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Medieval united Europe

Source: Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Effects of Good Government on Town and Country, 1338-1339, domena publiczna.

Link to the lesson

You will learn
  • you will explain what the medieval universalismuniversalismuniversalism was

  • you will describe the medieval role modelsrole modelsrole models

  • you will differentiate between a symbolsymbolsymbol an allegoryallegoryallegory

  • you will interpret the Bosch's painting

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Wysłuchaj nagrania abstraktu i zastanów się, czego jeszcze chciałbyś się dowiedzieć w związku z tematem lekcji.

Before the lesson

Think in what ways the character of the modern culture can be universal.

Universalism – the invention of the Middle AgesMiddle AgesMiddle Ages

Although the map of medieval Europe differs significantly from the modern one, we can spot some similarities between the modern and the medieval culture of the European continent. Today we live in a gradually unifying world. English has become a dominant language, pizza is eaten almost everywhere, we dress up in a similar way and listen to the same music. We can say that the world has universalized.
Universalism is one of the main features of the Middle Ages as well.

Task 1

Check in the Polish Dictionary or in other sources what does the universalism mean.

The medieval universalism has made the culture of Western Europe similar in different aspects, especially after the XI century. Universalism was visible in the struggle to unify different aspects of life according to the prevailing rules.

Exercise 1
Get acquainted with the information about the medieval universalism.
Get acquainted with the information about the medieval universalism.
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Ilustracja przedstawia mapę średniowiecznego miasta. Na rycinie umieszczono następujące informacje: 1. Common religion. Christianity dominated the whole continent and formed the worldview of the Europeans. 2. Theocentrism. God was in the centre of all human activities. Theologists believed that if God was the only necessary being, all the rest may not have existed. 3. Common usage of Latin. Educated people could communicate within the common code that was Latin. It was used mainly during the liturgies, at schools, universities and in offices. 4. Feudalism. After the slavery period, feudalism has become the main political and economic regime based on the hierarchy. The society was divided into estates with the specific tasks assigned to them. 5. Art styles. We distinguish two main styles visible in architecture, painting and sculpting of Middle Ages: roman and gothic style. 6. Philosophy. The most important philosophical concepts of that time were:
– augustianism (the name derives from St Augustine – III/IV century).
– thomism (St Thomas Aquinas – XIII century),
– misticism (based on the idea that God can be only experienced by the enlightement, the illumination coming from Him and it's not possible to discover the truth with one's own mind). 7. The activity of orders. It is because of them that the ancient culture has survived the societal collapse (the works were gathered, copied and commented in the monasteries). However, the main task of the Black Monks (VI century), Cisterians (XI century), Franciscans and Dominicans (XIII century) was to promote the religious attitude. 8. Pre-university education. The priests and monks had big influence on the organisation and teaching methods. The schooling took place in the parish, cathedral and monastery schools and the universal system of education on the whole continent included seven fields of science called liberal arts. Seven liberal arts consisted of so-called trivium and quadrivium.To the first group covered grammar, dialectic (logic) and rhetoric. It was the lower educational level. On the higher one – quadrivium –geometry, arithmetic, astronomy and music were taught. 9. University education. Since the XIII century, some schools started to change into universities. Law, medicine and theology, considered to be the most important branch of science, were lectured there. One of the teaching methods was scholasticism (the name comes from the Latin word schola - school) presuming that the catechism can be justified in the rational way. 10. Role models. The medieval art promoted three role models: saint, knight, lord. 11.Anonymity. We have only few information about the medieval artists, many of them remained anonymous. It is connected not only with the historical circumstances (many documents were lost). Authors believed that the artwork is made for the God’s glory, not for their own. They thought that the real creator is God and the human is only a reproducer. 12. Benefiting from the ancient culture. Contrary to the common belief that the people of the Middle Ages totally rejected the pagan Antiquity, after the V century there were still many visible references to the ancient accomplishments. To the heritage of Antiquity belong for example: Latin, natural science, astronomy, philosophy.

Medieval role models

Exercise 2

In pairs, find the information about the medieval role models. If it's possible, try to find the examples from other literary texts.

Grup I – LordlordLord

Grup II – Saint

Grup III – KnightknightKnight

Symbol and allegory

Remind yourself the information about the symbol and allegory.

Allegory – in literature and culture, it is a presentation of an idea, term, character or an event using a fixed, hidden artistic meaning rooted in tradition, more important than the literal one. The metaphorical meaning is unambiguous and malleable (e.g. by using personification). The example of the allegory may be a person with a scythe, an image of death. Contrary to the conventionalised character of the allegory, a symbol is ambiguous and has no fixed meaning, it can be understood in different ways.

Wyjaśnij znaczenie pojęcia alegorii w sztuce.1
Wyjaśnij znaczenie pojęcia alegorii w sztuce.
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Exercise 3
Basing on the available sources, indicate the correct words to complete the sentences. Hieronim Bosch Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. 1450-1516, 2. 1450-1550 was a painter and drafter from Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. Shetland, 2. Netherlands. His works cover Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. a narrow , 2. vast range of topics – from daily life of common Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. people, 2. the royal court to religious Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. scenes, 2. landscapes. Bosch paintings are characteristic for their Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. rough, 2. smooth texture. The artist has become an inspiration for Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. surrealists, 2. realists.
Exercise 4
Find more information about Hieronim Bosch's painting. Try to determine the subject of the painting and identify the characteristic features of the vision proposed by the painter.
Find more information about Hieronim Bosch's painting. Try to determine the subject of the painting and identify the characteristic features of the vision proposed by the painter.
Exercise 5
Get to know what symbols or allegories Hieronim Bosch has depicted. Try to explain their meaning.
Get to know what symbols or allegories Hieronim Bosch has depicted. Try to explain their meaning.
For interested
Get acquainted with the book „The Name of The Rose”.
Get acquainted with the book „The Name of The Rose”.

Keywords

Middle Ages, universalism, symbol, allegory

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Exercise 6
Match the pairs: English and Polish words. English word: universalism. Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. feudalizm, 2. szkolnictwo, 3. władca, 4. uniwersalizm, 5. rycerz, 6. teocentryzm, 7. wzorce osobowe, 8. dama dworu. English word: role models. Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. feudalizm, 2. szkolnictwo, 3. władca, 4. uniwersalizm, 5. rycerz, 6. teocentryzm, 7. wzorce osobowe, 8. dama dworu. English word: lord. Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. feudalizm, 2. szkolnictwo, 3. władca, 4. uniwersalizm, 5. rycerz, 6. teocentryzm, 7. wzorce osobowe, 8. dama dworu. English word: knight. Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. feudalizm, 2. szkolnictwo, 3. władca, 4. uniwersalizm, 5. rycerz, 6. teocentryzm, 7. wzorce osobowe, 8. dama dworu. English word: lady‑in‑waiting. Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. feudalizm, 2. szkolnictwo, 3. władca, 4. uniwersalizm, 5. rycerz, 6. teocentryzm, 7. wzorce osobowe, 8. dama dworu. English word: feudalism. Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. feudalizm, 2. szkolnictwo, 3. władca, 4. uniwersalizm, 5. rycerz, 6. teocentryzm, 7. wzorce osobowe, 8. dama dworu. English word: theocentrism. Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. feudalizm, 2. szkolnictwo, 3. władca, 4. uniwersalizm, 5. rycerz, 6. teocentryzm, 7. wzorce osobowe, 8. dama dworu. English word: education. Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. feudalizm, 2. szkolnictwo, 3. władca, 4. uniwersalizm, 5. rycerz, 6. teocentryzm, 7. wzorce osobowe, 8. dama dworu.

Glossary

Middle Ages
Middle Ages
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Nagranie słówka: Middle Ages

średniowiecze

universalism
universalism
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Nagranie słówka: universalism

uniwersalizm

symbol
symbol
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Nagranie słówka: symbol

symbol

allegory
allegory
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Nagranie słówka: allegory

alegoria

medievalist
medievalist
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Nagranie słówka: medievalist

madiewista

role models
role models
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Nagranie słówka: role models

wzorce osobowe

lord
lord
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Nagranie słówka: lord

władca

knight
knight
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Nagranie słówka: knight

rycerz

lady‑in‑waiting
lady‑in‑waiting
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Nagranie słówka: lady‑in‑waiting

dama dworu

feudalism
feudalism
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Nagranie słówka: feudalism

feudalizm

theocentrism
theocentrism
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Nagranie słówka: theocentrism

teocentryzm

education
education
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Nagranie słówka: education

szkolnictwo

Latin
Latin
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Nagranie słówka: Latin

łacina