In the middle ages 37

V

It is generally admitted that the feudal customs

and the manifestations of art born in France spread

thence into other countries, — and the Benedictines

of Cluny and of Citeaux were the principal agency

in this diffusion. In England the infiltration of

feudal customs is easily explained by the close re-

lations existing between the two countries ; and the

orders of Cluny and Citeaux swarmed thither like

bees from a hive. The abbey churches of St. Al-

bans and Malmesbury and Fountains Abbey were

built upon principles brought over from Nor-

mandy. But for all their borrowing, whatever it

may have been, they certainly possess the charm of

originality. Epic literature, however, which at-

tained such a high degree of perfection in Chaucer,

shows still the influence of the French fahliauoc.

For, in the twelfth and in the thirteenth centuries

"France, if not Paris, was in reality the eye and

brain of Europe, the place of origin of almost every

literary form, the place of finishing and polishing,

even for those forms which she did not originate. "^^

German historians, such as Lamprecht and

Steinhausen, recognize the same hegemony of

French ideas in Germany.^'' The Cistercians, who

2)oured forth from France, undertook in Gerrnany

15 Saintsbury, The Flourishing of Romance and the Rise of Alle-

gory, London, 1897, p. 266.

16 Steinhausen, Geschichte der deutschen Kultur, Bd. I, 1913, p.

312: "Frankreich wird das kulturell-fiihrende Land."

155633

38 PHILOSOPHY AND CIVILIZATION

and Bohemia and Hungary the work of clearing

the forests — which so changed the economic face of

Central Europe. But it was also Frenchmen who

introduced at the Swabian court the habits of cour-

tesy, — from the manner of greeting and the way

of comporting oneself at table to the habit of con-

trol and moderation in all things. The monks of

Cluny carried Romanesque architecture along the

Rhine, while the Cistercian monks became later the

propagators of Gothic architectiu'e.

Finally, Romanesque architecture borne on the

wings of French influence was carried, together

with chivalry, across the Alps. They crossed the

Pyrenees as well, and the Moorish genius imparted

its smile to the severer forms of Occidental art.

So, turn where we will, the twelfth century is a

constructive one; great forces are in the making,

though their action is not yet a combined one. The

local spirit, which splits France, England, and the

other countries into small feudal municipalities, and

is revealed even in the separate workshops of the

artists, appears in every detail of the organized

social and religious life.

€\

CHAPTER THREE

The Civilization as Reflected in Philosophy

i. Location of philosophical schools ; invasion of French

schools by foreigners, ii. Delimitation of the several sciences ;

philosophy distinct from the seven liberal arts and from the-

oloty. iii. Harmony of the feudal sense of personal worth

witn the philosophical doctrine that the individual alone

exists, iv. The feudal civilization and the anti-realistic solu-

tion of the problem of universale.

S uch a civilization was ripe for the things of the

spirit. And so it came about that culture, both

intellectual and philosophical, burst into bloom in

this flowering season of things mediaeval. As a

plant of rare nature, it shot up in the midst of an

exiberant garden. We shall limit ourselves to a

threefold consideration of the reflection of civiliza-

tiori in philosophy during the twelfth century:

nam^ely, the localization of schools; the definite dis-

tinction of the several branches of learning; the

affiritiation in philosophical terms of the worth of

human personality.

First, it was quite natural that 'philosophical life

should be subjected to the confinement of that same

local spirit which appeared everywhere.

39

40 PHILOSOPHY AND CIVILIZATION

All over France numerous independent schools

were gathered about the cathedrals and the abbeys.

Each was a child of liberty, a literary republic, de-

pending only on bishop or abbot ; for in the twelfth

and thirteenth centuries there was no government

control of education. Each school sought to out-

rival the others by increasing its library, by attract-

ing professors of renown, and by drawing students

to its intellectual tournaments.

This educational regime was salutary, for it pro-

moted the study of the sciences and raised a legion

of remarkable humanists, theologians, lawyers, and

philosophers. We need but cite the schools of

Cluny and Citeaux in Burgundy; of Bee in Nor-

mandy ; of Aurillac and of St. Martin at Tours ; of

Lobbes; of St. Omer; the cathedral schools of

Laon, of Chartres, of Rheims, of Paris; and many

others. All of them developed in the midst of

feudal principalities, in spite of the fact that the

overlords were generally at war. This was possi-

ble at that time because war interested only the

professional fighting men, and did not affect the

living conditions of any country as a whole. Among

the most famous teachers of the twelfth century

were Anselm of Laon, William of Champeaux,

Abaelard, Hugo and Richard of St. Victor, Adel-

ard of Bath, Alan of Lille, and the scholars of

Chartres ; but there were many others, whose names

will appear as we proceed. They liked to go from

one place to another, and we see a certain system of