Primary Sources Flashcards
1
Q
Arras: The Charter of the Shearers, 1236
A
- charter for Arras, Flanders (now NE France)
- rules & obligations of masters, journeymen, and apprentices for their operation in the fraternity of the shearers
The textile industry became the most important manufacturing industry in the High Middle Ages. The Flemings had long been famous for their fine woollen cloth.
2
Q
Charter of Lorris, 1155
A
- a charter written by Louis VII to the town of Lorris, which stipulates its rights and obligations
- reveals how townspeople, or burghers, differed from peasants
3
Q
The Lombard Communes as Viewed by a German Bishop
A
- written by Otto of Freising (1111-1158)
- bishop and a Cistercian monk (St. Bernard’s order)
- talks about the young Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa’s (his nephew) attempts to dominate northern Italy, which were theoretically subject to the emperor
- Barbarossa’s invasion of 1154 was met with staunch resistance from townspeople willing to fight for the independence of their commune
- seems to both admire their wealth & sophistication and be shocked at their lack of respect for feudal nobility
4
Q
Sic et Non
A
- written by Peter Abelard (1079-1142)
- a textbook written in Latin to his students about God, Jesus, human nature, the Bible, and the early history of the church
- he offered apparently contradictory passages, and rather than offering his expert opinion, he offered advice on how to use reasoning
- his idea was that reason could help clarify matters of faith
- Aristotle scholasticism
5
Q
Sermon 3: The Kiss of the Lord’s Feet, Hands, and Mouth
A
- written by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
- one of 86 sermons written for Cistercian monks on The Song of Songs
- deals with the meaning of the first verse spoken by the bride, “Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth,” upon which Bernard builds his discussion of a monk rising up to union with God in 3 stages: kissing the Lord’s feet, hands, then mouth
- individual experience with God neo-Platonism emotional connection
6
Q
Usama ibn Munquidh, ca. 1181
A
- excerpts from autobiography of Usama ibn Munquidh, a Muslim aristocrat from Syria
- says Frankish knights are the only men of value within the Franks
- chronicles the attacks of Tancred, lord of Antioch, and a Kurd named Hasanoûn
- says the Franks are superior in courage & zeal for fighting but in nothing else
- comments on their medicine practice: the failures and successes
- the inhumanity of new Franks vs. established Franks
- the lack of understanding of jealousy by Franks
7
Q
Albert of Aachen on the Peasant’s Crusade
A
- written between 1125-50 by a German cleric named Albert of Aachen, chronicling the First Crusade
- chronicles Peter the Hermit’s urging for everyone to set on the expedition ASAP
- all classes responded: first, monks, bishops, abbots, and clergy; then, noble laymen and princes; finally, all commoners of every profession and status
- covers the ups and downs of Walter the knight & co
- Peter followed Walter’s path with an innumerable army
- many of the pilgriming soldiers cruelly slaughtered Jews on the way, particularly in Lorraine and Mainz
- some followed a “Holy” goose and goat for guidance to the Holy Land
8
Q
Fulcher of Chartres
A
- after the First Crusade (1096-99)
- a priest named Fulcher of Chartres describes the 1095 Council of Clermont, where Pope Urban II was rallying knights to defend their Greek brethren of Byzantium and take armed pilgrimage to reclaim the Holy Land from the Muslims
- the usual topics were covered: celibacy of clergy, simony, violence, and lay investiture
9
Q
The Concordat of Worms
A
- 1122
- a concordat between Pope Calixtus II and Henry V, that achieved a compromise in the Investiture Controversy in the Holy Roman Empire that ended the war between emperors and popes
- allowed emperor one veto in bishop elections, as well as authority to invest them with the lance
- the king could no long invest sacred ring & staff
10
Q
Excommunication of Henry IV
A
- 1075
- Pope Gregory VII wrote this letter passive-aggressively “to Saint Peter,” when it was clearly directed at Henry IV and his underlings
- Gregory VII excommunicates Henry IV for his proud denial of papal authority
11
Q
Raoul of Cambrai
A
- written during the time of Philip Augustus
- epic poem
- reflects concerns of the aristocracy of maintaining loyalty of their vassals & fiefs
- also highlights the extreme yet limited loyalty of vassals to their lords
12
Q
Heresy and Orthodoxy in a French Village
A
- the record of heresy inquisition against some of the last Cathars and their sympathizers in southern France in 1320
13
Q
The Life of St. Francis
A
- a hagiography of St. Francis
- expresses the enthusiasm of the Fransiscans of their early years and the process of spiritual renewal in the Catholic church
- written by the friar Thomas of Celano
14
Q
The Decameron
A
- written in 1353 by Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375)
- a collection of witty stories as tales told by refugees from Florence during the Black Death in 1348
15
Q
Summa theologiae
A
- by Thomas Aquinas
- from the second part of the second part concerning human acts in particular: virtues and vices
- scholastic style of argumentation
- cold and logical
1- each question begins with several objections to the question that present arguments or authoritative statements
2- then a contrary statement is presented
3- then Thomas gives his answer and replies to each objection
