Mille Ans

THE PROJECT

Cultural phenomena, whatever their domain, are malleable. They are often imbued with conflicting meanings and attributed with different origins. And the dates, as well as the labels used to define them, are inevitably the product of diverse interpretations among historians and critics. Movements and styles overlap. They do not all begin or end at the same time, forming distinct periods.

Transitional phases are far more frequent than a concern for classification might suggest. Fortunately, this is how culture follows its course, like distant streams flowing into long rivers. Therefore, to create an overview of this European culture, which has expressed itself in a movement of languages, forms, and styles through the arts, music, literature, and philosophy, it was necessary to collect documentation that was both general and precise, to cross-reference and systematically compare its multiple sources, and, once organized, to write a synthesis that, with a balanced presentation of the data, would allow the reader to simultaneously broaden their general knowledge, deepen their understanding, potentially discover new avenues for research, and take into account the differing interpretations sometimes offered by these same critics and historians.

This overview of culture, therefore, spans the six major geographical and political regions that make up Western Europe: the Benelux countries (the former Seventeen Provinces), France, the Iberian and Italian peninsulas, the English Channel, and the Rhineland. France constitutes, in a way, the epicenter not of European culture as a whole, but rather the epicenter of this documentation.
This overview aims to provide the reader with a significant overview of a subject in a time and place, and, even better, an overview of these 900 years of cultural history.

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The origin of this project lies in the idea of synoptic tables like those found at the end of books on art or the history of civilizations, but more developed in their content and chronology. One grasps the spirit of an era better by viewing its achievements as broadly as possible, just as one better understands the meaning or value (at least historically) of a work when placed within the context of its creations, and equally, how it can impact that context.
As this project evolved, the need for supplementary texts to complement the synoptic tables quickly became apparent. This was necessary, if only to provide some definitions of styles and general information about the periods. From a few explanations to summary presentations, each of the four subjects falling within the fields of arts and ideas has been enriched, over time and with passion, by ever more extensive documentation, ultimately constituting this panorama of nine hundred years during which European culture was founded and forged.

Ultimately, the lives of artists and their creations, writers and their works, poets and their collections, musicians and their compositions, philosophers and their doctrines, and religious figures and their writings are presented within their respective eras and fields. A General Introduction and its Major Events, historical and societal landmarks (reigns, wars, revolts, famines, epidemics, etc.), complement each of these four periods.


Le visiteur constatera aisément une disparité de volume d'une matière à l'autre, d'une époque l'autre. Cela tient plus à une absence de réalisations remarquables en telle matière ou telle période qu'à un défaut de données. Quoiqu'il en soit, ce projet présentant l'avantage ou l'inconvénient d'être toujours en voie d'achèvement, ce même visiteur, familier du site ou passager en transit, pourra toujours enrichir ses connaissances ou les vivifier à partir de la documentation textuelle et synoptique à laquelle est ajoutée une rubrique 'Documentation' pour chaque période.

If this documentary work had one merit, it would be that of a classification, not of periods which have traditionally remained the same since the 19th century, but of cultural actors placed within the currents, styles, schools and genres through which they expressed themselves; currents and schools, styles and genre being themselves placed in their period and subject matter.

Motivated solely by an interest in art and culture, if the author has been able to make a modest contribution to the understanding and study of European culture, it is undoubtedly thanks to his commitment to objectivity; otherwise, this documentation would have been merely a pretext for expressing a particular viewpoint of far lesser interest. While he has refrained from any personal judgment, though he has not been able to escape the subjectivity inherent in all intellectual works, he has not hesitated, in sketching this panorama, to include anecdotes and specific details here and there, in order to make the presentation more engaging for the reader. Inevitably, some misunderstandings or errors, not to mention typos and other lapses in spelling, will be apparent to the reader. He would like to excuse the author in advance, who will always strive to improve his work, and by contacting him, please point them out to him with supporting references.