with popesGelasius I and Gregory the Great]] The Middle Ages (adjectival form: medieval or mediæval) was a period of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The period followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, and preceded the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period in a three-period division of history: Classic, Medieval, and Modern. The term "Middle Ages" (medium aevum) was coined in the 15th century and reflects the view that this period was a deviation from the path of classical learning, a path supposedly reconnected by Renaissance scholarship.

The Early Middle Ages saw the continuation of trends set in Late Antiquity, depopulation, deurbanization, and increased barbarian invasion. North Africa and the Middle East, once part of the Eastern Roman Empire, were conquered by Islam. Later in the period, the establishment of the feudal system allowed a return to systemic agriculture. There was sustained urbanization in northern and western Europe. During the High Middle Ages (c. 1000 - 1300), Christian-oriented art and architecture flourished and Crusades were mounted to recapture the Holy Land. The influence of the emerging nation-state was tempered by the ideal of an international Christendom. The codes of chivalry and courtly love set rules for proper behavior, while the Scholastic philosophers attempted to reconcile faith and reason. Outstanding achievement in this period includes the Code of Justinian, the mathematics of Fibonacci and Oresme, the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, the painting of Giotto, the poetry of Dante and Chaucer, and the architecture of many great cathedrals such as Notre Dame de Paris.

, Romania]]

Etymology and periodization

The Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analyzing European history: classical civilization (or Antiquity), the Middle Ages, and the modern period. It is "Middle" in the sense of being between the two other periods in time, ancient times and modern times. Humanist historians argued that Renaissance scholarship restored direct links to the classical period, thus bypassing the Medieval period. The term first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas (middle time). The term medium aevum (Middle Ages) is first recorded in 1604.

In the 1330s, humanist and poet Petrarch referred to pre-Christian times as antiqua (ancient) and to the Christian period as nova (new). Bruni's first two periods were based on those of Petrarch, but he added a third period because he believed that Italy was no longer in a state of decline. Flavio Biondo used a similar framework in Decades of History from the Deterioration of the Roman Empire (1439–1453). Tripartite periodization became standard after German historian Christoph Cellarius published Universal History Divided into an Ancient, Medieval, and New Period (1683).

Start and end dates

The most commonly given start date for the Middle Ages is 476, a date first given by Bruni. For Spain, the death of King Ferdinand II (1516) is used.

Subdivisions

Historians in the Romance languages tend to divide the Middle Ages into two parts: an earlier "High" and later "Low" period. English-speaking historians, following their German counterparts, generally subdivide the Middle Ages into three intervals: "Early", "High" and "Late". These reforms bought the Empire time, but they demanded money. Roman power had been maintained by its well-trained and equipped armies. These armies, however, were a constant drain on the Empire's finances. As warfare became more dependent on heavy cavalry, the infantry-based Roman military started to lose its advantage against its rivals. The defeat in 378 at the Battle of Adrianople, at the hands of mounted Gothic lancers, destroyed much of the Roman army and left the western empire undefended. The style of monasticism that focuses on community experience of the spiritual life, called cenobitism, was pioneered by the saint Pachomius in the 4th century. Monastic ideals spread from Egypt to western Europe in the 5th and 6th centuries through hagiographical literature such as the Life of Saint Anthony. However, the Merovingians also buried the dead of their elite families in grave mounds and traced their lineage to a mythical sea beast called the Quinotaur. Pippin's successful coup was reinforced with propaganda that portrayed the Merovingians as inept or cruel rulers and exalted the accomplishments of Charles Martel and circulated stories of the family's great piety. At the time of his death in 783, Pippin left his kingdoms in the hands of his two sons, Charles and Carloman. When Carloman died of natural causes, Charles blocked the succession of Carloman's minor son and installed himself as the king of the united Austrasia and Neustria. This Charles, known to his contemporaries as Charles the Great or Charlemagne, embarked in 774 upon a program of systematic expansion that would unify a large portion of Europe. In the wars that lasted just beyond 800, he rewarded loyal allies with war booty and command over parcels of land. Much of the nobility of the High Middle Ages was to claim its roots in the Carolingian nobility that was generated during this period of expansion. He also sought to reform the Church in his domains, pushing for uniformity in liturgy and material culture.

Carolingian Renaissance

Charlemagne's court in Aachen was the centre of a cultural revival that is sometimes referred to as the "Carolingian Renaissance". This period witnessed an increase of literacy, developments in the arts, architecture, and jurisprudence, as well as liturgical and scriptural studies. The English monk Alcuin was invited to Aachen, and brought with him the precise classical Latin education that was available in the monasteries of Northumbria. The return of this Latin proficiency to the kingdom of the Franks is regarded as an important step in the development of medieval Latin. Charlemagne's chancery made use of a type of script currently known as Carolingian minuscule, providing a common writing style that allowed for communication across most of Europe. After the decline of the Carolingian dynasty, the rise of the Saxon Dynasty in Germany was accompanied by the Ottonian Renaissance.

See also the careers of Charlemagne, Louis the Pious, and Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor.

Breakup of the Carolingian empire

While Charlemagne continued the Frankish tradition of dividing the regnum (kingdom) between all his heirs (at least those of age), the assumption of the imperium (imperial title) supplied a unifying force not available previously. Charlemagne was succeeded by his only legitimate son of adult age at his death, Louis the Pious.

Louis's long reign of 26 years was marked by numerous divisions of the empire among his sons and, after 829, numerous civil wars between various alliances of father and sons against other sons to determine a just division by battle. The final division was made at Crémieux in 838. The Emperor Louis recognized his eldest son Lothair I as emperor and confirmed him in the Regnum Italicum (Italy). He divided the rest of the empire between Lothair and Charles the Bald, his youngest son, giving Lothair the opportunity to choose his half. He chose East Francia, which comprised the empire on both banks of the Rhine and eastwards, leaving Charles West Francia, which comprised the empire to the west of the Rhineland and the Alps. Louis the German, the middle child, who had been rebellious to the last, was allowed to keep his subregnum of Bavaria under the suzerainty of his elder brother. The division was not undisputed. Pepin II of Aquitaine, the emperor's grandson, rebelled in a contest for Aquitaine, while Louis the German tried to annex all of East Francia. In two final campaigns, the emperor defeated both his rebellious descendants and vindicated the division of Crémieux before dying in 840.

in the 10th century. Most European nations were praying for mercy: "Sagittis hungarorum libera nos Domine" - "Lord save us from the arrows of Hungarians"]] A three-year civil war followed his death. At the end of the conflict, Louis the German was in control of East Francia and Lothair was confined to Italy. By the Treaty of Verdun (843), a kingdom of Middle Francia was created for Lothair in the Low Countries and Burgundy, and his imperial title was recognized. East Francia would eventually morph into the Kingdom of Germany and West Francia into the Kingdom of France, around both of which the history of Western Europe can largely be described as a contest for control of the middle kingdom. Charlemagne's grandsons and great-grandsons divided their kingdoms between their sons until all the various regna and the imperial title fell into the hands of Charles the Fat by 884. He was deposed in 887 and died in 888, to be replaced in all his kingdoms but two (Lotharingia and East Francia) by non-Carolingian "petty kings". The Carolingian Empire was destroyed, though the imperial tradition would eventually lead to the Holy Roman Empire in 962.

The breakup of the Carolingian Empire was accompanied by the invasions, migrations, and raids of external foes as not seen since the Migration Period. The Atlantic and northern shores were harassed by the Vikings, who forced Charles the Bald to issue the Edict of Pistres against them and who besieged Paris in 885–886. The eastern frontiers, especially Germany and Italy, were under constant Magyar assault until their great defeat at the Battle of the Lechfeld in 955. The Saracens also managed to establish bases at Garigliano and Fraxinetum, to sack Rome in 846 and to conquer the islands of Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily, and their pirates raided the Mediterranean coasts, as did the Vikings. The Christianization of the pagan Vikings provided an end to that threat.

Art and architecture

, Amalfi, Italy, completed in 1206]] Few large stone buildings were attempted between the Constantinian basilicas of the 4th century, and the 8th century. At this time, the establishment of churches and monasteries, and a comparative political stability, caused the development of a form of stone architecture loosely based upon Roman forms and hence later named Romanesque. Where available, Roman brick and stone buildings were recycled for their materials. From the fairly tentative beginnings known as the First Romanesque, the style flourished and spread across Europe in a remarkably homogeneous form. The features are massive stone walls, openings topped by semi-circular arches, small windows, and, particularly in France, arched stone vaults and arrows.

dating from the early 14th century, showing the end of Psalm 145 and the start of Psalm 146.]] In the decorative arts, Celtic and Germanic barbarian forms were absorbed into Christian art, although the central impulse remained Roman and Byzantine. High quality jewellery and religious imagery were produced throughout Western Europe; Charlemagne and other monarchs provided patronage for religious artworks such as reliquaries and books. Some of the principal artworks of the age were the fabulous Illuminated manuscripts produced by monks on vellum, using gold, silver, and precious pigments to illustrate biblical narratives. Early examples include the Book of Kells and many Carolingian and Ottonian Frankish manuscripts.

High Middle Ages

, France]] The High Middle Ages were characterized by the urbanization of Europe, military expansion, and intellectual revival that historians identify between the 11th century and the end of the 13th century. This revival was aided by the conversion of the raiding Scandinavians and Hungarians to Christianity, by the assertion of power by Castellans to fill the power vacuum left by the Carolingian decline, and not least by the increased contact with Islamic civilization, which had preserved and elaborated all the classic Greek literature forgotten in Europe after the collapse of The Roman Empire. This was now retranslated into Latin, along with newer works of important advances in science and technology (see 12th-century Renaissance).

The High Middle Ages saw an explosion in population. This population flowed into towns, sought conquests abroad, or cleared land for cultivation. The cities of antiquity had been clustered around the Mediterranean. By 1200, the growing urban centres were in the centre of the continent, connected by roads or rivers. By the end of this period, Paris might have had as many as 200,000 inhabitants. In central and northern Italy and in Flanders, the rise of towns that were self-governing to some degree within their territories stimulated the economy and created an environment for new types of religious and trade associations. Trading cities on the shores of the Baltic entered into agreements known as the Hanseatic League, and Italian city-states such as Venice, Genoa, and Pisa expanded their trade throughout the Mediterranean. This period marks a formative one in the history of the western state as we know it, for kings in France, England, and Spain consolidated their power during this period, setting up lasting institutions to help them govern. Also new kingdoms like Hungary and Poland, after their sedentarization and conversion to Christianity, became Central-European powers. Hungary, especially, became the "Gate to Europe" from Asia, and bastion of Christianity against the invaders from the East until the 16th century and the onslaught by the Ottomon Empire. The Papacy, which had long since created an ideology of independence from the secular kings, first asserted its claims to temporal authority over the entire Christian world. The entity that historians call the Papal Monarchy reached its apogee in the early 13th century under the pontificate of Innocent III. Northern Crusades and the advance of Christian kingdoms and military orders into previously pagan regions in the Baltic and Finnic northeast brought the forced assimilation of numerous native peoples to the European entity. With the brief exception of the Kipchak and Mongol invasions, major barbarian incursions ceased.

Crusades

during the First Crusade, 1099]] The Crusades were holy wars or armed pilgrimages intended to liberate Jerusalem from Muslim control. Jerusalem was part of the Muslim possessions won during a rapid military expansion in the 7th century through the Near East, Northern Africa, and Anatolia (in modern Turkey). The first Crusade was preached by Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont in 1095 in response to a request from the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos for aid against further advancement. Urban promised indulgence to any Christian who took the Crusader vow and set off for Jerusalem. The resulting fervour that swept through Europe mobilized tens of thousands of people from all levels of society, and resulted in the capture of Jerusalem in 1099, as well as other regions. The movement found its primary support in the Franks; it is by no coincidence that the Arabs referred to Crusaders generically as "Franj". Although they were minorities within this region, the Crusaders tried to consolidate their conquests as a number of Crusader states – the Kingdom of Jerusalem, as well as the County of Edessa, the Principality of Antioch, and the County of Tripoli (collectively Outremer). During the 12th century and 13th century, there were a series of conflicts between these states and surrounding Islamic ones. Crusades were essentially resupply missions for these embattled kingdoms. Military orders such as the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller were formed to play an integral role in this support. of the 7th and 8th centuries ]]

By the end of the Middle Ages, the Christian Crusaders had captured all the Islamic territories in modern Spain, Portugal, and Southern Italy. Meanwhile, Islamic counter-attacks had retaken all the Crusader possessions on the Asian mainland, leaving a de facto boundary between Islam and western Christianity that continued until modern times.

Substantial areas of northern Europe also remained outside Christian influence until the 11th century or later; these areas also became crusading venues during the expansionist High Middle Ages. Throughout this period, the Byzantine Empire was in decline, having peaked in influence during the High Middle Ages. Beginning with the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, the empire underwent a cycle of decline and renewal, including the sacking of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204. After that, Andrew II of Hungary assembled the biggest army in the history of the Crusades, and moved his troops as a leading figure in the Fifth Crusade, reaching Cyprus and later Lebanon, coming back home in 1218.

Despite another short upswing following the recapture of Constantinople in 1261, the empire continued to deteriorate.

Science and technology

, the University of Cambridge, and many other universities were founded at this time.]]

During the early Middle Ages and the Islamic Golden Age, Islamic philosophy, science, and technology were more advanced than in Western Europe. Islamic scholars both preserved and built upon earlier Ancient Greek and Roman traditions and added their own inventions and innovations. Islamic al-Andalus passed much of this on to Europe (see Islamic contributions to Medieval Europe). The replacement of Roman numerals with the decimal positional number system and the invention of algebra allowed more advanced mathematics. Another consequence was that the Latin-speaking world regained access to lost classical literature and philosophy. Latin translations of the 12th century fed a passion for Aristotelian philosophy and Islamic science that is frequently referred to as the Renaissance of the 12th century. Meanwhile, trade grew throughout Europe as the dangers of travel were reduced, and steady economic growth resumed. Cathedral schools and monasteries ceased to be the sole sources of education in the 11th century when universities were established in major European cities. Literacy became available to a wider class of people, and there were major advances in art, sculpture, music, and architecture. Large cathedrals were built across Europe, first in the Romanesque, and later in the more decorative Gothic style.

During the 12th and 13th century in Europe, there was a radical change in the rate of new inventions, innovations in the ways of managing traditional means of production, and economic growth. The period saw major technological advances, including the invention of cannon, spectacles, and artesian wells, and the cross-cultural introduction of gunpowder, silk, the compass, and the astrolabe from the east. One major agricultural innovation during this period was the development of a 3-field rotation system for planting crops (as opposed the 2-field system that was being used). Further, the development of the heavy plow allowed for a rise in communal agriculture as most individuals could not afford to do it by themselves. As a result, medieval villages had formed a type of collective ownership and communal agriculture where the use of horses allowed villages to grow.

There were also great improvements to ships and the clock. The latter advances made possible the dawn of the Age of Exploration. At the same time, huge numbers of Greek and Arabic works on medicine and the sciences were translated and distributed throughout Europe. Aristotle especially became very important, his rational and logical approach to knowledge influencing the scholars at the newly forming universities which were absorbing and disseminating the new knowledge during the 12th Century Renaissance.

Changes

Monastic reform became an important issue during the 11th century, when elites began to worry that monks were not adhering to their Rules with the discipline that was required for a good religious life. During this time, it was believed that monks were performing a very practical task by sending their prayers to God and inducing Him to make the world a better place for the virtuous. The time invested in this activity would be wasted, however, if the monks were not virtuous. The monastery of Cluny, founded in the Mâcon in 909, was founded as part of a larger movement of monastic reform in response to this fear. It was a reformed monastery that quickly established a reputation for austerity and rigour. Cluny sought to maintain the high quality of spiritual life by electing its own abbot from within the cloister, and maintained an economic and political independence from local lords by placing itself under the protection of the Pope. Medieval Britain was afflicted by 95 famines, and France suffered the effects of 75 or more in the same period. The Black Death, a disease that spread among the populace like wildfire, killed as much as a third of the population in the mid-14th century. In some regions, the toll was higher than one half of the population. Towns were especially hard-hit because of the crowded conditions. Large areas of land were left sparsely inhabited, and in some places fields were left unworked. Because of the sudden decline in available labourers, the price of wages rose as landlords sought to entice workers to their fields. Workers also felt that they had a right to greater earnings, and popular uprisings broke out across Europe. Even the king Louis I of Hungary was forced to stop his long war against the Kingdom of Naples in 1347, because of the deaths in the Italian region. The Black Death soon took the life of Louis I's wife, Margaret, daughter of the German emperor Charles IV, and as well few Hungarians, although the negative consequences of this disease in the Kingdom of Hungary were relatively mild.

This period of stress, paradoxically, witnessed creative social, economic, and technological responses that laid the groundwork for further great changes in the Early Modern Period. It was also a period when the Catholic Church was increasingly divided against itself. During the time of the Western Schism, the Church was led by as many as three popes at one time. The divisiveness of the Church undermined papal authority, and allowed the formation of national churches.

State resurgence

The Late Middle Ages also witnessed the rise of strong, royalty-based nation-states, particularly the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of France, and the Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and Portugal).

The long conflicts of this time, such as the Hundred Years' War fought between England and France, strengthened royal control over the kingdoms, even though they were extremely hard on the peasantry. Kings profited from warfare by gaining land. by Ambrogio Lorenzetti]]

France shows clear signs of a growth in royal power during the 14th century, from the active persecution of heretics and lepers, expulsion of the Jews, and the dissolution of the Knights Templar. In all of these cases, undertaken by Philip IV, the king confiscated land and wealth from these minority groups. Kings encouraged cohesion in their administration by appointing ministers with broad ambitions and a loyalty to the state. |- |}

The fall of East and central Europe

and the Hungarian armies fighting the Ottoman Empire in the Siege of Belgrade of 1456.]] Matthias Corvinus of Hungary (1458-1490). He extended his military power all over Central Europe conquering Bohemia and Austria, and fought the Ottoman Empire in the west with the biggest army of his time.]] In the end of the 15th century the Ottoman Empire advanced all over West Europe conquering eventually the Byzantine Empire and extending their control on the slavish states of the Balkans. Hungary became eventually the last bastion of the Latin Christian world, and fought for the keeping its rule on his territories during two centuries. After the tragic death of the young King Vladislaus I of Hungary during the Battle of Varna in 1444 against the Ottomans, the Kingdom without monarch was placed in the hands of the count John Hunyadi, who became Hungary's regent-governor (1446–1453). Hunyadi was considered by the pope as one of the most relevant military figures of the 15th century (The Pope Pius II awarded him with the title of Athleta Christi or Champion of Christ), because he was the only hope of keeping a resistance against the Ottomans in Central and West Europe. Hunyadi succeeded during the Siege of Belgrade in 1456 against the Ottomans, which meant the biggest victory against that empire in decades. This battle became a real Crusade against the Muslims, as the Hungarian, Bohemian and slavish peasants were motivated by the Franciscan monk Saint John of Capistrano, which came from Italy predicating the Holy War. The effect that it created in that time was one of the few main factors that helped achieving the victory. However the premature death of the Hungarian Lord left defenseless and in chaos that area of Europe.

As an absolutely unusual event for the Middle Ages, Hunyadi's son, Matthias, was elected as King for Hungary by the nobility. For the first time, a member of an aristocratic family (and not from a royal family) was crowned.. The King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary (1458–1490) was one of the most prominent figures of this Age, as he directed campaigns to the west conquering Bohemia answering to the Pope's claim for help against the Hussite Protestants, and also for solving the political hostilities with the German emperor Frederick III of Habsburg he invaded his west domains (For the end of his life Matthew of Hungary also held the title of Duke of Austria). Matthew organized the Black Army of Hungary, composed of mercenary soldiers that is considered until the date as the biggest army of its time. Using this powerful tool, the Hungarian king led wars against the Turkish armies and stopped them during his reign. However, the Ottoman Empire grew in strength, and the Black Army of Hungary disappeared, leaving the Kingdom defenseless after the death of Matthew. At the same time, Hungary became under his reign the most important country where the Renaissance developed after the Italian states. Many sculptors, poets, musicians, painters, scientists moved to Hungary from all corners of Europe, gathering all in the court of the King. He established what was at the time of Europe's largest libraries, the Bibliotheca Corviniana, with over 3000 codices.

Hungary resisted until 1526 when the Ottoman armies won the Battle of Mohács, and the Christian Kingdom lost his King Louis II of Hungary, falling in a serious crisis. The Protestant reform, and The American Continent's discovery left behind the matter of the Ottoman wars, and mutilated the medieval Europe leaving it without one of its most important Kingdoms. This episode is considered to be one of the final ones of the Medieval Times.

Religion

Christian heresy (for example, Arian; Cathar; John Wyclif; Hussites)

Christian monasticism

* Benedictines

* Carthusians

* Cistercians

Church and state in medieval Europe

The Crusades

Islam (Eastern Europe): Golden Horde; Crimean Khanate; Sultanate of Rûm & Ottoman Empire

Islam (Western Europe): Al-Andalus; Emirate of Sicily

Judaism

Medieval Inquisition

Mendicant friars

* Augustinians

* Carmelites

* Dominicans

* Franciscans

Ottoman wars in Europe

Pilgrimage

Papacy

Reconquista

The Middle Ages outside Europe

The periodization of the "Middle-Ages" can be dated in rough similarity to other cultures besides the European kingdoms of the era. The Middle Ages are a distinct period both in Islamic, Euroasian and Japanese kingdoms. In fact, throughout the Middle Ages, the newly-founded religion of Islam had experienced an era of Imperial conquests and political and economical status unmatched by parallel European kingdoms, with the possible exception of Constantinopolis. Many similarities are shared by the parallel Islamic and Christian societies of the period.

Historians

Geoffrey of Monmouth

Geraldis Cambrensis

Placido Puccinelli (1609–1685)—Italy

Marc Bloch (1886–1944, French)—France, methodology; Annales School

John Boswell (1947–1994)—Homosexuality

Norman Cantor (1930–2004)—England, historiography

Georges Duby (1924–1996)—France; Annales School

François-Louis Ganshof (1895–1980)—Dutch

Patrick Geary

Johan Huizinga Dutch

George Sarton—science

Jacques Le Goff—French, Annales School

Rev. F. X. Martin (Irish)—Mediævalist and campaigner

Rosamond McKitterick—Frankish and Carolingian history

Henri Pirenne (1862–1935)—the "Pirenne Thesis" downplays barbarian invasions and emphasizes role of Islam

Eileen Power

Miri Rubin—religion

Stephen Runciman (1903–2000)—the Crusades

Richard Southern (1912–2001)—religion

Sidney Painter

John Julius Norwich

Régine Pernoud (1909–1998)

Gallery

See also

Barbarian invasions

Champagne fairs

Crisis of the Late Middle Ages

History of the Jews in the Middle Ages

Horses in the Middle Ages

Islamic Golden Age

List of basic medieval history topics

List of famines

Medieval art

Medieval architecture

Medieval communes

Medieval cuisine

Medieval demography

Medieval gardening

Medieval guilds

Medieval household

Medieval hunting

Medieval literature

Medieval medicine

* Black Death

* Plague of Justinian

Medieval music

Medieval philosophy

Medieval poetry

Medieval reenactment

Medieval science

* Alchemy

Medieval ships

Medieval theatre

Medieval tournament

Medieval warm period

Medieval warfare

Medieval Wars

Middle Ages in film

Mining and metallurgy in medieval Europe

Neo-medievalism

Popular revolt in late medieval Europe

Serfdom

Slave trade in the Middle Ages

Tatar invasions

Women in the Middle Ages

References

Further reading

Bishop, Morris. The Middle Ages (2001) excerpt and text search

Cantor, Norman. The Civilization of the Middle Ages (1994) excerpt and text search

Contamine, Philippe. War in the Middle Ages (1991) excerpt and text search

Fossier, Robert. The Axe and the Oath: Ordinary Life in the Middle Ages (Princeton University Press; 2010) 400 pages; the everyday experience and material culture of ordinary men and women

Hanawalt, Barbara. The Middle Ages: An Illustrated History (1999) excerpt and text search, for middle schools

Holme, George, ed. The Oxford History of Medieval Europe (1992) online edition

Jordan, William Chester, ed. The Middle Ages: An Encyclopedia for Students (4 vol 1996)

Southern, Richard W. The Making of the Middle Ages (1961) excerpt and text search

Jordan, William Chester. Europe in the High Middle Ages (2004) excerpt and text search

Strayer, Joseph R. Western Europe in the Middle Ages: A Short History (1955) online edition

Cahill, Thomas, "How the Irish Saved Civilization" (1995)

External links

Internet Medieval Sourcebook Project Primary source archive

The Online Reference Book of Medieval Studies Academic peer reviewed articles

The Labyrinth Resources for Medieval Studies.

NetSERF The Internet Connection for Medieval Resources.

The Middle Ages—an informational site for teachers and students

Information from the Medieval Period.

De Re Militari: The Society for Medieval Military History

Medievalists.net

Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, featuring lavish illustrations and a wide range of scripts from Western Europe and the Middle East, Center for Digital Initiatives, University of Vermont Libraries

Medievalmap.org Interactive maps of the Medieval era (Flash plug-in required)

Middle Ages, library of books available at Internet Archive

Collection of Medieval Medical Illustrations"

Medieval Realms Learning resources from the British Library including studies of beautiful medieval manuscripts

Medieval Knights Medieval Knights is a medieval educational resource site geared to students and medieval enthusiasts.

Charles Raymond Beazley. A Note-Book of Mediaeval History, A.D. 323- A.D. 1453. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1917. Annotated time-line of medieval history.

The Soldier in later Medieval England Detailed service records of 250,000 medieval soldiers are online.

Clio History Journal, Medieval History Page

The Medieval Review

José Ángel Hevia Velasco, known professionally as Hevia (born 1967 in Villaviciosa, Asturias), is a Spaniard bagpiper – specifically, an Asturian gaita player. He commonly performs with his sister, Maria José, on drums. In 1992 he was awarded first prize for solo bagpipes at the Festival Interceltique de Lorient, Brittany.

Possibly his most recognisable composition is the 1999 piece Busindre Reel, from his first album Tierra de Nadie. Hevia is known for helping invent a special brand of MIDI electronic bagpipes, which he is often seen playing live. The instrument was developed with Alberto Arias (pupil and computer programmer) and the electronic technician Miguel Dopico.

Two of Hevia's tracks, La Línea Trazada and El Garrotin (single release), appeared on the cross-platform video game . His music also features in Walt Disney World at Epcot, just before the nightly fireworks show.

Discography

Tierra De Nadie (No Man's Land), 1998

Al Otro Lado (The Other Side), 2000

Etnico Ma Non Troppo, 2003

Obsessión, 2007

See also

Spanish bagpipes

References

External links

Official website

Myspace

Italian website

Interview with Hevia (in Spanish)

Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:Asturian people Category:Bagpipe players Category:Spanish bagpipe players Category:Folk musicians

Image name	|
Birth date	16 March 1931
School tradition	ancient, medieval and analytic|

Sir Anthony John Patrick Kenny FBA (born 16 March 1931 in Liverpool) is an English philosopher whose interests lie in the philosophy of mind, ancient and scholastic philosophy, the philosophy of Wittgenstein and the philosophy of religion. With Peter Geach, he has made a significant contribution to Analytical Thomism, a movement whose aim is to present the thought of St Thomas Aquinas in the style of modern philosophy by clearing away the trappings and obscurities of traditional Thomism. He is one of the executors of Wittgenstein's literary estate. He is a former President of the British Academy and current President of the Royal Institute of Philosophy.

Biography

Kenny initially trained as a Roman Catholic priest at the Venerable English College, Rome, where he received the degree of S.T.L. He was ordained in 1955 and served as Curate in Liverpool 1959-63. Having received his D.Phil. from the University of Oxford (St Benet's Hall) in 1961, he also worked as an Assistant Lecturer in the University of Liverpool (1961–63). However, he questioned the validity of Catholic doctrine and is now an agnostic. He was returned to the lay state in 1963, but according to Canon law his priestly ordination remains valid. He was never dispensed from the obligation of clerical celibacy and was therefore excommunicated on his marriage to Nancy Gayley in 1965.

During 1963-64, Kenny was Lecturer in Philosophy at Exeter and Trinity Colleges, Oxford and he served as University Lecturer 1965-78. From 1964 until 1978, he was a Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford and Senior Tutor during the periods 1971-72 and 1976-78. He was Master of Balliol from 1978 to 1989 and subsequently an Honorary Fellow. During the period 1989-99, he was both Warden of Rhodes House (manager of the Rhodes Scholarship program) and Professorial Fellow of St John's College, and thereafter Fellow Emeritus. He was Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1984 to 2001 (Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Development, 1999–2001). He retired in 2001.

Within the university, Kenny was Wilde Lecturer in Natural and Comparative Religion (1969–72), Speaker's Lecturer in Biblical Studies (1980–83), a member of the Hebdomadal Council (1981–93), Vice-Chairman of the Libraries Board (1985–88), Curator of the Bodleian Library (1985–88), and a Delegate, and member of the Finance Committee, of Oxford University Press (1986–93). From 1972 until 1973 he was the editor of The Oxford Magazine. He received the degree of D.Litt. in 1980 and the honorary degree of D.C.L. in 1987.

He was a member of the Board of the British Library 1991-96 and Chairman 1993-96, and has served as Chairman of the Society for Protection of Science and Learning (1989–93), of the British National Corpus Advisory Board (1990–95), of the British Irish Association (1990–94), and of the Board of the Warburg Institute (1996–2000). He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1974 and served as a member of the Council of the Academy 1985-88, as Vice President 1986-88, and President 1989-93.

Kenny was Gifford Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh 1972-73 and at the University of Glasgow in 1988, Stanton Lecturer at the University of Cambridge 1980-83, and Bampton Lecturer at Columbia University in 1983. He was a Visiting Professor at Chicago, Washington, Michigan, Minnesota, Cornell, Stanford and Rockefeller Universities.

He has been a member of the American Philosophical Society since 1993, and of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences since 1993, and an Honorary Fellow of Harris Manchester College, Oxford since 1996, and of the School of Advanced Study, University of London since 2002 (Senior Distinguished Fellow 2002-3). He has received the honorary degrees of D.Litt. from Bristol (1982), Liverpool (1988), Glasgow (1990), Trinity College, Dublin (1992), Hull (1993), Sheffield (1995), and Warwick (1995), of D.Hum.Litt. from Denison University, 0hio (1986) and Lafayette College, Pennsylvania (1990), and of D.C.L. from the Queen's University of Belfast (1994).

Kenny was appointed Knight Bachelor by Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in 1992 and has been an Honorary Bencher of Lincoln's Inn since 1999.

In October 2006, Kenny was awarded the American Catholic Philosophical Association's Aquinas Medal for his significant contributions to philosophy.

Philosophy

Although deeply interested in traditional Catholic teaching and continuing to attend the Catholic mass, Kenny now explicitly defines his position as an Agnostic, explaining in his What I believe both why he is not a theist and why he is not an atheist. His 2006 book What I believe has (as Ch 3) "Why I am Not an Atheist" which begins: "Many different definitions may be offered of the word 'God'. Given this fact, atheism makes a much stronger claim than theism does. The atheist says that no matter what definition you choose, 'God exists' is always false. The theist only claims that there is some definition which will make 'God exists' true. In my view, neither the stronger nor the weaker claim has been convincingly established". He goes on "the true default position is neither theism nor atheism, but agnosticism ... a claim to knowledge needs to be substantiated; ignorance need only be confessed." He defends the rationality of an agnostic praying to a God whose existence he doubts, stating "It surely is no more unreasonable than the act of a man adrift in the ocean, trapped in a cave, or stranded on a mountainside, who cries for help though he may never be heard or fires a signal which may never be seen."

Kenny has written extensively on Thomas Aquinas and modern Thomism. In The Five Ways, Kenny deals with St. Thomas' five proofs of God. In it, Kenny argues that none of the proofs Thomas sets out are wholly valid, and instead, sets out to show the flaws in the five ways. His arguments range from the problem of Aristotelian motion in a modern scientific context, to the ability of contingent beings to cause eternality in other contingent beings. His objections all focus on a modern interpretation of St. Thomas. Some have objected to Kenny's reading of Thomas, largely on the accusation that Kenny fails to interact with Thomas' account of Essence and being, and therefore, the conclusions he draws are not wholly accurate in the way Thomas meant them.

In What is Faith?, Kenny addresses "the question of whether belief in God, and faith in a divine world, is a reasonable or rational state of mind.". He criticises the idea, "common to theists like Aquinas and Descartes and to an atheist like Russell," that "Rational belief [is] either self-evident or based directly or indirectly on what is evident" which he terms "foundationalism" following Plantinga arguing out that foundationalism is a self-refuting idea.

Bibliography

Kenny, A. (1963) Action, Emotion and Will. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-30374-5

Kenny, A. (1963) Responsa Alumnorum of English College, Rome, 2 vols, Catholic Record Society Records series, vols 54-55.

Kenny, A. (1968) Descartes

Kenny, A. (1969) The Five Ways: St. Thomas Aquinas’ Proofs of God’s Existence. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-31845-9

Kenny, A., Longuet-Higgins, H.C., Lucas, J.R., Waddington, C.H. (1972), The Nature of Mind, Edinburgh University Press (Gifford Lectures, online) ISBN 0-852-24235-2

Kenny, A., Longuet-Higgins, H.C., Lucas, J.R., Waddington, C.H. (1973), The Development of Mind, Edinburgh University Press (Gifford Lectures, online) ISBN 0-852-24263-8

Kenny, A. (1973) Wittgenstein. Harmondsworth: The Penguin Press. ISBN 0-14-021581-6

Kenny, A. (1974) The Anatomy of the Soul

Kenny, A. (1975) Will, Freedom and Power

Kenny, A. (1978) The Aristotelian Ethics: A Study of the Relationship between the Eudemian and Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-824554-8

Kenny, A. (1978) Freewill and Responsibility. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-7100-8998-8

Kenny, A. (1979) The God of the Philosophers. Oxford: OUP. ISBN 0-19-824594-7

Kenny, A. (1980) Aquinas. New York: Hill and Wang. ISBN 0-8090-2724-0

Kenny, A. (1982) The Computation of Style: An Introduction to Statistics for Students of Literature and Humanities. Oxford & New York: Pergamon Press. ISBN 0-08-024282-0

Kenny, A. (1983) Thomas More Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-287574-4

Kenny, A. (1986) A Path from Rome: An Autobiography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-283050-3

Kenny, A. (1986) A Stylometric Study of the New Testament. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198261780

Kenny, A. (1988) God and Two Poets: Arthur Hugh Clough and Gerard Manley Hopkins. London: Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN 0-283-99387-1

Kenny, A. (1989) The Metaphysics of Mind

Kenny, A. (1990) The Oxford Diaries of Arthur Hugh Clough

Kenny, A. (comp) (1991) Mountains: An Anthology. London: John Murray. ISBN 978-0719546396

Kenny, A. (1992) What is Faith?: Essays in the Philosophy of Religion. Oxford: OUP. ISBN 0-19-283067-8

Kenny, A. (1993) Aristotle on the Perfect Life. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-824017-1

Kenny, A. (1993) Aquinas on Mind. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-04415-4

Kenny, A. (ed) (1994) The Oxford History of Western Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-824278-6

Kenny, A. (1995) Frege: An Introduction to the Founder of Modern Analytic Philosophy. London: Penguin Philosophy. ISBN 0-14-012550-7

Kenny, A. (1997) A Brief History of Western Philosophy. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-20132-7

Kenny, A. (1997) A Life in Oxford. London: John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-5061-0

Kenny, A. (2001) Essays on the Aristotelian Tradition

Kenny, A. (2002) Aquinas on Being. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-823847-9

Kenny, A. (2004) Ancient Philosophy: A New History of Western Philosophy, vol. 1. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-875273-3

Kenny, A. (2005) Arthur Hugh Clough: a poet’s life. London & New York: Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-7382-2

Kenny, A. (2005) Medieval Philosophy: A New History of Western Philosophy, vol. 2 OUP. ISBN 978-0198752752

Kenny, A. (2005) The Unknown God: Agnostic Essays Continuum. ISBN 978-0826476340

Kenny, A. (2006) What I Believe. London & New York: Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-8971-0

Kenny, A. (2006) The Rise of Modern Philosophy : A New History of Western Philosophy, vol. 3 OUP. ISBN 978-0198752776

Kenny, A. & Kenny C. (2006) Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Utility. Imprint Academic. ISBN 978-1845400521

Kenny, A. (2007) Philosophy in the Modern World: A New History of Western Philosophy, vol. 4. OUP. ISBN 978-0198752790

Kenny, A. & Kenny R. (2007) Can Oxford be Improved?. Imprint Academic. ISBN 978-1845400941

Notes and references

Sources

School of Advanced Study, University of London

About the satirical magazine Why?

External links

podcast interviews with Anthony Kenny on philosophy bites

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