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Christian medieval culture. Christian Church in the Early Middle Ages

Introduction

The Middle Ages lasted almost a thousand years - from the 5th to the 15th century. During this historical period, huge changes took place in world history: the colossus of the Roman Empire collapsed, then Byzantium. After the conquest of Rome, the barbarian tribes created their own states on the European continent with a determined national culture.

During this period, a lot of changes are taking place in the world in all areas of the development of states. These changes did not bypass both culture and religion. Each nation in the Middle Ages had its own history of the development of culture, the influence of religion on it.

At all times, people had to believe in something, to hope for someone, to worship someone, to be afraid of someone, to explain the inexplicable in some way, and all peoples had their own unknown. There were pagans, Muslims, Christians, etc.

At that time, Christianity was considered the main religion in the West and in Rus'. But, if the Russian Middle Ages was considered the XIII-XV centuries, then in the West it is the end of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, i.e. the most prolific years in the formation of Western European culture. In our country, at least, the first two of these three centuries fall on devastation, cultural isolation from the West and stagnation, from which Rus' is just beginning to get out at the very end of the 14th and 15th centuries.

That is why I would like to separately understand how Christianity influenced the culture of Western European peoples and Rus'.

To understand how the influence of religion on culture took place, you need to understand how people lived at that time, what they thought about, what worried them, cared most of all then.

The assertion of Christianity as the state religion in some countries, starting from the 4th century, and its active spread led to a significant reorientation of all spheres of late antique spiritual culture into the mainstream of a new worldview system. In the most direct way, all kinds of artistic activity were captured by this process. In fact, the formation of a new theory of art began, the prerequisites for which were already formed in the early Christian period. The Fathers of the Church made their significant contribution to this process.

1. General characteristics of the Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages, natural economy was primitive, productive forces, technology were poorly developed. Wars and epidemics bled the peoples. Any thought that ran counter to church dogmas was suppressed by the Inquisition, cruelly cracking down on bearers of heretical teachings and those suspected of complicity with the devil.

At this time, machines began to be used, windmills, a water wheel, steering, printing and much more appeared.

The very concept of "Middle Ages" can in no way be a kind of integrity. Allocate Early, High Middle Ages and Sunset. Each period has its own characteristics of the spiritual sphere and culture.

The clash of cultural orientations gave rise to the multi-layered and inconsistent consciousness of medieval man. The commoner, living in the power of popular beliefs and primitive images, had the beginnings of a Christian worldview. An educated person was not completely free from pagan notions. However, for all the undoubted dominant was religion.

The essence of the medieval way of relating to the world was determined by the divine model of the world, which was supported by all the means at the disposal of the church (and the state subordinate to it). This model determined the features of the medieval era. The main features of this model are the following:

Specifically, the medieval understanding of the Universe, where God is the main world creative force, human intervention in the divine work was unacceptable;

Medieval monotheism, in which the Universe was conceived as absolutely subordinate to God, who alone has access to the laws of nature and the divine cosmos. This is a force infinitely more powerful than man and dominated him;

Man is an insignificant, weak, sinful being, a speck of dust in the divine world, and particles of the divine world are accessible to him only through the atonement of sins and the worship of God.

The central event of the medieval model of the world was God. The totality of the super-complex social hierarchy of events of the medieval world fit into this event. A special place in this hierarchy was occupied by the church, which was entrusted with a divine mission.

The main population of the Middle Ages were peasants.

2. The process of Christianization in the Middle Ages

The ideological position of the church was that it was actually on the side of the masters, being, moreover, the largest owner itself. And yet the church tried to smooth out conflicts in society, preaching equality before God, humility and the sanctity of poverty. The poor experience troubles and hardships on earth, but they are God's chosen ones, worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven. Poverty is a moral virtue.

The medieval church recognized labor as a consequence of original sin. Labor for enrichment was condemned. The work of an ascetic - work for the eradication of idleness, for the curbing of the flesh, for moral perfection was considered a charitable deed.

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One of her most original genres was chronicle writing. Chronicles are not just monuments of literature or historical thought. They are the largest monuments of the entire spiritual culture of medieval society. Chronicles were not only records of events year after year. The annals included historical stories, lives of saints, theological treatises, legal documents, records of...

Determined policy in the field of education. The entire cultural life of European society of this period was largely determined by Christianity. An important layer in the formation of folk culture during the classical Middle Ages was sermons. The bulk of society remained illiterate. In order for the thoughts of the social and spiritual elite to become the dominant thoughts of all parishioners, their ...

Introduction

That is why I would like to separately understand how Christianity influenced the culture of Western European peoples and Rus'.

To understand how the influence of religion on culture took place, you need to understand how people lived at that time, what they thought about, what worried them, cared most of all then.

1. General characteristics of the Middle Ages

At this time, machines began to be used, windmills, a water wheel, steering, printing and much more appeared.

The very concept of "Middle Ages" can in no way be a kind of integrity. Allocate Early, High Middle Ages and Sunset. Each period has its own characteristics of the spiritual sphere and culture.

a specifically medieval understanding of the universe, where God is the main world creative force, human intervention in the divine work was unacceptable;

medieval monotheism, in which the universe was conceived as absolutely subordinate to God, to whom only the laws of nature and the divine cosmos are accessible. This is a force infinitely more powerful than man and dominated him;

man is an insignificant, weak, sinful being, a speck of dust in the divine world, and particles of the divine world are accessible to him only through the atonement of sins and the worship of God.

The main population of the Middle Ages were peasants.

2. The process of Christianization in the Middle Ages

2.1 Process of Christianization in Europe

In Europe, society in the minds of people was divided into three main social strata: churchmen, peasants and knights. The social ideals were the life of the saints and the heroic deeds of the warrior. The process of Christianization proceeded with great difficulties. The state used its authority and power to eradicate paganism and plant Christianity. The peasant was excluded from the system of public law rules, he could not be a warrior. People who remembered their free ancestors experienced their bondage hard. The people associated their freedom and independence with the pagan faith, and Christianization with the power and oppression of the state.

The most versatile measures were taken to eradicate pagan superstitions. Particular attention is paid to rituals associated with the cult of the forces of nature. Divination, spells, divination were also considered forbidden and severely punished.

The Church in the fight against paganism used not only punishment, but also careful adaptation. Pope Gregory I was a supporter of the gradual replacement of pagan religious stereotypes with Christian rites. He advised not to destroy pagan temples, but to sprinkle them with holy water and replace idols with altars and relics of saints. Animal sacrifice should be replaced by feast days when animals are slaughtered for the glory of the Lord and for food. He recommended instead of the pagan detour of the fields, made for the harvest, to organize processions to the Trinity.

The life of peasants in the Middle Ages was determined by the change of seasons, each person goes through the same cycle of events. Constant employment and orientation to traditions and rituals made it impossible to go beyond the cyclicality.

Christianity, instead of the cyclic flow of time, natural for the peasant, imposed a linear historical flow of time with the Super-event of the Last Judgment at its end. Fear of retribution for sins becomes a powerful factor in initiation to Christianity.

The reverse process was also carried out - Christianity assimilated paganism and subjected it to changes. This was due to several reasons. One of them was that the priests themselves were often of peasant origin and in many ways remained pagans. Another reason was that the worship of saints was connected with the needs of the majority of the population, unable to understand the abstract God and needing to worship a visible, understandable image. The clergy exalted the saints for piety, virtue, Christian holiness, the flock valued in them, first of all, their ability to magic: the ability to work miracles, heal, protect. Medieval man existed on the verge of non-existence: famine, wars, epidemics claimed many lives, almost no one lived to old age, infant mortality was very high. Man felt the urgent need to protect himself from dangers approaching from all sides.

The Church could not help but assume the functions of the magical protection of man. Some magical rituals passed into Christian rituals almost unchanged. Moreover, the church even multiplied and complicated the ritual life. The veneration of God was carried out in the Christian church with the help of the sacraments, such as communion, baptism, and the priesthood. Also used - blessed water, bread, candles. Consecrated objects were used at home and in everyday life. Theologians saw in all this only symbolism and did not recognize their supernatural power. The common people used them, first of all, as amulets: not for cleansing from sins and communion with God, but for protection from diseases, slander, and damage. Peasants used church gifts even to heal livestock.

Excessive ritualization emasculated the spiritual essence of faith, mechanized communication with God. Rituals degenerated into mechanical, meaningless repetition. Believers, in order to be cleansed of sins, could do without a high mental attitude, with one formal performance of rituals. The Church could not abolish superstitions, rituals and rituals that distort the foundations of the Catholic faith, for they were an integral part of the mentality of a medieval person, and without them the Christian doctrine could not be accepted.

2.2 The process of Christianization in Rus'

The first centuries of Russian medieval culture. Coming mainly to the period of Kievan Rus, they are permeated with the bright joy of recognizing the new, discovering the unknown. In the light of the new worldview, the world of nature, the man himself, and their relationships appeared different before the Slav, not to mention the spiritual one, which sanctified all things and phenomena that had long been familiar for a long time with a new light. The traditional rather narrow horizons - geographical and historical, social and spiritual - have extended to infinity.

Realizing all this, and most importantly, being the goal and crown of creation, the image of the Creator himself, a person rejoiced at the discovery of the world with childish spontaneity. Joyful worldview filled his whole life and work, it spiritualized his esthetic consciousness; finally, it acted as an important stimulus for the rapid rise of culture in Kievan Rus.

Formally, the date of the baptism of Rus' is considered to be 988, although this is a probable year only for the baptism of St. Vladimir, his squads, Kyiv and Novgorod with their environs. Christianity, on the other hand, appeared in Rus' long before Vladimir, and the process of converting all of Rus' dragged on for at least another two centuries; as for the remote eastern regions, especially the Trans-Volga and the Urals (not to mention Siberia), it ended only in the 18th, and even the 19th century.

By the middle of the 10th century, there were at least two Christian churches in Kyiv, which indicates some kind of Christian activity in the Dnieper Rus. And, of course, the personal baptism of Grand Duchess Olga around 955 probably stimulated a certain number of people, at least from her entourage, to accept baptism.

As for Vladimir himself and his domestic politics, the act of baptism itself cannot be considered exclusively from a political point of view. Vladimir, according to the annals, after baptism completely changes both his personal lifestyle and his domestic policy. Having allegedly had 800 concubines before baptism, Vladimir becomes a monogamist after baptism, having married the sister of the Byzantine emperor Basil, Anna. He introduces a system of social protection for the poorest segments of the population, ordering the periodic distribution of free food and clothing for the poor at the expense of the grand ducal treasury. He proceeds to the rapid construction of churches, opening schools with them, and forcing his boyars to send their sons to them. Finally, he issues his ecclesiastical charter, which provided the Church with very broad civil rights and powers.

The Christianization of Rus' had a number of characteristic features and was a long painful process. In political and economic terms, it was beneficial only to the Kievan princes. The majority of the population did not want to part with the old faith, and Christianization was largely adapted to pagan customs. So, pagan holidays were timed to coincide with Christian ones, and pagan rituals were largely transferred to Christian rituals. Not only the common people, but often the clergy, stood on the positions of dual faith. Orthodoxy has much in common with Catholicism. Thus, it recognizes the magical power of the atoning sacrifice of Christ and the sanctified "gifts of God." Each cult action and objects of worship are considered not just symbols, but also material carriers of the “holy spirit”. The Orthodox faith calls, first of all, not to individual salvation, but to universal, supra-personal "catholicity" on the basis of the union of Christians who love each other. Like Catholicism, Orthodoxy divides mankind into laity and ministers of the church. The laity cannot be saved on their own, without the clergy who are able to repent of their sins from God.

For a Russian, society is a big family, clan. The reigning prince or king is the father of the nation as a family in which his subjects are perceived as his children. The vision of society as one big family, a single organism, was one of the reasons why the concept of individual freedom did not take deep roots in the culture of the Russian people, in which the place of Western values - pride and honor - was taken by such feminine values as loyalty, humility and a certain passive fatality. Confirmation of this can be seen in the special veneration of the first Russian saints - Boris and Gleb. They refused to oppose their older brother Svyatopolk on the grounds that after the death of his father, he legally occupies the throne and obedience to his will must be unquestioning. And they went to their death like sheep to the slaughter, rejecting the advice of their squads to engage in battle with the forces of Svyatopolk. Whether that was actually the case is irrelevant. It is important that just such a passive way of behavior corresponded to popular concepts of holiness.

Let us return to the era of the early centuries of Christianity in Rus'. We must not forget about the colossal size of the country, the small population and the enormous difficulties of communications in such a continental block, where the surest way of transportation - rivers - is covered with ice for 3-5 months a year, where a long period of snowmelt and ice drift in spring and gradual freezing in autumn stops any communication between different regions of the country for many months.

Undoubtedly, the Orthodox Church, one might say, nurtured the Russian person, influenced the formation of his character, introduced Christian concepts into everyday life. Even with regard to language: in no Western language is there such a vocabulary of the Church as the Orthodox, especially Russian. The Western Church used a language understandable only to a small educated elite, leaving the average inhabitant of medieval Latin Europe in almost complete ignorance of Christian teaching, incomprehension of everything that was happening in the temple. Under these conditions, the Church in the West became elitist.

3. Culture in medieval Europe

Knowledge of Latin was a criterion for education. The vernacular developed according to different laws than Latin. Concrete, visual images were transmitted and fixed on it. The Latin language expressed abstract judgments, theological and political concepts. The difference in the structure of the vernacular and Latin increased the difference between uneducated people and the educated elite.

In the 5th-10th centuries, church books appeared on parchment with miniatures depicting animals and people in two-dimensional space (flat and without shadows).

Compared to antiquity, this period was a cultural decline. The works were devoid of grace and sophistication. They were dominated by the cult of brute physical force. Many achievements of antiquity were forgotten. Thus, the antique sculpture was lost. Human images become primitive. The decline continued from the end of the 9th century to the middle of the 11th century.

4. Culture in medieval Rus'

In the X-XI centuries in the history of ancient Rus', the "great time" begins. Although Kievan Rus was free to perceive the cultural influences of the West and East, Byzantium had a special influence on the development of ancient Rus. Byzantine culture was "grafted" into the tree of Slavic-pagan culture and was the source of Christian cultural traditions, which included legal norms and ideas about the state system, education, upbringing, sciences, art, morality and religion. The centers of cultural exchange were Constantinople, Athos, the monasteries of Sinai, Thessaloniki.

In 988, Christianity was officially recognized and declared the state religion. It radically rebuilt the worldview of the Russians, in many respects changed the cultural development of ancient Rus'.

Christianity contributed to the emergence and development of a typological community of temple architecture, monumental mosaics and frescoes, iconography and music. Russian cities began to be decorated with temples and other monumental buildings - fortresses, princely chambers, etc., the dwellings of townspeople and peasants - with objects of applied folk art. One of the characteristic features of ancient Russian architecture was the combination of wooden and stone forms. Of particular importance in medieval Russian culture (as well as in Western culture) was the construction of temples, which became centers of cultural and intellectual life. One of the most famous architectural structures was the majestic Kiev Cathedral of St. Sophia.

Jewelry craftsmanship was developed - casting, the production of unique enamel, including the famous Byzantine cloisonne. Jewelers not only borrowed artistic technology, but also invented their own. They used granulation, filigree, casting, chasing, silver engraving, forging.

Temple culture also contributed to the development of monumental painting and icon painting. Regional art schools were created in Kyiv, Novgorod, Yaroslavl, Chernigov, Rostov the Great. Churches are signed with the help of samples of canons, they were called "tablets", and later "copy". The name of the monk who painted the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra has survived to this day: his name was Alimpiy.

The Christianization of Rus' in many ways contributed to the emergence of Russian philosophy. The first attempt to comprehend human existence as an integrity, in the unity of personal, family and state life, belongs to the great Russian prince Vladimir Monomakh.

The period of the mature Middle Ages became tragic for the Russian people and its young culture. In the XIII century, Rus' was under the Mongol yoke and lost its state independence. The surviving monasteries often remained the only cultural centers.

Let's take a closer look at the ancient Russian literature and the Russian library of that era.

One of the first Slavic-Russian translations after the liturgical books was the "Source of Knowledge" by John of Damascus, from which the Kiev literate drew basic concepts about the philosophical systems of Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, Heraclitus, Parmenides. So the reading resident of Kiev had an idea about ancient philosophy. Damascene then gave information about the basic sciences, dividing them into two categories: 1) theoretical and 2) practical philosophy. To theoretical philosophy, as was then accepted, he attributed: theology, physiology and mathematics, the divisions of which were arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music. Practical philosophy included ethics, economics (home science) and politics.

The less developed north was not silent either. The most prominent spiritual author of this region, whose writings have survived to our time, was the Bishop of Novgorod Luka Zhidyata, obviously from baptized Jews, judging by his name. His style cannot be compared with the elegance and decoration of the southerners. Zhidyata is stingy with words, the language is extremely close to colloquial speech, and its ethics are instructive, substantive, concrete.

The main theological expression of the north and northeast, however, was temple building and icon painting, which reached there both national identity and artistic and spiritual perfection, while in the south and southwest we see the work of Byzantine masters directly or direct imitation of them, for followed by the ruin and decline of the XIII-XV centuries. In the same place, an independent and artistically significant icon-painting tradition did not appear.

As for the north and northeast, the Tatar-Mongol invasion destroyed and interrupted traditional Russian crafts there for a long time: masons, carvers, masters of artistic enamel were captured and forcibly taken to Central Asia. But neither the pagan Tatars nor the Muslim Tatars needed icon painters. In addition, the Tatars treated Orthodoxy with great respect, exempting the clergy and monasteries from taxes. All this contributed not only to the preservation, but also to the development and improvement of the skill of icon painting and frescoes.

The most remarkable literary work of that era was, of course, The Tale of Igor's Campaign, unsurpassed in the richness of language and poetic imagery in pre-Pushkin Russian literature. There are strong moments of foreboding the failure of the campaign on the basis of natural phenomena, but along with this, there are frequent appeals to God, and everything in the work is imbued with a Christian worldview. And the very fact of chanting not a proud victory, but to some extent even a well-deserved defeat of Igor's campaign against the Polovtsians in 1185, with the implication that defeat is necessary for humility, is a punishment for arrogance, arrogance - all this is alien to paganism and reflects Christian understanding of life.

Some historians believe that such a masterpiece could not have arisen on bare ground and that other literary works of the same era and of the same significance simply have not come down to us. Indeed, it is surprising that the “Lay” came to the 18th century in only one copy, while many other literary works, however, mostly of a later era, were preserved in many copies. The explanation for this, however, perhaps lies in the fact that the scribes were monks, for whom the fiction of the Lay was alien. They were more interested in the lives of the saints, chronicles, sermons, teachings.

5. The influence of religion on the culture of people

Religion "bodily" and spiritually enters the world of culture. Moreover, it constitutes one of its constructive foundations, fixed by historians almost from the appearance of “reasonable man”. On this basis, many theologians, following the outstanding ethnographer J. Fraser, assert: "All culture comes from the temple, from the cult."

The power of religion in the early stages of the development of culture went beyond the boundaries of the measurement of the latter. Until the late Middle Ages, the church covered almost all cultural spheres. It was both a school and a university, a club and a library, a lecture hall and a philharmonic society. These institutions of culture have been brought to life by the practical needs of society, but their origins are in the bosom of the Church and in many respects have been nurtured by it.

Spiritually ruling over the flock, the Church at the same time exercised guardianship and censorship over culture, forcing it to serve the cult. In particular, this spiritual dictatorship was felt in the medieval states of the Catholic world, where the Church dominated politically and legally. And almost everywhere it dominated morality and art, education and upbringing. Church guardianship and censorship, like any dictate, did not stimulate cultural progress at all: freedom is the air of culture, without which it suffocates. Noting the positive aspects of the religious impact on the realities of culture, we should not forget about this.

Perhaps most of all, religion influenced the formation and development of national identity, the culture of the ethnic group.

The church rite often continues in the establishments of folk life and the calendar. At times it is difficult to separate the secular principle in national traditions, customs and rituals from the religious one. What, for example, are Semik and Maslenitsa for the Russian people, Navruz for the Azerbaijanis and Tajiks? Secular-folk and ecclesiastical-canonical are inextricably intertwined in these holidays. God save (thank you) - is this a religious or secular commemoration formula - is it a purely church ritual? What about caroling?

The awakening of national consciousness is usually associated with a revival of interest in the national religion. This is exactly what is happening in Russia.

In Europe, schools for monks at monasteries became cultural islands. In the Middle Ages, the leading place was occupied by architecture. This was caused primarily by the urgent need for the construction of temples.

A further cultural impetus was the growth of cities, centers of trade and crafts. A new phenomenon was urban culture, which gave rise to the Romanesque style. The Romanesque style arose as a strengthening of the authority of the Roman Empire, which was necessary for the royal power and the church. Best of all, the Romanesque style was personified by the large cathedrals located on the hills, as if towering above everything earthly.

The Gothic style denies the heavy, fortress-like Romanesque cathedrals. The attributes of the Gothic style were lancet arches and slender towers rising to the sky. The vertical composition of the building, the impetuous upward rush of lancet arches and other architectural structures expressed the desire for God and the dream of a higher life. Geometry and arithmetic were understood abstractly, through the prism of the knowledge of God, who created the world and arranged everything by "measure, number and weight." Every detail in the cathedral had a special meaning. The side walls symbolized the Old and New Testaments. Pillars and columns personified the apostles and prophets carrying the vault, portals - the threshold of paradise. The dazzlingly shining interior of the Gothic cathedral personified heavenly paradise.

Early Christianity inherited from antiquity admiration for the products of creativity and contempt for the people who created them. But gradually, under the influence of Christian ideas about the beneficial, uplifting significance of labor, this attitude changed. In the monasteries of that time, it was attributed to combine activities leading to communion with God, to penetration into his essence, such as divine reading, prayers, manual labor. It was in the monasteries that many crafts and arts developed. Art was considered a charitable and noble occupation, not only ordinary monks, but also the highest church elite were engaged in it. Medieval arts: painting, architecture, jewelry - were laid within the walls of monasteries, under the shadow of a Christian church.

In the 12th century, interest in art increased significantly. This is due to the general technical, economic and scientific progress of society. The practical activity of a person, his intellect, the ability to invent something new begins to be valued much higher than before. The accumulated knowledge begins to be systematized into a hierarchy, at the top of which God continues to remain. Art, which combines high practical skills and the reflection of images of sacred tradition, receives a special status in medieval culture.

The attitude to art in the Middle Ages has undergone great changes. So, during the early Middle Ages (V-VIII centuries), ancient ideas about art dominate. Art is classified into theoretical, practical and creative. Since the 8th century, Christian ideas have been actively intertwined and interacted with non-religious ones. The main goal of art is the pursuit of divine beauty, which is embodied in the harmony and unity of nature.

Christianity, spreading to all spheres of life of a medieval person, naturally determined the direction and content of artistic creativity, limited art by its dogmas. Artistic creativity could not spread beyond their borders. It was significantly limited by the iconographic tradition. The main goal of creativity was the preservation and exaltation of Christian teaching. All medieval culture was subject to the only reality - God. God has true subjectivity; a person striving for the ideal, depicted in works of art, must submit his will to God. Everything is in God: destiny is determined by God, the world is explained by God. Christianity determined preferred themes and art forms. In literature, the favorite genre is the lives of the saints; in sculpture - images of Christ, the Mother of God, saints; in painting - an icon; in architecture - the cathedral. The themes of heaven, purgatory and hell are also common. The artist had to capture the beauty of the divine world order in his works, coordinating his vision with the ideas of the Christian clergy. Human creativity is relatively, limited, and therefore must be subordinated to the will of God. There can be no creativity outside of God. The main theme in art is Christ and his teachings.

Artistic works should not only bring sensual pleasures from the contemplation of beautiful and harmonious beauty, they should educate a person in the spirit of striving for God. Piety is the most important spiritual quality awakened by art.

Art schools appeared in Rus' in the 15th century, architecture and icon painting flourished. The famous representative of the golden age of the Novgorod monumental school was the Greek master Theophanes the Greek. He did not use iconographic "copybooks", his works were deeply original and uniquely individual. He painted over 40 churches. Monumental and decorative works, which have become on a par with other greatest creations of world art, were created in the 15th century by Andrei Rublev. In memory of Sergius of Radonezh, he painted his most perfect work - the icon "Trinity". So, under Ivan III, the Assumption Cathedral, the Annunciation Cathedral, the Faceted Chamber were erected, the walls of the Kremlin were built. The original national spirit was embodied in St. Basil's Cathedral.

Conclusion

And even in our time, if you carefully analyze the life of the peasants, in their life you can find some traces of the Middle Ages.

The famous Gothic cathedrals still amaze people today, among them the Notre Dame Cathedral, the cathedrals in Reims, Chartres, Amiens, Saint-Denis are especially famous. N.V. Gogol (1809–1852) wrote: “Gothic architecture is a phenomenon such as has never been produced by human taste and imagination. … Entering the sacred darkness of this temple, it is quite natural to feel the involuntary horror of the presence of the shrine, which the bold mind of a person does not even dare to touch.”

Thus, the Middle Ages, on the basis of the Christian tradition, created a mass man who was interested in solving the problems of equality, freedom, was concerned about the system of legal and other guarantees of individual existence.

The artist was an intermediary between people and God. It was in this way that the medieval model of the world developed through the idea of exaltation, through an appeal to the human creator.

This is an integral principle of the European model of the world, opposite to the eastern one - the principle of stability, harmony, naturalness.

Old Russian traditionalism was strengthened by Orthodox traditionalism. The community, society meant more than the fate of an individual.

The process of formation of ancient Russian culture was not just a process of simple forward movement. It included ups and downs, periods of prolonged stagnation, decline and cultural breakthroughs. But in general, this era is a cultural layer that determined the subsequent development of the entire Russian culture.

The Church leaves milestones in the material culture of the people with monastic production, temple construction. The production of religious decorations and vestments, the printing of books, the heritage of icon painting, frescoes.

From the very beginning of its existence, the Church had to determine its position in relation to society. At first she represented a minority, often persecuted and persecuted. Small but rapidly growing Christian communities strove to develop a distinctive way of life based on love for God and one's neighbor. There is no doubt that Christianity has had a huge impact on society. Thanks to the Church, the first hospitals and universities appeared in medieval Europe. The church built great cathedrals, patronized artists and musicians. Obviously, religion and culture are not identical. Religion takes shape earlier and reshapes public consciousness accordingly. New cult-cultural archetypes begin to form, which form the foundation of a new culture. Christian culture acquired its adequate image (more precisely, the Face) only in mature Byzantium and Ancient Rus' and in medieval Western Europe (Latin-Cathalic branch). It was then that all the main spheres of human life and spiritual and material creativity, all the main social institutions were completely covered by the Christian spirit; religion, church cult, Christian worldview have become the main cultural-creating factors

Literature

1. Victor Bychkov 2000 years of Christian culture sub specie aesthetica. In 2 vols. Volume 1 Early Christianity. Byzantium. M. - St. Petersburg: Universitetskaya kniga, 1999. 575 p.

2. Victor Bychkov 2000 years of Christian culture sub specie aesthetica. In 2 vols. Volume 2 Slavic world. Ancient Rus'. Russia. M. - St. Petersburg: Universitetskaya kniga, 1999. 527 p.

3. Religion in history and culture: Textbook for universities / M.G. Pismanik, A.V. Vertinsky, S.P. Demyanenko and others; ed. prof. M.G. Pismanika. – M.: Culture and sport, UNITI, 1998. -430 p.

4. John Young Christianity / trans. from English. K. Savelyeva. - M.: FAIR-PRESS, 2000. -384 p.

Novgorod is one of the oldest centers of culture. Here, at the St. Sophia Cathedral in the 11th century, Russian chronicles first appeared. More than half of the written monuments of ancient Rus' of the XI-XVII centuries are located in Novgorod.

Formation of the first Byzantine concepts in the field of aesthetics as a fusion of the ideas of Hellenistic Neoplatonism and early patristics. Ledge of medieval science as a comprehension of the authority of the Bible. The study of Russian and Ukrainian culture of the Middle Ages.

The main features of medieval spiritual culture and worldview. Formation and development of the Christian Church. Life values of medieval man and the role of cities. History of the Cathedrals of San Marco, Notre Dame, Chartres, Reims and Aachen.

Russian culture has its roots in the ancient pagan era. Paganism - a complex of primitive views, beliefs and rituals - had its own history ..

Conditions for the emergence and stages of development of the culture of the Middle Ages, its characteristic features and features. Religion and the Church in Medieval Society. Artistic culture of medieval Europe, Gothic art and architecture, medieval music and theater.

The importance of Byzantium for Ancient Rus' is difficult to overestimate. It can be said that the Byzantine form of Orthodoxy, adopted by the Eastern Slavs in the 10th century, created the historical face of the future Russia.

The history of the formation and further development of the art of Ancient Rus'. Icons as the main genre of ancient Russian painting. General characteristics and features of the formation of the national style in Russian art of the 9th-12th centuries, the influence of Byzantine culture on it.

Periodization and origins of medieval culture, the role of Christianity as the foundation of the spiritual culture of the Middle Ages. Knightly culture, folklore, urban culture and carnivals, the establishment of a school system, universities, Romanesque and Gothic, temple culture.

The Baptism of Rus' became a turning point in the history and culture of Rus'. Together with the new religion, they adopted from Byzantium writing, book culture, stone building skills, canons of icon painting, some genres and images of applied art.

Legalization of Christianity in the Roman Empire. New outlook in culture and art. The process of formation of Christian art and the formation of the Christian aesthetic system. The combination of pagan elements with Christian as overcoming paganism.

Cultural archetype is the basic element of culture. Traditional installations of Russian culture. Formation, development, features of the formation of Russian culture. The development of the culture of Ancient Rus'. Icon paintings by Russian masters and Christianity, stone structures.

Christianity as the basis of the worldview, its emergence, the main idea. Acceptance and dissemination of the doctrine in Rus'. Orthodoxy is the cultural and historical choice of Russian society, the motives for making a decision. His influence on the formation of Russian culture.

The Inquisition and the Crusades. Monasticism and the Crusades. Folk culture of the Middle Ages. The Renaissance gave the Middle Ages a very critical and harsh assessment. However, subsequent epochs introduced significant amendments to this estimate.

The beginning of ancient Russian statehood dates back to the time before the Baptism of Rus'. The Tale of Bygone Years connects its beginning with the arrival of three Varangian brothers in Rus': Rurik, Sineus and Truvor.

Ancient Russian painting is one of the recognized pinnacles of world art, the greatest spiritual heritage of our people. The interest in it is enormous, as are the difficulties of its perception for us.

Common features and differences between Catholicism and Orthodoxy. The influence of Catholicism on the culture of Western Europe. Monasteries are the centers of European civilization. Reflection of the ideals of Orthodoxy in Byzantine art. Iconocentrism of medieval Russian culture.

Origins of Christianity in Rus'. Influence of Christianity on the culture of Ancient Rus'. Philosophy of Russian religious art. History of Russian art. For a long time, until the 19th century, Christianity would remain the dominant culture.

It was Byzantine culture and literature in line with the early Cyril and Methodius tradition that contributed to the emergence of original Old Russian literature and the temple-building activity of the Russian princes.

Fundamentals of Orthodoxy, its significance for the development of spirituality and morality in a Russian person, contribution to the emergence of Russian historiography and art. The ideals of Orthodoxy in Russian culture. The history of the complex relationship between the state and Orthodoxy.

Culture of the Western European Middle Ages. The process of formation of Christianity. Romanesque art and Gothic. Culture of Byzantium and Ancient Rus'. Development of agriculture and crafts. Renaissance culture. Anthropocentrism. Proto-Renaissance period.

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INTRODUCTION

The history of the Middle Ages begins with the fall of the Roman Empire. The transition from ancient civilization to the Middle Ages was due, firstly, to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire as a result of the general crisis of the slave-owning mode of production and the associated collapse of the entire ancient culture. Secondly, the Great Migration of Peoples (from the 4th to the 7th centuries), during which dozens of tribes rushed to conquer new lands. From 375 to 455 (the capture of Rome by the Vandals), the painful process of the extinction of the greatest civilization continued. The Western Roman Empire was unable to withstand the waves of barbarian invasions and in 476 ceased to exist. As a result of the barbarian conquests, dozens of barbarian kingdoms arose on its territory. The third and most important factor that determined the process of formation of European culture was Christianity. Christianity has become not only its spiritual basis, but also the integrating principle that allows us to speak of Western European culture as a single integral culture.

Thus, medieval culture is the result of a complex, contradictory synthesis of ancient traditions, the culture of barbarian peoples and Christianity. However, the influence of these three principles of medieval culture on its character was not equivalent. The dominant feature of medieval culture was Christianity, which acted as a new ideological support for the worldview and attitude of a person of that era, which led to the formation of medieval culture as an integrity.

1 Early Middle Ages (V-IX centuries)

The medieval culture of Western Europe is the era of great spiritual and socio-cultural conquests in the history of all mankind.

Cultural experts call the Middle Ages a long period in the history of Western Europe, which covers more than a millennium from the 5th to the 15th centuries, i.e. from the moment of the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the moment of the active formation of the Renaissance culture. Within the millennium, it is customary to distinguish at least three periods:

1. Early Middle Ages - from the beginning of the era to 900-1000 years (up to the X-XI centuries).

2. High (Classical) Middle Ages - from the X-XI centuries to the XIV century.

3. Late Middle Ages - XIV-XV centuries. It was a period of tragic, dramatic transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages proper. Christianity slowly entered the world of barbarian existence. The barbarians of the early Middle Ages carried a peculiar vision and sense of the world, based on the ancestral ties of a person and the community to which he belonged, the spirit of militant energy, a sense of inseparability from nature. In the process of formation of medieval culture, the most important task was the destruction of the "power thinking" of the mythological barbarian consciousness, the destruction of the ancient roots of the pagan cult of power. Thus, the formation of early medieval culture is a complex, painful process of synthesis of Christian and barbarian traditions. The drama of this process was due to the opposite, multidirectionality of Christian value and thought orientations and the barbarian consciousness based on "power thinking".

Gradually, the main role in the emerging culture begins to belong to the Christian religion and the church. In the conditions of the general decline of culture immediately after the collapse of the Roman Empire, in the conditions of a difficult and meager life, against the backdrop of extremely limited and unreliable knowledge about the surrounding world, the church offered people a coherent system of knowledge about the world, its structure, and the forces acting in it. This picture of the world completely determined the mentality of the believing villagers and townspeople and was based on the images and interpretations of the Bible. The entire cultural life of European society of this period was largely determined by Christianity. However, one should not think that the formation of the Christian religion in the countries of Western Europe proceeded smoothly, without difficulties and confrontation in the minds of people with old pagan beliefs. The population was traditionally devoted to pagan cults and sermons, and the description of the lives of the saints was not enough to convert them to the true faith. They converted to a new religion with the help of state power. However, even a long time after the official recognition of a single religion, the clergy had to deal with the persistent remnants of paganism among the peasantry.

The church destroyed temples and idols, forbade worshiping gods and making sacrifices, arranging pagan holidays and rituals. Severe punishments threatened those who practiced divination, divination, spells, or simply believed in them. Many of the pagan practices against which the church fought were clearly of agricultural origin. So, in the "List of superstitions and pagan customs", compiled in France in the 8th century, "furrows around the villages" and "an idol carried across the fields" are mentioned. It was not easy to overcome the adherence to such rituals, so the church decided to preserve some pagan rites, giving these actions the coloring of official church rituals. So, every year on the Trinity, processions of a “religious procession” were arranged through the fields with a prayer for a harvest instead of the pagan “wearing an idol”.

The formation of the process of Christianization was one of the sources of sharp clashes, since. the concept of people's freedom was often associated with the old faith among the people, while the connection of the Christian church with state power and oppression stood out quite clearly. In the minds of the masses of the rural population, regardless of belief in certain gods, attitudes of behavior were preserved in which people felt themselves directly included in the cycle of natural phenomena. This constant influence of nature on man and the belief in man's influence on the course of natural phenomena with the help of a whole system of supernatural means was a manifestation of the magical consciousness of the medieval community, an important feature of its worldview.

The Church zealously fought against all the remnants of paganism, at the same time accepting them. So, calling all sorts of rituals, conspiracies and spells paganism, the church, nevertheless, led a real hunt for people who allegedly have the ability to perform these conspiracies and spells. The church considered especially dangerous women engaged in the manufacture of all kinds of potions and amulets. In manuals for confessors, much attention was paid to "the ability of some women to fly at night to the sabbaths."

So, the early Middle Ages, on the one hand, is an era of decline, barbarism, constant conquests, endless wars, a dramatic clash between pagan and Christian cultures, on the other hand, it is a time of gradual strengthening of Christianity, assimilation of the ancient heritage. Adherence to tradition, conservatism of all public life, the dominance of the stereotype in artistic creativity, and the stability of magical thinking, which was imposed on the church, can be considered signs of early medieval culture.

christianity culture middle ages

2 High (classical) Middle Ages (X-XIII centuries)

The era of the mature Middle Ages begins with the time of "cultural silence", which lasted almost until the end of the 10th century. Endless wars, civil strife, the political decline of the state led to the division of the empire of Charlemagne (843) and laid the foundation for three states: France, Italy and Germany.

During the period of the classical or high Middle Ages, Europe began to overcome difficulties and revive. In the XI century. the improvement of the economic situation, the growth of the population, the decrease in hostilities led to the acceleration of the process of separation of craft from agriculture, which resulted in the growth of both new cities and their sizes. In the XII-XIII centuries. many cities are freed from the power of spiritual or secular feudal lords.

Since the 10th century, state structures have been enlarged, which made it possible to raise larger armies and, to some extent, to stop raids and robberies. Missionaries brought Christianity to the countries of Scandinavia, Poland, Bohemia, Hungary, so that these states also entered the orbit of Western culture. The relative stability that followed made it possible for cities and the economy to rapidly expand. Life began to change for the better, the cities flourished their own culture and spiritual life. A big role in this was played by the same church, which also developed, improved its teaching and organization.

European medieval society was very religious, and the power of the clergy over the minds was extremely great. The teaching of the church was the starting point of all thinking, all sciences - jurisprudence, natural science, philosophy, logic - everything was brought into line with Christianity. The clergy were the only educated class, and it was the church that for a long time determined the policy in the field of education. The entire cultural life of European society of this period was largely determined by Christianity.

An important layer in the formation of folk culture during the classical Middle Ages was sermons. The bulk of society remained illiterate. In order for the thoughts of the social and spiritual elite to become the dominant thoughts of all parishioners, they had to be "translated" into a language accessible to all people. This is what the preachers did. Parish priests, monks, and missionaries had to explain to the people the basic principles of theology, instil the principles of Christian behavior and eradicate the wrong way of thinking. The sermon assumed as its listener any person - literate and illiterate, noble and commoner, city dweller and peasant, rich and poor.

The most famous preachers structured their sermons in such a way as to hold the attention of the public for a long time and convey to it the ideas of church doctrine in the form of simple examples. Some used for this the so-called "examples" - short stories written in the form of parables on everyday topics. These "examples" are one of the early literary genres and are of particular interest for a more complete understanding of the worldview of ordinary believers. "Example" was one of the most effective means of didactic influence on parishioners. In these "cases from life" one can see the original world of medieval man, with his ideas about saints and evil spirits as real participants in a person's daily life. However, the most famous preachers, such as Berthold of Regenburg (XIII century), did not use the "Examples" in their sermons, building them mainly on biblical texts. This preacher built his sermons in the form of dialogues, addressed appeals and statements to a certain part of the audience or professional categories. He widely used the method of enumeration, riddles and other techniques that made his sermons small performances. The ministers of the church, as a rule, did not introduce any original ideas and statements into their sermons, this was not expected of them, and the parishioners would be unable to appreciate this. The audience received satisfaction just from listening to familiar and well-known things.

In the XII-XIII centuries. the church, having reached the peak of its power in the fight against the state, gradually began to lose its positions in the fight against the royal power. By the XIII century. natural economy begins to collapse as a result of the development of commodity-money relations, the personal dependence of the peasants is weakened.

3 Late Middle Ages (XIV-XV centuries)

The late Middle Ages continued the processes of formation of European culture, which began in the period of the classics. However, their course was far from smooth. In the XIV-XV centuries, Western Europe repeatedly experienced a great famine. Numerous epidemics, especially plagues, brought innumerable human casualties. The development of culture was greatly slowed down by the Hundred Years War. During these periods, uncertainty and fear dominated the masses. The economic upswing is replaced by long periods of recession and stagnation. In the masses, complexes of fear of death and the afterlife were intensified, fears of evil spirits were intensifying. At the end of the Middle Ages, in the minds of the common people, Satan is transformed from a generally not terrible and sometimes funny devil into an omnipotent ruler of dark forces, who at the end of earthly history will act as the Antichrist. Another reason for fears is hunger, as a result of low yields and several years of droughts.

The sources of fear are best highlighted in the prayer of a peasant of that time: "Deliver us, Lord, from plague, famine and war." The dominance of oral culture has powerfully contributed to the multiplication of superstitions, fears and collective panics. However, in the end, the cities were reborn, people who survived pestilence and war got the opportunity to arrange their lives better than in previous eras. Conditions arose for a new upsurge in spiritual life, science, philosophy, and art. Gradually, the social structure of medieval society began to loosen. A new class is emerging - the bourgeoisie. The beginning process of the decomposition of feudalism (the socio-economic basis of medieval culture), the weakening of the influence of Christianity caused a crisis of medieval culture, expressed, first of all, in the destruction of its integrity, accelerated the transition to a new, qualitatively different era - the era of the Renaissance, associated with the formation of a new, bourgeois type society. Thus, changes in real life and worldview of people in the Middle Ages lead to the formation of new ideas about culture.

4 Christianity as the core of medieval culture

Christianity was the core of European culture and ensured the transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages. For a long time in the historical and cultural literature, the view of the Middle Ages as the "dark ages" dominated. The foundations of this position were laid by the enlighteners. However, the history of the culture of Western European society was not so unambiguous, one thing is certain - the entire cultural life of Medieval Europe of this period was largely determined by Christianity, which already in the 4th century. from being persecuted it becomes the state religion in the Roman Empire.

From a movement in opposition to official Rome, Christianity turns into a spiritual, ideological pillar of the Roman state. At this time, at the Ecumenical Church Councils, a number of leading provisions of the Christian dogma were adopted - the creed. These provisions are declared binding on all Christians. The basis of Christian teaching was the belief in the resurrection of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the Divine Trinity.

The concept of the Divine Trinity was interpreted as follows. God is one in all three persons: God the father - the creator of the world, God the son - Jesus Christ - the redeemer of sins and God the Holy Spirit - were absolutely equal and co-eternal with each other.

Despite the strong discrepancy between the ideal and the real, the very social and everyday life of people in the Middle Ages was an attempt, a desire to embody Christian ideals in practical activities. Therefore, let us consider the ideals towards which many efforts of people of that time were directed, and note the features of the reflection of these ideals in real life. In the Middle Ages, the theological concept of culture (Greek theos - god) was formed, according to which God acts as the center of the universe, its active, creative principle, the source and cause of everything that exists. This is due to the fact that the absolute value is God. The medieval picture of the world, the religiosity of this culture is fundamentally fundamentally different from all previous ones, i.e. pagan cultures. God in Christianity is One, Personal and Spiritual, that is, absolutely non-material. Also, God is endowed with many virtuous qualities: God is All-good, God is Love, God is Absolute Good. Thanks to such a spiritual and absolutely positive understanding of God, a person acquires special significance in the religious picture of the world. Man - the image of God, the greatest value after God, occupies a dominant place on Earth. The main thing in a person is the soul. One of the outstanding achievements of the Christian religion is the gift of free will to man, i.e. the right to choose between good and evil, God and the devil. Due to the presence of dark forces, evil, Medieval culture is often called dualistic (dual): on one of its poles - God, angels, saints, on the other - the Devil and his dark army (demons, sorcerers, heretics).

The tragedy of man is that he can abuse his free will. This is what happened to the first man, Adam. He shied away from the prohibitions of God towards the temptations of the devil. This process is called the fall. Sin is the result of man's deviation from God. It is because of sin that suffering, war, sickness, and death entered the world.

According to Christian teaching, a person cannot return to God on his own. To do this, a person needs a mediator - a Savior. The saviors in the medieval Christian picture of the world are Christ and His Church (in Western Europe - Catholic). Therefore, along with the category of sin, the problem of saving the soul of every person plays an important role in the picture of the world of the Middle Ages.

Thus, in the Christian ideology, the place of man is occupied by god - the creator, the place of the concept of "culture", so valued in antiquity, is occupied by the concept of "cult". From an etymological point of view, this concept also has the meaning of cultivation and improvement. However, the main emphasis in this concept is transferred to care, worship and reverence. This refers to the veneration of the highest, supernatural power, which controls the fate of the world and man. According to the Christian concept, the meaning of human life is to prepare for a true life, after death, the other world. Therefore, everyday, earthly, real life loses its intrinsic value. It is considered only as a preparation for eternal life, after death. The main emphasis is on the afterlife, afterlife retribution. Salvation is not given to everyone, but only to those who live according to the gospel commandments.

The whole life of a person in the Middle Ages stands between two reference points - sin and salvation. To escape from the first and achieve the latter, a person is given the following conditions: following the Christian commandments, doing good deeds, avoiding temptations, confessing one's sins, an active prayer and church life not only for monks, but also for the laity.

Thus, in Christianity, the requirements for the moral life of a person are tightened. Basic Christian values - Faith Hope Love.

In the medieval era, an irrational (non-rational, super-rational) principle - faith - was laid at the foundation of culture. Faith is placed above reason. Reason serves faith, deepens and clarifies it. Therefore, all types of spiritual culture - philosophy, science, law, morality, art - serve religion, obey it.

Art was also subordinated to the theocentric idea. It sought to strengthen the religious worldview. There are many scenes of the Last Judgment: the fear of the inevitable punishment for sins is brought up. A special tense psychological atmosphere. But there is also a powerful folk culture of laughter, where all these values were subjected to comic rethinking. The teaching of the church was the starting point of all thinking, all sciences (jurisprudence, natural science, philosophy, logic) - everything was brought into line with Christianity. The clergy were the only educated class, and it was the church that for a long time determined the policy in the field of education.

In the V-IX centuries. schools in Western Europe were in the hands of the church. The church drew up a training program, selected students. The main task of monastic schools was defined as the education of the ministers of the church. The Christian Church preserved and used elements of secular culture left over from the ancient education system. Church schools taught disciplines inherited from antiquity - the "seven liberal arts": grammar, rhetoric, dialectics with elements of logic, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music.

There were also secular schools where young men who were not intended for a church career studied, children from noble families studied in them (many such schools were opened in England in the second half of the 9th century). In the XI century. in Italy, on the basis of the Bologna School of Law, the first university was opened (1088), which became the largest center for the study of Roman and canon law. Students and professors united in universities in order to achieve independence from the city and have the right to self-government. The university was divided into fraternity - an association of students from a particular country, and faculties where they mastered this or that knowledge. In England in 1167 the first university was opened in Oxford, then - the university in Cambridge. The most prominent university scholar in England in the 13th century. was Roger Bacon (circa 1214-1292), who, as the main method of knowledge, put forward not church authorities, but reason and experience. The largest and first of the French universities was the Paris Sorbonne (1160). It united four faculties: general education, medical, legal and theological. Just like other major universities, students from all European countries flocked here.

Medieval university science was called scholasticism (from the Greek school, scientist). Its most characteristic features were the desire to rely on authorities, primarily church authorities, underestimation of the role of experience as a method of cognition, the combination of theological and dogmatic premises with rationalistic principles, and an interest in formal logical problems.

A new and extremely important phenomenon, testifying to the development of urban culture, was the creation of non-church schools in the cities: these were private schools that were not financially dependent on the church. The teachers of these schools lived off the fees collected from the students. Since that time, there has been a rapid spread of literacy among the urban population. An outstanding master of France in the 12th century. was Peter Abelard (1079-1142), philosopher, theologian and poet, who founded a number of non-church schools. He owns the famous essay "Yes and No", in which questions of dialectical logic were developed. In his lectures, which were extremely popular with the townspeople, he asserted the primacy of knowledge over faith.

In Christianity, a different understanding of man is being formed in comparison with the ancient one. The ancient ideal is the harmony of spirit and body, physical and spiritual. The Christian ideal is the victory of the spirit over the body, asceticism. In Christianity, priority is given to the soul, the spiritual principle. And a derogatory attitude is formed towards the body. It was believed that the body is sinful, mortal, is a source of temptations, a temporary refuge for the soul. And the soul is eternal, immortal, perfect, it is a particle of the divine principle in man. A person should take care of the soul first of all.

Speaking about the differences between the ancient and medieval ideals, one should pay attention to such a moment. The ancient ideal - a harmonious personality - was quite feasible, achievable, real. The medieval ideal, like the horizon, was unattainable. Because the medieval ideal is God, absolute perfection (good, good, love, justice). Man is always sinful, and he only approaches this ideal to one degree or another. Therefore, the cultural development of man is understood as a constant elevation, ascent to the ideal, god, absolute, as a process of overcoming the sinful and affirming the divine in man.

played an important role in the life of the society of that time. monasticism: the monks took upon themselves the obligations of "leaving the world", celibacy, renunciation of property. However, already in the 6th century monasteries turned into strong, often very wealthy centers, owning movable and immovable property. Many monasteries were centers of education and culture. So, in England at the end of the 7th - beginning of the 8th century. in one of the monasteries lived Beda the Venerable, one of the most educated people of his time, the author of the first major work on English history. From the middle of the XII century. in rapidly developing cities the most mobile and educated part of the population is concentrated, receptive to spiritual food. The mendicant orders were part of urban spiritual currents and at the same time a reaction to their heretical excesses. One of the most important aspects of the activities of the orders was pastoral service, primarily preaching and confession. From their midst came the largest theologians of the Middle Ages - Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas.

Although medieval culture had an ideological, spiritual and artistic integrity, the dominance of Christianity did not make it completely homogeneous. One of its essential features was the appearance in it secular culture, reflecting the cultural self-consciousness and spiritual ideals of the military-aristocratic class of medieval society - chivalry and a new social stratum that arose in the mature Middle Ages - townspeople.

Secular culture, being one of the components of Western European medieval culture, remained Christian in character. At the same time, the very image and style of life of chivalry and townspeople predetermined their focus on the earthly, developed special views, ethical norms, traditions, and cultural values. They recorded the human abilities and values necessary for military service, communication among the feudal lords. In contrast to the asceticism advocated by the church, earthly joys and values \u200b\u200blike love, beauty, and service to a beautiful lady were sung in chivalric culture.

A special cultural layer of the Middle Ages was represented by folk culture. Throughout the Middle Ages, remnants of paganism and elements of folk religion have been preserved in folk culture. She opposed the official culture and developed her own view of the world, reflecting the close relationship between man and nature. Centuries after the adoption of Christianity, Western European peasants continued to secretly pray and make sacrifices to the old pagan shrines. Under the influence of Christianity, many pagan deities were transformed into evil demons. Special magical rites were performed in case of crop failure, drought, etc. Ancient beliefs in sorcerers and werewolves persisted among the peasantry throughout the Middle Ages. To combat evil spirits, various amulets were widely used, both verbal (all kinds of conspiracies) and subject (amulets, talismans). In almost every medieval village one could meet a sorceress who could not only inflict damage, but also heal.

Laughter folk culture, folk festivals and carnivals nourished heretical movements and, along with knightly culture, represented the secular, worldly beginning in the culture of the Middle Ages. However, just as in society, in culture there was a hierarchy of values. Different cultures were valued differently. In the first place was the religious, church culture. The courtly, knightly culture was recognized as necessary, but less valuable. The pagan folk culture was seen as sinful, vile. Thus, in the Middle Ages, religious culture subjugated all types of secular culture.

The most vividly and deeply Christian worldview was conveyed in the art of the Middle Ages. The main attention of the artists of the Middle Ages was paid to the other world, the Divine, their art was considered as a Bible for the illiterate, as a means of familiarizing a person with God, comprehending His essence. The Catholic Cathedral served as an artistic and religious embodiment of the image of the entire universe.

The early Middle Ages is the period of dominance of the Romanesque style. Romanesque architecture is perceived as a heavy, oppressive, great silence, embodying the stability of a person's worldview, his "horizontal", "groundedness". From the end of the XIII century. the gothic style becomes the leading one. For its lightness and openwork, it was called frozen, silent music, "a symphony in stone." Unlike harsh monolithic, impressive Romanesque temples and castles, Gothic cathedrals are decorated with carvings and decor, many sculptures, they are full of light, directed to the sky, their towers towered up to 150 meters. The masterpieces of this style are the cathedrals of Notre Dame, Reims, Cologne.

Thus, the culture of the Middle Ages in Western Europe laid the foundation for a new direction in the history of civilization - the establishment of Christianity not only as a religious doctrine, but also as a new worldview and attitude, which significantly influenced all subsequent cultural epochs. Although, as we know, the Christian ideal of man was not realized in medieval society. Now we understand that the ideal may not correspond to the logic of life itself, the historical reality underlying culture.

Another thing is important - we judge culture by the ideals that it put forward and which formed the mentality of its person, which holds together the unity of cultural tradition. Despite the inconsistency of the socio-cultural process, medieval culture was characterized by deep psychologism, heightened attention to the human soul, the inner world of man.

The era of the Middle Ages should not be regarded as a period of failure in the development of Western European culture from antiquity to modern times. For all the inconsistency of the culturological process, it is more legitimate to assert that it was at this time that the most important features of the Western European Christian type of culture were formed on the basis of the widespread spread of Christianity. The spiritual and moral crisis of European civilization allows us to see the merits of medieval culture, makes us rethink the most important achievements of its spiritual culture, its values and ideals - the ideas of mercy, selfless virtue, the condemnation of money-grubbing, the idea of human universality and many others.

christianity culture middle ages

Conclusion

In conclusion, we can say that medieval culture represents a qualitatively new stage in the development of European culture, following after antiquity and covering more than a thousand-year period (V-XV centuries). It differs from many previous and subsequent eras in the special tension of spiritual life. The most important feature of medieval culture is the special role of Christian doctrine and the Christian church. In the context of the general decline of culture immediately after the collapse of the Roman Empire, only the church for many centuries remained the only social institution common to all countries, tribes and states of Western Europe. Christianity became a kind of unifying shell, which led to the formation of medieval culture as a whole. First, Christianity created a unified ideological and ideological field of medieval culture. Being an intellectually developed religion, Christianity offered medieval man a coherent system of knowledge about the world and man, about the principles of the structure of the universe, its laws and the forces acting in it. Christianity declares the salvation of man as the highest goal. People sin before God. Salvation requires faith in God, spiritual efforts, a pious life, sincere repentance of sins. However, it is impossible to be saved on your own, salvation is possible only in the bosom of the Church, which, according to Christian dogma, unites Christians into one mystical body with the sinless human nature of Christ. In Christianity, the model is a humble person, suffering, thirsting for the atonement of sins, salvation with God's grace. Proclaiming the dominance of the spiritual over the carnal, giving priority to the inner world of man, Christianity played a huge role in shaping the moral character of medieval man. The ideas of mercy, selfless virtue, the condemnation of money-grubbing and wealth - these and other Christian values - although they were not practically implemented in any of the classes of medieval society (including monasticism), nevertheless had a significant impact on the formation of the spiritual and moral sphere of medieval culture. Secondly, Christianity has created a single religious space, a new spiritual community of people of the same faith. This was facilitated, first of all, by the ideological aspect of Christianity, which interprets a person, regardless of his social status, as an earthly incarnation of the Creator, called to strive for spiritual perfection. The Christian God stands above the external differences of people - ethnic, class, etc. Spiritual universalism allowed Christianity to appeal to all people, regardless of their class, ethnicity, etc. accessories. In the conditions of feudal fragmentation, political weakness of state formations, and incessant wars, Christianity acted as a kind of bond that integrated, united the disparate European peoples into a single spiritual space, creating a religious connection of people. Thirdly, Christianity acted as the organizational, regulating principle of medieval society. In the conditions of the destruction of the old tribal relations and the collapse of the "barbarian" states, the church's own hierarchical organization became a model for creating the social structure of feudal society. The idea of a single origin of the human race responded to the trend towards the formation of large early feudal states, which was most clearly embodied in the empire of Charlemagne; Christianity became the cultural and ideological basis for the consolidation of a diverse empire.

The church was not only the dominant political institution, but also had a dominant influence directly on the consciousness of the population. The medieval higher clergy were the only educated class.

Medieval mass culture is a bookless culture; the “translation” of the thoughts of the social and spiritual elite into a language accessible to all people was sermons, which represent a significant layer of medieval culture. Parish priests, monks, and missionaries had to explain to the people the basic principles of theology, instil the principles of Christian behavior and eradicate the wrong way of thinking.

christianity culture middle ages

List of used literature

1. Bolshakov V. Features of culture in its historical development. Culturology. Textbook // V. Bolshakov, L. Novitskaya; Edited by Assoc. N.N. Fomina, Assoc. BUT. Svechnikova. - St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg State University ITMO. - 2008. - 483 p.

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Time Period of the Early Christian Church

In 325, in Nicaea (now the city of Iznik, Turkey), the First was held at which the main dogmas of Christianity were adopted, and thus put an end to disputes about the official religion. The early Christian church, or apostolic age, also ends at Nicea. The starting date is considered to be the 30s of the 1st century AD, when the emerging Christianity was considered a sect of the Jewish religion. The persecution of Christians began not from the pagans, but from the Jews. The first martyr of the Christian Church was executed by the Jews in the year 34.

Persecution of Christians and the end of persecution

The period of the early Christian church was a time of oppression of Christians by all empires. The most severe was the "Diocletian persecution" that lasted from 302 to 311. This Roman ruler set out to completely destroy the nascent faith. Diocletian himself died in 305, but his bloody work was continued by his heirs. The "Great Persecution" was legitimized by a verdict issued in 303.

The history of the Christian church did not know great oppression - Christians were sacrificed in dozens, driving their families into the arena with lions. And although some scholars consider the number of victims of Diocletian persecution exaggerated, all the same, the figure is impressive - 3,500 people. There were many times more tortured and exiled righteous. Constantine the Great put an end to ostracism and gave rise to one of the main religions of mankind. Giving Christianity a special status, Constantine ensured the rapid development of this religion. Byzantium becomes at first the center of Christianity, and later the capital of Orthodoxy, in which, as in some other churches, this ruler is numbered among the saints of the Equal-to-the-Apostles. Catholicism does not consider him a saint.

Connection of times

Churches were also built on the donations of Constantine's mother, Empress Elena. Under Constantine, the Temple of Hagia Sophia was laid in Constantinople, a city named after the emperor. But the very first and most beautiful is considered to be the one that the Bible tells about. However, many of the first religious buildings have not been preserved. The oldest Christian church on earth that has survived to this day is located in the French city of Poitiers, the main settlement of the Vienne department. This is a baptistery built in the 4th century. That is, even before the history of the Early Middle Ages began, during which the construction of churches, temples and cathedrals became widespread.

Rich historical period

It is generally accepted that the Early Middle Ages lasted 5 centuries, from the moment in 476 to the end of the 10th century. But some scholars consider the beginning of this first period of the Middle Ages to be precisely the year 313 - the time of the end of the persecution of the followers of the Christian religion.

The most difficult historical period, which included the Great Migration of Nations, the emergence of Byzantium, the strengthening of Muslim influence, the invasion of the Arabs in Spain, was completely based on the Christian religion. The Church in the Early Middle Ages was the main political, cultural, educational and economic institution for many tribes and peoples inhabiting Europe. All schools were run by the church, monasteries were cultural and educational centers. In addition, already in the IV century, all the monasteries were very rich and strong. However, the church not only sowed the reasonable, good, eternal. Dissent was subjected to the most severe persecution. Pagan altars and temples were destroyed, heretics were destroyed physically.

Faith as a stronghold of the state

The Christian church experienced its first flowering in the early Middle Ages, and by the end of the period, it had somewhat lost its positions. And later, in the following periods of the Middle Ages, a new upsurge of the Christian religion began. At the beginning of the 5th century, Ireland became one of the centers of Christianity. The Frankish state, which significantly expanded its territories under Clovis from the Merovingian family, adopted a new religion under him. In the 5th century, under this ruler, there were already 250 monasteries on the territory of the Frankish state. The church becomes the strongest organization with the full patronage of Clovis. The Christian Church in the Early Middle Ages played a cementing role. The flock that accepted the faith rallied at the direction of the church around the monarch, the country became much stronger and more impregnable for external enemies. For the same reasons, other countries of Europe also accepted the new faith. Rus' was baptized in the 9th century. Christianity gained strength, it penetrated into Asia and up the Nile (the territory of modern Sudan).

Cruel methods

But for various reasons - both objective (Islam gaining strength) and subjective (during the reign of the descendants of Clovis, nicknamed the "lazy kings" who ruined the Frankish state), Christianity temporarily lost its positions. For a short time, the Arabs occupied part of the Iberian Peninsula. The papacy was greatly weakened. The Christian Church in the Early Middle Ages became the religious ideology of feudalism.

Born in antiquity, Christianity that survived it became at the cradle of feudalism, serving it faithfully, justifying oppression and social inequality "by the will of the Lord." In order to keep the masses in subjection, the church resorted to intimidation, especially fears of the afterlife. The disobedient were declared servants of the devil, heretics, which later led to the creation of the Inquisition.

The positive role of the church

But the Christian Church in the Early Middle Ages smoothed out social conflicts, disagreements and antagonisms as much as possible. One of the main postulates of the church is that everyone is equal before God. The church did not have open hostility towards the peasants, who were the main labor force. She called for mercy towards the disadvantaged and oppressed. This was the official position of the church, albeit sometimes hypocritical.

In the Early Middle Ages, with the almost complete illiteracy of the population, in the absence of any other means of communication, the church played the role of a communication center - people converged here, here they communicated and learned all the news.

Cruel planting of Christianity

The history of the Christian Church, like that of any other great religion, is extraordinarily rich. All the masterpieces of art and literature for many centuries were created with the support of the church, for its needs and for its subjects. It also influenced the policies pursued by states, the Crusades alone are worth something. True, they began in the 11th century, but even in the period from the 5th to the 10th centuries, Christianity was implanted not only by the power of persuasion and missionary work or economic considerations. Weapons played a very important role. Cruelly suppressed by the pagans in the period of its inception, the Christian faith was very often planted with bayonets, including during the conquest of the New World.

Page in the history of mankind

The entire history of the Middle Ages is full of wars. The Early Middle Ages, or the Early Feudal period, is the time when feudalism was born and took shape as a socio-political formation. By the end of the 10th century, the feudalization of the lands had practically ended.

Despite the fact that obscurantism and backwardness are often synonymous with the term "feudalism", it, like the church of this period, also had positive features that contributed to the progressive development of society, which led to the emergence of the Renaissance.

X the Christian church in the Middle Ages played the role of a connecting factor for European states. At the same time, the church also performed an identification function. After 1054 (the break with the Byzantine patriarchy), the church becomes the center of the political life of Europe (Vatican City, Rome, Italy).

According to the doctrine of Augustine the Blessed, the church asserted and defended its priority over secular power. Not a single king could challenge the privileges of the pope, interfere in the political life of his own state. Of course, secular rulers were looking for ways to neutralize the strong and unnecessary influence of the Catholic Church. But these victories were the exception rather than the rule.

The main instruments of struggle against recalcitrant monarchs were the financial press and the institute of anathema. During the period of feudal irritability, the kings were most dependent on the will of the pope. The struggle for the integrity of the state required a lot of money, because the rebellious feudal lords were often richer than the overlord. Monetary assistance was provided in exchange for expanding the pope's influence in the region.

If the king turned out to obey the head of the Vatican, then the mechanism of anathema was activated. Anathema - a church curse, the eternal excommunication of an objectionable person. Anathema entailed terrible, irreparable consequences.

The French king Henry VII fell into this trap, notorious for his campaign in Canossa, where, after incredible humiliation, he was nevertheless forgiven by the pope.

Unlike secular power, the Catholic Church had a solid financial income - church tithes from peasants, generous gifts from powerful feudal lords and benefits provided by the monarch.

During the early and middle Middle Ages, the Catholic Church controlled all spheres of human life: from politics to the spiritual world of the individual. Every step a person took with the permission of the clergy. This position has led the church to a double morality. The Church demanded from parishioners strict observance of all moral norms, but allowed itself the impossible.

Education was controlled by "black and white cassocks", everything that was contrary to official morality was removed from the programs of schools and universities. The natural development of science was hampered by dogmatism: thus, among the victims of the geocentric model of the world was D. Bruno, who was declared a heretic. Another talented scientist, G. Galileo, who was more diplomatic, had to beg forgiveness for a long time.

But these circumstances do not negate all the positive things that were done by the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages. The monasteries were the center of culture; many of them contained evidence of the great deeds of the Roman Empire. Competent monks painstakingly rewrote ancient scrolls.

The Church encouraged the development of such genres as all kinds of lives of the saints and chronicles "from the Nativity of Christ." Note that the Orthodox Church led the chronology from the Creation of the world.

In order to dominate the minds, hearts, and souls of its contemporaries, the church practiced various methods of tracking changes in society. Of course, the methods chosen were not the cleanest, although they were effective. In the arsenal - surveillance, denunciations and the good work of the Inquisition. There was an ongoing "witch hunt". As a result, hundreds of thousands of "sorceresses" were burned at the stake. Mass executions were practiced, up to 500 women were burned at the stake per day. The inquisitors, they are also the gloomy tools of the Dominicans (the Order of St. Dominic), in search of heretics, were guided by the prescriptions of the treatise "Hammer of the Witches". The accusations were absurd, the punishments were inhuman and cruel. Torture was used to force the victim to sign his own sentence. The most popular are the hugs of the "iron maiden", the Spanish boot, hanging by the hair, water torture. As a sign of protest, no less terrible “black masses” swept across Europe, which caused a new surge in the “witch hunt”.

The influence of the Catholic Church began to decline sharply in the late Middle Ages, with the end of the process of centralization. Secular power noticeably ousted the clergy from making state decisions, which resulted in some liberalization of all aspects of life.

The stable position of the church turned out to be in those states of Europe where the rate of economic growth lagged noticeably behind the leaders (Italy, Spain).

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