The European medieval culture was based on the synthesis of Christianity, the ancient heritage and the characteristics inherent in the barbarian peoples. The characteristic features of the era are the rejection of direct experimental knowledge of the nature of the world and man and the priority of religious dogmas. Due to the prominence of the Christian explanation of the structure of the Universe and the stagnation of the development of many sciences, the centuries from the 5th to the 14th are often called "dark". Nevertheless, even during this period, human knowledge about the world is expanding, the Greco-Roman tradition of education continues, although in a greatly modified form, and the “seven free arts” still exist.
The basis of knowledge
The beginning of the Middle Ages is considered the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. Naturally, the emerging peoples and states adopted much of what was discovered, created and comprehended in the period of Antiquity. The basis of the education system was no exception: the disciplines that, according to the ancient Greeks and Romans, were necessary as a preparatory stage, anticipatingthe study of philosophy. The seven liberal arts included grammar, dialectic (logic), rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. The first three were united in the trivium - the system of the humanities. Arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy made up the quadrivium - the four mathematical disciplines.
During Antiquity
Quadrivium took shape in late Antiquity. Arithmetic was considered the main science. It should be noted that in the days of ancient Greece and Rome, the free arts were those occupations that slaves could not engage in. They were associated exclusively with mental activity and did not require much physical effort. Art was understood not as an artistic representation of the world, but as methods of practical comprehension of nature through observation.
Trivium was finally formed later, in the early Middle Ages. It became the first stage of education. Only after studying the disciplines of the trivium could one move on to the quadrivium.
Church and ancient heritage
In the Middle Ages, Christianity was at the heart of the knowledge of the Universe and world outlook. Church leaders opposed faith to reason, preferring the former. However, many aspects of the dogma could not be explained without using some elements of ancient philosophy.
For the first time Martian Capella tried to combine Greco-Roman knowledge and the Christian understanding of the world. In his treatise On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury, he divided the seven liberal arts into trivium and quadrivium. Capella spoke briefly about all the disciplines included in this system. Trivium is described for the first time.
Further development of the trivium and quadrivium was carried out by Boethius and Cassiodorus (VI century). Both scientists made a huge contribution to the formation of the education system in the Middle Ages. Boethius developed the foundations of the scholastic method. Cassiodorus, on his estate in Italy, founded the "Vivarium", the components of which - a school, a library and a scriptorium (the place where books were copied) - a little later became mandatory in the structure of monasteries.
Imprint of religion
The seven liberal arts in the Middle Ages were taught to the clergy and expounded according to the needs of the church. The study of disciplines was rather superficial - only at the level that is necessary for understanding Christian dogmas and the administration of services. All seven liberal arts in the Middle Ages were comprehended with an exclusively practical purpose and within a rather narrow framework:
- rhetoric is essential when drafting church documents and writing sermons;
- grammar taught to understand Latin texts;
- dialectic was reduced to formal logic and substantiated the dogmas of faith;
- arithmetic taught elementary counting and was used in the process of mystical interpretation of numbers;
- geometry was required to build drawings of temples;
- music is necessary for the composition and performance of church hymns;
- astronomywas used to calculate dates for religious holidays.
Education in the Middle Ages
During the early Middle Ages, the seven liberal arts were taught only in monastic schools. The bulk of the population remained illiterate. The philosophical heritage of Antiquity was considered almost the basis of many heresies, and therefore the study of disciplines was reduced to the above points. However, in the scriptoria, not only Christian texts were carefully copied, but also works, poetic and philosophical, of ancient authors. Monasteries were strongholds of education and scientific knowledge.
The situation began to change in the X century. From this century begins the heyday of medieval culture (X-XV centuries). It is characterized by a gradual increase in interest in the secular aspects of life, in the personality of a person. Cathedral schools arose, where not only representatives of the clergy were admitted, but also laity. In the XI-XII centuries. the first universities appear. Cultural life is gradually moving from monasteries and churches to urban centers.
The period of the Carolingian Renaissance can be considered a transitional stage between these two eras.
Seven Liberal Arts Under Charlemagne
By the end of the VIII century. The Frankish state united the vast territories of Western Europe. The empire reached its heyday during the reign of Charlemagne. The king realized that it was possible to manage such a state only if a well-functioningapparatus of officials. Therefore, Charlemagne decided to make changes to the existing education system.
At every monastery and every church began to open schools for the clergy. Some also taught laypeople. The program included seven liberal arts. Their understanding, however, was still limited to church needs.
Charlemagne invited scientists from other countries, organized a school at the court, where the nobles studied poetry, rhetoric, astronomy and dialectics.
The Carolingian Renaissance ended with the death of the king, but it served as an impetus for the subsequent development of European culture.
The seven liberal arts in the Middle Ages, as in Antiquity, formed the basis of education. They were considered, however, only in the narrow framework of practical application for the needs of the Christian church.
