In
1097, The Byzantine (Eastern Roman Empire) Emperor Alexis I
appealed to the Christian powers of western Europe for help
against the growing military threat of the Muslim Seljuk Turks.
What is called the First Crusade retook Nicea, which had been
captured by the Turks. The Crusader armies, under Godfroi de
Bouillon from Belgium, continued on to Palestine, the "Holy
Land", and succeeded in retaking Jerusalem from the Muslims.
The new Christian kingdom of Jerusalem did not last. Orders
of fighting monks were formed around 1100 to help protect Jerusalem,
the Knights of the Hospital (also called the Knights of St.
John--they still remain today as the St. John's Ambulance organization),
and perhaps the most famous of all, the Knights of the Temple,
called the Templars. The fighting monks were probably the best
soldiers of their day, but they were few in number.
Although by nationality a Kurd, Saladin (the English form of
his name) became sultan of the new Ayyubid kingdom of Egypt.
He was a skillful enough general and politician that he became
leader of most of the Muslim people in the Middle East, whether
Arab, Turk, Syrian, Palestinian, Egyptian or Kurd. Saladin defeated
the main crusader army led by the Templars at the Battle of
Hattin on July 4, 1187. The Third Crusade was begun to avenge
the defeat. The crusader army under the English king, Richard
"the Lionheart", fought many battles with Saladin,
but could not break his power. Saladin's full name in Arabic
is Salah al Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub (which means Salah al Din Joseph
son of Jacob -- Yusuf=Joseph, Ayyub=Jacob, and ibn=son of).
But his followers simply called him Al Nasir, "the victorious".
The Children's Crusade takes place in 1212. In a mass protest
movement (sort of like 13th century hippies), thousands of children
from Western Europe gather to march on the Holy Land to reclaim
Jerusalem. However, when they reached the mediterranean port
of Marseilles, most are taken by unscrupulous merchants and
sold into slavery. A number of others die of disease or hunger
and few ever see their homes again.
The Phonecians were some of the first bankers in the ancient
world. While trade never disappeared after the fall of the Western
Roman Empire, old trading patterns did change and ancient banking
practices fell into disuse. Banking as we know it today re-emerged
in Europe at about the time of the Crusades. In Italian city
states, such as Rome, Venice and Genoa, and in the fairs of
medieval France, there was a need to transfer sums of money
for trading purposes. This led to the development of such banking
services as bills of exchange, a kind of early form of credit.
It is possible such bills had been used by the Arabs in the
8th century and by Jewish merchants in the 10th, but the earliest
surviving contract of this type is one from two merchant brothers
from Genoa from 1156 AD.
The Black Death ravages Europe between 1347 and 1351. The Black
Death was the bubonic plague, spread by the bite of rat fleas.
It was carried by Italian soldiers from the Black Sea port of
Kaffa where they had been fighting back to their homes. From
Italy it spread to almost all of the continent. The worst single
year of the plague was 1348. Some 75 million people, a third
of the population of Europe, died. The rhyme "Ring Around
the Rosie" and the folk story "The Pied Piper of Hamelin"
both are based on the Black Death.
High
Middle Ages Giotto di Bondone
(born 1266 or 1267, died 1337) Italian
Although
Giotto may have been one of the most famous people of his time,
and one of the most sought after artists in Italy, there is
no surviving painting that is documented as being by him. As
dates of birth were not often recorded in the 13th century,
it is not even known exactly when Giotto was born. While a few
paintings are signed, this is like a trademark showing it came
from Giotto's workshop, but it does not mean it was done by
Giotto himself. But, we do know from different sources that
the frescoes (paintings on fresh, still wet plaster--usually
found on walls or ceilings) of the Arena Chapel in the city
of Padua were done by Giotto. By comparing these works with
other paintings, art historians and experts work like detectives
looking at style and colour. While some works are accepted as
the product of Giotto's own hand, others are less certain.
The little that we do know about Giotto, however, still makes
him one of the most important artists and thinkers in Western
culture ("Western" refers to Western Europe and those
areas of North America that later came under European domination).
He is seen as the founder of Western painting and art, breaking
with centuries old Greek (or "eastern") traditions.
Byzantine art had been dominant before, but it was highly stylized
and symbolic, used more or less in the same way political advertising
is used today, to glorify the political and religious rulers
of the day.
Most of Giotto's works still had a religious theme, but he introduced
new ideas. His subjects were more natural, he gave them an emotional
depth portraits had lacked before, and while perspective was
not yet developed, his paintings had a more realistic sense
of space.
The frescoes of the Arena Chapel consist of a series of 38 individual
paintings, with subjects taken from the lives of Jesus Christ
and the Virgin Mary. The series on the life of St. Francis in
the Church of San Francesco in the town of Assisi are also considered
another of his greatest works, but not all experts agree that
these frescoes were done by Giotto.
Giotto's father had a small farm near Florence. When he was
about 12 years old, Giotto's skill at drawing had been recognized
and he began to work in an art studio. His genius was recognized
in his life time, and Giotto became a rich man. Although considered
short and not very good looking, he was a great practical joker.
In 1334, his native city, Florence, gave him the title of Great
Master, and made him chief architect and superintendent of public
works. He designed the "campanile" or bell tower of
Florence, but Giotto died in 1337 before it was completed.
Mosaic of the Byzantines
Mosaic,
building a picture out of tiny coloured tiles, bits of glass
or stones, was one of the main artitistic achievements of the
Byzantines. One of the best preserved examples is in the church
decorations of the cathedral of Monreale in Palermo, Sicily.
This mosaic, called Christ as the Panocrator with the Virgin,
Angels and Saints, was created in the 12th century. Typical
of Byzantine style, the figure of Christ, while fairly realistic,
is still highly stylized, somewhat flat and stiff. For the Byzantines,
the symbolism of the picture, here Christ as all-powerful creator,
was more important than simple realism. Compare this work with
a painting by Giotto, an Italian master artist of the Middle
Ages. While his work shows Byzantine influence, his figures
are much more natural and realistic.
