Middle Ages Culture Essay

There are a multitude of understandings and interpretations of the concept culture. A common definition may be a, “cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving”(Hofstede). An explanation that may be used to discuss the culture of the Middle Ages. Furthermore, it may be used to examine the changes in key aspects, such as, religion, gender roles, and social norms during the time period of approximately the 500s to the 1500s. Religion is among one of the aspects that defines culture. This was a key concept for those living in the Middle Ages, whose lives were dominated by religion. More specifically, those in high positions of the church dominated their lives because the church provided a unified culture, or belief system. In fact, in the Early Middle Ages, rulers needed the support of the church to legitimize their rule. This was the case for Charlemagne, who united much of Western Europe and converted his subjects to Christianity. Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor of the Romans in 800(History). “The assumption of the title of emperor of Charlemagne in

Aspects such as religion, social phases, and gender roles, may be used to witness this alteration. The papacy, while was once supreme, was not as influential as time increased due to the rise of institutions and secular thought. Additionally, while it was once custom to have a rigid class structure, with the move to cities, individuals are more likely able to change their stars. Finally, gender roles changed when women began making strides for equality. These changes led to the foundation of the modern world, this time period was