Worldviews and Styles of Thought in Medieval Europe: Framing the Problem

The article offers a series of methodological reflections on the culture of Western Europe during the High Middle Ages (11thÐ14th centuries). The progress of the science of nature in this period brought the West to leadership position in a wide range of spheres, a position it would maintain for centuries. Much less has been written about how this scientific progress influenced literary styles and styles of thought among Europeans. This is dewed to the vagueness inherent to the notion of style. It is therefore necessary to develop specific research techniques and a theoretical paradigm for the study of the texts and images concerned. Twentieth-century historiography in the major European languages provides a number of outstanding sources of inspiration for such methodological inquiry. The urgent task for medievalists is, finally, to reconsider translation practices.