Sem. Carl Joshua DC.

Miguel History of Philosophy II (Medieval)

Philosophy II July 4 2019

A. Medieval Art

Leon Battista Alberti

Short Biography, facts and interesting information about Leon
Battista Alberti the famous Medieval artist and his contribution to
Medieval Art

The Medieval Times encompass one of the most interesting

periods in the History of Art. The names of many famous Medieval
people and artists, such as Leon Battista Alberti, scatter the Medieval History books and other
historical documents. Why were these important Medieval artists famous and what did they
accomplish? Famous Medieval artists of the Middle Ages included both men and women like
Leon Battista Alberti who contributed to the Medieval art forms of the Middle Ages dating from
1066 - 1485. The following biography, short history and interesting facts provide helpful
information for history courses and history coursework about the key dates and Medieval art
accomplishments in the life of the artist Leon Battista Alberti who was famous as a Medieval
Florentine painter.
The following biography, short history and interesting facts provide helpful information
for history courses and history coursework about the life and history of Leon Battista Alberti a
famous Medieval artist and his contribution to Medieval art:

Country of Origin / Nationality: Italian

Also Known as: Leo or Leone Battista Alberti. "Universal man" of the Early
Renaissance
Lifetime: 1404 - 1472
Born: He was born in Genoa on February 14, 1404
 The family returned to their home in Florence in 1429
Family connections : Leon Battista Alberti was the illegitimate son of a Florentine
called Lorenzo Alberti
Childhood, early life and education: Leon Battista Alberti was well educated in Genoa
and studied classics at the famous school of Gasparino Barzizza in Padua. His education
continued when he was educated in law at the University of Bologna
Leon Battista Alberti books on architecture: De Pictura was written in 1435 and De
Re Aedificatoria in 1450
Architectural Principals: Leon Battista Alberti architectural principals were founded on
the importance of painting as a base for architecture
  Leon Battista Alberti and the Malatesta temple in Rimini: In 1450 the unfinished
Malatesta temple (Tempio Malatestiano) was the first building that Leon Battista Alberti
designed and attempted to construct based on his architectural principals.
 Occupation and Career: His studies in Law ceased due to an illness when he became
interested in art and architecture. He was an intellectual and famous as an accomplished
cryptographer and writer. He was employed by Pope Nicholas V in the restoration of the
papal palace and of the restoration of the Roman aqueduct of Acqua Vergine
Died: Leon Battista Alberti died in Rome on April 25, 1472
Character of Leon Battista Alberti:
Accomplishments and Achievements or why Leon Battista Alberti was famous: As
an early Renaissance architect and artist. The architect of the Malatesta temple
The story and biography of Leon Battista Alberti which contains interesting information,
facts & the history about the life of this Medieval person of historical importance.
Leon Battista Alberti and the Malatesta temple:
 Leon Battista Alberti and the Malatesta temple in Rimini: In 1450 the unfinished
Malatesta temple (Tempio Malatestiano) was the first building that Leon Battista Alberti
designed and attempted to construct based on his architectural principals
 Leon Battista Alberti was commissioned to transform the Gothic church of S. Francesco,
Rimini in 1450
 It was to become a memorial to Sigismondo Malatesta and his wife Isotta
 The church is usually known as the Tempio Malatestiano (Malatesta temple)
 The Malatesta temple is famous for its classical triumphal arch a structure which was
favored by Leon Battista Alberti
B. Medieval Literature

Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) (born c. May 21–June 20,
1265, remains Italy's greatest poet. He was born in the city of
Florence, in the region of Tuscany, Italy in the spring of 1265. He
was betrothed in marriage to Gemma Donati and they were blessed
with five children. He wrote La Commedia, the Divine Comedy,
from 1308 to 1320, completing the work the year before he died.
The Divine Comedy is one of literature's boldest undertakings, as
Dante takes us through Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio), and
then reaches Heaven (Paradiso), where he is permitted to partake of
the Beatific Vision. Dante's journey serves as an allegory of the progress of the individual soul
toward God. The work is arranged in 100 cantos in 3 parts, 34 for the Inferno, 33 each for
Purgatorio and Paradiso. The work is written in groups of 3 lines, or tercets, reminiscent of the
Trinity. While Dante was true to the Catholic faith he learned from the Dominicans and the
theology of St. Thomas Aquinas, he was quite critical of the Church as an institution. The Divine
Comedy signaled the beginning of the Renaissance. Rather than Latin, Dante wrote La
Commedia in the Tuscan dialect of Italian, which had an everlasting impact and became the
national language of Italy. During that time, literary works were either Comedies or Tragedies,
and since the poem ended on a positive note in Heaven, Dante called it a Comedy. He died in
political exile in Ravenna, Italy in September 1321.

Dante’s Divine Comedy, a landmark in Italian

literature and among the greatest works of
all medieval European literature, is a profound Christian
vision of humankind’s temporal and eternal destiny. On
its most personal level, it draws on Dante’s own
experience of exile from his native city of Florence. On
its most comprehensive level, it may be read as
an allegory, taking the form of a journey
through hell, purgatory, and paradise. The poem amazes
by its array of learning, its penetrating and
comprehensive analysis of contemporary problems, and its inventiveness of language and
imagery. By choosing to write his poem in the Italian vernacular rather than in Latin, Dante
decisively influenced the course of literary development. (He primarily used the Tuscan dialect,
which would become standard literary Italian, but his vivid vocabulary ran ged widely over
many dialects and languages.) Not only did he lend a voice to the emerging lay culture of his
own country, but Italian became the literary language in Western Europe for several centuries.
In addition to poetry Dante wrote important theoretical works ranging from discussions
of rhetoric to moral philosophy and political thought. He was fully conversant with the classical
tradition, drawing for his own purposes on such writers as Virgil, Cicero, and Boethius. But,
most unusual for a layman, he also had an impressive command of the most recent
scholastic philosophy and of theology. His learning and his personal involvement in the heated
political controversies of his age led him to the composition of De monarchia, one of the major
tracts of medieval political philosophy.

Dante's Other Works

As an exile, Dante fought to regain his reputation as a respected figure. In Convivio, Dante
claims that Lady Philosophy (the fictional manifestation of wisdom) has taught Dante to speak
the truths of classic philosophy to his modern Italian culture, in hopes of reforming that culture.
To meet that end, Dante writes in vernacular Italian so that common people could read his
work. Convivio is a series of poetry and prose in 4 books, and it was started in 1303 but never
finished.
Dante picks up on many of these same ideas in his rather philosophical book, De
Monarchia (written between 1310-17). In this work, Dante criticized the Pope's power as well as
the way religion and politics intertwined in Italy. Dante also argued for a worldwide empire,
where there would be no division and no exile.

C. Medieval Politics

Medieval King of England - William the Conqueror

Biography
 Medieval Kings of England
 William the Conqueror Biography
Short Biography about the life of William the Conqueror of
England
The following biography, short history and interesting facts
provide helpful information for history courses and history
coursework about the life of William the Conqueror King of
England:
Country of Origin / Nationality: Norman
Also Known by the Nickname: William the Bastard
Lifetime: 1028 - 1087
Period he reigned as King of England: 1066 - 1087
Born: William the Conqueror was born in 1028 - his exact date of birth is unknown
Close family connections or relatives: He was the bastard son of Robert I the Duke of
Normandy. William had six daughters and four sons: Robert, who was called Court-hose or
Short-legs; William, called Rufus, because he had red and ruddy complexion; Henry, called
Beau-clerc or the fine scholar; and Richard who died young
Married: Matilda of Flanders in 1052
Date succeeded to the throne of England: King William I was crowned King of England in
January 1067 at Westminster Abbey, London
Date when William the Conqueror died: King William I died at Saint-Gervais near Rouen,
France on 9th September 1087
Cause of the Death of William the Conqueror: Riding accident when he fell from his horse
Character of William the Conqueror: Tough, brave, inspirational and religious
Accomplishments and Achievements or why William the Conqueror was famous: Victory at
the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Building great castles in England, including the Tower of
London. The Domesday Book. The Bayeux Tapestry. The Norman Conquest and the 'Harrying
of the North'. Hereward the Wake.
Duke William of Normandy also known as William the Bastard. He was born in Falaise in
1028 - his parents were unmarried - hence the nickname. His father was Robert I, the sixth Duke
of Normandy. His mother was called Herleva who was the humble daughter of a Tanner called
Fulbert. William's parents also had a daughter called Adelaide. Duke Robert of Normandy died
in 1035 and William the Bastard became Duke of Normandy at the age of only seven years old.
William's mother later married the Viscount of Conteville and produced a half-sister to William
called Muriel and two half-brothers - Robert and Odo (Odo later became the Bishop of Bayeux
who commissioned the famous Bayeux tapestry). In 1052 William married Matilda of Flanders.
Edward the Confessor, the King of England, took refuge in Normandy after the Danes
conquered England, he stayed at the palace of William. He was very kindly treated there, and
William said that in 1051 Edward had promised in gratitude that William should succeed him as
king of England. Edward the Confessor returned to England and took with him Norman friends
and advisors. The English nobles led by Harold Godwinson were furious at having so many
French at court and Edward was forced to expel them. Harold Godwinson later married Edith the
sister of Edward the Confessor.
In 1065 Duke William met with Harold Godwinson who is believed to have pledged a
sacred oath of allegiance to the Duke William. Edward the Confessor then dies and Harold
Godwinson, the son of Earl Godwin, claims the English throne and is crowned the King of
England. Duke William immediately stakes his claim on the English throne and receives support
from many of the French nobles. Duke William appeals to the Pope to support his cause. The
Pope agrees and sanctions a Holy War, or Crusade, against England.
FACT: Every major church in England was rebuilt as a result of the Norman
conquest
The Anglo-Saxons were not famed for building in stone, and during the first half of the
11th century had not embraced the new architectural style, now known as ‘Romanesque’, that
had become fashionable on the continent. Before 1066, the only major Romanesque church in
England was Edward the Confessor’s new abbey at Westminster, still not quite finished at the
time of the king’s death on 5 January that year.
Normandy, by contrast, had experienced a church-building boom during the rule of
William the Conqueror, with dozens of new abbeys founded and ancient cathedrals rebuilt. After
the Conquest, this revolution was extended to Enland, beginning with the rebuilding of
Canterbury Cathedral from 1070. England had 15 cathedrals in the 11th-century. By the time of
William’s death in 1087 nine of them had been rebuilt, and by the time of the death of his son
Henry I, in 1135, so too had the remaining six. The same was true of every major abbey. It was
the single greatest revolution in the history of English ecclesiastical architecture.
Sources:

DANTE ALIGHIERI - THE DIVINE COMEDY, maryourmother.net/Dante.html.

Medieval Art, www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-art/.
Study.com, Study.com, study.com/academy/lesson/dante-alighieri-biography-works-
quotes.html.
William the Conqueror Biography, www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-
kings/william-the-conqueror-biography.htm.