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6th to 15th Centuries:
Early Medieval European History
Time Line of Art History: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
In his famous book, "Organism," Abraham Maslow originated the idea of self-actualization within a hierarchial structure of physilogical and psychological needs. Within this structure are what Maslow calls "esteem needs." From the very beginning of time historians have made manifest evidence of man's expression of "esteem needs." Over 30,000 years ago in Chauvet France the discovery of dynamic, vibrant paintings of animals drawn on limestone cave walls stand as a testament to man's need to express his world through art.
Beauty is truth, truth beauty,
That is all ye know on earth and
All ye need to know.
-------- John Keats (1819) "Ode on a Grecian Urn"
Take the time to see the truth, to see the beauty that man has created across time and space. "Click away!"
Time Line Index:
Readings: Washington State University-World Cultures to 1500
The Early Middle Ages:
While the great urban centers were arising in Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Indus River Valley, Europe was a great diversity of cultures, many of which have been lost in the twilight of time. These cultures were tribal, hunting-gathering societies speaking a variety of languages and practicing unknown but infinitely variable religions. The historical period begins in Europe with the exporting of Minoan culture on to the mainland of Greece in the first part of the second millenium BC. Europe at this time is still largely a patchwork of diverse cultures, but the constant migrations of peoples in Europe have introduced a new chapter by this point: the Indo-Europeans. It was these who founded the Mycenean culture in the Mediterranean; this culture, with its eastward and southward orientation, would form the root from which would grow the classical culture of Greece and Rome.
While textbooks stress the descent of Europe from classical culture, the face of Europe throughout most of the historical period was dominated by a single cultural group, a powerful, culturally diverse group of peoples, the Celts. By the start of the Middle Ages, the Celts had been struck on two fronts by two very powerful cultures, Rome in the south, and the Germans, who were derived from Celtic culture, from the north. Through the period of classical Greece (corresponding to the La Têne culture in central Europe) to first centuries AD, most of Europe was under the shadow of this culture which, in its diverse forms, still represented a fairly unified culture.
The first great wave of European migration were the unexplained migrations of the Celts in the sixth and fifth centuries BC; the next great wave, of far greater importance, was the equally mysterious migration of Germanic tribes beginning in the second century AD. Even more mysterious, but most crucially, the migrations of Germanic tribes eventually resulted in the conquest of the western Empire. This is an odd chapter in history, for the population of Italy was exponentially larger than the population of migrating Germans. The Visigoths, one of the largest of the German tribes, probably did not number more than 100,000 people and could field probably no more than 25,000 soldiers at any one time. This is in comparison to the 60 to 70 million people living in the Empire and a standing army that outnumbered the entire population of Visigoths. Still, the Visigoths managed to enter Rome and assert administrative control over much of the western Empire.
The last great waves of European migrations began in the eighth century and picked up dramatically in the ninth and tenth centuries. This time it was a group of relatively sedentary Germanic tribes in the northernmost reaches of Europe, the Norsemen. These were really not one ethnic group, but an entire spectrum of peoples speaking many different languages. For all that, the principal Norsemen that raided and emigrated out of Northern Europe were Norwegians and Danish. Again, however, these are not single ethnic groups—the Danes, for instance, were an entire set of different peoples.
In 911, a group of Scandinavian raiders under the leadership of Rollo sailed up the Seine and forced the French king to cede French territory. The price the king asked was that Rollo become a subject of the king and swear loyalty. This he did, and the Norsemen settled a very small area in the north of France. Rollo, however, considered himself to be an independent ruler and aggressively set about increasing the territory under his control. This constant expansion of territory would become the hallmark of the Norman experience in history.
There is no real distinct break between the Germanic culture of the Franks and the distinctly European culture of the French, based as it is on several models—classical, Latin, German, Celtic, and Scandinavian. The area within the boundaries of France had one of the most dynamic histories of diversity in the European Middle Ages, occupied as it was at first by native Europeans, then the Celts, then the Romans, then the Germans, and, in the last wave of migration, and influx of Scandinavians. The amazing thing about this history is the culture that the French forged from all these materials, eventually, with England, becoming the central culture in the larger process of the invention of Europe.
The history of England from the Norman invasion encapsulates all the major trends of the times. Politically, the Norman kings and their heirs are the primary locus in European history where feudalism is converted into a working model of a centralized monarchy. The history of England all throughout the Middle Ages is one, long, almost uninterrupted set of conflicts engendered by the attempt to convert feudalism into monarchy. On the one hand are attempts to consolidate the power of the monarch over the power of feudatories; on the other hand is the resistance to monarchical aggrandizement and the subsequent assertion of privileges by feudatories over the monarch. The high point of monarchical power was attained during the reign of Edward I (1272-1307); the low points of monarchical power were scattered all throughout medieval English history: the reigns of John, Edward II, and Richard II being the bleakest.
It is not possible to effectually distinguish between the later empire in Rome and the Byzantine empire centered around Constantinople. For the Byzantines were the Roman Empire, not simply a continuation of it in the East. The capital city, Constantinople, had been founded as the capital of Rome by the Emperor Constantine, but a uniquely Greek or Byzantine character to the Roman Empire can be distinguished as early as Diocletian. When Rome was seized by Goths, this was a great blow to the Roman Empire, but it didn't effectively end it. Although Rome was under the control of foreigners who themselves claimed to be continuing the empire, the Byzantine empire continued as before, believing themselves to be the Roman Empire.
Life During the Middle Ages:
The Feudal Order
For safety and for defense, people in the Middle Ages formed small communities around a central lord or master. Most people lived on a manor, which consisted of the castle, the church, the village, and the surrounding farm land. These manors were isolated, with occasional visits from peddlers, pilgrims on their way to the Crusades, or soldiers from other fiefdoms.
The Catholic Church was the only church in Europe during the Middle Ages, and it had its own laws and large coffers. Church leaders such as bishops and archbishops sat on the king's council and played leading roles in government. Bishops, who were often wealthy and came from noble families, ruled over groups of parishes called "diocese." Parish priests, on the other hand, came from humbler backgrounds and often had little education. The village priest tended to the sick and indigent and, if he was able, taught Latin and the Bible to the youth of the village
With the Advent of Trade and Commerce, Feudal Life Declined
Following 1000, peace and order grew. As a result,
peasants began to expand their farms and villages further into the countryside.
The earliest merchants were peddlers who went from village to village selling
their goods. As the demand for goods increased--particularly for the gems,
silks, and other luxuries from Genoa and Venice, the ports of Italy that traded
with the East--the peddlers became more familiar with complex issues of trade,
commerce, accounting, and contracts. They became savvy businessmen and learned
to deal with Italian moneylenders and bankers.
Art and music were critical aspects of medieval religious life and, towards the end of the Middle Ages, secular life as well. Singing without instrumental accompaniment was an essential part of church services. Monks and priests chanted the divine offices and the mass daily.
As the populations of medieval towns and cities increased, hygienic conditions worsened, leading to a vast array of health problems. Medical knowledge was limited and, despite the efforts of medical practitioners and public and religious institutions to institute regulations, medieval Europe did not have an adequate health care system. Antibiotics weren't invented until the 1800s and it was almost impossible to cure diseases without them.
Most medieval homes were cold, damp, and dark. Sometimes it was warmer and lighter outside the home than within its walls. For security purposes, windows, when they were present, were very small openings with wooden shutters that were closed at night or in bad weather. The small size of the windows allowed those inside to see out, but kept outsiders from looking in.
Video Presentations:
The Celts
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5
Viking Invasions
They were the dreaded forces on the fringes of civilization, the bloodthirsty warriors who defied the Roman legions and terrorized the people of Europe. They were the Barbarians, and their names still evoke images of cruelty and chaos. But what do we really know of these legendary warriors? From the frigid North Sea to the Russian steppes, this ambitious series tells the fascinating stories of four of the most fabled groups of fighters in history, tracing 1,000 years of conquest and adventure through inspired scholarship and some of the most extensive reenactments ever filmed. The Vikings sails with the Norsemen from Arabia to the New World, stopping off for a bit of pillaging along the way.
Nova Film Series
For centuries—indeed, ever since Viking raiders savagely attacked England's Lindisfarne monastery in A.D. 793—the Vikings have seemed to many to have been little more than blue-eyed barbarians in horned helmets. But archeological investigations of Viking sites stretching from Russia to Newfoundland have revealed a more human (if not altogether humane) side to the Viking character. In this interview with NOVA producer Julia Cort, William Fitzhugh, curator of a new exhibit on Vikings at the Smithsonian Insitution, offers compelling insight into this new image of the Norsemen and what he perceives as their catalytic role in Europe's transformation from a feudal society to an integrated group of modern nation-states.
The Western Tradition Annenburg Series:
Barbarian kingdoms took possession of the fragments of the Roman Empire
Charlemagne revived hopes for a new empire in Western Europe.
Amid invasion and civil disorder, a military aristocracy dominated the kingdoms of Europe
Bishop, knight, and peasant exemplified some of the social divisions of the year 1000 C.E.
Common Life in the Middle Ages
Famine, disease, and short life expectancies were the conditions that shaped medieval beliefs
Cities and Cathedrals of the Middle Ages
The great churches embodied the material and spiritual ambitions of the age.
Middle Ages - Christianity - Crusades
The Middle Ages: Falling and Rising of Empires
The Medieval Period began with the fall of the Roman Empire in the West. In 410, Rome was conquered. In 476, the Western Emperor was deposed by a Gothic King. The Eastern Empire did not collapse, however; rather it rose in the fifth and sixth centuries. The greatest Byzantine ruler was Justinian, emperor from 527-565, who rebuilt Hagia Sophia and, influenced by his wife Theodora, instituted many reforms improving the status of women. The decline of the East began with the first Muslim invasions in 622. Finally Constantinople fell in 1453, the end of the Middle Ages, and was renamed Istanbul.
Christian Campaigns Against Others
Attempts to purify the church and society also led to efforts to rid the Christian world of all non-Christians, who were considered "infidels." This included Jews, Muslims, and people labelled pagans or gypsies--anyone who practiced pre-Christian or non-Christian traditions. In a non-scientific world where many bishops, scholars, and warriors routinely believed in magic, astrology, and alchemy--the ancient attempt to turn ordinary metal into gold--the lines defining who was Christian, and who was not, could shift rapidly according to the fears and desires of those in power.
The Christian Crusades: 1095-1291
Since the time of Constantine, Christians had gone on pilgrimages to the Holy Land. Even though Moslems had ruled Jerusalem since 638, Christians were still allowed to visit the city. By the 11th century, however, the situation had changed. Just as the number and frequency of pilgrimages to Jerusalem was at new peaks, the Seljuk Turks took over control of Jerusalem and prevented pilgrimages.
The Fourth Crusade and The Sack of Constantinople: 1204
The First Crusade was the most successful from a military point-of-view and very violent against Moslems. The Fourth Crusade, proclaimed by Pope Innocent III (1198-1216), wreaked violence on other Christians.
The Joshua and Promised Land stories provide powerful images for the poor who defend their land. Nevertheless, these same stories have been used to the contrary. They have been abused to justify slavery and the taking of other people's land. Unfortunately, people have even interpreted these stories as encouraging wars of extermination. They have believed that such wars are morally desirable in order to purify the world of evil.1 Let's look at some of these interpretations.
Authority and the Western Church
In the early Middle Ages the authority of the Bishop of Rome increased in relation to the other bishops in the Western church. He became known as "pope"or "Papa" in Latin, an early informal title for any priest. Strong popes insisted that kings and emperors in the West were members of the church and therefore, like anyone else, subject to church authority and discipline. In the East, however, the Emperor understood himself as divinely appointed, and outside the authority of the church.
Video Presentations:
Ex-Monty Python member, Terry Jones, takes us through 200 years (1096 to 1270) of medieval history, explaining the Crusades and the religious conflicts of the era, using re-enactments and reconstructions. Each program is introduced by Roger Mudd.
History's Turning Points
When a plague-ridden ship landed in Venice in
1347, it was immediately put into quarantine...but no one could stop the rats
from corning ashore. Within three years, a third of Western Europe's population
was dead. It was the greatest calamity in history.
1453
CE The Siege of Constantinople
The Byzantine Kings hid safely behind the massive walls of Constantinople. Then in 1453, with the Turkish Ottoman Empire encircling the city, Sultan Mehmet brought the newest technology of the 15th century, the cannon, and finally brought down the walls of the world's most impregnable fortress.
Islamic Legacy to Early Europe:
Video Presentations:
Medieval Spain
Islam in Spain: Islamic City-Islam and Islamic History
By the time 'Abd al-Rahman reached Spain, the Arabs from North Africa were already entrenched on the Iberian Peninsula and had begun to write one of the most glorious chapters in Islamic history. After their forays into France were blunted by Charles Martel, the Muslims in Spain had begun to focus their whole attention on what they called al-Andalus, southern Spain (Andalusia), and to build there a civilization far superior to anything Spain had ever known. Reigning with wisdom and justice, they treated Christians and Jews with tolerance, with the result that many embraced Islam. They also improved trade and agriculture, patronized the arts, made valuable contributions to science, and established Cordoba as the most sophisticated city in Europe.
Dr. Sulayman Nyang: The Transmission of Knowledge From Arabia to Europe
Dr. Nyang begins with contextualizing the issue by discussing the Umayyid rule, its downfall and its resurrection in Spain. He then briefly outlines the events leading up to the Muslim rule in Spain, the atmosphere created by it and the main reason for its decline.
Dr. Sulayman Nyang: Muslims Were the Custodians of Greek Knowledge
Dr. Sulayman Nyang: Muslim Spain: A Major Center of Civilization
Bridging World History Annenberg Series:
How do societies assign value to land, labor, and material goods? Manorial economies in Japan and medieval Europe are contrasted with the tribute economy of the Inka, and the experience of dramatic economic change is illustrated by the commercial revolution in China.
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