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.

In time, some commoners continued to use the Latin language while others moved towards using elements of the Greek and Roman language. While this is the case, it is the Latin texts which have become most well known over the years. While a number of these texts survived the time, others were destroyed over the years.

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.

Even when writers would submit original story lines, themes would often be attributed as having been quoted by an actor or actors. After which, the name of the authors took on less importance with many stories never attributed to a specific person. In time, authors became more respected, noted and honored for future works.

As one might expect, stories of this era were dominated by theology and religion. The Bible, found in most homes was the premier book of the ages. Whereas, a number of different books on philosophy and theology could be found in libraries. As Catholics remained the intellectual center, there were a number of religious texts, philosophies and theories published at the time.

While a great deal of work was based in philosophy and theology, there were also sacred texts written with a purpose. For example, multiple treaties were written which attempted to reconcile pagan authors and the church. While successful at first, many pagans decided to reject the treaties and return to Greek and Roman writings rather than align with 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 two notable Jewish authors working during the Middle Ages, these were Maimonides, born in Spain and Rashi, born in France. Each was quite well known for a number of different writings related to a variety of religious texts. Although, it was not long after that secular books like that of Beowolf and others began to show up at the marketplace and at different libraries in Europe, and eventually, the world.




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