More Lecture Notes
The 1200s are often called the apex of Catholic Culture, largely because of the work of St. Thomas Aquinas.
In Aquinas, Catholic thought comes to a synthesis: reason and revelation combined, mistaken notions squashed (like Abelard's insistence that faith and reason can come to contrary conclusions). STA's was a work and thought that could only emerge in a culture marinated in Christian thought.
But he wasn't the only bright spot. Science, for instance, started taking huge strides with the thought STA's mentor, St. Albert the Great, and Roger Bacon.
Universities started to flourish:
University of Parish (the Sorbonne) - 1150. ...
Cambridge, England ”“ 1209. ...
University of Salamanca, Spain ”“ 1134. ...
University of Oxford, England ”“ 1096. ...
University of Bologna, Italy ”“ 1088
Spirituality was incredibly strong. Mystics almost like rock stars. The Who's Who of Mystics is pretty astounding. All these are from the 1200s (bleeding into the early 1300s):
Bonaventura
Meister Eckhart
John Tauler
Henry Suso
John Rusbroek
Richard Rolle
The Cloud of Unknowing (though this is later 1300s)
