HST 121 - Culture: Education, Literature and Leisure Activities

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
                5. Architectural Changes
                    a. Romanesque: Roman basilica, barrel vaults [diagram, image]
                    b. Gothic: pointed arches, ribbed vaults, flying buttresses [diagram, image1, image2]
        C. Universities
                1. spin-offs from cathedral schools
                2. example: University of Paris; university classroom
                        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 were independent, self-governing institutions
                4. rediscovery of Aristotle in the 12th and 13th centuries
                        led to an emphasis on the teaching of logic in universities
                5. scholasticism: the main pedagogical method used in medieval
                        universities
                        a. Peter Abelard (1079-1142) - Sic et Non
                        b. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) - Summa Theologica

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 34: The Song of Roland
        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 35: 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

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

IV. Discussion: medieval dicing game called Glückhaus