The Day the Universe Changed:  A Personal View by James Burke
"Medieval Conflict:  Faith and Reason"  ( VH 1058)
Book and television title--"In the Light of the Above"

"After the Roman Empire, the Greek questioning attitude gave way to the teachings of Augustine, who held that only the next world mattered.  Then in the 11th century, Crusaders invading Spain captured a treasure of classical knowledge preserved in Arab libraries.  This knowledge led to the creation of universities, revolutionized life in Europe, and caused bitter conflict between reason and faith."  [from video jacket]

Study terms and questions


 
Andalucia Chartres
Aristotle Cordova
Arken, Germany El Cid
Augustine (Bishop of Hippo, Carthage, Africa) Ibn Rushd (Averroes)
Bologna Inerius (Italian jurist)
Capella, Martianus (Roman public official) Theodoric of Freiberg (German Dominican)
Carthage Toledo
Charlemagne (Carolus magnus) Tunisia
  1. What does Burke mean by the "marriage of law and bright ideas?"  How is the traffic light in the desert an image of this?
  2. How did Capella and Augustine influence education and life in the Middle Ages?
  3. How does Burke use the image of the town square in Bologna to represent the new society emerging in the 11th century?
  4. Why was the revivial of Roman law in Bologna so important?
  5. In what ways did Arab culture (Cordova and Toledo) differ from European culture in the 11th century?
  6. What was the great intellectual treasure in the cities of Cordova and Toledo?
  7. What was the role of merchants as a course of change in the medieval world?  of scholars?  Which would you say was the most important and why?
  8. How was Aristotle's view of the world in conflict with St. Augustine's?
  9. In what way did Muslim scientists contribute to the European renaissance?