12th century

The 12th Century: Century of the Axe (Millennium) 2 of 10

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• published: 21 Jun 2016
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The Twelfth Century: Century of the Axe _________________________________________________________________ North America: The Canyon Builders The people who lived in the American Southwest 900 years ago built a civilization in arid scrub. Ruins of the dwellings they constructed, located in New Mexico's Chaco Canyon, are now known as "Pueblo Bonito." There were more than 800 rooms. Were they storehouses, temples, watchtowers? We don't know. But what we do know from archaeology is that the people of Chaco Canyon started by thinking big. _________________________________________________________________ France: Spires to Heaven Nine hundred years ago, Northern France, like most of Europe, was covered by forest. Trees dominated the land and the mind. Using the timbers for roofs, monks built monasteries, encasing them in stone to make them last. Like other churches in the 12th century, Vezelay in Burgundy became too small for the increasing number of pilgrims who now crowded through it. Vezelay was rebuilt and enlarged. Inside, light spaces mocked the darkness of the forest outside. As other churches were rebuilt, a new style of architecture emerged, now called Gothic. _________________________________________________________________ Ethiopia: Lalibela's Legacy While churches rose to the sky in Europe, in 12th century Africa they were being carved out of the ground. In the highlands of Ethiopia, a new king from a new dynasty, Lalibela, built a new holy capital. Today, Lalibela's legacy lives on, in the physical splendor of 11 rock-hewn churches and in the traditions of their guardian priests. _________________________________________________________________ Italy: Civic Pride Whatever their location in the world, 12th century cities grew in power, population and prosperity. Cities drew people in from the countryside, cramming them together and changing their lives. Siena, in northern Italy, is a city proud of its Roman past. Here 12th century citizens shared a state of mind: civic pride. Siena saw itself as an ideal city. A place with battlements, boulevards and a bourgeoisie. A spirit of citizenship was forged out of feuds and rivalries through competitive rituals re-enacted even now, centuries later. One enduring tradition is the Palio, a bareback horse race around the main piazza, where knights were trained to fight the city's wars. Teams represented the 17 districts of the city. Their training had a practical purpose: The Palio preserved the spirit of civic pride, channeling feuds while managing conflict. _________________________________________________________________ Australia: A Nomadic Life In Australia, isolated from the rest of the world, cultures flourished that had long chosen not to build. For these nomadic people, every landmark was endowed with sacred significance. Aborigines didn't construct monuments such as cities, tombs and churches; the land was their cathedral, their wanderings a pilgrimage. Every aspect of life was imbued with ceremony and ritual. The Aborigines of the central desert used ochre and natural fibers to create intricate ground paintings. They combined them with music to retrace the journeys of their ancestors in the "dreamtime." The "dreamtime" is a creation story, the legendary dawn of time, when supernatural creatures sang the world into being. The land was molded by rainbow serpents, giant lizards and lightning men. Valleys formed where they slept, billabongs where they drank, and great canyons where they fought.