The Catholic Church Of Gothic And Scholastic Ideals

In this excerpt, von Simson looks at how the writings of intellectuals influenced the development of Gothic architecture. He begins by looking at the writings of St. Augustine and his love for music and how the importance of measurement found in music also applies to architecture. He then goes on to address two important schools of thought that influenced the formation of the Gothic style: The Platonists with their focus on cosmology, and the monks at Clairvaux, including St. Bernard, who focused on spirituality. In this section, von Simson focuses on the former and the connection between the cosmos and the Gothic cathedral. He argues that these medieval scholars saw God as an architect and the cosmos as his cathedral. In his study of both St. Augustine and the Plantonists, von Simson works to identify the ways in which these intellectual schools of thought influenced Gothic architecture.

Feudalism, during medieval society, was parallel to the existence of the Catholic Church and its influence over the population. Religion permeated all elements of society and the way in which they related to each other. The Church wasn’t only a spiritual power, but a political and economic one and the struggles between the political and religious leaders will be key factors in the development of the medieval world. The church will also be the primary keeper of knowledge in the Middle Ages, and they will accomplish most cultural advancements.

The significance of religious leaders during this era is evident by the fact that the writer of this poem places the bishop at the beginning of the table. Due to the fact that the “medieval society was a religious society” and that these religious leaders held a special relationship with God, it is no surprise that these individuals held the second highest social class position in the medieval time period (Feudalism and the Three Orders (Overview) 2).

Towards the end of the Middle Ages and into the duration of the Renaissance, the Medieval Church’s social and political power dwindled. Centuries prior the Catholic Church gained a surplus of control, largely due to the stability it maintained during the chaotic breakdown of the Western Roman Empire . Yet toward the end of the Middle Ages the Church set in motion factors that would ultimately lead to its downfall as the definitive figure of authority. However, despite political and social controversy surrounding the church, the institutions it established cleared a path for a new way of thinking, shaping society in an enduring way.

In William Manchester’s “ A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age” He demonstrates the change in the "Dark Ages" from the dependence on religion to independent thinking. Ancient concepts were questioned and proven wrong after thousands of years, and the power of the what finally surpassed the authority of the Pope. Manchester expresses the transition within Europe from the Medieval Times to the Renaissance that included multiple changes in the intellectual, religious, and political aspects of life.

Before the start of the Renaissance, the Catholic Church influenced every aspect of society. The Renaissance and it’s ideals changed this. The Humanist movement opposed the Catholic Church’s involvement in the lives of the citizens. Humanists advocated for personal independence and individual expression, an idea that directly opposed the Catholic Church’s ideals. The Church believed that citizens should dedicate their lives to the service of God and by extension, the Church. The introduction of the idea that the Church does not control every aspect of society was revolutionary to Early Modern Western Civilization because it allowed people to pursue things that they had not been previously able to pursue because of the limitations the Catholic Church placed upon them. Although only the wealthy were able to dedicate all of their time to these pursuits, there were still significant advancements in art, literature, and science, all of which impacted Early Modern Western Civilization.

During the early stages of Europe, the Renaissance became an age of change and intellectual advancements for all civilization. Many of history’s brilliant thinkers can attribute their thoughts and beliefs to this time period. Even though the Renaissance is often grouped as a whole, there were two different locations of such change, one considered “Italian” and the “ Northern”. The Italian and Northern Renaissance contrast in the way that the Northern Renaissance focuses on religious aspects of life and the Italian Renaissance is more secular in its focus of art and literature rebirth. Yet both remain similar in that they both developed similar views on ideas such as revamping social norms or the new idea of humanism.

Religion often takes a central theme in both Gothic literature and literature from The Romantic Movement. When these two literary genres combine, it is inevitable that religion will take an even more important role in the author’s expression. It follows that a novel with such commercial success in this century (Caleb Williams, Godwin, 2008) demonstrated the theme of religion. “Caleb Williams” attracted many negative reactions as many saw it as an affront to virtue, religion and government. The British Critic (1794) stated that “This piece is a striking example of the evil use which may be made of considerable talents…every gentleman is a hard-hearted assassin, or a prejudiced tyrant; every Judge is unjust, every Justice corrupt and blind.”

As one reads though the translations of Aristotle’s thoughts, you begin to realize the complexity, yet the common sense of his work. Modern day people have a goal in life, to achieve a certain amount of success and to live life relatively happy. Most agree that to get to that goal, the populous must conform and participate

Although his paintings remain pious in subject matter, he was increasingly concerned with aesthetics and painting things the way they looked—a new way of thinking which ignited the Renaissance movement. Many consider the Middle Ages to be a time of ignorance. The church was the center of everything and there were very little advancements in society. However, just like Giotto’s paintings, the Renaissance were a time when people still were very religious but it was no longer their main focus. Humanism was a crucial ideology to the new era because it stressed the importance of human’s ideas and values as well.

The history of the modern world derives from thousands of years of human history. Embedded in its history are the many eras of man which have constructed our modern learning, art, beliefs, and order. The middle ages, although represented as “dark”, backwards, and idle, were in fact a bridge linking the classical and modern world. Medieval society may not have been in a sense glorious, but the era of itself was a prime foundation of the modern world’s newfound stability, a revival of the law and teachings from the classical era, a reinvestment and reform in the church, and a precursor to the golden age of art.

During the shift from the middle ages into the Renaissance period new conceptions of the individual and the human mind quickly came to light. Although art in the Middle Ages was centered predominantly on religion and faith, the incoming art of the Renaissance underwent a drastic change. A vast amount of these changes mainly focused on individualism, secularism, and humanism. Following the collapse of the feudal system, thoughts of individualism quickly rose when people realized that they didn’t have to adhere to a specific group.Throughout the beginning of the Renaissance, religious figures and the Catholic Church began to lose authority which conducted in new ideas of secularism. Comparably, humanistic art and notions became preeminent when individuals focused on glorifying the human body, learning more about it and inclined more towards realistic art.

on the aid of Hell itself, and to find things familiar in the world of

Religion in the Middle Ages takes on a character all of its own as it is lived out differently in the lives of medieval men and women spanning from ordinary laity to vehement devotees. Though it is difficult to identify what the average faith consists of in the Middle Ages, the life told of a radical devotee in The Book of Margery Kempe provides insight to the highly intense version of medieval paths of approaching Christ. Another medieval religious text, The Cloud of Unknowing, provides a record of approaching the same Christ. I will explore the consistencies and inconsistencies of both ways to approach Christ and religious fulfillment during the Middle Ages combined with the motivations to do so on the basis of both texts.

Determining whether or not sacred and secular aspects were combined into the visual arts and literature is an important feature when it comes to actually understanding the overall concepts and differences of behind Medieval, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque art. For one to truly understand the art, literature, and the concepts behind both, one must first understand the terms sacred and secular. The definition of the word sacred is, “of or relating to religion.” Conversely, the definition of secular is, “not overtly or specifically religious.” The church, the clergies, and first and foremost the Bible, were the major influences regarding the sacred ideas associated with the Renaissance period. The new idea of Humanism and its prevalence led to the incorporation of more secular ideas and aspects when it came to the arts during the Renaissance. Humanism was an idea that supported more pagan and secular thoughts, and also supported and upheld the appreciation of the world aspects of a person’s life. It promoted personal growth and was not as formal as that of the sacred Christian teachings that much of society was accustomed too. This idea, in turn, helped secular ideas become predominant, but also enhanced the mixture of the both the sacred and secular ideas. These two terms differ immensely, yet throughout the Renaissance age and the Baroque eras, both terms and their meanings were used and expressed through the arts, architecture,