What is the Middle Ages, what is this era? The Middle Ages: definition, time frame and periodization

"The Middle Ages" is a term invented much later than the time it is designated. It was introduced originally, in order to determine the time of a strict ban on everything that was associated with Antiquity. This was the period that followed the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, and continued until the Renaissance, when interest in ancient Rome and Greece broke out with renewed vigor.

Time frames fluctuate

It is approximately limited to the 6th and 16th centuries, and this millennium is usually called the Middle Ages. But, of course, the exact time frame of the Middle Ages is not established. There are a lot of opinions. It is also called the end of the 17th century, after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 (one of the borders of the end of the Middle Ages), epochal events followed one after the other, giving more and more freedoms to mankind. And each of them in a certain group of historians serves as the date for the end of the "dark times", although this term is more appropriate for the Early and Middle Middle Ages. The dates of the early days include the discovery of America (1492) and the beginning of the Reformation (the struggle against the abuses of the Catholic Church), falling on 1517. Then followed the English Revolution, the end of the Thirty Years' War, the conclusion of the Peace of Westphalia and the equation of rights of Catholics and Protestants. And each of these fateful events for Europe is considered by the Modivists as possible final time frames of the Middle Ages.

Different schools - different views

The representatives of the modewistics studied mainly the history of the European Middle Ages, and in fact similar events occurred in Russia, and further, in Asia, Africa, in the newly discovered America. Among scholars there are supporters of the long Middle Ages. In their theories, they are based on more complete data on radical changes in all the absolutely layers of human society. The beginning of modern times they consider the beginning of the Great French Revolution. There is no agreement on the beginning of this time period. In the "History of Humanity" - encyclopedic edition of UNESCO - the border between the Ancient World and the Middle Ages is associated with the moment of the emergence of Islam. Obviously, every scientist has the right to his point of view.

Extensive concept

So what is the "Middle Ages"? It is, by the standards of human history, a rather short period, which included a lot. The stages of the development of society were changing, new religions and countries were emerging, continents were opened and brilliant scientists were born who changed the notion of the world and science as a whole, there was a "great migration of peoples". Obviously, such a multifaceted concept must be viewed in different planes. Indeed, given how the Inquisition was atrocities, how cruelly it suppressed even a hint of dissent, then the end of this time should be considered an equation in the rights of representatives of different faiths, and not the appearance of masterpieces of geniuses of the Renaissance.

Gemini brothers

What is the Middle Ages? Briefly it sounds like this - the period of historical development of society between Antiquity (the Ancient World) and the New Time. It's another matter where Antiquity ends, and New Times begin. Each historical stage corresponds to its socio-economic formation: Antiquity - the slave system, the Middle Ages - feudal, New time - capitalist. The time frames of the Middle Ages in European countries, and not only, coincide with feudalism completely, but, for example, in Russia its remains were destroyed only in October 1917. In some countries, the residual phenomena of feudalism have not been overcome so far. And with regard to Europe, the opinions of the researchers vary. It is claimed that for a long time the medieval society was multifaceted, and in all spheres. Obviously, it was true, because the change of formations does not take place on command.

The origin of the concept

The widespread version is such that the inception, domination and disintegration of feudalism is the epoch of the Middle Ages. And the term was introduced by Italian humanists (for example, Flavio Biondo), who directed considerable efforts to revive classical Latin. They marked the period preceding their time and separating them from the antiquity worshiped by them, the phrase medium aevum, which sounds like "me ayuim," which means "middle age". No matter how short the Middle Ages were compared to the existence of the Ancient World, its different periods were characterized by distinctive features, and therefore there is a periodization of the Middle Ages.

The necessity of periodization

It represents the division of the 12-century domination of this historical segment into three main periods. The first refers to the time stretched from the end of the fifth century to the middle of XI, and it is called the Early Middle Ages. The classical, or High Middle Ages, came immediately after the previous stage (XI century) and ended in the XIV century. Later, the final Middle Ages, is also called the Early New Time. Its period is the 14th-16th centuries. The historiography of the twentieth century has changed very much under the influence of the French school, formed around the magazine "Annals", after which it was named. They put forward the idea of a "long Middle Ages".

Characteristics of the Early Middle Ages

The beginning of the Middle Ages coincides with a significant expansion of the areas on which the West European civilization is born. A characteristic feature of the Early Middle Ages is the formation of states on the territory of England, France, Saxony, and Russia. During this period, lasting approximately 5 centuries, there was a "great migration of peoples", based on the invasion of the Huns from Asia to Eastern Europe, which was the periphery of the Western Roman Empire. The people oppressed by the Huns moved mainly in the territories of Gaul, Spain, Italy and Dacia. Another distinguishing feature of this historical period is the transition from paganism to the Christian religion, taking place under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Church, whose role in this time period is difficult to overestimate.

Empire of the Franks

The Middle Ages is the domination of the church. It was the core of the whole of Western civilization, it rallied the nations around itself, and it was also the focal point of culture. New production relations are also being laid-feudalism is emerging, based on the dominance of large-scale landed property. It is impossible not to mention the emergence in this period of the state of the Franks, who ruled the dynasty of the Carolingians, whose representative, Charlemagne, united territories approaching in size to the area occupied by the Western Roman Empire. Save and this empire failed. For the Early Middle Ages in general, the variability of the boundaries of emerging states is characteristic. Everything is in the process of formation and formation. Certain literary trends begin to develop - the Early Middle Ages became the golden age for the rise of the Heroic epos. In general, the "Middle Ages" is "The Lay of Igor's Host" and the French "Song of Roland", the Spanish "Poem about Side" and the German "Song of the Nibelungs". So the times were not exactly "dark".

Wars and insurrections as engines of progress

The very name of the next stage - the "high", "classical", "mature" Middle Ages - indicates that in this period, everything that began in the previous time has come to its end and reached its peak (it became the most productive). Finally formed feudal relations, strengthened centralized power, formed estate-representative monarchy (when the drafting of laws took part representatives of different classes). This era had only its inherent characteristics - begin to emerge parliaments and political parties. Not bypassed this time side and bloody feuds. The dynastic war of the Scarlet and White Rose that took place quarter of the population of the country, when a part of the population devoted to the representatives of the genera Plantagenet-Lancaster, killed the supporters of York, that is, the British destroyed the British. Another distinguishing feature of this period is peasant uprisings, for example, John Ball and Wat Tyler in England.

Treasures of medieval architecture

What is the Middle Ages? This is a great architecture, combining in itself 4 styles - "Caroling Renaissance" (named for the ruling dynasty in the Frankish state), Ottonian art (after the representative of the Saxon dynasty of Otton I the Great), Romanesque and Gothic styles. The flowering of the latter, which originated in France in the XII century, just happened during the Late Middle Ages. Across Europe scattered amazing examples of these architectural trends. And "Gothic" - this is generally an ornament of Europe, its business card. Cologne Cathedral (1248-1437), Notre-Dame de Paris (1163-1437), Gothic churches and cathedrals of Prague - which can be compared to this incomprehensible beauty. They are not in the least inferior to the masterpieces of the Renaissance.

Horrors of the gloomy Middle Ages

What is the Middle Ages? This Great Famine, the pandemic of the plague, or the Black Death, is the Inquisition, bloody crusades and Jacqueria - a major anti-feudal uprising of the French peasants (Jacques-simpletons) in 1358. However, the Late Middle Ages are also called the Early New Time, that is, rapid growth began in all directions - the towns were strengthened, handicrafts developed, the manufactories were born, and trade was gaining momentum. There have been tremendous shifts in the social, cultural, scientific and political life of Europe. The Papacy is in decline, the pivot of the Middle Ages. The change of formations was prepared by the riots of the lower strata of the population, unprecedented to the present day in size and power, the Netherlands uprising and the Great Peasant War in Germany.

Traditional understanding

In our time the periodization of the Middle Ages is determined taking into account the characteristics of each country, but also with the recognition that in one form or another this historical process is inherent in all states of the world. Therefore, there is no specific timeframe. XVII century - the time when feudal relations are outliving themselves, and the birth of capitalism begins.

But the misfortunes that occurred in the 15th century-hunger, terrible diseases, atrocities of the Inquisition, create a gloomy picture, as if belonging to the brush of Hieronymus Bosch, and are associated with the Middle Ages. Therefore, most often under the definition of the Middle Ages are not beautiful works of literature and architecture, Great discoveries, and the fires that burned heretics, including Giordano Bruno, terrible white masks with a long beak, in which doctors walked through the dirty streets of plague cities. At that time the Europeans did not even wash themselves. Therefore, for a long time the term "medieval" will be synonymous with such concepts as "dense", "backward", "hammered".