The High Catholic Age didn’t just give the world monasteries, advances in technology, universities, revolutions in philosophy, the foundation for the natural sciences, and free markets (as if that wasn’t plenty enough). No, while all these advances were nothing short of world-changing, we would be betraying history if we didn’t also point out the era’s astounding contributions to the greater culture, namely in the areas of art, music, literature, and architecture.
Just in case you didn’t know, it was during the High Catholic Age (supposedly the “Dark Ages”!) that musical notation was invented and musicians began to experiment with greater complexity of harmonies between various instruments like the pipe organ, the clavichord and harpsichord, the violin and bass fiddle among others” (Stark, Victory of Reason 51). It was during the High Catholic Age that we find the first use of oil paint upon a stretched canvas; and it was during the High Catholic Age that the use of common language (vernacular) was popularized in literature (think of writers like Dante and Geoffrey Chaucer).
The Troubadours
In fact, perhaps the biggest influence in the area of literature was the rise of the Troubadours. C.S. Lewis described the impact of the Troubadours as a literary movement that “effected a change which has left no corner of our ethics, our imagination, or our daily life untouched, and they erected impossible barriers between us and the classical past or the Oriental present. Compared with this revolution, the Renaissance is a mere ripple on the surface of literature” (W. Andrew Hoffecker, Revolutions in Worldview 150).
So what exactly was the hallmark of Troubadour love poetry and prose? Think of chivalrous knights, virtuous ladies, the legends of King Arthur, and the concept of courtly love. It was the Troubadours who invented this entire genre that has forever affected literature (and movies) to this day. In courtly love poetry, a knight, upon seeing a certain virtuous lady, is immediately overcome with a painful yearning to gain her attention and love. Therefore, he devotes his passion and loyalty to his lady-lover to honor her, love her, protect her, and care for her. Simply put, his love for his lady makes him into a more chivalrous, noble man.
This was nothing more than the celebration of romantic love, not for the purposes of just indulging in illicit sexual exploits, but rather for the purposes of transforming the lovers into more godly and honorable human beings. Indeed, anyone who reads Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur will be struck at the deep Christian imagery and themes throughout the entire work. One cannot truly pursue one’s lady-love unless one also devotes himself to pursuing Christ. Simply put, it was the Troubadours and the concept of courtly love that essentially “Christianized,” and thus glorified, the whole notion of romance.
What’s up with where Literature Courses put Dante and Chaucer?
Other literary achievements of the High Catholic Age can be seen in the works of Dante Alighieri (1265-1321 AD), Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400 AD), Petrarch (1304-1374 AD), and Boccaccio (1313-1375 AD). For reasons that completely escape me, in most literature books, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales is set firmly within Medieval Literature, whereas Dante’s Divine Comedy is mostly associated with the Renaissance. I don’t understand the rationale for this, given the fact that Dante actually lived his entire life before Chaucer was even born! For some reason, Dante is almost always associated with a movement that took root over 100 years after his death. Why is that done?
I have a theory. As we will learn later on, one of the things the proponents of the so-called Enlightenment of the 18th century tried to do what to portray the previous 1500 years of European history as “the dark ages.” In fact, the very terms of “the dark ages” and “the enlightenment” were made up by men who hated the Church, and therefore were trying to argue that science was breaking the chains of old, religious superstition. It’s a narrative that most people still buy into: the part of history in which Christianity was most influential was characterized by fear, terror, superstition, and ignorance (i.e. the “dark ages); whereas ever since the dawn of science and reason, history is now hearkening back to that “golden age” of ancient Greece and Rome (i.e. the “enlightenment”).
Of course, such a narrative is false to the core. As we have been seeing, there wasn’t a “dark ages.” In fact, it was precisely because of Christianity’s influence that what we have come to deem as “the dark ages” was actually a time of incredible enlightenment on many levels. So what does this have to do with placing Dante in the Renaissance, when he actually lived and wrote 100 years before Chaucer? Well, if you know anything about Dante’s Divine Comedy, you know that it is filled with references to ancient Greek and Roman mythology of the ancient classical period. Of course, the proponents of the so-called “Enlightenment” argued that it was only during the Renaissance that literature of ancient Greece and Rome was rediscovered—after all, people in those “dark ages” were ignorant of classical learning!
But then here we have Dante—clearly living in what was deemed “the dark ages,” yet clearly displaying a thorough knowledge of classical learning. What’s an Enlightenment thinker to do? Such a fact completely disrupts the whole Enlightenment narrative of history! Well, let’s just insert Dante into the Renaissance, and hope nobody notices the historical contradiction that completely cuts the legs out from under the false Enlightenment narrative of history.
But as anyone with any knowledge of engineering and architecture will acknowledge, the “Gothic” architecture of the High Catholic Age was anything but uncivilized and barbaric. In fact, it vastly surpassed the old Romanesque architecture of ancient Rome. The only way architects of ancient Rome could support the sheer tonnage of stone that was needed to keep the buildings up was to build extremely thick walls. This meant that ancient buildings tended to be extremely dark and dank, due to the fact that there was no room for windows in the thick walls. The architects of the High Catholic Age, though, came up with a revolutionary new architecture: thin walls, supported by flying buttresses, were able to disperse the heavy weight of the roof and actually make the building even more secure.
This also allowed for further creativity: incredibly large, stained-glass windows allowed the sun to bathe the interior of churches with light and display in vivid color artistic renderings of biblical stories. Peasants who either could not read or had no access to a Bible were able to go to church and learn about the Bible and Christian theology through art. And then there was the construction of the high spires and steeples that pointed up toward heaven, giving glory to the Creator who bestowed upon human beings the rationality and creativity to offer up God’s created order in forever varied and creative ways. “Gothic” is certainly wasn’t—it was the new Christian architecture, and it far-surpassed the limited pagan architecture of the old world.
Conclusion
We simply do not appreciate the tremendous leap forward the High Catholic Age in the areas of not only markets, and business, but also hospitals, arts, music, literature and architecture. As you can no doubt tell, I have a palpable antipathy for the so-called Enlightenment, because I’ve come to realize that the standard Enlightenment narrative we in the western world have been fed for the past 250 years is not simply wrong, but it is a purposeful lie. The very terms we just unthinkingly accept (i.e. “Dark Ages,” “Enlightenment”) promote certain assumptions about history and Christianity that never get critically analyzed. And thus, they end up perpetuating an ignorant and uninformed narrative about Christian history.
I joined the Greek Orthodox Church over ten years ago, but being the English major that I am, I still am fascinated by “Medieval” literature, art, music and architecture of the “Catholic” world of western Europe. It utterly amazes me. I have one more post on the High Catholic Age to go. Hopefully, these posts have encouraged you to get more interested in a truly remarkable period of history and culture. The following link is to some Troubadour music on youtube:
