The Christian Crusades The Crusades resulted in economic revitalization and freedom of mobility for Western Europeans during the High Middle Ages There were seven (7) crusades in total The crusades began in an effort to rescue Jerusalem from Muslim Turks The crusades nonetheless became a contest for personal profit

The Medieval Romance The Medieval Romance was a fictitious tale of love and adventure popular between 1200 and 1500 Written in vernacular language The plot usually was an illicit relationship or forbidden liaison between a man and woman of the upper class Lancelot vs. Song of Roland The Poetry of the Troubadours

The 12 th century poet Bernart de Ventadour explored the popular theme of unanswered love in the above poem “When I behold the lark”

Troubadour Peire Cardenal levels a fierce attack on social inequality and upper-class greed in the above poem “Lonely the rich need never be”

In this poem by a woman named the Countess of Dia (often called Beatriz) was a 12 th century trobairitz Her work is filled with personal laments for lost love as well as yearning for physical pleasure

The Rise of the Medieval Town During the High Middle Ages, a class of people that were between serfs and landlords – the middle class – emerged The emergence of a middle class included increased agricultural production & the reopening of trade routes Middle class values differed from those of the feudal nobility, financial prosperity and profit were the principle concerns of the middle class

New Religious Orders & Spiritual Ideals Throughout the 11 th to 12 th centuries, a wave of religious enthusiasm seized Europe The Cistercian Order were strict The promise of personal immortality was central to Christianity during this period Through the sacraments, a set of sacred acts, the Church was a part of an individual’s life A person’s conduct on earth determined his destiny: Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory

Women in Religious Order Women were active participants in the spiritual movements of the age Most nuns were from aristocratic families Convents were convenient for women who couldn’t find a husband, did not wish to marry, or who wanted to further their education Hildegard of Bingen ( ) a leading mystic of the 12 th century

Written by Hildegard of Bingen This is an excerpt of one of her many visions This particular vision is that of Hell and the Devil

Sermon Literature The classical medieval sermon, On the Misery of the Human Condition, was written by Pope Innocent III Describes the sinfulness of humankind and the decay of the human body after one dies Sermon’s such as this one were preached during church service

As a result of Pope Innocent III’s sermon On the Misery of the Human Condition, where he states the dead body is “food for worms,” tomb sculpture depicting this statement became particular popular during the Late Middle Ages

The Medieval Play These plays were performed in urban spaces where people convened Dramas included biblical stories that includes: the fall of Lucifer, the Last Judgment, Life of Christ, Virgin Mary, or the saints Morality plays dealt with the struggle between good and evil and the destiny of the soul after death The most popular morality play was Everyman which recreates the pilgrimage of the Christian soul

Dante’s Divine Comedy Written by the Florentine poet Dante Alighieri ( ) The poem describes the spiritual pilgrimage of the Christian soul from sin (Hell), through purification (Purgatory), and to salvation (Paradise) Considered a comedy because it begins with a state of confusion & ends in happiness Every aspect of Dante’s work carries symbolic meaning

Throughout the comedy he uses the number “3” The Holy Trinity, the number of parts of the Divine Comedy: Inferno, Purgatory, Paradise, the number of lines in each verse of each canto, the number of divisions in hell, and the number of days for Dante’s journey through Hell “9” is a multiple of “3,” the number of cicles in Hell “10” the perfect number (nine circles in Hell plus the entrance) “33” is a multiple of “3”, number of cantos in each part “99”: total cantos plus the introduction 100: a multiple of 10, considered the perfect number by Dante