early middle ages essay

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AP®︎/College Art History

Course: ap®︎/college art history   >   unit 5, introduction to the middle ages.

• Christianity, an introduction for the study of art history
• Architecture and liturgy
• The life of Christ in medieval and Renaissance art
• A New Pictorial Language: The Image in Early Medieval Art
• Catacomb of Priscilla, Rome
• Basilica of Santa Sabina, Rome
• Santa Sabina
• Jacob wrestling the angel, Vienna Genesis
• Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well, Vienna Genesis
• A beginner's guide to Byzantine Art
• San Vitale, Ravenna
• Justinian Mosaic, San Vitale
• Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
• Theotokos mosaic, apse, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
• Hagia Sophia as a mosque
• Deësis mosaic, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
• Virgin (Theotokos) and Child between Saints Theodore and George
• The Lindisfarne Gospels
• The Bayeux Tapestry
• The Bayeux Tapestry - Seven Ages of Britain - BBC One
• Church and Reliquary of Sainte‐Foy, France
• Chartres Cathedral
• Bible moralisée (moralized bibles)
• Saint Louis Bible (moralized bible)
• The Golden Haggadah
• Röttgen Pietà
• Giotto, Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel (part 1)
• Giotto, Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel (part 2)
• Giotto, Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel (part 3)
• Giotto, Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel (part 4)

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Open Yale Courses

You are here, the early middle ages, 284–1000.

Major developments in the political, social, and religious history of Western Europe from the accession of Diocletian to the feudal transformation. Topics include the conversion of Europe to Christianity, the fall of the Roman Empire, the rise of Islam and the Arabs, the “Dark Ages,” Charlemagne and the Carolingian renaissance, and the Viking and Hungarian invasions.

This Yale College course, taught on campus two times per week for 50 minutes, was recorded for Open Yale Courses in Fall 2011.

Central Texts

Charlemagne’s Courtier: The Complete Einhard . ed. Paul Edward Dutton, Broadview Press, 1998.

Gregory of Tours: The Merovingians . ed. Alexander Callander Murray, Broadview Press, 2006.

Procopius, The Secret History . ed. Richard Atwater, University of Michigan Press, 1961.

Wickham, Chris, The Inheritance of Rome: A History of Europe from 400 to 1000 . Viking, 2009.

Richards, Julian, The Vikings: A Very Short History. Oxford University Press, 2005.

Course Packet

Augustine, Confessions , ed. James Joseph O’Donnell. Oxford University Press, 1992.

Berkey, Jonathan Porter, The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800. Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Brown, Peter, The World of Late Antiquity: AD 150-750 . Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1971.

The Burgundian Code: Book of Constitutions or Law of Gundobad , ed. Katherine Fischer Drew. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1972.

Fichtenau, Heinrich, The Carolingian Empire. Blackwelll, 1957.

Jones, A.H.M., Constantine and the Conversion of Europe . English Universities Press, 1948.

Rule of St. Benedict, ed. Ruth J. Dean. Blackwell, 1964.

Short paper, mid-term exam, and long research paper.

Short paper: 20% Mid-term exam: 30% Long research paper: 40%

This Open Yale Course is accompanied by a book published by Yale University Press.

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Middle Ages

By: History.com Editors

Updated: June 6, 2023 | Original: April 22, 2010

People use the phrase “Middle Ages” to describe Europe between the fall of Rome in 476 CE and the beginning of the Renaissance in the 14th century. Many scholars call the era the “medieval period” instead; “Middle Ages,” they say, incorrectly implies that the period is an insignificant blip sandwiched between two much more important epochs.

The Middle Ages: Birth of an Idea

The phrase “Middle Ages” tells us more about the Renaissance that followed it than it does about the era itself. Starting around the 14th century, European thinkers, writers and artists began to look back and celebrate the art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome . Accordingly, they dismissed the period after the fall of Rome as a “Middle” or even “Dark” age in which no scientific accomplishments had been made, no great art produced, no great leaders born. The people of the Middle Ages had squandered the advancements of their predecessors, this argument went, and mired themselves instead in what 18th-century English historian Edward Gibbon called “barbarism and religion.”

Did you know? Between 1347 and 1350, a mysterious disease known as the "Black Death" (the bubonic plague) killed some 20 million people in Europe—30 percent of the continent’s population. It was especially deadly in cities, where it was impossible to prevent the transmission of the disease from one person to another.

This way of thinking about the era in the “middle” of the fall of Rome and the rise of the Renaissance prevailed until relatively recently. However, today’s scholars note that the era was as complex and vibrant as any other.

The Catholic Church in the Middle Ages

After the fall of Rome, no single state or government united the people who lived on the European continent. Instead, the Catholic Church became the most powerful institution of the medieval period. Kings, queens and other leaders derived much of their power from their alliances with and protection of the Church.

In 800 CE, for example, Pope Leo III named the Frankish king Charlemagne the “Emperor of the Romans”–the first since that empire’s fall more than 300 years before. Over time, Charlemagne’s realm became the Holy Roman Empire, one of several political entities in Europe whose interests tended to align with those of the Church.

Ordinary people across Europe had to “tithe” 10 percent of their earnings each year to the Church; at the same time, the Church was mostly exempt from taxation. These policies helped it to amass a great deal of money and power.

The Middle Ages: The Rise of Islam

Meanwhile, the Islamic world was growing larger and more powerful. After the prophet Muhammad’s death in 632 CE, Muslim armies conquered large parts of the Middle East, uniting them under the rule of a single caliph. At its height, the medieval Islamic world was more than three times bigger than all of Christendom.

Under the caliphs, great cities such as Cairo, Baghdad and Damascus fostered a vibrant intellectual and cultural life. Poets, scientists and philosophers wrote thousands of books (on paper, a Chinese invention that had made its way into the Islamic world by the 8th century). Scholars translated Greek, Iranian and Indian texts into Arabic. Inventors devised technologies like the pinhole camera, soap, windmills, surgical instruments, and an early flying machine. And religious scholars and mystics translated, interpreted and taught the Quran and other scriptural texts to people across the Middle East.

The Crusades

Toward the end of the 11th century, the Catholic Church began to authorize military expeditions, or Crusades , to expel Muslim “infidels” from the Holy Land. Crusaders, who wore red crosses on their coats to advertise their status, believed that their service would guarantee the remission of their sins and ensure that they could spend all eternity in Heaven. (They also received more worldly rewards, such as papal protection of their property and forgiveness of some kinds of loan payments.)

The Crusades began in 1095, when Pope Urban summoned a Christian army to fight its way to Jerusalem , and continued on and off until the end of the 15th century. In 1099, Christian armies captured Jerusalem from Muslim control, and groups of pilgrims from across Western Europe started visiting the Holy Land. Many of them, however, were robbed and killed as they crossed through Muslim-controlled territories during their journey.

Around 1118, a French knight named Hugues de Payens created a military order along with eight relatives and acquaintances that became the Knights Templar , and they won the eventual support of the pope and a reputation for being fearsome fighters. The Fall of Acre in 1291 marked the destruction of the last remaining Crusader refuge in the Holy Land, and Pope Clement V dissolved the Knights Templar in 1312.

No one “won” the Crusades; in fact, many thousands of people from both sides lost their lives. They did make ordinary Catholics across Christendom feel like they had a common purpose, and they inspired waves of religious enthusiasm among people who might otherwise have felt alienated from the official Church. They also exposed Crusaders to Islamic literature, science and technology–exposure that would have a lasting effect on European intellectual life.

The Middle Ages: Art and Architecture

Another way to show devotion to the Church was to build grand cathedrals and other ecclesiastical structures such as monasteries. Cathedrals were the largest buildings in medieval Europe, and they could be found at the center of towns and cities across the continent.

Between the 10th and 13th centuries, most European cathedrals were built in the Romanesque style. Romanesque cathedrals are solid and substantial: They have rounded masonry arches and barrel vaults supporting the roof, thick stone walls and few windows. (Examples of Romanesque architecture include the Porto Cathedral in Portugal and the Speyer Cathedral in present-day Germany.)

Around 1200, church builders began to embrace a new architectural style, known as the Gothic. Gothic structures, such as the Abbey Church of Saint-Denis in France and the rebuilt Canterbury Cathedral in England, have huge stained-glass windows, pointed vaults and pointed arches (a technology perfected in in the Islamic world), and spires and flying buttresses. In contrast to heavy Romanesque buildings, Gothic architecture seems to be almost weightless. Medieval religious art took other forms as well. Frescoes and mosaics decorated church interiors, and artists painted devotional images of the Virgin Mary, Jesus and the saints.

Also, before the invention of the printing press in the 15th century, even books were works of art. Craftsmen in monasteries (and later in universities) created illuminated manuscripts: handmade sacred and secular books with colored illustrations, gold and silver lettering and other adornments. Convents were one of the few places women could receive a higher education , and nuns wrote, translated, and illuminated manuscripts as well. In the 12th century, urban booksellers began to market smaller illuminated manuscripts, like books of hours, psalters and other prayer books, to wealthy individuals.

Did You Know? Juliana Morell, a 17th-century Spanish Dominican nun, is believed to be the first woman in the Western world to earn a university degree.

Chivalry and courtly love were celebrated in stories and songs spread by troubadours. Some of medieval literature’s most famous stories include “The Song of Roland” and “The Song of Hildebrand.” 

The Black Death

Between 1347 and 1350, a mysterious disease known as the " Black Death " (the bubonic plague) killed some 20 million people in Europe—30 percent of the continent’s population. It was especially deadly in cities, where it was impossible to prevent the transmission of the disease from one person to another.

The plague started in Europe in October 1347, when 12 ships from the Black Sea docked at the Sicilian port of Messina. Most sailors aboard the ships were dead, and those who were alive were covered in black boils that oozed blood and pus. Symptoms of the Black Death included fever, chills, vomiting, diarrhea, terrible aches and pains – and then death. Victims could go to bed feeling healthy and be dead by morning.

The plague killed cows, pigs, goats, chickens and even sheep, leading to a wool shortage in Europe. Understandably terrified about the mysterious disease, some people of the Middle Ages believed the plague was a divine punishment for sin. To obtain forgiveness, some people became “flagellants,” traveling Europe to put on public displays of penance that could include whipping and beating one another. Others turned on their neighbors, purging people they believed to be heretics. Thousands of Jews were murdered between 1348 and 1349, while others fled to less populated areas of Eastern Europe.

Today, scientists know the plague was caused by a bacillus called Yersina pestis , which travels through the air and can also be contracted through the bite of an infected flea . 

The Middle Ages: Economics and Society

In medieval Europe, rural life was governed by a system scholars call “feudalism.” In a feudal society, the king granted large pieces of land called fiefs to noblemen and bishops. Landless peasants known as serfs did most of the work on the fiefs: They planted and harvested crops and gave most of the produce to the landowner. In exchange for their labor, they were allowed to live on the land. They were also promised protection in case of enemy invasion.

During the 11th century, however, feudal life began to change. Agricultural innovations such as the heavy plow and three-field crop rotation made farming more efficient and productive, so fewer farm workers were needed–but thanks to the expanded and improved food supply, the population grew. As a result, more and more people were drawn to towns and cities. Meanwhile, the Crusades had expanded trade routes to the East and given Europeans a taste for imported goods such as wine, olive oil and luxurious textiles. As the commercial economy developed, port cities in particular thrived. By 1300, there were some 15 cities in Europe with a population of more than 50,000.

In these cities, a new era was born: the Renaissance. The Renaissance was a time of great intellectual and economic change, but it was not a complete “rebirth”: It had its roots in the world of the Middle Ages.

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The Early, High and Late Middle Ages

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Although in some languages the Middle Ages are labeled in the singular (it's le moyen age in French and das mittlere Alter in German), it is difficult to think of the era as anything other than ages plural. This is in part because of the numerous subjects encompassed by this long period of time, and in part because of the chronological sub-eras within the era.

Generally, the medieval era is divided into three periods: the Early Middle Ages, the High Middle Ages, and the Late Middle Ages. Like the Middle Ages itself, each of these three periods lacks hard and fast parameters.

Early Middle Ages

The Early Medieval Era is sometimes still called the Dark Ages. This epithet originated with those who wanted to compare the earlier period unfavorably with their own so-called "enlightened" age. Modern scholars who have actually studied the time period would not so readily use the label, since passing judgment on the past interferes with a true understanding of the time and its people. Yet the term is still somewhat apt for the simple reason that we know relatively little about events and material culture in those times.

Fall of Rome

This era is often considered, to begin with, the "fall of Rome" and end sometime in the 11th century. It encompasses the reigns of ​ Charlemagne , Alfred the Great, and the Danish Kings of England; it saw frequent Viking activity, the Iconoclastic Controversy , and the birth and rapid expansion of Islam in Northern Africa and Spain. Over these centuries, Christianity spread throughout much of Europe, and the Papacy evolved into a powerful political entity.

Late Antiquity

The Early Middle Ages are also sometimes referred to as Late Antiquity . This time period is usually viewed as beginning in the third century and stretching to the seventh century, and sometimes as late as the eighth. Some scholars see Late Antiquity as distinct and separate from both the Ancient world and the Medieval one; others see it as a bridge between the two where significant factors from both eras overlap.

High Middle Ages

The High Medieval Era is the period of time that seems to typify the Middle Ages best. Usually beginning with the 11th century, some scholars end it in 1300 and others extend it for as much as another 150 years. Even limiting it to a mere 300 years, the High Middle Ages saw such significant events as Norman conquests in Britain and Sicily, the earlier Crusades , the Investiture Controversy and the signing of the Magna Carta . By the end of the 11th century, nearly every corner of Europe had become Christianized (with the notable exception of much of Spain), and the Papacy, long established as a political force, was in constant struggle with some secular governments and alliance with others.

Flowering of Medieval Society

This period is often what we think of when someone mentions "medieval culture." It is sometimes referred to as the "flowering" of medieval society, thanks to an intellectual renaissance in the 12th century, such notable philosophers as Peter Abelard and Thomas Aquinas, and the establishment of such Universities as those in Paris, Oxford, and Bologna. There was an explosion of stone castle-building and the construction of some of the most magnificent cathedrals in Europe.

Feudalism Firmly Established

In terms of material culture and political structure, the High Middle Ages saw medievalism at its peak. What we call feudalism today was firmly established in Britain and parts of Europe; trade in luxury items, as well as staples, flourished; towns were granted charters of privilege and even established anew by ​feudal lords with alacrity, and a well-fed population was beginning to burgeon. By the end of the thirteenth century, Europe was at an economic and cultural height, perched at the verge of a downturn.​

Late Middle Ages

The end of the Middle Ages can be characterized as a transformation from the medieval world to the early modern one. It is often considered to begin in 1300, though some scholars look at the mid- to late-fifteenth century as the beginning of the end. Once again, the end of the end is debatable, ranging from 1500 to 1650.

Cataclysmic and awesome events of the 14th century include the Hundred Years War, the Black Death , the Avignon Papacy , the Italian Renaissance, and the Peasants' Revolt. The 15th century saw Joan of Arc burned at the stake, the fall of Constantinople to the Turks, the Moors were driven from Spain and the Jews expelled, the Wars of the Roses and the voyage of Columbus to the New World. The 16th century was wracked by the Reformation and blessed by the birth of Shakespeare. The 17th century, rarely included within the medieval era, saw the Great Fire of London, a rash of witch hunts, and the Thirty Years War.

Famine, Disease, and Population Decline

Though famine and disease had always been a lurking presence, the Late Medieval era saw the horrific results of both in abundance. The Black Death, preceded by famine and overpopulation, wiped out at least a third of Europe and marked the end of the prosperity that had characterized the high medieval era. The Church, once so highly respected by the general populace, suffered reduced status when some of its priests refused to minister to the dying during the plague and sparked resentment when it enjoyed enormous profits in bequests from plague victims.

More and more towns and cities were wresting control of their own governments from the hands of the clergy or nobility that had previously ruled them. And the reduction in population triggered economic and political changes that would never be reversed.

Seeds of Individual Rights

High medieval society had been characterized by the corporation. The nobility, the clergy, the peasantry, the guilds —all were group entities that saw to the welfare of their members but put the welfare of the community, and their own community in particular, first. Now, as was reflected in the Italian Renaissance, a new regard for the value of the individual was growing. By no means was late medieval nor early modern society a culture of equality, but the seeds of the idea of human rights had been sown.

Beginning and End Dates Vary

The viewpoints examined in the previous pages are by no means the only ways to look at the Middle Ages. Anyone studying a smaller geographical area, such as Great Britain or the Iberian Peninsula, will much more easily discover start- and end-dates for the era. Students of art, literature, sociology, militaria, and any number of subjects will each find specific turning points pertinent to their topic of interest. And I don't doubt that you, too, will see a particular event that strikes you as possessed of such towering importance that it defines the beginning or end of the medieval era for you.

Defining Historical Eras

The comment has been made that all historical eras are arbitrary definitions and, therefore, how the Middle Ages is defined really has no significance. I believe that the true historian will find something lacking in this approach. Defining historical eras not only makes each era more accessible to the newcomer, it helps the serious student identify interrelated events, recognize patterns of cause and effect, understand the influence of a period's culture on those who lived within it and, ultimately, find a deeper meaning in the story of our past.

So make your own choice, and reap the benefits of approaching the Middle Ages from your own unique perspective. Whether you are a serious scholar following the path of higher education or a devoted amateur like me, any conclusions you can support with facts will not only have validity but will help you make the Middle Ages your own. And do not be surprised if your view of Medieval times changes over the course of your studies. My own outlook has certainly evolved in the last 25 years, and will most likely continue to do so as long as the Middle Ages continues to hold me in its thrall.

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Early medieval art

Christianity flourished in the early middle ages and this shift dramatically affected the art that was created across Europe.

c. 500–800 C.E.

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Saint Patrick’s Bell and Shrine

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Clonmacnoise

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Western Civilization in the Middle Ages Essay

In Europe, the period after the fall of the Roman Empire until 1500 is commonly called the Middle Ages. This period can be characterized both as a period of chaos and instability and a period of a great increase in instability and order. This époque is divided by the scholars into three periods: an early phase, 500-1000; the central, 1000-1300; and the later, 1300-1500.

The following events in the course of the European countries’ development give us a way to state that there was a time of chaos and instability during the period under consideration:

• The decay of the ancient city-state. Existing before as physical and social units, now they have led to the establishment of the isolated rural estate as a typical form of social and economic organization. The economic and cultural unity of the cities was ruined, only some cities survived as ecclesiastical or political centers.
• The decline of long-distance trade. As a result, the individual’s needs depended only on locally produced goods. Large-scale pottery manufacture and other major industries that depended on long-distance trade vanished in many countries.
• Diseases. Assaults from outside Europe carried outbreaks of bubonic plague. As a result, there was a drastic population decline in Europe during the Early Middle Ages.
• The decline of power by the two the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania.
• The breakup of the Carolingian Empire. This process was accompanied by the invasions, migrations, and raids of external foes which brought chaos and instability to societies.
• The start of feudalism in Europe in the High Middle Ages.
• The long conflicts during the Late Middle Ages (for example, the Hundred Years’ War) strengthened royal control over the kingdoms, whereas the conditions in which peasantry existed were extremely hard.

The following factors, on the contrary, brought order to the European society:

• The collapse of the centralized state (the Roman Empire). This contributed to the established government of law and social order.
• Conversion of peoples to Christianity. It led to a shift of basic loyalty from the state to religion.
• Explosion in population during the High Middle Ages.
• The first sustained urbanization, which resulted from the military and dynastic achievements of this period.
• The protestant reformation. It formed the shifts in attitude leading to the rise of modern nation-states.
• The rise of strong centralized monarchial states in Denmark, Sweden, Spain, France, England, Russia, and Germany.
• The independence of Switzerland and the Republic of Belgium.
• Carolingian Renaissance. This period of cultural revival is characterized by an increase in literacy, developments in arts, architecture, and other spheres of human knowledge.
• In the High Middle Ages major barbarian incursions ceased.
• The divisiveness of the Catholic Church in the Late Middle Ages undermined papal authority and led to the formation of national churches.

We are inclined to believe that the factors and the events mentioned above should be considered in their complex interconnection, as emphasizing any of them will lead only to a one-sided approach to the problem of the European development after the fall of the Roman Empire up to 1500.

After the Protestant Reformation and Scientific Revolution European society differed from the one it used to be in the Early Middle Ages. Contrary to the Early Middle Ages period when the Catholic Church remained the unifying factor, Europe in 1600 was divided according to the countries’ religious orientations. Religious strife took place within several European states. For example, France suffered from the French Wars of Religion.

Religion remained the main power that influenced the development of the European states: Germany was divided into states according to the principles of the Holy Roman Empire, England was characterized by moderate Anglicanism. Changes in religion we consider to be the most influential for European development.

Feudalism which originates in Europe from the Early Middle Ages was replaced by capitalism as the principal form of economic organization. Therefore, collapse in trade and manufacture for export common for the Early Middle Ages Europe was not typical for Europe of 1600. The rise of modern science and the application of its findings also contributed to the emergence of the new forms of trade and expanding horizons that differed Europe of 1600 from Europe of 500-600.

During the Middle Ages the formation of the Islamic Eastern culture and Asian culture, along with the European culture was characterized by the growth of the productive forces – the usage of the iron tools expanded, artificial irrigation and irrigation engineering were modernized. The main tendency of the historical development of the East as well as of the West was the establishment of feudalism. But the eastern cultures differed from the western ones by the dynamism of the feudalism development. The main reasons that determined the latency of the eastern cultures are:

• The slow break-up of the primitive communal system and conservation of slavery along with the feudal relationships;
• Stability of the communal forms which postpone the differentiation of peasantry;
• Prevalence of the state property and governmental authorities over the landlordism and private property of feudal lords;
• Authoritative power of feudal over a town which impaired the anti-feudal aspirations of the citizens.

These were the main tendencies that distinguished the formation of feudalism in the western and eastern countries.

Feudalism is a system of reciprocal legal and military obligations among members of the nobility during the High Middle Ages. The three main elements of the feudalism system are lords, vassals, and fiefs. The interrelation of these three elements is rooted in the following: a lord-owned land, known as a fief, the possession of this land was granted by the lord to a vassal who, in his turn, should have provided military service to the lord. These three elements fitting together, the obligations and relations between them form the basis of feudalism.

There is no specific start of feudalism in Europe. In its classical form, it occurred around the 10 th century. The causes of feudalism in Europe are as follows:

• Taxation (either by means of feorm-fultum, or danegelt, or gabelle) forced the poorer people to commend themselves to a lord;
• The royal grant of fole-land;
• International war. Kings needed to surround themselves with the help of the army, the members of which were granted the king’s protection.

The height of feudalism in Europe was during the 11 th century, feudalism flourished in the 12th. The decline of feudalism started in the 13 th century and proceeded until the 15 th century. The decline was due to the new processes that replaced the system of land tenure paid for by governmental work.

The troops for war were raised according to the new system that substituted money for land. The latter stopped having the same value in the eyes of the monarch, since then money became a symbol of his power. Vassals preferred to give money to their lords and the lords also preferred money as it enabled them to hire professional troops more disciplined and trained than the vassals. The revival of infantry tactics and the introduction of new weapons made cavalry tactics useless.

Another cause of the decline of feudalism is the increase in communication that took place in Europe. This process broke down the isolated manor houses and assisted the rise of towns. The burgess class emerged.

The Peasant Revolt all over Europe has broken the system of the old economy and started the modern social economy. By 1550, it consisted of the métier system or division of national wealth among small landed possessors on the Continent. In England, feudalism was replaced by “enclosed” agriculture.

In the late Middle Ages, feudal obligations existing between lords and vassals were replaced by agreements based on money payments. The economy developed from an agricultural base to commercial and manufacturing interests.

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Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Western Civilization in the Middle Ages." September 14, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/western-civilization-in-the-middle-ages/.

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Power and Identity in the Middle Ages: Essays in Memory of Rees Davies

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This volume celebrates the work of the late Rees Davies. Reflecting Davies' interest in identities, political culture, and the workings of power in medieval Britain, the chapters range across ten centuries, looking at a variety of key topics. Issues explored range from the historical representations of peoples and the changing patterns of power and authority, to the notions of ‘core’ and ‘periphery’ and the relationship between local conditions and international movements. The political impact of words and ideas, and the parallels between developments in Wales and those elsewhere in Britain, Ireland, and Europe are also discussed.

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Essay on Medieval Times

This essay will cover key aspects of medieval times, including social structure, culture, and historical events. It will discuss life in medieval society, the role of the Church, and significant developments of the era. The piece will provide insights into the complexities of medieval life and its impact on modern society. At PapersOwl too, you can discover numerous free essay illustrations related to Byzantine Empire.

How it works

The middle ages began in the 5th century and last until the 15th century. It began with eh fall of the Western Roman Empire and made its way into the Renaissance. In Medieval Europe there was a war in Northern Spain in 792. It targeted the Christian countries. Charlemagne’s army was ambushed by the Basques. There was a qualitative change in the nature of Christian virtue in Europe.

Christendom is the realm of the Christians. In the Early ages Jesus represented the king.

In the high middle ages Jesus suffered and He walked to his family, friends, disciples, enemies, and rivals. There was a lot of competition between the aristocracies. Charlemagne’s empire was divided into three kingdoms by his grandsons, and each further divided. The more kings there were, the more choices for aristocrats to shop for honors. The weakening of kings led to the rise of aristocracies. In the year 1000 to the year 1300 the population increased in Europe 36 million. During this time there was also less warfare and a decline in slavery. The climate slightly improved from what it was before.

They cleared out the forests and made them into farmlands. With farmlands in place, the agriculture equipment and techniques improved. They had better harness, intensive manuring, and they had a three-field system. The three-field system is wheat or rye, fallow, and barley, beans, and peas. There was an economic development in the 11th century. There was a surplus from agriculture. They also had commercial activity. Europe had had great cities including Paris, London, Florence, and Munich. Europe and China had an interdependence of commerce and agriculture turned investments into infrastructure.

Islamic world had profits of trade in Medieval Europe. Serfs were not slaves in a legal sense, nut they were bound to the land. The serfs had a degraded status, and they limited or no access to public courts. They would exchange their protection with their own freedom. Feudalism was a social system tied together by kinship, regional alliance, and personal bonds of loyalty. There was local autonomy and spread of political authority. The disappearance of Serfdom in Europe happened in the 14th century by purchasing freedom, peasant rebellions, and the bubonic plague.

While serfdom ended in Western Europe, it was picked up in Eastern Europe, and it continued to exist in Russia until the late 19th century. There were new reforms in the churched happening to create a new order. The wanted to purify monasticism. There was also a reform in papacy. The problems before the reform were Lay Investiture were appointment of bishops by kings, and simony was buying and selling the church offices. The appointment of bishops is by the Pope. The church was reorganized as a bureaucratic operation with the pope as monarch. Some of the goals were to be free from the control of secular authorities and management of professional clerics.

The first crusade was to aid the Byzantine Empire, and to regain the Holy Land in Jerusalem. The first crusade established a Latin kingdom in Palestine. The second crusade was defeated in 1148. The third crusade started in 1189 to 1192. This entailed drowning the German emperor and a peace treaty with Saladin. In the fourth crusade the pope contracted the Venetian merchants to ferry the troops, and there was competition between Venice and Constantinople during trade.

During this time, they attacked Constantinople, and there was mistrust between the Eastern and Western churches. The crusaders had some problem. The leaders argued amongst themselves, and doubts about the spiritual significance of such wars. The crusade also had significances which were showing the greed and piety of lords and outgrowth of Papal reform. “During the high Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church became organized into a hierarchy with the pope as the head of western Europe. He established supreme power. Many innovations took place in the creative arts during the high Middle Ages. Literacy was no longer merely requirement among the clergy. New readings were addressed to a newly literate public that had both the time and the knowledge to enjoy the work,” (James Sigona). During the medieval time period they had many achievements. These achievements were feudalism, cathedrals, and universities. They also had some negative effects which were, first pogroms against Jews, crusades against infidel Muslims, and conscious division of the world into Christians and non-Christians.

The relationship between the Church and the feudal states during the medieval period went through multiple developments. The struggles for power between kings and popes shaped the western world. The church became more defining of the Roman Empire. In the 5th century when the Roman Empire fell, there was no single powerful government in the West.

However, in Rome there was power, and this was the church. In the church became the most dominant power in the West. In the 10th century the church began to expand. The kingdoms began to gain power at the same time as the church. There was competition between the church power and the kingdom authority.

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PapersOwl.com. (2021). Essay on Medieval Times . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/essay-on-medieval-times/ [Accessed: 28-Apr-2024]

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Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History Essays

Italian painting of the later middle ages.

• Madonna and Child
• Berlinghiero

• Duccio di Buoninsegna

The Adoration of the Magi

• Giotto di Bondone

Saint Anthony of Padua

Maso di Banco

Saint John the Evangelist

• Segna di Buonaventura

North Italian Painter (Verona?)

Simone Martini

Saint Andrew

• The Assumption of the Virgin

Bernardo Daddi (possibly with workshop assistance)

The Crucifixion

Pietro Lorenzetti

Saint Julian

Taddeo Gaddi

Saint Catherine of Alexandria

• The Adoration of the Shepherds
• Bartolo di Fredi

• Master of the Codex of Saint George

• Paolo di Giovanni Fei

Saint Lucy and Her Mother at the Shrine of Saint Agatha; Saint Lucy Giving Alms; Saint Lucy before Paschasius; Saint Lucy Resisting Efforts to Move Her

• Giovanni di Bartolommeo Cristiani

Head of Christ

• Master of the Orcagnesque Misericordia

Saint Christopher and the Infant Christ

Domenico Ghirlandaio (Domenico Bigordi)

Jennifer Meagher Department of European Paintings, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

September 2010

Until the late eleventh century, southern Italy occupied the western border of the vast Byzantine empire . Even after this area fell under Norman rule in about 1071, Italy maintained a strong link with Byzantium through trade, and this link was expressed in the art of the period. Large illustrated Bibles (“giant Bibles”) and Exultet Rolls—liturgical scrolls containing texts for the celebration of Easter, produced in the Benevento region of southern Italy—enjoyed great popularity from about 1050 onward. Miniature illustrations in the Bibles, which relate to contemporary monumental wall paintings produced in Rome , were strongly influenced by early Christian painting cycles from Roman churches. After the sack of Constantinople in 1204 by Christian armies of the Fourth Crusade , precious objects from Byzantium made their way to Italian soil and profoundly influenced the art produced there, especially the brightly colored gold-ground panels that proliferated during the thirteenth century. A Madonna and Child ( 60.173 ) by Berlinghiero, the foremost painter of the period working in the Tuscan city of Lucca, is one such example: in this panel, the Madonna gestures solemnly toward the infant Christ, depicted as a miniature adult, who wears a philosopher’s robes and gestures in blessing. This composition is of the Byzantine type known as the Hodegetria, which may be translated as “One Who Shows the Way,” as the Madonna points to Christ as the way to salvation. Starburst-like ornaments at the crown of the Madonna’s head and on her right shoulder (a third would have appeared on her left shoulder, here concealed by the figure of Christ) are also traditional Byzantine motifs, symbolizing Mary’s virginity before, during, and after the birth of Christ .

At the end of the thirteenth century and beginning of the fourteenth, three great masters appeared who changed the course of painting: the Florentine Giotto di Bondone (1266/76–1337), the Roman Pietro Cavallini (ca. 1240–after ca. 1330), and the Sienese Duccio di Buoninsegna (active ca. 1278–1318). Giotto’s figures are volumetric rather than linear, and the emotions they express are varied and convincingly human rather than stylized ( 11.126.1 ). He created a new kind of pictorial space with an almost measurable depth. With Giotto, the flat world of thirteenth-century Italian painting was transformed into an analogue for the real world, for which reason he is considered the father of modern European painting. Duccio, founder of the Sienese school of painting, brought a lyrical expressiveness and intense spiritual gravity to the formalized Italo-Byzantine tradition. In a small devotional panel of the Madonna and Child ( 2004.442 ), Duccio bridged the gap between the spiritual world of the figures and the real world of the viewer by means of an illusionistic parapet, among the first of its kind in Western painting. Other exceptional artists who painted during this period were Taddeo Gaddi ( 1997.117.1 ), Maso di Banco ( 43.98.13 ), Ambrogio and Pietro Lorenzetti ( 2002.436 ; 13.212 ), and Simone Martini ( 1975.1.12 ; 41.100.23 ). Simone Martini added an elegance and refinement to the spare form of Giotto’s art. Pietro Lorenzetti, a pupil of Duccio, produced works innovative in their imaginative detail and expressive naturalism ( 2004.442 ).

At the start of the fourteenth century, elements of the Gothic style that emerged in twelfth-century France began to appear in Italian painting: architectural motifs such as the pointed arch, a refined delicacy of detail, increased naturalism, and an emphasis on fluid form. By mid-century, a surge of artistic output concentrated in central Italy integrated new ideals into earlier modes of depiction. The Byzantine devotional image of the Galaktotrophousa, or Virgo Lactans, which depicts the Madonna nursing the Christ Child, achieves a new elegance in Sienese master Paolo di Giovanni Fei’s sumptuously detailed panel ( 41.190.13 ). Bartolo di Fredi referred to pictorial traditions of both East and West in The Adoration of the Shepherds ( 25.120.288 ), in which the stable of Christ’s nativity is set into a cave. The artist used this projecting structure to experiment with perspective and the conveyance of spatial depth.

Fresco The technique of fresco painting, known from antiquity and especially popular in the Renaissance and Baroque periods, was used to decorate the walls and ceilings of churches, public buildings, and private dwellings.

The bare wall was first dampened and coated with a layer of coarse lime plaster, called arriccio , on which the design was drawn or brushed in red earth pigment ( sinopia ). The overall composition was painted in sections known as giornate —Italian for “a day’s work.” Each of these sections was composed of a smooth plaster layer called intonaco . Pigments diluted in water were applied directly to the wet intonaco ; as the plaster dried, a chemical reaction bound the pigment to it. Embellishments applied to a dry wall— fresco a secco ( secco is the Italian word for dry)—are far less durable, as the paint tends to flake off over time. Fresco is vulnerable to moisture and may be damaged in a cool, damp environment; the arid Mediterranean climate is favorable for its preservation.

The medium of fresco enabled artists to depict complex narratives, and to experiment with depth and spatial relationships. They were often painted in a series, or cycle, for a single space. Usually fresco cycles consisted of scenes from the life of Christ , the Virgin Mary , or the saint to whom a church or monastery was dedicated. Between 1253 and 1340, many of the outstanding artists of the period, including Cimabue and Giotto, contributed frescoes depicting episodes from the life of Saint Francis (1181–1226) to his basilica at Assisi. Chapels dedicated to other saints are part of the basilica. One, dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, bears ten frescoes by Simone Martini, exquisite in their rich characterization, coloration, and detail. They are among the greatest examples of the Sienese master’s oeuvre, and some of the finest frescoes produced in fourteenth-century Italy.

About 1303, the Paduan nobleman Enrico Scrovegni commissioned Giotto, renowned as the greatest painter of his day, to fresco the Arena Chapel in Padua. In cycles depicting scenes from the Life of the Virgin and the Life of Christ, Giotto’s naturalism, compositional clarity, and the volumetric, sculptural presence of his figures combine in scenes of unprecedented drama. These frescoes were widely praised for their innovation by Dante, Boccaccio, and Petrarch; along with Giotto’s fresco cycles for the Bardi and Peruzzi chapels at Santa Croce in Florence—remarkable for their ambitious description of space and scale—they are masterworks that influenced two centuries of artists ( 1971.115.1ab ).

Panel Painting Through the fourteenth century, the primary support for portable paintings—from monumental church altarpieces to diminutive works used in private devotion —was the wooden panel. Masters were assisted by pupils and workshop members in their lengthy and complex preparation. Modern technical analysis and x-radiography have deepened our understanding of this process, allowing for a close examination of the materials and techniques used by the artist. The basis of our knowledge, however, is a 600-year-old source: a treatise on the art of painting called Il Libro dell’arte , composed about 1390 by the Italian painter Cennino Cennini (ca. 1370–ca. 1440).

A seasoned plank—one that had been allowed to dry out for some time—was first layered with several coats of size, a glue made from animal skins. In Italy, the planks used for panel paintings were often made of native poplar, a widely available wood that was, however, soft and vulnerable to warping. A piece of linen soaked in size was often laid over the front of the panel to conceal any surface flaws. Over this, coats of gesso were applied. Gesso, a mixture of powdered calcium sulfate (commonly called gypsum) and animal glue, provided the ground for preliminary drawings.

When the underdrawing was complete, the panel was ready for gilding. Areas to be gilded were prepared with a layer of bole, a reddish clay that provided an adhesive surface for fragile gold leaf. The gold leaf was made by pounding a small amount of gold into thin sheets, which were then applied to the panel using a tool called a gilder’s tip. The gilded surface was rubbed with a hard-tipped instrument to smooth and polish the gold leaf, a process known as burnishing. Additional decoration could be incised or stamped into the surface using metal rods, called punches, with patterns cut into one end. The tip of the punch, placed against the panel and struck from the other end with a mallet, pressed the design into the wood. Punching was often used to achieve the intricately detailed haloes surrounding the heads of holy figures. Finally, the panel could be painted. Medieval artists used tempera paints, made by mixing ground pigments with egg yolk. This medium produces a brilliant, pure hue.

Many paintings of this period have engaged frames made of wooden strips attached to the outside edge of the panel, some examples of which survive ( 2004.442 ; 41.190.13 ). Original frames may sometimes bear hinge marks, indicating that the work was once part of a diptych or triptych, designed to be closed. Independent panels were often used on private altars in a domestic setting .

For large church altarpieces, it was necessary to join together independently painted panels with an elaborate frame. Usually, the Madonna and Child were shown on the main panels, flanked by saints and apostles, identifiable by their attributes. A strip of smaller panels—called the predella —at the bottom of the altarpiece depicted additional figures or narrative episodes from the life of Christ, Mary, or the saints ( 43.98.6 ).

Meagher, Jennifer. “Italian Painting of the Later Middle Ages.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/iptg/hd_iptg.htm (September 2010)

Further Reading

Bomford, David, et al. Italian Painting before 1400 . Exhibition catalogue. London: National Gallery Publications, 1989.

Borsook, Eve. The Mural Painters of Tuscany: From Cimabue to Andrea del Sarto . 2d ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980.

Cole, Bruce. Giotto and Florentine Painting, 1280–1375 . New York: Harper & Row, 1976.

Poeschke, Joachim. Italian Frescoes: The Age of Giotto, 1280–1400 . New York: Abbeville, 2005.

Schmidt, Victor M., ed. Italian Panel Painting of the Duecento and Trecento . Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 2002.

White, John. Art and Architecture in Italy, 1250–1400 . 3d ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993.

Additional Essays by Jennifer Meagher

• Meagher, Jennifer. “ Genre Painting in Northern Europe .” (April 2008)
• Meagher, Jennifer. “ The Pre-Raphaelites .” (October 2004)
• Meagher, Jennifer. “ Gerard David (born about 1455, died 1523) .” (June 2009)
• Meagher, Jennifer. “ Petrus Christus (active by 1444, died 1475/76) .” (December 2008)
• Meagher, Jennifer. “ Still-Life Painting in Southern Europe, 1600–1800 .” (June 2008)
• Meagher, Jennifer. “ Orientalism in Nineteenth-Century Art .” (October 2004)
• Meagher, Jennifer. “ Botanical Imagery in European Painting .” (August 2007)
• Meagher, Jennifer. “ Commedia dell’arte .” (July 2007)
• Meagher, Jennifer. “ Food and Drink in European Painting, 1400–1800 .” (May 2009)
• Meagher, Jennifer. “ The Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburgs, 1400–1600 .” (October 2002)

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• Saint Francis of Assisi
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Artist or Maker

• Cristofori, Bartolomeo
• Daddi, Bernardo
• Gaddi, Taddeo
• Ghirlandaio, Domenico
• Lorenzetti, Pietro
• Martini, Simone
• Maso Di Banco

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