Sic et Non: Controversial Logic

Throughout the 11th and 12th centuries, education saw a massive boost in popularity, with universities popping up all throughout Europe, from Oxford, England in 1096 to Bologna in Italy in 1088. With these universities grew the studies of the various liberal arts, not the least significant of which being the study of philosophy. As one could expect, religion was a hot topic for philosophy at the time, as it is today. Many different scholars brought many different ideas to the table regarding the scriptures (Bennett 273). Wading through all of the interpretations and ideas regarding scripture was likely a confusing pain, and lead people to find contradictory conclusions, muddying the waters of religion even further.

Enter one Peter Abelard. Abelard, born 1079, was a fierce logician of the middle ages. He found various contradictions in the teachings of the scriptural authorities, and went on to create a method of resolving these contradictions through the use of logic. This method would go on to become what is known as the “scholastic method” (Bennett 275). All of this was contained in the topic of this blog entry, a book entitled “Sic et Non,” or in English “Yes and No,” originally published around 1122. In the text, Abelard establishes that his intent is not to question the authority of God, but to instead highlight the contradictions made by later philosophers, scribes, and translators (Medieval Sourcebook). Abelard then establishes his method of logically resolving said contradictions. From there, Abelard lists 158 different questions and the different takes each philosophy has on the questions. Abelard does not, however, apply his own method to resolving these contradictions, instead leaving it up to his students (Bennett 276).

This book, and Abelard’s thoughts and works in general, caused him a great deal of trouble, as various other teachers would come to attack him. One such example was that of Bernard of Clairvaux, who labelled his theology “wild imaginations upon the Holy Scripture” (Bennett 276). Abelard was chased around to various places until his death in 1142, but his book would come to play an important role in education for years to come.

Works Cited

Bennett, Judith M. Medieval Europe: a Short History. Langara College, 2016.

“Medieval Sourcebook: Peter Abelard (1079-1142): Prologue to Sic Et Non.” Internet History Sourcebooks Project, https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/Abelard-SicetNon-Prologue.asp.

Cologne Cathedral 

Construction on Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Rhine-Westphalia, Germany began in 1248 and was not technically completed until the year 1880.  It took over 600 years to complete and is one of the most well known Gothic cathedrals in the world today. The site on which the cathedral was built has been used by Christian churches since the 4th century.  It held the title of the tallest building when it was completed in 1880 until 1884 at 515 feet tall. The completion of the Washington Monument took the title from the cathedral. The reason for the cathedral being built is the shrine of the Three Wise Men, whose relics arrived in the city in 1164.  In the late 1700’s, participants in the French Revolution used the cathedral as a stable and hay barn.  

Near the high altar is the Shrine of the Three Kings.  It is said to contain relics from the Magi who

attended the baby Jesus when he was born.  It was created by Nicholas of Verdun, a medieval goldsmith. It was begun in 1182 and finished in 1220.  It was originally put in the cathedral that was in the place of Cologne Cathedral before it burned. The cathedral’s stained glass windows were crafted by Gerhard Richter in the 13th century. 

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/germany/articles/the-best-reasons-to-revisit-cologne-cathedral/

http://www.colognecathedral.net/ 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cologne-Cathedral

The First Gothic Structure- The Basilica of St. Denis

The First Gothic Structure

The Basilica of St. Denis is an abbey located in Paris, France. The Abbey of St. Denis is known as the first gothic structure in history. The Basilica of St. Denis served as precedent to all gothic cathedrals that would follow. Saint Denis was built sometime around 475. The church was built on top of the grave of Saint Denis, a bishop that was killed in the 3rd century. Aspects of Gothic architecture were added in the 12th century upon command of the Abbot Sugar. Abbot Sugar was the abbot in charge of the abbey at the time. Today, Abbot Sugar is known as a father of gothic architecture. One of his greatest contribution to gothic architecture is how light was incorporated into the design. The Choir of St. Denis is a perfect example of this, as it has stained glass. It also used some of the most important techniques used gothic architecture. It employed the idea of using point arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses to build higher in future buildings.

Due to the structure significates, it is not surprising that the basilica would have had ties to the monarchy of France at the time. Many aspects of structure were built in honor of a certain king or queen. The Basilica also served as the final resting place for many kings, queens, and servants. In total, it held 75 tombs of kings and queens. Overall the Basilica holds a total of 85 graves. In conclusion, the Basilica of St. Denis is one of the most important buildings in medieval history. The Basilica of St. Denis employed some of the most important milestones for architecture and many recognizable aspects gothic architecture.

Work Cited

“History of the Monument.” Centre Des Monuments Nationaux, http://www.saint-denis-basilique.fr/en/Explore/History-of-the-monument

“Saint-Denis Cathedral near Paris. Facts. Visits. Metro.” Paris Digest, https://www.parisdigest.com/monument/saint_denis_cathedral.htm

Medieval Nuns

Medieval nuns played very important roles in the development of civilization during the middle ages. During this time nuns followed three main vows in life. The three main vows were the vow of chasity, the vow of poverty, and the vow of being obedient. Nuns gave up living a normal civilian life to spend their lives to work under the strict routine of working, worshiping, and reading in a nunnery.

             Nuns during this time were responsible for many jobs around the civilization. These jobs included work like, “washing and cooking for the monastery, producing wine, ale and honey,  raising the necessary supplies of vegetables and grain, providing medical care for the community, providing education for children, spinning, and weaving and embroidery, and illuminating manuscripts,”(www.lordsandladies.org). On top of getting these jobs done many nuns had important occupations. Some occupations nuns had during this time period were abesses, almoners, cellarers, infirmarians, sacrists, and prioresses. Being an abbess was to be the main abbey, who also was elected by the nuns for life. An almoner's job was to give alms to the poor and the sick. A cellarer supervised the supplying of food and drink in the monastery. The infirmarian is in charge of the infirmary. The duty of a sacrist is the safekeeping of books and vessels, and for the maintenance of the convent's buildings, and the prioress is head of a house of certain orders of nuns. Nuns also had one other special job during the middle ages. Nuns were some of the only woman that had any sort of literacy, therefore nuns provided the only source of education to young women. This was an important job because many women in the middle ages were not usually educated. 

             In addition to working, reading, church, and worshiping nuns spent many hours a day meditating and praying. The daily life of nuns was centered around "The Book of Hours." "The Book of Hours" was the main prayer book nuns used. The book is broken up into eight sections. The names of the sections include , “Lauds (the early morning service of divine office, approximately 5am),Matins (the night office; the service recited at 2 am in the divine office), Prime (The 6am service), Sext (the third of the Little Hours of divine office, recited at the sixth hour (noon)),Nones (the fourth of the Little Hours of the divine office, recited at the ninth hour (3 pm)),Terce (the second of the Little Hours of divine office, recited at the third hour (9 am)),Vespers (the evening service of divine office, recited before dark (4 - 5pm)), and finally Compline (the last of the day services of divine office, recited before retiring (6pm)),”(www.lordsandladies.org).  Each section contains prayers, hymns, psalms, and other readings that helped the nuns make their way to salvation. As each one of these sections came throughout the day, the nuns were to stop whatever they were doing and do the days reading out of the "The Book of Hours". All in all, this is what the day of a nun living in the middle ages looked like. There is no doubt nuns played an important role in the development of civilization during the middle ages. 

Work Cited

Cartwright, Mark. "The Daily Life of Medieval Nuns." Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient
             History Encyclopedia, 26 Oct. 2019,
             https://www.ancient.eu/article/1298/the-daily-life-of-medieval-nuns/.
Daily Life of a Nun in the Middle Ages,

http://www.lordsandladies.org/daily-life-nun-middle-ages.htm.

Stained Glass of Horror 

Imagine yourself 100 feet or more off the ground trying to piece together hundreds of different panels of glass in order to make a scene come together. That is what stained-glass craftsmen in the middle ages had to deal with on a daily basis all the while trying not break the glass or fall to their death. Stained glass windows produced in the middle ages were primarily used in Gothic churches, monasteries and for the wealthiest of people and usually consisted of Biblical scenes.  

You can imagine the time and energy it must have taken to produce an image like the one shown above. This stained-glass window that takes its shape as a rose is hung in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, and was built in 13^th century by Pierre De Montreuil. Stained glass craftsmen belonging to a guild often installed the windows that can still be seen today in cathedrals, churches and castles alike. These were dedicated and very skilled labors that performed these dangerous jobs. Stained glass windows reigned supreme in the middle ages and still inspire artists today. The largest stained-glass window in the world is in Texas. Over the centuries many of the stained-glass windows in Europe have had replacement work done to them in order to preserve their history. We know how stain glass windows were made in the middle ages because of a set of instructions wrote down by a monk using a pseudonym Theophilus. In this book Theophilus states how to prepare wood ash, mix sand, melt together, blow frit which means to add color, and flatten into sheets of glass. He also explained how to make colored glass. Stained glass windows also doubled as teaching tools allowing one to follow along all the different Biblical scenes.

This beautiful window is hung in the Chartres Cathedral, France

Caldwell, Zelda. "How was stained glass made in the Middle Ages?" Aleteia, 15 Oct. 2018, aleteia.org/2018/10/15/how-was-stained-glass-made-in-the-middle-ages/.

Getty, Paul J. "Stained glass: history and technique." , www.khanacademy.org/humanities/medieval-world/gothic1/a/stained-glass-history-and-technique.

Salerno's School Medicine.

University of Salerno- A Medieval Medical School

The University of Salerno was one of 

the chief medical schools in medieval Europe.

The university was founded in the 10th century

by Benedictine Monks, and it quickly became 

the most prestigious medical school in Europe.

Located in the Southern Peninsula of Italy, 

the school attracted a wide array of pupils. 

While the students were from various places 

they shared the same longing to learn medical 

practices. Unlike most other universities of the

time, Salerno allowed women to attend. 

 

               The diverse population allowed for an intermingling

              of cultures that gave the university a great advantage. 

               Students were able to gain a valuable look into the                    medical field through various historical texts within                     the Monastic library at Monte Cassino. Some of the                    texts were written by the Greeks, Arabs, Islams,                      and Byzantium. This large array of information                          helped in producing knowledgable and well-trained                  physicians. As one of the most influential universities                of its time, Salerno produced great doctors as well as                  other great works like the Regimen Sanitatis                               Salernitanum, a medical poem. The university's                        renown remained until the 13th century and it still                     remains one of the first and notable universities in                     history.