Thursday, April 22, 2010

Medieval Imagination

File:Seraph medieval.jpgLike all great civilizations and time periods the Medieval age had ideas that were trademarks of their time or set precedents that other eras. The most capable thing a human has at his disposal is his mind. Using a collaboration of thoughts and ideas from a variety of people new ideas can be formed which define a culture. These ideas ranged from religion to the way people viewed social orders. A specific example of how the people in the Medieval ages used their mental capacities, or "imaginations", to define their culture is in their religious beliefs. As evidenced by their repeated changes in architecture reflected their ever changing views of religion. Their minds took them all around religious beliefs and they practiced many different examples of the same basic religion before passing onto a new one. Medieval ideas were not always the best things for the world, however. Social classes are the best examples. The aristocrats had power and the serfs did not. It was simple and peaceful, as thought by the people at the top of the ladder. Movement was impossible within these orders and if you were born a serf you died a serf. These ideas seemed fine at the time for most of the people but for others it was not. It was just one of the things that was not as great as was made out to be. The Medieval imagination was a wonderful thing just as any imagination was and proved that people had the abilty to conform or be radical. Either way, imagination was the key.  

"Medieval Sourcebook: Gregory of Tours: Harsh Treatment of Serfs and Slaves, C."FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 23 Apr. 2010. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/575Rauching.html>.

British Medieval Architecture. Web. 23 Apr. 2010. <http://www.medievalarchitecture.net/>.

"File:Seraph Medieval.jpg." Wikimedia Commons. Web. 23 Apr. 2010. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seraph_medieval.jpg>.

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