Huizinga agrees that knighthood and chivalry helped shape the rise of optimism in the late Middle Ages, but he states that the institution also served as a source of unfounded aestheticism. Chivalry was a goal that allowed men to dream about a life of heroism, good deeds, and spiritual wealth. It is easy to see why knights were often elevated to a nearly Christ-like position, and even today every man wants to be a knight and every woman wants a knight on a white horse. Our views of chivalry and
Because life in the noble court was hardly heroic or aesthetic, tournaments were often held in an attempt to display the codes of chivalry. Tournaments were usually staged, but thoroughly enjoyed nonetheless because they offered an escape from reality. Pomp and decoration, combined with heroic fancy expressed the romantic needs of the time. Nobles and peasants alike wanted remember the “imaginary world of Arthur” (84) and tournaments gave them the opportunity to call upon a fairy tale.
Religion also played a large part in the development of the ideology of chivalry. The church was philosophically opposed to knight’s role as a warrior and it was openly opposed to tournaments, but that opinion changed quickly when the church wanted to launch into the Crusades. Because the church needed warriors to fight for the capture of Jerusalem, knights became the arm of the Catholic Church. Churchmen liked the idea of high standards and made the knighting ceremony a religious occasion with a church vigil and purifying bath. Thus, the role of the knight was expanded to include protector of the Christian faith.
During the Middle Ages, the Catholicism was the only recognized denomination of the Christian faith, and the Catholic Church took great advantage of their solidarity. The power of the church greatly surpassed religious borders; the papacy was rooted more in politics and corruption than in religious dedication. The Church’s increased involvement in political matters is best portrayed by their instigation of the Crusades in the eleventh century.
Just as the institution of chivalry was founded on the search for a hero, religion also became centered on the need for a idealized figurehead. Herein enters Pope Gregory the Great, “the great instigator of the Middle Ages” (64). Gregory struggled to create a pure institution based upon stable and accessible popular theology. There is finally a movement to appeal to the emotion of the lower classes as well as the nobles. It is fair to say that throughout the Middle Ages, the majority of the peasants did not understand Catholic theology; rather they attended church out of routine and fear. Gregory strived to appeal to the emotions of the peasants, thus we see a marked change in Catholic theology. Catholics in this era began to see salvation as a God’s reward for the accumulation of holy merit, and the church was responsible for distributing merit. Herein we also see the introduction of the saint as an intermediary between man and God. Like a knight, saints were idealized as mythic heroes capable of solving problems beyond human reach.
The best example of the secularization of saints is obvious in medieval art. Early in the Middle Ages there is a movement away from artistic reality; artists rejected the ideals of perfection in form and technique. Rather, artists chose to present images in a form that would cause the audience to appreciate the sanctity of the subject matter, which was always religious. Artists realized that the “importance of the subject is closely connected with the artistic value” (245) and thus artists strove to depict their favorite saints in a light that would command attention and respect. Saints were viewed as figures of respect and authority, and thus early medieval artists painted saints as though they were beyond humanity. Rarely were saints depicted by early medieval artists as unknowing or mystified; saints held the answers to all of life’s greatest questions.
Although the early Middle Ages focused on the sanctity of the saint, many artists of the late Middle Ages focused on the humanity of religious figures. The best example of this humanization is the Virgin Mary. In early paintings Mary is depicted as any saint, removed and regal. It is obvious that she is beyond human grasp and contains a divine spark which humans can only hope to achieve; however in the late Middle Ages artists began painting the Virgin as a mother and woman with human emotions. Most paintings of Mary depict her holding the infant Jesus, and artists of the late Middle Ages often used the bond between mother and child to remind viewers that Mary was indeed human. In the late Middle Ages, we see a greater shift towards a “naïve wonder” about emotion, humanity, and divinity.
The middle ages are a far more complex time period than most people believe. We automatically think of knights in shining armor, banquets, jesters and minstrels, and romantic escapades, the middle ages were a period of great confusion. Institutions such as chivalry were established in an attempt to find meaning and value in declining society, and the search for sublimity in otherwise dismal surroundings extended even to the church and religious art.
