The Flowering Of Christian Philosophy

During the Middle Ages, Christian theology was a chief influence of the period. Most of the problems during the Middle Ages included the relation of faith to reason, simplicity of God, the role of theology and metaphysics. This intrigue gave rise to the Christian philosophy as most individuals desired to know more regarding the religion. In supporting their arguments and discussions on Christianity, most philosophers of the era such as Augustine and Anselm presented various literature works, which talked on Christianity. Most of the works of the philosophers during the era comprised of written works. Emanating from the works of these philosophers, Christianity spread immensely making individuals to convert to Christianity.

The Middle Ages is seen as a period of rebirth of literature. Most of the early Middle Age books became painstakingly hand copied and were illustrated by monks. During the time, paper was a rarity made from calf’s skin, and parchment generated from lamb’s skin; these were the media choice, during the time, for writing (Thomson 62). Students, who took part in the learning process used to write on wooden tablets that were shielded in black or green wax. The vast number of books was bound with plain, wooden boards during the era; in case plain woods were not used, simple tooled leather was used. Simple tooled leather was most common with expensive volumes. During the era, new writing styles developed, and various scholars and poets were ready to apply the skills in their art work. Poets and scholars travelling to crusades learnt the upcoming writing styles; this led to the emergence of romantic prose by Courtly Love. Also, Troubadours sang in the courtyards about epic battles, which involved Arthur, Charlemagne and Roland (Thomson 82). Literature exploded from institutions as scholars questioned about the convention; this inspired them to write poetic fictions and social commentaries.

Also, during the Middle Ages, language developed further; lowercase and capital letters developed together with their rules in their usage. Books became treasures and were rare to find in the libraries. In case books were stocked in a library, it was remarkably difficult for a book to be shown openly; books were usually kept safely under lockers, which implied that access to books was limited since only those with the keys could access books. In fact, finding a person, who could loan a book to other individuals, was remarkably rare and to extent, impossible (Henderson 28). During the Roman period, the city of Rome was the capital of the civilized world while Latin became the literary language. Although Latin became he literary language, Greek continued to take stake as the spoken language in the entire Mediterranean basin. During the era, there were various outstanding writers, who included; Arrianus, Flavius, Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Dion Cassius among others. The 10th century Digenis Akritas epic is considered as the beginning mark of the Modern Greek vernacular literature (Henderson 97).

The term Dark Ages was initially intended to imply the entire era between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance. On the other hand, Middle Ages implied an intermediate period lying between Classical Antiquity and Modern era. Scholars became aware of the accomplishments met during the period, which made them challenge the image of the Middle Ages as the time of darkness and decay (Edward 47). Dark Ages emphasizes the economic and cultural deterioration, which took place in Europe after the decline of the Roman Empire. The term is an imagery representing a contrast between darkness during the period and light that followed. The era is characterized by scarcity of historical and other forms of written records for some areas of Europe. The concept of Dark Age developed from an Italian scholar, Petrarch in the 1330s. The term was intended as a condemnation of the appeal of Late Latin literature. However, historians later developed the term to imply the transition period between Roman and High Middle Ages. This included not only a lack of Latin literature, but also the lack of building activity, contemporary written history, and material culture. According to historians, the Middle Ages are viewed as an era of backwardness. Paucity of written records prompted the use of the term dark age; a lack of writers during this era could be illustrated through comparing the number of volumes from the 10th century with those of the preceding and following years. Reports indicate that there was a sharp drop from 33 volumes to 7 volumes in between the 9th and 10th century (Edward 62). The period lacked enlightenment writers, who could write the literature on Christianity. The enlightenment age came later during the 17th and 18th century, when most writers commenced writing on issues touching on Christianity. Most of the enlightenment writers, focused on wooing people to join Christianity; this was mostly through the written works and other art works. The Middle Ages were dominated with religious works unlike the dark ages, when literature on religion did not appear.

In 312 AD, Constantine declared Christianity as the state religion of the empire; this established a division in Western art. The magnificence of roman architecture and power of imperial imagery became harnessed; this helped to the adoption of Christianity. Although Christianity faced opposition as it was characterized with martyrdom, oppression and small churches, Constantine’s support of the Christianity led to the firm, establishment of Christianity. Writers commenced writing on Christian themes, and other art works emerged, which included buildings and paintings. Some of the most crucial artworks and buildings during the flowering of Christianity includes; the Vatican Necropolis, Mosaics of Rome and Ravenna, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The early Christian works were responsible for the increasing spread of Christianity. In addition, the literature work through paintings and buildings gave Christianity a high preference and dominance during the era.

Conclusion

The dark and Middle Ages had different meanings and connotations in the historians’ perspectives; the term Dark Ages, was initially intended to imply the entire era between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance. On the other hand, Middle Ages implied an intermediate period lying between Classical Antiquity and Modern era (Adams 43). Scholars became aware of the accomplishments met during the period, which made them challenge the image of the Middle Ages as the time of darkness and decay. In the dark ages, there was no written literature, which made passing of information cumbersome to individuals; however, during the Middle Ages, written literature existed, which could be used by people in putting them to light. It was during the Middle Ages that Constantine declared Rome a Christian state; this made Christianity have deeper growth since there was artwork, which supported Christianity (Dwyer 103). Various artists could express their emotions and feelings through paintings, buildings and even written literature showing their support for Christianity; this indicated the flowering of Christianity.

Works Cited

Dwyer, John.Church history: twenty centuries of Catholic Christianity, (1998). Print.

Edward, Grant. God and Reason in the Middle Ages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Print.

Henderson, George. Early Medieval (Revised ed.). New York: Penguin, 1977. Print.

Adams, Laurie Schneider. A History of Western Art (Third ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill, 2001. Print.

Thomson, John. The Western Church in the Middle Ages. London: Arnold, 1998. Print.