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Monday, December 28, 2015

Understanding The Writing Of A Medieval Author

By Rebecca Clark


Due to the events of the time, it is easy to locate a number of writings though most were written in Latin. It is far more difficult to identify the first medieval author. For, during the Catholic church dominated central and western Europe during the Middle Ages. As a result, the church remained one of the only institutes of learning at the time.

Some commoners continued to use Latin for quite some time, especially in hymns and poems. Later, there was a conversion in which some elements of the Celtic and Roman languages were penned or combined with Latin. Though, it is the Latin writings which seem to have become the most well known text in history.

When one thinks of Celts associated with the Middle Ages, King Arthur usually comes to mind. For, it is King Arthur and the Round Table that made the period as memorable and remarkable as it has been since the beginning. It is works like the Marie de France and Maginogion which also survived that many in the Catholic faith continue to cherish unlike the pagans who tend to pay homage to King Arthur and the court.

It is interesting that an author would choose to remain anonymous though for many in the Middle Ages, this was the case. In fact, some would even attribute original works to others to avoid confrontation. As a result, the names of the actual authors often took on less importance than the stories presented.

As might be expected, the majority of work created during this period was based in philosophical and theological thought. The Bible being one of the most popular books of the period. Catholics remained the intellectual center of society which resulted in a large collection of theological works being housed in different libraries. After which, a number of philosophical titles and others began to find a way on to shelves in local, regional and national libraries.

Many writings such as those attributed to sacred and secular scholars were based in philosophy and theology. As such, a number of treaties were written with the intention of reconciling the pagan teachings of Greek and Roman authors with that of the Catholic church. At first, the pagan authors accepted these new treaties though later rejected the writings as dogma posed by the church.

The Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine attracted so much attention, it is often said the book was read more than the Bible. Philosophers and poets, priests and others all had writings published during the Middle Ages. When it came to theater, it was the Bible that presented the material for a variety of one act plays based on scripture.

There were also a number of Jewish medieval writers. Two of which were Maimonides and Rashi. Maimonides was born in Spain and Rashi, in France. Each were considered outstanding authors of the period. After which, secular writings such as the well known Beowolf and other stories began to hit local libraries and the marketplace.




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