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Historical & Philosophical Bases
of Physical Education and Sport
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Section II: From the Spiritual World to the Secular World: Changing Concepts of the Body ¹
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Chapter 5: Philosophy, Sport, and Physical Education During the Middle
Ages: 900 - 1400
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¹Chapter 5's outline is in part a reproduction and in part a modification and expansion of
original lecture notes by Dr. Steve Estes, California State University, Fullerton.
Mechikoff, R., & Estes, S. (1998). A history and philosophy of sport and physical
education: From the ancient Greeks to the present (2nd ed.). Madison, WI: Brown & Benchmark.
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| Chapter Outline
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I. General Events
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- Historical period that began shortly after the
fall of the western Roman Empire in
A.D. 476 and lasted until approximately A.D. 900 is known as the
Dark Ages. The historical period that began in A.D. 900 ended with the birth
of the Italian Renaissance in the fourteenth century and was called the Middle Ages.
- Middle Ages was a time that ranged from the athletic feats of knights during the age of
chivalry to the use of sport in preparation for crusades to the ascetic views of monks
who believed the body was an endless source of trouble.
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II. The Impact of Christianity
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- Christian church was the only institution left intact by the barbarian hordes that
overran Europe after the fall of
Ravenna -- the capital of the Western
Roman Empire (Test your knowledge of the reasons leading to "
The Collapse of the Western Roman Empire."
- Collapse of Rome and the beginning of the Dark Ages caused utter chaos
that drove many from cities to seek protection from powerful aristocrats
and despots
- Commerce, trade, and public administration developed by the Roman
Empire essentially vanished during the Dark Ages
- Dark Ages actually regressed into kingdoms that were similar to tribal
societies
- Europe became
feudalistic, with castles and walled cities designed by
desperate people for protection and self preservation
- The Christian Church was lone cultural institution that provided a symbol of stability
and order amidst fear and chaos that reigned during this period in history
- Christianity spread throughout the ruins of the Roman Empire,
converting many to the ways of the catholic church
- Theology of the church was based on absolute faith and belief in the
certainty of the divine revelation, an
epistemological belief. It was a daily struggle to survive. The church held the promise of heaven to all who
followed its teachings. Because life in the Dark Ages and Middle Ages was
so harsh, the promise of eternal life in an ideal afterlife looked really good!
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III. Christianity and Greek Philosophy
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- During the Middle Ages, medieval philosophers didn't have access to
many literary sources, but came to possess the ancient works of Greek
philosophers, especially Plato and Aristotle
- Plato and Aristotle were interested in the
metaphysical question that form
the foundation of Christianity: existence of the soul, the personification
and belief in God, the nature of being
- Not all Christians were eager to embrace the merging of Christianity with
Greek philosophy
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Tertullian, an ecclesiastical writer in the second and third centuries, demanded bodily mortification.
He was opposed to recognizing and admitting the pagan philosophy of the Greeks (which he followed for the first half of his life before accepting the Christian faith). He and his followers
were in the minority
- Platonism was recognized by Christian thinkers as intellectual
preparation for Christianity
- Christian theologians attempted to "wed" philosophy with theological
Christian dogma and thereby offer philosophical proofs to support
theological beliefs
- Philosophy requires one to accept some starting points that is based
on reasoned inquiry whereas theology is based on "blind faith"
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IV. Philosophical Positions of the Body
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- The portrayal of Jesus in translated works was one of perfection in body,
mind, and soul
- During this period, philosophical positions of the body emerged from
theology and revolved around the idea that when God made Heaven and
earth and added man and woman, he approved of his work
- This implied that the body, as well as the soul, is good and that God would
not purposely create something that was harmful or evil.
- This discussion became quite confusing during medieval debates
regarding
the "nature" of the body of Jesus. This debate contributed to the
splitting of
Christianity into
Eastern Orthodox,
Roman Catholic, and
Protestant religions
- Orthodox Christians consistently rejected contentions that the body was
evil
- The Christian concept of the body in the Middle Ages appears to be a result
of the merging of Eastern Orthodox religion and Greek philosophy
- The
bubonic plague that devastated Europe in the fourteenth century
resulted in horrendous physical pain and suffering, millions of people
perished. The church concluded that the plague was a sign from God that
he was not pleased with his people - pleasures of the flesh and other sins
would be severely punished. God would punish people with DEATH - A
Horrible Death. As a result, the body was viewed as "Messenger of Death"
since the pain and suffering that accompanied the plague was felt from
head to toe. Prior to the plague, the body was generally viewed favorably.
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V. The Body and Physical Fitness According to St. Thomas Aquinas
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St. Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274) embraced the idea of physical fitness and
recreation as a positive force in promoting social and moral well-being
- Aquinas stated intelligence depends in part on the physical fitness level of
the individual
- Aquinas believed that we can come to know things through our bodies as
well as through our mind, although the mind was to remain superior to the
body
- Aquinas and others approved of Aristotle's position that man is an
integral composite of body and soul and that the soul needs a body to
acquire knowledge
- The
Scholastics were able to establish for the first time in Western
civilization, an integral philosophical and religious justification for
cherishing the body and valuing physical fitness and recreation for man's
physical, mental, social, and moral well being. The Scholastics did not
believe that the body was a "messenger of death"
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VI. Moses Maimonides and St. Bonaventure
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Moses Maimonides / "Rambam" (1135-1204)
was a Jewish physician (1135 - 1204) and observed that
"nothing is more useful for the preservation of health than physical
exercise
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St. Bonaventure (1217 - 1274), another Scholastic, wrote that the body does
not imprison the soul but is actually a friend and companion, and
therefore the individual exists as a natural union of the body and soul
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VII. Holidays and Ball Games
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- The only regular opportunity for peasant recreation came on Sundays
after church. Serfs participated in games and amusements
- Major holidays such as
May Day,
Shrove Tuesday,
and
Whitsuntide celebrations were considered pagan holidays but were very popular
- Agricultural holidays extended over several days and were filled with
foods, wine, entertainment, and games
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questions and/or comments;
thank you! 