Middle Ages to the Enlightenment - Essay Example

Middle Ages to the Enlightenment The medieval era can be divided into three periods including “the Early Middle Ages, the High Middle Ages, and the Late Middle Ages. Like the Middle Ages itself, each of these three periods lacks hard and fast parameters” (Snell, 2014). The Early Middle Ages are also called as Late Antiquity. This period started in the 3rd century and continued till the 7th century. This era was a bridge between the ancient and the medieval world with overlapping factors from both eras (Snell, 2014). The High Medieval Era typically represents the Middle Ages. It is usually said to have started in the 11th century and continued for over three centuries. Almost entire Europe had been Christianized as the 11th century reached its end. The High Medieval Era is called as medieval society’s flowering because of the intellectual renaissance that took place in the 12th century because philosophers like Thomas Aquinas and Pierre Abelard as well as because of the establishment of many universities and knowledge centers in Oxford, Bologna, and Paris (Snell, 2014). Some of the most magnificent stone castle-buildings and cathedrals found in Europe to date were built in this period. What is known as feudalism in the present age got established in many parts of Europe including Britain. Other industries and fields that flourished included but were not limited to production and trade of the luxury goods, and crops. Europe had reached the apogee of cultural richness and economy at the end of the 13th century but was also about to see its downturn. The medieval world transformed into the early modern world by the end of the Middle Ages. Some cataclysmic events of the 14th century are the Black Death, the Italian Renaissance, and the Avignon Papacy. Shakespeare literature flourished during the 16th century and the 17th century witnessed the Great Fire of London. Corporation characterized the high medieval society. A new regard grew for the individual’s value with the sowing of the seeds of human rights in the society. Many significant changes took place in terms of the evolution of knowledge from the Middle Ages through the Age of Enlightenment till the 19th century. The Age of Enlightenment started in Europe and spread to the colonies in America. The Age of Enlightenment opposed intolerance and superstition in addition to opposing cases of power abuse by the church and the state. The history of knowledge is apparently considered to have reached a growth period in the intellectual interchange thus causing a scientific revolution. This scientific revolution period is the main attribute linked with the period ranging from the Middle Ages to the 19th century. Thus period is very important in the knowledge history since most of the inventions were made in it. Many scientists known to have made important inventions came in this period. During this period, a new breed of intellectuals emerged that forced the spread of knowledge further all across Europe in general and across the major urban centers in particular including England, Scotland, Poland, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Spain, and Germany. The Age of Enlightenment was an intellectuals’ cultural movement that started in the late 17th century. This movement commenced in Europe placed emphasis upon individualism and reason instead of tradition. The fundamental purpose of the Age of Enlightenment was to reform the society by challenging the ideas originating in faith and tradition, and by using scientific method to advance knowledge. The Age of Enlightenment promoted intellectual interchange, skepticism, and scientific thought. Being a revolution in the process of human thinking, the Age of Enlightenment suggested that rational thought originates in clearly established principles, makes use of rational logic to derive conclusions, evaluates the conclusions thus drawn with respect to evidence, and modifies the principles in accordance with the evidence. Thinkers from the Age of Enlightenment opposed intolerance and superstition. Some of them worked in collaboration with the Enlightened despots that tried to bring certain new government ideas by force into practice. The Western world’s culture, government, and politics are still heavily influenced by the ideas of Enlightenment. Intellectual history continued to be a prominent historiographical trend in the Age of Enlightenment. In his book, Ernst Cassirer, the German scholar described the Age of Enlightenment as “a part and a special phase of that whole intellectual development through which modern philosophic thought gained its characteristic self-confidence and self-consciousness” (Cassirer, 1951, p. vi). Cassirer wrote that the process of Enlightenment helped the spirit reach depth and clarity with respect to its understanding of its own destiny, nature, mission, and character. In other words, Enlightenment comprised a range of scientific, philosophical, and intellectual developments most of which happened during the 18th century. Many important changes have taken place not only in terms of intellectual history and knowledge, but also in terms of understanding of the core concepts and values on which the society is based. For example, the institution of marriage constantly evolved as time progressed from the Middle Ages through The Age of Enlightenment to the modern era. For most of the Middle Ages, marriage and love were considered incompatible with each other. Polygamy was common, and people mostly got married to gain wealth, power, or children. Enlightenment thinkers were the pioneers of the concept that the fundamental purpose of life was the pursuit of happiness. Enlightenment thinkers advocated the idea of marrying for love rather than for getting power, status, or wealth (The Week, 2012). Industrial Revolution and the middle class’s growth during the 19th century augmented this trend. Young men were enabled to choose a spouse irrespective of the approval of parents. People started to demand termination of unhappy unions as they gained more control over their love lives. This played an important role in making divorce commonplace. In the modern age, people have started to demand legal establishment of unions that are considered illegitimate as per the religious standards. This is reflective of the fact that people have gained more autonomy and freedom of expression with respect to their love lives over the centuries. References: Cassirer, E. (1951). Die Philosophie der Aufklärung. Princeton University Press. Snell, M. (2014). Defining the Middle Ages. Retrieved from http://historymedren.about.com/od/gettingstarted/a/definingb.htm. The Week. (2012, June 1). How marriage has changed over centuries. Retrieved from http://theweek.com/article/index/228541/how-marriage-has-changed-over-centuries. Read More