Those Horrible Middle Ages !

At the end of the Middle Ages, European societies underwent economic, political, social and religious changes. The apocalypse of witch hunts coincided with a wave of Christian messianism against social and economic injustice. The witches were needed to focus the anger of people, at the same time, protecting the patriots (Harris 2007: 198-204). The process of witchcraft allowed the explanation of social inequality to occur through supernatural phenomena. The condemnation of the deaths of the lower classes, especially women stands for social, not religious, basis of the process of witchcraft (Harris 2007:

Personally, when thinking of the middle Ages, I tend to have the misconception that it is a period of darkness with no progress. However, R.W. Southern’s book, ‘The Making of the Middle Ages’, offers an in depth study of the development of history in the world today. Observing that this book was published during the 1950s, Mr. Southern’s interpretation of the ‘Middle Ages’ was very distinctive in comparison to other historians of his time. He explores the significance of the Middle Ages as a separate sector in the study of history by which the audience will notice that previous categories of studied history is set aside, as we are no longer focusing on the usual ‘Classical Greece’ and ‘Rome’

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.

In the 16th Century, Europeans had their faith shattered and were forced to realize that there was doubt in what they believed in. From the countless wars being fought in the name of religion, to the once great and wealthy countries that needed to reaffirm their place in the world, ‘all that they had once taken for granted was suddenly cast into doubt’ (446). Europeans were desperately searching for new foundations to put their faith in ‘in the face of intellectual, religious, and political challenges’ (446). This period is an example of the expression “Age of Doubt, Age of Uncertainty”.

The Medieval world has a certain connotation to its meaning. People throughout time have found the era synonymous with negativity. It has often been referenced to as the middle or dark ages lending people the view of a world with little to no progress along human advancement. We often paint the picture of medieval Europe with kings, queens, lords and peasants. We also immediately thing of the bubonic plague that wiped out almost a third of the European population at the time. However, there are three sides to every story. One sides describes the negative outlook with no human progress, the other, a glorification of royalty and knights which is often misconstrued. Finally, there is the truthful side. This is the side Jean Gimpel discusses

Poor health and hygiene, decimating destitution, and humble innovation make the barren history out of the dark middle Ages. Then again, these attributes accomplish more than characterize the lifestyle of a medieval public opinion. Dismissed expressions, absence of training and adulterating forces portray a human advancement ousted by a period of obscurity. These dismal dark ages are incited by quickly spreading sickness, forcing foes, and extortionate forces. By seeing how these scourges, intrusions, and defilements shape a dull age, the medieval times might be all the more plainly deciphered and analyzed.

In 476 CE, the Roman Empire was overthrown by the Germans, ended its rule in the western Europe for over a thousand years. In the 14th century, one of the world’s greatest cultural movement, the Renaissance, started to emerge from Italy and soon spread to the rest of the Europe. However, the scholars cannot find anything special to mark this transitional period from 5th to 15th century and so called it the Middle Age or the Medieval Era. Nevertheless, the Middle Age is not just an era in between of the these two significant historical events. The unique culture during the Middle Age is reflected on literatures such as The Canterbury Tales. By describing the stories told by pilgrims from different classes, The Canterbury Tales provided overall perceptions of women during the Medieval Era.

The Middle Ages were a time of political turmoil, unstable economies, and significant social changes however, one must understand the effect of an extremely pertinent aspect of those times, religion

It is understood after reading The Song of Roland and Inferno that religion, or one’s faith, played a large and important factor in the cultivation of living during the medieval time period. With the fall of the Roman Empire, there was no one thing that was able to bring together the differences that Europe offered. Religion, based mostly in Christianity, was that element that would not only bring together but shape the development of European society. With the influence of a higher power in daily life, to the fueling of wars in an attempt to have a global understanding, religious beliefs helped define existence as countries and cultures developed. Even with persecution, religion not only played an important role but was in many words—the mother—of

Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England c. 1400¬–c. 1580 (1992) by Eamon Duffy is split into two parts: the first explores the character of late medieval English Catholicism, while the second discusses the dismantling and destruction of this world. The book is broad in subject matter but touches on perambulations at various points: Duffy considers pre-Reformation perambulations as a focus of parochial unity and addresses the nature of the custom under the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Elizabeth. FOR: religious aspects, especially their continuity, of perambulations

The Roman Catholic Church played a big role as the center of knowledge during these times. This period in time has influenced modern society. Even though the Middle Ages were noticed as the “Dark Ages” or the “Golden Age of Europe,” the “Age of Faith”

Latin Christendom dominated Western Medieval Europe, and the growth of ‘modern’ European sensibilities influenced the Church’s power. Membership of society at the time came hand-in-hand with baptism, so those who practiced other religions or simply refused to conform, were persecuted due to an ‘us versus them’ mentality. Each group regarded others with suspicion, regardless of dominance, although it was the Latin church’s ideal of the ‘three orders’ (churchmen, knights, and labourers) and its decrees which helped create the distinct divisions between Christians and the ‘other,’ due to the growth of papal rule.

Manchester begins the book with an examination of the conditions in Europe during the Medieval Ages, which he titles “The Medieval Mind.” This era is plagued with famine, illiteracy, plague, and violence. He gives examples of the Black Death, murder, and common daily violence surrounding the courts of Europe, for instance a tournament at Dusseldorf in 1240 ending in the death of sixty knights. His concept of the medieval mind created in violence and death of the age was also influenced by the power of the church, specifically Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, who declared the “the pursuit of knowledge, unless sanctified by a holy mission, a pagan act and therefore vile” (Manchester 9). The medieval man was left with nothing to ponder besides the power of God, which led to “medieval man’s total lack of ego” (Manchester 21).

New propositions about religion were established in the England Renaissance. Religion was so important to people that it “was a central influence on society in Europe through the Middle Ages” (“English Renaissance”). Religion taught people their morals and ethical values. With this intention, “The Roman Catholic Church wielded considerable power,”(“English Renaissance”) that dominated England. The Roman Catholic Church and Protestant religions acquired so much control that they directed the government. A religious war broke out between the two divisions, “There followed a disastrous decade, a violent oscillation impelled by greed and fanaticism, out to an extreme Protestantism and back to a Medieval Catholicism”(Halliday pg. 92). The Protestant