什麼是中世紀

Middle Ages

歐洲歷史上一段時期，傳統上是指羅馬帝國衰亡到文藝復興初期這段時間。在西元5世紀，西羅馬帝國曆經了人口、經濟活力、城市的規模和優越地位等方面的衰退，同時也引發大量的人口遷移（3世紀開始）。到了5世紀，這些通稱為「野蠻人」的人從衰落的西方帝國的原型中建立起新的國家。在接下來的幾個世紀中，這些王國遇見到了野蠻人、基督教徒和羅馬文化、政治傳統之間的融合。其中最長久的法蘭克王國為後來的歐洲國家建立了基礎。它產生了中世紀最偉大的統治者查理曼皇帝，他的統治成為接下來幾個世紀的典範。查理曼帝國的衰落和新一波的侵略導致中世紀社會的重建。11～13世紀成為中世紀文化發展的顛峯時期。教會經過改革增強了教宗在教會和社會的地位，但卻引發了教宗和皇帝之間的摩擦。人口的成長、城鎮和農田的欣欣向榮、商人階級的出現和政府官僚機構的發展都是這一時期文化和經濟復興的結果。與此同時，成千上萬的騎士響應教會的號召，紛紛加入十字軍。中世紀的文明隨着哥德式建築、新的宗教秩序的出現，以及學術和大學的擴展而在13世紀達到了頂峯。教會主宰了知識生活，產生了托馬斯.阿奎那的經院哲學。中世紀的衰落源自中世紀民族政府的衰亡、天主教教會的大分裂、中世紀神學和哲學的爭辯，以及因饑荒和疾病帶來的人口和經濟的崩潰。

395年～1500年

Middle Ages

Period in European history traditionally dated from the fall of the Roman Empire to the dawn of the Renaissance. In the 5th century the Western Roman Empire endured declines in population, economic vitality, and the size and prominence of cities. It also was greatly affected by a dramatic migration of peoples that began in the 3rd century. In the 5th century these peoples, often called barbarians, carved new kingdoms out of the decrepit Western Empire. Over the next several centuries these kingdoms oversaw the gradual amalgamation of barbarian, Christian, and Roman cultural and political traditions. The longest lasting of these kingdoms, that of the Franks, laid the foundation for later European states. It also produced Charlemagne, the greatest ruler of the Middle Ages, whose reign was a model for centuries to come. The collapse of Charlemagne's empire and a fresh wave of invasions led to a restructuring of medieval society. The 11th through 13th centuries mark the high point of medieval civilization. The church underwent reform that strengthened the place of the pope in church and society but led to clashes between the pope and emperor. Population growth, the flourishing of towns and farms, the emergence of merchant classes, and the development of governmental bureaucracies were part of cultural and economic revival during this period. Meanwhile, thousands of knights followed the call of the church to join the Crusades. Medieval civilization reached its apex in the 13th century with the emergence of Gothic architecture, the appearance of new religious orders, and the expansion of learning and the university. The church dominated intellectual life, producing the Scholasticism of St. Thomas Aquinas. The decline of the Middle Ages resulted from the break down of medieval national governments, the great papal schism, the critique of medieval theology and philosphy, and economic and population collapse brought on by famine and disease.