What is the Middle Ages? – Name, stages and characteristics of the Middle Ages

The period known as the Middle Ages marked relevant events for the history and evolution of humanity that are known today. It was a time with important movements. Their exploits, origins, characteristics, among other things, we will let you know below.

The historical period from the 5th century to the end of the 15th century is called the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages was a long period of a thousand years and is subdivided, in turn, into the High Middle Ages, which was from the 5th to the 10th century, and the Late Middle Ages, in the 11th and 15th centuries. Also Known As medieval and medieval. This era in the history of humanity is located on the continent of Europe, since by then there was still a lack of socialization with other existing civilizations worldwide.

The Middle Ages have crucial characteristics that have changed and transformed as time progresses and modernity reaches society, some of which evolved just a couple of centuries ago. Among these facts, we can find the following:

• The church got great power during the stage. Catholicism plays an important role at this time and keeps the population submerged in its conditions.
• What was known at that time was right based on religion and divine creation. God was the core of everything about society and its philosophical facts.
• Humanism struggled to put the man as the center of the universe and supplant the belief that God was everything. This generated conflicts due to the medieval mentality that was held during the time.
• His only acquisition, as a model to follow and adapt, it was the bible. The mostly illiterate population and the little knowledge they had made them extremist fanatics.
• His ignorance and religious beliefs encouraged his interpretation of epidemics as sorcery or magic. Also as divine punishments.
• The inquisition was greatly feared and hated during the Middle Ages. They were in charge of creating persecutions of everything that they classified as witchcraft or heresythis caused suffering in people.
• In the social aspect, the population was divided into social classes, which defined their rights, roles or powers. These were called nobility, clergy and peasantry.
• originated what it is known as a monastery. The creation of them allowed religious orders to develop all their activities and take place in society.
• There was no possibility of changing social class, who was born the son of a peasant, he died belonging all his life also to the same, in the same way with the other social classes.
• The female role was subject to submission and obedience to man. The single woman was frowned upon, since their function was to be focused on the home and reproduction. She only had three possibilities, the church, marriage or prostitution.
• Sex was a reserved subject that no one talked about, was related only to reproduction. Any orientation other than heterosexuality was seen as an aberration in society and the inquisition made strong decisions regarding it.
• Important architectural movements arose such as the romantic and the gothic.
• The social group originated is known as bourgeoisie.
• As for education, there were few people who could have access to it, only some nobles and clergy. The first universities were generated in which areas such as law, grammar, medicine and theology.
• Medical development was fatal, diseases were highly feared by the population, since even a simple cold could be deadly at that time. It was known that some diseases could be cured, thanks to plants, but these people they were accused as witches and the implementation of these remedies was not allowed.
• Hygiene conditions were precarious, this increased the number of pests such as lice, fleas, and any insect with highly contagious diseases. This was the reason why the black plague was generated.

From what year to what year is the Middle Ages?

The Middle Ages are covered in the year 476, when the Western Roman Empire fell and culminated in 1492, with the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, although this occurred on his third voyage, in his first success he reached the Caribbean and it was there that the Was.

What is the literature of the Middle Ages?

It is called medieval literature to all the writings made in Europe during this time. It was characterized by having writings mostly of a religious nature. Medieval literature is considered the longest stage that literature has experienced in the process of human history. When the Western Roman Empire fell, mythology was discarded and supplanted by Christianity. The first manifestations of literature in Castilian originated during the time of the Middle Ages, this influenced in a very notorious way in the new language that increasingly covered the Spanish territory. Medieval literature was characterized by:

• Being mostly of a religious nature, it was created by church participants, and profane literature, which was written by people from the town and was produced in less quantity, predominantly religious.
• Didactic character, since its purpose was to teach.
• There were many anonymous texts.
• There were genres like drama, novels, fables, among others.
• Romance was seen only in the profane literary.
• Most of the texts were written in Latin, although over the centuries they began to be the vernacular or native languages ​​of the region.

What is dance in the Middle Ages?

Dance in the Middle Ages it was a cultural movement that was generated through music performed by voices and instruments such as harps, trumpets, flutes and some percussion. This practice was considered one of the most important in the culture of the time. But people like emperors or church participants opposed it, since it contained movements classified as sexual. Despite these prohibitions, people continued to practice it because they did not agree with the opinions already mentioned.

During this period a dance called Dance of Death, which was intended to attack the black plague, according to their beliefs. This plague killed more than 50 million people in a period of 200 years, which was quite alarming for the population and in desperate measure, plus the scarcity of resources and medical knowledge, they created this dance, which was about jumping and screaming to drive disease out of the body.

This era was characterized by having religious dances and social dances:

The nuns were worship God Through songs and dances, after having been opposed to this culture, they decided to implement it in their beliefs in a different way than they used to, since, as mentioned, the movements were not their own. It became a popular and common act that even today is implemented mostly by different religions.

In the social aspect, the dance was a diversion method that the population used in their events, was exhibited in public places such as squares, and also in castles. But at first it was an activity carried out only by women. Men considered these practices as going against their dignity, in general because these presentations were mostly of the romance genre, accompanied by a poet of the time. Centuries later, the practice that is known today originated, of dancing in pairs, the man holding the woman’s hand, they danced in circles and synchronized with each other.

What is the reform in the Middle Ages?

It was a scramble that included the religious, cultural and social aspects of Europe in the 16th century. This event is one of the most important in the history of the time, since it broke with the extremist conditions of the medieval church and allowed new Christian interpretations to develop, resulting in the advancement of nations by then. This fact radically changed the social, religious, cultural and political landscape of ancient Europe. Some classify it as the beginning of the modern age, due to its relationship with the Renaissance of the following era.

What is a tithe in the Middle Ages?

It was a tribute that differed in two aspects: civil and ecclesiastical. In the civil, it was the right that the king had to obtain an amount of the value of the objects trafficked in merchandise, either by sea or land. It was mandatory for all kinds of markets that entered or left the kingdom, and even those that were part of Spain. In the ecclesiastical aspect, it was a tribute that had to be granted to the church. This, in both positions, was about 10% of the value of each item.

What is the feudal system in the Middle Ages?

It was the dominant political system in the middle centuries of this periodization, it took place in Eastern and Western Europe after the decline of the Roman Empire. The peasant social division worked the lands of the nobles in exchange for subsistence and security, due to the fall of the cities, the constant invasions and the political crises. These relationships were established through a ceremony that formalized this type of contract on the part of both.

Feudalism had characteristics among which the following stand out:

• An economy based on livestock and agriculture.
• The society divided into three social groups.
• Castles with strong walls were built due to the invasions of the time, as a method of protection.
• The vassalage relationship arose.
• Constant wars because of disputes over territories.
• The payment of the tithe as tribute.
• The Catholic Church being a source of power in society.

The depletion of land and the lack of resources led this system to an irreparable crisis, which, moreover, was even more affected by the recurring epidemics of the time. The cities began to generate a rich trade and, little by little, it was emerging again and allowing economic development, putting an end to this policy of feudalism.

the middle ages is divided into three stages important:

• Early Middle Ages: It dates from the year 476 to 843, it begins when the Western Roman Empire fell. In this stage the empire of Charlemagne originated, the Muslim expansion and the power at the hands of Justinian in Byzantium.
• Early Middle Ages: continues with the year 843 until 1100, during this time the feudal system was formed. Rural life took shape after so many wars and deaths of politicians that forced the population to evacuate the cities. The Orthodox Church was founded.
• Middle Ages: it begins in the year 1100 until the end of the Middle Ages in the year 1492. During this period the cities took place again in society and the bourgeoisie appeared as a new social group. The Black Death was also generated in 1348. The monarchies were strengthened and ended with the arrival of Columbus in America.

It is known as the stage of history that lasted the longest, ten centuries to be exact. It was given this name because it is the period that was held “in the middle” of ancient and modern times. The population of this era had no knowledge of the term, therefore, they did not call themselves that way, since it was placed centuries later to differentiate it from the times already mentioned.