Chapter 8: The Early Middle Ages

The main conflict during this time was the acceptance of Christianity in society. While Rome was being taken over by the Germanic tribes, there was a severe culture clash that had many literary genres meet for the first time. Christian philosophy was highly disapproving of the "feudalist" writing of these Germanic tribes. Where Christian teachings would consist of characters that demonstrated meek and mild attitudes, the Germanic stories were full of themes like pride, loyalty and courageous acts.

Christianity spent a lot of time in the early Middle Ages trying to establish itself as a legitimate reliigon. During this time, major councils convened to cover matters such as connecting the Old Testament to the New Testament, condemning early beliefs of Plato and Aristotle and establishing practices of sermons and a heirarchy of power. These councils allowed the church to pick up after Rome collapsed. The Church was able to take this opportunity to establish itself as "the single institution." (Habib) Another advantage the Church had was their "assimilation and adaption to a wider population." (PF 135-136) The church's Latinization of its teachings allowed it to reach a broader scope and connect with much of the population.

Christianity had a two-fold plan for establishing itself during the Middle Ages with the standardization of the language as well as creating the concept of monasticism. This aspect of Christianity was established by St. Basil and St. Benedict. This entailed a "strict vow of poverty, obedience, humility, labor and devotion." (Habib) It was the monks of these monasties whose duties included writing books, translating the Bible, maintaining schools, libraries and hospitals. This order "united intellectual and manual labor... in the service of God." (PF, 135) Their goal was to advance society through research and teaching rather than by the slave labor of old societies. This promoted the "indispensable bridge between two epochs, between the ancient slave mode of production and the feudal mode of production." (PF, 137)

During the very early stages of the Middle Ages, Rome was in the midst of an economic and industrial decline. Economic activity was largely controled by the local establishments and trade was very rarely done outside of these territories. This feudal, heirarchal way of life was sanctioned by the church until the rise of Carolus Magnus or Charlemagne. (Habib, 153) Charlemagne was largely responsible for taking the reach of the Roman Empire and extending it beyond central Europe and Italy. He was then crowned by pope Leo in 800, "an event which signified the formation of the Holy Empire" (Habib 153) Charlemagne was an important figure not only for his diplomatic prowess, but also for his vision for the Roman Empire. He brought about a "real administrative and cultural revival" which included sponsoring "a renovation of literature, philosophy, art and education." and most importantly, "it was in this era that the groundwork of feudalism was laid." (PF, 137, 139) Christianity found itself becoming the state religion of the Roman Empire in 381. (Habib, 154) Thus the idea of transference was concieved. Transference is "the idea of a world empire; thus it had a universal, not a national character." (Curtius, 28-29)

Thoughts on Neo Platonism

Neo Platonism strikes me as the concept that the Matrix was trying to get at. The main concept of Neo Platonism is taking Plato's theory of forms and adding a hierarchy to it. The interesting thing about this is that it influenced much of Medieval Christianity in terms of "allegory and discourse which viewed the physical world as inherently symbolic of a higher world." (Habib)

Neo-Platonism is believed to be founded by Plotinus, a third century philosopher who despite being Greek and speaking Greek, had a Roman name. The philosophy he created was heavily influenced by Plato and his theory of forms. Habib explains that it is "the idea that ultimate reality subsists in another world, a transcendent and spiritual realm from which the physical world takes its existence and meaning." The main idea behind Neo-Platonism is that there is a heirarchy on four levels. The first is "The One" which embodies truth, origin and goodness. Next is Eternal, the divine mind. Next is There, the All Soul, World Soul and Here which is the world of matter.

My Experience With the Sublime

One experience that stands out for me is the night I went out to see the Mars Volta in London. I do not think anything has moved me like this show. The Mars Volta is a rock/latin/prog band from California and I have been following them since 2002 and even before that when they were known as At The Drive-In. I can remember this show like it was yesterday, it was at the Roundhouse in Camden Town. It was an indoor venue and I got a spot in the balcony.
I couldn't wait for the band to come out. I was sitting in anticipation for nearly an hour and when they came out, I simply lost it. I can remember dancing to their music in a way that I have never danced before. It was simply amazing. After the show my adrenalin didn't stop pumping for nearly an hour. I felt something very special that night.

Another time I have experienced the sublime is when I first heard Lupe Fiasco. Lupe is a rapper from Chicago and his debut album Food and Liquor is one that I can listen to the whole way through again and again.

I loved reading the Goosebumps books by R.L. Stien back when I was just a little chap. I was very young back then, but I felt sense of rapture every time I read one of those books. Once I started one, I couldn't put it down until it was finished.

Another time I felt completely moved by an artistic medium is when I played Half Life 2. This game was like nothing I had ever experienced before. I remember beating it within a week because I simply could not put the game down. I was engrossed by the Bladerunner/1984 esque story line. The combat was frantic and every battle I went in to made me feel like I could never pull through.

And now the list of other notables
Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir"
Saving Private Ryan
Good Will Hunting
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six
Nintendo 64
Myst
Gran Tourismo 3
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Final Fantasy X
Madden Football
Metal Gear Solid
London
Seattle
San Francisco
Flying for the first time
No Country For Old Men
A&P
Film Making
2008 Election

Longinus

Longinus is similar to Horace in the fact that he questions whether true poetry come from the mastery of the art or from untutored inspiration. Longinus comes from the first of two periods, the Second Sophistic and the second, Neo-Platonism. It is believed that Longinus came from the Second Sophistic era and wrote one of the most influential texts that has stood the test of time. This text is known as peri hupsous or On the Sublime.

In the beginning of the book, he begins to enter the debate on whether art comes from within the writer, or if it is imparted by the lessons already set. Longinous takes the side of the fact that art must be taught. He says, "Nature is indeed the prime cause of all production but that the operations of genius cannot be wholly random and unsystematic, and needs the good judgement supplied by the rules of art (II. 2-3).

Longinus makes note about the existence of the sublime. The definition according to Longinus is "a sense of proud possession, we are filled with joyful pride, as if we had ourselves produced the very thing we heard. Another point that Longinus brings up is Amplification, which is quantity and redundance, rather than one single entity, like the sublime.

Thoughts on Horace

Horace is a very different kind of poet. His beliefs are very contrary to what we have been reading so far in respect to Plato. He is very progressive and open to change and discussion. He does not hold himself up on a pedestal, as in, he writes for the common man.

One of the questions that Horace imposes on his listeners is whether poetry should be used to teach, or if it should be used for pleasure. In Horace's time, Rome was a vast metropolis that contained 750,000 people and many of those were poets. Horace wanted to make a distinction between those who he called "mad poets" and poets who added substance to the art form. He believes that poetry should be based on the lessons the poet has learned in terms of form and functions of a poem and less on untutored inspiration.

Another point that I like is what Horace states in Ars Poetica. He says, "When you are writing, choose a subject that matches your powers, and test again and again what weight your shoulders will take and what they won't take." (AP, 38-40)