The Middle Ages span nearly one 1000 years ( c 476- 1450)
“Nothing exists without music, for the universe itself is said to have been framed by a kind of harmony of sounds, and the heaven itself resolves under the tone of that harmony”
ISIDORE OF SEVILLE referenced from The Enjoyment of Music 10th edition.
The fall of the Roman Empire, commonly set in the year 476 C.E as the beginning of one –thousand year period known as the Middle Ages.500-1000 referred to as the “Dark Ages” for development. during this era all power flowed form the kind with the approval of the Roman Catholic Church and its bishops. The two states of power, church and state, were bound to clash. Therefore, the modern concept of strong, centralized government as the guardian of law and order is generally credited to Charlemagne (742 – 814), the legendary emperor of the Franks. The Charlemagne encouraged education and left behind library and as well a system of social justice. The culture of this period was shaped largely by the rise of monasteries. Music was an effective enhancement in the church service, the members of these religious communities supported it extensively and because of patronage(sponsorship) the ART MUSIC of Middle Ages was predominantly religious. Women, men played role in preserving knowledge and cultivating music for the church, nuns figured prominently in church society. One woman Hildegard of Bingen was writing natural history and medicine, poetry and music for special church services. Late Middle Ages(1000 – 1450) saw the rise of cities, cathedrals and great works of art and literature.
