Inversion of «heavenly» and «earthly» in celebration practices of the european middle ages

Abstract

The article attempts to reveal the peculiarities of the formation and functioning of cultural practices of the Middle Ages in the dichotomous system of «heavenly» and «earthly»; to substantiate the prerequisites for the emergence of new forms of festive culture (religious and secular); their functional and content load. The basis of the scientific research methodology was the historical and cultural approach, which allowed, on the one hand, to take into account the specifics of this historical stage of human development, and, on the other hand, to trace the interdependence of social, political and ideological conditions with the festive culture. As a result, the author proves that medieval holidays depended on the natural and church calendars, which controlled and adjusted the cultural activities of society. In order to strengthen its ideological influence on public opinion, the church resorted to the direct prohibition of certain holidays; synthesis of Pre-Christian beliefs and theological dogmas; introduction of a new system of holidays. During the Middle Ages, a knightly culture was formed, saturated with multifaceted festive practices and a culture of entertainers; urban holidays were born and developed, the main consumer of which was the burgher with the corresponding lifestyle and system of behavior; the carnival and folk square holiday practices that combined the binary oppositions of medieval consciousness arose. Festive culture became a factor capable of synthesizing the medieval society into a single integrity. It solved a number of social tasks, among which the prioritized were the functions of competitiveness, entertainment, social solidarity and formation of public opinion. Religion, permeating all spheres of medieval society, was profaned in the need to express the Absolute and the Divine. Therefore, even church events (temple days, mysteries, sotie), gradually enriched with entertainment elements, were perceived as festive leisure. In the festive culture, full of emotional pleasure, positive energy and complimentary communication, a sense of one's own meaning and creative freedom, independent of conventional categories, was born.