Ash.p3.t8. Medieval Synthesis Question

Aristocracy dominated world culture well into the Medieval Era. However, during this era a new class began a slow rise to power which still exists in today’s capitalist societies.

At the start of the Medieval Era, the majority of a nation’s economic power lied with the elite aristocracy and/or royalty (especially evident in European countries such as England). There was virtually no middle class during this era, and the lower class was in large part ignorant to how much power they held. As the Medieval Era slowly faded, there began a shift in power from military to economic. As there became an increasing demand for tradesmen, lower class citizens stepped forward to fill the need for these more skilled jobs (as opposed to simple farming or infantry). Along with this change in identity for many lower class people, came a beautiful realization of importance and skill (which helped usher in the renaissance).

This shift is a subtle but important one in the world of art. Paintings slowly shifted from portraits of God or royalty to portraits of humble yet noble people. For instance, instead of seeing awe-inspiring pictures of Jesus shining from heaven, one might see a picture of humble Mary and Joseph with their donkey. There was less of a separation between God and man (and also the royalty and commoners) by the end of this era. What began as a simple economic shift led to a cultural revolution which still affects society and art today.

Wylie.P5.T6 - Medieval Synthesis Question

The Medieval Era was a period of time where if you were born into a certain class, there was no way to work your way up the ranks. If you were born into a peasant family, you were inevitably going to live the life of a peasant and if you were born into a noble family, you are inevitably going to become a person of nobility. But there was one middle class society known as tradesmen who tried to flip this notion on its head. The thing that set it apart from all the other classes was variety of skills. All other classes specialized in one skill, while tradesmen had their own personal skill whether it was painting, contracting, or any other trade. With other societal persons depending on a specialized skill from the tradesmen class, it made it easy for tradesmen to enhance their economic wealth. The burgeoning of the tradesmen in the Medieval Era is most closely depicted in a piece of art called The Theodora Mosaic in San Vitale. This painting is categorized as a Byzantine painting. In the painting there are ten men dressed in different colored robes standing in a row. The different colors they wear symbolize each one of their specialized skills. This painting is trying to show that even though these tradesmen stand together and form a class, they offer a variety of skills which make them a unique and economically wealthy class.

Medieval Synthesis Question

The Medieval period was the beginning of new culture and ideals for the people in Europe. This culture was built upon the growth of the middle class, which dismantled a lot of the influence that the nobles and kings possessed. The success of the middle class was a result of the crusades facilitating relations with other regions and expanding trade options. With the collaboration of other countries, the merchants were able to trade a variety of wanted luxuries and build their own sphere of influence. Powerful families and merchants became self sustaining powers that only felt threatened by other powerful powers and competition. This era became corrupted by these families and “corporations.”

However, this period gave a higher appreciation to the arts and craftsmanship. With the variety of trade coming in and the abundance of new product desired by the people, merchants required new and more specialized workers. For example, masonry was the highest paid and most respected profession to have because the expansions of towns needed the construction of more cathedrals, hospitals, universities, castles, and guildhalls. In addition, the massive amounts of wealth allowed for people to afford many luxuries, which promoted the arts and theater. Unfortunately, the theater showed the lack of knowledge of history during that period. Although, the Medieval times were shrouded by conflicts between rival merchants and families, the period brought new wealth and culture into the world.

Medieval Synthesis Question

During the Medieval Period, about 800-1400 CE, there were huge transformations in art, religion, and government. These transformations led to a new class of people and the shift to a more equal distribution of wealth. For example, the government changed from an aristocracy toward feudalism. This change was prompted by the desire to claim land and build beautiful, extravagant castles in order to out due other counties. The building of these castles opened up many opportunities for common people to advance in society. People who were previously limited to either a life of farming and famine could now strive to hold more advanced jobs with higher income. Even though there were still blatant distinctions between the wealthy and powerful compared to the poorer social class, their differences were less drastic than in the Anglo-Saxon era.

The castles, the ostentatious masterpieces highlighted Christianity; the dominate religion of this era. With the adoption of Christianity in the Anglo-Saxon era, religious activists went a step further in the medieval era and started the Crusades, huge wars and battles defending their religion from Islam. Another example of their emphasis on Christianity was in their art and architecture. Their castles were built with pointed tipped roofs, which symbolized the heavenliness, immortality, and sacredness of their flawless god. They also interpreted their religion through other forms of art, including sculptures, paintings, stained glass, mosaics, and many other mediums. In these pieces, artists would capture the pureness of religion and the sacredness and stability of it. Overall, the transformation from Anglo-Saxon to the Medieval era evoked much need change in government and society that was fueled by their new emphasis on Christianity.

Period 1 Wylie, Team 4

Claire West, Danny Shapiro, Ivy Arbolado, Edward Tyler

Asher Period 1 Team 4

The Medieval Period was unique by means that its economic class defined a person rather than by religion or philosophy. Society materialized as tradesmen and local merchants gave their followers the income from the dues of residents of a given territory for compensation for their services (Nelson). Feudal leaders utilized governmental functions as private property in order to loan, give, away, or pass on to their children; adopting a barter system to meet the people’s basic economic needs. This created a new classification for society as “feudal leaders could ‘lend’ someone a territory from which he could derive rents and renders in kind and services” (Nelson). The reason for this burgeoning was that it gave the lower class an economic opportunity, which was no longer under the authority and control of the upper class like it had been under the old feudalism system. This new middle class was the catalyzing force behind the spread of and differentiation in forms of art. For example, an important piece of medieval literature is The Cantebury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (Wikipedia - Medieval literature), which depicts the division of the three estates in which the characters are all divided into: "those who pray" (the clergy), "those who fight" (the nobility), and "those who work" (the commoners and peasantry) (Wikipedia - Cantebury Tales). This book reveals each class, especially in “The Knight’s Tale,” to reveal the respect, as well as disregard, for the upper class rules, which we defined by aristocracy of religion during the Medieval Era.

Nelson, Lynn H. "The Rise of Feudalism, 850-1000 AD Lectures in Medieval History Dr. Lynn H. Nelson, Emeritus Professor of Medieval History, KU." WWW Virtual Library @ Www.vlib.us WWW-VL United States History; World History; WWI; American History Documents; US Art Museums; US History Museums; USA Historic Sites; Native American Bibliography; Web Site Tools; Electronic Texts. University of Kansas, 2005. Web. 20 Oct. 2011..

"The Canterbury Tales." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 20 Oct. 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Canterbury_Tales.

Wylie P6 T8_Medieval Synthesis

The medieval period led to the development and burgeoning of a new class system that would redefine modern culture. The established aristocracy that dominated the social climate in the feudalistic society was faced with the emergence of a wealthy middle class, composed mostly of tradesmen who had found a niche and grew influential among Europeans of this time period. This emergence of a new social class further had influences on the artistic spectrum of the period

Perhaps one of the reasons for this burgeoning new class was due to the fertility of crops in Europe during a period known as Medieval Warm Period or the Medieval Climate Optimum. This period helped bolster population growth as well as increased prosperity that found that this increase in physical capital and consumers helped influence the spread of production and commerce in Europe. Naturally, this ushered in the rise of tradesmen who profited from this boom in economic expansion. This rise in a middle class of people created a whole new market of artisans supplying their wares and artwork. Furthermore, the dominance of Christian beliefs in the lives of these medieval people would have prompted them to indulge in more religious motifs to satisfy their needs for art, sculpture and architectural works as a reassurance that God was integral to their lives.

Overall, the increased prosperity of medieval people led to an influx of demand in the art market. As people gained affluence, the need to flaunt this wealth was manifested through the developments of artistic works in this period.

Trent Kajikawa, Naomi Krieger, Daphne Liu, Wilson Muller

Asher.p4.t4.Medieval Synthesis

The Medieval Period was a revolution in history that incorporated the infiltration of Christianity to medieval life. Throughout Europe during the Medieval period, Christianity was spreading rapidly and soon became deeply ingrained in different parts of society. As Christianity was integrated with daily life, the tradesman class flourished as they were needed and called to build places of worship, cathedrals. These massive cathedrals that were built from wooden scaffolds, chisels, and hammers not only were ideal for the tradesman to thrive, especially stonemasons, but also reflected the architecture of the Medieval Times that was religiously dominated. For example, the Canterbury Cathedral is considered to be the centre of pilgrimage after the famous death of Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Such cathedrals as this one were Catholic Churches that utilized the realistic fear of Hell and in return offering the promise of Heaven by joining the Church. The enormousness and sheer size of the 234 foot tower meant that money was always needed for supplies and upkeep that tradesman profited from which fueled there emergence in class. This form of art, architecture and stone working, integrates the ideas of the emergence in the non-noble wealthy and how religion triggered this change in society.

Christian Deamer

Sean Ehrlich

Theo Mandin-Lee

Marika Stanford-Moore