Culture of the Middle Ages Ms. L Strong Preston High School
What were the Middle Ages? 555 A.D.- Began after the fall of Rome NNNNo central power or government during the time NNamed the “Middle Ages” because it was the m mm middle time in between the Roman Empire and Renaissance LLife was difficult because of poverty, and most of the population was impoverished TThe closest thing to a form of government was manorialism, or r rr rule over peasants by a lord (FEUDALISM!)
Faith in the Middle Ages-The Catholic Church IIIImposed taxes and had its own land and laws AAAAccepted gifts and donations: that was how people got into Heaven EEEExcommunicated (banned from the church) non-believers SSSStarted to translate the Bible – This led to want for education and knowledge TThe pope was infallible (incapable of error) and had power over all religious and political matters TThe p pp priests drank, gambled, and kept mistresses TThis thirst for intelligence also influenced l ll literature
Background on Islamic Religion PPracticed in mainly Spain, Middle East, and North Africa TThere was l ll little contact between Christians and Muslims IIslam was founded by Muhammad in the 7 th century IIt is a monotheistic religion b bb based off the teachings of the Quran and the 5 Pillars of Islam
Islam During the Middle Ages AAlmost all of t tt the people of Spain were Muslim, but t tt the rest of Europe was Christian DDespite the cultural divide, Muslims added to the knowledge in science and technology BBoth C CC Christians and Muslims viewed the other badly, and they did not often encounter each other IIslamic scribes translated Roman and Greek texts, contributing to the want for knowledge
Background on Knights Duty: to learn how to fight Duty: to learn how to fight and serve their Lord Expected to guard the castle Expected to guard the castle and support his lord in Middle Age warfare Must train as a page, then a squire before becoming a knight Trained for many years practiced their skills in tournaments of jousting They practiced their skills in tournaments of jousting title of SIR At the end of Knighthood ceremony, they would take the title of SIR
Chivalry CCCChivalry was the knightly system of the Middle Ages TThe chivalric orders were first used against non- Christian states IIt was a m mm moral system that introduced ideal qualities such as bravery, courtesy, honor, and gallantry toward women IIdeas of chivalry were written in poems, BALLADS/MADRIGALS, writings, and literary works MMMMyths such as Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table show the medieval code of chivalry
Chivalry-The Knight’s Code CChivalry was u uu used for knights in combat and in overall life WWhen knights were sworn in, they h hh had to agree to the code TThe Knights’ Code of Chivalry emphasized things like faith, justice, temperance, truth, hope, valor TThe Knights’ Code was a aa also related to defending God, showing the lack of separation between church and state
Literature LLLLiterature flourished during the middle ages! TThere was a lack of paper, so c cc calf’s skin and parchment were typical TThe books and i ii illustrations were done by hand by monks RRRRomance novels and epic battles were written and described along with fiction and poetry TThe spread of literature was also influenced by troubadours
Troubadours AA troubadour was a t tt traveling musician TThey s ss spread news and entertained nobles TThe s ss stories they sung were about chivalry and romance, or battles and recent news TTroubadours assisted in the spread of literature, except instead of written stories they were spoken, then later on written down
Jongleurs JJongleurs were a aa assistants to the troubadours TThey j jj juggled, danced, and did acrobatics along with the singing and instrument playing TThey also p pp performed acts of stupidity which eventually led to jesters TThe man on the left is the jongleur because he is acting oddly with additional flutes in his mouth