XII centuries, although in Italy and Germany it also catches the XIII century, and in France in the second half of the XII century. Gothic already reigns supreme. In this period architecture finally becomes the leading form of art - with a clear predominance of religious, church and temple buildings. It develops on the basis of the achievements of the Carolingians, influenced by ancient and Byzantine architecture. The main type of building is the increasingly complex basilica.

The essence of the Romanesque style - geometrism, the dominance of vertical and horizontal lines, the simplest figures of geometry in the presence of large planes. Arches are widely used in buildings, and windows and doors are made narrow. The appearance of the building is distinguished by clarity and simplicity, majesty and austerity, which are complemented by severity, and sometimes gloom. Columns without stable orders are often used, which, moreover, perform a decorative rather than a constructive function.

The most widespread Romanesque style found in France. Here, among the most outstanding monuments of Romanesque architecture is the Church in Cluny (XI century), as well as the Church of Notre Dame du Port in Clermont-Ferrand (XII century). Both buildings successfully combine simplicity and elegance, austerity and magnificence.

The secular architecture of the Romanesque style is clearly inferior to the church. She has too simple forms, almost no decorative ornaments. Here, the main type of building is a castle-fortress, which serves both as a dwelling and a defensive shelter for a feudal knight. Most often it is a courtyard with a tower in the center. The external appearance of such a structure looks warlike and wary, gloomy and menacing. An example of such a building is the Chateau Gaillard on the Seine (XII century), which has come down to us in ruins.

In Italy, an excellent monument of Romanesque architecture is the cathedral ensemble in Pisa (XII-XIV centuries). It includes a grandiose five-nave basilica with a flat ceiling, the famous "Falling tower", as well as a baptistery intended for baptism. All buildings of the ensemble are distinguished by strictness and harmony of forms. A magnificent monument is also the Church of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan, which has a simple yet impressive façade.

AT Germany Romanesque architecture develops under the influence of French and Italian. Its highest flowering falls on the XII century. The most remarkable cathedrals turned out to be concentrated in the cities of the Middle Rhine: Worms. Mainz and Speyer. Despite all the differences, there are many common features in their external appearance, and above all, the aspiration upwards, which is created by the high towers located on the western and eastern sides. The cathedral in Worms stands out, outwardly similar to a ship: in its center the largest tower rises, from the east it has a semicircular apse protruding forward, and in the western and eastern parts there are four more high towers.

By the beginning of the XIII century. the Romanesque period of medieval culture ends and gives way to gothic period. The term "Gothic" is also conditional. It originated in the Renaissance and expressed a rather contemptuous attitude towards Gothic as a culture and art of the Goths, i.e. barbarians.

In the XIII century. the city, and with it the entire culture of the urban burghers, begin to play a decisive role in the life of medieval society. Scientific and creative activity moves from monasteries to secular workshops and universities, which already exist in almost all European countries. Religion by this time begins to gradually lose its dominant position. In all areas of society, the role of the secular, rational principle is growing. This process did not pass by art either, in which two important features appear - the growing role of rationalistic elements and the strengthening of realistic tendencies. These features were most clearly manifested in the architecture of the Gothic style.

Gothic architecture represents an organic unity of two components - construction and decor. The essence of the Gothic design is to create a special frame, or skeleton, which ensures the strength and stability of the building. If in Romanesque architecture the stability of a building depends on the massiveness of the walls, then in Gothic architecture it depends on the correct distribution of gravity forces. The Gothic design includes three main elements: 1) arched vault on ribs (arches); 2) a system of so-called flying buttresses (semi-arches); 3) powerful buttresses.

The peculiarity of the external forms of the Gothic structure lies in the use of towers with pointed spiers. As for the decor, it took a variety of forms. Since the walls in the Gothic style ceased to be load-bearing, this made it possible to widely use windows and doors with stained-glass windows, which opened up free access of light into the room. This circumstance was extremely important for Christianity, because it gives the light a divine and mystical meaning. Colored stained glass windows evoke an exciting play of colored light in the interior of Gothic cathedrals.

Along with stained-glass windows, Gothic buildings were decorated with sculptures, reliefs, abstract geometric patterns, and floral ornaments. To this we should add the skillful church utensils of the cathedral, beautiful products of applied art, donated by wealthy citizens. All this turned the Gothic cathedral into a place of genuine synthesis of all types and genres of art.

Became the cradle of Gothic France. Here she was born in the second half of the 12th century. and then for three centuries it developed along the path of ever greater lightness and decorativeness. In the XIII century. she's really blossomed. In the XIV century. the strengthening of decorativeness is mainly due to the clarity and clarity of the constructive beginning, which leads to the appearance of a "radiant" Gothic style. The 15th century gives birth to the "flaming" Gothic, so named because some decorative motifs resemble flames.

Cathedral of Notre Dame(XII-XIII centuries) became a true masterpiece of early Gothic. It is a paginaf basilica, which is distinguished by a rare proportionality of constructive forms. The cathedral has two towers in the western part, decorated with stained-glass windows, sculptures on the facades, columns in the arcades. It also has amazing acoustics. What was achieved in Notre Dame Cathedral is developed by the cathedrals of Amiens and Reims (XIII century), as well as the Upper Church of Sainte-Chapelle (XIII century), which served as a church for the French kings and is distinguished by a rare perfection of forms.

AT Germany Gothic became popular under the influence of France. One of the most famous monuments here is Cathedral in Cologne(XI11-XV. XIX centuries). In general, he develops the concept of Amiens Cathedral. At the same time, thanks to the pointed towers, it most vividly and fully expresses the verticalism, the aspiration to the sky of Gothic structures.

English Gothic also largely continues the French models. Here recognized masterpieces are Westminster Abbey(XIII-XVI centuries), where the tomb of the English kings and prominent people England: as well as the chapel of King's College in Cambridge (XV-XVI centuries), representing the late Gothic.

Late Gothic, like the entire culture of the late Middle Ages, contains an ever-increasing number of features of the next era - the Renaissance. There are disputes about the work of such artists as Jan van Eyck, K. Sluter and others: some authors attribute them to the Middle Ages, others to the Renaissance.

The culture of the Middle Ages, for all the ambiguity of its content, occupies a worthy place in the history of world culture. The Renaissance gave the Middle Ages a very critical and harsh assessment. However, subsequent epochs introduced significant amendments to this estimate. Romanticism XVIII-XIX centuries. drew his inspiration from medieval chivalry, seeing in it truly human ideals and values. Women of all subsequent eras, including ours, experience an inescapable nostalgia for real male knights, for knightly nobility, generosity and courtesy. The modern crisis of spirituality encourages us to turn to the experience of the Middle Ages, again and again to decide eternal problem relationship between spirit and flesh.

Introduction

Chapter 1. Early Middle Ages

1.1 "Culture of the Silent Majority"

1.2 The role of the church in the Early Middle Ages.

1.3 Troubadours

Chapter 2. High (classical) Middle Ages.

2.1 The birth of "urban culture".

2.2. Middle Ages XIV-XV centuries

Conclusion. Introduction

Culturologists call the Middle Ages a long period in the history of Western Europe between Antiquity and New Time. This period covers more than a millennium from the 5th to the 15th centuries.

Within the millennium, it is customary to distinguish at least three periods:

Early Middle Ages, from the beginning of the era to 900 or 1000 years (up to the 10th - 11th centuries);

High (Classical) Middle Ages - from the X-XI centuries to about the XIV century;

Late Middle Ages, XIV-XV centuries.

Some authors in the context of the Middle Ages also consider the so-called transition period from the Middle Ages to the New Time (XVI-XVII centuries), however, it seems more reasonable to consider the period of the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation as a separate period of history and culture, which had a great influence on the further formation of the cultural consciousness of the masses.

The folk culture of this era is a new and almost unexplored topic in science. The ideologists of feudal society managed not only to push the people away from the means of fixing their thoughts and moods, but also to deprive researchers of subsequent times of the opportunity to restore the main features of their spiritual life. “Great mute”, “great absent”, “people without archives and without faces” - this is how modern historians call the people in an era when direct access to the means of written fixation of cultural values was closed to them.

The folk culture of the Middle Ages was unlucky in science. Usually, when they talk about it, they mention at most the remains of the ancient world and the epic, remnants

paganism. In those comparatively rare cases when a modern specialist turns to the folk religiosity of the Middle Ages, he does not find any other characteristics for it as “naive”, “primitive”, “uncouth”, “rude”, “superficial”, “paralogical”, “childish”2 ; it is the religion of the "people-child", replete with superstitions and oriented towards the fabulous and fabulous.

The criteria for such value judgments are taken from the "high" religion of the enlightened, and it is from their position that they judge the consciousness and emotional life of common people, without setting themselves the task of examining it "from the inside", guided by its own logic.

Thus, for a long time in the historical and cultural literature, the view of the Middle Ages as the "dark ages" dominated. The foundations of this position were laid by the enlighteners. However, the history of the culture of Western European society was far from being so unambiguous.

1. Early Middle Ages.

1.1 "Silent majority culture»

The early Middle Ages was a time when turbulent and very important processes took place in Europe, such as the invasion of the barbarians, which ended with the fall of the Roman Empire. Barbarians settled on the lands of the former empire, assimilated with its population, creating a new community of Western Europe.

The third significant process was the formation on the territory of the former Roman Empire of new state formations created by the same "barbarians". Tribal leaders proclaimed themselves kings, dukes, counts, constantly at war with each other and subjugating weaker neighbors. 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 of the early Middle Ages, the ideological positions of the feudal lords and peasants had not yet taken shape, and the peasantry, which was only being born as a special class of society, in terms of worldview was dissolved in broader and more indefinite layers.

The bulk of the population of Europe at that time were rural residents, whose lifestyle was completely subordinated to routine, and their horizons were extremely limited. Conservatism is an integral feature of this environment.

The peasantry and its life are almost not reflected at all in the social picture of the world, as it was thought at that time, and this fact in itself is very symptomatic. Society, agrarian in nature, built on the exploitation and subjugation of large sections of the rural population, as if allowed itself to ideologically ignore its own majority.

A paradox: the common people, above all the peasantry, despised and ignored by the ruling class, at the same time, in a certain sense, dominated the spiritual life of the early Middle Ages. Rural life, with its unhurried regularity and periodic change of production seasons, was the main regulator of the social rhythm of society ([ 1], p. 63)

The Church did not share open hostility towards the peasants. Its task was to smooth out social conflicts and antagonisms as much as possible. Turning to the powerful of this world, she appealed to mercy in relation to the oppressed and destitute.

This sympathy stemmed in large measure from the social teaching of the church, which extolled poverty as an ideal condition.

True, the condemnation of wealth, so decisive in the works of the church of the 3rd-5th centuries, was somewhat muffled in the literature of a later time, when the church became the largest owner. The glorification of poverty runs like a leitmotif through all the literary monuments of the Early Middle Ages.

It is necessary to note an important feature of medieval literature - in a society, the vast majority of which was illiterate, writing did not

served as a defining means of human communication. Medieval society in its thickness was a non-literate society. (, page 19)

Over a long historical period, the folk dialects and languages of Western Europe, being the means of oral communication of people, could not master the sphere of writing - it remained entirely under the rule of Latin - the language that was inherited from the previous era European history and which was the official and professional language of the only educated and monopolized education stratum of society - the clergy. To be literate meant to know Latin. Accordingly, the division of people into litterati and illiterati, established in late antiquity, was preserved as essential and significant, i.e. on the educated, who know Latin, and on the "idiots" - the illiterate, content with the rude folk language given to them from birth. (, page 16)

In the V-IX centuries. all schools in Western Europe were in the hands of the church. The church drew up a training program, selected students. The main task was defined as the education of church ministers. The so-called "seven liberal arts" "inherited" from antiquity were taught in church schools: grammar, rhetoric, dialectics with elements of logic, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music.

In addition to monastic schools, there was also a small number of so-called "outer" schools, where young men who were not intended for a church career studied. However, these were mostly children from noble families.

The level of teaching in different schools was not the same, and accordingly, the level of education of people also changed. After a certain rise in the VIII-IX centuries. the development of mental life in the X-beginning of the XI centuries. noticeably slowed down. The clergy were mostly illiterate, and ignorance was spreading. Scriptoria fell into decay - workshops that existed at churches in which manuscripts were copied, as well as church and monastery libraries. Books were scarce and were fabulously expensive, which closed the path to education even for children from relatively well-to-do families.

In the period of the early Middle Ages, oral poetry, especially the heroic epic, was actively developing, which was typical, first of all, for England and the countries of Scandinavia.

However, it should be emphasized once again that the medieval European, including the upper strata of society, was still predominantly illiterate. The level of literacy even of priests in parishes was appallingly low.

The level of education of the laity was generally minimal. The mass of parishioners listened to illiterate priests. At the same time, the Bible itself was forbidden for ordinary laity, its texts were considered too complex and inaccessible for direct perception of ordinary parishioners. Only priests were allowed to interpret it. Mass mediaeval culture is a bookless, “pre-Gutenberg” culture. She relied not on the printed word, but on oral sermons and exhortations. It existed through the mind of an illiterate person. It was a culture of prayers, fairy tales, myths and magic spells. (, p.31)

At the same time, the meaning of the word, written and especially - sounding, in medieval culture was extremely high. Prayers were perceived functionally as spells, sermons on biblical subjects - as a guide to everyday life, magic formulas - as a way to solve problems. All this also formed the medieval mentality. People are accustomed to intensely peer into the surrounding reality, perceiving it as a kind of text, a system of symbols containing some higher meaning. These words-symbols had to be able to recognize and extract from them the divine meaning. This, in particular, explains many features of medieval artistic culture, designed to perceive just such a deeply religious and symbolic consciousness. Therefore, for the medieval consciousness, the medieval mentality, culture, first of all, expressed the meaning, the soul of a person, brought a person closer to God, as if transferred to another world, to a space different from earthly existence. And this space looked like it was described in the Bible, in the lives of the saints. Accordingly, the behavior of the medieval European, all his activities, was determined.

1.2 The role of the church in the Early Middle Ages.

The most important feature of medieval culture is the special role of Christian doctrine and the Christian church. In the context of the general decline of culture immediately after the collapse of the Roman Empire, only the church for many centuries remained the only social institution common to all countries, tribes and states of Western Europe. The church was not only the dominant political institution, but also had a dominant influence directly on the consciousness of the population. In the conditions of a difficult and meager life, against the background of extremely limited and unreliable knowledge about the surrounding world, the church offered people a coherent system of knowledge about the world, its structure, and the forces acting in it. This picture of the world completely determined the mentality of the believing villagers and townspeople and was based on the images and interpretations of the Bible.

However, one should not think that the formation of the Christian religion in the countries of Western Europe went smoothly, without difficulties and confrontation in the minds of people with old pagan beliefs.

The population was traditionally attached to pagan cults and sermons, and descriptions of the lives of the saints were not enough to convert them to the true faith. They converted to a new religion with the help of state power. However, even a long time after the official recognition of a single religion, the clergy had to deal with the persistent remnants of paganism among the peasantry.

The church destroyed temples and idols, forbade worshiping gods and making sacrifices, arranging pagan holidays and rituals. Severe punishments threatened those who practiced divination, divination, spells, or simply believed in them.

Many of the pagan practices against which the church fought were clearly of agricultural origin. So, in the “List of superstitions and pagan customs”, compiled in France in the 8th century, “furrows around villages” and “an idol carried across the fields” are mentioned. It was not easy to overcome the adherence to such rituals, so the church went to preserve some pagan rites, giving these actions the coloring of official church rituals. So, every year on the Trinity, processions of a “religious procession” were arranged through the fields with a prayer for a harvest instead of the pagan “wearing an idol”. (, p. 65)

The formation of the process of Christianization was one of the sources of sharp clashes, since. the concept of people's freedom was often associated with the old faith among the people, while the connection of the Christian church with state power and oppression stood out quite clearly.

"The struggle against paganism, therefore, was an integral part of the process of feudal subjugation of the peasantry." (, p. 69)

This constant influence of nature on man and the belief in man's influence on the course of natural phenomena with the help of a whole system of supernatural means was a manifestation of the magical consciousness of the medieval community, an important feature of its worldview. In the mind of a medieval European, the world was seen as a kind of arena of confrontation between the forces of heaven and hell, good and evil. At the same time, the consciousness of people was deeply magical, everyone was absolutely sure of the possibility of miracles and perceived everything that the Bible reported about in a literal sense.

In the most general terms, the world was seen by people in accordance with a certain hierarchical ladder, or rather, as a symmetrical scheme, resembling two pyramids folded with their bases. The top of one of them is God. Below are the levels of sacred characters - Apostles, archangels, angels, etc. At some level, people are included in this hierarchy: first the pope and the cardinals, then lower-level clerics, then the laity, starting with the secular authorities. Then, further from God and closer to the earth, there were animals and plants, then - the earth itself, already completely inanimate. And then it was like a mirror reflection of the upper, earthly and heavenly, hierarchy, but in a different dimension, as if with a minus sign, along the growth of evil and proximity to Satan, who was the embodiment of Evil. (, p. 137)

The Church zealously fought against all the remnants of paganism, at the same time accepting them. So, calling all sorts of rituals, conspiracies and spells paganism, the church, nevertheless, led a real hunt for people who allegedly have the ability to perform these conspiracies and spells. The church considered especially dangerous women engaged in the manufacture of all kinds of potions and amulets. In manuals for confessors, much attention was paid to "the ability of some women to fly at night to the sabbaths." (, p. 75)

Thus, adherence to tradition, conservatism of all public life, the dominance of the stereotype in artistic creativity, and the stability of magical thinking, which was imposed on the church, can be considered signs of early medieval culture.

2.2 Troubadours

Medieval people treated artists with a mixture of admiration and distrust. Some suspicion was caused by the fact that the singer, and the storyteller, and the amusing person in the marketplace - they were all "actors", i.e. represented in the faces of other people; they seemed to replace their characters with themselves, refusing their own face and putting on other people's masks. According to medieval notions, the profession of an artist was akin to the devil - a pretender and a deceiver. Therefore, the church advised believers to stay away from artists and musicians: priests were forbidden to share a meal with them, and it was better for ordinary Christians to watch only those theatrical performances, which depicted events from the life of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God or the apostles. The church considered street singers as people who had gone astray, and promised them eternal torment in the next world.
But the townspeople, the peasant and the knight had not so much entertainment, so the appearance of a magician in the city square, a singer and a poet - in a knight's castle always became a holiday. The life of a medieval person went basically on a monotonous path, laid down by fathers and grandfathers; each new face was a curiosity, it became a window open to a wide world. And if the stranger knew the legends about King Arthur and his knights, about the valiant Roland and the heroes of the Crusades, the city square generously poured silver and copper coins into his hat, and the knight gave shelter at his hearth for several evenings.

Troubadours were especially famous - poets who performed their poems to musical accompaniment. Basically, they led a wandering life, moving from the court of one noble lord to another. The heyday of the art of troubadours came in southern France in the 12th-15th centuries. The origin of the word troubadour is not at all connected with the trumpet, as you might think, but with the old French word trob, which meant "skillful reception" of special grace. indeed, many troubadours were able to compose beautiful songs, elegant, with complex rhymes and rich wordplay. Among the troubadours there were many knights, people of noble birth; one of the best poet-knights was Duke Guillaume of Aquitaine. The poems of the troubadours, who sang the selfless service of a knight to his chosen lady of the heart, quickly became fashionable. It is not surprising that women liked them very much; noble ladies began to demand from their fans the behavior described in poetry. The knight who could only swing his sword was now the subject of ridicule; gentlemen were dear to the ladies, who knew how to express their feelings in words and secret signs, able to understand the secrets of the female heart. The poetry of the troubadours had an exceptionally great influence on the formation of a special chivalrous culture, which spread widely in Europe one or two centuries later.
The poetic finds of the troubadours were widely adopted and used by simpler singers who performed the so-called "hard" poetic stories about the heroes of bygone times in the city squares). Best time troubadours, the last quarter of the 12th and the first quarter of the 2nd century. It was fertile time. One of the most powerful poets, Bertrand de Ventadorne, sang love as the greatest blessing of life bestowed on people, he sang of spring, nature, and the sun. He confessed in one of his canzones: “Poetry has a value for me only when it comes from the depths of the heart, but this is possible only when perfect love reigns in the heart. That is why my songs are above all other songs, for love fills my whole being - mouth, eyes, heart and feelings.
Bertrand de Ventadorne came from the lower classes, was brought up at the court of the Viscount de Ventadorne. First, he sang the wife of his lord, then the English Queen Eleanor, at whose court he lived at one time. Another troubadour of this period, Peyre Vidal, is known as a witty merry fellow, braggart, extravagant braggart. “I alone took a hundred knights prisoner, and took armor from a hundred others; I made a hundred ladies cry, and left a hundred others joy and fun,” sang Vidal. His poems conquer with lightness of language, freshness of images, cheerful mischief and enthusiasm.

2. High (classical) Middle Ages.

The relative stability that followed made it possible for cities and the economy to rapidly expand. Life began to change for the better, the cities flourished their own culture and spiritual life. A big role in this was played by the same church, which also developed, improved its teaching and organization.

On the basis of the artistic traditions of Ancient Rome and the former barbarian tribes, Romanesque, and later brilliant Gothic art arose, and not only architecture and literature developed, but also other types of art - painting, theater, music, sculpture ... It was during this era that masterpieces were created Literature, "The Song of Roland", "The Romance of the Rose".

The so-called chivalric literature arises and develops. One of the most famous works greatest monument French folk heroic epic - "The Song of Roland". In XII, chivalric novels appear. Among the most popular was a verse novel about the British King Arthur.

An important monument of German folk literature of the 12th-13th centuries is the “Song of the Nibelungs”, which tells about the invasion of the Huns on the Burgundian kingdom at the beginning of the 5th century. The Nibelungenlied is based on ancient German legends.

A significant phenomenon in the literature of France in the XII-XIII centuries were the vagantes and their poetry. Vagantes (from lat. vagantes - wandering) were called wandering poets. A feature of their work was the constant criticism of the Catholic Church and the clergy for greed, hypocrisy and ignorance. The Church, in turn, persecuted the Vagantes.

The most important monument English Literature XIII century - the famous "Ballads of Robin Hood", which to this day remains one of the most famous heroes of world literature.

Festive culture of the Middle Ages.

Medieval city holidays, with their spectacular spectacles, entertainment, masquerades, dated back to pagan cults and rituals. Thus, the New Year's Roman pagan holiday Kalends, to which the church opposed its Christmas cycle, was celebrated in Byzantium until the 13th century.

New Year's calends (January 1-5) were preceded by vrumalia (from November 24 to December 17), accompanied by carnival processions of mummers and dances, which initially imitated various actions during harvesting and making wine. The mummers famously danced and sang songs that ridiculed nobles, clergymen and judicial officials. From December 17 to 23, unbridled cheerful Saturnalia, with circus performances, pig sacrifices, coped.

During the kalends themselves, the mummers, likening the chariot to a stage, called a crowd of onlookers and ridiculed the highest authority. But the ministers of the Christian church, hostile to the spiritual freedom of the people, mercilessly persecuted the free games of enslaved workers, declaring these games "the offspring of the devil." The clergy managed to prevent the free development of mass folk-holiday creativity, especially its satirical beginning. Not enriched by civic ideas, this creativity was muted.

And yet, certain types of entertainment continued to live, giving rise to a new type of folk spectacle - the performance of histrions, which made a great contribution to the formation of the culture of Western civilization, they were called buffoons.

The flourishing of the activity of histrions in Western Europe as mass and popular art occurs from the 11th to the 13th centuries, i.e., falls at the time of the emergence of medieval cities. Histrions were the brightest spokesmen of the worldly, life-loving spirit in the medieval city. In their cheerful, daring songs, in their parody skits, undertakings and masquerade performances, the spontaneous rebellion of the masses manifested itself. This was especially pronounced in the activities of the vagantes.

Vagantes (derlei vagantes - Latin - "wandering clerics") were either half-educated seminarians, or mischievous schoolchildren, or demoted priests. They performed with mischievous Latin songs parodying church hymns. Thus, instead of an appeal to "God Almighty", an appeal to "Bacchus the All-Drinking" followed. Even the prayer "Our Father" was parodied.

The Histrions also staged puppet theater performances, the first mention of which dates back to the end of the 12th century.

In the period of the early Middle Ages, trade, which had just begun to develop, was closely connected with worship. The word "mass" originally denoted both the mass and the fair, since trade was combined with church festivities and processions. Throughout the Middle Ages, markets were located on these squares, malls, stalls and booths. A fair was held here.

Starting from the 9th century, the Catholic Church, struggling with folk festivals and ritual performances, in which free-thinking and rebelliousness of enslaved peasants were manifested, was forced to look for the most expressive and intelligible means in order to influence its dogmas on believers. Thanks to this, an active process of theatricalization of the Mass begins. At the same time, many fragments of the Roman Catholic ritual already contained potential opportunities for development. dramatic action(illumination of the church, procession, a number of "prophetic" texts, etc.).

2.1 The birth of “urban culture”.

During this period, the so-called "urban literature" was rapidly developing, which was characterized by realistic image urban everyday life various segments of the urban population, as well as the emergence of satirical works. Representatives of urban literature in Italy were Cecco Angiolieri, Guido Orlandi (end of the 13th century).

The development of urban literature testified to a new phenomenon in the cultural life of Western European society - urban culture, which played a very important role in the development of Western civilization as a whole. The essence of urban culture was reduced to the constant strengthening of secular elements in all spheres of human existence.

Urban culture originated in France in the 11th-12th centuries. During this period, it was represented, in particular, by the work of "jugglers" who performed in city squares as actors, acrobats, animal trainers, musicians and singers. They performed at fairs, folk festivals, weddings, christenings, etc. and were very popular with the people.

From about the middle of the 12th century, theatrical actions moved from under the church vaults to the square and the actions were no longer played in Latin, but in French. The role of the actors is no longer the clergy, but the townspeople, the plots of the plays become more and more secular, until they turn into scenes from everyday city life, often flavored with a good portion of satire. At the same time, theatrical art was developing in England.

A new and extremely important phenomenon, testifying to the deepening of the process of development of urban culture, was the creation of non-church schools in the cities - these were private schools that were not financially dependent on the church. The teachers of these schools lived on the light of fees levied on students and anyone who could afford to pay for education could educate their children in them. Since that time, there has been a rapid spread of literacy among the urban population.

3. Late Middle Ages.

The late Middle Ages continued the processes of formation of European culture, which began in the period of the classics. However, their course was far from smooth. In the XIV-XV centuries, Western Europe repeatedly experienced a great famine. Numerous epidemics, especially plagues, brought innumerable human casualties. The development of culture was greatly slowed down by the Hundred Years War.

During these periods, uncertainty and fear dominated the masses. The economic upswing is replaced by long periods of recession and stagnation. In the masses, complexes of fear of death and the afterlife were intensified, fears of evil spirits were intensifying.

At the end of the Middle Ages, in the minds of the common people, Satan is transformed from a generally not terrible and sometimes funny devil into an omnipotent ruler of dark forces, who at the end of earthly history will act as the Antichrist.

Another reason for fears is hunger, as a result of low yields and several years of droughts.

The sources of fear are best highlighted in the prayer of a peasant of that time: "Deliver us, Lord, from plague, famine and war." (, p. 330)

The dominance of oral culture has powerfully contributed to the multiplication of superstitions, fears and collective panics.

However, in the end, the cities were reborn, people who survived pestilence and war got the opportunity to arrange their lives better than in previous eras. Conditions arose for a new upsurge in spiritual life, science, philosophy, and art. This rise necessarily led to the so-called Renaissance or Renaissance.

Conclusion.

In the Middle Ages, a complex of ideas about the world, beliefs, mental attitudes, and a system of behavior, which could conditionally be called “folk culture” or “folk religiosity,” was in one way or another the property of all members of society (, p. 356).

The thinking of the Middle Ages was predominantly theological.

The medieval church, wary and suspicious of the customs, faith and religious practices of the common people, experienced their influence. As an example, one can cite the sanctioning by the church of the cult of saints in its popular interpretation.

The magical approach to nature extended to Christian rites, belief in miracles was ubiquitous.

The entire cultural life of European society of this period was largely determined by Christianity.

The European medieval society was very religious and the power of the clergy over the minds was extremely great. The teaching of the church was the starting point of all thinking, all sciences - jurisprudence, natural science, philosophy, logic - everything was brought into line with Christianity. The higher clergy were the only educated class, but the medieval European, including the upper strata of society, was illiterate. The level of literacy even of priests in parishes was appallingly low. Only towards the end of the 15th century did the church realize the need to have educated personnel and began to open theological seminaries.

Mass mediaeval culture is a bookless, “pre-Gutenberg” culture. She relied not on the printed word, but on oral sermons and exhortations. It existed through the mind of an illiterate person. It was a culture of prayers, fairy tales, myths and magic spells.

The “translation” of the thoughts of the social and spiritual elite into a language accessible to all people was sermons, which represent a significant layer of medieval culture. Parish priests, monks, and missionaries had to explain to the people the basic principles of theology, instil the principles of Christian behavior and eradicate the wrong way of thinking. A special literature was created that popularly expounded the foundations of Christian teaching, giving the flock models to follow. This literature was mainly intended for priests to use in their daily activities.

During the classical Middle Ages, urban culture as a new phenomenon of cultural folk life, which played a very important role in the development of Western civilization as a whole. The essence of urban culture was reduced to the constant strengthening of secular elements in all spheres of human existence.

The late Middle Ages continued the processes of formation of European culture, which began in the period of the classics.

Bibliography.

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