Boytsov M., Shukurov R. History of the Middle Ages. Class VII textbook
Foreword
Introduction. Faces of the Middle Ages
Chapter 1. The most confusing of all troubled times (the Great Migration and the fall of the Roman Empire)
§ 1. Barbarians and others
§ 2. Troubled neighbors of the Romans
§ 3. Fall of the "Eternal City"
§ 4. The end of the empire
§ five. Christian church in the West and East
§ 6. Theodoric the Great: between the barbarians and the Romans
§ 7. Franks and their king Clovis
§ 8. From Britain to England
Chapter 2. East of the West (Byzantium in the IV-VI centuries. The emergence of Islam)
§ 9. Romans - the heirs of the Romans
§ 10. Golden Age of Byzantium
§ 11. Cradle of a new religion
§ 12. The word of the prophet
§ 13. World of Islam
Chapter 3. Two empires (Frankish state and Byzantium in the 7th-9th centuries)
§ 14. The ruler of the palace becomes the "Anointed of God"
§ 15. The most famous monarch of the Middle Ages
§ 16. "Carolingian Revival" and the decline of the Frankish Empire
§ 17. Are the icons holy?
§ 18. Between two worlds
Chapter 4. Sails of the Vikings (Northern Europe in the VIII-XI centuries)
§ 19. Normans: from America to Russia
§ 20. England: waves of conquest
§ 21. Runes and sagas
Chapter 5. On the way to Canossa and Jerusalem. (The struggle of the empire against the papacy and Crusades)
§ 22. Birth of the German kingdom
Section 23. Three new countries
§ 24. The pope challenges
Section 25. Under the sign of the cross
§ 26. England and France: too close embrace
§ 27. Three Crete-bearers
Section 28. "Enlargement" of Europe
§ 29. Between a rock and a hard place
§ 30. Stones can also be read
Chapter 6. Plow and sword (Peasants and lords in the X-XII centuries)
§ 31. Peasant and lord
§ 32. The life of a peasant.
§ 33. Between paganism and Christianity
§ 34. Feudal lords and feudalism.
§ 35. The motto is courtesy!
Chapter 7. In the ring of walls and towers. (Medieval city in Western Europe)
Section 36. The emergence of cities
§ 37. Patricians against lords, guilds against patricians, plebeians against guilds
Section 38. City streets and their inhabitants
Chapter 8. In search of the highest truth (Sages, heretics, scholars in the XII-XIII centuries)
§ 39. Reason or insight?
§ 40. The Lord recognizes his own!
§ 41. Mendicant monks
§ 42. The pinnacle of medieval philosophy
§ 43. So let's rejoice!
§ 44. Councils, directed to heaven
Chapter 9. The mighty of this world (Famous sovereigns of the XIII century - Innocent III, Frederick II and Louis IX)
Section 45. Scorching sun
§ 46. Surprising world
§ 47. Holy King and ... Mongol Khan
Chapter 10. At the turn (Europe in the XIV-XV centuries)
§ 48. Beginning of great upheavals
Section 49. " Black Death"And around it
§ 50. Down with the gentlemen!
Section 51. Time of just suffering
§ 52. The Roman Church on the defensive
§ 53. Eternal war ...
§ 54. The last knights and their victors
Section 55. Death of the Roman Empire
Conclusion
Chronological table
Foreword
There are a number of features in our textbook that a teacher should pay attention to. The wide use of almost unadapted material from historical sources, monuments of law and literary works of the era under study, placed "on an equal footing" with the educational text, should help, according to the authors, create a "stereoscopic" image of the past, develop the independence of thinking of a young reader. In addition, the level of difficulty for different classes and individual students can be set by different degrees of elaboration of these additional texts.
The questions offered after the paragraphs and texts are rather additional than obligatory (which the teacher can easily formulate himself); they are, as a rule, rather complicated, not all of them have clear and unambiguous answers both in the textbook and, sometimes, outside of it. We hope that they will force the student to think about what he has read, from a new side to consider the material that has seemingly been mastered and understood from a new angle.
When preparing this book, the authors got acquainted with old and modern textbooks from different European countries, as well as Russian ones - pre-revolutionary and Soviet. Naturally, the experience of the well-deservedly respected textbook by E.V. Agibalova and G.M.Donskoy was taken into account, according to which the authors themselves once studied. However, none of the existing books became a direct prototype. of this edition.
The task set by the authors was not to provide a set of historical examples confirming the truth of a predetermined sociological scheme. The sociological component is present here, of course, but it has a rather modest place. Within the framework of our textbook, first of all, the image of Europe in a historical era... The book was conceived as a key to medieval culture, or rather to that part of it that entered modern civilization. All the names and events mentioned in the book are not "antique museum collection" - they still live in books and films, in philosophical reflections and on art canvases ... This is the actual Middle Ages. Therefore, no less than a strict fact, we are also occupied by all kinds of legends included in the mosaic of modern world culture. Wide famous myth sometimes turns out to be more significant than a specific circumstance, which only experts remember.
The chapters of the textbook on the history of Byzantium, the Islamic world, and the paragraph on the early Slavs belong to the pen of R. Shukurov. Both authors worked on § 5 together. The rest of the sections were written by M. Boytsov.
Introduction. Faces of the Middle Ages
What's in the past?
Primitive societies, Egypt of the Pharaohs, the powers of Asia Minor, the early states of India and China, ancient Greece and Rome - all this is the Ancient World. In ancient times, people learned how to make fire and smelt metals, build temples and build ships, write in hieroglyphs, cuneiform and letters. In ancient times, the Macedonian phalanxes and Roman legions went to battle, Assyrian war chariots and the cavalry of the Chinese emperors rushed into battle. In ancient times, the Egyptian pyramids, the Great Wall of China, the Athenian Acropolis and the Roman Colosseum were built. In ancient times, the Tower of Babel collapsed and Troy burned down, the Argonauts were looking for the golden fleece. In ancient times, the Olympic Games and human sacrifices were held. In ancient times, there lived Confucius and Buddha, Moses and Jesus Christ. How much this era has contained - the longest in the history of mankind. But in the V century. with the fall of the Roman Empire, it comes to an end.
One and a half thousand years ago, with the collapse of Rome, a new era began world history... It is usually called the Middle Ages, or the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages lasted for a thousand years, until about the 15th century. it was not replaced by the New Time.
Gloomy Middle Ages?
The word "Middle Ages" was invented only when this era was approaching its end. And they understood this word something like this: there were bright times Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome when education, culture, reason reigned. In our time we are again becoming cultured and educated, no worse than in antiquity. What's in the middle? In the middle lie the dark centuries of general savagery, the general decline of Europe, the triumph of incredible prejudices. Wasted time.
And now you can often find in newspapers and books, hear in radio and television programs the words about "the horrors of the Middle Ages", about "medieval torture" and even about "the night of the Middle Ages, illuminated only by bonfires on which freethinkers were burned." They say about something hopelessly outdated or simply scary: "Well, it's like in the Middle Ages!" This means that in the ideas of our contemporaries there is a gloomy image of the Middle Ages. It arose long ago, when the Middle Ages itself was still quite fresh in the memory. People are often very dissatisfied with everything that happened recently, and praise some distant times. Then, supposedly, it was easier and more fun to live, and it was even easier to breathe ...
The Light Middle Ages?
The further the Middle Ages went into the past, the clearer it became that they had their own merits in comparison with the times that had come. It even began to seem to some that the Middle Ages were the best era in history. After all, then money did not yet rule the world, smoky factory chimneys did not stick out everywhere, people did not possess such a deadly weapon as the current one. The Middle Ages were supposedly a time when they were able to especially value nobility, courage, and dignity. This was the time of the knights, as it is described in the novels of W. Scott or the ballads of V. A. Zhukovsky.
But there were also wise kings and princes who defended their peoples from the invasions of cruel enemies, there were learned monks who comprehended the secrets of the universe and enlightened people, there were powerful and kind peasants who grew bread and saved the fatherland in difficult times!
As for the fires, on which someone was burned, the number of victims of "medieval barbarism" cannot even remotely compare with the number of innocent victims in our times, so proud of their enlightenment. So said those who "justified" the Middle Ages.
This is another image of the Middle Ages - light, or romantic. And each of us also has it, wonderfully adjacent to the gloomy one.
So where is the truth?
And not there, and not here. Both there and here. Neither the “gloomy” nor the “light” images of the Middle Ages fully correspond to what actually happened. Of course, brave knights in shiny armor crossed spears in duels, poets wrote wonderful poems, scholars wrote wise books, and monks showed miracles of service to God. Of course, bonfires blazed, wars and epidemics raged, terrible times of famine came. All this was, but it was together - both good and evil, and bad and good, and light and dark. The millennial era cannot be only “bad” or only “good”. It may seem to us either "bad" or "good" only if we are not familiar with it.
Where does our knowledge of the Middle Ages come from?
The Middle Ages are not that far from our time. And therefore, much more historical sources remained from the Middle Ages than from the ancient Eastern powers or, say, from the Roman Empire. Preserved cathedrals and churches, walls and towers of cities and castles. Even the names of the streets are sometimes the same as half a thousand years ago.
Almost every museum has medieval things - from a simple pottery shard or an arrowhead - to magnificent works of art: jewelry, paintings and icons, statues, and household items. Some of these things were carefully passed down from generation to generation and so have come down to us, while others were found by archaeologists during excavations of medieval cities and castles.
Much more written sources of the Middle Ages have survived than from previous centuries. Tens and hundreds of thousands of medieval letters are kept in special document storages - archives. Many manuscripts perished from fires, floods and wars, and they often die today. Therefore, historians try to publish as many old documents as possible in order to preserve them from any misfortunes and make them available to all scientists.
Many historians, poets and writers lived in the Middle Ages. They left us very important writings: stories that, as a rule, described the past of one of the people, chronicles (or, as they were called in Russia, chronicles), where year after year all the most important events were consistently recorded, as well as biographies of wonderful of people. Poems, novels and stories open to us the world of feelings of the people of the Middle Ages. For historians of economy and trade, even short and dry reports on trade transactions, invoices, receipts, and court proceedings are invaluable.
Many wonderful tales and legends about gods, heroes, and the first rulers were passed down orally - they were first written down centuries after they were composed. These legends are called epics. People's memory has preserved thousands of riddles, proverbs, conspiracies, which also often come from the depths of centuries.
Ethnographers (they study folk customs, rituals and everyday life) will confirm that peasant weddings and other rituals, children's games, holidays, clothes, utensils of peasants from the past and the beginning of this century very often repeated old patterns and can also tell us a lot about the Middle Ages.
Many generations of historians have been collecting bit by bit of knowledge about the Middle Ages. They have written thousands of books about this era, and every year more and more articles and books appear.
So, everything is already known?
Historians constantly argue among themselves, and not only over little things. Sometimes there is no agreement on the biggest problems, down to what the Middle Ages are all about. Dozens of different opinions can be found in the writings of modern historians, and it is very difficult, if not impossible, to choose the “only correct one” from them. One and the same events can be told in completely different ways, depending on the chosen angle of view.
Our tutorial is just one version ...
M .: MIROS, 1995 - 416 p .: ill.
Experimental history textbook medieval Europe, differs from traditional ones not only in the structure of the educational material, but also in that it pays great attention to the culture of that time.
History of the Middle Ages.
Boytsov M., Shukurov R. History of the Middle Ages: Textbook for the VII grade of secondary educational institutions.- M .: MIROS, 1995 - 416 p.: Ill.
An experimental textbook on the history of medieval Europe differs from traditional ones not only in structure teaching material, but also by the fact that it pays great attention to the culture of that time.
Foreword
Introduction. Faces of the Middle Ages
Chapter 1. The most confused of all troubled times (the Great Migration and the fall of the Roman Empire)
Chapter 2. East of the West (Byzantium in the IV-VI centuries. The emergence of Islam)
Chapter 3. Two empires (Frankish state and Byzantium in the 7th-9th centuries)
Chapter 4. Sails of the Vikings (Northern Europe in the VIII-XI centuries)
Chapter 5. On the way to Canossa and Jerusalem. (Empire vs. Papacy and Crusades)
Chapter 6. Plow and sword (Peasants and lords in the X-XII centuries)
Chapter 7. In the ring of walls and towers. (Medieval city in Western Europe)
Chapter 8. In search of the highest truth (Sages, heretics, scholars in the XII-XIII centuries)
Chapter 9. Strong of the world this (Famous sovereigns of the XIII century - Innocent III, Frederick I and Louis IX)
Chapter 10. At the turn (Europe in the XIV-XV centuries)
Conclusion
Chronological table
Barbaric peoples of Europe
Barbarian invasions of the lands of the Roman Empire
Byzantium and barbarian kingdoms in the 5th century
Merovingian state
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms
Byzantium in the middle of the 6th century
Arab Caliphate by the 8th century
The state of Charlemagne and its division in 843
Byzantium by the beginning of the 11th century
Campaigns of the Normans
Power of Kanuth the Mighty
Holy Roman Empire and its neighbors in the XII century
Religions and main churches in Europe by the beginning of the XII century.
First Crusade
Crusader possessions in the Middle East
Power of the Plantagenets in the XII century. and own possessions (domain) of the French kings
Reconquista stages
The oldest universities in Europe and the years of their foundation (XII-XV centuries)
The spread of the plague epidemic in Europe in the middle of the XIV century.
Area of German colonization in the Eastern Baltic
England and France during the Hundred Years War
Possession of the Burgundian Duke Charles the Bold
The emergence and growth of Switzerland
Foreword
There are a number of features in our textbook that a teacher should pay attention to. The wide use of almost unadapted material from historical sources, legal monuments and literary works of the era under study, placed “on equal terms” with the educational text, should help, according to the authors, create a “stereoscopic” image of the past, develop the independence of thinking of a young reader. In addition, the level of difficulty for different classes and individual students can be set by different degrees of elaboration of these additional texts.
The questions offered after the paragraphs and texts are rather additional than obligatory (which the teacher can easily formulate himself); they are, as a rule, rather complicated, not all of them have clear and unambiguous answers both in the textbook and, sometimes, and outside of it. We hope that they will force the student to think about what he has read, from a new side to consider the material that has seemingly been mastered and understood from a new angle.
When preparing this book, the authors got acquainted with old and modern textbooks from different European countries, as well as Russian ones - pre-revolutionary and Soviet. Naturally, the experience of the well-deservedly respected textbook by E.V. Agibalova and G.M.Donskoy was taken into account, according to which the authors themselves once studied. However, none of the existing books became a direct prototype for this edition.
The task that the authors set themselves was not to provide a set of historical examples confirming the truth of a predetermined sociological scheme. The sociological component is present here, of course, but it has a rather modest place. Within the framework of our textbook, first of all, the image of Europe in a certain historical era is proposed. The book was conceived as a key to medieval culture, or rather to that part of it that entered modern civilization. All the names and events mentioned in the book are not "antique museum collection" - they still live in books and films, in philosophical reflections and on art canvases ... This is the actual Middle Ages. Therefore, no less than a strict fact, we are also occupied by all kinds of legends included in the mosaic of modern world culture. A well-known myth is sometimes more significant than a specific circumstance, which only experts remember.
The chapters of the textbook on the history of Byzantium, the Islamic world, and the paragraph on the early Slavs belong to the pen of R. Shukurov. Both authors worked on § 5 together. The rest of the sections were written by M. Boytsov.
Boitsov M., Shukurov R.
History of the Middle Ages.
Boytsov M., Shukurov R. History of the Middle Ages: Textbook for the VII grade of secondary educational institutions.- M .: MIROS, 1995 - 416 p.: Ill.
Experimental tutorial on history of medieval Europe, is different
traditional not only by the structure of the educational material, but also by the fact that it contains a large
attention is paid to the culture of that time.
CONTENT
Foreword
Introduction. Faces of the Middle Ages
Chapter 1. The most confused of all troubled times (the Great Migration and the fall of the Roman Empire)
Chapter 2. East of the West (Byzantium in the IV-VI centuries. The emergence of Islam)
Chapter 3. Two empires (Frankish state and Byzantium in the 7th-9th centuries)
Chapter 4. Sails of the Vikings (Northern Europe in the VIII-XI centuries)
Chapter 5. On the way to Canossa and Jerusalem. (Empire's Struggle against the Papacy and the Crusades)
Chapter 6. Plow and sword (Peasants and lords in the X-XII centuries)
Chapter 7. In the ring of walls and towers. (Medieval city in Western Europe)
Chapter 8. In search of the highest truth (Sages, heretics, scholars in the XII-XIII centuries)
Chapter 9. The mighty of this world (Famous sovereigns of the 13th century - Innocent III, Friedrich I and
Louis IX)
Chapter 10. At the turn (Europe in the XIV-XV centuries)
Conclusion
Chronological table
CARDS
Barbaric peoples of Europe
Barbarian invasions of the lands of the Roman Empire
Byzantium and the barbarian kingdoms in the 5th century
Merovingian state
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms
Byzantium in the middle of the 6th century
Arab Caliphate by the 8th century
The state of Charlemagne and its division in 843
Byzantium by the beginning of the 11th century
Campaigns of the Normans
Power of Kanuth the Mighty
Holy Roman Empire and its neighbors in the XII century
Religions and main churches in Europe by the beginning of the XII century.
First Crusade
Crusader possessions in the Middle East
Power of the Plantagenets in the XII century. and own possessions (domain) of the French kings
Reconquista stages
The oldest universities in Europe and the years of their foundation (XII-XV centuries)
The spread of the plague epidemic in Europe in the middle of the XIV century.
Area of German colonization in the Eastern Baltic
England and France during the Hundred Years War
Possession of the Burgundian Duke Charles the Bold
The emergence and growth of Switzerland
Foreword
There are a number of features in our textbook that a teacher should pay attention to.
The wide use of almost non-adapted material from historical sources, monuments of law and literary works of the era under study, placed “on equal terms” with the educational text, should help, according to the authors, create a “stereoscopic” image of the past, develop the independence of thinking of a young reader. In addition, the level of difficulty for different classes and individual students can be set by different degrees of elaboration of these additional texts.
The questions offered after the paragraphs and texts are rather additional than obligatory (which the teacher can easily formulate himself); they, as a rule, are rather complicated, not all of them have clear and unambiguous answers both in the textbook and, sometimes, and outside of it. We hope that they will force the student to think about what he has read, from a new side to consider the material that has seemingly been mastered and understood from a new angle.
While preparing this book, the authors got acquainted with old and modern textbooks from different European countries, as well as Russian - pre-revolutionary and Soviet.
Naturally, the experience of the well-deservedly respected textbook by E.V.
Agibalova and G.M.Donskoy, according to which the authors themselves once studied. However, none of the existing books became a direct prototype for this publication.
The task that the authors set themselves was not to provide a set of historical examples confirming the truth of a predetermined sociological scheme. , of course, it is present, but it is assigned a rather modest place. Within the framework of our textbook, first of all, the image of Europe in a certain historical era is proposed. The book was conceived as a key to medieval culture, or rather to that part of it that entered modern civilization. All the names and events mentioned in the book are not "antique museum collection" - they still live in books and films, in philosophical reflections and on art canvases ... This is the actual Middle Ages. Therefore, no less than a strict fact, we are also occupied by all kinds of legends included in the mosaic of modern world culture. A well-known myth is sometimes more significant than a specific circumstance, which only experts remember.
The chapters of the textbook on the history of Byzantium, the Islamic world, and the paragraph on the early Slavs belong to the pen of R. Shukurov. Both authors worked on § 5 together. The rest of the sections were written by M. Boytsov.
Introduction. Faces of the Middle Ages
What's in the past?
Primitive societies, Egypt of the pharaohs, powers of Western Asia, early states
India and China, ancient Greece and Rome - all this is the ancient world. In ancient times, people learned how to make fire and smelt metals, build temples and build ships, write in hieroglyphs, cuneiform and letters. In ancient times, the Macedonian phalanxes and Roman legions went to battle, Assyrian war chariots and the cavalry of the Chinese emperors rushed into battle. In ancient times, the Egyptian pyramids, the Great Wall of China, the Athenian Acropolis and the Roman Colosseum were built. In ancient times, the Tower of Babel collapsed and Troy burned down, the Argonauts were looking for the golden fleece. In ancient times, the Olympic Games and human sacrifices were held. In ancient times, there lived Confucius and Buddha, Moses and Jesus Christ. How much this era has contained - the longest in the history of mankind. But in the V century. with the fall
The Roman Empire is coming to an end.
One and a half thousand years ago, with the collapse of Rome, a new era in world history began. It is usually called the Middle Ages, or the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages lasted for a thousand years until about the 15th century. it was not replaced by the New Time.
Dark Middle Ages?
The word "Middle Ages" was invented only when this era was approaching its end. And they understood this word something like this: there were bright times of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, when education, culture, reason reigned. In our time we are again becoming cultured and educated, no worse than in antiquity. What's in the middle? In the middle lie the dark centuries of general savagery, the general decline of Europe, the triumph of incredible prejudices.
Wasted time.
And now you can often find in newspapers and books, hear in radio and television programs the words about "the horrors of the Middle Ages", about "medieval torture" and even about "the night of the Middle Ages, illuminated only by bonfires on which freethinkers were burned." They say about something hopelessly outdated or simply scary: "Well, it's like in the Middle Ages!" This means that in the ideas of our contemporaries there is a gloomy image of the Middle Ages. It arose long ago, when the Middle Ages itself was still quite fresh in the memory. People are often very dissatisfied with everything that happened recently, and praise some distant times. Then, supposedly, it was easier and more fun to live, and it was even easier to breathe ...
The Light Middle Ages?
The further the Middle Ages went into the past, the clearer it became that they had their own merits in comparison with the times that had come. It even began to seem to some that the Middle Ages were the best era in history. After all, then money did not yet rule the world, smoky factory chimneys did not stick out everywhere, people did not possess such a deadly weapon as the current one. The middle ages were supposedly a time when they were able to especially appreciate the nobility, courage, dignity. This was the time of the knights, as it is described in the novels of W. Scott or the ballads of V. A. Zhukovsky.
But there were also wise kings and princes who defended their peoples from the invasions of cruel enemies, there were learned monks who comprehended the secrets of the universe and enlightened people, there were powerful and kind peasants who grew bread and saved the fatherland in difficult times!
As for the fires, on which someone was burned, the number of victims of "medieval barbarism" cannot even remotely compare with the number of innocent victims in our times, so proud of their enlightenment. So said those who "justified" the Middle Ages.
This is another image of the Middle Ages - light, or romantic. And each of us also has it, wonderfully adjacent to the gloomy one.
So where is the truth?
And not there, and not here. Both there and here. Neither the “gloomy” nor the “light” images of the Middle Ages fully correspond to what actually happened. Of course, brave knights in shiny armor crossed spears in duels, poets wrote wonderful poems, scholars wrote wise books, and monks showed miracles of service to God. Of course, bonfires blazed, wars and epidemics raged, terrible times of famine came. All this was, but it was together - both good and evil, and bad and good, and light and dark. The millennial era cannot be only “bad” or only “good”. It may seem to us either "bad" or
"Good" only if we are not familiar with it.
Where does our knowledge of the Middle Ages come from?
The Middle Ages are not that far from our time. And therefore, much more historical sources remained from the Middle Ages than from the ancient Eastern powers or, say, from
Roman Empire. Preserved cathedrals and churches, walls and towers of cities and castles. Even the names of the streets are sometimes the same as half a thousand years ago.
Almost every museum has medieval things - from a simple pottery shard or an arrowhead - to magnificent works of art: jewelry, paintings and icons, statues, and household items. Some of these things have been carefully transferred from generations after generations have come down to us while others were found by archaeologists during excavations of medieval cities and castles.
Much more written sources of the Middle Ages have survived than from previous centuries. Tens and hundreds of thousands of medieval letters are kept in special document repositories - archives. Many manuscripts perished from fires, floods and wars, and they often die today. Therefore, historians try to publish as many old documents as possible in order to preserve them from any misfortunes and make them available to all scientists.
Many historians, poets and writers lived in the Middle Ages. They left us very important writings: stories that, as a rule, described the past of one of the people, chronicles (or, as they were called in Russia, chronicles), where year after year all the most important events were consistently recorded, as well as biographies of wonderful of people. Poems, novels and stories open to us the world of feelings of the people of the Middle Ages. For historians of economy and trade, even short and dry reports on trade transactions, invoices, receipts, and court proceedings are invaluable.
Many wonderful tales and legends about gods, heroes, and the first rulers were passed down orally - they were first written down centuries after they were composed. These legends are called epics. People's memory has preserved thousands of riddles, proverbs, conspiracies, which also often come from the depths of centuries.
Scientists-ethnographers (they are studying folk customs, rituals and everyday life) will confirm that peasant weddings and other rituals, children's games, holidays, clothes,
the utensils of the peasants of the past and the beginning of the present century very often repeated ancient samples and can also tell us a lot about the Middle Ages.
Many generations of historians have been collecting bit by bit of knowledge about the Middle Ages. They have written thousands of books about this era, and every year more and more articles and books appear.
So, everything is already known?
Historians constantly argue among themselves, and not only over little things. Sometimes there is no agreement on the biggest problems, down to what the Middle Ages are all about. Dozens of different opinions can be found in the writings of modern historians, and choose from them
"The only correct" is very difficult, if not impossible. One and the same events can be told in completely different ways, depending on the chosen angle of view.
Our tutorial is just one version ...
Chapter 1. The most troubled of all troubled times
(Great Nations Migration and Fall
Roman Empire)
Waves of barbarian invasions swept across Europe. The great Roman Empire could not resist them and perished. In the place of the former power, several kingdoms of the conquerors of the Germans arose. History ends with the fall of the Roman Empire Of the ancient world and the history of the Middle Ages begins.
§ 1. Barbarians and others
The great powers of antiquity were proud and mighty. But also the largest empires
Darius and Alexander the Great, Rome and China, even taken together, occupied only a small part of the inhabited land. Beyond their borders began another - an endless and colorful world. The world of primitive tribes - we will say now. The world of the barbarians - a Roman, a Chinese or a Greek would say.
Non-barbarians knew all the intricacies of arable farming, viticulture, horticulture, knew how to build luxurious palaces, majestic temples, big cities. They reached heights in all forms of art and used writing.
The barbarians' agriculture was worse, they could only know about cities and writing by hearsay, but they usually understood better in hunting and cattle breeding.
Among the non-barbarians, there were very rich people. They could afford the most incredible pleasures. But their number was negligible. All the rest are people of moderate prosperity, or even simply poor. A noticeable layer at the very bottom of society consisted of slaves.
In the life of the barbarians, wealth did not play a big role. All were equally poor, but free and equal among themselves. Only the chiefs, elders, and priests enjoyed small advantages.
Non-barbarians have developed states. There were officials, taxes and armies.
The barbarians of the state did not yet know.
Non-barbarians despised barbarians for their savagery, rudeness of morals and were afraid of their cruel attacks.
Barbarians despised non-barbarians for their luxury and delicacy, for their passion for money and obedience to their authorities, but they feared their well-trained armies and all sorts of insidious inventions.
Many millennia ancient and medieval history these two so dissimilar worlds stood face to face: the world of primitive tribes and the world of civilizations. They were separated by mutual enmity and tied by mutual interest in each other. Bloody wars gave way to centuries of peaceful neighborhoods. Sometimes hordes of nomads wiped flourishing cities from the face of the earth, and from human memory
their names. Sometimes a foreign army appeared in the lands of the barbarians, forcing them to pay tribute to their sovereign, carry out his orders, and serve for him.
No matter how invasions of barbarians were destructive, civilizations over the centuries have conquered more and more space on the planet from the “other world”. Yesterday's barbarians turned into new barbarians. They could not isolate themselves from the influence of civilizations: from there merchants and warriors, preachers and fugitive criminals came to them. Barbarians could be hired to fight other barbarians; barbarians could be taken prisoner, turned into slaves, and after decades released to their homeland. The border between civilization and barbarians has always been "transparent", and the influence of civilizations on barbarians is strong. The "radiation" of civilizations is felt far beyond their borders.
But from time to time, the barbarian world becomes especially dangerous. From the Asian steppes or European forests, tribes emerge, destroying huge empires. These explosions occur when important changes begin among the barbarians themselves.
From equality to inequality
The primitive equality that existed among the barbarians could not last forever. In any tribes, sooner or later, it is replaced by inequality. Society begins to divide into powerful and weak, rich and poor. Appears to know. Initially, tribal elders are increasingly selected from the same families, honored for their services to the tribe. And then, as if by itself, it turned out that the elders could only be elected from these families.
Even more influential than the elders were the military leaders, renowned for their outstanding courage and fortune. The victory testified to the special chosenness of the leader, that he was pleasing to the gods. If the campaign was successful, the leader received the lion's share of the booty. Hot young people were drawn from everywhere to the successful leaders, thirsting for wealth and military exploits. In addition to the customary share of the spoils of war, the leader gave them generous gifts from his share. For this, the leader could count on the loyalty of his soldiers, on the fact that in a moment of danger they would not regret giving their lives for him. This is how the leader's squad appeared, personally devoted to him. The guards did not really like to do the housework, but preferred or get rich in war, or die honorably in battle. They were bored without war and demanded that the leader lead them on new and new campaigns. They remembered the glorious battles for a long time, told about them to children and grandchildren, so that they would try to be like the best of the leaders and their warriors. War becomes a matter of honor, the occupation of a real man.
And where to get hold of worthy prey, if not from rich neighbors, especially when they have internal strife or other troubles? Therefore, almost any weakening of the states of antiquity or the Middle Ages was followed by barbarian invasions. Barbarians were always there ...
Victory or defeat?
Sometimes clashes with barbarians turned out to be fatal for civilizations and ended in complete destruction for them. Deserts appeared in place of fields, cities and gardens. But there was also another outcome: the country conquered by the barbarians took the conquerors prisoner. She took prisoner not by force of arms, but by language, culture, traditions. The victors dissolved among the vanquished, and over time a new one was born on the ruins of a defeated civilization. Two previously mortally warring worlds merged in it ...
All the Middle Ages lived near the borders of European civilization barbarian tribes: the Slavs and Balts, Hungarians and Turks, Scandinavians and Mongols. The first place in this series, both in time and in importance for European history, is occupied, of course, by the Germans.
Questions and Answers
1. Based on the foregoing in the paragraph, give your own definition of civilization.
2. What examples of clashes between barbarians and civilizations in ancient times do you know?
History of the Middle Ages. M. Boytsov, R. Shukurov
Textbook for the VII grade of secondary educational institutions.
M .: 1995 - 416 p .: ill.
An experimental textbook devoted to the history of medieval Europe differs from the traditional ones not only in the structure of the educational material, but also in that it pays great attention to the culture of that time.
(A tutorial with pictures and maps, so the file size is large.)
Format: doc / zip
The size: 8, 8 Mb
Download:
RGhost
