1. Culture of the Middle Ages Ms. L Strong Preston High School

2. What were the Middle Ages? 555500-1500 A.D.- Began after the fall of Rome NNNNo central power or government during the time NNamed the “Middle Ages” because it was the m mm middle time in between the Roman Empire and Renaissance LLife was difficult because of poverty, and most of the population was impoverished TThe closest thing to a form of government was manorialism, or r rr rule over peasants by a lord (FEUDALISM!)

3. Faith in the Middle Ages-The Catholic Church IIIImposed taxes and had its own land and laws AAAAccepted gifts and donations: that was how people got into Heaven EEEExcommunicated (banned from the church) non-believers SSSStarted to translate the Bible – This led to want for education and knowledge TThe pope was infallible (incapable of error) and had power over all religious and political matters TThe p pp priests drank, gambled, and kept mistresses TThis thirst for intelligence also influenced l ll literature

4. Background on Islamic Religion PPracticed in mainly Spain, Middle East, and North Africa TThere was l ll little contact between Christians and Muslims IIslam was founded by Muhammad in the 7 th century IIt is a monotheistic religion b bb based off the teachings of the Quran and the 5 Pillars of Islam

5. Islam During the Middle Ages AAlmost all of t tt the people of Spain were Muslim, but t tt the rest of Europe was Christian DDespite the cultural divide, Muslims added to the knowledge in science and technology BBoth C CC Christians and Muslims viewed the other badly, and they did not often encounter each other IIslamic scribes translated Roman and Greek texts, contributing to the want for knowledge

6. 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

7. Chivalry CCCChivalry was the knightly system of the Middle Ages TThe chivalric orders were first used against non- Christian states IIt was a m mm moral system that introduced ideal qualities such as bravery, courtesy, honor, and gallantry toward women IIdeas of chivalry were written in poems, BALLADS/MADRIGALS, writings, and literary works MMMMyths such as Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table show the medieval code of chivalry

8. Chivalry-The Knight’s Code CChivalry was u uu used for knights in combat and in overall life WWhen knights were sworn in, they h hh had to agree to the code TThe Knights’ Code of Chivalry emphasized things like faith, justice, temperance, truth, hope, valor TThe Knights’ Code was a aa also related to defending God, showing the lack of separation between church and state

9. Literature LLLLiterature flourished during the middle ages! TThere was a lack of paper, so c cc calf’s skin and parchment were typical TThe books and i ii illustrations were done by hand by monks RRRRomance novels and epic battles were written and described along with fiction and poetry TThe spread of literature was also influenced by troubadours

10. Troubadours AA troubadour was a t tt traveling musician TThey s ss spread news and entertained nobles TThe s ss stories they sung were about chivalry and romance, or battles and recent news TTroubadours assisted in the spread of literature, except instead of written stories they were spoken, then later on written down

11. Jongleurs JJongleurs were a aa assistants to the troubadours TThey j jj juggled, danced, and did acrobatics along with the singing and instrument playing TThey also p pp performed acts of stupidity which eventually led to jesters TThe man on the left is the jongleur because he is acting oddly with additional flutes in his mouth