When did the West (Europe) arrive?

The Middle Ages (about 395- 1500) is an era in the history of Europe (mainly in Western Europe), from the end of the Western Roman Empire to the rise of totalitarianism after the Renaissance. The word "Middle Ages" was used by humanists in the late15th century. Europe in this period did not have a strong regime to rule. Feudal separatism brought frequent wars, which led to the stagnation of science and technology and productivity, and people lived in hopeless pain. Therefore, the Middle Ages or early Middle Ages are generally called "dark ages" in Europe and America. Traditionally, it is considered as a period of relatively slow development in the history of European civilization.

Another view is that until the 9th century, according to St. Augustine's view, most ancient scholars believed that human beings were in the sixth and last stage of history, that is, the "doomsday" predicted by the Bible in Revelation, so it had a dark meaning. Historians generally believe that the term "Dark Age of the Middle Ages" was invented by Petrarch, the 14 humanist in the Italian Renaissance. He traveled around Europe, rediscovering and publishing classic Latin and Greek works, aiming at restoring Latin language, art and culture from Roman classics. He thinks that the changes and events that have taken place since the fall of Rome in 4 10 A.D. are not worth studying. Humanists look at history not according to Augustine's religious terms, but according to social (academic) terms, that is, through classical culture, literature and art; Therefore, humanists call this 900-year period of classical culture stagnation the "dark period".

Petrarch divided European history into two stages: one was the period of ancient Rome and ancient Greece; The second is the "dark period". Humanists also believe that one day the Roman Empire will rise again and restore the purity of classical culture. /kloc-at the end of 0/4th century/kloc-at the beginning of 0/5th century, humanists thought that a modern era had begun, so logically speaking, a "Middle Ages" had been formed.

Therefore, starting from humanists, historians also hold negative views on "the dark ages" and "the Middle Ages". In the reformation of Protestants in 16 and 17 centuries, Protestants also wrote the corruption of Catholicism into this history. In response to Protestants' accusations, Catholic reformers also gave the opposite picture to the "dark period": a period of social and religious harmony, which was not dark at all. Many negative views about the "dark period" in modern times come from 17,1the works of Kant and Voltaire during the Enlightenment in the 8th century.

/kloc-At the beginning of the 9th century, the Romantic Movement changed this negative and one-sided trend into a "dark period". It gives a peaceful picture: the harmony between society and environment is rooted in the life of nature; At the same time, it also responded to the rationalism in the Enlightenment that rationality completely surpassed sensibility, and the environmental damage and pollution caused by the rising industrial revolution. Through the customs and historical events displayed, we can still see the romantic views about the "dark period" in some cultural activities and festivals celebrating that period today.

In the second half of the19th century after the Romantic Movement, archaeology has made great progress, and many historical documents and cultural relics unknown to predecessors have been excavated and sorted out. 1939 The discovery of Sutton Hu and the research of Charles H. haskins, a famous scholar in medieval studies, make "dark period" no longer seem to be an appropriate word. After World War II, the word "dark period" gradually disappeared from the literature of professional scholars in English-speaking countries.

Charlie Haskin wrote: "The continuity of history excludes the possibility of great differences between the following two historical periods-the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Modern research shows that the Middle Ages were not as dark and stagnant as once thought. The Renaissance was neither so bright nor so sudden. Before the Italian Renaissance, there was a similar movement, although it was not so extensive.

Therefore, the original "dark period of the Middle Ages" was changed to refer to the European history from 4 10 years (or 455 years) to 754 years (or 800 years).

history

With the medieval castles of the Western Roman Empire destroyed by the Germans, a number of barbarian countries appeared one after another. Lumbard, Odyak, Burgundy, Vandal-Alan, Eastern Gothic, Visigoth, Anglo-Saxon and other kingdoms were established successively. There are wars between kingdoms, among which Anglo-Saxon and Frankish kingdoms have existed for a long time.

As a branch of the Germans, the Franks defeated the Gaul army in 486, and Clovis established the rule of the Mei Tam dynasty. Clovis, by uniting with the Vatican, occupied all the territory of the Roman Empire in Gaul. With the continuous expansion of the Frankish kingdom, in the middle of the 6th century, it conquered some tribes in Burgundy, Thuringia, Bavaria and Saxony, became the most powerful country in Western Europe at that time, and established a feudal manor system. In 75 1 year, the palace gnome Paiping became the king of Franks and established the Carolingian dynasty. During Charlemagne's reign, the national strength reached its peak, including the annexation of Lombardy, the occupation of the Spanish border area, the occupation of eastern Bavaria and the conquest of awar Khan. Most of the land in western Europe became the territory of the Frankish kingdom. After Charlemagne's death, the Frankish kingdom was divided by the war between brothers. In August, 843, treaty of verdun signed the agreement, which was divided into West Frankish Kingdom, East Frankish Kingdom and Italian Kingdom. The territory of modern France, Germany and Italy is based on this treaty.

Another Germanic branch, the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, entered the British Isles in the middle of the 5th century. Seven kingdoms were formed at the end of the 6th century and the beginning of the 7th century, which was called the Seven Kingdoms Period in British history. In 829, the kingdom of Wessex annexed six other kingdoms, and England was born. 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, France, claimed to inherit the throne by blood. After being rejected, he seized the British throne by force, and was called "William the Conqueror" (that is, William I), and established the Normandy Dynasty, but it also caused the root of the Hundred Years' War in the future. During the reign of Henry I (1100-1135), with the strengthening of kingship, social contradictions intensified. 12 15 John (Landless) was forced to sign the Magna Carta of Freedom. 1264 during the civil war, Henry III was captured by Simon de montfort. 1265, montfort called the parliament, which became the beginning of the British parliament. From 1343, your guild was divided into an upper house composed of nobles and a lower house representing knights and citizens, and a parliamentary monarchy was established. At the same time, the western Frankish kingdom evolved into the French kingdom, and the kingship was strengthened. The Vatican was forced to move to avignon in the south of France, and held three-level meetings from top to bottom (the first level was a senior priest, the second level was a noble, and the third level was a wealthy citizen), which also formed a parliamentary monarchy.

The local government of the East Frankish Kingdom, the predecessor of Germany, was very strong. 9 1 1 After the Carolingian dynasty, the king was elected by local dignitaries, but he was more honorary, and his rights were equal to those of local governors. This feature is considered by historians to be the reason why it is keen on external expansion. In 95 1 year, Otto I led troops to occupy Lumbard, and then Otto II marched into Rome. 1 155, Frederick I captured Milan, and the Pope crowned it as the Holy Roman Empire. In its heyday, the territory included all of Germany, central and northern Italy, Sicily, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Estonia and Prussia. In Frederick I, he was defeated by the resistance of 15 city (Lombardy League). Frederick I drowned in the Third Crusade and the occupied area became independent.

culture

Italy has never been unified. In order to maintain his independent status, the Pope established a papal state and forged the document of "Constantine Gift", claiming that Constantine the Great gave Rome, Rutland Palace and other places to the Pope. The church is very strict and controls the culture and education in western Europe. Priests can't get married, advocate abstinence, and ask people to give everything to God in order to go to heaven after death. On the other hand, the sale of clergy is very serious. We advocate scholasticism such as trinity and original sin theory, strictly control the spread of scientific ideas, set up inquisition to punish heresy, and school education also serves theology. During the period of Pope Gregory I (590-604), ancient Roman libraries were also set on fire.

After the Reformation in Germany, the Renaissance came into being in Italy and spread to many European countries. There have emerged many philosophers, writers, artists and scientists, such as Dante, Boccaccio, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Machiavelli, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Copernicus, Bruno, Galileo, Kepler, Harvey, Francis Bacon and so on.

economy

12 architectural scene of the century Bonn. (Now in Bonn Municipal Library) The medieval economy was mainly a feudal manor-style natural economy. A number of commercial cities have emerged: Paris, Lyon, Daulnay, Marseille, Cologne, Trier, Strasbourg, Hamburg, Venice, Genoa, etc., forming a trade zone centered on the Mediterranean. /kloc-After the 0/6th century, the workshop handicraft industry rose. First in Florence, then in Flanders, the enclosure movement made Britain develop rapidly. This economic model accelerated trade, which led to the great geographical discovery and the discovery of the new American continent. Workshop handicrafts have also made a leap in weapons of war. Cannons and muskets gradually replaced the knight's sword, and the ancient castle lost its defense ability. Workshop handicraft industry gave birth to capitalist economy.

Religious belief

The main religion in Europe is Christianity, which is divided into three schools: Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity and Protestantism. Christianity was born in West Asia at the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, when it was within the territory of the Roman Empire. Because Christianity advocates patience and tolerance between people, which conforms to the interests of imperial rulers, it is gradually recognized and supported by Roman rulers. By the 4th century, Christianity had become the dominant religion in the Roman Empire.

During the period of 1054, Christianity was divided into two factions: one was Catholicism controlled directly by the Pope and centered on the Latin-speaking area; The other school is the Orthodox Church centered on Byzantium.

The Orthodox Church claims to be the Orthodox Church and uses Greek in religious ceremonies (but local national languages are also allowed), so it is also called the Greek Orthodox Church. At the end of the century, the Bishop of Moscow announced that he would leave Constantinople and become the Russian Orthodox Church using the ancient Slavic language. /kloc-in the 0 th and 8 th centuries, the Orthodox Church in some countries in Eastern Europe gradually broke away from Constantinople and became independent.

In16th century, Catholicism split again. This religious division is based on the opposition of the emerging bourgeoisie to the feudal system, which essentially contains political content. 15 17 German Martin Luther published "95 theses", criticizing the Pope for selling atonement vouchers, which became the symbol of this religious reform movement. Since then, the Reformation has spread rapidly in Europe, which has severely hit and shaken the rule of the Holy See.

Lutheranism was the forerunner of the religious reform in the16th century, but it was moderate in the movement and widely spread in Germany and Nordic countries. 15- 16 th century, because German farmers and craftsmen could not bear the arbitrary rule and cruel exploitation of feudal princes and churches, even some middle-class and lower-class priests were on the verge of bankruptcy, and finally a peasant uprising called "German peasant war" broke out in 1524- 1525. The lower clergy represented by menzel took an active part in the uprising. However, when the peasant uprising seriously impacted the feudal autocratic rule and shook the position of the church, the advocates of the religious reform movement headed by Martin Luther openly stood on the side of the princes and nobles and supported them in cruelly suppressing the uprising peasants.

Calvin, a Frenchman, was also a European religious reformer in16th century and became the founder of Calvinism. This faction represents the interests of the emerging bourgeoisie and is a radical faction in the religious reform movement. Claiming to be an official in power, storing private property, making profits in business, and usury for interest can all be regarded as God's orders, just like holding the position of teaching the land. Advocate the establishment of Protestant churches, abolish the bishop system and replace it with the bourgeois Presbyterian system. The Bible is the only criterion for believing that people can be saved only by faith. Advocating the theory of God's predestination, he thinks that since Adam, the ancestor of human beings, committed a crime, the whole human nature has been corrupted, and human beings can't extricate themselves. God has arranged the fate of human beings in advance. Calvinism was supported by the bourgeoisie in Geneva, because his thoughts and beliefs met the requirements of bourgeois radicals at that time, and the reform would make the real power of the church break away from the control of feudal lords and fall into the hands of the bourgeoisie. Since then, Calvinism has spread widely in Switzerland, France, the Netherlands and Scotland.

The third Protestant Sect separated from Catholicism in the Reformation is the Anglican Church in England. /kloc-In the first half of the 6th century, King Henry VIII of England became increasingly dissatisfied with the Pope's intervention in British affairs in order to strengthen the royal power. The emerging bourgeoisie and enlightened new noble are also eager to weaken the privileges of the church and deprive it of its property. At the same time, Britain and Spain are fighting for maritime hegemony. Due to political needs, Henry VIII decided to depose Queen spanish princess, and the Pope needed the support of the Spanish royal family, so Henry was not allowed to divorce. Taking this as an excuse, Henry VIII broke with the Pope in 1533, and ordered that the English Church be forbidden to pay tribute to the Holy See every year. 1534, the British Parliament passed the "Supreme Act", declaring that the Church of England was no longer ruled by the Holy See, and that the King was the supreme head of the Church of England, with the right to appoint clergy and decide on doctrines. However, in the early days, most of the important teachings, bishop system and religious ceremonies of Catholicism were still preserved. Since17th century, it has been greatly influenced by Calvinism.

At present, besides Romanians, Italians, French, Spaniards, Portuguese, friuli, Walloons, Provence, Catalans, Galicians, Swiss Italians, etc. Most Roman-speaking countries in Europe believe in Catholicism, while Germanic-speaking countries believe in Austria, Holland and Flanders. Some Germans and Luxemburg people believe in Catholicism, as do Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Croats, Slovenes, most western Ukrainians and some Belarusians. Besides, Catholicism is also popular among Irish, bretons, Basques, some Hungarians, some Latvians, Lithuanians and some Albanians.

Orthodox Church is very popular in Southeast Europe. Greeks, Romanians and Yugoslavs, Bulgarians, Serbs, Macedonians, Montenegrins and a few Albanians believe in the Orthodox Church. Most residents of the European part of the former Soviet Union, such as Russians, Ukrainians, most Belarusians, Moldovans, Malians, some Estonians, some Latvians, some Chuvashs and Moldavians, believe in the Orthodox Church.

Protestantism is mainly popular in Northern Europe, Central Europe and Great Britain. Swedes, Norwegians, Finns, Danes, Icelanders, Scots, most Germans, some Latvians and some Estonians believe in Lutheranism; Dutch, Swiss and Germans believe in Calvinism; The British believe in the Anglican Church.

In addition, only a small number of people in Europe, such as some Turks, Superman, Bosnians, some Albanians, some Bulgarians and some Gypsies, believe in Islam.

Jews in Europe still maintain their Jewish faith.

The above situation can only explain the general situation of the distribution of modern religions. In fact, in most countries in the world, religious beliefs are not single. Even if some countries are basically single-nation countries, the vast majority of residents believe in the same religion, and a few people often believe in other religions. In short, the distribution of religious beliefs is very complicated.

Today, like many places in the world, more and more Europeans have given up their religious beliefs, especially in eastern European countries, and many people have become atheists. In other parts of Europe, the influence of religion is also declining. Even in Italy, where Catholicism dominates, mass has become a matter for middle-aged and elderly people, and many young people are no longer interested in complicated religious ceremonies (although most weddings are still held in churches). For example, in the Netherlands, when the census was conducted in 197 1 year, about 20% of the residents admitted that they were atheists, and 50% of the people in Amsterdam, the capital, claimed that they had no religious beliefs. In Britain and France, about 1/3 of the residents no longer preach.

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