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During the High Middle Ages, Europe witnessed a surge in architectural innovations and an intellectual revival. Beautiful
cathedrals appeared across Europe, and the intellectual revival gave rise to Europe's first universities.
Architecture
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How did innovations change the architecture of churches and cathedrals in the High Middle Ages?
The eleventh and twelfth centuries witnessed a dramatic building of churches in Europe. These cathedrals were built in the
Romanesque style. Romanesque churches normally followed the basilica shape of churches built in the late Roman Empire.
Romanesque builders replaced the basilica's flat wooden roof with a long, round, arched vault made of stone (called a barrel vault)
or with a cross vault, in which two barrel vaults intersected. The builder used the cross vault to create a church plan in the shape of a
cross. Because stone roofs were extremely heavy, these churches required massive pillars and walls to hold them up. This left little
space for windows, so Romanesque churches were dark inside.
A new style, called Gothic, appeared in the twelfth century and was brought to perfection in the thirteenth. The Gothic cathedral
remains one of the greatest artistic triumphs of the High Middle Ages. Two basic innovations made Gothic cathedrals possible.
One innovation was the replacement of the round barrel vault with a combination of ribbed vaults and pointed arches. Builders could
now make Gothic churches higher, giving a sense of upward movement, as if the building is reaching to God.
Another technical innovation was the flying buttress—a heavy, arched support of stone built onto the outside of the walls. Flying
buttresses made it possible to distribute the weight of the church's vaulted ceilings outward and down. This eliminated the heavy
walls needed in Romanesque churches to hold the weight of the massive barrel vaults. Gothic cathedrals were built, then, with
relatively thin walls filled with stained glass windows.
These windows depict religious scenes and scenes from daily life. The colored glass windows create a play of light inside the
cathedral that varies with the sun at different times of the day. The Gothic cathedral, with its towers soaring toward Heaven, bears
witness to an age when most people believed in a spiritual world.
Visualizing Imagine visiting a Romanesque church and then a Gothic church on a warm and sunny day. How might you describe
your experience?
Universities
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How did universities reflect the intellectual revival that occurred in Europe during the High Middle Ages?
The university of today, with faculty, students, and degrees, was a product of the High Middle Ages. The word university comes from
the Latin word universitas, meaning "corporation" or "guild."
The first European university appeared in Bologna (buh • LOH • nyuh), Italy. Students, men only, came from all parts of Europe to
learn law from the great teacher Irnerius. The University of Paris was the first university in northern Europe. In the late 1300s, many
students and masters (teachers) left Paris and started a university at Oxford, England. Kings, popes, and princes thought it was
honorable to found universities. By 1500, Europe had 80 universities.
Students began their studies with the traditional liberal arts—grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy.
Teachers lectured by reading from a basic text and adding explanations. After four to six years, students took oral examinations to
earn a bachelor of arts degree and later a master of arts. After about ten more years, students earned a doctor of law, medicine, or
theology.
The most highly regarded subject was theology—the study of religion and God. The study of theology was strongly influenced by a
philosophical system known as scholasticism. Scholasticism tried to reconcile faith and reason—to show that faith was in harmony
with reason. Its chief task was to harmonize Christian teachings with the works of the Greek philosophers. Aristotle reached his
conclusions by rational thought, not by faith, and his ideas sometimes contradicted Church teachings. In his major work, the
Proslogion, Anselm of Canterbury, a monastic theologian, made one of the first attempts in the eleventh century to demonstrate how
the truths of faith are compatible with reason. In fact, Anselm made an argument to prove by reason the existence of God.
In the 1200s, Thomas Aquinas (uh • KWY • nuhs) made the most famous attempt to reconcile Aristotle with the doctrines of
Christianity. Aquinas is best known for his Summa Theologica ("summa" was a summary of all knowledge on a topic). His
masterpiece followed a logical method of scholarly investigation. Aquinas first posed a question such as, "Does God exist?" He then
cited opposing opinions before coming to his own conclusions. He believed that truths arrived at through reason or faith could not
conflict with each other. Reason, without faith, could only reveal truths about the physical world, not spiritual truths. Aquinas also
believed, however, that humans, by using reason, could arrive at natural law, which is part of God's eternal law, and determine what
is inherently good or evil.
In the late 1260s, at the request of Pope Clement IV, the English philosopher Roger Bacon wrote Opus Majus, an encyclopedia
advocating a reformation of all sciences including logic, mathematics, physics, experimentation, and philosophy. Bacon emphasized
the importance of mathematics for the study of philosophy.
Summarizing What degrees could students obtain by going to university?
Vernacular Literature
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Why was the development of vernacular literature important during the High Middle Ages?
Latin was the universal language of medieval civilization. However, in the twelfth century, much new literature was being written in
the vernacular— the language of everyday speech in a particular region, such as Spanish, French, English, or German. A market for
vernacular literature appeared in the twelfth century when educated people at courts and in the cities took an interest in new sources
of entertainment.
Perhaps the most popular vernacular literature of the twelfth century was troubadour poetry, which was chiefly the product of nobles
and knights. This poetry told of the love of a knight for a lady, who inspires him to become a braver knight and a better poet.
Another type of vernacular literature was known as the chanson de geste, or heroic epic. The earliest and finest example of such
literature is The Song of Roland, which appeared around 1100 and was written in French. The chief events described in heroic epic
poems are battles in which knights fight courageously for their kings and lords.
In the fourteenth century, the English author Geoffrey Chaucer used the English vernacular in his famous work The Canterbury Tales.
This work consists of a collection of stories told by a group of 29 pilgrims, representing a range of English society, as they journeyed
to the tomb of Saint Thomas á Becket at Canterbury, England.
Connections to TODAY
Gothic Architecture
Grand Gothic cathedrals, such as Chartres and Notre Dame, influenced American architecture. The American Gothic revival produced St.
Patrick's Cathedral in New York City and university campuses such as Yale and Princeton.
Identifying What were two popular types of vernacular literature in the twelfth century?
Reviewing Vocabulary
1. Identifying What was the goal of scholasticism?
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Using Your Notes
2. Contrasting Use your notes to contrast churches built in the Romanesque style of architecture with churches built in the Gothic
style.
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Answering the Guiding Questions
3. Drawing Conclusions How did innovations change the architecture of churches and cathedrals in the High Middle Ages?
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4. Analyzing How did universities reflect the intellectual revival that occurred in Europe during the High Middle Ages?
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5. Evaluating Why was the development of vernacular literature important during the High Middle Ages?
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Writing Activity
6. EXPOSITORY Write an essay comparing and contrasting the curriculum of modern universities with the curriculum of universities
in the High Middle Ages.
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