Medieval Culture

I. Education
        A. Monasteries
                - emphasis on reading and philosophical contemplation
        B. Cathedral Schools
                1. growth of government bureaucracies and the papal monarchy
                2. need for scholars and administrators
                3. cathedral schools offered a much more active training 
                        than monastic schools (e.g., debate)
                4. seven liberal arts:
                        a. trivium (emphasized in cathedral schools)
                                1. grammar
                                2. rhetoric
                                3. logic
                        b. quadrivium
                                1. geometry
                                2. arithmetic
                                3. music
                                4. astronomy
        C. Universities [university classroom]
                1. often spin-offs from cathedral schools
                2. example: University of Paris
                        a. masters move to the left bank of the Seine
                                after conflicts with the cathedral of Notre Dame
                        b. eventually form a guild, referred to as universitas
                3. Universities in Britain
                        a. Oxford
                            1. center of training for clergy
                            2. Henry II bans English students from attending the 
                                    University of Paris (1167)
                            3. guild called a universitas by 1190
                        b. Cambridge
                            1. like Oxford, center of learning in the 12th c.
                            2. but really took shape as a university after 
                                    Oxford students arrived in 1209
                        c. other British universities
                            1. no others in England until 1800s
                            2. none in Wales and Ireland until after the Middle Ages
                            3. Scotland
                                a. St. Andrews founded in 1413
                                b. universities founded at Glasgow and Aberdeen in later 15th c.
                4. Inns of Court
                        a. developed in the late 14th and early 15th c.
                        b. not called a university; but they basically were one for training lawyers
                5. rediscovery of Aristotle in the 12th and 13th centuries
                        led to an emphasis on the teaching of logic in universities
                6. scholasticism: the main pedagogical method used in medieval
                        universities
                        a. Peter Abelard (1079-1142) - Sic et Non
                        b. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) - Summa Theologica
                        c. John Duns Scotus (1265-1308)

II. Literature
        A. Epic (chansons de geste = songs of great deeds)
                1. emphasized bravery, loyalty and heroism
                2. packed with action and gory battle descriptions
                3. for example, DOC 9: Beowulf
        B. Lyric poetry 
                1. Troubadour poetry
                        a. aristocratic pastime in southern France
                        b. main theme was unattainable love
                2. Goliardic poetry
                        a. non-aristocratic
                        b. main subjects: drinking, gambling and  men's 
                                sexual exploits with women
                        c. for example, DOC 27: Bacche bene venies
        C. Romance
                1. troubadour tradition of southern France merges with the
                        epic tradition of northern France to form the romance
                2. main subjects: heroic exploits and love
                3. for example, Chrétien de Troyes, Lancelot
        D. The Rise of English as a Written Language
                1. Early Middle Ages
                        a. writing dominated by the Church
                        b. mainly Latin
                2. High Middle Ages
                        a. clergy still writing in Latin
                        b. aristocratic/government documents in French
                3. Later Middle Ages
                        a. more and more people beginning to write in English
                        b. role of Wycliffe
                                - English translation of the Bible
                                    [excerpt from a 1430 copy (beginning of Book of John)]
                        c. role of Chaucer [DOC 28: The Canterbury Tales]

III. Leisure Activities
        A. aristocratic activities
                1. male activities: hunting (deer hunting) and tournaments (jousting)
                        also: fly-fishing, tennis
                2. male/female activities: chess, backgammon, cards, dice,
                        falconry, feast
        B. activities of common people
                1. male activities: wrestling, archery, football (soccer), other ball games,
                        drinking (outdoor tavern scene, indoor tavern scene)
                2. male/female activities: chess, backgammon, dice, swimming