Scholactisicm in medieval schools

Abstract

The early scholasticism developed a new mentality, changing the entire Weltanschauung, understanding of man and society. Medieval culture was formed in accordance with the model of the political, economical and religious life of the Carolingian Empire. That model was accepted by various ethnic groups and adjusted to their peculiar traditions, customs and ways of life. Intellectualism and objectivism enabled scholasticism to bring fundamental innovations into medieval culture. In Northern Europe of the 11th century, one of the most significant schools was the School of Bec led by Benedictine monks, who continued the theological philosophy of the Carolingian School, elaborating dialectical, grammatical, and logical ideas of Aristotle and Boethius. The leaders of the school were convinced that the truths of Revelation could be explicated by means of logic. Relaying on logical semantics, they widely employed active methods of teaching. They taught their pupils not only to have a logical mind but also to illustrate abstract ideas by attractive visual examples. The Benedictine monks were the first who attempted to combine logic, grammar, and dialectics in explaining the truth of faith. In the 12th century, the School of Chartres was the centre of West European humanism. The school was famous for its liberal arts programme and the propagation of Ancient Greek science and philosophy, especially of Plato and his followers. It developed Platonic cosmology based on mathematical and aesthetic considerations which were not quite compatible with the cosmological claims of Christian theology. Teachers and students of the school did not limit themselves to scholastic and theological speculations, but paid attention to the empirical reality, striving for an understanding and explanation of it. The findings and humanistic ideas of the School of Chartres positively influenced the great medieval universities of Paris and Oxford.