Week 9: Francis and Dominic - Poverty and City Life

 Stephanie Boer, Rebekah Clarke, Tom Grant and Anne Warburton

 

Around the 13th century in Europe there was a massive population increase, which started a large growth in the economy and the agrarian society. This led to the development of towns as urban, economic, political and cultural centers.  Due to the increased participation of the laity in religious life, and a demand for greater access to scripture, the church underwent what is known as the Gregorian reforms. This was an aspiration for a return to the original sources to achieve the true apostolic lifestyle. These reforms led to the formation of  new religious orders, including the Franciscans and Dominicans. 

Francis of Assisi by Margaritone of Arezzo

 

The Franciscan Order started with Saint Francis of Assisi, when he heard the call to Jesus’ apostles to “Possess neither gold, nor silver, nor money; were to have neither bread nor staff; were to have neither shoes nor two tunics; but were to preach the kingdom of God and penance.”

The Franciscans lived a life of poverty, earning subsistence through labour or alms. They lived amongst the people, not cloistered from the world. The Franciscans inspired the laity that salvation was possible without living the ascetic life in a monastery.

The Perugia Altarpiece: Side Panel Depicting St. Dominic

 

When Dominic first appealed to the pope to recognise the existence of the order his request was denied, as the members of the Fourth Lateran Council had come to the decision that too many new religious groups already existed, and that instead Dominic and his followers should adopt existing rule. He chose the Rule of St. Augustine, whose order of discipline and spiritual life he already followed. Dominicans were recognised as their own rule a year later in 1216.

Dominic is said to have wanted, 'on a journey or wherever he was, [...] to be always preaching or talking or arguing about god', thus inspiring the more education focussed way of religious life.

 

The blog questions are:

What were the main factors that led to the creation of the Franciscan and Dominican Orders?  

Were they successful in their aim to emulate the life of Christ?

Week 8 Virtual Tutorial: The Crusades

This week we will be having a virtual tutorial so it is important that we all renew efforts to not only comment but respond and reply to those comments. The Primary readings concern the differing accounts of Pope Urban's speech at the Council of Clermont.

Pope Urban II arriving and preaching at the Clermont Council from http://www.traditioninaction.org/History/A_012_FirstCrusade_Urban.htm

While you're reading these it is useful to hold the questions found on p.185 of the unit reader in mind. They are "Discuss the accounts of Urban's speech. In what ways do they differ?" and "What reasons can you give for these reasons?"

The remaining questions address the work of Christopher Tyerman in his contribution to The Medieval World, "What the Crusades meant to Europe".Tyerman has a number of books on the Crusades and has shown particular interest in relating the 11th century events of the Crusade to 20th century politics. While you should keep all the questions posed on p.185 of the reader in mind while you are doing the secondary reading, the question which I think summarises the reading and which I think it would be of benefit to address here is the last one "Tyerman says that the effect of the crusades on Europe and Europeans tended to be of 3 sorts, what were they?"

Two of Tyerman's books on the crusades are:

 

Important Announcement

Unfortunately the audio of the week 7 lectures have not been recorded. The slides are available, however, on both MULO and Blackboard. I am very sorry for the inconvenience, but sometimes technology does fail. I know that some of you have clashes and need to rely on the recordings. I would urge, however, those of you who can attend the lectures to do so, because that is the only absolutely guaranteed way that you have of hearing the material
Cheers, Clare

Week 7: Relics and Devotional Life - Medieval Men and Women

Women of the Middle Ages and the Influence of the Church

Taylor

The readings of the church and to a great extent, the bible, played a significant role in the subordination of women in Medieval Europe. They were transcribed as weak, selfish and seductive from the very beginning. Adam and Eve are well-known religious characters but their story is one that carries a great number of sexist suggestions. For example, Adam calling Eve “woman” because she was made first from man suggests man as the dominant sex because he was the first. However, there are several instances of exceptional Christian women including the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene and Joan of Arc. The glory and inspiration of these women did little to help the inferior treatment of the female sex because their accomplishments were considered to be near impossible to repeat.


God’s words to Eve are “…your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” This representation of marriage is still evident today but was amplified during The Middle Ages. Women were addressed according to their relationship to man as daughter, wife or widow. Conception was the most important role of women and they were married young so as to begin that role early and legitimately. The image below shows Eve giving her husband the forbidden fruit. Adam is clearly unsure whether or not to take the apple but his wife’s posture and expression appears to be loving and assuring.

Cranach's Adam and Eve. Image source http://www.artbible.info/art/large/515.html

Women and Marriage in the Middle Ages

Jessica 

As the Klapisch-Zuber reading relates, marital unions often played a vital role in cementing social and political alliances throughout the Middle Ages. Women were central to this process. Beyond a woman's role as a dutiful wife, she had a responsibility to serve the interests of both families that her marriage had brought together, and to perpetuate good relations between them. She would also cement familial bonds in a practical fashion through the exchange of her dowry, and in her ability to bear children.  Despite its practical significance, however, marriage was not always celebrated. As many of the primary sources from this week suggest, many Christian scholars disparaged wedlock. While some did laud marriage as a holy union, the Christian ideal of chastity was still held in higher regard. To summarise in the words of St. Jerome: "I do not detract from wedlock when I set virginity before it. No one compares a bad thing with a good."

Klapisch-Zuber emphasises that medieval marriage was generally not an equal union. It materially benefitted the husband, and a woman's desires were secondary to her duty to her male family members and the will of her husband. Women often had little choice but to enter into unions against their will, and take up roles for which Christian society then judged them. Pictured below is Abelard and his reluctant wife Heloise. In Abelard's words, Heloise opposed their marriage because it would "dishonour [him] and humiliate them both". She is said to have despaired at his final decision to commit: "we shall both be destroyed; all that is left us is suffering as great as our love has been".

Abelard and Eloise in a manuscript of the Roman de la Rose Image source http://cdn2.all-art.org/literature/french/abelard/Untitled-1.jpg

The roles and duties of wives in the Middle Ages

Yi Chun

The reading of Klapisch-Zuber explored the general roles and duties of wives in the Middle Age medieval family. During the Middle Ages, families were dominated by males; these gender-based relationships weakened the female’s roles in society, including wives’ roles in the family. Women in the Middle Ages were traded between clans much like goods or products, and the transfer of women from one clan to another would also imply the transfer of wealth. In return, marriage demanded that goods be “given” by one group to the other. For instance, these goods were given by the husband’s clan to the family of the bride in ‘compensation’ for its loss of daughter. Later the goods would also be given to the bride herself, in return to bring her husband influence and wealth that she either gave to him or retained in her own proprietorship. Women were also supposed to be completely obedient to the dominant male whether that was father, brother or husband, and in some rare cases, son. Their actions or behaviours were also heavily restricted by the church or bible.

Klapisch-Zuber pointed that, the primary function of women in the Middle Ages was to reproduce, and all other functions were subordinated to this. The picture, a domestic scene from the Victorian era, demonstrates perhaps that little has changed. 

Question for blog discussion:

How did medieval society view women? Do you think there is any continuity in how gender roles are viewed in our society today?