The term "Middle Ages" was first used by Italian humanists in the 15th century. to denote the period between classical antiquity and their time. In Russian historiography lower limit of the Middle Ages also traditionally considered V century AD - the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and the upper one - the 17th century, when a bourgeois revolution took place in England.
The Middle Ages period is extremely important for Western European civilization: the processes and events of that time still often determine the nature of the political, economic, and cultural development of the countries of Western Europe. Thus, it was during this period that the religious community of Europe was formed and a new direction in Christianity emerged, in the most to a greater extent promoting the formation of bourgeois relations, Protestantism, an urban culture is emerging, which largely determined modern mass Western European culture; the first parliaments arise and the principle of separation of powers receives practical implementation; the foundations of modern science and the education system are laid; The ground is being prepared for the industrial revolution and the transition to an industrial society.
In the development of Western European medieval society, three stages can be distinguished:
- early Middle Ages (V-X centuries) – the process of formation of the main structures characteristic of the Middle Ages is underway;
- classical Middle Ages (XI-XV centuries) – the time of maximum development of medieval feudal institutions;
- Late Middle Ages (XV-XVII centuries) – a new capitalist society begins to form. This division is largely arbitrary, although generally accepted; Depending on the stage, the main characteristics of Western European society change. Before considering the features of each stage, we will highlight the most important features inherent in the entire period of the Middle Ages.
2. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WESTERN EUROPEAN MIDDLE AGES (V-XVII centuries)
Medieval society in Western Europe was agrarian. The basis of the economy is agriculture, and the vast majority of the population was employed in this area. Labor in agriculture, as in other branches of production, was manual, which predetermined its low efficiency and generally slow pace of technical and economic evolution.
The vast majority of the population of Western Europe lived outside the city throughout the Middle Ages. If for ancient Europe cities were very important - they were independent centers of life, the nature of which was predominantly municipal, and a person’s belonging to a city determined his civil rights, then in Medieval Europe, especially in the first seven centuries, the role of cities was insignificant, although over time Over time, the influence of cities is increasing.
Western European Middle Ages is a period dominance of subsistence farming And weak development of commodity-money relations . The insignificant level of regional specialization associated with this type of economy determined the development of mainly long-distance (external) rather than short-range (internal) trade. Long-distance trade was aimed mainly at the upper strata of society. Industry during this period existed in the form of crafts and manufacturing.
The Middle Ages is characterized by the exceptionally strong role of the church And high degree of ideologization of society.
If in the Ancient world each nation had its own religion, which reflected its national characteristics, history, temperament, way of thinking, then in Medieval Europe there was one religion for all peoples - Christianity, which became the basis for uniting Europeans into one family, the formation of a single European civilization.
The process of pan-European integration was contradictory: along with rapprochement in the field of culture and religion, there is a desire for national isolation in terms of statehood development. The Middle Ages are the time of the formation of national states, which exist in the form of monarchies, both absolute and estate-representative. The peculiarities of political power were its fragmentation, as well as its connection with conditional ownership of land. If in ancient Europe the right to own land was determined for a free person by his nationality - the fact of his birth in a given polis and the resulting civil rights, then in medieval Europe the right to land depended on a person’s belonging to a certain class. Medieval society is class-based. There were three main classes: the nobility, the clergy and the people (peasants, artisans, and merchants were united under this concept). Estates had different rights and responsibilities and played different socio-political and economic roles.
Vassalage system. The most important characteristic of medieval Western European society was its hierarchical structure, vassalage system . At the head of the feudal hierarchy was the king - the supreme overlord and at the same time often only nominal head of state . This conditionality of the absolute power of the highest person in the states of Western Europe is also an essential feature of Western European society, in contrast to the truly absolute monarchies of the East. Even in Spain (where the power of royal power was quite noticeable), when the king was installed, the grandees, in accordance with the established ritual, uttered the following words: “ We, who are no worse than you, make you, who are no better than us, a king, so that you respect and protect our rights. And if not, then no.”. Thus, the king in medieval Europe was merely “first among equals,” and not an all-powerful despot. It is characteristic that the king, occupying the first step of the hierarchical ladder in his state, could well be a vassal of another king or the Pope.
On the second rung of the feudal ladder were the king's direct vassals. These were large feudal lords - dukes, counts; archbishops, bishops, abbots. By immunity certificate , received from the king, they had various types of immunity (from Latin - inviolability). The most common types of immunity were tax, judicial and administrative, i.e. the owners of the immunity certificates themselves collected taxes from their peasants and townspeople, held court, and made administrative decisions. Feudal lords of this level could mint their own coins, which often circulated not only within a given estate, but also outside it. The submission of such feudal lords to the king was often simply formal.
On the third rung of the feudal ladder there were vassals of dukes, counts, bishops - barons. They enjoyed virtual immunity on their estates. Even lower were the vassals of the barons - the knights. Some of them could also have their own vassals, even smaller knights, while others had only peasants subordinate to them, who, however, stood outside the feudal ladder.
The vassalage system was based on practice of land grants . The person who received the land became a vassal, the one who gave it became a lord. Land was given under certain conditions, the most important of which was service as a seigneur, which, according to feudal custom, was usually 40 days a year. The most important duties of a vassal in relation to his lord were participation in the lord's army, protection of his possessions, honor, dignity, and participation in his council. If necessary, the vassals ransomed the lord from captivity.
Upon receipt of land the vassal swore an oath of allegiance to his master . If the vassal did not fulfill his obligations, the lord could take the land from him, but this was not so easy to do, since the vassal-feudal lord was inclined to defend his recent property with arms in hand. In general, despite the seemingly clear order described by the well-known formula: “my vassal’s vassal is not my vassal,” the vassalage system was quite confusing, and a vassal could have several lords at the same time.
Manners, customs. Another fundamental characteristic of Western European medieval society, and perhaps the most important, was a certain mentality of people, the nature of the social worldview, and the everyday way of life strictly connected with it. The most significant features of medieval culture were the constant and sharp contrasts between wealth and poverty, noble birth and rootlessness - everything was put on display. Society was visual in its everyday life, it was convenient to navigate: thus, even by clothing, it was easy to determine the belonging of any person to class, rank and professional circle. A feature of that society was a great many restrictions and conventions, but those who could “read” them knew their code and received important additional information about the reality around them. Thus, each color in clothing had its own purpose: blue was interpreted as the color of fidelity, green as the color of new love, yellow as the color of hostility. At that time, color combinations seemed exceptionally informative to Western Europeans, which, like the styles of hats, caps, and dresses, conveyed a person’s inner mood and attitude to the world. So, symbolism is an important characteristic of the culture of Western European medieval society .
The emotional life of society was also contrasting, since, as contemporaries themselves testified, the soul of a medieval resident of Western Europe was unbridled and passionate. The parishioners in the church could pray with tears for hours, then they got tired of it, and they started dancing right there in the church, saying to the saint, in front of whose image they had just knelt: “Now you pray for us, and we will dance.”
This society was often cruel to many. Executions were commonplace, and there was no middle ground in relation to criminals - they were either executed or forgiven completely. The idea that criminals could be re-educated was not allowed. Executions were always organized as a special moral spectacle for the public, and terrible and painful punishments were invented for terrible atrocities. For many ordinary people, executions served as entertainment, and medieval authors noted that the people, as a rule, tried to delay the ending, enjoying the spectacle of torture; The usual thing in such cases was “the animalistic, stupid joy of the crowd.”
Others common character traits of a medieval resident Western Europe were hot temper, selfishness, quarrelsomeness, vindictiveness. These qualities were combined with a constant readiness for tears: sobs were considered noble and beautiful, and elevating everyone - children, adults, men and women.
The Middle Ages - the time of preachers who preached, moving from place to place, exciting people with their eloquence, greatly influencing public sentiment. Thus, brother Richard, who lived in France at the beginning of the 15th century, enjoyed enormous popularity and love. He once preached in Paris at the cemetery of innocent babies for 10 days from 5 am to 11 pm. Huge crowds of people listened to him, the impact of his speeches was powerful and quick: many immediately threw themselves on the ground and repented of their sins, many made vows to start a new life. When Richard announced that he was finishing his last sermon and had to move on, many people, leaving their homes and families, followed him. The preachers certainly contributed to the creation of a unified European society.
An important characteristic of society was general state of collective morals, public mood: this was expressed in the fatigue of society, fear of life, and a feeling of fear of fate. Indicative was the lack of strong will and desire in society to change the world for the better. Fear of life will give way to hope, courage and optimism only in the 17th century. - XVIII centuries - and it is no coincidence that from this time a new period in human history will begin, an essential feature of which will be the desire of Western Europeans to positively transform the world. The praise of life and an active attitude towards it did not appear suddenly and not out of nowhere: the possibility of these changes would gradually mature within the framework of feudal society throughout the entire period of the Middle Ages. From stage to stage, Western European society will become more energetic and enterprising; slowly but steadily the entire system of social institutions, economic, political, social, cultural, and psychological, will change. Let us trace the features of this process by period.
EARLY MIDDLE AGES (V–X centuries)
The formation of feudal relations. During the early Middle Ages, the beginning of the formation of medieval society - the territory on which the formation of Western European civilization took place expanded significantly: if the basis ancient civilization were Ancient Greece and Rome, then medieval civilization covers almost all of Europe.
The most important process in the early Middle Ages in the socio-economic sphere was the formation of feudal relations, the core of which was the formation of feudal ownership of land. This happened in two ways. The first way is through the peasant community. The plot of land owned by a peasant family was inherited from father to son (and from the 6th century to daughter) and was their property. This is how the allod was gradually formalized - the freely alienable land property of communal peasants. Allod accelerated the stratification of property among free peasants: lands began to be concentrated in the hands of the communal elite, which was already acting as part of the feudal class. So this was the way of formation patrimonial-allodial form of feudal land ownership , especially characteristic of the Germanic tribes.
The second way of the formation of feudal land ownership and, consequently, the entire feudal system is the practice of land grants by the king or other large landowners-feudal lords to their confidants. At first, a plot of land (benefice) was given to the vassal only on condition of service and for the duration of his service, and the lord retained the supreme rights to the benefices. Gradually, the vassals' rights to the lands granted to them expanded, as the sons of many vassals continued to serve their father's lord. In addition, purely psychological reasons were also important: the nature of the relationship developing between the lord and the vassal. As contemporaries testify, vassals, as a rule, were faithful and devoted to their master.
Loyalty was valued dearly, and benefices increasingly became the almost complete property of vassals, passing from father to son. The land that was passed on by inheritance was called flax, or feud, the owner of the fief was the feudal lord, and the entire system of these socio-economic relations is feudalism.
Benefice becomes a fief by IX - XI centuries This path to the formation of feudal relations is clearly visible in the example of the Frankish state, which took shape already in the 6th century.
Classes of early feudal society. In the Middle Ages, two main classes of feudal society were also formed: feudal lords, spiritual and secular - land owners and peasants - land holders. Among the peasants there were two groups, differing in their economic and social status. Personally, free peasants could, at their own discretion, leave their owner, give up their land holdings: rent them out or sell them to another peasant. Having freedom of movement, they often moved to cities or new places. They paid fixed taxes in kind and in cash and performed certain work on their master's farm. Another group are personally dependent peasants. Their duties were broader, in addition (and this is the most important difference) they were not fixed, so that personally dependent peasants were subject to arbitrary taxation. They also bore a number of specific taxes: posthumous taxes - upon entering into an inheritance, marriage taxes - redemption of the right of the first night, etc. These peasants did not enjoy freedom of movement. By the end of the first period of the Middle Ages, all peasants (both personally dependent and personally free) had an owner; feudal law did not recognize simply free people, independent of anyone, trying to build social relations according to the principle: “There is no man without a master.”
State of the economy. During the formation of medieval society, the pace of development was slow. Although three-field farming had already become fully established in agriculture instead of two-field farming, the yield was low: on average - 3. They kept mainly small livestock - goats, sheep, pigs, and there were few horses and cows. The level of specialization in agriculture was low. Each estate had almost all vital sectors of the economy from the point of view of Western Europeans: field cultivation, cattle breeding, various crafts. The economy was subsistence, and agricultural products were not produced specifically for the market; the craft also existed in the form of custom work. The domestic market was thus very limited.
Ethnic processes and feudal fragmentation. During this period, the settlement of Germanic tribes across the territory of Western Europe took place: the cultural, economic, religious, and subsequently political community of Western Europe will be based largely on the ethnic community of Western European peoples. Thus, as a result of the successful conquests of the Frankish leader Charlemagne in 800, a vast empire was created - the Frankish state. However, large territorial entities were not stable at that time and soon after Charles’s death his empire collapsed.
B X - XI centuries in Western Europe it is approved feudal fragmentation . Kings retained real power only within their domains. Formally, the king's vassals were obliged to perform military service, pay him a monetary contribution upon entering into inheritance, and also obey the decisions of the king as the supreme arbiter in inter-feudal disputes. In fact, the fulfillment of all these obligations in IX - X centuries almost entirely depended on the will of powerful feudal lords. The strengthening of their power led to feudal civil strife.
Christianity. Despite the fact that the process of creating nation states began in Europe, their borders were constantly changing; states either merged into larger state associations or were split into smaller ones. This political mobility also contributed to the formation of a pan-European civilization.
The most important factor in creating a united Europe was Christianity, which gradually spread throughout all European countries, becoming the state religion.
Christianity defined cultural life of early medieval Europe, influencing the system, nature and quality of education and upbringing. The quality of education affected the level economic development. During this period, the level of economic development was highest in Italy. Here, earlier than in other countries, medieval cities - Venice, Genoa, Florence, Milan - developed as centers of craft and trade, and not strongholds of the nobility. Foreign trade relations are growing faster here, domestic trade is developing, and regular fairs are appearing. The volume of credit transactions is increasing. Crafts, in particular weaving and jewelry making, as well as construction, reach a significant level. Still, as in antiquity, the citizens of Italian cities were politically active, and this also contributed to their rapid economic and cultural progress. In other countries of Western Europe, the influence of ancient civilization was also felt, but to a lesser extent than in Italy.
CLASSICAL MIDDLE AGES (XI-XV centuries)
At the second stage of the development of feudalism, the process of formation of feudal relations is completed and all structures of feudal society reach their fullest flowering.
Creation of centralized states. Public administration. At this time, centralized power was strengthened in most Western European countries, national states began to form and strengthen (England, France, Germany), etc. Large feudal lords were increasingly dependent on the king. However, the king's power is still not truly absolute. The era of class-representative monarchies is coming. It was during this period that the practical implementation of the principle of separation of powers began and the first parliaments emerged - estate-representative bodies that significantly limited the power of the king. Previously, such a parliament - Cortes appeared in Spain (late 12th – early 12th centuries). In 1265, parliament appears in England. In the XIV century. parliaments had already been created in most Western European countries. At first, the work of parliaments was not regulated in any way; neither the timing of meetings nor the order of their holding were determined - all this was decided by the king, depending on the specific situation. However, even then, the most important and constant issue that parliamentarians considered was taxes.
Parliamentscould act as an advisory, legislative, and judicial body. Gradually, legislative functions were assigned to parliament and a certain confrontation between parliament and the king was outlined. Thus, the king could not introduce additional taxes without the sanction of parliament, although formally the king was much higher than parliament, and it was the king who convened and dissolved parliament and proposed issues for discussion.
Parliaments were not the only political innovation of the classical Middle Ages. Another important new component public life became political parties, which first began to form in the 13th century. in Italy, and then (in the 14th century) in France. Political parties fiercely opposed each other, but the reason for their confrontation was then more likely to be psychological than economic.
Almost all countries of Western Europe during this period went through the horrors of bloody strife and war. An example would be the War of the Roses in England in the 15th century. As a result of this war, England lost a quarter of its population.
Peasant uprisings. The Classical Middle Ages was also a time of peasant uprisings, unrest and riots. An example is the rebellion led by Wat Tyler and John Ball in England in 1381.
The uprising began as a mass protest of peasants against a new threefold increase in the head tax. The rebels demanded that the king not only reduce taxes, but also replace all natural duties with low cash payments, eliminate the personal dependence of the peasants and allow free trade throughout England. King Richard II (1367 - 1400) was forced to meet with the leaders of the peasants and agree to their demands. However, part of the peasants (especially poor peasants predominated among them) was not satisfied with these results and put forward new conditions, in particular, to take away the land from bishops, monasteries and other rich landowners and divide it among the peasants, to abolish all classes and class privileges. These demands were already completely unacceptable for the ruling strata, as well as for the majority of English society, because then property was already considered sacred and inviolable. The rebels were called robbers, and the uprising was brutally suppressed.
However, in the next century, in the 15th century, many of the slogans of this uprising received real embodiment: for example, almost all peasants actually became personally free and were transferred to cash payments, and their duties were no longer as heavy as before.
Economy. Agriculture. The main branch of the economy of Western European countries during the classical Middle Ages, as before, was agriculture. The main characteristics of the development of the agricultural sector as a whole were the process of rapid development of new lands, known in history as the process of internal colonization. It contributed not only to the quantitative growth of the economy, but also to serious qualitative progress, since the duties imposed on peasants on the new lands were predominantly monetary rather than in kind. The process of replacing natural duties with monetary ones, known in the scientific literature as rent commutation, contributed to the growth of economic independence and enterprise of peasants, and an increase in the productivity of their labor. The cultivation of oilseeds and industrial crops is expanding, oil production and winemaking are developing.
Grain productivity reaches the level of sam4 and sam5. The growth of peasant activity and the expansion of peasant farming led to a reduction in the feudal lord's economy, which in the new conditions turned out to be less profitable.
Progress in agriculture was also facilitated by the liberation of peasants from personal dependence. The decision about this was made by the city near which the peasants lived and with which they were connected socially and economically, or by their feudal lord, on whose land they lived. The rights of peasants to land plots were strengthened. They could increasingly freely transfer land by inheritance, bequeath and mortgage it, lease it, donate it and sell it. This is how the land market gradually forms and becomes wider. Commodity-money relations are developing.
Medieval cities. The most important characteristic of this period was the growth of cities and urban crafts. In the classical Middle Ages, old cities grew rapidly and new ones emerged - near castles, fortresses, monasteries, bridges, and river crossings. Cities with a population of 46 thousand inhabitants were considered average. There were very large cities, such as Paris, Milan, Florence, where 80 thousand people lived. Life in a medieval city was difficult and dangerous - frequent epidemics claimed the lives of more than half of the townspeople, as happened, for example, during the “Black Death” - a plague epidemic in the mid-13th century. Fires were also frequent. However, they still wanted to go to the cities, because, as the saying testified, “city air made a dependent person free” - to do this, one had to live in the city for one year and one day. Cities arose on the lands of the king or large feudal lords and were beneficial to them, bringing in income in the form of taxes on crafts and trade.
At the beginning of this period, most cities were dependent on their lords. The townspeople fought to gain independence, i.e. for turning into a free city. The authorities of independent cities were elected and had the right to collect taxes, pay the treasury, manage city finances at their own discretion, have their own courts, mint their own coins, and even declare war and make peace. The means of struggle of the urban population for their rights were urban uprisings - communal revolutions, as well as the purchase of their rights from the lord. Only the richest cities, such as London and Paris, could afford such a ransom. However, many other Western European cities were also rich enough to gain independence for money. So, in the 13th century. About half of all cities in England - 200 cities - gained independence in collecting taxes.
The wealth of cities was based on the wealth of their citizens. Among the richest were moneylenders and money changers. They determined the quality and usefulness of the coin, and this was extremely important in the context of the constant deterioration of coins practiced by mercantilistic governments; exchanged money and transferred it from one city to another; They took available capital for safekeeping and provided loans.
At the beginning of the classical Middle Ages, banking activity developed most actively in Northern Italy. There, as indeed throughout Europe, this activity was concentrated primarily in the hands of Jews, since Christianity officially prohibited believers from engaging in usury. The activities of moneylenders and money changers could be extremely profitable, but sometimes (if large feudal lords and kings refused to repay large loans) they also became bankrupt.
Medieval craft. An important and ever-increasing segment of the urban population were artisans. C VII - XIII centuries Due to the increase in the purchasing power of the population and the growth of consumer demand, there is an increase in urban crafts. Craftsmen are moving from working to order to working for the market. The craft becomes a respected occupation that brings good income. People in construction specialties – masons, carpenters, plasterers – were especially respected. Architecture was then carried out by the most gifted people, with a high level of professional training. During this period, the specialization of crafts deepened, the range of products expanded, and craft techniques were improved, remaining, as before, manual. Technologies in metallurgy and in the manufacture of cloth fabrics become more complex and more efficient, and in Europe they begin to wear woolen clothes instead of fur and linen. In the 12th century. Mechanical watches were made in Europe in the 13th century. - large tower clock, in the 15th century. - pocket watch. Watchmaking became the school in which precision engineering techniques were developed, which played a significant role in the development of the productive forces of Western society.
Craftsmen united into guilds that protected their members from competition from “wild” craftsmen. In cities there could be tens and hundreds of workshops of various economic orientations - after all, the specialization of production took place not within a workshop, but between workshops. So, in Paris there were more than 350 workshops. The most important safety of the workshops was also a certain regulation of production in order to prevent overproduction and maintain prices at a sufficiently high level; shop authorities, taking into account the volume of the potential market, determined the quantity of products produced.
During this entire period, the guilds fought with the city's top brass for access to management. The city elite, called the patriciate, united representatives of the landed aristocracy, wealthy merchants, and moneylenders. Often the actions of influential artisans were successful, and they were included in the city authorities.
Workshop organization of craft production had obvious disadvantages and advantages , one of which is a well-established apprenticeship system. The official training period in different workshops ranged from 2 to 14 years; it was assumed that during this time a craftsman should go from student and journeyman to master. The workshops developed strict requirements for the material from which the goods were made, for tools, and production technology. All this ensured stable operation and guaranteed excellent product quality. The high level of medieval Western European craft is evidenced by the fact that an apprentice who wanted to receive the title of master was required to complete a final work, which called "masterpiece" . The workshops also created conditions for the transfer of accumulated experience, ensuring the continuity of craft generations. In addition, artisans participated in the formation of a united Europe: apprentices during the training process could roam around different countries; masters, if there were more of them in the city than required, easily moved to new places.
On the other side, towards the end of the classical Middle Ages, in the XIV - XV centuries, the guild organization of industrial production increasingly began to act as an inhibitory factor. The workshops are increasingly isolated and stop developing. In particular, it was almost impossible for many to become a master: only the son of a master or his son-in-law could actually obtain the status of a master. This has led to a large layer of “eternal apprentices” appearing in cities. In addition, strict regulation of crafts begins to hinder the introduction of technological innovations, without which progress in the sphere of material production is unthinkable. Therefore, the guilds are gradually exhausting themselves, and by the end of the classical Middle Ages there appears new form organizations of industrial production - manufactory.
Development of manufactory. Manufacture implied the specialization of labor between workers when making any product, which significantly increased the productivity of labor, which, as before, remained manual. The factories of Western Europe employed hired workers. Manufacture became most widespread in the following period of the Middle Ages.
Trade and merchants. An important layer of the urban population were merchants who played a major role in domestic and foreign trade. They constantly traveled around the cities with goods. Merchants, as a rule, were literate and could speak the languages of the countries through which they passed. Foreign trade during this period was apparently still more developed than domestic trade. The centers of foreign trade in Western Europe at that time were the North, Baltic and Mediterranean seas. Cloth, wine, metal products, honey, timber, fur, and resin were exported from Western Europe. Mostly luxury goods were brought from the East to the West: colored fabrics, silk, brocade, precious stones, ivory, wine, fruits, spices, carpets. Imports into Europe generally exceeded exports. The largest participants in the foreign trade of Western Europe were the Hanseatic cities. There were about 80 of them, and the largest of them were Hamburg, Bremen, Gdansk, and Cologne.
Subsequently, the Hanseatic League, which flourished in the 13th-14th centuries, gradually lost its political and economic power and was supplanted by the English company of merchant adventurers, which carried out intensive overseas trade.
Development domestic trade significantly slowed down by the lack of a unified monetary system, numerous internal customs and customs duties, the lack of a good transport network, and constant robbery on the roads. Many people traded in robbery, both ordinary people and noble people. Among them were small knights who could not find a place for themselves in creative economic life, since only the eldest son could inherit his father’s property - “the crown and possessions” - and the rest became the lot of war, campaigns, robbery, and knightly entertainment. The knights robbed the city merchants, and the townspeople, without bothering themselves with a trial, hanged the knights they had captured on the city towers. This system of relationships hampered the development of society. However, despite the existence of numerous dangers on the roads, medieval society was very dynamic and mobile: there was intense demographic exchange between regions and countries, contributing to the formation of a united Europe.
There were also people of clergy constantly on the move - bishops, abbots, monks, who had to attend church councils and go with reports to Rome. It was they who actually carried out the intervention of the church in the affairs of national states, which was manifested not only in ideological and cultural life, but also quite noticeably in financial life - a huge amount of money went from each state to Rome.
Medieval universities. Another part of Western European medieval society was also mobile – students and masters. The first universities in Western Europe appeared precisely in the classical Middle Ages. So, at the end of XII - early XIII centuries Universities were opened in Paris, Oxford, Cambridge and other European cities. Universities were then the most important and often the only source of information. The power of universities and university science was exceptionally strong. In this regard, in the XIV - XV centuries The University of Paris stood out in particular. It is significant that among his students (and there were more than 30 thousand people in total) there were adults and even old people: everyone came to exchange opinions and get acquainted with new ideas.
University Science – scholasticism – formed in the 11th century. Its most important feature was boundless faith in the power of reason in the process of understanding the world. Over time, however, scholasticism increasingly becomes a dogma. Its provisions are considered infallible and final. In the XIV-XV centuries. scholasticism, which used only logic and denied experiments, became an obvious obstacle to the development of natural scientific thought in Western Europe. Almost all departments in European universities were then occupied by monks of the Dominican and Franciscan orders, and the usual topics of debates and scientific papers were: “Why did Adam eat an apple and not a pear in paradise? and “How many angels can fit on the head of a needle?”
The entire system of university education had a very strong influence on the formation of Western European civilization. Universities contributed to progress in scientific thought, the growth of social consciousness and the growth of individual freedom. Masters and students, moving from city to city, from university to university, which was a constant practice, carried out cultural exchange between countries. National achievements immediately became known in other European countries. So, "Decameron" Italian Giavanni Boccaccio (1313- 1375) was quickly translated into all European languages, it was read and known everywhere. The formation of Western European culture was also facilitated by the beginning of printing in 1453. Considered the first printer Johannes Gutenberg (between 1394-1399 or 1406-1468), who lived in Germany.
Features of the historical development of leading European countries. Germany, despite its generally successful development, was nevertheless not a leading country in the field of culture or economy. In the XIV - XV centuries Italy was still the most educated and prosperous country in Europe, although politically it was a multitude of states, often openly hostile to each other. The commonality of Italians was expressed mainly in a common language and national culture. France succeeded most in state building, where the processes of centralization began earlier than in other countries. In the XIV - XV centuries In France, permanent state taxes have already been introduced, a unified monetary system and a unified postal service have been established.
From the point of view of human rights and the protection of the individual, England achieved the greatest success, where the rights of the people, obtained by them in confrontation with the king, were most clearly formulated as law: for example, the king did not have the right, without the consent of parliament, to impose new taxes and issue new laws, in his own right. specific activities, it had to be consistent with existing laws.
Another feature of the development of England was reinforced growth of commodity-money relations , wide use hired labor in all areas of the economy, active foreign trade activities . Distinctive feature English society also had a spirit of entrepreneurship, without which rapid economic evolution would be unthinkable. This psychological attitude was greatly facilitated by the absence of a rigid class system in English society. So, back in 1278, a law was passed according to which personally free peasants with an annual income of more than 20 pounds sterling received the title of nobility. This is how the “new nobility” was formed - a layer of economically active people who objectively contributed to the rapid rise of England in the next period.
LATE MIDDLE AGES (XVI – early XVII centuries)
Great geographical discoveries. The pace of economic development of European countries increased even more during the last stage of the existence of medieval society in the 15th – early 17th centuries. Capitalist relations emerge and actively develop. This was largely due to the Great geographical discoveries. Their immediate cause was the Europeans' search for new sea routes to China and India, which (especially India) were famous as a land of countless treasures and with which trade was difficult due to Arab, Mongol-Tatar and Turkish conquests. Great geographical discoveries became possible thanks to advances in navigation and shipbuilding. Thus, Europeans learned to build caravels - fast ships capable of sailing against the wind. It was also important to accumulate geographical knowledge, primarily in the field of cartography. In addition, society had already accepted the idea that the Earth was spherical, and, going to the West, sailors were looking for a way to the eastern countries.
One of the first expeditions to India was organized by Portuguese sailors who tried to reach it by circumnavigating Africa. In 1487, they discovered the Cape of Good Hope - the southernmost point of the African continent. At the same time, an Italian was also looking for a way to India. Christopher Columbus (1451- 1506), who managed to equip four expeditions with money from the Spanish court. The Spanish royal couple - Ferdinand and Isabella - succumbed to his arguments and promised him huge profits from the newly discovered lands. Already during the first expedition in October 1492, Columbus discovered New World, then called America by name Amerigo Vespucci (1454- 1512), who participated in expeditions to South America in 1499 - 1504 It was he who first described new lands and first expressed the idea that this was a new part of the world not yet known to Europeans.
The sea route to real India was first paved by a Portuguese expedition led by Vasco da Gama (1469- 1524) in 1498 First trip around the world was committed in 1519 - 1521, led by a Portuguese Magellan (1480- 1521). Of the 256 people in Magellan's team, only 18 survived, and Magellan himself died in a battle with the natives. Many expeditions of that time ended so sadly.
In the second half of the XVI - XVII centuries The British, Dutch and French took the path of colonial conquest. By the middle of the 17th century. Europeans discovered Australia and New Zealand.
As a result of the Great Geographical Discoveries, colonial empires begin to take shape, and treasures, gold and silver flow from the newly discovered lands to Europe - the Old World. The consequence of this was an increase in prices, primarily for agricultural products. This process, which took place to one degree or another in all countries of Western Europe, was called the price revolution in historical literature. It contributed to the growth of monetary wealth among merchants, entrepreneurs, speculators and served as one of the sources of the initial accumulation of capital.
Trade. Another important consequence of the Great Geographical Discoveries was the relocation of world trade routes: the monopoly of Venetian merchants on caravan trade with the East in Southern Europe was broken; The Portuguese began to sell Indian goods several times cheaper than Venetian merchants.
Countries actively engaged in intermediary trade – England and the Netherlands – are growing stronger. Engaging in intermediary trade was very unreliable and dangerous, but very profitable: for example, if out of three ships sent to India, one returned home, then the expedition was considered successful, and the traders’ profits often reached 1000%. Thus, trade was the most important source for the formation of large private capital.
The quantitative growth of trade contributed to the emergence of new forms in which trade was organized. In the 16th century For the first time in the history of mankind, exchanges appeared, the main goal and purpose of which was to use price fluctuations over time. At first, merchants gathered in squares to conclude wholesale trade deals. Then, in large trading cities - Antwerp, Lyon, Toulouse, Rouen, London, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Lubeck, Leipzig and others - special exchange buildings were built. Thanks to the development of trade at this time, a much stronger connection between parts of the planet arises than before. And for the first time in history, the foundations of a global market are beginning to be laid.
Agriculture. The process of initial capital accumulation also took place in the sphere of agriculture, which continues to be the basis of the economy of Western European society. In the late Middle Ages, the specialization of agricultural areas increased significantly, which was mainly based on various natural conditions. The swamps are being intensively drained, and while transforming nature, people themselves have been transformed. The area under crops and gross grain harvests increased everywhere, and yields increased. This progress was largely based on the positive evolution of agricultural technology and farming. Thus, although all the main agricultural tools remained the same (plow, harrow, scythe and sickle), they began to be made from the best metal, fertilizers were widely used, and multi-field and grass sowing were introduced into agricultural use. Cattle breeding also developed successfully, livestock breeds were improved and cattle fattening was used. Social and economic relations in the field of agriculture were also changing rapidly: in England, France, and the Netherlands, almost all peasants were already personally free. The most important innovation of this period was the widespread development of rental relations. Landowners were increasingly willing to rent out land to peasants, since it was economically more profitable than organizing their own landowner farm. During the late Middle Ages, rent existed in two forms: feudal and capitalist. In the case of feudal lease, the land owner gave the peasant some piece of land, usually not very large, and, if necessary, could supply him with seeds, livestock, and implements, and the peasant gave part of the harvest for this. The essence of capitalist rent was somewhat different: the owner of the land received cash rent from the tenant, the tenant himself was a farmer, his production was market-oriented and the scale of production was significant. An important feature of capitalist lease was the use of hired labor. During this period, farming spread most rapidly in England, Northern France and the Netherlands.
Industrial production. Some progress was also observed in industry. Equipment and technology were improved in such industries as metallurgy: the blast furnace, drawing and rolling mechanisms began to be used, and steel production expanded significantly. In mining, sump pumps and lifts were widely used, increasing the productivity of miners. The invention at the end of the 15th century was actively used in clothmaking and weaving. a self-spinning wheel that performed two operations at once - twisting and winding the thread. The most important processes taking place at this time in the field of socio-economic relations in industry boiled down to the ruin of some artisans and their transformation into hired workers in factories. Other classes of capitalist society – capitalists – are also emerging and gaining strength.
Policy. Into the field of politics XV - XVII centuries also brought a lot of new things. Statehood is noticeably strengthened and government agencies. The line of political evolution common to most European countries was to strengthen central government, in increasing state intervention in the life of society. The foundations of new political ideas in Europe were laid by an Italian Nicolo Machiavelli (1469- 1527), who held the position of state secretary in the Florentine Republic, author of the famous book “The Prince”. Machiavelli clearly distinguished between private and political morality, believing that there was nothing in common between them. For Machiavelli, the moral content of politics is determined by state expediency: the good of the people is the highest law, he repeated after the ancients. Machiavelli was a fatalist. Each people, he believed, has its own destiny, its own destiny, which cannot be avoided or changed. The genius of political leaders and the purity of public morals can only delay, delay the moment of the fall of the state, if it is predetermined. Machiavelli argued that all means leading to the achievement of the public good are justified by this end. In general, Machiavelli's influence on European political thought was certainly strong, but far from exceptional.
Reformation of the Church. Apparently, the ideas of the Renaissance and Reformation – ideas of religious tolerance and tolerance . In this regard, the Netherlands and England were in the lead, a feature of their social thinking was the awareness of the uniqueness of each person, the value of human life, freedom and dignity. In the middle of the 16th century. The Reformation movement split the unity of Catholic Europe. In countries where Protestant ideas were spreading, church reforms, monasteries were closed, church holidays were cancelled, and the monastery lands were partially secularized. The Pope has lost his global power in the ideological sphere. The position of the Jesuits weakened, and Catholics in a number of countries began to be subject to a special tax.
Thus, in the late Middle Ages in Europe, a new worldview based on humanism emerged. Now a specific person, and not the church, was placed at the center of the world. Humanists sharply opposed traditional medieval ideology, denying the need for complete subordination of the soul and mind to religion. A person becomes more and more interested in the world around him, enjoys it and tries to improve it.
During this period, inequality in the levels of economic and political development individual countries. The Netherlands, England and France are developing at a faster pace. Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Germany are lagging behind. However critical processes in the development of European countries still have a common character for all countries, and trends towards unity are intensifying.
Development of science. European science, which has so greatly influenced not only European civilization, but also all of humanity, is developing in the same direction. In the XVI - XVII centuries In the development of natural science, significant changes are taking place related to the general cultural progress of society, the development of human consciousness and the growth of material production. This was greatly facilitated by the Great Geographical Discoveries, which provided a lot of new facts in geography, geology, botany, zoology, and astronomy. Major progress in the field natural sciences During this period, he followed the line of generalization and comprehension of accumulated information. Thus, the German Agricola1 (1494 - 1555) collected and systematized information about ores and minerals and described mining techniques. Swiss Conrad Gesner (1516- 1565) compiled the fundamental work “History of Animals”. The first multi-volume classifications of plants in European history appeared, the first botanical gardens. Famous Swiss doctor F.A. Paracelsus (14931541), the founder of homeopathy, studied the nature of the human body, the causes of diseases, and methods of treating them. Vesalius (1514- 1564), born in Brussels, studied in France and Italy, author of the work “On the Structure of the Human Body”, laid the foundations of modern anatomy, and already in the 17th century. Vesalius's ideas were recognized in all European countries. English scientist William Harvey (1578- 1657) discovered blood circulation in humans. The Englishman Francis Bacon (1564) played a major role in the development of natural science methods. - 1626), who argued that true knowledge must be based on experience.
There are a number of great names in the field of physics. This Leonardo da Vinci (1452- 1519). A brilliant scientist, he drew up technical projects, drawings of mechanisms, machine tools, and apparatus that were far ahead of his time, including a design for a flying car. Italian Evangelista Torricelli (1608- 1647) studied hydrodynamics, studied atmospheric pressure, and created a mercury barometer. French scientist Blaise Pascal (1623 - 1662) discovered the law on the transmission of pressure in liquids and gases.
Major contribution Italian contributed to the development of physics Galileo Galilei (1564- 1642), who actively studied kinematics, dynamics, resistance of materials, acoustics, and hydrostatics. However, he gained even greater fame as an astronomer; He was the first to construct a telescope and for the first time in the history of mankind he saw a huge number of stars invisible to the naked eye, mountains on the surface of the Moon, spots on the Sun. His predecessor was the Polish scientist Nicolaus Copernicus (1473 - 1543), author of the famous work “On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres,” in which he argued that the Earth is not the fixed center of the world, but rotates together with other planets around the Sun. Views Copernicus were developed by the German astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571 - 1630), who managed to formulate the laws of planetary motion. These ideas were also shared by Giordano Bruno (1548 - 1600), who argued that the world is infinite and that the Sun is only one of an infinite number of stars, which, like the Sun, have planets like Earth.
Mathematics is developing rapidly. Italian Gerolamo Cardano (15011576) finds a way to solve third degree equations. The first tables of logarithms were invented and published in 1614. By the middle of the 17th century. special signs for recording algebraic operations are in general use - addition, exponentiation, root extraction, equality, parentheses, etc. The famous French mathematician Francois Viète (1540 - 1603) proposed using letter notation not only for unknown, but also known quantities, which made it possible to pose and solve algebraic problems in a general form. Mathematical symbolism was improved by René Descartes (1596-1650), who created analytical geometry. Frenchman Pierre Fermat (1601 - 1665) successfully developed the problem of calculus of infinitesimal quantities.
National achievements quickly became the property of all European scientific thought. By the end of the late Middle Ages in Europe, the organization of science and scientific research. Circles of scientists are created to jointly discuss experiments, methods, tasks, and results. Based on scientific circles in the middle of the 17th century. National academies of sciences are formed - the first of them arose in England and France.
Thus, the Middle Ages lasted 1200 years, during which a feudal system emerged in Europe, large feudal land ownership and small peasant land use dominated, cities, liberated from the power of feudal lords and becoming the focus of crafts and trade, developed widely.
In XI - XV centuries Instead of feudal fragmentation in Europe, the process of formation of centralized states takes place - England, France, Portugal, Spain, Holland, etc. Where government bodies arise - the Cortes (Spain), Parliament (England), Estates General (France).
The strengthening of centralized power contributed to more successful development of the economy, science, culture, and the emergence of a new form of organization of production - manufacturing. In Europe, capitalist relations are emerging and strengthening, which was greatly facilitated by the Great Geographical Discoveries.
During the Middle Ages, the formation of Western European civilization began, developing with greater dynamism than all previous civilizations, which was determined by a number of historical factors (the legacy of Roman material and spiritual culture, the existence in Europe of the empires of Charlemagne and Otto I, which united many tribes and countries, the influence of Christianity as a common religion for all, the role of corporatism permeating all spheres of the social order).
During the late Middle Ages, it took shape the most important idea Western: active attitude to life, desire to learn the world and the conviction that it can be known through reason, the desire to transform the world in the interests of man.
Self-test questions
1. What are the main economic, political, ideological characteristics of the development of Western European society in the Middle Ages?
2. What stages can be identified in the development of Western Europe during the Middle Ages? Name the leading countries of each stage.
3. What is the essence of the idea of the West? When is it issued?
4. When did the ethnic, economic, political, religious, cultural community of Western Europe begin to form?
5. What was the basis for the unity of Western European society during the Middle Ages?
6. When did the revolution in natural science begin? What were its causes and consequences? How did the organization of Western European science change in the late Middle Ages?
They were remembered for various events and changes. Next, let's take a closer look at the features of the Middle Ages.
General information
The Middle Ages is a fairly long period. Within its framework, the birth and subsequent formation of European civilization took place, its transformation - the transition to the Middle Ages, originates from the fall of Western Rome (476), however, according to modern researchers, it would be more fair to extend the border until the beginning of 6 - the end of 8 century, after the Lombard invasion of Italy. The Middle Ages ended in the mid-17th century. It is traditionally considered to be the end of the period. However, it is worth noting that the last centuries were far from medieval in character. Researchers tend to separate the period from the mid-16th to early 17th centuries. This “independent” time period represents the era of the early Middle Ages. Nevertheless, both this and the previous periodization are very conditional.
Characteristics of the Middle Ages
During this period, the formation took place. At this time, a series of scientific and geographical discoveries began, the first signs of modern democracy - parliamentarism - appeared. Domestic researchers, refusing to interpret the medieval period as an era of “obscurantism” and “dark ages,” strive to illuminate the phenomena and events that turned Europe into a completely new civilization as objectively as possible. They set themselves several tasks. One of them is the determination of the basic social and economic characteristics of this feudal civilization. In addition, researchers are trying to fully represent the Christian world of the Middle Ages.
Social structure
It was a time in which the feudal mode of production and the agrarian element prevailed. This is especially true for the early period. Society was represented in specific forms:
- Estate. Here the master through labor dependent people satisfied most own material needs.
- Monastery. It differed from the estate in that periodically there were literate people who knew how to write books and had the time to do so.
- Royal court. He moved from one place to another and organized management and life following the example of an ordinary estate.
State structure
It was formed in two stages. The first was characterized by the coexistence of Roman and German modified social institutions, as well as political structures in the form of “barbarian kingdoms.” At the 2nd stage, the state represents a special system. In the course of social stratification and the strengthening of the influence of the landed aristocracy, relations of subordination and domination arose between land owners - the population and lords. The Middle Ages was distinguished by the presence of an estate-corporate structure, resulting from the need for separate social groups. The most important role belonged to He ensured the protection of the population from feudal freemen and external threat. At the same time, the state acted as one of the main exploiters of the people, since it represented the interests primarily of the ruling classes.
Second period
After the end of the early Middle Ages, there was a significant acceleration in the evolution of society. This activity was due to the development of monetary relations and the exchange of commodity production. The importance of the city continues to increase, at first still remaining in political and administrative subordination to the lordship - the estate, and ideologically - to the monastery. Subsequently, the formation of the political legal system in the New Time is associated with its development. This process will be perceived as the result of the creation of urban communes that defended liberties in the fight against the dominant lord. It was at that time that the first elements of democratic legal consciousness began to take shape. However, historians believe that it would not be entirely correct to look for the origins of the legal ideas of modern times exclusively in the urban environment. Great importance Representatives of other classes also had. For example, the formation of ideas about personal dignity took place in the class feudal consciousness and was initially of an aristocratic nature. From this we can conclude that democratic freedoms developed from the love of freedom of the upper classes.
Role of the Church
The religious philosophy of the Middle Ages had a comprehensive meaning. Church and faith completely filled human life- from birth to death. Religion claimed to govern society; it performed quite a lot of functions, which were later transferred to the state. The church of that period was organized according to strict hierarchical canons. At the head was the Pope - the Roman High Priest. He had his own state in Central Italy. In all European countries, bishops and archbishops were subordinate to the pope. All of them were major feudal lords and owned entire principalities. This was the top of feudal society. Various spheres of human activity were influenced by religion: science, education, and culture of the Middle Ages. Enormous power was concentrated in the hands of the church. Lords and kings, who needed her help and support, showered her with gifts and privileges, trying to buy her assistance and favor. At the same time, the Middle Ages had a calming effect on people. The Church sought to smooth out social conflicts, called for mercy towards the disadvantaged and oppressed, for the distribution of alms to the poor and the suppression of lawlessness.
The influence of religion on the development of civilization
The church controlled the production of books and education. Due to the influence of Christianity, by the 9th century a fundamentally new attitude and understanding of marriage and family had developed in society. In the early Middle Ages, unions between close relatives were quite common, and numerous marriages were also quite common. This is exactly what the church was fighting against. The problem of marriage, which was one of the Christian sacraments, became practically the main topic of a large number of theological works. One of the fundamental achievements of the church in that historical period is the formation of a marital unit - normal shape life of a family that exists to this day.
Economic development
According to many researchers, technological progress was also associated with the widespread spread of Christian doctrine. The consequence of this was a change in people's attitude towards nature. In particular, we are talking about abandoning taboos and prohibitions that held back the development of agriculture. Nature has ceased to be a source of fear and an object of worship. The economic situation, technical improvements and inventions contributed to a significant increase in living standards, which lasted quite steadily for several centuries feudal period. The Middle Ages, thus, became a necessary and very natural stage in the formation of Christian civilization.
Forming a new perception
In society, the human personality has become more valued than in Antiquity. This was mainly due to the fact that medieval civilization, imbued with the spirit of Christianity, did not seek to separate man from the environment due to a tendency towards a holistic perception of the world. In this regard, it would be incorrect to talk about the church dictatorship over a person living in the Middle Ages supposedly preventing the formation of individual traits. In Western European territories, religion, as a rule, performed a conservative and stabilizing task, providing favorable conditions for the development of the individual. It is impossible to imagine the spiritual search of a person of that time outside the church. It was the knowledge of surrounding conditions and God, inspired by church ideals, that gave birth to the diverse, colorful and vibrant culture of the Middle Ages. The Church formed schools and universities, encouraged printing and various theological debates.
Finally
The entire system of society in the Middle Ages is usually called feudalism (after the term “feud” - an award to a vassal). And this despite the fact that this term does not provide an exhaustive description of the social structure of the period. The main features of that time include:
Christianity became the most important factor in the cultural unity of Europe. It was during the period under review that it became one of the world religions. The Christian Church was based on ancient civilization, not only denying previous values, but also rethinking them. Religion, its wealth and hierarchy, centralization and worldview, morality, law and ethics - all this formed a single ideology of feudalism. It was Christianity that largely determined the difference between the medieval society of Europe and other social structures on other continents at that time.
Question 1. The concept of the Middle Ages and its periodization
IN historical science the concept of “the Middle Ages” strengthened after a return to ancient culture was proclaimed during the Renaissance (XIV – XVI centuries). The “intermediate centuries” between antiquity and the Renaissance, with the light hand of Italian humanists, began to be called middle ages. For humanists of the Renaissance and figures of the French Enlightenment (XVIII century), the concept of the Middle Ages was synonymous with savagery and gross ignorance, and the Middle Ages - a time of religious fanaticism and cultural decline. On the contrary, historians of the so-called “romantic” school of the early nineteenth century. They called the Middle Ages the “golden age” of humanity, sang the virtues of chivalric times and the flowering of cultural Christian traditions. With the spread of the Marxist theory of formations in historical science, the Middle Ages were increasingly identified with the concept of feudalism.
Formation– (socio-economic formation) – a specific historical type of society, representing certain stage in its development.
Feudalism – a system of socio-economic relations, which was characterized by the presence of large land ownership and small peasant farming subordinate to it, the establishment of a hierarchy among owners and various forms of dependence among peasants, and the dominance of subsistence farming.
Modern science strives for an objective depiction of the events of the Middle Ages, avoiding extremes, overly emotional characteristics and ideological cliches. The presence of a feudal (conditional) form of land ownership was indeed characteristic of Europe in the period from the 5th to the 15th – 16th centuries, but at the same time there were other forms of ownership: state, communal and private.
The problems of periodization of the Middle Ages have long been of concern to medievalist historians (medieval specialists). J. - L. Goff, one of the largest researchers of European history, until the 80s of the twentieth century, defined the concept of “Middle Ages” as the period from the 5th to the 15th centuries, from the birth of the barbarian kingdoms in Europe to the crisis and transformation of medieval Christian civilization .
In the 1970s, F. Braudel put forward the idea of a “long Middle Ages,” which was later shared by J.-L. Goff. The “Long Middle Ages” covered history from the first centuries of the Christian chronology until late XVIII or even the beginning of the nineteenth century, when the destruction of the mentality of medieval society became complete.
Mentality- a set of mental attitudes, habits of thinking, predispositions of perception, behavior and everyday beliefs.
Soviet historians dated the “Middle Ages” (feudal formation) from the fall of the Western Roman Empire (476) to the English bourgeois revolution (1640), which opened the way to the formation of capitalism.
Modern foreign and domestic experts most often understand the “Middle Ages” as the era from the Great Migration of Peoples (IV – 7th centuries), which gave birth to many civilizations of the West and East, to the Great Geographical Discoveries, which contributed to the formation of a global oceanic civilization, the interpenetration of Eastern and Western cultures . That is, the period from the 4th to the 15th centuries. It can be divided into several stages.
Early Middle Ages: V – XI centuries. This is the time of the emergence of the medieval West, the emergence of barbarian kingdoms born from the synthesis of two cultures, barbarian and Roman.
Synthesis – translated from Greek unification, combination.
The time of formation of feudal relations; an attempt by the Germans to create a new organization - the Carolingian world, a hasty attempt to unite Europe.
Carolingian era- the time of reign in the Frankish kingdom from the end of the 7th to the middle of the 9th century. representatives from the Carolingian dynasty. One of them, Charlemagne, created an empire almost equal in size to the Roman Empire (752-843), thereby uniting Europe.
Classical Middle Ages: XI – XIII centuries. This is the time of the formation of a united and diverse Christian Europe - the period of internal and external rise of Europe, the formation modern states, the formation of class-representative monarchies; a period of active contacts between Europe and the East, expressed in the Crusades, and the enormous influence of the Catholic Church.
Late Middle Ages: XIV – XVI centuries. This is a time of crisis in European society, expressed in the emergence of a new culture of the Renaissance, the decline of the authority of the Catholic Church, the movement of the Reformation, the emergence of capitalist phenomena in the economy, the beginning of the formation of absolutism, the rapid expansion of ideas about the world and the formation of new ties with the Western Hemisphere and the countries of the East.
Each new period in the history of Europe shortened in time, and the development of countries accelerated.
Let us turn to the history of medieval Europe, highlighting the most important directions of its development until the end of the 15th century. in the west and XVI in the east.
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The Middle Ages, or the Middle Ages, are one of the most significant stages of human history. The term "Middle Ages" was first used by Italian humanists to designate the period between classical antiquity and their time. In Russian historiography, the lower boundary of the Middle Ages is traditionally considered to be the 5th century. n. e. - the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and the upper one - the 17th century, when the bourgeois revolution took place in England.
The Middle Ages period is extremely important for Western European civilization: the processes and events of that time still often determine the nature of the political, economic, and cultural development of the countries of Western Europe. Thus, it was during this period that the religious community of Europe was formed, urban culture was taking shape, new political forms were emerging, the foundations of modern science and the education system were being laid, and the ground was being prepared for the industrial revolution and the transition to an industrial society.
The development of Western European medieval society is usually divided into three stages: the early Middle Ages, the classical Middle Ages and the late Middle Ages.
The Early Middle Ages covers the period from V to XI centuries During this period of time, large-scale changes occurred in the world. During this period, the slave-owning Western Roman Empire collapsed. On its territory, new states were formed by Germanic tribes. At the same time, there is a transition from paganism to Christianity under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Church. The new religious system became the basis of Western civilization and maintained its unity, despite differences in the pace of development of individual countries and regions and their internal fragmentation.
In the early Middle Ages, the foundations of new production relations were laid - feudal, which were characterized by the dominance of large land property in the hands of feudal lords and the presence of small individual farms of direct producers - peasants, whom the feudal lords endowed with the main means of production - land. The form of sale of the feudal lord's land ownership was feudal rent, which was collected from peasants renting land in labor, in kind or in cash.
During the early Middle Ages, Western European peoples gradually mastered writing and laid the foundations of an original culture.
During the classical Middle Ages (XI-XV centuries) The process of formation of feudal relations is completed, all structures of feudal society reach their fullest development.
At this time, national states began to form and strengthen (England, France, Germany, etc.). The main classes took shape, and class-representative bodies—parliaments—appeared.
Agriculture continued to be the main sector of the economy, but during this period cities were actively developing, becoming the focus of handicraft production and trade. New relations undermined the foundations of feudalism, and within its depths capitalist relations gradually strengthened their capabilities.
In the late Middle Ages (XVI-early XVII centuries) The pace of economic development of European countries is increasing. This was largely due to the Great Geographical Discoveries, as a result of which colonial empires began to take shape, and treasures, gold and silver began to flow from the newly discovered lands to Europe - the Old World. All this contributed to the growth of the monetary wealth of merchants and entrepreneurs and served as one of the sources of primitive accumulation, which led to the formation of large private capitals.
In the late Middle Ages, the unity of the Catholic Church was split by the Reformation movement. A new direction is emerging in Christianity - Protestantism, which contributed most to the formation of bourgeois relations.
At the end of the Middle Ages, a pan-European culture began to take shape, based on the theory of humanism, a new culture called the Renaissance.
During the late Middle Ages, the most important idea of the West took shape: an active attitude to life, the desire to understand the world around us, the desire to transform it in the interests of man.
The historical period of the Middle Ages, or feudalism, is one of the longest periods in the history of Europe, it lasted 11-12 centuries.
Feudalism of many European peoples began with the decomposition of tribal relations. Other peoples embarked on the path of feudalism, having gone through a slave-owning system.
The transition to feudalism is associated with the emergence of small, medium and large landowners, whose land becomes their monopoly property. Land as an object of property was the main condition for the existence of feudalism. The transition to feudalism and the formation of a new type of property - land, is associated with the subordination of peasants to landowners.
In its development, feudalism goes through several stages, each of which is characterized by new phenomena in the economy, politics, statehood, culture and spiritual and religious life.
The domestic periodization of feudalism in Western Europe and Byzantium is based on the principle of staged development of society. The transition to feudalism did not occur simultaneously in different countries. Before others, those peoples who went through the slaveholding stage entered the path of feudalism. It was these countries that developed faster and more comprehensively than those that embarked on the path of feudalism, bypassing slavery, directly from the primitive communal system.
The beginning of the Western European Middle Ages is associated with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. Historians define the upper chronological boundary from the 15th to the 17th centuries.
The history of feudalism is divided into three large periods:
1) The early Middle Ages - the time of the formation of the feudal mode of production, V-XI centuries.
2) Classical, or developed Middle Ages - a period of developed feudalism, the end of the 11th-15th centuries.
3) Late Middle Ages - the period of decomposition of feudal relations and the emergence of the capitalist mode of production, XVI - mid-XVII centuries.
During the early Middle Ages, the formation of feudal relations, the formation of large land ownership and the subordination of previously free peasant community members to feudal landowners took place. Two classes are formed - feudal landowners and peasants dependent on them.
The economy of early feudalism was multi-structured. It still retains elements of the slave-owning, primitive communal way of life. Along with this, a fundamentally new feudal economic system is being formed.
Cities at this time remained as centers of trade in the Mediterranean area.
During the period of early feudalism, barbarian kingdoms were formed as a result of the resettlement of peoples who settled in Western European territory. With the formation of the first barbarian kingdoms, the first form of feudal state appeared - the early feudal monarchy. The socio-economic conditions of this period determined the nature of the early feudal state. It was, as a rule, relatively unified. Within these states, many different ethnic communities united, which was an inevitable result of the migration of peoples. But already at this stage the process of ethnic integration begins and the foundation is laid for the formation of medieval nationalities in the Western kingdoms.
There is a decline in cultural life associated with the death of the Western Roman Empire and the spread of paganism. After a certain stabilization time, when the barbarian royal states take shape, the rise of culture will begin, a new culture, formed as a result of the synthesis of two cultures: ancient and barbarian (“Carolingian Renaissance” in the 9th century and “Ottonian Renaissance” in the 10th century).
In the early Middle Ages, Christianity was established as the state religion. Catholicism becomes the highest sanction of all life in Western Europe.
The second period is characterized by the completion of the process of formation of feudal relations and the flourishing of feudalism. During the period of developed feudalism, peasants fell into personal and land dependence on feudal landowners.
The feudal lords begin to structure themselves into a certain system of hierarchical subordination, and a vassal-feudal system takes shape.
The feudal hierarchical ladder was headed by the king, below were the social strata of dukes, counts, barons, and knights. At the bottom of the feudal social structure were the peasants.
This hierarchical subordination, which arises during the period of developed feudalism, leads to the collapse of the early feudal territorial organization state power and the dominance of feudal fragmentation. The development of the feudal economy, the rise of cities and the growth of commodity-money relations changed the forms of feudal exploitation: the serfdom of the peasants weakened, and free peasants appeared. The essence of the city is changing. The city increasingly occupies its own special place in the feudal world. It becomes a center not only of trade, but also of crafts. A free urban population appears. The flourishing of cities and urban culture begins. The city becomes the cradle of the Renaissance. The prerequisites are being created for the elimination of feudal fragmentation and centralization. This was also greatly facilitated by the ethnic unity of the population of Western Europe - the formation of feudal nationalities from separate tribal communities.
With the formation of unified states, a new form of feudal monarchy appears - estate-representative. Estate-representative monarchies have their own representative bodies. The entire feudal society is radically changing.
The third period of the Middle Ages is characterized by an extreme aggravation of all feudal contradictions. The centralization of feudal states and the transition to a new type of feudal monarchy - absolutism - are completed. France becomes the classic country of absolutism in Western Europe.
During this period, productive forces outgrow the framework of feudal production relations and traditional forms of ownership. Capitalist relations arise in the depths of feudal society. The first early bourgeois revolutions took place in the Netherlands and England.
The Reformation and Counter-Reformation begin in the spiritual and religious life of Western Europe. In the field of culture, a period of tragic humanism begins. The Middle Ages is approaching its end and finds itself on the threshold of the New Age.
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