Why do we study medieval history

This is a good and rare thing. There is too the Medieval Papacy. The present Pope spent last weekend watching a football match with 70, of his fans and was more than instrumental in bringing down the Berlin Wall in If you want to understand how a man who wears skirts and has no army can shake the continent of Europe not necessarily for the better , I recommend you take a look at Gregory VII. The wonderful thing for me is that the controversies of Medieval study are red-blooded and without end.

I want to understand why the stone of Scone matters so much to Scots Nationalists that they stole it from London in I want to understand the origins of English Law, and see why the seventeenth-century revolutionaries fussed so much about a document of , Magna Carta.

One copy of this is kept in an atom bomb proof display case in Washington by an American billionaire. I want to know why it matters so much to him and his country. Understanding the origin of a law system is integral to the proper interpretation of the laws as they exist today, therefore, a study of medieval history can be of great usefulness both to the student of law or of political theory.

Though I have only highlighted three of the more important applications of medieval history, there are an endless number of practices where a study of medieval history could be beneficial. Art, science and philosophy all sprout from seeds that have deep roots in medieval history, and much can be gleaned from even a cursory study.

See for yourself how medieval history can be well worth the study! I am voting up your hub as it provides some very interesting aspects of medieval life which I find very fascinating. While I think you have a great hub and points here, it might be self-serving as I primarily write about medieval history. While there were very clear excesses perpetrated by the Church during the late medieval period many of the hierarchical issues were caused by the expanding power of the state.

Personal Finance. Welcome to HubPages. Related Articles. By Rodric Anthony Johnson. Holidays and Celebrations. By A B Williams. Visiting Europe. By Christopher James Stone. Visiting Asia. By Prantika Samanta. Team Sports. One of the main reasons to study the medieval period is to learn how one-sided these questions are.

They were really opposed to the Christian Church, and they assumed that any time where the Church had so much influence just had to be a dark time. Far from being a time of darkness and ignorance, the medieval era witnessed the emergence of several new technologies. They also invented better saddles and stirrups, which enabled medieval knights to engage in legendary battles and the iconic jousting matches. Other medieval inventions included chimneys, eyeglasses, and better tools and techniques for agriculture.

In the arts, medieval times were anything but dark. Medieval artists and architects were in love with light. But, learning to sort through misleading labels and historical reality is one valuable byproduct of studying medieval history. Medieval artists also made great progress in music through the invention of polyphony—singing with more than one voice, or more than one part.

Medieval artists in Northern Europe were also the first to use oil paint and the first to use stretched canvases, instead of the more usual wood and plaster. This enabled them to take more time in their paintings, which produced spectacular effects. Medieval Christians also championed social reforms. Even though classical societies like ancient Greece and Rome depended on slavery to keep their economy going, prominent Christians in medieval times opposed slavery and took steps to make it inconvenient, and eventually it faded out of European culture.

According to historian Rodney Stark, Bathilda used her influence to oppose the slave trade and redeem those in slavery. Another reason to study the medieval period is because it had such a profound influence on great Christian writers like C.

Lewis and J. Many people look up to and admire these amazing writers, but they forget that Lewis and Tolkien were formed and shaped by other writers. These writers of great books, and thinkers of great thoughts, were shaped by the great books, and great thinkers, that they read. Lewis was an English teacher first at Oxford University and then at Cambridge. His scholarly work specialized in medieval and Renaissance literature.