The three civilizations of the Mediterranean during the Early Middle Ages

In the Early Middle Ages, three different civilizations shared the Mediterranean Sea: the falling Eastern Roman Empire, Byzantium; the rising Islamic regions in Iberia, Northern Africa, Palestine, Arabia; and the Frankish kingdom of the Carolingean.

The fall of the Byzantine Empire

To medieval thought, there was no “Byzantine Empire”: the territory and its citzens considered it as the Roman Empire, being Constantinople the bastion of the Eternal Rome of Constantine. It’s interesting to observe that, even as the official language was Latin, the current language of its population was mostly greek. The citzens of Byzantium considered themselves as Romanoi.

The splendor happened between the 5th and 6th centuries, times when the Byzantine Empire experienced conditions of wealth and expansion to all Eastern Mediterranean, Italy and South Iberian Peninsula. 

After the 7th century, the expansion was over and the fall of the empire begun. Damascus and Jerusalem were lost to the Persian Empire, in 613-614. After that, the expansion of Islam, that conquered Syria and Egypt. Slavs and Bulgarians gained part of their territories, Normands conquered Sicily and Calabria. 

From the 9th century until the 10th, the Roman Emperors took back their expansion, even conquering Crete, Chipre and momentarily Syria, Palestine and Bulgaria. But after the 11th century, again, the fall increases. The internal structures of power, such as taxing and military, weakened. The external pressures of different powers, such as the Turks sultanates and Bulgarian Empire, made Byzantium’s territories shrink. The Eastern Roman Empire at the 11th century was only a shadow of its former self.

I personally think that the weakening of the Eastern Roman Empire was the main cause to the phenomenon of the Crusades (the first being in 1095-1099). People mostly think the causes to the Crusades at the Western Europe, in France or England. As their internal economic, social, political and cultural of course matters in the historical events of the Crusades, I think that this large military expeditions wouldn’t happen if the Eastern Roman Empire wasn’t falling, and the Christianity (great mark of identity through all Middle Ages) wasn’t threatened.

[And by saying that I don’t mean to justify the violence made by christians against muslims. I just intent to insert the movement in the geo-political context of the Early Middle Ages]

(Main Source: BASCHET, Jérôme. A Civilização Feudal)

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6 Ridiculous Myths About the Middle Ages Everyone Believes

Read more: http://www.cracked.com/article_20186_6-ridiculous-myths-about-middle-ages-everyone-believes.html#ixzz2INN7ppp6

Now, there are some problems with this article that I’d like to point out. But first, I’d like to say its pourpose is VERY GOOD. Middle Ages are misunderstood since it’s a political struggle over the interpretation of History and how it applies to contemporary perspectives.

Now, let’s see some points:

- In number 6, it seems like the author talks about “barbarians” as if they invaded ruthlessly and destroyed every knowledge of the civilized Roman Empire and Catholic Church protected the Roman books. If there is somehow a little bit of truth in that, we must be careful with some ethnocentrics positions: the so called “barbarians” (I prefer to call them by the area they originated, like “germans”) had their own knowledges, like those in the fields of methalurgy, that can’t be ignored.

- About the number 5 and the cleaning, its variable depending on the space. Cultures from south Europe and mediterranean had more continuity with roman culture (many of these derived from islamic influence!), and public baths continued. Those from North of Europe bathed less, no doubt. We must discuss, too, the threshold of  ”nausea” that those people felt, and many of our current hygiene habits are not based on the search for best health of our bodies, but are more into the civilizational process of the West.

- Number 4 about knights… well, it’s quite interesting. Our views on knighthood are based on the romantics of the 19th century (many of them in a critique to the capitalist society). Actually, the most symbolic thing around knights was the use of VIOLENCE. Every signal that is socially related to a knight (armor, shield, horse, sword, spear) is violent. No critiques here to the answer of Cracked.

- About number 3… I think the source about the size of the shoes being related to the size of someone’s penis is not accurate, altho sometimes in medieval iluminated manuscripts it may have this connotation. It’s interesting to say that if the nobilty marriage was, indeed, a political relationship between the upper class struggle for power, in the lower class, however, people were more free to choose who they would marry with (as long as some christians practices standed along). And prostitution was really strong in medieval society.

- In answer number 2: YES! Women were not treated like cattle. There is this portuguese law saying that a man cannot sell any good from his house without consulting his wife. It’s an important matter on how women were not so aparted from society. The center of medieval society, howerver, was the MAN. Women were on the periphery. It doesn’t mean they didn’t have any politic, social or economic power. They acted in the cracks of the system.

- Finnally, number 1: yes, it’s true. People in the Middle Ages didn’t die SO YOUNG as people think, but it depends on dating: some scientific advances on the field of agriculture made life last longer after the 11th century.

Sorry for the English mistakes, people. As I said, it is a blog to train my writting :) I hope this generates discussion!