Chapter 10: Europe in the Middle Ages: A.D. 1000-1500

The Revival of Learning & Culture

The Revival of Learning

• As kings grew more powerful, the need for officials trained in law & record keeping increased

• Initially, most royal officials in charge of those duties came from the Church

• By the late 1100s, however, the need for officials outside the Church to work in royal offices led to a rise in literacy

Revival of Learning..cont

• Parchment: Thin material made from the skin of animals, used for paper in Europe during Middle Ages

• Vellum: Finer form of parchment

Revival of Learning..cont

• University: A group of scholars

• Bologna, Italy: The site of the first university in western Europe. Established in the late 12th Century

Revival of Learning..cont

• Theology: Study of Religion & God, most highly regarded subject in early universities

• Scholasticism: Study of a mix of religion & philosophy

Revival of Learning..cont

• Many scholars also began to look back to the classics of ancient Greece

• Western European scholars began traveling to the great library in Toledo, Spain

• In Toledo, Jewish scholars translated Arabic copies of Greek writers, such as Aristotle, into Latin

Revival of Learning..cont

• Thomas Aquinas: Monk who bridged the philosophies of Aristotle with the Bible

• The Heights of Theology: Collection of writings that used logic & reason to show the truth of the Church

Revival of Learning

• Latin was the primary language of higher learning in western Europe during the Middle Ages

• Vernacular: Language of everyday speech in a region

• Eventually literature & poetry was written in language common people could understand

Revival in Learning..cont

• Poetry, while not new to the High Middle Ages, became popular in different forms

• Chansons de Geste: “Songs of Deeds”, told of heroic tales of knights & kings

• These poems were sung to the accompaniment of instruments

Revival of Learning..cont

• Song of Roland: Told the story of French soldiers who died a heroic death fighting Moors from Spain

• King Arthur : Epic story about the English king and the Knights of the Round Table, who sought the Holy Grail