The term "Middle Ages" came into scientific use during the Renaissance, thereby philosophers-humanists emphasized the connection of their time with antiquity: they were separated from the "golden age" of mankind by a certain middle, intermediate period, "dark centuries", as Petrarch called them. Later, the term, naturally, lost its semantic meaning, however, in historiography, as the generally accepted concept, the name “Middle Ages” has been preserved, the time frame of which covers the period from the 5th century to the beginning of the 16th century. These boundaries are relative and differ in the history of various states.
Conventions of chronology
Chronology and periodization are relative criteria artificially introduced by researchers, used to conveniently designate a particular time, to compare events in different countries, etc. This fully applies to the period called the Middle Ages, the spatial, temporal framework of which - differently substantiate domestic and foreign historians. As A. Ya. Gurevich correctly noted, people of the Middle Ages, like antiquity or the New Age, did not give a name for their era, did not realize that they lived in the Middle Ages. When dividing the historical process into chronological periods, scientists are guided by some original features, qualitative characteristics inherent in a particular era.
Periodization
How does historiographic tradition mean the West European Middle Ages? Time frames (centuries) - from the V century. before the beginning of the XVI century. The following steps are usually distinguished within this nearly millennium-long period of time:
- V – XI centuries they call it the Early Middle Ages (or “the dark ages”, since this period in the history of human civilization remains the least studied due to the extremely scarce reflection in the sources). It began after the decline of the Roman Empire. One of the most striking phenomena is the great migration of peoples, the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula by the Christians (the so-called Reconquista), the heyday of Byzantium, the Frankish state.
- XI – XIV centuries - This is the classic (or High) Middle Ages. The main events are the rapid growth of the population of Western Europe, the almost universal spread of Christianity, the Crusades, the development of cities and urbanization, the emergence and development of feudal relations.
- XIV – XVI centuries attributed to the Late Middle Ages (some scholars reckon this period already in the early New Time). This is a period of disasters, famine, plague, the Hundred Years War and the Mongol-Tatar invasions that seriously devastated Western Europe. At the same time, this is a time of church reformation, great geographical discoveries, the development of science, inventions, and achievements in traditional medicine.
Middle Ages: time frames for Russia
In the territory occupied by Slavic tribes, the formation of the feudal state went slower than in the West, because many historians attribute the beginning of the medieval era to the 9th century. A new time begins at the end of the XVII century. with the reign of Peter I. Separate periods are distinguished within the era:
- IX – XII centuries - the existence of a centralized Kiev state.
- XII – XIII centuries - the beginning of feudal fragmentation and the fall of part of the land under the power of the Mongol-Tatar yoke.
- XIV – XVII centuries - The formation and development of the Russian state with a center in Moscow.
Characteristic of the era
This is how the Middle Ages looks chronologically, the time frame is associated with events that entailed irreversible changes. At the end of V century. barbarian hordes broke into Rome - the main bastion of ancient civilization at that time, and at the beginning of the VI century. the last antique school of philosophy ceased to exist.
A key characteristic of the Early Middle Ages is the decomposition of tribal relations among the barbarian tribes of Europe and the formation of feudal relations, which towards the end of the period leads to the formation of centralized states and ruling dynasties. The essence of economic relations in the Middle Ages is fundamentally changing. The spatial, temporal framework of the era is firmly connected with the spread of the Christian religion, which became a spiritual reflection of feudalism, as paganism was at one time characteristic of the communal clan system.
Regarding the Slavic tribes, all of the above features can be seen in their history distinctly only from the 9th century, when the establishment of a state with a center in Kiev takes place. Around the same time, Christianity of the Eastern (Orthodox) rite penetrated Russian lands from Byzantium, and by the turn of the millennium it acquired the status of an official religion.
Classic middle ages
The High Middle Ages (timeframe of the 11th – 14th centuries) began in Western Europe with the formation of the state of Charlemagne and is characterized by the strengthening of the position of the Catholic Church, its dominant role at all levels of human activity - from politics to everyday life. In the educational system, scholastic teaching dominates, the worldview and material culture are deeply religious.
Christianity also defines the Russian Middle Ages, the time frame of which, like the event content of the periods, is very different from Western European ones. By the XII century. Orthodoxy has become not only the official state religion: the last pagans, believers in the ancient Slavic gods, remained only in remote forest areas and did not pose a threat to the existence of a centralized state. But feudal feuds that shook more or less any state in the Middle Ages (timeframes in Russia — the 12th – 13th centuries) weakened the Kiev state and made it easy prey for the hordes of Mongol-Tatars nomads who came from the east. Thus, the external threat in the person of invaders, ethnically and religiously alien, contributed to strengthening the authority of the church.
Distinctive features of the European and Russian periods
The fundamental difference in this period of the history of Russia from Western Europe is obvious: for the empire of Charlemagne, this is the time of the maximum flowering of culture, the creation of a canonical image of the Middle Ages, in Eastern Europe in all spheres of life there is a decline associated with the heavy burden of confronting the mighty Asian enemy.
After the overthrow of the Mongol-Tatar yoke, the former integrity of Kievan Rus was no longer restored: the western lands were united into the Principality of Galicia-Volyn, and Moscow princes gained more and more influence in the east.
The final decades of the High Middle Ages
The end of the High Middle Ages in the West is associated with the famine that hit many lands at the beginning of the 14th century, the plague, peasant riots and the Hundred Years War. All these tragic events entailed literally the extinction of half of the population, therefore, decline in all spheres of life.
At the same time, for Russia, the Middle Ages, the timeframe of the XIV – XVII centuries, became the era of the formation and strengthening of the state around Moscow. Russia was strong enough at this time to throw off the burden of the Golden Horde yoke. Moreover, many domestic researchers are inclined to see in the new Russian state, based on the Vladimir-Suzdal historical and cultural traditions, the characteristic features of the Renaissance. This is the heyday of culture, architecture, painting, and the appearance of literary works, the focus of which is a person and his feelings, rather than religious issues.
At the beginning of the XVII century. the Romanov dynasty ascends to the Moscow throne, whose representatives ruled the country until the overthrow of the monarchy in 1917
Late Middle Ages and the Transition to New Time
Such a shaky concept, such as the Late Middle Ages, covers time frames and countries in different ways: somewhere, the features of the New Age are more clearly visible, and in some places the traditional feudal structure is preserved. In the states of Western Europe there is a movement for the reformation of the church, industrial revolutions are taking place, the philosophy and world views are changing. And in the Moscow kingdom for almost two centuries, everything remained unchanged: therefore, the Middle Ages in Russia (the timeframe of the 9th – 17th centuries) ended much later.
The Western European Middle Ages, the time frame completing this almost millennium, dates back to the late XV - early XVI centuries. Columbus discovery of America in 1492 is most often taken as a reference point
In Russia, only Peter I managed to complete the Middle Ages through a series of progressive and often unpopular reforms at the end of the 17th century.
Conclusions: the Middle Ages Western European and Russian
Thus, the time frames of the Middle Ages in Russia and Western Europe are very different, although the essence of the period remains similar in most issues. This is the dominance of the church and religion in all spheres of life, and the consolidation of feudal relations, and the subsequent formation of the monarchy, which will survive in modern times.
At the end of the Middle Ages, obvious technological progress began - blast furnaces, firearms, and a printing press were invented . The concept of educational institutions appeared. Progress is gradually manifested in all areas of life. In the last decades of the Late Middle Ages, the heyday of art began.