Transcript Middle Ages PowerPoint

Medieval Period
An Overview of the Middle Ages
• Control of most of Europe by the Catholic
Church
• General lack of education and literacy among
the common people
• Feudalism as the basis of society
• The beginning of Islam
• The Crusades
• The Black Death
 After the fall of the Roman Empire, the largest
organized group in the world was the Catholic
Church.
 Because of their organization and the lack of
education of other people, the clergy became the
most powerful social class of this time.
 Through exploitation of the lack of knowledge
and the prominence of superstitions, the Catholic
Church in general, and the Pope specifically, were
able to amass huge amounts of land and wealth,
and were able to control most of Europe.
 The Catholic Church was
responsible for the destruction of
many of the written works of Greek
and Roman authors as well as
much of the Greek and Roman arts
and architecture.
 This was done for the purpose of
trying to eliminate the “pagan”
beliefs of the Greeks and
Romans. Many of the practices
of these pagan cults were
assimilated into the traditions
of our religious holidays such as
celebrations of Christmas,
Easter, and Halloween.
 What organization held the most power during
the Middle Ages?
 Why were the works of the Greeks and Romans
destroyed?
 Why was it to the church’s advantage to limit the
teaching reading to the clergy?
 Because of Catholic control, most of the surviving
arts (written, visual, musical, and dance) of the
period are sacred and religious in nature.
•Paintings
•Statues
•Mosaics
•Tapestries
•Architecture