Europe In Transition, The Late Middle Ages

[Music] [Music] [Music] this film portrays the life of the European people from 1200 to 1500 as recorded in paintings and book illuminations in the centuries gone by these works of art have become Treasures of museums and libraries throughout the world we have painstakingly collected these documents to be presented in this film the names of many of the artists are unknown but their paintings bring a period of of History to light which has left us a rich Heritage the three pillars of medieval Europe were the church the Emperors this is the crown of the Holy Roman Empire and the nobility which was powerful because of the feudal system instead of governments and Nations Europe was formed by by these three institutions the church had been an important force of medieval life since its beginning in times of political chaos it had maintained Law and Order but in the late Middle Ages its Authority was challenged great conflicts eventually led to the Reformation yet in these centuries of transition the church continued to direct many important aspects of life religion dominated the minds of the people life was hard and man was unable to conquer its many dangers and so he centered all his thoughts on the promise of the hero after there were many conflicts a Time strong and ambitious Emperors became great Rivals to the church Europe was often divided when the monarchs were competing with the popes for the loyalties of the people [Music] the third powerful group were the Nobles somewhere at the top of the feudal pyramid the word feudal is derived from feudum meaning land and explains that survival depended on land it had to be made productive by hard manual labor next to land protection was most important the population was yet sparse and life could be very dangerous in such isolation and so each class from the Emperors down to the peasants granted land and protection to the lower classes and exchange for services the lower classes form 90% of Europe's population they found security by living on the Noble's estate that was called a Manor where the castle was built as a heavy Fortress working the land for the Nobles The Peasants and surfs lived humbly and in poverty they were offered few rights and almost no opportunities to rise above their class but eventually their status of inferiority was to change in 1215 King John pressured by the Barons issued the Magna carter in England history regards this document as the first written guarantee of Rights granted to the Nobles and the common people but as long as the feudal system lasted the Nobles wasted little thought on the welfare of their surfs yet to understand this period we must remember that there was continuous Warfare this led the Warriors to uphold a remarkable ideal the ideal of Knighthood for which they were trained since they were about 6 years old unlike today the opportunities for betterment by learning were few it was much more important to learn the use of arms for defense ah to be a knight this honor was bestowed upon a young Noble for an act of great bravery Knighthood stood for many things for discipline courage and loyalty in Warfare for protection courtesy and generosity towards women and children and then there were the wandering minstrels who sang of love and heroic deeds and who opened the hearts of the people to poetry and music they were always welcome at the lonely castles for they brought gity into a world filled with Superstition and haunted by fears medieval man had no scientific explanation of Nature's phenomena he believed in Devils Spooks and Spirits they were as real to him as God and the angels as the feudal system was turning into a new order so was the era of the fighting Knights coming to a close since the 13th century the fortifications around the castles no longer offered protection for gunpowder had come to Europe gunpowder a new force that forecasts the opening of our modern times yeah yes great changes were taking place in the late Middle Ages strangely enough the Crusades undertaken for religious enthusiasm brought about benefits entirely different than anticipated they hasten Europe's progress by the opening of great new trade routes to the Middle East when trade expanded more and better Road were needed now the artists who painted these Miniatures were really reporters for they recorded the most important development the building of cities along trade routes this is the town of Sienna Italy painted around [Music] 1330 many others just like it developed all over [Music] Europe for the people who had hardly ever left the small community of the Village Manor these new towns were exciting places to live in towns needed shopkeepers and Merchants Craftsmen and skilled workers and so a new class arose the middle class this really meant the birth of our modern society but progress is never made by Prosperity alone the best thing that City Life offered was a new personal freedom that the peasants and surfs had never known as the merchants in the cities grew Rich their own representative brought their credentials to the Kings and the Nobles to bargain and pay for more privileges this was the start of democratic reforms and representative government another very important change was the use of money instead of bartering along with money came credit and direct taxes and as we can see already then people were busy counting their profits the wealthy members of the middle class were proud of their accomplishments and commissioned the most famous artists to paint their portraits there was an outburst of artistic creativity especially in Italy and the Netherlands where artists began to study anatomy and perspective we detect a a new lifelike realism in these Masterworks of [Music] painting while Europe was in the process of such changes a stupendous disaster struck in 1348 the epidemic of the Black Death Bubonic plague supposedly carried by Rats from the East killed from 30 to 60 million [Music] people horror followed in its wake for Generations such a fear Came Upon the people that they thought the world was coming to an end but maybe because of the suffering it brought about the Fatal plagues served as a warning knowledge was necessary to prevent the dreaded epidemics and to improve medical treatment the first hospitals were founded that provided nursing care for many centuries the monks had given the people the only education that was available now knowledge was offered to a growing number number of students in Europe's first great universities that had been founded in the 13th century this page of the Gutenberg Bible was the first book ever printed around 1450 the great invention of printing with movable type literally changed the world also a new cheaper paper who was being manufactured these contributions made books the source of knowledge available to one and all what began as a small seed is still growing with a new period of the Renaissance modern man had emerged ignorance and Superstition were supplanted by knowledge and logic centuries of transition gave us our heritage on which to build and numerous events contributed to the great intellectual Awakening perhaps the most important event occurred in 1492 with the discovery of an unknown continent with the Bold Crossing of an ocean man set out to master to the elements and to explore the [Music] world e e