Category: History

What factors sparked the increase in building of churches

What factors sparked the increase in building of churches

Contrast the focus of life in the early Early Medieval period with the focus during the Romanesque period. What factors sparked the increase in building of churches in Western Europe? What were the various roles of figurative art, both two-dimensional and sculptural, during the Romanesque period?

Sample Answer

The medieval period refers to the period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the renaissance period (400CE to 1400CE) (Boissonnade, 2013). Conversely, the Romanesque period was marked by medieval art derived from Roman architecture between 450CE to 1150CE. Romanesque architecture refers to specific architectural designs, minor arts and sculptures common across France, Italy, Spain and Germany during the 11th century (Jacki, 2019). The medieval era is mostly referred to as the Middle Ages by many scholars since it is flanked between two very significant epochs in European history (Lawrence, 2015). During this period, the fall of the Roman Empire led to the domination of the Greco-Roman cultures by Christian influences (Lawrence, 2015). Depictions of life during the medieval and Romanesque periods are marked by battles, knighthood, discoveries, church architecture, arts, and liaisons between royalty and commoners.

Life in the medieval period for instance revolved around the agrarian calendar. Most people spent their time on farming and other agricultural activities (Boissonnade, 2013). Sowing and reaping seasons were marked by church feasts and social activities were considered very important. Social activities comprised of acrobatic performances, trading, games, and tournaments (Boissonnade, 2013). After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Catholic Church became a very powerful institution with many rulers deriving their power from protecting the church and collaborating with the church (Lawrence, 2015). Ordinary citizens were expected to give 10 percent of their earnings as tithe to the church (Lawrence, 2015). The Catholic Church also authorized many military expeditions or crusaders who were to expel Muslims from Jerusalem (Lawrence, 2015). Moreover, many medieval people were superstitious but travelling merchants and crusaders came back to Europe with tales from Asia, Middle East and Africa where there was advanced knowledge in human body and the earth (Lawrence, 2015). The shift from the dark ages to the renaissance period was brought about by the establishment of schools and colleges across Western Europe hence the creation of renaissance art and learning through acquisition of scientific knowledge.

The Romanesque period was marked by architecture and arts hence the construction of many castles and churches in a distinctive style (Jacki, 2019). After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Romanesque architecture was the first style to spread across Europe. Romanesque Architecture is considered a continuation of Roman styles and the fusion of Roman Carolingian, Byzantine and Ottonian styles during the Romanesque period saw the expansion of monasticism (Jacki, 2019). Romanesque buildings were characterized by massive articulated walls, powerful vaults and round arches (Jacki, 2019). The Romanesque period saw the prosperity of European art since high quality art was not only confined to the royal court but continued movement and exposure led to the homogenization of building methods associated with the Romanesque style (Jacki, 2019). The era of early Christian art marked the epitomy of Romanesque style where richer and more grandiose styles characterized by massive scales were witnessed (Jacki, 2019).

During the medieval period many churches, grand cathedrals and ecclesiastical structures were built in major towns and cities. In Western Europe more churches were constructed because of the demand for larger churches which would accommodate priests, monks and pilgrims who wanted to view the relics of saints. Romanesque churches and cathedrals were solid and substantial (Jacki, 2019). The expansion of churches in Europe was also brought about by the crusaders’ military expeditions to free the holy land of Jerusalem from the grip of Muslims. The success of the crusaders in the acquisition of the Holy land led to the construction of new churches across Europe in Romanesque architecture (Jacki, 2019). Consequently, there was a huge demand for decorative religious art such as sculptures, stained glass and ecclesiastical metal works.

During the Romanesque period, figurative art included metalwork, sculptures, paintings, enamels, and ivories (Jacki, 2019). Metalwork, ivories and enamels were used to build shrines and were used to signify high status in the society (Jacki, 2019). Romanesque paintings depicted biblical events and the lives of saints (Jacki, 2019). Romanesque sculptures were pictorial and biblical. Romanesque sculptures depicted biblical teachings such as the fall of man, Jesus’ death and resurrection and the life of Christ. Sculptures were also symbols of worship

 
References
Boissonnade, P. (2013). Life and work in medieval Europe. Routledge.
Jacki Craven, (2019). Romanesque Architecture and Art. Retrieved online at https://www.thoughtco.com/romanesque-architecture-4134212
Lawrence, C. H. (2015). Medieval monasticism: forms of religious life in Western Europe in the Middle Ages. Routledge.

We Write High-Quality History Papers from Scratch! Order Now!

Women in Society

Women in Society

Question
Pick a period in Western history OR a non-Western traditional society and write about the role of women in that period or society. You could, for example, examine the role of women in ancient Greek society, Roman society, medieval society, and/or in American society in antebellum South or in the industrial North before the Civil War. Or you could examine the role of women in traditional Arabic tribal society, African society, Latin American tribal society, Inuit culture, and so forth. (You can research any one of these topics through the library or by utilizing good online resources; this is a mini research project.) You can focus on one or more than one society, depending on your own interest in the research.

Sample Answer

Role of Women in Roman Society

In the Roman society, women’s daily life and activities were defined by the men in their lives and women were mostly valued as mothers and wives (Gregory, 2018). According to scholars, Roman women had unequal legal status with men and by law men had jurisdiction over women and girls (Gregory, 2018). For instance, over the course of a woman’s life, she would pass from her father’s control to her husband’s authority. Roman women only received basic education with most middle and upper middle class girls being taught reading and writing. Some affluent families also employed tutors to educate their daughters on advanced grammar and Greek (Milnor, 2011). This was done in a bid to ensure that women were literate enough to manage their households. Roman women played a significant role in supervising and managing the household and upbringing of their children. Women were to provide support to their husbands but not challenge their husband’s authority.

In terms of social class, poor Roman women worked as hard as their husbands to sustain the household while upper class women were mostly within the household not venturing outside the house (Gregory, 2018). Women from elite families were encouraged to cultivate an educated persona. For instance, Hortensia was one of the few Roman women with impeccable speech making skills (Gregory, 2018). In 42BC she gave a speech about the denouncement of tax imposition on Rome’s wealthy women. By the first century AD women had acquired some freedom since they were given the right to own inherit or dispose property unlike in the past centuries where women did not have a right to property ownership or inheritance (Mark, 2014). However, the degree of freedom Roman women enjoyed was dependent on their social status and wealth.

In the Roman society, only a few women owned and managed businesses such as lamp making, midwifery, hairdressing and medicine (Milnor, 2011). During the Roman reign, there were many female slaves who filled a large variety of roles such as farm workers, maids and gladiators. Wealthy widows and Vestel virgins were independent since they were not subjected to men’s authority (Milnor, 2011). Furthermore, women were not given the privilege of participating in political affairs as they could not vote or vie for political positions. However, the female relatives and wives of prominent men influenced the political outcomes through exerting real and informal power (Milnor, 2011). The wives of politicians promoted their husband’s image to the public and most Roman emperors gained publicity through broadcasting idealized images of their sisters, daughters, wives and other female relatives to the general public.

Additionally, apart from their traditional roles of managing the household, Roman women also played a role in spinning and weaving yarn and clothe making (Mark, 2014). Clothes were mostly made from wool and linen and wool making was perceived as an ideal pastime for dutiful Roman women. For instance, Emperor Augustus wore simple woolen handmade garments made by his female relatives (Mark, 2014). Roman women were also expected to be good mothers (nurturing) and dignified wives. Many women were married off in their mid-teens and a woman was considered deviant if she was not married by age 20. The husband was selected by the father based on political or economic factors. Minors’ marriages were very common and husbands had complete authority over their wives. Wives were expected to produce many children with girls as young as 12 years giving birth more than six times before their 20th birthday (Mark, 2014). These women were also expected to remain chaste, modest and faithful to their husbands. Lastly aristocratic Roman women spent most of their time in the household only venturing out to go to the market place, temples, baths and to visit other female friends.
 
References
Gregory. S, Aldrete, PhD. (2018). The role of women in Ancient Rome-Piercing Together a Historical Picture. Retrieved online at. https://www.thegreatcoursesdaily.com/role-of-women-in-ancient-rome/
Mark Cartwright, (2014). The role of women in the Roman World. Retrieved online at https://www.ancient.eu/article/659/the-role-of-women-in-the-roman-world/
Milnor, K. (2011). Women in Roman society. In The Oxford Handbook of Social Relations in the Roman World.

Order a History Paper Written from scratch by Our Expert Writers!