8.4- Learning & Culture Flourish

Overview- Medieval Students ·Medieval universities brought prestige and profit to cities ·Some argued that students were troublesome ·Priest Jacques Vitry complained "They were always fighting and engaging in scuffles." ·Who were students and why were universities springing up in the 1100's?

Medieval Universities Emerge ·Dynamic changes in Europe (1100's) ·Economic and political conditions improved & the need for education expanded ·Church needed better educated clergy ·Rulers needed literate men for growing bureaucracies ·Wealthy townspeople wanted educated sons

Medieval Universities Cont... ·Schools sprung up around Cathedrals to train clergy ·Organized like guilds to protect rights of members and establish standards for training ·900's- Salerno, Italy, had a medical school ·1158-Bologna University had a law school ·Students traveled between universities, finding different patrons for support

Student Life ·University life was hard ·5 a.m. wake up for prayers ·Studying until 10 am, then a light meal ·Afternoon classes extended until 5 pm, then a light supper ·Students sat on hard benches and recited Latin texts. Expected to memorize everything they heard

Student Life Cont... ·Program of study- 7 liberal arts ·Arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music, grammar, rhetoric, and logic ·To show mastery, students took an oral exam ·Earning a masters degree took between 3-6 years after initial schooling

Women and Education ·Women were not allowed to attend universities- they could not become doctors, lawyers, or church officials ·The writer Christine de Pisan examined the issue of women and education in her work entitled The City of Ladies, where she writes: "If it were customary to send daughters to school like sons, and if they were then taught the same subjects, they would learn and understand the subtleties of all arts and sciences as well as sons" -Christine de Pisan

Europeans Acquire New Learning ·Universities benefited from a resurgence of knowledge · Knowledge in ancient Greece that had been lost after the fall of Rome ·Latin translations of Aristotle and other Greek scholars reached Western Europe from Spain ·These works initiated a revolution in learning

Christian Scholars Struggle with New Ideas ·Ancient Greek writing posed problems for Christians ·Aristotle- Reason ·Christians- Faith ·Some Christian scholars tried to resolve the conflict through scholasticism ·Scholasticism- used reason to support Christian beliefs ·Influenced the work of Thomas Aquinas in his book Summa Theologica. ·Aquinas concluded that faith and reason exist in harmony

New Approaches to Science & Math ·Scientific works translated from Arabic reached Western Europe ·Scholars studied Hippocrates (medicine) and Euclid (geometry) ln tr ·However, science made little progress in the middle ages ·Most Christians still believed that all true knowledge must fit with church teachings ·Christians also adopted Hindu numerals

Medieval Literature ·Latin- written language of scholars and churchmen ·Vernacular, or everyday language, became more popular- French, German, and Italian. ·Medieval literature included epics, narrative poems, or tales of common people. ·Hero epics captivated people across Europe. The Song of Roland (1100) praises the courage of one of Charlemagne's knights. ln tr

Medieval Literature Cont... ·In the 1300's, Italian poet, Dante Alighieri, wrote the Divine Comedy. ·Takes the reader on an imaginary journey into hell and purgatory where the soul awaits forgiveness and finally reaches heaven ·Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales describing pilgrims traveling to Saint Thomas Becket's tomb ln tr

Architecture and Art Romanesque ·Architecture blossomed. Greatest architectural achievements were towering stone cathedrals. ·Styles shifted from Romanesque to Gothic between 1000-1400. ·Romanesque style churches and monasteries- built to emulate Roman structures ·Barrel vaults, long stone structures, massive walls with small windows Usually dark inside. ln tr

Architecture and Art Gothic ·In 1140, Abbott Suger wanted to build a new abbey that "would shine with wonderful and uninterrupted light" ·Gothic style was born ·Flying buttresses- stone supports that stood outside the church and allowed for buildings to be thinner and talle ln tr ·Stained-glass windows ·Stonemasons carved sculptures to decorate them inside and out Sculptures included lifelike forms of plants and animals

Paintings, Manuscripts, & Tapestries ·Churches contained religious paintings called altarpieces ·Altarpieces depicted religious pictures symbolically- meant to inspire devotion ·Artists also decorated books, known as illumination ln tr ·Monks and nuns illuminated books with biblical scenes and pictures depicting daily life ·Artists also created art in thread- tapestries

Medieval Coat of Arms ·Coat of arms were artworks relating to official symbols of a family or state. ·Coats of arms made use of figures of living creatures, trees, flowers, and inanimate objects. ·These symbols were meant to distinguish foes and friends in war (beginning during the Crusades). ln tr ·Coat of arms were also meant to symbolize bravery in war ·Coat of arms were also used to indicate a family profession such as candlemaker or a Frobisher who polished armour