Middle Ages Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Intellectual life=== {{main|Renaissance of the 12th century}} [[File:Richard of Wallingford.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|alt=A monk measuring in a room filled with books and devices|Abbot [[Richard of Wallingford]] making his [[astronomical clock]], 14th-century miniature]] [[Cathedral chapter]]s were expected to operate a school from the late {{nowrap|11th century}}, and the more lenient [[cathedral schools]] quickly marginalised the traditional [[monastic school]]s. Schools reaching the highest level of mastery within the disciplines they taught received the rank of {{lang|la|[[studium generale]]}}, or [[medieval university|university]] from the pope or the Holy Roman Emperor.{{sfn|Backman|2022|pp=345–348}}{{sfn|Barber|2004|pp=409–410}} The new institutions of education encouraged scholarly discussions.{{sfn|Colish|2002|p=265}} Debates between the [[Philosophical realism|realists]] and the [[Nominalism|nominalists]] over the concept of "[[Universal (metaphysics)|universals]]" were especially heated. Philosophical discourse was stimulated by the rediscovery of [[Aristotle]] (d. {{nowrap|322 BC}}), the [[Ancient Greek philosophy|Ancient Greek philosopher]], and his emphasis on [[empiricism]] and [[rationalism]]. Scholars such as [[Peter Abelard]] (d. 1142) and [[Peter Lombard]] (d. 1164) introduced [[Term logic|Aristotelian logic]] into theology.{{sfn|Backman|2022|pp=324–333}} [[Scholasticism]], the new method of intellectual discourse and pedagogy, required the study of authoritative texts, notably the [[Vulgate]] and [[Church Fathers|patristic]] literature, but references to them could no more override rational argumentation.{{sfn|Backman|2022|pp=433–434}} Scholastic academics summarised their and other authors' views on specific subjects in comprehensive sentence collections known as {{lang|la|[[summa|summae]]}}, including the {{lang|la|[[Summa Theologica]]}} by [[Thomas Aquinas]] (d. 1274).{{sfn|Colish|2002|pp=266, 295–301}} [[Chivalry]] and the ethos of [[courtly love]] developed in royal and noble courts. This culture was expressed in the [[Vernacular|vernacular languages]] rather than Latin, and comprised poems, stories, legends, and popular songs. Often the stories were written down in {{lang|fr|[[Chanson de geste|chansons de geste]]}} ('songs of great deeds'), glorifying their male heroes' often brutal acts such as ''[[The Song of Roland]]'', and ''[[Cantar de mio Cid|The Poem of the Cid]]''. In contrast, [[chivalric romance]] praised chaste love, while eroticism was mainly present in poems composed by [[troubadour]]s.{{sfn|Backman|2022|pp=352–359}}{{sfn|Barber|2004|pp=413–414}} Chivalric literature took inspiration from [[classical mythology]], and also from the Celtic legends of the [[Arthurian cycle]] collected by [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] (d. {{Circa|1155}}).{{sfn|Colish|2002|p=182}} Further featuring literary genres include spiritual [[autobiography|autobiographies]], chronicles, philosophical poems, and [[hymn]]s.{{refn|group=note|Examples include the spiritual works of [[Guibert of Nogent]] (d. {{Circa|1125}}), the lyric correspondence between Abelard and his former lover [[Héloïse]] (d. {{Circa|1164}}), ''The Two Cities'' by [[Otto of Freising]] (d. 1158), the poems of [[Alan of Lille]] (d. 1202/03), and {{lang|la|[[Stabat Mater]]}}, a hymn to Virgin Mary.{{sfn|Colish|2002|pp=178–182}}}}{{sfn|Colish|2002|pp=178–182}} Theatre developed in the guise of [[mystery plays]], but comic [[farce]]s, like those written by [[Adam de la Halle]] (d. 1287/88) also gained popularity.{{sfn|Colish|2002|pp=209–211}} The discovery of a copy of the {{lang|la|Corpus Juris Civilis}} in the 11th century paved the way for the systematic study of Roman law at [[University of Bologna|Bologna]]. This led to the recording and standardisation of legal codes throughout Western Europe.{{refn|group=note|Among the earliest law codes, the [[Constitutions of Melfi]] was compiled in Sicily, the {{lang|es|[[Siete Partidas]]}} ('Seven Parts') in Castile, and the {{lang|no|[[Magnus Lagabøtes landslov|Landslov]]}} ('Code of the Realm') in Norway.{{sfn|Grzymała-Busse|2023|p=131}} In contrast, the [[common law]] system in England developed through the adoption of principles and procedures such as [[trial by jury]] by royal courts.{{sfn|Jordan|2002|p=153}}}} Around 1140, the monk Gratian (fl. 12th century), a teacher at Bologna, wrote what became the standard text of ecclesiastical law, or [[canon law]]—the {{lang|la|[[Decretum Gratiani]]}}.{{sfn|Backman|2022|pp=333–337}} Among the results of the Greek and Islamic influence on this period in European history was the replacement of [[Roman numerals]] with the [[decimal]] [[Positional notation|positional number system]] and the invention of [[algebra]], which allowed more advanced mathematics. Astronomy benefited from the translation of [[Ptolemy]]'s ''[[Almagest]]'' from Greek into Latin. Medicine was also studied, especially in southern Italy, where Islamic medicine influenced the [[Schola Medica Salernitana|school at Salerno]].{{sfn|Backman|2022|pp=343–344}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page