The Medieval Mind and the Dark Ages: Notes

The Medieval Mind: * Education * Books were mainly published in Latin, making them unreadable to the masses * Curriculum was limited to reading, writing, simple arithmetic and a book summarizing the principles of the Christian religion * 79% of peasants couldn’t read * 0% of the clergy and professions couldn’t read * Dark Ages- no one was literate, not even Charlemagne (first Holy Roman Emperor) * Middle Ages- literacy was scorned * Not many writers of books due to lack of copyrights * Medieval universities taught theology, law and medicine * Politics * The Pope (Church) was in charge * All clergy were rich and were exempt from most laws * The Holy Roman Emperor was chosen by 7 electors * You had to be rich, and bribe the electors to become the Emperor * Imperial title was reduced to a symbol * Religion * Christianity was the main religion in Europe * Worshipping another G-d or Pagan idol was considered heresy

The Dark Ages; why were they so dark? * Most or all learning and advancements were lost. Most everyone was illiterate. Nothing was accomplished in this time. There were famines and plagues.
How did Christianity spread throughout Europe? * When Rome fell people needed something to look to, for guidance and help. The Church took over as the new leaders and converted everyone. The majority of the converted didn’t understand the religion.
How did St. Augustine change politics and religion in Europe? * He declared that sex was evil. He claimed that Rome was being punished for old sins. A lot of people found this appealing and his influence on Christianity became great.
How is the Paganism of the Classical Era present in Modern Europe? * Saint Peter’s basilica was made in the pagan tradition.
How did the political systems of Europe evolve after the fall of the Roman
Empire?
* The Church took over as the new leaders.
How did Europe resolve the religious crises of the Late Middle Ages? * The Church converted the people and took care of them and played a large role in their life. They also made the Church more organized by making administrative positions.
What exciting changes were taking place at the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th centuries? * Knighthood was dying due to the high price of new armor and horses. People lived in Papal States or city stats and the Germans would be ruled by princes. Aristotelian learning’s were rediscovered. The cultural heritage of Greece and Rome were starting to appear.
The Shattering 1. Magellan was an ex Portuguese soldier who wanted to claim the Spice Islands in Spain’s name and he sailed around the globe, proving that it was round. 2. The Spice Islands (Moluccas) had Orientals that traded cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper to Portugal and Spain. 3. Malleus maleficarum (The Witches’ Hammer) is a handbook by Johann Sprenger and Heinrich Kraemer, that justified the burning and shackling of the mentally ill. 4. At first, the Church collected money to be donated, but once its leaders got a taste of the wealth, they spent it, and wanted much more 5. People lived in walled villages with turrets. The villages contained a cathedral, a public square, everyone’s houses and shops. This design protected from thieves and rogues. There was a lot of forest area. 6. The entire family shared 1 bed and some lacked chimneys and shutters. There were 2 meals a day. There were 3 years of harvest for every 1 year of famine. In a famine, they were forced to eat bark, grass and even travelers. 7. Pope Alexander VI housed killers and thieves in the Vatican. He also suppressed books criticizing the church. He put his family into powerful positions and housed prostitutes. 8. Leonardo da Vinci was an artist, a military architect, a master of engineering, biology, sculpture, linguistics, botany, music and science. He diverted rivers from flooding, discovered screw threads built a waterwheel, designing armored tanks, missiles, a flying machine and a submarine. 9. Thomas More believed that heretics and disbelievers should be executed. 10. Erasmus’ satire targeted members of the learned elite. 11. Indulgences were pieces of paper that claimed to nullify your sins if you paid for it. The money was used to fund the lavish lives of the Pope and the clergy, build churches and fund the wars going on that that time. In the 15th century Popes also sold holy offices to make even more money for themselves. In 1426, Pope Sixtus extended the interpretation of indulgences to apply to souls suffering in purgatory. 12. Luther argued that the papal keys could not reach beyond the grave in his 95 theses. The sales of indulgences plunged after the public read what Luther had to say. 13. Luther stated that “every man could be his own priest.” He meant that the people didn’t need priests because they could be their own. 14. Luther breaks with the Church by rejecting the authority of the Pope and the councils. The Popes and the councils had contradicted one another. He thought they were corrupt. 15. If the Princes broke away from the Church they could be more powerful. They would appropriate Church wealth, land and monasteries in the area. They would be even wealthier. Their prestige over the people would also rise. 16. Henry VII broke away from the Church because the pontiff resisted a royal prerogative.

One Man Alone 17. Leonardo da Vinci, Emperor Maximilian I, Johann Tetzel, and Lucrezia Borgia died. Lord Chancellor Wolsey moved into Hampton Court Palace. Erasmus’s third book is a success, called Colloquia familiaria. Spain and France are preparing for a war. Luther is drafting An den christlichen Adel deutscher Nation which calls on the nobility of Germany to rise up against Rome. 18. Accurate clocks, a compass telling the difference between true north and magnetic north, accurate maps, a communications device and a calendar would have assisted Magellan on his voyage. 19. The Spice Islands fell in a grey area because the Spanish could claim what they wanted by sailing westward and the Portuguese could claim what they wanted by sailing eastward. They would meet because the world was round. The Spice Islands were in the middle. 20. Enrique (Magellan’s Malayan slave) was the first to circumnavigate the world. He was born in the Visayans, sold into slavery in Sumatra, and then sent to Malaca, he then was acquired by Magellan who he accompanied on his voyage which brought him back home. 21. The folly of Magellan’s death was that it could have been avoided if he had taken an army of trained marines instead of being cocky and taking a small amount of untrained men. He was reckless, imprudent, careless and forgetful. All the things he had never been led to his death.