¶ … living in the Middle Ages. What new things are available for you to experience? The prelude to modernism

The history that establishes origin and evolution of the modern society has its basis from the ancient time. Initially, the world and society featured various practices that today we may perceive as being barbaric and outdated. However, it is essential to acknowledge that it is through the various ages of revolution that the world has what it enjoys today. The beginning of the revolution era was the period of modernization, which began towards the end of the tenth century. Living in that era of modernization, the following are some of the experiences and events that happened to shape the society and world at large. In this year, there was increased danger to the Roman Catholic Church, which at that moment had the overall authority and recognition over the world dynasties. Thus, living in this era, I would be in the congregation of the Roman Catholic Church, facing threats from the great European nations that were hungry of power and sovereignty. In this era of feudalism, populations moved to the cities, establishing nationalistic spirit and pride, which helped them, establish nations. The popes continued with the struggle to bring the secular rulers under the papal authority. In the threat to the power and sovereignty of the Roman Catholic Church, King John of England surrendered his kingdom to pope; however, the kings after him rejected papal control and taxation. Later in 1366 AD, the parliament invalidated the relinquishing of the kingdom to pope and papal authority lost control of the kingdom. Thus, I would be experiencing these turbulent times for the Roman Catholic Church.

The rise of great nations

In the renaissance era of modernization, the people moved into central places of trading, establishing cities and towns. Additionally, the people, as they settled in those regions, established a state of nationhood, gaining nationalistic pride and spirit. The nations emulated the rule and organization of the Eastern Roman Empire, with kingdoms and kings having sovereign domains. In this time, I would be in this mixture, experiencing the process of urban development and business establishments. It is during this period spanning towards urbanization that the itinerant merchants trekked from one center of trade to another, manor to manor, conducting their selling of merchandise. The traders of the time exchanged goods for goods and other precious elements in their trade activities. However, during the winter seasons, travel would seize as the traders settled in the places near the residents to trade with the local people. Therefore, it is through these wintertime settlements that the towns developed and attracted specialization from various artisans and craftsmen, as well as, merchants; hence, growing into established towns and cities. Notably, as the towns continued to grow, and trade expanded, voluntary associations of trade developed among the traders and grew into large organized associations of trade. This speeded the growth of business and commerce in the cities as other welfare of the society, such as living standards increased. Moreover, these establishments would be giving me the joy of witnessing the establishment of free market capitalism and various freedoms becoming a reality. For instance, I would witness the culmination of religious freedom, more trade alliances, new industries such as Flemish wool and Sicilian silk among others becoming a reality. In addition, the professional banking industry would be another spectacle. With the establishment of the trade organizations, such as Hanseatic League, which included eighty-five cities in Europe, and free capitalism markets, banking become essential. Therefore, in this era of modernization, in growing into nations and cities, I would experience the establishment of the banking industry. The first institutions of banking at the time include the Medici bank, which was the largest and most influential in the fifteenth century and ensuing years.

Powerful families

In this time of growing economies, nations establishing themselves, cities, towns growing and the social welfare of people was becoming better. The family institutions had their chance to grow into big establishments. A number of families grew into wealthy establishments, investing as institutions in the trade industry. Among the families that were prominent in engraving their names in books of history that at...

The family established a multinational banking dynasty. Upon the death of Giovanni, his son, Cosimo continued growing the family wealth. He was a patron of arts and literature, a contribution to his country that led to him acquiring the title of 'Pater Patriae' from the roman emperor. Therefore, living in this era of modernization, I would be among the residents of that age working towards establishing a family name known across the world as the Giovanni family. I would be encountering the experiences of growing families in this modernization era.
The Black Death

However, an unfortunate event occurred in this period towards revolution that would determine if I would continue living. The travelling and trekking by the merchants as they sought trade had its share of tribulations. Among the effects, include the cross-cultural interactions that led to exchange of social practices. Additionally, the interactions also led to negative influence such as the spread of diseases and plagues. For instance, living in this era, I would have been among those who experienced the Black Death plague. This plague occurred due to the migration of rats invested with fleas that travelled in the merchant and caravan ships throughout Western Europe. This plague, later called the bubonic plague caused a devastating effect of loss of over 75, 000, 000 people in Europe. This population constituted nearly half of the population of Europe. Therefore, this era of development and establishments also had its turbulent effects. Living in this time, I would see the plague that wiped such a huge population of the European continent.

Architecture and art

In life, art always carries a bigger expression of the actual feelings and beliefs of people. Therefore, from this revelation, the people of this ear did not fail to impress in their endeavor to develop their talents. Living in this emerging world presented an evolving world of new art and architecture. The emerging towns presented the need for the church to establish means to meet the needs of the people. It is from this finding that the Roman Catholic Church sought to establish Christian architecture and other artistic images to meet the spirituality needs of the people. The middle ages marked the establishment of art and architecture as a religious expression mode that brought people closer to their faith in the renaissance era. Among the architecture of the time that I would experience in that era include, the Romanesque style. This style of architecture started at around 1000 AD. It has its origin from the Roman basilica of the rectangular building. The building also had arches, vaulted ceilings, huge and tower-like walls, strong columns and with little or no windows. However, as the ages progressed and architecture evolved, it added a transept, as was the case with the basilica at the eastern end. This formed the Greek cross. It is in these buildings of the church that became repositories for relics. The relics made attraction sites for Christians who made pilgrimages to the churches. The possession of relics by the churches and towns increased their prosperity and attractiveness, which is comparable to the tourist attraction sites today. Therefore, it would occur that thefts happened in the churches or the storage locations for the relics in order to gain the best relics. The places with the best relics would gain more food, money and souvenirs for the church or town. Among the famous relics in the Romanesque churches is the Bible Stone and Sainte-Marie -- Medeleine in France. The church in France claimed to have the bones of Mary Magdalene. Thus, living in this era, I would be enjoying the pilgrimages to such architectural exquisites.

Other art material in this era included the establishment of the gothic artifacts. The growing art development led to the establishment of several cathedrals that contained various images for people to identify with in their spiritual endeavor. For instance, there were the Gothic cathedral, created by Suger (AD 1081-1151), who was a French advisor to the kings and abbot of the royal Abbey Church of St. Denis, in Paris. This architectural design towered toward heaven with massive walls, around arches, great towers, groin vaults and ornamental arcading. Additionally, the art of stained glass windows emerged from the interior of this celestial array of colorful light. The aim of establishing this architecture for the churches was to bring people closer to the presence of their God. The cathedral of Notre Dame is another prominent example of Gothic edifice in Paris, France. In this era, it was the first building to employ the art of flying buttresses. This architecture contained the radiant style that replaced the solid walls with sheets of stained glass. There are other cathedrals containing high gothic styles that included spectacularly tall buildings with increased interior…