Maimonides and Zhu Xi on the Role of Classical Norms in the Pursuit of Human Perfection

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 190-206
Author(s):  
Dong Xiuyuan
Keyword(s):  
Human Nature ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Zhu Xi ◽  
Individual Life ◽  
Political Crises ◽  
12Th Century ◽  
High Middle Ages ◽  
Convergence And Divergence ◽  
The Law

Confronted with the cultural and political crises of the 12th century, Maimonides and Zhu Xi both focused on classical norms, restoring the systems, respectively, of the Law and the Propriety to reconstruct an ideal order of social and individual life. Both thinkers treat classical norms as an irreplaceable path to the fulfillment of human nature, and their codifications of the systems mentioned share a set of intellectualistic motifs and features. Comparing the approaches of Maimonides and Zhu Xi to classical norms, we reach an understanding of the convergence and divergence of these two great philosophers of the High Middle Ages within their own historical contexts.

Ages of Gold

2021 ◽  
pp. 43-59
Author(s):  
Philip Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Thomas Aquinas ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
European Context ◽  
High Middle Ages

One way to appreciate the potential role of climate in human affairs is to observe what happens when—at least from a human-centric perspective—matters are going very well and the heavens appear to be smiling. Despite the occasional emphasis on eras of climate-driven disaster and deprivation, some historical epochs were wonderfully benevolent, times when the Sun’s warmth evidently manifested God’s bounty. One such era was the High Middle Ages, which coincided with a period of warming over large parts of the globe. Trade and commerce flourished, abundant harvests produced generous food supplies, and prosperity was conspicuously manifested in religious experiment and innovation. Such eras are often recalled through legendary and even exalted figures, such as St. Francis or Thomas Aquinas in the medieval European context. Whatever we term them, cultural golden ages have existed, and they have their foundations in climate conditions.

scholarly journals Fragmenty českého překladu básně Facetus

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 19-30
Author(s):  
Michal Dragoun ◽  
Kateřina Voleková
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
National Museum ◽  
Latin Text ◽  
National Library ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Scientific Terminology ◽  
15Th Century ◽  
12Th Century ◽  
High Middle Ages

The article deals with two incomplete handwritten copies of the poem Facetus with a Czech translation. The poem Facetus, or more specifically its version referred to as ‘Cum nihil utilius’ based on its incipit, probably originated in the 12th century; in the high Middle Ages, it was the second most widespread of moral lessons in verse. It was also used in school instruction, with which both copies are associated. The fragment of the National Museum Library 1 H b 179, most likely from the second decade of the 15th century, contains the beginning of the poem’s interpretation and a part of the text accompanied by a Latin explanation and Czech interlinear glosses on individual verses. This Czech version reveals a certain continuity with the tradition of Czech scientific terminology of St Vitus School and Bartholomew of Chlumec, called Claretus. The second copy is written on the front free endpaper of the manuscript of the National Library of the Czech Republic X F 19; it comes from the turn of the 15th century; it is an incomplete record of the beginning of the text of the poem, with the Latin and Czech versions alternating after individual words or short sections. The study further provides a transcription of both fragments and records the manuscript preservation of the Latin text of Facetus, excerpts from it and German translations in Czech libraries.

The Military Orders

2020 ◽  
pp. 247-263
Author(s):  
Jochen Burgtorf
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Twelfth Century ◽  
Eleventh Century ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Church Reform ◽  
High Middle Ages ◽  
Military Orders ◽  
The Military ◽  
Order State

The chapter discusses the two major international military orders of the high Middle Ages, the Templars and the Hospitallers. It outlines their origins in the twelfth-century Crusader kingdom of Jerusalem, as well as the factors that contributed to their emergence, such as pilgrimage, the eleventh-century Church reform, knighthood and chivalry, the Crusades, and the role of the papacy. It then considers the comparative historiography of Templars and Hospitallers, including the scholarly debate on the Templars’ suppression and the Hospitallers’ survival. The chapter goes on to address the question of the military orders’ identity by examining the extent of the Templars’ charity and hospitality, the question of the Hospitallers’ militarization, and the genesis of the concept of an ‘order state’. It concludes with suggestions for future research.

scholarly journals Bringing the Church Back In: Ecclesiastical Influences on the Rise of Europe

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (02) ◽  
pp. 213-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jørgen Møller
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Church And State ◽  
Multistate System ◽  
High Middle Ages ◽  
European Development ◽  
Bureaucratic Institutions ◽  
New Research ◽  
The Church

AbstractRecently, political scientists and economists have redoubled their attempts to understand the “Rise of Europe.” However, the role of the Catholic Church has been curiously ignored in most of this new research. The medieval West was shot through with Catholic values and institutions, and only by factoring in the Church can we understand the peculiar European development from the high Middle Ages onward. More particularly, the 11th century “crisis of church and state” set in train a series of developments that were crucial for the Rise of Europe. The Church was the main locale in which the development of representation, consent, and early bureaucratic institutions took place, and it contributed to creating, integrating, and maintaining the European multistate system. This note demonstrates that current scholarship has failed to factor in ecclesiastical influences and it shows how these gaps can be filled by a more careful reading of prior historical scholarship.

scholarly journals Abelard and Heloise: personal relationship in the socio-cultural context of the 12th century

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-57
Author(s):  
Oleg Shevchenko ◽  
Irene Klipenstein
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
World View ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Personal Relationship ◽  
Historical Case ◽  
Peter Abelard ◽  
12Th Century ◽  
High Middle Ages ◽  
The Relationship

The 12th century was a controversial period of deepening ecclesiastical influence on all strata of the population, strengthening church prohibitions, expansion of convents; the century of establishing a new stratum of intellectuals, the first rise of women role in society and the formation of the courtly culture’s foundations. Philosopher Peter Abelard and his student Heloise were chosen for examination by us as the bright personalities of the 12th century, a product of medieval society and the voices of their time. An exceptional historical case of well-documented reliable information on the personal relationship allows us to correlate the world-view of lovers and their lives with the socio-cultural realities of High Middle Ages. The aim of the article is a historical analysis of the relationship between the philosopher-teacher Abelard and the student Eloise in the socio-cultural context of the 12th century. In previous studies scholars have only indirectly touched certain aspects of the teacher-student relationship in the context of intimate gender relations of the High Middle Ages. We analysed the autobiography of Peter Abelard, the letters of Abelard’s contemporaries, his correspondence with Eloise. We arranged scientific achievements of historians and examined personal life of the couple against the background: tactics of seduction, intimacy, determining and understanding the relationship status, men’s standing in society after castration. Emphasis is placed on the progress of 12th century’s social consciousness in the light of the personalities’ world-view analysis. A division between individual views and the Catholic medieval outlook is analysed. Through the study of the transformation of the relationship between teacher and student, and future lovers, we have shown that the views of Eloise and Abelard illustrate a feasible range of medieval perceptions of the relationship, in tune with the new era challenges, yet integral to its time.

The Peace of God

2021 ◽  
pp. 104346312110657
Author(s):  
Andrew Young
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Tenth Century ◽  
High Middle Ages ◽  
Clear Delineation ◽  
Residual Claimants

Scholars have argued that the politically fractured landscape of medieval Western Europe was foundational to the evolution of constitutionalism and rule of law. In making this argument, Salter and Young (2019) have recently emphasized that the constellation of political property rights in the High Middle Ages was polycentric and hierarchical; holders of those rights were residual claimants to the returns on their governance and sovereign. The latter characteristics—residual claimancy and sovereignty—imply a clear delineation of jurisdictional boundaries and their integrity. However, historians’ description of the “feudal anarchy” that followed the tenth-century disintegration of the Carolingian Empire does not suggest clearly delineated and stable boundaries. In this paper, I highlight the role of the Peace of God movement in the 11th and 12th centuries in delineating and stabilizing the structure of political property rights. In terms of historical political economy, the Peace of God movement provides an important link between the early medieval era and the constitutional arrangements of the High Middle Ages.

Protection against Being Passed Over or Disinherited in Roman Law

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Reinhard Zimmermann
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Roman Law ◽  
Legal Scholarship ◽  
Ius Commune ◽  
High Middle Ages ◽  
Complex Regulation ◽  
The Law ◽  
Do So

What is today referred to as ‘compulsory portion’ or ‘forced heirship’ was subject to a very complex regulation in Roman law. The development went from family succession to freedom of testation and subsequently led to the establishment of a balance between the testator’s freedom of disposition over his property and the ‘natural claims’ of his closest relatives to benefit at least to some extent from the estate. In the process, the Roman lawyers developed a number of interesting ideas, among them, in particular, protection of descendants by means of form requirements; the availability of a querela inofficiosi testamenti (complaint concerning an undutiful will); and the establishment of a minimum quota to which a testator had to appoint his closest relatives (‘legitima’) as well as the introduction of an actio ad supplendam legitimam for cases where the testator had failed to do so. Justinian also saw the necessity to provide for the testator’s widow; she could, under certain circumstances, demand one quarter of the estate by way of statutory legacy. Unfortunately, Justinian, in his Novel 115, failed in his attempt to simplify and streamline the law. From its inception in the High Middle Ages, therefore, legal scholarship based on the ius commune was faced with considerable difficulties in the application of the Roman rules.

Excommunication and Territorial Politics in High Medieval Trier

1991 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian A. Pavlac
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
German History ◽  
Regional Politics ◽  
German Empire ◽  
Regional Conflicts ◽  
Henry Iv ◽  
High Middle Ages ◽  
Territorial Politics ◽  
The Church

In medieval German history excommunication, when considered at all, is usually examined from the perspective of the conflicts between empire and papacy, such as that between Pope Gregory VII and King Henry IV. Like the pope, the bishops of the German Empire were armed with the power to excommunicate. Excommunication therefore figured in local, regional politics, especially in the creation of territorial principalities within the German Empire. Territorial principalities formed during the High Middle Ages when the kingship weakened, and various powerful lords, secular and spiritual, began to build states which eventually gained near-autonomous status within the empire. When a secular dynastic lord struggled to expand his dominion over land and people, he often encroached upon church lands. To defend their churches bishops could and often did excommunicate their perceived oppressors. These regional conflicts were complicated by the dual role of prince-bishops: spiritual princes of the church and secular princes of empire. In competition with the lay nobility, prince-bishops were expanding their own secular dominions.

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