The Middle Ages and the Renaissance are the brightest periods in the history of mankind. They are remembered for various events and changes. Next, let's take a closer look at the features of the Middle Ages.
General information
The Middle Ages is a fairly long period. Within its framework, the emergence and subsequent formation of European civilization, its transformation - the transition to the New Age took place. The era of the Middle Ages originates from the fall of Western Rome (476), however, according to modern researchers, it would be more fair to extend the border until the beginning of the 6th - the end of the 8th century, after the invasion of the Lombards into Italy. The era of the Middle Ages ends in the middle of the 17th century. It is customary to consider the end of the period the bourgeois revolution in England. However, it is worth noting that the last centuries were far from medieval in character. Researchers tend to separate the period from the middle of the 16th to the 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.
Characteristic of the eraMiddle Ages
In 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 an era of "obscurantism" and "dark ages", seek to highlight 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 the basic social and economic features of this feudal civilization. In addition, researchers are trying to fully represent the Christian world of the Middle Ages.
Community 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:
- Manor. 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.
- Royal court. He moved from one place to another and organized management and life like an ordinary estate.
Government
It was formed in two stages. The first was characterized by the coexistence of Roman and Germanmodified public institutions, as well as political structures in the form of "barbarian kingdoms". At the 2nd stage, the state and feudal society represent a special system. In the course of social stratification and the strengthening of the influence of the landed aristocracy, relations of subordination and domination arose between landowners - the population and seniors. The era of the Middle Ages was distinguished by the presence of a class-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 acted as 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, there is a significant acceleration in the evolution of society. Such activity was due to the development of monetary relations and the exchange of commodity production. The importance of the city continues to grow, at first remaining in political and administrative subordination to the seigneury - the estate, and ideologically - to the monastery. Subsequently, the formation of the political legal system in the New Time is connected with its development. This process will be perceived as the result of the creation of urban communes that defended liberties in the struggle against the ruling lord. It was at that time that the first elements of democratic legal consciousness began to take shape. However, historians believe that it would not be entirely correct to look for the origins of the legal ideas of modernity.exclusively in the urban environment. Representatives of other classes were also of great importance. For example, the formation of ideas about personal dignity took place in the class feudal consciousness and was originally of an aristocratic nature. From this we can conclude that democratic freedoms developed from the freedom-loving upper classes.
The role of the church
The 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 control 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. It was the top of the feudal society. Under the influence of religion were various areas of human activity: science, education, culture of the Middle Ages. Great 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 favor. At the same time, the religious philosophy of the Middle Ages had a calming effect on people. The church sought to smooth out social conflicts, called for mercy for the disadvantaged and oppressed, for the distribution of almsthe poor and the suppression of iniquity.
The influence of religion on the development of civilization
The Church controlled the production of books and education. Due to the influence of Christianity, by the 9th century, a fundamentally new attitude and understanding of marriage and family had developed in society. In the early Middle Ages, unions between close relatives were quite common, and numerous marriages were quite common. This is what the church has been fighting against. The problem of marriage, which was one of the Christian sacraments, became practically the main theme of a large number of theological writings. One of the fundamental achievements of the church in that historical period is the formation of a marital unit - a normal form of family life that exists to this day.
Economic Development
According to many researchers, technological progress was also associated with the widespread dissemination of Christian doctrine. The result was a change in people's attitude to nature. In particular, we are talking about the rejection of taboos and prohibitions that hindered the development of agriculture. Nature has ceased to be a source of fears and an object of worship. The economic situation, technical improvements and inventions contributed to a significant increase in the standard of living, which held out quite steadily for several centuries of the feudal period. The Middle Ages, thus, became a necessary and very natural stage in the formation of Christian civilization.
Shaping a new perception
In society, the human personality 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 isolate a person from the environment because of the tendency to a holistic perception of the world. In this regard, it would be wrong to talk about the church dictatorship that allegedly prevented the formation of individual traits over a person 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 of a man of that time outside the church. It was the knowledge of the surrounding conditions 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 printing and various theological disputes.
In conclusion
The whole system of society of the Middle Ages is usually called feudalism (according to the term "feud" - an award to a vassal). And this is despite the fact that this term does not give an exhaustive description of the social structure of the period. The main features of that time should be attributed:
- concentration in the villages of the vast majority of residents;
- dominance of subsistence farming;
- dominant position of large landowners in society;
- separation between kings and vassals of power;
- dominance of the Christian denomination;
- the unfree position of landowners-peasants who are personally dependent on the masters;
- lack of unbridled thirst for we alth and accumulation in society.
Christianity has become the most important factor in the cultural community of Europe. 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 the old values, but also rethinking them. Religion, its we alth and hierarchy, centralization and worldview, morality, law and ethics - all this formed a single ideology of feudalism. It was Christianity that largely determined the difference between the medieval society of Europe and other social structures on other continents at that time.
