Essay Example: Late Roman and Medieval Humanities

The Medieval culture impacted the present culture like the demand for freedom and the ideology of chivalry that got practiced in North America. The late Roman philosophers made crucial contributions to the knowledge that people rely on presently including the calendar. It generated the first rule of war that dictated the manner that people fought despite the fact that it was not directly followed to the latter. The paper addresses the main elements of the Late Roman and Medieval ages that shaped the lives of the present experiences. As such, medieval culture made quite a significant contribution towards freedom and equality, enhanced the meaning and dignity of labor as well as in crusading for peoples sovereignty.

Freedom

The Medieval society considered each man and woman as unique creations of God. According to Bod, the people in the medieval era became contented that slavery was against Gods will and evil. St Mathew Gospel iterated that a laborer needed appreciation for their hire (32). The Gospel argued that labor ought to be bought from an individual rather than forcefully taken from the individual. Towards the end of the middle ages, slavery almost had concluded, and it no longer exists in the present world.

Equality

Greek Stoics philosophy impacted the early Christian Church iterated that brotherhood amongst human beings was the most fundamental aspect of human life. Human beings ought to treat each other compassionately and justly. The Greek Stoics meant that people needed to express kindness to their slaves (Bod 7). Democracy came up which gave individuals the voice to determine their economy, society, and states.

Dignity of Labor

The Medieval society got categorized into people that work, the ones that fight and the ones that pray. The church in medieval society played a pivotal role in explaining that work was not bad or a person did not lose dignity if they worked. The Benedictine monks spent a third of their time praying, a third sleeping and the last third working. They indulged in all types of work like copying manuscripts, painting, and no work becomes special compared to another. Labor became classified as necessary even if done by a rich or poor person both became important because it enabled them to fend for their lives and dependents (Bod 7). The same applies to the present world because a persons job affiliation is respected compared to the rest, even if they do not pay well.

Power of the people

The sovereignty and the notion that power lies with the people emanated from the middle age. The church at that time argued that the voice of the people becomes the voice of God, even though the principal didnt work at that time. The medieval town residents in the eleventh and twelfth centuries rebelled against their lords which granted them liberty and independence. Once the people overthrew their lord, they began ruling themselves (Gregory et al., 21). The people did not augur with the notion that God chooses few to rule over many people. Truth, justice, and beauty depended on the common consent unlike the scenario of few people making decisions on their behalf.

The report discusses the impact of the late Roman and Medieval humanities towards the present experiences that we incur in life today. It talks about four main areas including freedom, equality, the power of the people and dignity of labor. All the work that people engage is important even if are low paying. Moreover, if they didnt fight slavery, they argued that slaves deserve respected and humane treatment.

Works Cited

Bod, Rens. A New History of the Humanities: The Search for Principles and Patterns from Antiquity to the Present. Oxford University Press, 2013.

Gregory, Timothy E, William Caraher, Linda J. Hall, and R S. Moore. Archaeology and History in Roman, Medieval and Post-Medieval Greece: Studies on Method and Meaning in Honor of Timothy E. Gregory. Ashgate, 2008.

Papastephanou, Marianna. Philosophical Perspectives on Compulsory Education. Springer, 2014.