The Middle Ages and the Renaissance are the brightest periods in the history of mankind. They were remembered for various events and changes. Next, we consider in more detail the features of the Middle Ages.
General information
The era of the Middle Ages is a fairly long period. Within its framework, the emergence and subsequent formation of European civilization took place, its transformation - the transition to the New Time. The era of the Middle Ages originates from the fall of Western Rome (476), however, according to modern scholars, it would be more fair to extend the border until the beginning of the 6th - end of the 8th century, after the Lombards invasion of Italy. The Middle Ages in the mid-17th century are ending. It is generally accepted that the end of the period is the bourgeois revolution in England. However, it is worth noting that recent centuries were far from medieval in character. Researchers tend to separate the period from the middle of the 16th - beginning of the 17th century. This "independent" time period represents the era of the early Middle Ages. Nevertheless, this, that the previous periodization is very conditional.
Characteristics of the Middle Ages
During this period, the formation of European civilization took place . At this time, a series of scientific and geographical discoveries began, the first signs of modern democracy - parliamentarism - appeared. Domestic researchers, refusing to interpret the medieval period as the era of "obscurantism" and "dark ages", seek to illuminate the phenomena and events that turned Europe into a completely new civilization, as objectively as possible. They set themselves several tasks. One of them is the definition of basic social and economic features of this feudal civilization. In addition, researchers are trying to most fully imagine the Christian world of the Middle Ages.
Social structure
It was a time in which the feudal mode of production and the agrarian element prevailed. This is especially true for the early period. The society was represented in specific forms:
- Estate. Here, the owner, through the labor of dependent people, satisfied most of his own material needs.
- Monastery. It differed from the estate in that periodically there were literate people who knew how to write books and had time for this.
- The royal court. He moved from one place to another and organized management and life following the example of an ordinary estate.
Government structure
It was formed in two stages. The former was characterized by the coexistence of Roman and German altered public institutions, as well as political structures in the form of "barbarian kingdoms." At the 2nd stage, the state and feudal society are a special system. In the course of social stratification and the increasing influence of the land aristocracy between land owners - the population and seniors, relations of subordination and domination arose. The era of the Middle Ages was distinguished by the presence of an estate-corporate structure arising from the need for separate social groups. The most important role belonged to the institution of the state. He ensured the protection of the population from feudal freemen and external threats. At the same time, the state was one of the main exploiters of the people, since it represented the interests of the ruling classes in the first place.
Second period
After the end of the early Middle Ages, a significant acceleration in the evolution of society was noted. Such activity was due to the development of monetary relations and the exchange of commodity production. The importance of the city, which for the first time still remained politically and administratively subordinate to the seignorium — estates, and ideologically — to the monastery, continues to grow. Subsequently, the development of the political legal system in the New Time is associated with its development. This process will be perceived as the result of the creation of urban communes that defended liberties in the fight against the ruling lord. It was at that time that the first elements of democratic justice began to take shape. However, historians believe that it would not be entirely true to look for the origins of the legal concepts of modernity exclusively in the urban environment. Of great importance were representatives of other classes. For example, the formation of ideas about personal dignity occurred in the feudal estate consciousness and was originally aristocratic in nature. From this we can conclude that democratic freedoms developed from the freedom of the upper classes.
Church role
Religious philosophy of the Middle Ages had a comprehensive meaning. The church and faith completely filled human life - from birth to death. Religion claimed to manage society, it performed quite a lot of functions, which later passed to the state. The church of that period was organized according to strict hierarchical canons. At the head was the pope - the Roman High Priest. He had his own state in central Italy. In all European countries, bishops and archbishops were subordinate to the pope. All of them were the largest feudal lords and possessed entire principalities. This was the tip of feudal society. Under the influence of religion were various spheres of human activity: science, education, culture of the Middle Ages. Enormous power was concentrated in the hands of the church. Seniors and kings, who needed her help and support, showered her with gifts, privileges, trying to buy her assistance and arrangement. Along with this, the religious philosophy of the Middle Ages had a calming effect on people. The church sought to smooth out social conflicts, called for mercy to the destitute and oppressed, to give alms to the poor and to suppress lawlessness.
The influence of religion on the development of civilization
The church controlled the release of books and education. Due to the influence of Christianity, a fundamentally new attitude and understanding of marriage and family has developed in society by the 9th century. In the early Middle Ages, alliances between close relatives were quite common, and numerous marriages were quite common. It was with this that the church fought all. The problem of marriage, which was one of the Christian sacraments, became almost the main theme of a large number of theological works. One of the principal achievements of the church in that historical period is the formation of the matrimonial cell - a normal life form of the family that exists to this day.
Economic development
According to many researchers, technological progress has also been associated with the widespread dissemination of Christian doctrine. The consequence of this was a change in people's attitudes towards nature. In particular, we are talking about the rejection of taboos and bans that hindered the development of agriculture. Nature ceased to be a source of fear and an object of worship. The economic situation, technical improvements and inventions contributed to a significant increase in the standard of living, which lasted quite steadily for several centuries of the feudal period. Thus, the Middle Ages became a necessary and very logical stage in the formation of Christian civilization.
The formation of a new perception
In society, the human person has become more valued than in antiquity. This was mainly due to the fact that medieval civilization, imbued with the spirit of Christianity, did not seek to separate a person from the environment due to a tendency to a holistic perception of the world. In this regard, it will be incorrect to talk about, supposedly, hindering the formation of individual features of the church dictatorship over a man who lived in the Middle Ages. In the Western European territories, religion, as a rule, performed a conservative and stabilizing task, providing favorable conditions for the development of the individual. It is impossible to imagine the spiritual quest for the man of that time outside the church. It was the knowledge of the environment and God, which was inspired by church ideals, that gave rise to a diverse, colorful and vibrant culture of the Middle Ages. The church formed schools and universities, encouraged typography and a variety of theological disputes.
Finally
The whole system of society in the Middle Ages is usually called feudalism (in the term "feud" - a vassal award). And this despite the fact that this term does not provide an exhaustive description of the social structure of the period. The main features of that time should include:
- concentration in the villages of the vast majority of residents;
- the prevalence of subsistence farming ;
- the dominant position of large landowners in society;
- separation between kings and vassals of power;
- the dominance of the Christian faith;
- the unfree position of landowners-peasants who are personally dependent on the masters;
- lack of unbridled thirst for wealth and accumulation in society.
The most important factor in the cultural community of Europe was Christianity. It was during the period under review that it became one of the world religions. The Christian church was based on ancient civilization, not only denying past values, but also rethinking them. Religion, its wealth and hierarchy, centralization and outlook, morality, law and ethics - all this formed a unified ideology of feudalism. It was Christianity that determined to a large extent the difference between the medieval society of Europe and other social structures on other continents at that time.