Medieval Europe and Japan

Paper Summary:

In the Middle Ages, two civilizations at opposite ends of the globe evolved in a strangely similar manner. The paper looks at the similarities between Western Europe and Japan in the Middle Ages. It shows how both had its feudal age. It discusses how, in Europe, the Roman Catholic Church exerted a powerful influence from Sweden to Italy and in Japan, Buddhist temples and monasteries from Hokkaido to Kyushu. In the West, civilization rebuilt itself after the fall of a great empire, while in the Far East a new nation emerged that modeled itself after the ancient civilization of its powerful neighbor, China.

From the Paper:

"On the other side of the world, in Europe, art and architecture only came into their own in the High Middle Ages, that is, the period from about the Twelfth to the Fifteenth Centuries. Medieval engineers discovered the power of the pointed arch and the flying buttress, and built lofty cathedrals and towers of whose walls seemed made entirely out of beautifully patterned stained glass. Many of these structures were almost completely covered with statues of kings and queens, saints, and monsters. This period of cultural fluorescence coincided with the rebirth of the towns, and the full-flowering of the feudal system. Knights and priests developed the code of chivalry with its devotion to honor, justice, and fair play. Troubadours sang of heroic exploits and courtly love the unconsummated (at least theoretically) passion of a knight for an unobtainable lady."

More papers on Medieval Europe and Japan:

• Essay # 31886 : "Meiji Japan"
• Essay # 40209 : "The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe"
• Essay # 28044 : "The Way of the Warrior"

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