An overview of cultural epochs in Europe

From ancient Homer to book printing

You may know the Middle Ages as the darkest era in Europe. Researchers disagree on when it starts and when it stops. According to a widespread classification, the end of the Middle Ages here with the Reformation at the beginning of the 16th Century set. The time of Europe from antiquity to 1500 can be divided into different cultural epochs:

• Classical antiquity begins in Europe in the 8th Century BC. The Greek writer Homer falls during this time, whose epics Iliad and Odyssey are still part of classical education today. The first recorded Olympic Games fall in the early 8th Century. A distinction is made culturally between Greek and Roman antiquity. Ancient Greece is characterized by the first democracies in Europe - realized in the Greek polis, the city-state. But don't think of it as a democracy in today's sense, as women, slaves and the poor had no say in the matter. Ancient Greece brought great scientific knowledge to mankind. Mathematicians like Euclid and Pythagoras as well as philosophers like Aristotle and Plato belong to the intellectual elite of this cultural epoch - you know the Pythagorean theorem from your school days.
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• The Roman Empire established itself in the 5th Century BC, the form of government was that of a republic. Since Caesar the republic was transformed into a monarchy with empire. The Romans expanded far into the north of Europe and brought their culture to the British Isles with their swords. Thus the cultural development of the "barbarians" of Europe was significantly influenced by the Romans. Roman antiquity produced philosophers such as Seneca and Marc Aurel and famous statesmen such as Cicero and Nero. If you Latin at school, you must have read extracts from many of them.
• Antiquity merges into late antiquity. Late antiquity was a time of upheaval and the reorganization of Europe. It usually begins in the late 3rd Dated century AD. In late antiquity, Germanic military leaders were involved in Roman services and thus a further cultural exchange. The Huns storm started the Migration Period in 375. Germanic tribes crisscrossed Europe, established kingdoms and also invaded Italy. The Roman Empire split in 395 into the Western and Eastern Roman Empire. The Western Roman Empire outlasted the 5th Century not, while the Eastern Roman Empire only collapsed in 1453 under the onslaught of the Ottomans.
• Late antiquity forms the transition between antiquity and the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages begin in the 6th Century. The Church and the papacy constitute a crucial factor in society and politics. Medieval Europe and its culture were shaped by Christianity. Feudalism, the leasing of land by the feudal lord, is the social form of the Middle Ages. You probably know some famous rulers of the Middle Ages such as Charlemagne or Friedrich Barbarossa. The High Middle Ages produced literary greats such as Wolfram von Eschenbach and Chrétien des Troyes and literary genres such as minstrel and courtly novels. Towards the end of the Middle Ages, the invention of printing brought about a breakthrough for the spread of literature with himself.


Baroque and society - worth knowing

Baroque - a period from 1570 to 1720, which was divided into early, high ...

Cultural epochs from Leonardo da Vinci to today

The modern age begins with the end of the Middle Ages. The cultural epoch of the Renaissance represents the transition.

• The 15th and 16. Century denote the epoch of the Renaissance. The spiritual trend was determined by the endeavor to revive antiquity, which was perceived as bright and radiant, after the "dark Middle Ages". The ancient authors were rediscovered and the ancient forms of government studied. Humanism spread from Italy across Europe. For the humanists, a comprehensive education was a prerequisite for humanity to reach its full potential. Great painting is developing in Italy, and painters such as Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raffael, whose works you can admire today in the great art museums can. Albrecht Dürer should be mentioned as a German artist.
• The Baroque cultural epoch followed the Renaissance. The Baroque era extends from the late 16th to the 20th centuries. until late 18th Century. The baroque also had its origins in Europe. Absolutism as a form of government headed by a monarch with unlimited power was the baroque form of government. The epoch was also shaped by the Counter Reformation, an attempt by the Catholic Church to push back the Reformation of Martin Luther. Both - the church as well as the monarch and prince - used architecture to display their power. The architecture is characterized by lush, magnificent buildings with lavish ballrooms and magnificent Catholic churches. The baroque artists were involved in the design of the buildings. Famous baroque artists were, for example, the painters Rubens and Rembrandt and the architect Bernini.
• The late phase of the baroque is also known as rococo. The Rococo is often considered to be a separate epoch. The asymmetry that runs through all of art is characteristic of the Rococo. The Rococo takes the splendor of the Baroque to the extreme, as you can see in the gold-adorned Rococo buildings.
• The rococo was followed by the cultural epoch of classicism in 1770. It goes back to around 1840. It represents an alternative to the ornate understanding of art in the Baroque era. Clear forms based on ancient models were his hallmarks. You will find classical buildings that are reminiscent of Greek temples and classical marble statues based on Greek models.
• Romanticism, which began in literature, visual arts and music in 1795, also fell into this Rococo period. Romanticism lasted in literature until the middle of the 19th century. Century. It lasted even longer for music and the visual arts. Romanticism was marked by a departure from antiquity. The Romantics turned to their own themes and forms, which are also fed by mythology. The emotional world of the individual, especially his longings and passions, was important to the romantics. Famous writers of the Romantic period were Novalis, E.T.A. Hoffmann and Joseph von Eichendorff.
• Classicism was replaced by historicism - especially in architecture. Historicism not only relates to antiquity, but revives various architectural styles of the past, including Romanesque and Gothic styles. Historicism extends to the First World War. Parallel to historicism in architecture, Art Nouveau revived in the visual arts.
• The last epoch is classical modernism, which is particularly evident in architecture. Minimalism and functionality were the guidelines of the architecture. Ornaments and ornamentation were rejected. Artistic currents within classical modernism included expressionism, Bauhaus and post-war modernism.

The cultural epochs of Europe are characterized by a change from a return to the past and a break with the previous epoch. In the past two and a half thousand years you will find a constant change of artistic ideals and aspirations that the Culture have shaped.