Download Imperial Decline and the Birth of Christian Europe

Imperial Decline and the Birth of Christian
Europe
SSWH3:e; 4:a.
Time and Geography
POLITICAL
Roman Decline
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Rome’s power to rule began to decline
Germanic tribes invaded outer provinces
Internal strife
4th C: effort at renewal and realignment with Christianity
and absolute monarchy doomed
Germans invaded heartlands and imposed forms of
Roman law and government
Slow process of conversion to Christian belief softened
Germanic warrior culture
Dark Age began to lift
Charlemagne - reviver of Roman authority and belief,
had transitory moment
Internal Upheaval and
Invading Barbarians
• After 193, central
government fell into hands of
military
• Age of the Barracks
Emperors
• Ordinary citizens suffered
because of power struggles
• Coincided with first barbarian
invasions
Restructuring the Empire
• Diocletian
– Emperor was an absolute ruler
– Divided empire into East and West with
emperors in each – Tetrarchy
Diocletian
Restructuring the Empire
• Constantine the Great
– More restrictions on personal freedoms
– Moved imperial government to Eastern
Empire
– West went into permanent decline
Colossal marble head of Emperor Constantine the
Great, Roman, 4th century, located at the Capitoline
Museums, in Rome
RELIGIOUS
Christianity
• Christianity developed as Roman Empire
weakened
– Jesus challenged authority; led to his execution
– Christian cult spread slowly in Judea
– Fanatical Jews rebelled in Jewish War
• Appeal of Christianity
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Universality
Hope and optimism
Spirit of mutuality
Appeal to idealism
Christianity’s Spread and
Official Adoption
• Christian groups sprang up
in major towns
• Constantine’s Edict of Milan
ended persecutions of
Christians
• Christianity became official
religion of the empire
• Recognition both helped and
hindered the new religion
Edict of Milan
Early Church Organization
and Doctrine
• Bishops, elected as head of
diocese, appointed priests
• Petrine Succession – Bishop of
Rome claimed primacy as direct
successor of Peter
• Council of Nicaea defined
questions of theology and church
administration
• Fathers of the Church: Augustine
and Ambrose – apologists
(explainers of scared doctrine)
Artist’s depiction of the
Council of Nicea in 325 CE
POLITICAL
Germanic Invaders
• Vulnerability of West was clear
• Germanic tribes roamed at will
• New kingdoms formed
– Franks
– Angles and Saxons
– Vandals
– West Goths (Visigoths) and East Goths
(Ostrogoths)
• Western half of empire in ruins by 500s
Germanic Customs and Society
• Brought habits, values, beliefs with them
– Highly personalized concept of government
– Traveled until found favorite castles or towns
– New idea: subjects to give tribute to office of king, not
to the individual
The 3rd-century Great Ludovisi
sarcophagus depicts a battle
between Goths and Romans.
Germanic Customs and Society
• Conversion to Christianity
– Germans originally animists: no priests, temples,
theology
– Some tribes converted to Christianity: 450-700
– Accepted Christianity because of internal politics,
desire for trade, recognition of advantages
A romantic depiction of Ulfilas
converting the Goths to
Christianity.
Germanic Customs and Society
• Germanic Law
– Derived from unwritten custom, collective memory
– Objective: to prevent/diminish personal violence by
payment of fines (wergild)
– Used trial by fire, water, and combat to decide guilt
– Purpose of trial was to ascertain damages, determine
compensation
An Ostrogothic eagle-shaped fibula, 500 CE
Germanic Customs and Society
• Female status
– Attention given to rights of mothers,
wives
– Woman’s chief asset was to
perpetuate family name through
children
– Romans admired Germanic sexual
morality
Visigoth woman, 6th century CE.
Feudalism and the Dark Age
• Beginnings of Feudalism
– New self-sufficient, self-governing manors (estates)
– Local owners of manors took over basic government during
invasions
– Increasingly, population was in manorial villages controlled by
local landlords
• The Dark Age
– Refers to lack of documentation
– Clergy were only group semi-literate
– Bishops had secular and military duties: king’s lieutenants
– Christian Church was only imperial institution to survive German
invasions
– Church was changed, for the worse, by German custom and
concepts
– Church also operated charitable and medical institutions
– Church supplied all of education in early medieval Europe
Charlemagne and
Holy Roman Empire
• Charlemagne was greatest of Germanic kings
– Controlled largest area since western empire fell
– Tried to revive Roman order
• Carolingian Renaissance
– Missi dominici created by Charlemagne: officials
reported on nobles
– Tried to encourage learning and piety
– His “renaissance” was short-lived
• Disintegration of Carolingian Empire
– Empire was divided among his 3 sons
– War between brothers until Treaty of Verdun (843)
– King of Germany now called Holy Roman Emperor
Charlemagne (742–814) receiving the submission of Widukind at Paderborn in 785
Invasions and Feudalism
• Renewed invasions
– Vikings, or Norsemen
– Magyars
– Muslims
• Development of Feudalism
– Government authority more fragmented
– Local strongmen and their mercenaries (knights)
controlled increasingly large areas
– Invasions stimulated appearance of professional
military and feudal military system
The Byzantine Empire
• Grew out of eastern half of early Christian world
• Emperor became semi-divine head of state and church –
Casearo-Papism
• Emperor Justinian ordered many public works, including
Hagia Sophia church
• Remained most powerful political and military unit in
Mediterranean basin
Mosaic of Justinianus I
The Hagia Sophia
The Byzantine Empire
• Empire was under attack for 2 centuries
– Lost both eastern and western territories
– Attacks by Muslims and Slavs
• Most outstanding achievement was
Christianization of eastern Europe and Russia
• Christianity was permanently divided into West
and East
• Corpus juris – Byzantine distillation of Roman
law and practice
Discussion Questions
1. The early Christian church was composed of a number
of small groups of worshippers all over the Roman
Empire, yet it grew rapidly in converts and popularity, to
the point that it became the official religion in 381. Why
did it grow so quickly? What factors were responsible for
its popularity? What groups did it particularly attract –
why?
2. The Germanic invaders were regarded as barbarians by
the Romans, uncouth and uncivilized. Yet many aspects
of the culture and world-view can be seen in today’s
culture and law. What elements of Germanic culture can
you see in modern society? In particular, can you see
remnants of their attitudes and practices regarding
women in today’s world?