Conditions Prior to Humansim
Fuedilism Chart by Amanda Traina
Life in Europe before humanism, people focused strictly on religion. Everything they did as humans reflected on if they would or would not be able to reach heaven and live in happiness for eternity Before humanism, people were not thought of as individuals and did not have their own characteristics and personalities. Free thinking, self worth, dignity, and individuality did not exist in humanity.
Feudalism was a European system which thrived between 800-1400 AD, as time known as the Middle Ages. The life of all the classes was dominated by the Feudal System. The Feudal System was established upon a pyramid of power. At the top was the king, underneath him noblemen, below them were knights, and even lower the peasantry. The majority of the people were peasants.
The highest church in Europe throughout the Middle Ages was the Roman Catholic Church. The head of the church was a Pope. The church comprised the basis of learning in the Middle Ages. Monks and Nuns followed Christ's lessons in groups in the monasteries where they lived and worked. They had three major jobs which were to pray, study, and work. Monks kept the lessons of antiquity alive, and ran the schools and hospitals.
The monasteries started in Italy and soon ranged to all parts of Western Europe. Everywhere the monks went, they converted the local people to Christianity. Christianity was the religion of all Western Europe by the year 1100 AD. Priests were in control of the local churches, and Bishops were assigned to specific regions. The church advocated the Christian philosophy which held that if a person lived a good life, they would be rewarded by God. People thought that if they committed a sin, God would punish them. Throughout the Middle Ages the church and its lessons helped bring a ceasefire to Europe. People looked to the church for teaching, medicine, and aid in hard times.
Besides the philosophy of the day, Art during the Middle Ages was also centered around religion. Originally art was limited to the assembly of religious art in the form of illumined manuscripts, mosaics and fresco paintings in cathedrals. The colors used were usually muted. The Later Middle Ages experienced the rise of Gothic Art and the further advancing developments of a slowly evolving Humanistic art in as the Middle Ages faded. In this period artists moved away from the influences of the Byzantium style of art, and began to advance into Gothic visual art. The artists and painters were forefathers of the undertaking towards greater realism, which eventually concluded in the Renaissance art style. Evolved Middle Ages art then included brighter colors, expansion of perspective and proportion, symmetry, stained glass windows, sculptures, usage of shadows and light, different thoughts of naturalism, and alterations in subject matter containing the portrayal of animals and even mythological scenes.
Feudalism was a European system which thrived between 800-1400 AD, as time known as the Middle Ages. The life of all the classes was dominated by the Feudal System. The Feudal System was established upon a pyramid of power. At the top was the king, underneath him noblemen, below them were knights, and even lower the peasantry. The majority of the people were peasants.
The highest church in Europe throughout the Middle Ages was the Roman Catholic Church. The head of the church was a Pope. The church comprised the basis of learning in the Middle Ages. Monks and Nuns followed Christ's lessons in groups in the monasteries where they lived and worked. They had three major jobs which were to pray, study, and work. Monks kept the lessons of antiquity alive, and ran the schools and hospitals.
The monasteries started in Italy and soon ranged to all parts of Western Europe. Everywhere the monks went, they converted the local people to Christianity. Christianity was the religion of all Western Europe by the year 1100 AD. Priests were in control of the local churches, and Bishops were assigned to specific regions. The church advocated the Christian philosophy which held that if a person lived a good life, they would be rewarded by God. People thought that if they committed a sin, God would punish them. Throughout the Middle Ages the church and its lessons helped bring a ceasefire to Europe. People looked to the church for teaching, medicine, and aid in hard times.
Besides the philosophy of the day, Art during the Middle Ages was also centered around religion. Originally art was limited to the assembly of religious art in the form of illumined manuscripts, mosaics and fresco paintings in cathedrals. The colors used were usually muted. The Later Middle Ages experienced the rise of Gothic Art and the further advancing developments of a slowly evolving Humanistic art in as the Middle Ages faded. In this period artists moved away from the influences of the Byzantium style of art, and began to advance into Gothic visual art. The artists and painters were forefathers of the undertaking towards greater realism, which eventually concluded in the Renaissance art style. Evolved Middle Ages art then included brighter colors, expansion of perspective and proportion, symmetry, stained glass windows, sculptures, usage of shadows and light, different thoughts of naturalism, and alterations in subject matter containing the portrayal of animals and even mythological scenes.