Western Humanities 201 11 (Final) (Key Words) Flashcards
Gnostics
Based on “Gnosis” or knowledge. Knowledge/Mystical Experience over faith/revelation (Find God through Knowledge). Gnostic “Gospels:” Gospel of Phillip - Said Jesus had sex with Mary Madalin, Gospel of Judas - Said Jesus told Judas to betray him, Gospel of Thomas - Written earlier than others. Gnostic works banned and called heretical, did not make canon and threatened establishment.
Gospel of Thomas
Made up of only sayings/teachings. There was no mention of Jesus suffering on the cross, no passion story, no miracle story, magical healing, ect… Nothing on Jesus’s death, coming of judgment, and resurrection. The Gospel of Thomas stated that the kingdom of God is a state of mind, the Kingdom is now, Jesus was a man, God is within all. You can save yourself and you can discover the light within you.
Edict of Milan
Passed on 313 CE by Constantine. Granted Religious freedom to all, rejected pagan rituals, and ended religious persecution in the empire.
Council of Nicaea
Meeting of church leaders in 325 CE. Meeting served several purposes: To decide who was Jesus? To establish a creed that all churches could abide by, and to get rid of heretical believes. Produce the Nicene Creed, which included the Trinity (father, son, Holy Ghost), Belief in the invisible, Virgin birth, resurrection, and establishment of Catholic Church.
St. Augustine
Transition figure - Classical to Medieval. Stressed the importance of faith over reason, that goodness comes from God, not humans, believed free will of humans leads to evil, and only by faith in God can humans be free of evil.
Constantine
Shared rule of the Eastern half of Roman Empire with his three sons. As a Christian convert, he issued an edict that made Christianity a legal faith. He also founded Constantinople, and made it the capital of the East. Constantinople would become the greatest city in the empire, more important than Rome.
Muruwwah Code
A set of pre-Islamic rules and laws. Stressed bravery, loyalty, generosity, and hospitality.
5 Pillars of Islam
The five pillars of faith are the core of Muslim religious life. They include Verbal affirmation (confession of faith), pray 5 times a day facing Mecca, fast from dawn to sunset during the month of Ramadan, to give alms to the poor (40% of assets of their income), and to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in ones life.
Feudalism
Took place in the High Middle Ages. It was a political organization which consisted of kings, lords, vassals (knights), and serfs (peasants). The Kings oversees the kingdom while the lords are appointed for protection and to handle territory. The vassals/knights provide service to the lords, which include the protection of the lords and the king. The serfs worked the land.
Tripartite Scheme
Men of work, Men of War, and Men of Prayer. Men of work labored in the fields, lacked freedom, and had a low standing in society. Men of Prayer were members of the church and were very powerful. They consisted of monks and priests and were crucial to community. Men of war were professional fighters drawn from nobility. Chevalier “man with horse” (chivalry) - Strict code of conduct, courage/loyalty, courtesy toward women.
Courtly Love
The product of the courts of Europe. Envisioned “Fine Love” as the love of an unattainable lady and male refinement in manners and behavior. Religious component - Virgin Mary.
Mannerism
A cultural movement between 1520 and 1600 that grew out of a rebellion against the Renaissance’s artistic norms of symmetry and balance. Characterized by distortion and incongruity and in thought and literature by the belief that human nature is depraved. Manneristic art is chaotic, exaggerated, complex and emotional.
Why do you consider the Islamic Empire (600 C.E. - 1500 C.E.) to be one of the greatest empires?
Muhammad, the Prophet, Brought peace to Arabia and united inhabitants Gave Arabs new faith based on: Revelation, Ethical code of conduct, Monotheistic deity. Islamic scholars during the Abbasid dynasty, which is known as the Golden Age of Islam, preserved the works of Greek mathematicians, adopted and transmitted the contributions of the Hindus, and made original discoveries in mathematics and the sciences. They and western European scholars passed this accumulated knowledge to western Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries orally and through the creation of many new illuminated manuscripts. More important when Christianity was making its move for absolute power in religion destroying all existence of the original Gospels it was the Islamic culture that saved them, translated them, and later introduced them back into society. Therefore, maintaining the balance and freedom of choice in religion. If not for this culture a thousand years worth of stepping stones for western tradition would have been ethnically cleaned from history.
