Renaissance of the 12th century

• 1. Political Consolidation And Centralization

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  Charlemagne ruled the Franks from 768 to 814 and held the title of Holy Roman Emperor from 800 until his death in 814. His reign laid the groundwork for future learning by creating new churches and schools where students were required to learn Latin and Greek. This effort has been called the Carolingian Renaissance, though some historians argue it was merely a veneer on a changing society rather than a true rebirth. A second renaissance occurred during the reign of Otto I, King of the Saxons from 936 to 973. He unified his kingdom and asserted his right to appoint bishops and archbishops throughout his realm. Otto's assumption of ecclesiastical power brought him into close contact with the most educated men in his kingdom. Because of this connection many new reforms were introduced in the Saxon Kingdom and the Holy Roman Empire. Historians have labeled this period the Ottonian Renaissance, yet it too is often viewed as less substantial than the movement that followed.

• 2. The Translation Movement Across Cultures

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  Trade and commerce expanded significantly after the era of the Crusades brought large groups of Europeans into contact with Byzantine technologies and luxuries. Crusaders returning home brought numerous small luxuries and souvenirs which stimulated a new appetite for trade. Rising Italian maritime powers such as Genoa and Venice began to monopolize trade between Europe, Muslims, and Byzantium via the Mediterranean Sea. Cities like Florence became major centers of this financial industry. In Northern Europe the Hanseatic League emerged in the 12th century following the foundation of Lübeck in 1158 or 1159. Many northern cities of the Holy Roman Empire became Hanseatic cities including Hamburg, Stettin, Bremen, and Rostock. Hanseatic cities outside the empire included Bruges, London, and Gdańsk. The increased contact with the Islamic world in Muslim-dominated Iberia allowed Western Europeans to seek and translate works by Hellenic and Islamic philosophers. Several translations were made of Euclid but no extensive commentary was written until the middle of the 13th century. Trade routes reinvigorated land-based connections between China and West Asia during the Pax Mongolica period.

• 3. Scholastic Reasoning And Systematic Theology

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  A new form of Christian theology developed during this period championed by scholastics who emphasized a systematic and rational approach to divine matters. Initially inspired by Boethius's commentaries on Aristotle's logic and Calcidius's commentary on Plato's Timaeus the movement gained strength from new Latin translations. Constantine the African translated texts in the Papal States while the Toledo School of Translators worked in Castile. James of Venice operated in Constantinople to facilitate these exchanges. France particularly the University of Paris became a center for transmitting these new texts. Early French figures such as Roscelin, Peter Abelard, and William of Conches faced condemnation or were obliged to bowdlerize their treatment of sensitive subjects like Plato's world soul. Subsequently scholastic scholars of the 13th century such as Albertus Magnus, Bonaventure, and Thomas Aquinas became revered as doctors of the Church. They used secular study and logic to uphold existing orthodoxy. One of the main questions during this period was the problem of the universals. Prominent non-scholastics of the time included Peter Damian, Bernard of Clairvaux, and the Victorines.

• 4. Mechanical Innovations In Production

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  During the High Middle Ages there was increased innovation in means of production leading to economic growth and general prosperity. Water-driven hammers to pulp plant fibres for textiles are documented as early as 1010 in Upper Palatinate in Germany. Hemp is manufactured mechanically in France around 1040 where a fulling mill is first mentioned in Normandy about 1086. The chapter of Notre-Dame de Paris runs a tanning mill documented in 1138. First windmills known as post mills are developed in the 12th century and even exported to the Middle East during the Third Crusade. By the end of the 12th century they were so numerous that Pope Celestine III put a tax on them. Waterpowered paper mills were first documented in 1238 in Spanish Valencia. In 1268 Fabriano in the Southeast of the Italian peninsula had seven mills producing paper. A first paper mill in France is recorded in Puy-de-Déme in 1326. The magnetic compass aided navigation attested in Europe in the late 12th century while the dry compass was invented in 12th century France.

• 5. Universities And Cathedral Schools

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  The cathedral schools at Chartres, Orléans, and Canterbury were centers of Latin literature staffed by notable scholars. John of Salisbury served as secretary at Canterbury before becoming bishop of Chartres. He held Cicero in the highest regard in philosophy language and humanities. Latin humanists possessed and read virtually all the Latin authors we have today including Ovid Virgil Terence Horace Seneca and Cicero. Exceptions were few such as Tacitus Livy and Lucretius. In poetry Virgil was universally admired followed by Ovid. The nascent universities would become Aristotelean centers displacing the Latin humanist heritage until its final revival by Petrarch in the 14th century. The University of Bologna recognized as the world's oldest continuously operating university became Europe's centre of legal scholarship during this period. The study of the Digest was the first step to the revival of Roman legal jurisprudence. The development of medieval universities allowed them to aid materially in the translation and propagation of texts. They started a new infrastructure which was needed for scientific communities.

• 6. Gothic Architecture And Vernacular Poetry

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  Abbot Suger of the Abbey of St. Denis is considered an influential early patron of Gothic architecture. He believed that love of beauty brought people closer to God stating that the dull mind rises to truth through material things. From 1100 monumental abbeys and cathedrals were constructed and decorated with sculptures hangings mosaics and works belonging to one of the greatest epochs of art. The 12th-century renaissance saw a revival of interest in poetry written mostly in native languages. Contemporary poets produced significantly more work than those of the Carolingian Renaissance. The subject matter varied wildly across epic lyric and dramatic forms. Meter was no longer confined to classical forms and began to diverge into newer schemes. Additionally the division between religious and secular poetry became smaller. In particular the Goliards were noted for profane parodies of religious texts. These expansions of poetic form contributed to the rise of vernacular literature which tended to prefer newer rhythms and structures. Trade routes like those of the Hanseatic League facilitated the spread of these cultural ideas across Northern Europe.