During the High Middle Ages, trade and contact with Byzantine and Muslim civilizations revived learning in Western Europe. Universities developed to meet the growing demand for educated professionals as towns and commerce grew. Religion heavily influenced medieval thinking, with scholars studying the Bible and church teachings. Figures like Thomas Aquinas sought to reconcile religion and philosophy using logic and reason. While most focused on religion, some like Roger Bacon and Albertus Magnus studied science, conducting experiments in optics and natural sciences. The late Middle Ages saw famine, plague, and the Hundred Years' War between England and France, bringing widespread suffering.

1. The Culture of
Medieval
Europe

2. InterestinLearningrevives
• During the high middle ages, trade brought western
Europeans into contact with the civilizations of the
“BYZANTINE EMPIRE” and the Muslim world.
Learning continues outside Christian Europe

3. Medievaluniversitiesdevelop
• In Europe, the rise of towns and the middle class
encouraged the revival of learning.
• Townspeople had the money to support schools.
Moreover, as a town’s population grew, so did the need
for trained bankers, lawyers, doctors, and city officials.

4. Religionguidesmedievalthinking
• Best minds of middle ages studied the bible and the writings of important
clergy.
• Some of the scholars wanted an answer to a question, so they turned to the
bible and to church authorities.
As the writings of ancient Greek philosophers and scientists began
to circulate in western Europe, medieval thinkers faced a problem.

5. Thomas Aquinas (uh-KWY-nus)- The most brilliant Scholastic.
- A member of the Dominican order of monks in the 13th century.
- Summa Theologica (1267- 1273), used Aristotle’s method of
logic to examine and explain certain points in Church teachings.
“ Both reason and Christian teachings came from God”.

6. Religion influences the medieval view of the universe
 They believed that God had created the world especially for
human beings and had placed the earth in the center of the
universe

7. Interest in science grows
 many ancient scientific works were translated into Latin in the
High Middle Ages. They were brought into Western Europe along
the translations of the works of Muslim scholars.
Albertus Magnus (Albert the great)
-The greatest naturalist among medieval scholars.
- The teacher of Thomas Aquinas at the universities in Paris
and Cologne (kuh-LOHN).
- He wrote about geology, chemistry, botany and zoology.
Roger Bacon (1214-1294)
-An English Franciscan monk and philosopher
-Studied Muslim writings on light rays, performed experiments in
optics, and observed the light traveled faster than sound.

8. An ancient study that eventually grew into modern
chemistry.
some medieval scholars
studied astrology and
alchemy
(AL-kuH-mee)

9. New Styles Develop in Medieval Art
 Despite the revival of learning, most people in the Middle Ages still
could read or write. By the Middle Ages, Latin was no longer used in
everyday speech even in Italy, French, Spanish, Italian, and Sumanian
were local languages that grew out of latin.
 “BEOWULF’’- The oldest great literary work in vernacular language.
-it was first written down in the early 8th century in
Anglo-Saxon.
-One of the languages of England.

10.  Vernacular Languages were also used by medieval poets who wrote short
verses and songs on non- religious themes.
Court Troubadours write of LOVE
 Dante Alighieri (DAHN-tay ah-lee-GYAY-ree)
- lives in Florence, Italy
- The greatest poet of the Middle Ages
-Wrote love poems to his beloved Beatrice .
-(1265-1321)

11. Divine Comedy - A description of the poet’s journey through Hell,
purgatory, and paradise, guided by the
Roman poet Virgil.
- The poem was written in medieval Italian and
helped establish the vernacular as a literary
language.

12. The Middle Ages Draws to a Close
Famine and disease bring a drop in population
 In the late Middle Ages, Western Europe was burdened with
economic problems.
 The millions of deaths among farm workers and artisans left
farmlands and workshops idle.
 In 1381, John Ball and Wat Tyler led English peasants in revolt a
revolt against new taxes.

13. England and France fight the HundredYears’ War
 Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453)
Continued on and off throughout of the 14th century.
It caused great suffering for the French peasants and towns
people.
Much valuable farmland was destroyed by marauding bands of
soldiers.
 Edward III- An English king.
- He was also the French king’s nephew and so tried to claim the French
throne and acquire still more land in France.