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The Meadows School
Ancient History
Study Guide
Early Middle Ages
Mr. Knutsen
Major Themes in the Early Middle Ages
1. Christianity and AssimilationThrough drawing connections between pagan peoples cultures and Christianity,
Christian missionaries attempted to make Christianity less “alien”
2. Supernaturalism vs. Rationalism
At this time there was a lot of supernaturalism going on in the sense that people were
very superstitious and people were not rational and believed in everyday miracles
3. Monasticism (social role and different types)
Eremitical- Isolated monastic lives
Coenobitic- More communal monastic lives were people lived together and interacted
with outside world
4. Christianity and Women
At first women were very important in Christianity because of they were the first
converts and were usually relatively wealthy, so they were the ones who provided financial
backing
5. Germanic Society (family and social life)
Society was arranged in a very hierarchal society which looked like this:
Political Unit
Tribe
Clan Group
Kingroup
(Clan)
Kingroup
(Clan)
Kingroup
(Clan)
Nuclear Family
Family
Family
Family
Family
Family
Family
Family Head
Head
Male
Head
Male
Head
Male
Head
Male
Head
Male
Head
Male
6. Byzantine Empire as “Protector of European Development”
The Byzantine Empire was the only thing besides the Muslims keeping the Mongols
out of Europe
7. Byzantine Intellectual Accomplishments
The Byzantine Empire discovered nothing new, but Greek Fire which it in itself was a
modified version of an ancient weapon. What they did do was preserve the many books and
manuscripts from destruction
8. History of Constantinople
Constantinople was built under Constantine’s rule on top of Byzantium and had the
most formable fortifications in the world at the time
Major Events
Battle of AdrianopoleFought between a Roman army led by the Roman
Emperor Valens and Gothic rebels (largely Thervings as well as Greutungs, nonGothic Alans, and various local rebels) led by Fritigern. The battle took place about 8
miles or 13 kilometers north of Adrianople (modern Edirne in European Turkey, near
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The Meadows School
Early Middle Ages
Ancient History
Study Guide
Mr. Knutsen
the border with Greece and Bulgaria) in the Roman province of Thracia and ended
with an overwhelming victory for the Goths.
Conversion of ClovisClovis was converted by the Roman Catholic church after
seeing God’s power help him win a almost absolute lose
Council of ChalcedonThe Council of Chalcedon repudiated the idea that Jesus
had only one nature, a heresy now known as monophysitism, and stated that Christ
has two natures in one person. The Chalcedonian Creed describes the "full humanity
and full divinity" of Jesus, the second person of the Holy Trinity. The council also
issued 27 disciplinary canons governing church administration and authority. In the
famous 28th canon passed by the council, the bishops sought to raise the See of
Constantinople (New Rome) in stature, claiming that Constantinople enjoyed honor
and authority similar to that of the See of (older) Rome. Pope Leo's legate opposed
the canon but in 453 Leo confirmed all the canons, except the 28th.
Council of NicaeaIn this council major decisions were made over which
books would be kept in the Bible and which ones wouldn’t
Establishment of Monte Cassini- It grew after Saint Benedict was convinced to serve as
their leader
Iconoclastic ControversyThis was a theological dispute over if there should be
images or icons of Saints or God
Justinian CodeA revised version of Roman law put together by Justinian
himself
Rule of Saint BenedictA book written by Saint Benedict giving simple guidelines
to how to live a monastic life
Sacking of RomeRome was sacked by a group of barbarians led by a former
barbarian chieftain who served under Romans as auxiliary troop head and was later
disrespected by not being given a promotion
SchismA series of great theological disputes that divided the
Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church
Cast of Characters
Bishop Ambrose of MilanCassiodorusClothildClovis- Frankish leader who by converting to Christianity, made all the Franks Christian
Constantine- First Christian Emperor of Rome and builder of Constantinople
Franks- Group of barbarians who lived in Northern Gaul and eventually occupied all of
France and most of east Germany
Cyril- Converter of Russian people and creator of Cyrillic alphabet
Foederati- Early in the history of the Roman Republic, a foederatus identified one of the
tribes bound by treaty (foedus), who were neither Roman colonies nor had they been granted
Roman citizenship (civitas) but were expected to provide a contingent of fighting men when
trouble arose, thus were allies. The Latini tribe were considered blood allies, but the rest were
federates or socii
Gregory of Tours- He wrote in an ungrammatical and barbarized style of late Latin; however,
it has been argued that this was a deliberate ploy to ensure his works would reach a wide
audience. He is the main contemporary source for Merovingian history
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The Meadows School
Early Middle Ages
Ancient History
Study Guide
Mr. Knutsen
Justinian- Emperor of the Byzantine Empire and biggest expander of Byzantine territory
Lombards- Barbarians who eventually took control of Italy
St. Augustine of Hippo- believed that the grace of Christ was indispensable to human
freedom and framed the concepts of original sin and just war. When the Roman Empire in
the West was starting to disintegrate, Augustine developed the concept of the Church as a
spiritual City of God (in a book of the same name) distinct from the material City of Man.
His thought profoundly influenced the medieval worldview. Augustine's City of God was
closely identified with the church, and was the community which worshipped God.
St. Benedict- was a saint from Italy, the founder of Western Christian monasticism, and a
rule-giver for coenobitic monks
St. John Chrysostom- known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his
denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine
Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic sensibilities
St. Martin of Tours- Around his name much legendary material accrued and he has become
one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints. He is considered a spiritual bridge
across Europe, given his association with both France and Hungary.
St. Patrick- Converter of Ireland and later head religious leader of Ireland
St. Paul (Paul of Tarsus)- The jump starter of Christianity and made it a religion of its own
not a Jewish sect
St. Peter- after his name in Hellenized Aramaic was a leader of the early Christian Church,
who features prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. Peter
was the son of John, and was from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee
St. Valentine- Of the Saint Valentine whose feast is on February 14, nothing is known except
his name and that he was buried at the Via Flaminia north of Rome on February 14. It is even
uncertain whether the feast of that day celebrates only one saint or more saints of the same
name.
Pope Gelasius I- He was the alleged third and last pope of disputable African origin in the
Roman Catholic Church, Gelasius was a prolific writer whose style placed him on the cusp
between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.
Pope Gregory I- Gregory is well-known for his writings, which were more prolific than those
of any of his predecessors as pope
Pope Innocent I- whom he was called by the unanimous voice of the clergy and laity to
succeed his father as pope
Sassanid Empire- Persian Empire between China and the Byzantine/ Roman Empire
Tertullian- was a prolific and controversial early Christian Berber author and the first to
wrbitchite Christian Latin literature
Theodosius- the Roman Emperor who made Christianity official in the Roman Empire
Theodora of Constantinople- Justinian’s wife who was a great political asset in running the
empire
Valens- he was given the Eastern part of the empire by his brother
Vandals- the Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire
during the 5th century. The Goth leader Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths and
regent of the Visigoths, was allied by marriage with the Vandals as well as with the
Burgundians and the Franks under Clovis I
Visigoths- Barbarian tribe of Southern Gaul/ Spain who swept through Europe
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