I. Bernard of Clairvaux was a Cistercian monk who is founder of the abbey of Clairvaux and one of the most significant churchmen of his time. He came from a Burgundian aristocratic family, in which his mother had a large religious influence on him. After her death, Bernard had turned away from his academic education and went to school at Châtillon-sur-Seine to pursue a religious livelihood. In 1115, Stephen Harding, one of the founders of the Cistercian Order, appointed him to lead a small group of monks to establish a monastery at Clairvaux. In his remaining years he participated in the condemnation of Gilbert de La Porrée, a scholarly dialectician and bishop of Poitiers who held that Christ’s divine nature was only a human concept.
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Bernard’s attitude toward the use of architectural decoration and ornament was that he had felt that they were unnecessary. Although Bernard of Clairvaux didn’t directly reject art or beauty, he did not want the beauty of art to distract the people of what they are supposed to be focus on, the spirit and leadership of God. He spoke of how church people have to pull away from the material beauty and move into a more spiritual one. He explains how things such as small gold and silver decorum seem to be excessive. The Norte Dame- Fortney doesn’t even have a bell tower in the abbey, because he felt this would take away from the austerity. He had also pointed out that churchmen took a vow to live in poverty, and it would seem to be hypocritical if these churchmen had surrounded themselves with luxurious decorum in a room just to read their sermon. Bernard believed that only light should enter the church. So there were no flowers in the capitals, no decorative motifs and no images anywhere in all of the original buildings, neither the exteriors nor interiors are decorated. This is because instead of admiring the holiness reference of the statue carving or painting, people would marvel at only its beauty, in which it than becomes a form of idolatry. Instead of disbursing for decorations he had felt that the funds for the abbey would more efficient if it was used for other purposes such as making purchasing books, reconstructing the abbey when needed, and to help the
The Lais of Marie de France introduce us to the deepest desire of love. Lanval’s story line, interprets the magical and courageous love between a knight and a majestic damsel. The romance story provides an unusual approach on the character's roles. Marie de France explores how the theme of great love that cannot exist in conjunction with the real world. Marie made an outstanding effort to be distinguish from other romance writers. In doing so, she pays particular attention to the desires of her characters; for instance, in Lanval, she casts the character of the unknown woman as the heroine as she saves Lanval at the end of the poem, in which on Marie medieval time was very uncommon. The written work of poetry Marie portraits is mainly on the
Julian of Norwich lived during a time of great fear dominated by economic and physical hardships, feudal era of control, fear of death from the bubonic plague, corruption within the church’s hierarchy and doubt and insincerity was rampant amongst believers. Living a simple existence she depende...
... The Web. 16 Sept. 2013. Mershman, Francis. A. A. " St. Hildegard. The Catholic Encyclopedia.
In Chapter 5 of the Gilbert text, when Lareau mentions the sense of entitlement that upper-middle class children feel and the sense of restraint that working class and poor children feel she is referring to the growth and development that the children have experienced growing up. According to Lareau, there are two types of child-rearing that occur in many cultures, which are cultivated growth and natural growth. Cultivated growth is often experienced by upper-middle class children, whereas natural growth is experienced by working class and poor children. Upper-middle class children feel a sense of entitlement and working class and poor children feel a sense of restraint through daily activities, language, and various institutions.
The west side of the cathedral contains two stairs. They head to a triple window. The lower level has two small doors. By the doors it is highly decorated with columns, quatrefoil motifs, trefoil motifs, and a lot of diapering. There are seventy three statues in the niches throughout the cathedral (Richard, 2009). There are a total of one hundred and thirty niches. In the cathedral there are many paintings. John Constable was a famous arti...
Francis of Assisi is one of the most influential personalities in the entire world. In the book ‘Francis of Assisi: Performing the Gospel Life,’ Cunningham recounts the life of this humble monk who lived in the medieval times, and shaped the Christian life, which spread in Western culture throughout the rest of history. I believe Cunningham accurately accounts for the life of Francis of Assisi, and in doing so; he provides a trajectory of the Christian faith from its early and historical proponents through its fusion with western culture, and its subsequent spread throughout the world.
Examining the problems facing Father Rodrigues from a Christian perspective, then, is critical to the endeavor of understanding their significance to him and the Church at the time, and also to passing an ultimate judgment on the validity and worth of the decisions he makes, as many of us seem overeager to do. To that end, this paper will consider, in a Catholic frame of mind, and with attention to the opinions some noted Christian/Catholic thinkers would have held, the difficulties surrounding Rodrigues' apostasy, and his solutions to them. As all of the thinkers are themselves from the medieval era, it is not unlikely that Father Rodrigues, living in the 17th century, would have studied their works.
St. Boniface, originally named Winfrith, was an extremely studious man, a converted monk, priest, missionary and finally martyr. Born in 672, near Exeter, England, St. Boniface at an early age developed a desire to follow the path of God and live a monastic life. Through non-stop prayer and religious practices, he tuned his mind and body to reach beyond the obstacles and enticements of everyday life at his young adult age. He was a major influence on society during his life and affected the lives and history of Germany permanently. Often called the “Apostle of Germany”, St. Boniface was a strong believer in the principles of the Church and truly wanted to open any pagan believers minds to the knowledgeable and rewarding path of the Christian life.
... beauty and light in the building, they realized that the church must really hold the key to salvation, for they were able to construct a place so similar to the afterlife that many people longed for. It seemed almost as if Abbot Suger had visited heaven and created a physical representation in the Basilica of St. Denis.
The style that James Sweet convey in his book, Domingos Alvares. African Healing and Intellectual History and of the Atlantic World, is by providing multiple perspectives of people who had an interaction with Domingo Alvarez in the Atlantic World. . Within the seven chapters, this multilayered perspectives give a to the circumstances that led to Domingos Alvares arrival in Lisbon, the accusations of witchcraft, and the banishment to Portugal. The perspectives of Ignacio Correa Barbosa and Leonor de Oliveira convey the connection the healing to exile and slavery that were pertinent terms in the Atlantic World. In Dahomey and Obscurity chapter, Sweet contextualizes the effect of Dahomian and Portuguese government's power in turning Domingos
Religion in the Middle Ages takes on a character all of its own as it is lived out differently in the lives of medieval men and women spanning from ordinary laity to vehement devotees. Though it is difficult to identify what the average faith consists of in the Middle Ages, the life told of a radical devotee in The Book of Margery Kempe provides insight to the highly intense version of medieval paths of approaching Christ. Another medieval religious text, The Cloud of Unknowing, provides a record of approaching the same Christ. I will explore the consistencies and inconsistencies of both ways to approach Christ and religious fulfillment during the Middle Ages combined with the motivations to do so on the basis of both texts.
As I walked up the street toward the front of Grace Cathedral, I was in awe at the size and ornateness of this cathedral. It was tall and wide and looked very much like the churches we had been studying in class in the prior weeks. As I got closer and closer I began to make out The Ghiberti Doors, also known as the gates of paradise. These are the main cathedral doors made out of bronze, and are replicas of the originals which stood centuries ago at the east entrance to the Baptistry of Florence Cathedral (the Duomo) Italy. I approached and spent about fifteen minutes, just examining all the different engraved scenes within the ten sections in the two doors. After I had finished looking at the Ghiberti Doors, I entered through one of the side doors, since you are not able to use the Ghiberti Doors, because they weight too much. Before I stepped inside the cathedral, I pulled out my text analysis and read over it, so that when I entered I could examine whether or not this cathedral exuded the same sacredness as the cathedral in the text analysis. I feel this Cathedral really does exude not entirely the purity of heaven, but does seem to somewhat separate you from the outer world, as Abbot Suger spoke of. Also, it brings in some of the surrounding beauty from St. Denis, such as the sapphire and stained glass, as well as the gold plating.
When thinking about a medieval monastery the first thing that comes to mind is the origin of the word monastery which comes from the Greek monos, meaning alone. Monasticism in itself is a way of life that is devoted to God in seclusion. A large part of monasticism is isolation, not only from the neighbors but from family. When taking the vows to be a monk one not only completely devotes ones life to God but all friends, family and earthly possessions are left behind. Taking the vows of monasticism takes brutal dedication and severe strength. What pushed Guibert of Nogent into monasticism is that his mother withdrew from the world after his father’s death. During that time he was left alone and became very rebellious. He also was drawn to the medieval reform of monasticism which gave it a more community aspect. Thirdly, literature and history became a large part of the monastery during the middle ages and Guibert wanted to be a successful writer and historian. When Guibert joined the monastery he joined a strict religious order that had come along way form the time of hermits and the reforms where relevant to him, for the most part. Guibert of Nogent became a monk because he was suited for monastic existence and to give himself the restraints and success he wanted from life.
The history of Christianity has always involved turbulence. Not only were there divisions among the members of the religion into different sects according to their own beliefs and ideas, but also, there were struggles between Christianity and the pagan, in which the two opposing sides tried to weaken the other and yield greater influence. These divisions and fierce competitions can be observed in Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, in which several clashes between systems are shown: a conflict between Christianity and paganism and one between the two different orders – the Benedictine and Franciscan. Moreover, the significance of the society’s mood is also evident: through the application of the concept of discourse, the impact of the societal norms and standards, particularly in the limited setting of a monastery, is depicted.
Turner, William. (March 1, 1907) The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume I, online edition. Retrieved February 2, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01713a.htm