Medieval Catholicism

[henrikhank]

Laudetur Jesus Christus!
How could the Catholic Church dominate the culture of the medival ages?

 

[Tietjen]

Laudetur Jesus Christus!
How could the Catholic Church dominate the culture of the medival ages?

Define dominate.

 

[Pfaffenhoffen]

Laudetur Jesus Christus!
How could the Catholic Church dominate the culture of the medival ages?

Do you know the Middle Ages or are you just starting to study it?

The Middle Ages came after the Dark Ages, when Europe was invaded by barbarians coming from Sveridge and Russia: vandals, sweves, alans, hunes, visigoths, and so on.

They just destroyed everyhing and every bit of culture.

The monks had to teach them to transform swords into plows. We owe them to the monks the fact that they copied every document from antiquity. Were not for them you would not know the Bible, Plato, Socrates, Aristolte, Virgil, Homer and all the culture classi.

Got it?

 

[1ke]

How could it not?

 

[Zacdecat]

Laudetur Jesus Christus!
How could the Catholic Church dominate the culture of the medival ages?

Simple…it was Catholic…universal in Europe. The Dark ages is a protestatism , it is also the High Medieval Period.

I love reading history, but do NOT put a modern mindset on the people of this period, their values and expectations were very alien to what we have in this age.

 

[henrikhank]

Do you know the Middle Ages or are you just starting to study it?

Well, I am studying the medieval ages. I have some knowledge but still need a lot of studiyng.

The Middle Ages came after the Dark Ages, when Europe was invaded by barbarians coming from Sveridge and Russia: vandals, sweves, alans, hunes, visigoths, and so on.

They just destroyed everyhing and every bit of culture.

Now you confuse me. You say that Dark Ages came before the Medival ages. In School, if I remeber corectly, they say that the Dark Ages were/was a part of the Medieval Ages.
(Should it be Middle or Mideaval?)
What is Sveridge? I know about Sverige (where I live). Sverige had its crazy Asatro-religion before Christianity. Historian and modern followers of the Asatro-eligion say that the pre-Christian religion was very individual. You practise a religion with many gods and could worship any one them you wanted. You wee free to to wanterver you wanted but still you had to obey the chief of your village. There was no real unity in religion. I have a theory: when Chistianity arived people started to question if they didn’t need more unity. Christianity (Catholicism) could give them this unity. It did take some years but people accepted this real unity. People couldn’t stand the fact that they had no Credo so they became Chistians. There were of couse many othe reason, eg the monastic life that the Catholics gave them. One other thing that helped was that the Catholics, like St Ansgar, didn’t abolish the thoughts of God being the one reason why we had all natue phenomena like thunder and rain. The monks gave people biology and science but still they stated that God was the ultimate souce of everything (this modern science has lost). I am not sure I am right. what do you think?

 

[Nevermore22]

Laudetur Jesus Christus!
How could the Catholic Church dominate the culture of the medival ages?

Ah, AP Euro, you do have uses.

So, the Middle Ages can be very confusing. In the most basic sense, they are the time period between the Fall of the Roman Empire up to the Renaissance. (476 is the traditional date to the late 1300s). The Middle Ages are so called because they were between two great civilizations: Rome and the Renaissance Europe. They were filled with strife, disease and confusion, but they also were a time of growth and preservation of culture.

By the time the Roman Empire collapsed, the Church was already rooted in. So when Rome fell, the only thing left standing was the Church. In far out towns in Europe, there were no Roman governors to lead the people, there was little unification without Rome, but there was the Church. Priests and bishops became the leaders, and this universal faith united Europe. Churches were gathering points for people. It was how they got together, and ease the stress of a poor crop or bad business. Is there any wonder why there were so many religious festivals during this time period?

It wasn’t a total monarchy with the Pope as head. Much good has come out of the Middle Ages, from the monks preserving the written word, scholasticism keeping the old Greek and Roman poets and philosophers in tact, and just giving hope to the people. As well as the hundreds of Gothic cathedrals and churches. The building of each one could employ and entire village for a hundred years or so. If a town had a beautiful church/shrine, pilgrims would flock to the area, and that meant more income, and a town could potentially flourish. There was good that came out of the time period.

I hope this helps.

In Christ through Mary,
Nevermore

 

[Warrenton]

I have a theory: when Chistianity arived people started to question if they didn’t need more unity. Christianity (Catholicism) could give them this unity. It did take some years but people accepted this real unity. People couldn’t stand the fact that they had no Credo so they became Chistians. There were of couse many othe reason, eg the monastic life that the Catholics gave them. One other thing that helped was that the Catholics, like St Ansgar, didn’t abolish the thoughts of God being the one reason why we had all natue phenomena like thunder and rain. The monks gave people biology and science but still they stated that God was the ultimate souce of everything (this modern science has lost). I am not sure I am right. what do you think?

You are part right. You must be careful about what period of time you are talking about.

At the beginning of the “dark ages” (about 450 - 950), many pagans were attracted to the Catholic Church because it reminded them of the Roman Empire, which they admired. The Catholic Church seemed “modern” to them.

If you read Venerable Bede’s History, you will get a flavor for this.

However, many people had already stopped believing in the old gods. This was probably due to the fact that the Roman Empire brought many different people together. It is hard to rationalize five different gods of war, or six different goddesses of love. Late Anglo Saxon poetry reflects this loss of literal belief, and of course you can see it even earlier in the writings of Aristotle and Lucretius.

So there was a spiritual hunger, which the Church was able to fill.

The Church also taught that all Christians are equal in the sight of God. This was a huge difference from the old gods, who taught that men are not equal. This new way of thinking had profound effects in Europe. For one, slavery gave way to serfdom. People were very attached to the Church because of this, and people of every type and nationality took part in it. So the roots of the Church went very deep into the society and culture.

 

[Warrenton]

. So when Rome fell, the only thing left standing was the Church. In far out towns in Europe, there were no Roman governors to lead the people, there was little unification without Rome, but there was the Church. Priests and bishops became the leaders, and this universal faith united Europe. Churches were gathering points for people. It was how they got together, and ease the stress of a poor crop or bad business. Is there any wonder why there were so many religious festivals during this time period?

We have to remember that in much of the Roman Empire, people did not see 476 as a “fall.” They saw it as the logical step in a process that had been going on for over a century. They still looked to the emporer in Constantinople as “Caesar.”

What happened was a devolution of power. As the Roman army pulled back from indefensible areas, the local aristocrats were forced to take control of day to day affairs and defense. They fortified their estates, which became the first castles. The families became the nobility of Europe.

Many of these local lords saw the “fall” as a good thing, because it gave them more local freedom. Once the Roman legions left, most people did not have much allegience to the idea of “Rome.” What they valued was “Roman-ness.” Modern Germans don’t regret the departure of American troops from Germany, right? The same could be said for Iraq, even though the people know that once Americans leave, there will be some increase in violence. They figure they can deal with it. So did many of the local aristocrats in the 500s through the 700s.

 

[Pfaffenhoffen]

Well, I am studying the medieval ages. I have some knowledge but still need a lot of studiyng.

Sveridge would be Weden but I got it wrong.
Thanks for your explanation of Sweden that I do not know know. I am going to study it.
If I had a board I would explain better. But we have time. The last 2000 years are moe or less like this:
Roman Empire - Politheism
Judais and Jesus Christ entered the roman empire, persecution till 313, eith of Milan bu Constantin, freedom of Christians. In 100 years, the whole europe became Christian.
400 - 700 - Invasion of Barbrians - Culture disappeared. Dark Ages.
717 - Invasion of Iberia by Gibaltar, Muslim, who conquered (almost) all Iberia and tried to conquer France but was stopped by Charles Martel in Poitiers in 721 (first attempt of Muslims to conquer Europe.
700-1000 - Education of the Basbarians by the Monks, above all Benedictin and Cistercians.
1000-1400- Middle Age.
16th century - Renaissance, Galileo, Printing, Portuguese Discovering, Newton, Science.
17th Century-Barocq, exageration of the REnasissance.
18th Century - Illuminism- mitigation of the Baroq. Pre-Romantism
19th Centruty - romantism and Realism (French Revolution - 1789), New Ideas, Democracy, Industrial Revolution…
20th Century - Everybody knows.

I would divide the last 1000 years in 3 Epochs:

**Middle Ages **- Aurean Christian Period. Beatiful. God as the center of the World. Do not confuse with the Barbarian invasions and put it all in the same bag. Some peole say the Middle Ages lasted 1000 years. It is crazy !!! It is the same thing as telling that the year 1000 dC is the same thing as the year 2000 when men went to the moon !!
Classicism, that inclues Renaissance, Baroq and Illuminism - They hated the Middle Ages so they’ld call it the Dark Ages. Cut God as the Center of the World. Now it is Man as the Center of the World. They copied the Greco Roman Culture (attention: this is the main aspect.
Romantims- they hated Classicism. (Every epoch hates the previous one). Copy? Never !!!.. The motto is to be original, do not copy anybody, to be self centered, subjective, and many more things.

Of Course, Middle Ages as Dark Ages is convenient for many anti-Catholics. Maybe that is why someone waught you that at school. But it is not only in Sweden. Everyone one in this Godless Society, tries to dispise the Middle Age.

 

[Farmville]

Sveridge would be Weden but I got it wrong.

400 - 700 - Invasion of Barbrians - Culture disappeared. Dark Ages.

 

[PrayForMeStJude]

The answers that have been posted here are pretty informative, so I wont add too much. But I will say this: be careful when trying to divide history in to neat little time periods, one following the other. Doing this tends so promote a false sense of seperation between periods, as if overnight Rome fell and the world plunged into chaos until the renaissance sprung up.

In reality there is much more continuity between time periods. Roman nobility escaped to their countryside villas and became medeival lords. The Church crowned Charlemagne Emperor partly to revive the authority of the western Roman Empire and to combat byzantine advances. Throughot the middle ages discoveries and advances in thought were being made which gradually led to a “renaissance” in Europe. Always look for continuity over rupture; it makes history easier to understand.

If you want to delve deep into this topic, Warren H Caroll’s ‘A History of Christendom’ is essential reading.

 

[Pfaffenhoffen]

Except culture did not disappear, a lot of old culture was not even replaced, since many “Barbarians” had been settled under Roman power as foederati (basically tribes allowed to colonize since the 300’s), and were heavily influenced by Roman culture, and even held political positions in Rome like Magister Militum, a position more practically powerful than the Emperor. Thus Romanization of these peoples, contrary to popular belief, occurred even before the re-discovery of Classic Culture in Western Europe in the early Medieval Ages. It wasn’t for nothing that the Eastern(Greek) Romans often called Western Europeans Latinoi

 

[Pfaffenhoffen]

The answers that have been posted here are pretty informative, so I wont add too much. But I will say this: be careful when trying to divide history in to neat little time periods, one following the other. Doing this tends so promote a false sense of seperation between periods, as if overnight Rome fell and the world plunged into chaos until the renaissance sprung up.

In reality there is much more continuity between time periods. Roman nobility escaped to their countryside villas and became medeival lords. The Church crowned Charlemagne Emperor partly to revive the authority of the western Roman Empire and to combat byzantine advances. Throughot the middle ages discoveries and advances in thought were being made which gradually led to a “renaissance” in Europe. Always look for continuity over rupture; it makes history easier to understand.

If you want to delve deep into this topic, Warren H Caroll’s ‘A History of Christendom’ is essential reading.

I agree with you but, the neat divisions help to understand.
Moreover, there were periods of brutal changes. I would put two of them: Renaissance, with all the changes and 1789, the French Revolution.
As Helgel puts it, History maybe is not a continuous line but a fight of contraries.
One funny rule is that each epoch disdains the father and empasizes the grandfather.
Renaissance hated Middle Ages but loved Greece. Romantism hated classicism but loved Middle Ages. Nowadays, I do not know, but in music, we love Baroq Music, which was despised but the Romantics.

 

[PrayForMeStJude]

I agree with you but, the neat divisions help to understand.
Moreover, there were periods of brutal changes. I would put two of them: Renaissance, with all the changes and 1789, the French Revolution.
As Helgel puts it, History maybe is not a continuous line but a fight of contraries.
One funny rule is that each epoch disdains the father and empasizes the grandfather.
Renaissance hated Middle Ages but loved Greece. Romantism hated classicism but loved Middle Ages. Nowadays, I do not know, but in music, we love Baroq Music, which was despised but the Romantics.

Hegel’s theories may be interesting, but I do not subscribe to them. I believe him to have been wrong on quite a bit of subjects.

And on the subject at hand: even the renaissance and French Revolution, while they brought great change, were not sudden, unpredictable events. The ideas and experiences necessary to conceive of them were developed over the centuries. For example, where would the ideas of personal freedom and a government accountable to the people have come from if not the ideas of feudalism that the people and the protectors were bound together by mutual obligations?

 

[Farmville]

Sincerely, I do not know who first used the term “Dark Aged” but it supposes that the person who invented considered himself as illuminated and maybe it was the Renaissance People.

You are right on Pfaffenhoffen:thumbsup:, it is of late Medieval/Early Italian Renaissance coinage,

“It was a term invented by the Italian poet Petrarch in the 1330s to convey his feeling that the culture of ancient Greece and Rome had been superior to everything that succeeded it”(dailywritingtips.com/forget-about-the-%E2%80%9Cdark-ages%E2%80%9D/).

 

[Pfaffenhoffen]

You are right on Pfaffenhoffen:thumbsup:, it is of late Medieval/Early Italian Renaissance coinage,

 

[Pfaffenhoffen]

Hegel’s theories may be interesting, but I do not subscribe to them. I believe him to have been wrong on quite a bit of subjects.

And on the subject at hand: even the renaissance and French Revolution, while they brought great change, were not sudden, unpredictable events. The ideas and experiences necessary to conceive of them were developed over the centuries. For example, where would the ideas of personal freedom and a government accountable to the people have come from if not the ideas of feudalism that the people and the protectors were bound together by mutual obligations?

REnaissance was a slow process. But French REvolution was sudden and brutal.

 

[WFS5801]

Laudetur Jesus Christus!
How could the Catholic Church dominate the culture of the medival ages?

Because Europe was Catholic.

 

[henrikhank]

The Catholic Church Builder of Civilization: youtube.com/watch?v=v2gKx2UzlzA