The Eternal Time of History - Part XII #960153

The vain attempt to reconcile knowledge, expressed in philosophical, theological, artistic, and scientific forms, with the harshness of history characterizes the history of the twelfth century.
On the one hand, there are magnificent examples, such as the Norman cultural renaissance of Sicily under Roger II, up to the great intellectual peaks of Anselm of Aosta, Peter Abelard, and Averroes. On the other, there are the eternal imperial struggles against the Papacy or the emerging communal powers, exemplified by the rule of Frederick Barbarossa, and the open conflict between Christianity and Islam, with Richard the Lionheart and Saladin as the two champions destined to clash.
Against this backdrop, ordinary people move, scholars and merchants, architects and soldiers, whose peculiarity is that they are swept along by the course of events, which in reality are determined by forces beyond their faculties.