Middle Ages:Romantic And Rationalistic

939 Words4 Pages
Maddy 1 Kelsey Maddy Essay 1 31 March 2011 Dr. Classen Middle Ages: Romantic and Rationalistic 'The Romantic Middle Ages,' a title that society has pinned on the 16 th century to generalize that time period. This quick interpretation has caused the majority of today's society to overlook the Middle Ages and just accept what is said without any question or desire to look into it further. The literature that emerged from the Middle Ages allows for a look into the minds of people living in that time period. The literature reveals the similarities that the Middle Ages have to today, which shows the impact that the Middle Ages had in history. J.S.P Tatlock tackled the question of whether the middle ages were romantic or rationalistic, explaining that the two coexisted in society at that time. Tatlock attempted to describe the relationship between romanticism and rationalism in the middle ages by explaining that “romancers in general did not seek to heighten the marvelous which they inherited, but rather to explain it, and to make of it memorable embodiment of the principles of conduct which they esteemed” (Tatlock 297). In this statement Tatlock is explaining that the romanticism that is evident from this time period is misinterpreted by today's society. The emotional, romantic side of the Middle Ages, is all that society today chooses to look at, is a clouded perception because in truth romanticism was just as present in the Middle Ages as rationalism was. Tatlock suggests that the Middle Ages were both romantic and rationalistic allowing for a connection between the logic and emotion involved. I confront this outlook with acceptance that the middle ages were both romantic and rationalistic, because philosophers of the middle ages, such as Boethius and Fortunatus; tackled aspects of life that painted a picture of how society was then and how similar it is to society

More about Middle Ages:Romantic And Rationalistic

Open Document