Another view is that until the 9th century, according to St. Augustine's view, most ancient scholars believed that human beings were in the sixth and last stage of history, that is, the "doomsday" predicted by the Bible in Revelation, so it had a dark meaning. Historians generally believe that the term "Dark Age of the Middle Ages" was invented by Petrarch, the 14 humanist in the Italian Renaissance. He traveled around Europe, rediscovering and publishing classic Latin and Greek works, aiming at restoring Latin language, art and culture from Roman classics. He thinks that the changes and events that have taken place since the fall of Rome in 4 10 A.D. are not worth studying. Humanists look at history not according to Augustine's religious terms, but according to social (academic) terms, that is, through classical culture, literature and art; Therefore, humanists call this 900-year period of classical culture stagnation the "dark period".
Petrarch divided European history into two stages: one was the period of ancient Rome and ancient Greece; The second is the "dark period". Humanists also believe that one day the Roman Empire will rise again and restore the purity of classical culture. /kloc-at the end of 0/4th century/kloc-at the beginning of 0/5th century, humanists thought that a modern era had begun, so logically speaking, a "Middle Ages" had been formed.
Therefore, starting from humanists, historians also hold negative views on "the dark ages" and "the Middle Ages". In the reformation of Protestants in 16 and 17 centuries, Protestants also wrote the corruption of Catholicism into this history. In response to Protestants' accusations, Catholic reformers also gave the opposite picture to the "dark period": a period of social and religious harmony, which was not dark at all. Many negative views about the "dark period" in modern times come from 17,1the works of Kant and Voltaire during the Enlightenment in the 8th century.
/kloc-At the beginning of the 9th century, the Romantic Movement changed this negative and one-sided trend into a "dark period". It gives a peaceful picture: the harmony between society and environment is rooted in the life of nature; At the same time, it also responded to the rationalism in the Enlightenment that rationality completely surpassed sensibility, and the environmental damage and pollution caused by the rising industrial revolution. Through the customs and historical events displayed, we can still see the romantic views about the "dark period" in some cultural activities and festivals celebrating that period today.
In the second half of the19th century after the Romantic Movement, archaeology has made great progress, and many historical documents and cultural relics unknown to predecessors have been excavated and sorted out. 1939 The discovery of Sutton Hu and the research of Charles H. haskins, a famous scholar in medieval studies, make "dark period" no longer seem to be an appropriate word. After World War II, the word "dark period" gradually disappeared from the literature of professional scholars in English-speaking countries.
Charlie Haskin wrote: "The continuity of history excludes the possibility of great differences between the following two historical periods-the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Modern research shows that the Middle Ages were not as dark and stagnant as once thought. The Renaissance was neither so bright nor so sudden. Before the Italian Renaissance, there was a similar movement, although it was not so extensive.
Therefore, the original "dark period of the Middle Ages" was changed to refer to the European history from 4 10 years (or 455 years) to 754 years (or 800 years).
history
With the destruction of the Western Roman Empire by the Germans, many barbarian countries appeared in michaelis.jpg. Lumbard, Odyak, Burgundy, Vandal-Alan, Eastern Gothic, Visigoth, Anglo-Saxon and other kingdoms were established successively. There are wars between kingdoms, among which Anglo-Saxon and Frankish kingdoms have existed for a long time.
As a branch of the Germans, the Franks defeated the Gaul army in 486, and Clovis established the rule of the Mei Tam dynasty. Clovis, by uniting with the Vatican, occupied all the territory of the Roman Empire in Gaul. With the continuous expansion of the Frankish kingdom, in the middle of the 6th century, it conquered some tribes in Burgundy, Thuringia, Bavaria and Saxony, became the most powerful country in Western Europe at that time, and established a feudal manor system. In 75 1 year, the palace gnome Paiping became the king of Franks and established the Carolingian dynasty. During Charlemagne's reign, the national strength reached its peak, including the annexation of Lombardy, the occupation of the Spanish border area, the occupation of eastern Bavaria and the conquest of awar Khan. Most of the land in western Europe became the territory of the Frankish kingdom. After Charlemagne's death, the Frankish kingdom was divided by the war between brothers. In August, 843, treaty of verdun signed the agreement, which was divided into West Frankish Kingdom, East Frankish Kingdom and Italian Kingdom. The territory of modern France, Germany and Italy is based on this treaty.
Another Germanic branch, the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, entered the British Isles in the middle of the 5th century. Seven kingdoms were formed at the end of the 6th century and the beginning of the 7th century, which was called the Seven Kingdoms Period in British history. In 829, the kingdom of Wessex annexed six other kingdoms, and England was born. 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, France, claimed to inherit the throne by blood. After being rejected, he seized the British throne by force, and was called "William the Conqueror" (that is, William I), and established the Normandy Dynasty, but it also caused the root of the Hundred Years' War in the future. During the reign of Henry I (1100-1135), with the strengthening of kingship, social contradictions intensified. 12 15 John (Landless) was forced to sign the Magna Carta of Freedom. 1264 during the civil war, Henry III was captured by Simon de montfort. 1265, montfort called the parliament, which became the beginning of the British parliament. From 1343, the parliament was divided into an upper house composed of nobles and a lower house representing knights and citizens, and a parliamentary monarchy was established. At the same time, the western Frankish kingdom evolved into the French kingdom, and the kingship was strengthened. The Vatican was forced to move to avignon in the south of France, held three-level meetings from top to bottom (the first level was the high priest, the second level was the aristocrat, and the third level was the wealthy citizen), and also formed a parliamentary monarchy.
The local government of the East Frankish Kingdom, the predecessor of Germany, was very strong. 9 1 1 After the Carolingian dynasty, the king was elected by local dignitaries, but he was more honorary, and his rights were equal to those of local governors. This feature is considered by historians to be the reason why it is keen on external expansion. In 95 1 year, Otto I led troops to occupy Lumbard, and then Otto II marched into Rome. 1 155, Frederick I captured Milan, and the Pope crowned it as the Holy Roman Empire. In its heyday, the territory included all of Germany, central and northern Italy, Sicily, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Estonia and Prussia. In Frederick I, he was defeated by the resistance of 15 city (Lombardy League). Frederick I drowned in the Third Crusade and the occupied area became independent.
[edit] culture
Italy has never been unified. In order to maintain his independent status, the Pope established a papal state and forged the document of "Constantine Gift", claiming that Constantine the Great gave Rome, Rutland Palace and other places to the Pope. The church is very strict and controls the culture and education in western Europe. Priests can't get married, advocate abstinence, and ask people to give everything to God in order to go to heaven after death. On the other hand, the sale of clergy is very serious. We advocate scholasticism such as trinity and original sin theory, strictly control the spread of scientific ideas, set up inquisition to punish heresy, and school education also serves theology. During the period of Pope Gregory I (590-604), ancient Roman libraries were also set on fire.
After the Reformation in Germany, the Renaissance came into being in Italy and spread to many European countries. There are many philosophers, writers, artists and scientists, such as Dante, Boccaccio, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Machiavelli, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Copernicus, Bruno, Galileo, Kepler, Harvey, Francis Bacon and so on.
[edit] economy
Photo: Middle Ages -b.jpg The economy in the Middle Ages was mainly a feudal manor-style natural economy. A number of commercial cities have emerged: Paris, Lyon, Daulnay, Marseille, Cologne, Trier, Strasbourg, Hamburg, Venice, Genoa, etc., forming a trade zone centered on the Mediterranean. /kloc-After the 0/6th century, the workshop handicraft industry rose. First in Florence, then in Flanders, the enclosure movement made Britain develop rapidly. This economic model accelerated trade, which led to the great geographical discovery and the discovery of the new American continent. Workshop handicrafts have also made a leap in weapons of war. Cannons and muskets gradually replaced the knight's sword, and the ancient castle lost its defense ability. Workshop handicraft industry gave birth to capitalist economy.
Important events or nouns: feudalism, Black Death, Islamic civilization, Crusades, Genghis Khan.