Themes in the Western Humanities

Late Middle Ages to the Modern Age

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Three Fundamental Themes Growth of a tradition of rational, scientific inquiry Persistent tension between Judeo-Christian religious ideals and social realities Emergence of constitutional forms of government 2

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Why Do They Hate Us?

Bin Laden’s Beliefs

For this and other acts of aggression and injustice, we have declared jihad against the US … in our religion it is our duty to make jihad so that God's word is the one exalted to the heights and so that we drive the Americans away from all Muslim countries … The country of the Two Holy Places has in our religion a peculiarity of its own over the other Muslim countries. In our religion, it is not permissible for any non-Muslim to stay in our country.

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Large Sets of Questions Growth of a tradition of rational, scientific inquiry Classical legacies of study, education, and critical thinking; social, economic, political, and intellectual pluralism Liberalism /tolerance and discernment concerning non-tolerance Ethics/morality not directly tied to religion, tradition, or authority Individualism Technology used to improve the material standard of living across the social spectrum Human realism in art, music, architecture, sculpture Study and use of both deductive and inductive reasoning 6

Large Sets of Questions Tension between Judeo-Christian religious ideals and social realities Nathan vs. David (II Samuel 12) City of God vs. City of Man Ambrose vs. Emperor Theodosius Investiture Conflict to the First Amendment Relationship between faith and reason Separation of religious and secular life in government Guarantees of individual rights Academic freedom from Abelard onward 7

Large Sets of Questions Emergence of constitutional forms of government Democracy /Republic /Oligarchy /Constitutional Absolutism Rule of law Equality before the law Concept of citizen rather than a subject Freedom of citizens/individual liberty Concepts of human rights Politics as a shared endeavor Free market /enterprise concepts Limits on arbitrary power (Becket and Magna Carta ) 8

Areas of Intersection How did the West grow rich?

Where did the Western sense of “self” come from?

What happened to the Western soul?

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How the West Grew Rich Transformative mechanisms present in West, but…

Real

story of move from poverty to wealth starts in 14 th century, with breakdown of feudalism… 10

How Did Distinctive Institutions Arise?

Free markets Private property Money and banking Insurance/risk calculation and management Freedom to organize economic enterprises 11

How Did

System

for Generating Growth and Wealth Arise?

Non-economic factors Demographics Urbanization Political approaches • Government involvements   Legal systems/protections Subsidies/tariffs   Currency Education  Transport systems • Laissez-faire 12

How Did

System

for Generating Growth and Wealth Arise?

Organizational factors Hierarchical Market/non-hierarchical Manorial Science 13

Are Western Economic Systems “Capitalist”?

Dominant features: Pragmatism Lack of ideological commitment to principles other than efficiency/survivability Capitalism is a term of convenience 14

From Poverty to Wealth

From:

Death Famine/malnutrition Plague/disease Illiteracy, ignorance, and superstition Limited horizons Crowding Limited choices

To:

Longer life expectancy Improved nutrition Better health and living conditions Literacy and education Variety of experience Privacy Personal choice 15

Possible Mechanisms Science and invention Natural resources Psychology Luck Misconduct Inequalities of income and wealth Exploitation Imperialism Slavery 16

Deep Mechanism Institutional mechanism built

deep

into structure of Western economies, continuously seeking out and adopting growth-inducing changes.

Deep

is operative word…many (Malthus, Spengler) could not imagine continued growth.

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The Beginning: The Late Middle Ages Periods of Economic Growth Roman Empire Early Middle Ages 1400s 18

The Country: Key Features of Manorial System

Unified Political/Economic Spheres

Fertile Crescent Egypt Family/Clan/Tribal leadership

Widespread use of servile labor

Ancient solution to contract issues

High degree of self-sufficiency

Barter/lack of adaptability 19

Uncertainty and Risk

Uncertainties huge

Agriculture Warfare/ransom/expropriation Markets

Role of calculation minor

Did same things/same ways “Security” enforced by law, custom, political control, claims of justice; actually reduced security 20

Towns and Political Rights Some autonomy through purchase of charters (city-states) Central monarchies (France, England, Spain) But nowhere is desire found to

end

political control of trade and taxation..simply to

transfer

control 21

Medieval Technology Metallurgy Chemistry Ceramics/glassmaking Textiles Architecture Clock Optics 22

Decline of Feudalism 100 Years’ War Shift from chivalry to professional army Introduction of siege cannon, rendering castles obsolete Decay of barter economy Inheritable interest in land Saleable interest in land Disasters 23

The Result

Change The System!

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The Collapse of the High Middle Ages The “calamitous” 14 th Century Famine and plague Warring European states New weapons and tactics/decline of chivalry and feudal system 25

The Collapse of the High Middle Ages The “calamitous” 14 th Century New ideas drive a wedge between philosophy and theology Balanced High Gothic style gives way to florid Late Gothic style in architecture and art 26

Hard Times Come to Europe

Ordeal by Famine, Plague, and War 1. Climate Shift Modest cooling Higher rainfall Soil exhaustion Epizootics

From the Apocalypse in a Biblia Pauperum , created around the time of the Great Famine of 1315–1317. Death "(Mors") sits astride a lion whose long tail ends in a ball of flame. Famine points to her mouth.

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Hard Times Come to Europe

Ordeal by Plague, Famine, and War 2. The Black Death 28

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Hard Times Come to Europe Ordeal by Plague, Famine, and War 3. The Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453)

Romantic painting of Joan of Arc at the Siege of Orléans.

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Hard Times Come to Europe Ordeal by Plague, Famine, and War 4. Depopulation and the Crisis in the Towns 31

Hard Times Come to Europe Ordeal by Plague, Famine, and War 5. Peasant Uprisings in France (1358) and England (1381)

Richard II meeting with the rebels of the Peasants' Revolt of 1381.

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Hard Times Come to Europe Ordeal by Plague, Famine, and War 5. Urban Rebellions

Statue of Cola Di Rienzo by Girolamo Masini, located near the Campidoglio, where he was killed

.

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Decline of Feudalism 100 Years’ War Shift from chivalry to professional army Introduction of siege cannon, rendering castles obsolete Decay of barter economy Inheritable interest in land Saleable interest in land 34

Hard Times Come to Europe The Secular Monarchies France England The Papal Monarchy Avignon papacy (1309-1377) Great Schism (1378-1417) Conciliar movement Restoration of Papal power 35

Hard Times Come to Europe Technology The Rise of Industries

Wool trade, multiple spinning bobbins, Isaac Claes Swanenburgh, 1614-1638, London History Museum

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The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages Political, social economic events reflected in breakdown of cultural synthesis of High Middle Ages Secular voices challenge traditional views Interests of bourgeoise have impact on art and architecture Emergence of “individual” 37

The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages Religion Absence of monastic reform Lay piety • The

devotio moderna

• The flagellants Heresies • John Wycliffe • Jan Hus The Inquisition Witchcraft 38

The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages Theology and Philosophy The

Via Antiqua

vs. the

Via Moderna

Duns Scotus and William of Ockham 39

The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages Science High Gothic forerunners • Robert Grosseteste • Roger Bacon Nicholas Oresme

This fresco shows the life of a late medieval hospital . Di Bartolo, Hospital of Santa Maria deall Scala,\ Siena

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The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages Literature Northern Italian Literature: Petrarch and Boccaccio English Literature: Geoffrey Chaucer French Literature: Christine de Pizan 41

The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages Late Gothic Architecture Late Gothic style more ornate Virtuosity is main aesthetic goal In architecture, basic forms pushed to stylistic limits 42

The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages

The ornate exterior of the church of St. Maclou in Rouen, France, illustrates the Late Gothic Style. Note how the facade fans out to form a semicircular entrance, the number of portals (5), and the intricately designed arches.

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The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages

The choir of of Gloucester Cathedral illoustrates the Perpendicular Gothic style; note how the thin pier, attached to the walls, lace together on the ceiling, creating elaborate patterns that complement the glass.

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The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages

This view of the south cloister of Gloucester Cathedral with its fan vaulting and rich, delicate decoration, further illustrates the Late Gothic Style.

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The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages

While Italian Gothic architecture has much in common with the Romanesque style, the cathedral in Siena is a key example of Late Italin Gothic design.

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The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages

While built in the Late Middle Ages, Giotto’s Tower in Florence anticipates the Classical ideal that was revived in the Renaissance .

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The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages Late Gothic Sculpture In Italy (Siena and Pisano family), sculptural forms foreshadow Classical themes and values of Renaissance In Burgundy, sculpture become highly “personal” 48

The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages

Giovanni Pisano, Pulpit in the Pisa Cathedral. The inscription on the piece -- in which he takes responsibility for the work -- shows the emergence of a new breed of artists in the 14 th century

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The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages

Pisano’s nativity scene in the Pisa Cathedral reveals a Classic sense of balance in a fundamentally Gothic piece – again foreshadowing the Renaissance.

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The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages

Claus Sluter’s Moses has a sense of drama and personal emotion that make the statue nearly an individual portrait, though rooted firmly in the allegorical tradition.

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The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages Late Gothic Painting and the Rise of New Trends • Illuminated manuscripts become more secular • The Print (woodcuts, engravings, drypoint) • New Trends in Italy: Giotto • Flemish Painting: Jan Van Eyck and Hans Memling 52

The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages

Limbourg Brothers,Month of January, from Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. This mionaiature painting provides a wealth of detail about social history in the Late Middle Ages.

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The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages

Housebook Master. Leisure Time at the Bath. This Chaucerian-like scene, with its frank sensuality, shows that the Late Middle Ages were becoming increasingly secualr and even sensual.

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The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages 55

The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages

In his Pieta, which revives the realistic Classical tradition, Giotto creates three dimensional space in a way even the Greeks and Romans had not used .

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The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages

In the Ghent Altarpiece, van Eyck sought reality through the accumulation or precise and often symbolic details

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The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages

van Eyck, The Arnolfini Wedding.

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The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages

Hans Memling, Madonna and Child with Angels. Memling introduced some Italian elements into this painting (putti, stringed musical instruments) suggesting awareness of developments in Italy.

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The Cultural Flowering of the Late Middle Ages Music

This painting surveys the state of music in the Late Middle Ages – partiiculalry how sacred music began to be overshadowed by secualr music .

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The Legacy of the Late Middle Ages Release of powerful secular spirit Greatest impact was separation of painting and sculpture from service of architecture Emergence of new breed of secular ruler Growth of middle class as dominant force in society First stirrings of industrialism 61