The Medieval European
Synthesis
Fusion of the Early Middle Ages
5th-11th centuries




Fall of Rome
Celtic Influences
Norse-Germanic Influences
Spread of Christianity
throughout Europe
 Islamic Influences
 Feudalism
 Empires and Kingdoms
The Celts
 Called Galatai or Keltoi by Greeks, Galli (Gauls) by
Romans
 “Omnia Galli tres partes divisus est” Julius Caesar
 Migrated throughout Europe from 1st millenium bce-1st c.
bce
 Fierce warriors:
 went naked, painted blue, into battle
 known for wild challenges Furor: battle fury
 used war chariots, javelins and lancia: battle lances
 head-hunters
 believed in re-incarnation
Celtic
Migrations
Hallstatt
Celtic Influences
 Decorative
 Animal motifs
 Arabesques
 Religious
 Scholarship
 Monasticism
 Literary
 Epics and folklore
 Sovranty: Love-Political Triangle
 King-Queen-Suitor/Challenger
 Arthur-Guinevere-Lancelot
Gundestrup Cauldron
1st c. bce
silver overlaid with gold
Cernunnos:
God of the Beasts
 Ireland has the oldest vernacular
tradition of literature in Europe with
written texts dating from the 6th c.
 Oral tradition handed down by bards
and transcribed by Irish monks
 Prose heroic saga cycles interspersed
with verse passages
 The ollam, or arch-poet, whose
training lasted for some twelve years,
was obliged to learn 250 of the prime
sagas and 100 secondary ones.
 Categories: Destruction of Fortified
Places, Cattleraids, Courtships or
Wooings, Battles, Stories of Caves,
Navigations, Tragical Deaths, Feasts,
Sieges, Adventures of Travel,
Elopements, Slaughters, Watereruptions, Expeditions, Progresses,
and Visions.
Irish Literature
Brian Boru Harp
Tain Bo Cuailinge:
The Cattle Raid of Cooley from The Book of the Dun Cow
Celtic Christianity
 Christianity was introduced into
the British Isles in late 1st century
or early 2nd c. with Roman
soldiers
 Cultic religion existing alongside
other cults; both indigenous and
brought in by the Romans, such as
the cult of Mithras.
 The new faith rapidly gained
adherents
 Apostle of Ireland, Christian
prelate.
 Born in Scotland -- kidnapped
at 16 by Irish pirates and sold
in Ireland as a slave. He passed
his captivity as a herdsman
 Saw visions in which he was
urged to escape, and after six
years of slavery he did so,
 Ordained as a deacon, then
priest and finally as a bishop.
 Pope Celestine then sent him
back to Ireland to preach the
gospel.
St. Patrick
(389?-461?)
Syncretism:
St. Bridgit
 Patrick carried Christianity to
the Irish by transforming their
sacred groves, wells, and
mounds into centers of worship
for the new faith.
 He also adopted the ancient
Celtic deities into the new faith,
demoting them to saints
 Brigit,the goddess of healing and
fertility became St. Bridgit in the
new faith.
The Irish Church
 Elements of Eastern Christianity:
 emphasis on monasticism
 organizational structure of abbots and
monasteries versus bishops and parish churches
 ascetic holiness and pilgrimage
 The abbeys' and monasteries' success in teaching:
 Generations of scholars who not only copied Christian
material but also transcribed the myths of the Ulster and
Finian cycles, the Brehon laws, and other Celtic documents
 Survival of Christianity in the British Isles despite conquest by
the pagan Angles and Saxons.
 Sent missionaries to England and scholars to courts, such as
Charlemagne’s, throughout Europe
The Book of Kells
The Four Apostles
The Lindisfarne Gospels
Fall of Rome:
Rise of Germanic Tribes
 330: Constantine moved the capitol of the Roman Empire to
Constantinople
 402: Honorius moved capitol of the Western Empire from
Rome to Ravenna
 410: Visigoths sacked Rome
 455: Vandals sacked Rome and took control of N. Africa
and Spain
 5th c.: Waves of Angles, Saxons and Jutes invaded Britain
and Burgundians controlled much of France
 476: Goths seized Rome: Odoacer became Emperor
Völkerwanderrung
Germanic Migrations
Germanic Comitatus or Kinship
Groups
 König, eorlas und thanes: kings, nobles and warriors
 Mutual loyalty -- warriors fight for king, king is
generous to warriors
 Originally a socially egalitarian setup, during the third
and fourth centuries AD, became socially stratified
 Basis for feudal loyalty
 Ideal and philosophy expressed in oral epics like
Beowulf and The Song of Roland
Charlemagne
768-814
 Otherwise known as
Charles the Great, or
Charles the First
 Eldest son born of Pepin
the Short and his wife
Bertrada
 Possessed many qualities
of greatness: imposing
physical stature, warrior
prowess, piety, generosity,
intelligence, devotion to
family and friends, and
joy for life.
 A hero in his own time
who became a legendary
figure
Charlemagne’s Empire
CHARLEMAGNE
 Expanded the Frankish empire by fighting more than 50
campaigns; defeated the Lombards; Moors; Saxons, Slavs &
Danes; Avars in Bavaria, etc.
 By 805 the Frankish kingdom included all of continental Europe
except Spain, Scandinavia, southern Italy, and Slavic fringes in
the East
 Established marches (strongly fortified areas) mainly to check the
Muslims in Northern Spain --deliberately persecuted nonChristians
 800: Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Holy Roman
Emperor, Charlemagne's motto becomes Renavatio romani imperi
(Revival of the Roman Empire)
CAROLINGIAN RENAISSANCE
 Charlemagne was a strong supporter of education
 Assembled scholars and learned men at court in Aachen
 Most noted was Alcuin (c. 735-804) who was Charlemagne's chief
advisor on religious and educational matters; prepared official
documents and exempla
 The scholars copied books and built up libraries; used
"Carolingian minuscule."
 Worked on educating priests
 Limited illiteracy
 Preserved Latin culture
in West
Carolingian MS.
Aachen Cathedral
early Romanesque architecture,
ca. 792-805
Illuminated
Manuscripts
 . The word `illuminated' comes
from a usage of the Latin word
illuminare -- `adorn'.
 Books written by hand, decorated
with paintings
 The decorations are of three main
types:
 miniatures or small pictures,
into the text or occupying the
whole page or part of the
border;
 initial letters either containing
scenes (historiated initials) or
with elaborate decoration;
 borders, which may consist of
miniatures, occasionally
illustrative, or more often are
composed of decorative motifs.
Sacramentary--Use of Saint-Denis,9thc.
The Song of Roland
 Chanson de geste :




song of deeds
12th c – oldest major
work of French
literature
Based on Battle of
Roncevaux, 778
Story first told by
Einhard in his Life of
Charlemagne, c. 830
Intended to be
performed aloud by
traveling jongleurs
Viking Conquests
I've been with sword and,spear
slippery with bright blood
where kites wheeled. And how well
we violent Vikings clashed!
Redflames ate up men's roofs,
raging we killed and killed;
and skewered bodies sprawled
sleepy in town gateways.
Viking Runes
Scene taken from the stone Smiss I,
found in Stenkyrka parish. Dated 700800 AD.
Viking
Art
8th c. Bronze keys
Icelandic Sagas
Vernacular prose histories
of events in Iceland and
Greenland in the 10th and
11th centuries
Written in 13th-14th c. –
anonymous authors
Focused on genealogical
history and struggles that
arose amongst the 2nd and
3rd generations of Icelandic
settlers
Egils Saga, 17th c. MS.
Leif Eriksson
Iceland
Vinland
Sagas
Saga of the
Greenlanders and
Saga of Erik the Red
Most complete
accounts of Norse
explorations of
North America in
the 10th and 11th c.
The Normans
 Vikings, or Norsemen, who
settled in northern France
(or the Frankish kingdom),
together with their
descendants
 The Normans founded the
duchy of Normandy and
sent out expeditions of
conquest and colonization
to southern Italy and Sicily
and to England, Wales,
Scotland, and Ireland.
Feudalism
 Social system of rights and duties based on land tenure and
personal relationships
land is held in fief by vassals who owe military services to
lords to whom they are bound by personal loyalty.
 Feudalism is a form of civilization that flourishes especially
in a closed agricultural economy
 Those who fulfill official duties, whether civil or military, do
so because of personal and freely accepted links with their
overlord – not because of patriotism
 Public authority becomes fragmented and decentralized.
Social Classes
SECULAR
ECCLESIASTICAL
KING
POPE
NOBLES
CARDINALS
KNIGHTS
BISHOPS ABBOTS
MERCHANTS
PROFESSIONALS
CRAFTSMEN
PRIESTS MONKS
SUMMONERS FRIARS
PARDONERS NUNS
PEASANTS
freemen
serfs
PEASANTS
lay brothers and sisters
serfs
Coronation Ordinal
of 1250
Paris
The oldest known iconographic
cycle showing the coronation of a
French king in the cathedral of
Rheims, virtually as it would be
staged until 1825.
The archbishop of Rheims,
assisted by the abbots of SaintRemi of Rheims and of SaintDenis, officiated in the presence
of the peers of the realm.
December
Limbourg Bros.
Très Riches Heures
of the Duc de Berry
January
Limbourg Bros.
Très Riches Heures
of the Duc de Berry
Norman Conquest
1066: Contest for the English crown:
Harold, Earl of Wessex: Anglo-Saxon
Harald Hardrada of Norway
William Duke of Normandy
Battle of Stamford Bridge: Harold defeated
Hardrada's army which invaded using over 300
ships; so many were killed that only 25 ships
were needed to transport the survivors home.
Battle of Hastings: William led Norman forces
against the English. Harold Killed in battle;
William seized the throne
William the Conqueror
BAYEUX TAPESTRY
English axman in combat with Norman cavalry during the Battle of Hastings
Norman
Castles
Tower of London
Motte and
Bailey
Castle
The Abbey of Mt. St. Michel
Normandy, begun 1203
The Western World
at the Time of the
Crusades
Crusades:
1095-15th c.
Holy Wars"-- against various enemies of the Church
Initially non-Christians: Moslems and pagans
At first the object of the Crusades was to recover the Holy
Places (in what are now Israel and Jordan) from the
Moslems, who had seized them in the 7th Century.
Later Crusades were preached against Christian heretics,
and even against orthodox Christians who happened to have
political disputes with the current pope.
Crusade Period
Chivalry
 Chivalry was a peculiarity
of the practice of war in
medieval Europe.
 The feudal knight was
supposed to be devout,
honest, selfless, just, brave,
honorable, obedient, kind,
charitable, generous, and
kind to women.
 Complex rituals and rules
European Universities
 Evolved from medieval schools known as studia generalia
Places of study open to students throughout Europe.
Efforts to educate clerks and monks beyond the level of the
cathedral and monastic schools.
 Earliest Western universities:
 Salerno, Italy-- 9th c. -- famous medical school that drew
students from all over Europe
 Bologna, Italy-- 11thc. --a widely respected school of canon
and civil law
 University of Paris --mid 12th c.-- noted for its teaching of
theology and as a model for other universities in N. Europe
 Oxford University in England--end of the 12th century.
Course of Study
 Core curriculum based on
the seven liberal arts:
 Trivium: grammar, logic,
rhetoric,
 Quadrivium: geometry,
arithmetic, astronomy, and
music.
 Students then proceeded to
study under one of the
professional faculties of
medicine, law, and theology.
 Final examinations were
grueling, and many students
failed.
Rhetoric
Logic
Arithmetic
The Image du Monde:Picture of the World (14th c.) apparently is the
oldest encyclopedic treatise written in a vernacular language. .
Hildegarde of Bingen
Christian Mysticism
Visionary literature
Visions
Dreams
Reflection of an
individual’s intuitive and
direct knowledge of God:
autobiographical
Subject to review and
confirmation by Church
authorities
Those who did not adhere
to Church doctrine were
considered heretics and
often prosecuted.
Discipline of Christian Mysticism
Mystics typically received visions or
knowledge of God by practicing:
Prayer: oral praying, meditation, contemplation
Self denial: asceticism, fasting, etc.
Charity: almsgiving, service to others
Visions often came in times of personal crisis
or illness
Major Medieval Christian Mystics
 St. Symeon the New Theologian (949–
1022)
 Saint Anselm (1033–1109)
 Hugh of Saint Victor (1096–1141)
 Richard of St. Victor (? –1173)
 Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179)
 St. Francis of Assisi (1181–1226)
 St. Clare of Assisi (1194–1253)
 St. Anthony of Padua (1195–1231)
 Beatrice of Nazareth (1200-1268)
 Mechthild of Magdeburg (1210–1279)
 St. Bonaventure of Bagnoregio (1221–
1274)
 Angela of Foligno (1248–1309)
 Gertrude the Great (1256–1301)
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Marguerite Porete (?–1310)
Meister Eckhart (c. 1260–1327/8)
John of Ruysbroeck (1293–1381)
St. Gregory Palamas (1296–1359)
Johannes Tauler (1300–1361)
Henry Suso (1300–1366)
St. Bridget of Sweden (1302–1373)
St. Julian of Norwich (1342–
c.1416)
St. Catherine of Sienna (1347–
1380)
William Langland (?–1385/6)
Margery Kempe (c.1373–1438)
Thomas à Kempis (1380–1471)
St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556)