Cultural Upheavals in Medieval Europe
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Throughout the High Middle Ages and Later Middle Ages, western civilization in Europe underwent a period of rapid cultural development, resulting in monumental advances in the fine arts and humanities. This era marked the incredible progress of European peoples away from the more primitive attitudes of the preceding dark age which followed the collapse of the Roman Empire, and toward a re-embrace of appreciation for intellectual and artistic achievement.
A renewed interest in the texts of ancient Greeks and Romans from the prior classical period sparked the beginning of the Renaissance, which took root in Italy during the 14th century. The cultural achievements of the High Middle Ages and Later Middle Ages laid the groundwork for the European Enlightenment era, which produced what we now know as modernity.
The Italian Renaissance
The artistic and intellectual developments in Europe during the High Middle Ages and Later Middle Ages can be traced back to Tuscany, Italy, which was the epicenter of a renewed interest in the texts and ideas of classical antiquity. This movement was dubbed a “rebirth” of classical thinking and became known as The Renaissance. The groundwork for The Renaissance was laid when soldiers returned home from the Crusades with once lost texts from ancient Greece and the ancient Roman Empire. Renewed interest in the classical culture of Greece and Rome spanned across nearly every facet of culture, including literature, philosophy, theology, art, architecture, and music.
Among the renewed cultural interests was literature, which had been a relatively dormant intellectual pursuit during the earlier Middle Ages. Two prominent books which came out of the Italian Renaissance were Dante’s Divine Comedy (a work of creative fiction drawing influence from religious and classical texts), as well as Machiavelli’s The Prince (a political theory text which emphasized meritocracy rather than divine right). New writers, such as Dante and Machiavelli, paved the way for modern literature and creative fiction with their fresh ideas.
Yet another field of study which flourished under The Renaissance was musical theory and composition. Fourteenth century musicians and composers drew influence from the Roman School of musical theory. One of the most significant musical achievements of The Renaissance was the creation of opera in Florence, Italy. Opera blended orchestral music, choral singing, storytelling, and theater and performative arts. To this day, opera remains one of the most widely recognized forms of musical performance.
Arguably the most historically famous achievements of The Renaissance are in the field of painting, sculpture, and architecture. Renaissance artists had a newfound appreciation for the realism of classical art, which was reflected in the emerging style of neoclassicism. Painters such as Leonardo Da Vinci aimed to depict realistic images in their work; meanwhile, architects like Michelangelo mirrored this same realism in their statues. Examples of this realism include Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man and Michelangelo’s David, both of which still hold up surprisingly well today.
The Protestant Reformation
However, the definitively most dynamic intellectual movement of the Later Middle Ages was the Protestant Reformation. Up until this point in European history, the Roman Catholic Church dominated theological thought and even politics to a degree. This would all change in the 16th century when the priest Martin Luther published a list of grievances against the Catholic Church.
Martin Luther’s ideas for reforming the theology, operations, and structure of the church resulted in the first denominational split in Christianity with the creation of the Lutheran branch. In addition to being a priest, Martin Luther was also a professor of theology who emphasized a decentralization of theological power away from the church. Since the Reformation, various Protestant denominations have grown and spread all across the world.
European Turmoil
During the High Middle Ages and Later Middle Ages, all of western civilization made massive strides of progress toward modernity. Feudalism gave way to capitalism, religious dogma gave way to new scrutiny of the sciences and philosophy, contemporary styles of literature and music emerged, and some of the greatest artistic masterpieces ever were conceived.
Despite the great strides in intellectual and artistic endeavors all across Europe during the Late Middle Ages, western civilization was simultaneously undergoing significant turmoil and strife, especially throughout the 14th century. Advances in technology contributed to a rapidly changing economic landscape, only fueled by constant shifts in European populations. Additionally, tensions between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France gave way to one of the largest and most brutal wars in mankind’s history, which engulfed the continent for decades in the Hundred Years’ War. All the while, a devastating pandemic swept the western world in what would become known as the Black Death.
The Hundred Years’ War
The Late Middle Ages in Europe was dominated by the massive conflict known as the Hundred Years’ War. The name is a misnomer — the war actually lasted a tenuous 116 years, spanning five generations of royalty between its two main combatants, beginning in 1337 and finally coming to an end in 1453.
The Hundred Years’ War began over land sovereignty conflicts between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France. At the time, monarchs from the Kingdom of England held territories in France without actually being members of the ruling house of the Kingdom of France. These English Monarchs were called fiefs and their French land were called vassal states. The conflict began when the status of these fiefs was called into question after the French monarchy began checking English power by stripping away these lands whenever possible.
War finally broke out in 1328 when King Charles of France died with no clear heir to his throne. The English prince Edward III tried to argue his case that he was the rightful heir to the throne, but the crown was ultimately passed on to Phillip VI of France. With no clear separation of sovereign power between the two monarchies and the land in western Europe, the two kingdoms went to war, dragging many other allied countries into the conflict as well.
The Hundred Years’ War resulted in a victory for the newly strengthened Kingdom of France, which was able to keep control of the French throne and maintain dominance over their territories. The Kingdom of England lost all its land in continental Europe, besides the Pale of Calais. The final result of this war was confirmation of the royal line of succession in France. Another prominent impact of the war was that England and France remained two separate kingdoms, which both began to develop their own distinct ethnic national identities. Additionally, the Hundred Years’ War ultimately led to the decline of chivalry and feudalism in Europe.
The Black Death
Another major contributor to strife and population changes in Europe during the 14th century was the outbreak of the Black Death, which went down in history as one of the most devastating plagues to scourge the planet. The human species would take centuries to replenish after this dramatic decrease in the world population.
The cause of the plague is credited to a bacterium known asYersinia pestis. Historians have traced the plague back to its origins in the plains of central Asia, where it is commonly believed to have been spread throughout the Eurasian landmass by traders traveling on the Silk Road, which linked western Europe to the far east. Once reaching Europe, the plague had exponential growth as it was contracted by the black rats with fleas which commonly stowed away on merchant ships traveling around the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
Mankind was still practicing rather primitive medicine during the 14th century and the doctors of the time were totally unprepared to deal with a pandemic of these proportions. As a result, the world population was decimated. It is postulated by historians that the Black Death was responsible for eradicating an estimated 30% to 60% of the European population during the 14th century. Some estimates put the final Eurasian death toll at 200 million people in total. The Black Death had a long-lasting impact on mankind, as the global human population would not recover to its previous level for another 200 years.
Conclusion
Careful examination of the Late Middle Ages demonstrates just how rapidly a continent can undergo change in the short span of just a century. However, western civilization unfortunately discovered that with any good change must also come changes for the worst, which was experienced in the form of a devastating global pandemic, as well as a brutal war which consumed the European continent for well over an entire century.