The Middle Ages. Учебное пособие

2.cathedral

3.bishops and archbishops

4.vested powers

5.excommunicate

6.from birth to death

7.gain power and wealth

8.entirely

9.insufficient

10.to accommodate

11.the increased population

Ex. 3. Unscramble the ranks of clergymen and organize them in the 3 tier hierarchy.

CODEAN

TRIPES

PHOSBI

CRAPHEER

EOPP

DRAINCAL

CARVI

STIMNIER

PASTOR

CRABOPHISH

Ex. 4. Translate the sentences paying attention to the words in bold.

1.After the fall of Rome, no single state or government united the people who lived on the European continent.

2.Instead, the Catholic Church became the most powerful institution of the medieval period.

3.Kings, queens and other leaders derived much of their power from their alliances with and protection of the Church.

4.In 800 CE, for example, Pope Leo III named the Frankish king Charlemagne the “Emperor of the Romans” — the first since that empire’s fall more than 300 years before.

5.Over time, Charlemagne’s realm became the Holy Roman Empire, one of several political entities in Europe whose interests tended to align with those of the Church.

6.Ordinary people across Europe had to “tithe” 10 percent of their earnings each year to the Church; at the same time, the Church was mostly exempt from taxation.

7.These policies helped it to amass a great deal of money and power.

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Ex. 5. Find the antonyms.

Ex. 6. Find the proper prepositions in the text to fill in the gaps.

Religion ………… the Middle Ages was dominated ……….. Christianity. It is the era in which the great cathedrals ………… Europe were built and the Catholic Church started its universities …………. Paris, Tubingen, Cambridge and Oxford.

………….the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church was the only church in Europe. The laws ………….. the land and leading roles ………… the government were all

………… the hands …………. the leading church leaders like bishops and archbishops.

It was an era when the vested powers ………. the hands of the Pope were so great that he could even excommunicate a king …………. a misdeed. ………. birth

………. death, the life of the medieval people was dominated entirely ……………

the church and many religious institutions gained power and wealth. Large Cathedrals were built when the traditional Roman style churches became insufficient

………….accommodating the increased population ……….. the twelfth Century. Lausanne Cathedral and Regensburg Cathedral are ………… the most famous one built …………… this age, they are known ………….. their architecture.

Ex. 7. Complete the sentences with the words from the box below.

monasteries robes Benedict Christianity

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Various …………. orders were followed by the Catholic ………… of which the Benedictines and Cistercians were …………. popular. The Benedictines or followers of St. …………. wore black robes and lived in ……………… built in towns or in the countryside. On the other …………, the Cistercians wore white …………. and remained in remote areas to avoid distraction in their prayers. A new …………. was found towards the later Middle Ages by the name of Friars for spreading……………. The friars also took religious …………. and lived in religious communities. But

…………… monks, they could leave their priories every day for ……………. their religion to the masses.

Ex. 8. Match the word on the left to their definitions on the right.

Ex. 9. Translate the texts, pay attention to the underlined expressions. Summarize information given in the texts.

A. The Catholic Church was the major unifying cultural influence, preserving Latin learning and the art of writing, and maintaining a centralized administration through its network of bishops. Some regions that had previously been Catholic were occupied by Arian Christians, which raised debates over orthodoxy. Clovis I of the Franks is a well-known example of a barbarian king who chose Catholic orthodoxy over Arianism. His conversion marked a turning point for the Frankish tribes of Gaul. Bishops were central to Middle Age society due to the literacy they possessed. As a result, they often played a significant role in shaping good government. However

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beyond the core areas of Western Europe there remained many peoples with little or no contact with Christianity or with classical Roman culture. Martial societies such as the Avars and the Vikings were still capable of causing major disruption to the newly emerging societies of Western Europe.

B. The Early Middle Ages also witnessed the rise of monasticism within the west. Although the impulse to withdraw from society to focus upon a spiritual life is experienced by people of all cultures, the shape of European monasticism was determined by traditions and ideas that originated in the deserts of Egypt and Syria… Monastic ideals spread from Egypt to western Europe in the fifth and sixth centuries through hagiographical literature such as the Life of Saint Anthony. Saint Benedict wrote the definitive Rule for western monasticism during the sixth century, detailing the administrative and spiritual responsibilities of a community of monks led by an abbot. Monks and monasteries had a deep effect upon the religious and political life of the Early Middle Ages, in various cases acting as land trusts for powerful families, centers of propaganda and royal support in newly conquered regions, bases for mission and proselytization, or outposts of education and literacy.

Ex. 10. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words derived from the ones given in brackets.

The monks and nuns in the ___________ (Christ) monasteries had to live by the rules set by St Benedict and were known as Benedictines. They were __________

(forbid) the right to their own property, to leave the monastery or get involved in worldly concerns and desires. They had to perform manual labour and follow the stringent ___________ (regulate) of the Church. Monks and nuns of this era were generally well educated; they devoted their entire lives to _________ (learn) and writing. ___________ (Vary) scriptures on history and science in the era were written by monks.

The monasteries also served as a place for the preservation of the knowledge and learning of classical world. Monks were __________ (courage) to copy

_________ (value) manuscripts in various languages making monasteries a haven for learning. Pilgrimages were also an important religious ___________ (act) of the medieval people.

Ex. 11. Translate the text.

Роль церкви в жизни западноевропейского средневекового общества была всеобъемлющей: религия и церковь заполняли всю жизнь человека феодальной эпохи от рождения до смерти. Церковь претендовала на то, чтобы управлять обществом, и выполняла множество функций, которые позднее стали принадлежать государству. Средневековая церковь была организована на

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строго иерархических началах. Во главе ее стоял римский первосвященник — папа, имевший собственное государство в Средней Италии, ему были подчинены архиепископы и епископы во всех странах Европы. Это были крупнейшие феодалы, обладавшие целыми княжествами и принадлежавшими к верхушке феодального общества. Церковь сосредоточила в своих руках огромную власть: короли и сеньоры, нуждаясь в ее помощи, осыпают ее подарками и привилегиями, стараются купить ее расположение и содействие.

В беспокойное феодальное время люди стремились под защиту монастыря. Монастырь же был и самым взыскательным хозяином, сохранявшим наиболее тяжелые формы феодальной эксплуатации. Церковь являлась крупнейшим землевладельцем феодального мира и неустанно умножала свои материальные богатства.

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ADDITIONAL READING

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By Flocel Sabaté

Over recent centuries, the need to consider the predominant Christian religion in order to understand the Middle Ages has been repeated frequently, but generally from deductive postures in one sense or another. In the 18th century, Voltaire linked almost all the events of the medieval period with the effects of Christianity. After asking himself about the success of monasticism, he linked it to the reasoning relating to the omnipresence of Christianity in the Middle Ages…

In a diametrically opposite sense, several decades later, Chateaubriand attributed chivalry, idealised as the most poetic moment in history, to Christianity: The only poetical period of our history, the age of chivalry, likewise belongs to it: the true religion possesses the singular merit of having created among us the age of fiction and enchantment.

The triumph of the bourgeoisie and the maintenance of the Church in the 19th century led to a view of the Middle Ages based on the positive aspects of the urban elites struggling for progress, freedom and culture, and the softening of customs to the Church, both opposed to the nobles, who were identified with oppression and the old regime. Thus, it is not difficult to find passionate eulogies of the medieval Church among certain authors in the early 20th century.

<…>. If our purpose is to know what medieval society was like, religion and all its setting, both conceptual and institutional, must be analysed together with its role in medieval society. Then its contribution will be appreciated in three linked facets: spreading the dominant ideology, building a certain memory applied to society, and the collective acceptance of a specific identity. The link between ideology, memory and identity becomes a programme for interpreting the Middle Ages and clearly ties in with the role of the Church and Christianity in this period.

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Firstly, the Church was responsible for promoting a worldview that placed medieval men and women at the centre of a world. This was accepted and explained coherently and confidently. Physical explanations, clearly separated from the religious, were given thanks to the incorporation of Aristotelian ideas in the 13th century. However, the complementarity turns reason and faith into two aspects of the same understanding of reality.

Thus, the highest elements of the faith can equally be attained through reason: five rational arguments conclude the existence of God, and the high point of latemedieval Christian existence, the presence of God in the Eucharist, is reached through a simple physical formula, because trans-substantiation would be nothing other than the maintenance of the form and the alteration of the material, in accordance with Aristotelian physics.

Similarly, the supernatural places, heaven and hell, fully match the physical descriptions of the composition of the atmosphere and the inside of the earth. This even includes purgatory, where one repents temporarily for lesser sins, with an entrance on Station Island in Lough Derg, Republic of Ireland and another on the Sicilian volcano, Mount Etna.

This match is easily explicable, given that nature and religion both derive from the same divine scheme. Coherently, unravelling the meaning of the world is the gradual way to advance our knowledge of the rules laid down by God. Knowledge of God’s scheme of things would also be the best way to address coexistence. Significantly, the model for explaining a society that has to be structured around a feudal tri-functional order arose within the Church.

The theoretical justification for a Christian market society arose from the same origins some centuries later and in the late-medieval urban setting. This required the Church to be able to adapt to the different socioeconomic stimuli. There was a clear evolution in the acceptance of wealth. Thus, at the end of the 12th century in Lleida, it was said that the devil entered the city disguised as a merchant.

Later, in the 13th century, the writer Ramon Llull presented the idealised biography of Evast, a merchant at the end of his life, who, after bringing up his son, understands that the best course of action would be to donate his goods to the poor and adopt the religious life.

However, at the same time, in Paris, it was being said that the Church was set up by merchants and that the knights had need of these.

Finally, in the 14th century, Francesc Eiximenis, the most influential moralist in the Crown of Aragon at that time, explained that merchants were essential for all the elements that made up society <…>.

Morals were adapted to new realities, and the deadly sins adopted social characteristics: moving away from the early medieval cloister, in the late Middle Ages, avarice was linked to speculation on the prices of goods, and sloth was defined as a sin against society as laziness at work.

Faced with these changes, the Church offered to elucidate doubts about the correct interpretation. Its position was favoured by its monopoly on intercession with divinity. This meant great power, especially among the population<…>.

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Unit 8

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“Political ambition and greed for worldly gain often supplanted gallant morals and chivalry, and conditions on the ground frequently necessitated unlikely or (in the eyes of some) immoral alliances, the turning of a blind eye to illegal or morally questionable activities, and various forms of brutality.”

Niall Christie

CHRISTIAN CAMPAIGNS AGAINST OTHER RELIGIONS

Since Christianity was the dominant religion during the Middle Ages, attempts to purify the church and society led to many Christian campaigns against other religions. These campaigns were led by bishops, scholars and warriors who made efforts to make the Christian world free of all the non-Christians. This included Jews, Muslims and Pagans and Gypsies. Jews in fact suffered the most as they were considered to be the greatest threat to Christianity.

Anti-Semitic hatred was increased among the common masses by quoting biblical texts which put the blame of the crucifixion of Christ on the Jews. They were banished from various European countries. They were in fact skilful tradesmen and goldsmiths in the whole of Europe, because all those works that were dealing with money were considered not pure by the Catholics. Judaism in the Middle Ages was thus practiced in private to avoid persecution.

Islam was in its golden period during the Middle Ages. The philosophers, scientists and engineers of the Islamic World contributed greatly to knowledge, arts, civilization and architecture. The spread of this religion was perceived as a threat to Christianity. The Muslims were increasing their territory in fighting wars with Christian and Hindu rulers. The Pope Urban II in 1095 proclaimed a “holy war” against Islam with the conquest of Jerusalem by Islamic Turks.

The Church very subtly played on the psychology of the common people by giving them assurance that their sins would be forgiven if they would fight for this “holy war” too. Thousands of innocent lives were taken in the name of religion. Disagreements within Christianity itself were reason enough. The Church would call a bad Christian a heretic and his belief as heresy. A heretic would generally be burnt at the stake.

Ex. 1. Answer the questions.

1. What led to many Christian campaigns against other religions?

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2.Who were these campaigns led by?

3.Why did the Jews suffer the most?

4.What was anti-semitic hatred among the common masses increased by?

5.Why was Judaism practiced in private in the Middle Ages?

6.What was Islam like during the Middle Ages?

7.When did the Pope Urban II proclaim a Holy War against Islam?

8.Prove that the Church very subtly played on the psychology of the common people?

Ex. 2. Give the appropriate Russian variant of the words and expressions given below.

1.dominant religion

2.to purify the church

3.to make effort

4.hatred was increased

5.the blame of the crucifixion

6.to avoid persecution

7.contributed to

8.the spread of this religion

9.a threat to Christianity

10.to give smb. assurance

11.to be burnt at the stake

Ex. 3. Give the appropriate translation of the sentences.

1.In medieval Europe, Christianity, and specifically Roman Catholicism, dominated all aspects of life in Europe, influencing everyone from kings to beggars.

2.All aspects of medieval life had church doctrine at their root, and the church’s influence was felt from the religious courts to the secular courts and politics.

3.While the church concerned itself with overseeing ecclesiastical regulations, such as heresy and witchcraft, it also looked at secular issues.

4.In short, church law defined life in the Middle Ages.

5.Matrimonial cases too were considered like matters relating to the legitimacy of children, recording of marriages, wills and personal property.

6.When Christianity became the state religion of Rome, church canonical law began to develop along with Roman legislative law, and became the main legal system of the medieval world.

7.Canons were laws based on the original teachings of Christ’s apostles that governed both the hierarchy of the church and the lives of Christians.

8.Through Canon Law, the church was able to claim authority over secular rulers, often causing a great deal of conflict between the church and various states.

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9.Canon law became the foundation of both civil and common law, using Roman Justinian legislative law as a basis for the overview of its structure.

10.This legal system used an inquisitorial style of legal proceedings, where panels of judges investigated claims and superseded those involved.

11.The pope, as the head of the church, was the final authority on Christian law.

Ex. 4. Read the text and fill in each gap with the appropriate word from the list.

Heresy was expressly………………. If someone denied church …………….. , but declared himself Christian, he was ……………. of dissent against the church and therefore all of society. The church judged all cases of ……………. and had several different responses, which included ………………… and hanging. A heretic also had the chance to revoke his …………….. and reclaim those of the church. Jews and Muslims ……………….. medieval Europe alongside Christians, although they were the …………….. and their religions were outlawed.

views populated minority heresy guilty forbidden excommunication doctrine

Ex. 5. Fill in the crossword.

Lto put (a person) outside the law and deprive of its protection

Ethe act of continually treating in a cruel and harmful way

Ga person who does not acknowledge your god

Iany serious offence, as against a religious or moral principle

Ta feeling of intense dislike; enmity

Ia method of putting to death by nailing or binding to a cross

Mof ordinary standard; average

Ato expel from a place, esp by an official decree as a punishment

Cnot concerned with or related to religion

Y to free (a person, etc) from sin or guilt

Ex. 6. Find the proper prepositions in the text to fill in the gaps.

Since Christianity was the dominant religion ……… the Middle Ages, attempts to purify the church and society led ……… many Christian campaigns

……… other religions. These campaigns were led ……… bishops, scholars and

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warriors who made efforts to make the Christian world free …… all the nonChristians. This included Jews, Muslims and Pagans and Gypsies. Jews ……… fact suffered the most as they were considered to be the greatest threat to Christianity.

Anti-Semitic hatred was increased ……… the common masses by quoting biblical texts which put the blame ………… the crucifixion of Christ ……… the Jews. They were banished ……… various European countries. They were in fact skilful tradesmen and goldsmiths ………… the whole of Europe, because all those works that were dealing ……………. money were considered not pure ……… the Catholics. Judaism in the Middle Ages was thus practiced ……… private to avoid persecution.

Ex. 7. Translate the sentences paying attention to the words in bold.

1.He has been accused of inciting racial hatred.

2.The legend goes that after the Crucifixion his conscience troubled him, and he fled from Jerusalem and wandered about the earth, weary of life and a prey to tortures of the mind.

3.I honor those good men and women for their noble daring, and applaud them for willingly subjecting themselves to bloody persecution, by openly avowing their participation in the escape of slaves.

4.Suppose there were to be doubts raised as to the validity of your marriage or the legitimacy of your child?

5.The younger men decided to leave the Fortress; three of them left the Order entirely and became members of the secular community.

6.The Spanish Inquisition charged him with sinning against God and man.

7.There are means, incredibly elaborate, to test and purify possible members before they even realize the society exists.

8.He must publicly banish the entire Orsini family from the Holy Roman Catholic Church.

Ex. 8. Read about two heresies and find information about some others.

While the Church benefited from popular religious enthusiasm, it also confronted new challenges to dogma — new forms of popular “heresy.” Catharism was one of the great heresies of the period. Cathars argued that there were two gods — a god of good, and a god of evil. They believed that the good god would reward spiritual devotion with holy grace, and cast out the evil of the evil god. The heresy of Waldensianism was even more popular than Catharism. The Waldensians

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