Filippov I.S. On the concept of “Middle ages”  and its content

Abstract: Contemporary Russian and foreign historiography is actively discussing the concept of the Middle ages. Some of the key problems concerning this notion include its chronological frame, its watershed temporal marks, its applicability to regions other than Western Europe and the Mediterranean, and its socio-cultural content. Opponents of this term have put forward claims that this concept lacks an objective basis and that from its appearance during the Renaissance, it has been no more than a projection of the ideas of scholars from different schools and epochs about the past and their own times. In this line of reasoning we are advised not to study the Middle ages as such (with the exception of particular periods and phenomena), but rather to assess this notion at different stages of historiography and decide what particular perception is necessary for our own contemporary society and, consequently, conduct our research accordingly. In writing this article the author made use of the general scientific methods, i.e. the historical and logical methods, as well as the systematic and linguistic methods. The author demonstrates that the critics of the notion of Middle ages have failed to prove its ontological emptiness, just as they have failed to prove this for the concept of Feudalism, which as they claim has been discarded by modern historiography as useless for the understanding of the medieval world. The author comes to the conclusion that the idea of the ontological emptiness of the discussed notion should be considered in the context of the more general historiographical debates about historicism, the pertinence of contemporary scientific concepts for the study of history, and the very subject of historical research, including the expediency of posing “global questions” in history. The article shows that the refutation of the notion of Middle ages is connected with the refusal of studying the system of social relations that enables us to apprehend the medieval world in its wholeness. The author also considers the place of Medieval European civilization from the point of view of its cultural achievements and its unique capability of evolution without causing major social catastrophes. A hypothesis is advanced that this capability is in itself a most important characteristic of the Medieval epoch.

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