Unit III: The Middle Ages

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Unit III The Middle Ages

• Chapter 11
• The Culture of the Middle Ages

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Middle Ages

• Music of ancient civilizations flourished but is
  lost. The Middle Ages inherited remnants of
  ancient traditions and began recording the new
  music of the time.
• The Middle Ages extend approximately from the
  fall of Rome (476 A. D.) to ca. 1450.

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Early Middle Ages (500-1000 A. D.)

• The first half of the Middle Ages is often
  referred to as the Dark Ages, but is perhaps
  better thought as the flowering of Christianity
  in Europe and the rise of feudal monarchies.
• The simultaneous rise of the church and the state
  as social forces inevitably created a power
  struggle that has shaped much of history.

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Charlemagne (742-814)

• Created Medieval Europes first strong,
  centralized government
  
• Strongly encouraged education
• Instilled an ideal of social justice that helped
  open society

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The Church

• Center for preservation of knowledge of ancient
  world
  
• Monasteries and Convents became the reliqueries
  of the knowledge of the day through their
  faithful production of manuscripts on all
  subjects including music manuscripts
• Great patron of all arts of the era

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Women in the Church

• History is now revealing that nuns played an
  important role in the preservation of knowledge
  and in the cultivation of the arts
  
• Hildegard von Bingen is now widely regarded for
  her writings and music composed for the monastery
  she headed in western Germany

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Late Middle Ages

• ca. 1000-1400
• Building of great European cathedrals and
  universities
  
• Cities emerged as cultural and artistic centers
• The bourgeoisie emerges as a social and political
  force

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National Literary Landmarks

• France - Chanson de Roland (c. 1100)
• Italy - Dantes Divine Comedy (1307)
• England - Chaucers Canterbury Tales (1386)

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An Italian Landscape by Lorenzetti
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Orcagna, The Last Judgement (detail)
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Age of Knighthood

• Era of the Crusades to conquer to the Holy Land
• Women revered through
• Concepts of chivalry
• Marian cults
• Courtly love songs and poetry

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Progress in Middle Ages

• Society moves from a feudal society to a
  monarchial system with a fully developed middle
  class
  
• The church protects the wisdom of ancient
  civilizations while the universities of Europe
  emerge
  
• Music emerges in Europe from an aural tradition
  to a written tradition