1 | Post-Classical World

Society and Culture of the Middle Ages

Peter Kun Frary

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Human history is divided in five epochs:

Prehistory and Ancient music were discussed in the Preface and Musical Elements unit. The remainder of this textbook is mainly focused on the musical diversity of the Post-classical period, Early Modern, and Late Modern.

Stylistic Eras

In Western music history, the last three epochs are divided into smaller stylistic eras (in chronological order):

• Middle Ages, 450-1450 CE
• Renaissance, 1450-1600 CE
• Baroque, 1600-1750 CE
• Classical, 1750-1820 CE
• Romantic, 1820-1900 CE
• Modern, 1900 CE to present

We begin our journey with the European Middle Ages but will stage musical excursions East and West as appropriate to each era.

Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (c. 1296) | The Catholic Church played a pivotal role in the early development of European music. | ©Peter Frary

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages, also known as the Dark Ages, spans from approximately 450 to 1450 CE and falls under the post-classical period. It began in Europe with the disintegration of the Holy Roman Empire around 450 CE and is characterized by centuries of conflicts between civilizations, mass migrations, the rise of Christianity and Islam, and the establishment of extensive trade networks. Although there is no equivalent era in East Asia, the Japanese Nara period (710-794 CE) and the Chinese Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) fall within the approximate center of Europe’s Middle Ages.

Europe | Wikimedia Commons

High Middle Ages

The High Middle Ages, spanning the Romanesque (c. 1000-1150) and Gothic (c. 1150-1450) eras, witnessed significant cultural growth: construction of towns, churches, monasteries, and universities. Agricultural and technological advancements stimulated trade, leading to a surge in Europe’s population. This period was also characterized by external challenges: Mongol and Moorish armies invaded Europe while the Norse explored and colonized parts of North America. Marco Polo’s journey to China captivated generations of explorers, inspiring them to venture to distant lands and bring back a wealth of new food, materials, technologies, and tales of distant lands and cultures.

Siege of Acre | Dominique Papety (1815-49) | Hospitalier Crusaders defending Acre, Israel, in 1291. | Wikimedia Commons

Religious Politics and Military Campaigns

The High Middle Ages saw religious conflicts, both theological and military. The Great Schism of 1054 severed communion between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. The Vatican directed military campaigns, the Crusades, to reclaim the Holy Land and gain political and territorial advantages in Asia Minor and West Asia (Middle East). The sacking of Constantinople in 1204, ordered by Pope Innocent III, included the shameless pillaging of Greek Orthodox churches and the massacre of Orthodox Christians. 

Life in the Middle Ages

Medieval European society consisted of three social classes: nobility, clergy, and peasantry. Most of Europe's population were peasants: bound to the soil with subsistence farming and subject to feudal overlords. Peasants rarely owned property, were illiterate, and had a life expectancy of about thirty years. 

Saint Basil Chapel (c. 1149 CE) | Bruges, Belgium | ©Peter Kun Frary

Nobility served as overlords of local lands, extracting goods and services from peasants living on their lands. These feudal overlords controlled the local military but themselves were subject to higher-ranking nobility.

Roman Catholic Clergy

Clergy, the Illuminati of the Roman Catholic Church, wielded immense power, wealth, and influence, rivaling or exceeding the nobility in political and military might. The Papal States, ruled by the Pope, controlled most of Italy and parts of France from the eighth to nineteenth centuries.

Education in Europe was primarily centered around the Catholic Church, with aspiring clergy the primary recipients of this education. Outside the Church, the majority of people, including the nobility, were illiterate. Consequently, historical records from this era are predominantly found in Church archives, with the exception of Medieval Spain. 

Christ in Majesty | Beatus of Fernando and Sancha, c. 1047 | Biblioteca Nacional

Al-Andalus (الأَنْدَلُس)

Medieval Spain and Portugal were called Al-Andalus, an Islamic state controlled by Moorish kings—Berbers from Morocco—for eight centuries (711-1492). It was a more international and enlightened society than most of Medieval Europe, famous for art, architecture, and centers of learning. Al-Andalus boasted a large population of Jews, Muslims, and Christians living together in relative peace. 

Al-Andalus | Moorish Kings ruled most of the Iberian Peninsula (green area), currently Spain and Portugal, for eight centuries. | Wikimedia Commons

Cross-Cultural Influence of Al-Andalus

The cross-cultural influence of the Islamic world—especially the North African Berbers—on Spain and eventually all of Europe was vast. The tourist destinations of the Alhambra in Granada and the Great Mosque in Córdoba are visible manifestations of this heritage. Every aspect of European culture, from food to language, mathematics, art, literature, religion, science, music, medicine, and philosophy, was influenced by Spain's eight centuries of Muslim rule.

Alhambra | This palace was built near the end of Spain's Muslim rule by Yusuf I, 1333–1353, and Muhammed V, 1353-1391. | Wikimedia Commons

Moorish kings kept detailed records, built great libraries, and founded a university at Córdoba. They brought new technologies, advanced mathematics, Arabic numerals, and modern architecture to Europe. Without their contribution, we'd be stuck with Roman numerals! The Moors were also responsible for bringing many musical instrument families, including bowed strings, winds, and guitar and lute prototypes, to Europe.

The Capitulation of Granada | Francisco Pradilla Ortiz, 1848-1921 | Painting of the 1492 surrender of Granada's last Moorish king. | Wikimedia Commons

Al-Andalus faded from power in 1492 with the fall of the last Moorish city, Granada, to Ferdinand II and Isabella I. However, eight hundred years of Islamic culture still echo in Spanish music and may be observed in Spain's many architectural treasures and art. I am grateful for the introduction of the guitar family and not having to use Roman numerals for math!

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Vocabulary

Middle Ages, Dark Ages, Prehistory, Ancient, Post-classical, Early Modern, Late Modern, Romanesque, Gothic, Al-Andalus, Moors