What are the dark ages. Dark Age period

, successors of (pseudo) Fredegar, Paul Deacon and Einhard. In addition to the West's own writers, the Byzantines were interested in European history, especially Agathius of Myrenaeus, who left an apology for the social system of the Franks, as well as the Arabs.

Letters, with the help of which they regulated property relations, make up the largest part of the act material of the early Middle Ages. In addition to them, inventories and testaments were also known. Researchers count more than 1000 letters discovered. It must be remembered when examining letters that not all of them are necessarily reliable. Some charters represent early (X century) forgeries, fabricated to justify the hereditary right to a monastery or villa.

The material remains of the early medieval civilization are also scarce. Until the 7th century, Europe did not know independent coinage, the absence of a coin was replaced by the use of Byzantine money (besan). The buildings of the early Middle Ages, for the most part, have not survived to this day: often, wood was used as their material, many early buildings were rebuilt.

Historiography of the Dark Ages

The central theme in the discussion of the Dark Ages by historians remains the question of the predominance of the slave or feudal mode of production in this era.

AT modern science the most common idea is that the early Middle Ages was a period of a diverse, multi-structural economy, in which elements of the decaying barbarian tribal, decaying ancient slave-owning and emerging feudal structures existed parallel to each other, intricately intertwined, and in very different proportions depending on the region. .

During this period, large slave-owning latifundia (lat. villa) - for the most part, these were still old estates inherited by the barbarian nobility from the provincial Roman aristocracy. However, their presence is not yet a reason for classifying the Dark Ages not as a feudal, but as a slave-owning era. Apparently, these were no longer classical slave-owning farms, the effective management of which, given the lack of educated people, was greatly complicated even in the late Roman era. It was in this connection that, long before the fall of the Empire, the most important step towards feudalism was made - the appearance of the colony and the transfer of a significant part of the serfs to this form of personal dependence. It is obvious that the development of these relations continued in the Middle Ages, with a gradual transition from slavery in the classical form and the colony to the serfdom of the peasants from the lord. Along with these large farms, but completely independently of them, free communal peasants continued to exist among the barbarians, whose way of life at first changed little compared to that led by their distant ancestors.

Of interest is the thesis of the Belgian historian Henri Pirenne, which has received a certain distribution in European historiography, who argued that the invasion of the barbarians did not lead to the final collapse of the Roman world. According to Pirenne, the German states economically remained closely connected with Byzantium, forming a zone of influence of the Constantinopolitan Empire. The historian argued that the West remained in the situation of the Dark Ages until it was cut off by the Arab conquests from Byzantine trade, which prompted him to a forced transformation. Political centers European world moved to the North, paganism was eradicated, the role of the papacy increased, slavery was finally supplanted by serfdom, the Empire was restored; in place of the late antique world, the classical medieval feudal system began to line up.

agricultural civilization

The West of the early Middle Ages is experiencing the decline of cities. The most significant sign of the crisis is the move of the barbarian monarchs from the cities to the latifundia residences. Most of the early medieval charters were signed by the kings there. In rural residences, the monarchs preferred to keep their treasures. Bypassing the cities, the aristocrats of the Germans traveled in the countryside between the villas, staying in each of them until the supplies were completely exhausted.

The West of the Dark Ages acts as an economic periphery of the Eastern Roman Empire. Against the backdrop of the decline of the cities, barbarian monarchs purchase handicraft goods from the East, imitate Roman fashion, and preserve their treasures in Byzantine coinage.

Church

The weakening of the influence of the Roman Popes falls on the era of the Dark Ages. As a result of the barbarian invasions, part of the West is returning to paganism, especially in the Western Balkan regions and Britain. In the same time Byzantine Christianity achieves impressive success in Ireland, but the Irish church remains independent of the papacy.

Nevertheless, the Greek popes, like others, were weary of Byzantine power and its inability to cope with the Lombard danger. Beginning with Pope Gregory III (r.), the pontiffs seek an alliance with the orthodox Franks to the detriment of the interests of Byzantium.

Christianization

Under the influence of barbarian invasions, the weak diocesan organization of some regions collapses. Britain, which sent delegates to the First Ecumenical Council, becomes almost entirely pagan. The degree of Christianization of the rural population at the time of the barbarian invasions remains a largely unexplored issue. One way or another, at the beginning of the 7th century, St. Amand baptized pagans in the vicinity of large Gallic cities, he redeemed some of the baptized from slavery.

Britain's appeal begins with the German kingdom of Kent, bound by its own trade relations with Gaul (late 6th century). The rest of the German states of Britain are baptized during the 7th century. At the same time, the Celtic states of Wales and the Irish colonies in Scotland retained the Christian faith, which underwent changes due to isolation.

The baptism of Germany opens with the events of the 8th century, in which St. Winfried, and ends with the forced conversion of the Saxons by the soldiers of Charlemagne. In the VIII century, the conversion to Christianity of the first Slavs - Alpine (related by kinship with the current Slovenes) begins.

The lack of centralized proselytism (and state religious policy) markedly distinguished the Dark Ages from the Carolingian period.

The cult of the saints

In the Early Middle Ages, the veneration of holy queens spread. Queen Radegunda was remembered against the backdrop of the unbridledness of her husband, the monarch of the Franks Chlothar I. After Chlothar killed his brother, Ragnetruda retired to a monastery. Clotilde, despite the fact that she came from the people of the Burgundians who professed Arianism, adhered to the orthodox faith. It was believed that Clovis I accepted the orthodox faith thanks to her incessant persuasion. The queen had to go through disgrace after the son of the king, baptized into the Christian faith, suddenly died. St. Bathilda, a former slave in one of the Anglo-Saxon states, became the wife of King Clovis II and regent after his death. The queen, the founder of many monasteries, was revered for her piety as a saint.

Barbarian kings, ill-tempered, seldom achieved canonization. Almost the only exception - the monarch of the Franks Guntramn, who was compared in wisdom with Solomon, was never canonized. Nevertheless, in the state of the Franks, King Sigebert III was revered.

The most popular among all the saints of the West was St. Martin of Tours. According to legend, one day the saint met a beggar, and the beggar began to beg him to give him something from his clothes in order to cover his rags. Martin cut his cloak in two and gave one to the one who asked. The next night the bishop had a dream that on that day Jesus Christ appeared before him in the form of a beggar. The second part of the cloak of St. Martin of Tours became a relic of the Merovingians and was called "kapa". The kings of the Franks took the burl on military campaigns, where it was supposed to save them from danger. The priest who sets out with the army eventually became known as the chaplain, that is, "guardian of the cap."

Abbey of St. Martin was one of the richest monasteries in the West. To save it from plunder, Charles Martell led his troops to the road between Tours and Poitiers, along which the troops of the Islamic conquerors Abd-ar-Rahman moved.

Early Middle Ages - the era of the emergence of a local cult. Bishops transfer the relics of Christian saints to the interior regions of the barbarian kingdoms, and veneration of local saints appears, most often from the bishops themselves.

scientific knowledge

Throughout the entire period of the Dark Ages, scientific knowledge has been in deep decline in the West. Thus, Isidore of Seville's Etymologies, compiled in the 7th century, are one of the most fantastic works of the medieval period. Isidore passionately describes basilisks and dragons and, in general, is convinced of the plane of the Earth, although he also gives the opposite point of view.

The decline of scientific knowledge in the West can partly be explained by the decline in contacts with Byzantium and, in particular, by the oblivion Greek, which continued in the West until the time of the humanists.

Within the empire, the Frankish kingdom attained prominence. Having entered the struggle for the Roman heritage last, the Franks achieve victory over the Visigoths on the plains of Vuille (). After Byzantium declares war on the Ostrogoths, they, succumbing to threats, cede Provence to the Franks. Even earlier, the sons of Clovis conquer Burgundy. After the reunification of the space of Roman Gaul under the leadership of the Merovingians, the Frankish expansion is directed to Germany, where the duchy of the Bavarians is formed under their rule.

The kingdom of the Visigoths, having survived the catastrophe at Vuille, turns to the unification of the Spanish lands, where in the second half of the 6th century the kingdom of the Suebi and independent Roman territories that probably existed in this region disappear. The continental seizures of the Byzantines in southern Spain turn out to be short-lived, but the lack of a fleet will not allow the barbarians to return the Balearic Islands.

Barbarians and Romans

The barbarian monarchs form an alliance with the Church and the Roman senatorial aristocracy. In the places allocated to the Germans for settlement, especially in the north of Gaul, the Roman aristocracy retains part of the property, but is Germanized. In the south of Gaul, where there was no settlement, it remains Roman until the 8th century. The virtual absence of land conflicts between barbarians and Romans is explained by the depopulation of the region during the Great Migration Period.

In the French historiography of the 20th century, it is generally accepted that the Gallo-Romans, who lived in Aquitaine, made three attempts to achieve independence from the state of the Franks. The first of them is connected with the uprising Khramn, the son of King Chlothar I. The second is with the rebellion of the impostor Gundovald, supported by Byzantium, who intervened in the affairs of the state of the Franks. In the second half of the 7th century, under the patrician Felix and his successor Lupe, Aquitaine gains independence from the Franks. During the Arab invasion, the Duke Ed acts as the ruler of Aquitaine, whose family ties with Felix and Lupe are not clarified due to lack of sources. Caught between the Arabs in the south and the Franks in the north, Aquitaine finally loses its independence during the reign of Pepin the Short. It can be noted that some cities on the Mediterranean coast of France chose Arab citizenship between Frankish and Arab citizenship, in particular, Arles and Marseille. Differences between South and North lead to wars in the second half of the 9th century and remain significant until the Albigensian Crusades.

In the state of the Ostrogoths under the reign of Theodoric the Great, the alliance between the king and the Roman aristocracy was destroyed, thanks to the intrigues of Byzantium. The barbarian monarch, having changed mercy to anger, proceeds to repress the Italo-Romans, who professed not the Arian, but the Orthodox (orthodox) faith. The philosopher Boethius becomes a victim of persecution, whom Theodoric imprisons.

Bishops

During the Dark Ages, barbarian kings assume the right to appoint bishops in their states, Roman popes lose control over their patriarchate, metropolitans lose control over subordinate bishoprics. The bishops had a unique power in the city, which remained after the weakening of trade ties, par excellence cult center. Gallo-Roman and German aristocrats were appointed bishops, often bishops had children and wives. During the crisis of the Merovingian state (7th century), the prelates act as rulers of semi-independent territories, where their power increases so much that it exceeds that of the counts. Unlike most Merovingian aristocrats, the bishops were closely associated with the city because the main diocesan church was located in the city. The prelates relied on the centuries-old financial and land resources of their diocese.

The influence of the bishops was not equally great everywhere. In some cities of the state of the Franks, the lists of bishops contain long-term gaps, in which researchers see a sign of a partial return to paganism.

The kings called bishops to councils. The best known are the Toledo cathedrals in the state of the Visigoths (there were 18 of them). During one of the Councils of Toledo, the first version of the filioque doctrine was formulated, which later became the reason for the division of ancient Orthodox Christianity into eastern (Orthodox) and western (Catholic) branches. Another of the Toledo cathedrals approved a scandalous proposal to sell the Jews into slavery.

Bishops of the early Middle Ages are known to have waged wars. Some of them themselves participated in the war: for example, Bishop Milon is one of three (along with Charles Martell and his brother Hildebrand) participant in the battle of Poitiers, information about which has survived to this day.

Hermitage

In places of settlement of anchorite monks, students joined them, which led to the formation of monasteries. Rejecting the principle of communal life as insufficient for monastic life, the hermits were often unpredictable: they left the deserts, where the emergence of monasteries was inevitable, and left in search of a new refuge. The difficult fate of the abandoned communities and the uncontrollability of hermits irritated the diocesan authorities. Langobard Vulfilaih faced the fact that, by order of the bishop, his pillar was destroyed. Archbishop Gregory of Tours spoke out as an opponent of hermitage. He traveled around the anchorites known to him, persuading them to join this or that monastery. The charter of Benedict of Nursia, published in the first third of the 6th century, forbade the settlement of monks at a considerable distance from the monasteries.

The phenomenon of monastic colonization is associated with the economic revival of the West after the Great Migration.

Last update:
April 25, 2019, 13:05

The Middle Ages is a very broad concept in historical terms. Usually the history of the medieval West, the Catholic world, is divided into two periods: Dark Ages, lasting approximately from the 5th to the 10th centuries, and the High Middle Ages, which began at the turn of the millennium and ended in different countries Western Europe in different time, from the 13th to the 17th centuries. Often there is another important intermediate period - the Early Middle Ages, the time of the formation of structures feudal society, which lasted approximately from the 10th to the 12th centuries.

Almost five hundred years in the history of Europe after the fall of the Western Roman Empire is traditionally referred to as the Dark Ages. The name is partly fair, although it deliberately sets a certain negative attitude towards this historical period.

Dark Ages- this is the period from the 5th to the 10th centuries, the time when a new Christian society was born slowly and hard, with huge losses and suffering, on the ruins of the Roman Empire.

This is the time of the Great Migration of Peoples, when the expanses of Europe were filled with hordes of nomadic tribes - young barbarian peoples seeking a new life in new lands. This is the time of instantly emerging and rapidly disintegrating kingdoms, held by the power and power of the rulers - military leaders. Such was the leader of the Mongol tribe of the Huns, Attila, whose horse hordes mercilessly tormented the lands former Empire. Such was Charlemagne, founder of the mighty Frankish Empire, heir to the greatness of Rome. Such were many other tribal leaders and kings - some more, some less successful on the battlefield and in politics.

The Dark Ages are an era of strength, not wisdom, war, not diplomacy.

Dark Ages - historical period in Western Europe in the V - X centuries.

The Great Migration of Peoples - the movement of various tribes in the IV - VII centuries. from the periphery of the Roman Empire to the center, as well as within the Empire itself

Attila is one of the most powerful military leaders of the 5th century. The leader of the union of the Hunnic tribes since 434. Died in 453. He also entered European legends under the name of Etzel

Charlemagne (742 - 814) - king and emperor of the Franks, creator of the first empire in Europe

During this period, the foundations of the society of previous centuries were completely destroyed, the "construction site" was cleared for the construction of a new civilization - the Christian world. A new factor has appeared in history, the significance of which has never before been so great in all spheres of society - religion. Christianity in the Dark Ages was not just one of the components public life Faith is the main engine of all human life. It is unlikely that another culture will be found where the role of the personal faith of each person, on the one hand, and religious institutions, on the other, would be so comprehensive.

Why is the name "Dark Ages" as justified as it is unfairly cruel? As far as the material side of life is concerned, it was really a time of complete decline, when society as such actually ceased to exist. The economy and trade found themselves in the deepest crisis, production stopped in its development and technically even rolled back compared to the era of antiquity. Agriculture could not fully satisfy the need for food, and Europe was constantly shaken by epidemics of hunger and disease. Plague is a terrible scourge medieval Europe- mowed down entire settlements and regions. Construction, communications, art, literature - all this fell into decay for a long time.

But in terms of spirituality, the Dark Ages are the period of the birth of a new type of personality, a new mentality, both individual and collective. At a time when collecting earthly treasures proved impossible, people, following the commandment of Christ, began to collect heavenly treasures. The Christian religion turned out to be the only support that helped a person not to lose heart and endure with humility all the trials that fell to his lot. Hunger, attacks by barbarians, diseases - all this seemed to the Christian God's test, sent down to prepare believers for the "thousand-year kingdom of Christ" promised in the Gospel. Thinkers turned not to the nature of man - a transient phenomenon, but to the nature of the divine. Theological science, which flourished in the High Middle Ages, began in the monasteries of the Dark Ages. All knowledge of the medieval man about the world was based on knowledge about God. By the 11th century, the unique spiritual baggage accumulated in the Dark Ages and the Early Middle Ages turned out to be quite comparable with cultural heritage ancient era. Medieval society developed its own view of the world and the place of man in it. This self-determination, along with objective economic reasons, made it possible to start an economic, followed by a cultural upsurge.

It was in the era of the Dark Ages that new nations were formed, united according to the territorial and linguistic principle. Before the emergence of nation-states, one of the first examples of which was France in the Middle Ages, it was still far away, but society had already taken the first steps in this direction by the 8th century.

The Dark Ages and the Early Middle Ages, like no other era, is a time of opposites in the spiritual, religious sphere. Disagreements between Old Testament and the New Testament gave rise to the most severe internal conflict in the soul of a medieval person - and at the same time both Testaments coexisted perfectly with each other. Below we will consider in more detail various aspects of the specific spiritual experience of the Middle Ages, which fully manifested itself already in the Dark Ages.

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So, we stopped at the moment of the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization, which occurred as a result of the invasion of barbarian tribes from the north. This happened to us in the 12th century. Then comes the period of the XI - IX centuries, which we called the period dark ages, the Homeric period or the prepolis period. Without dwelling on this period for a long time, it is only necessary to note the most important thing that characterizes this time. This is a period of destruction of the foundations of civilization. This is the destruction of the foundations of statehood. This is the destruction of the foundations, first of all, of the palace type of economy. This is a period of oblivion of many cultural values ​​that were created in previous centuries. This is a period of return to tribal relations.

So this period, on the one hand, is characterized as a period of deep decline and regression. And, above all, this is evidenced by the archaeological data that historians have at their disposal. First of all, these data show a very low standard of living, almost no social differentiation: almost all burials of this period are equally poor, this is the absence of luxury items and, above all, items brought from outside. At that time, Greece did not trade with anyone, and there was nothing for it to trade at that time.

This is the period when writing is completely forgotten. Here is what we said about line B, in fact, along with the destruction of the palace complexes of Balkan Greece, with the destruction of the palace sector of the economy, there is no need for writing as such. Not because, I repeat, the carriers of this knowledge were destroyed. According to tradition, a certain part of the Mycenaean nobility survived and then will give rise to the future, new aristocracy of Greece in the 1st millennium BC. There was no longer any need for this, in such writing, which fixed, first of all, economic documentation.

Skills in creating high-quality Mycenaean pottery are disappearing. What we have for this time: ceramics is very primitive both in terms of its manufacture and in terms of painting. Moreover, art historians say that at that time, instead of the so-called Mycenaean Koine, a single style that reigned on the territory of Balkan Greece in the previous period, regardless of the existence of state borders. At that time, there was, as it were, a whole set of dialects, that is, those masters who made this ceramics, who literally often lived 10-15 kilometers from each other, they did not communicate. This is a period of disunity of the population that remained in Greece.

Another terrible indicator of this era is a sharp decline in population. Again, archaeological evidence proves that many existing settlements, not to mention the centers, citadels, which were simply destroyed and abandoned, and so the usual settlements are sharply reduced. Moreover, the reduction occurs several times. Let's say in Argolis in last period The existence of the Mycenaean civilization had more than 40 settlements, during the dark ages - no more than 6. Even those settlements that continued to exist, they are sharply reduced in area. That is, in living settlements, the number of living people is becoming much smaller.

The population in Balkan Greece is getting smaller for several reasons. First of all, the destruction of states led to political chaos. Not without reason in the tradition, especially Thucydides, there is a memory of this period, when the Greek tribes “wandered” around Greece. The state “holds” the borders, they give some kind of framework. That's when there are no states, then these tribal groups, which were formed on the basis of aliens, on the basis of the existing Achaean tribes, almost in the period dark ages traveled a lot in this little Greece. The stronger one tried to oust the weaker one from those few convenient territories that are in the Balkan Greece. The absence of statehood, the destruction of state infrastructure led not only to endless military clashes, this cannot be called a war, these were clashes of relatively small groups, but the losses from these endless clashes were large.

Then, as tradition testifies, it was a period when often, for several decades, Greece was devastated by various epidemics and diseases.

The term "Middle Ages" or the Middle Ages appears for the first time in the Renaissance. In the 15th century, it was proposed by the Italian humanist, historian Flavio Biondo to designate the era between Antiquity and the Renaissance. The term itself was initially negatively evaluative - the figures of the Renaissance considered this period to be the time of the savagery of Europe.

And in our time, the term "medieval" is often used as a synonym for decadence and reactionism. Gloomy, dark, cruel times... But it was in the Middle Ages that the foundations of modern civilization were laid. Science develops, states are formed, modern languages and many cultural values.

More discoveries were made in the 12th century than in the previous millennium! Cannons, glasses, gunpowder that came from the East, cutlery, a compass, an astrolabe - all this is the legacy of the Middle Ages. And to the Great geographical discoveries brought, first of all, the successes of medieval shipbuilding!

The Middle Ages begin with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. Young barbarian (translated from Greek “barbarian” means “foreign”) nationalities enter the world historical arena: Celts, Germans, Franks, Slavs, etc.

It is traditionally believed that the formation of medieval culture (or the early Middle Ages) lasted until the 8th-9th centuries. Period from X to XIV centuries. considered to be the heyday (High Middle Ages), and the XIV-XV centuries. (some medievalists also include the 16th century here) - the era of the Late Middle Ages. However, the boundaries are vague and have national characteristics: for example, in Italy in the 15th century, the Renaissance belongs to the New Age, and in Russia the era of the Middle Ages lasts until the end of the 17th century.

The early Middle Ages are defined by three historical processes:

The formation of feudalism, which replaces the ancient slavery, and statehood;
the great migration of peoples and, as a result, the mixing of cultures, the formation of new languages ​​and interethnic conflicts;
the growth of the influence of Christianity and the formation of a new idea about man and the structure of the world in which he lives.

The feudal society of the Middle Ages has three main characteristics:

1. Class

A man of the Middle Ages first of all defines himself as a representative of a particular class (priesthood, chivalry or peasantry) and only secondarily as a person with a set of individual qualities. The transition from one class to another was almost impossible.

2. Hierarchy

All estates are in strict subordination (the peasantry is subordinate to chivalry, chivalry to the clergy). The same principle applies within the estate (the squire admires the knight regardless of his personal qualities, abilities or skills). Moreover, the representative of the younger class should treat the representative of the older one as a Heavenly Father, and he, in turn, should love his vassals as foolish children and take care of them.

3. Traditional

It is very important to maintain the tradition, to follow the patterns. Any innovations are accepted very slowly - the society of the Middle Ages is inert. Everything new is perceived as the machinations of the devil (the extraordinary role of Christianity, remember?).

Time and space are the basic forms of human experience through which we perceive the world. Ideas about these categories are determined not only by everyday experience, but also by the development of human civilization as a whole. These categories are historically variable.

In the Middle Ages, the idea of ​​linear, unidirectional and finite time arises. The world was created, so it must end sometime. Another substance that a person of the Middle Ages remembers is eternity, where time came from and where it should return to. Hence the expectation of the Last Judgment and preparation for it as the main goal of earthly life. Remember the oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible, the Inquisition in Europe? Their main goal was to prepare for eternity and expel filth from the earthly world. Carpe diem has nothing to do with this era of the Middle Ages.

Interestingly, the first mechanical clocks, which were installed in Europe on city towers from the 10th century, did not have minute (and even more so second) hands, but often celebrated the holidays of the church calendar.

The concept of space in the Middle Ages also changes in comparison with ancient culture. There is an idea of ​​its unity: the whole world was created by God. But at the same time, space is hierarchical: some territories are more valuable than others.

The most valuable space of the Middle Ages is the space of the church. In medieval German cities there was even a custom: a criminal who touched the door of the cathedral was not subject to justice. Remember how Quasimodo hid Esmeralda in Notre Dame Cathedral? Victor Hugo very accurately described the idea of ​​the Middle Ages about the sacred space of the church.

The medieval world is clearly divided and ethically charged: good is in the south and east, and evil is in the north and west. Purity and goodness is the sky, the top; the bottom and the earth are evil.

The symbol of this hierarchy is the cathedral, which even illiterate believers read like a book.

The language of international communication in the Middle Ages is Latin, which is also the language of worship. For peasants and chivalry (with the exception of higher ranks), who spoke folk dialects (of which modern European languages), it was a sacred (and, what is very important, absolutely incomprehensible) "language of angels". In Russia in the Middle Ages, the role of Latin was performed by the Church Slavonic language.

The power of the church in the era of the Middle Ages was comprehensive - it becomes the main political force. Secular power was weak and unstable. Dynastic wars between feudal lords (as an example, one can cite the civil strife of Russian princes in the 10th-11th centuries or the War of the Scarlet and White Roses in England in the 15th century), fragmentation (the collapse of the Carolingian Empire or Kievan Rus, wars between Italian cities) led to the strengthening of the power of the church, which has centralization, a rigid structure and a single language.

One of the symbols of the Middle Ages - Crusades- fought against the Gentiles in order to recapture Palestine - the Holy Land with its Christian treasures (and only then for the sake of glory, wealth and honors). It was a search for an earthly paradise, a pilgrimage. The knights dedicated their exploits to the Virgin Mary (“the most beautiful of wives”). Later, spiritual and knightly orders were formed: the warriors became monks, combining the ideals of asceticism and selfless service. In the Middle Ages, people live in anticipation of the Second Coming and the Last Judgment.

A person is connected with God and only in this capacity has the right to exist (the Middle Ages does not know atheism). Education is also associated with the church - until the 9th-10th centuries. even a person could learn to read only at the monastery, not to mention the acquisition of more serious knowledge.

Since the 13th century, a new type of economic relations has been formed - the bourgeois one, which requires not a vassal, but a worker with personal freedom. Urban, secular culture develops, interest in the individual life of a person appears. The stagnation of the culture of the Middle Ages begins.

Education is no longer the prerogative of the church - universities are gaining strength (the first European university, Bologna, was opened in Italy in the 11th century, soon the University of Paris in France, Cambridge and Oxford in England, Prague, Krakow and Heidelberg universities) began to teach, in which secular sciences (medicine, jurisprudence, etc.). The Middle Ages considered theology and philosophy as the main science, the Renaissance - medicine and philology.

The attitude towards the church is changing, there is a division: she is provided with care for the soul of a person after his death, and for his life in this world is responsible secular power. The Reformation begins (first in Germany at the beginning of the 16th century, then in France, England, Denmark and others European countries). In Russia, the process of secularization and the end of the Middle Ages are attributed to late XVII – early XVIII century and is associated with the activities of Peter I.

The New Age begins, which has learned much more from its predecessor than it seemed to its representatives.

The history of Greece after the Dorian invasion begins almost anew. Again there is a decomposition of primitive communal relations, the formation of statehood, the revival of material culture. This period lasted approximately from the 11th to the 9th century BC and is called the Dark Ages, and also the Homeric period, since it is known primarily from the poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey", attributed to the authorship of Homer. The Dark Ages are the era of subsistence farming, because of all the achievements of the Mycenaeans, the Dorians borrowed only the potter's wheel, metalworking techniques and shipbuilding techniques, the culture of growing grapes and olive trees. However, the Dorians brought with them the art of smelting and processing iron, the practice of using it not only as decorations, but for the manufacture of tools and in military affairs.

At the end of the Homeric period, the formation of a pre-polis public organization took place.

It is also known that until the 9th century Greece was inhabited by tribes: the Aeolians - Northern Greece, the Dorians - Central Greece and the eastern Peloponnese, the Ionians - Attica, the Achaeans, who managed to maintain their independence, were forced out by the Dorians to Arcadia and Achaia. Finally major event this period - the beginning of the ancient Greek colonization of the islands Aegean Sea and the coasts of Asia Minor: the northern regions were settled by the Aeolians, the central regions (known as the region of Ionia) by the Ionians, and the southern regions by the Dorians.

Dark Ages , Homeric era, Prepolis period - a period in history Ancient Greece, covering the XI-IX centuries BC. e., which began after the decline of the Mycenaean civilization and the alleged Dorian invasion and ended with the heyday of the Greek policies, called the archaic period.

Very little is known about this period, it is characterized by the decline of culture and the loss of writing. There is a final destruction of the remains of the Mycenaean civilization, the revival and dominance of tribal relations. At the same time, the Dark Ages are characterized by a certain technical progress, in particular, the development of iron smelting and processing, and the development social relations led to their transformation into early class and the formation of unique prepolis public structures laying the foundation for future progress.

In the last period of the "dark ages", about 900-700 years. BC e., in Greek art is distributed geometric style .

geometric style (also known as geometry) was characteristic of Greek vase painting at the end of the "Dark Ages" around 900-700 BC. BC e. and supplanted the proto-geometric style. The center of distribution of this style was Athens. Gradually it spread to trading cities on the islands of the Aegean.

Hydria in geometric style. 750-700 BC e. Louvre

In addition to vase painting, the style was characteristic of small plastic arts, glyptics, and arts and crafts. Geometric ornament, which appeared in the 9th century. BC e., was a combination of geometric elements, on vases it was located in stripes and consisted of meanders, crosses and circles. This style reflected the essence of ancient Greek art and religiosity. In addition to ornamental friezes, figured images became widespread, which became the prototypes of friezes depicting animals and people in the archaic period. The ornament made up 80 percent of the geometric style painting.
In the century of Homer after 750 BC. e. the strictly geometric direction is replaced by friezes with images of fabulous predatory animals. The vases began to depict plots of myths.

Protogeometric period

Although the Proto-Geometric style (1050-900 BC) represents some cultural revival from previous Sub-Mycenaean pottery, the traditions of Mycenaean pottery have been lost. The shape of the vessels became strict and simple (in contrast to the sinuous forms characteristic of Mycenaean pottery). Protogeometric vessels are divided into several horizontal decorative bands in which are placed simple geometric elements, usually concentric circles or semicircles.

Protogeometric amphora, circa 975-950. BC e. Made in Athens. British Museum collection

Early Geometric Period

In the Early Geometric period (900-850 BC), the height of the vessels increased, while the ornament was located only around the neck up to the middle of the vessel body. The remaining surface was covered with a thin layer of clay, which, when fired, acquired a dark metallic lustrous hue. In the same period, decorative elements of ceramics were supplemented with meander, which has become one of the most characteristic elements of geometric art.

Geometric mean period

In the Middle Geometric Period (850-760 BC), the number of decorative zones on the vessel increased, and the meander prevailed among the decorations.

Meander (Greek μαίανδρος) - known since the Paleolithic and a common type of orthogonal ornament. A border composed of right angles forming a continuous line. It got its name from the meandering river Meander (now Big Menderes) in Asia Minor (Ephesus). As Seneca points out, the Meander River “is the subject of exercises and games for all poets, winding in frequent bends, coming close to its own channel and turning again, without having time to flow into itself” (Seneca. Letters to Lucilius CIV: 15). The ancients saw a deep magical meaning in the meander ribbon of the ornament, it reflected the current human life. Straightness, a straight path symbolized virtue. The meander can only consist of right angles, which give the line additional rigidity and correspond to growth in virtue. As an ornament, the meander was often used in Etruscan and ancient Greek, and then ancient Roman, Byzantine, Romanesque architecture on vases, small household items. The inclusion of a swastika in the meander indicates the presence in the natural life processes of an additional factor of supernatural grace, which eventually becomes the dominant, organizing node of each segment of the path. Such a meander is still called in India nandavartaya (nandavartaya), i.e. "twisting" or "circle of happiness." Occurs at the Mizinskaya Paleolithic site.

The meander was used to decorate the hem of clothing, in architecture it was used in reliefs and friezes. The meander can be found, for example, on the frescoes of the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii, represented by a variation of this ornament - the so-called "double meander". AT Ancient Greece meander symbolized eternity achieved by reproduction: an aging being, replaced by a young one, becomes thereby immortal; the old entity shrinks and the new one expands.

Eleusinian amphora, 8th c. BC e. with geometric motifs

Late Geometric Period

Although the technologies of the Geometric Mean Period continued to be used in early VIII century BC e., some manufacturers increased the number of decorative elements on the vessels, animal shapes became stable in the area of ​​the neck and base of the amphorae. Stylized human images appear.

Pyxida from the Museum of the Athenian Agora

One of the characteristic examples of the late geometric style is the oldest signed ancient Greek vessel - the work of the potter Aristonot or Aristonophus (7th century BC). An amphora discovered in the Italian city of Cerveteri depicts the blinding of Polyphemus by Odysseus and his companions. From the middle of the 8th century BC. e. closer contacts between Greece and the East enriched Greek vase painting with new elements such as lions, panthers, fictional creatures, rosettes, palm trees, lotus flowers, etc., which later developed into an orientalizing style.

Geometric motifs in art

Geometric-style vessels are characterized by horizontal stripes running in rings around the vessel. Between these bands are placed various decorative motifs, such as zigzag, triangle, meander and swastika. Along with abstract elements, stylized images of people and animals appear, which distinguishes geometric art from proto-geometric art. Many surviving objects from the geometric period are funerary gifts in the graves of aristocrats.

human images

The first human images appear around 770 BC. e. on the handles of amphoras, where the male figure is depicted with a triangular torso, an oval head with a protrusion instead of a nose, and long cylindrical thighs and shins. The female figures are also abstract: their long hair was depicted as a series of lines, and their breasts were depicted as strokes at armpit level.