Download The Evolution of Christian Societies in Byzantium

The Two Worlds of
Christendom
The Quest for Political Order
 Intro
 The eastern half of the Roman empire was invaded by Germanic peoples, but did not
collapse.
 The political challenge for rulers of this area was the restore order following these invasions
 In the 6th century the Byzantine rulers even attempted to recreate Roman authority
throughout the Med basin
 Their efforts fell short, and they would soon lose lots of territory to the expanding
Muslims
 Presided over a powerful society in the eastern Med region
 Political challenges were much more difficult in the West
 Germanic invaders mostly settled in the western regions
 Disrupted Roman authority
 Deposed Roman officials
 Imposed new states of their own making
 After two centuries of fighting, it seemed that one of these groups, the Franks, would
reestablish imperial authority in much of Roman Europe
 Could have played the role of the Sui and Tang in China by reviving centralized imperial
rule
 By the late 9th century, the Frankish empire had fallen victim to internal struggles and
new invasions
 Political authority then went to local and regional jurisdictions
 Formed a decentralized political order
The Early Byzantine Empire
 Intro
 The Byzantine empire took its name from Byzantium, a market and fishing town with an
important, strategic location
 On a peninsula with a harbor known as the Golden Horn
 Had the potential to control the Bosporus strait, which control access to the Black Sea
 Also had easy access to Anatolia, SW Asia, and SE Europe
 Sea lanes connected the city to areas throughout the Med basin
 The City of Constantine
 The Roman emperor Constantine, who recognized its strategic location, made Byzantium the
site of a new imperial capital
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Renamed it Constantinople
Built it because the astern med was the most productive region of the Roman empire
Also, relocation enabled him to keep close check on the Sasanids and the Germanic
peoples on the Danube
 Moved to Constantinople after 330 ce
 Became a metropolitan
 Filled the city with libraries, museums, art, palaces, churches, baths, and public buildings
 Kept the name Constantinople until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, who renamed it
Istanbul
 Historians refer to this period of rule as the Byzantine empire, which lasted from the 5th-15th
centuries
 Caesaropapism
 Constantine and his successors reinforced their rule with an aura of divinity and splendor
 As a Christian, Constantine could not claim the divine status of earlier emperors
 He claimed divine sanction for his rule as the first Christian emperor
 Intervened in theological disputes
 Used his political position to support views he considered orthodox, and condemning
those he deemed heretical
 Initiated the policy of “caesaropapism”, the emperor was not only a secular lord but also
played a role in ecclesiastical affairs
 Following his example, Byzantine emperors presented themselves as exalted, absolute
rulers
 Even dress and court etiquette testified to their lofty status
 Wore silk robes dyed a dark, rich purple, a color reserved for the imperial house and
forbidden for anyone else to wear
 High officials presented themselves to the emperor as slaves
 Prostrated three times, kissed the hand and feet
 By the 10th century, engineers had created devices that impressed foreign envoys
 Imitation birds, mechanical lions
 The throne itself would move up and down to emphasize the splendor of the emperor
 Justinian and Theodora
 The most important of the early Byzantine rulers was Justinian (r. 527-565), known as the
“sleepless emperor”
 Ruled with aid of his ambitious wife Theodora
 Despite their origins (Macedonian peasant and striptease artist), they both were smart,
strong-willed, and disciplined
 Justinian received an education, joined the bureaucracy, and mastered finance, while
Theodora was a shrewd advisor and supporter of her husband
 Lavished resources at the imperial capital
 Most notable construction was the church of Hagia Sophia, a domed structure that is
one of the most important examples of Christian architecture
 Later turned into a mosque
 The enormous dome was likened to the heavens encircling the earth
 Justinian’s Code
 Justinian’s most significant political contribution was his codification of Roman law
 Went back to the time of the Roman kings
 Had become a confusing mass of conflicting injuctions
 Justinian systematically reviewed Roman law and issued the Corpus iuris civilis (Body of
the Civil Law)
 Won recognition as the definitive codification of Roman law
 Influenced civil law in most of Europe, Japan, and Louisiana
 Byzantine Conquests
 Justinian’s most ambitious venture was his effort to reconquer the western Roman empire
from the Germanic peoples and reestablish Roman authority throughout the Med basin
 Between 533 and 565, Byzantine forces gained control over Italy, Sicily, much of NW
Africa, and southern Spain
 The Byzantines did not possess the resources to sustain a long-term occupation and to
consolidate these conquests
 Shortly after Justinian’s death, Byzantines abandoned Rome, making Ravenna the HQ of
Byzantine authority in the western Med
 As a result, Ravenna would possess example of Byzantine art and architecture
 Justinian’s dream of reuniting the old Roman empire faded
Muslim Conquests and Byzantine Revival
 Intro
 Justinian’s efforts showed that the classical Roman empire was beyond recovery
 While the emperor devoted his efforts to the western Med, the Sasanids threatened
Byzantium from the east and Slavic peoples from the north
 Later Byzantine emperors had to meet these threats, ending their attempt to expand
 Muslim Conquests
 After the 7th century, the expansion of Islam posed more serious challenges to Byzantium
 Shortly after Muhammad’s death, Arab warriors conquered the Sasanid empire in Persia
and overran large portions of the Byzantine empire
 By the mid-7th century, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and north Africa had fallen under Muslim
rule
 Later subjected Constantinople to two prolonged sieges in 674-678and 717-718
 The Byzantines were able to resist most of the Muslim expansion due to their advanced
military tech
 Byzantines used a weapon known as ”Greek Fire” that they launched at the fleets and
armies of the Muslims
 Even burned when floating on water, creating a hazard against wooden ships
 Difficult to extinguish on land, causing panic
 The Byzantines were able to retain its hold on Anatolia, Greece, and the Balkans
 The Theme System
 Though diminished by the Muslims, the Byzantine empire was actually more manageable
after the 8th century than the far-flung realm of Justinian
 They responded to the threat of Islam with political and social changes that strengthened
their reduced empire
 Most important innovation was the reorganization of Byzantine society under the theme
system
 Placed an imperial province called a theme under the authority of a general, who
assumed both its military defense and civil administration
 Usually received the appointment from the emperor, who closely monitored their
activities to halt decentralization

Generals would recruit armies from the free peasants, who received land for their
military service
 Armies raised under the theme system were good fighting forces
 Enabled Byzantium to expand between the 9th and 12th centuries
 During the 10th, they reconquered Syria and pushed their authority west into the
Balkan region
 By the mid-11th century, the Byzantine empire was from Syria an Armenia in the east
to southern Italy in the West; the Danube in the north to Cyprus and Crete in the
south
 Once again dominated the eastern Med region
The Rise of the Franks
 Intro
 In the year 476 ce, the Germanic general Odoacer deposed the last of the western Roman
emperors
 Did not claim the imperial title for himself, nor made anyone else a replacement
 Roman admin and armies continued to function temporarily, but urban populations
declined as invasions and power struggles disrupted trade and manufacturing
 Deprived of legitimacy and resources from Rome, imperial institutions weakened
 Germanic Kingdoms
 Gradually, a series of Germanic kingdoms emerged as successor states to the Roman
empire
 Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Lombards, Franks, and other Germanic peoples occupied imperial
provinces, displacing the Romans and their institutions
 As they built successor states, Germanic peoples absorbed a great deal of Roman influence
 Many of them converted to Christianity, and others adapted Roman law to the needs of
their own societies
 The Franks
 Most successful and influential of these Germanic groups were the Franks
 By the early 6th century, the Franks had conquered most of Roman Gaul, emerging as
the preeminent military and political power in western Europe
 Gained popular support when they abandoned their polytheistic indigenous religion and
converted the Christianity
 Brought them the allegiance of the Christian pop of the former Roman empire and
support from the pope and the western Christian church
 In the 8th century the aristocratic clan of the Carolingians extended Frankish power
 The Carolingian dynasty takes its name from its founder, Charles Martel
 In 732 at the battle of Tours (in central France), he turned back a Muslim army that had
ventured north from Spain
 His victory stopped the Muslim rulers of Spain from extending its realm into the rest of
western Europe
 Charlemagne
 The Frankish realm reached its high point under Charles Martel’s grandson Charlemagne
(Charles the Great, r. 768-814)
 Like Harsha in India, Charlemagne temporarily reestablished centralized rule in a society
disrupted by invasion and conquests for power between ambitious local rulers
 Possessed enormous energy, and the building of the Carolingian empire was largely
his doing

While illiterate, was intelligent; spoke Latin, understood some Greek, and conversed
with learned men
 Maintained diplomatic relations with the Byzantines and the Abbasid caliphate
 When Charlemagne inherited the Frankish throne, his realm was most of modern France
and Belgium, the Netherlands, and SW Germany
 When he was done, he had extended the rule to NE Spain, Bavaria, and Italy to
Rome
 Campaigned for 32 years to impose rule on the Saxons of northern Germany and
repress their rebellion
 Beyond the Carolingian empire, rulers in eastern Europe and southern Italy paid tribute
to Charlemagne as imperial overlord
 Charlemagne’s Administration
 Built a court and capital at Aachen
 Like Harsha in India, spent most of his reign on horseback, traveling throughout the
realm to maintain authority
 Was necessary since he didn’t have the financial resources for an elaborate
bureaucracy or admin apparatus to enforce policy
 Instead, he relied on aristocratic deputies, known as counts, who held political, military, and
legal authority in local jurisdictions
 In an effort to keep his counts under control, Charlemagne instituted a group of imperial
officials called the missi dominici (“envoys of the lord ruler”) who traveled annually to all
jurisdictions and reviewed the accounts of local authorities
 Charlemagne built the Frankish kingdom into an empire on the basis of military expeditions
 Began to outfit it with some centralized institutions
 Did not call himself an emperor because it would directly challenge the authority of the
Byzantine empire, who were the only legit successors to the Roman empire (in their
eyes)
 Charlemagne as Emperor
 Only in 800 did Charlemagne accept the title of emperor
 Attended Christmas day services with Pope Leo III; during, the pope proclaimed him
emperor and placed a crown on his head
 He had no desire to strain relations with the Byzantine emperors, who resented his
imperial title as an affront to their own dignity
The End of the Carolingian Empire
 Internal disunity and external invasions brought the Carolingian empire to an early end
 Charlemagne’s only surviving son, Louis the Pious (r.810-840) succeeded his father and
held the empire together
 Lacking Charlemagne’s strong will and military skills, Louis lost control of local
authorities, who increasingly pursued their own interests
 His three sons disputed their inheritance and waged wars against one another
 In 843, they divided the empire into three equal portions and ruled as three kings
 Less than a century after its creation, the Carolingian empire dissolved
The Age of the Vikings
 Intro
 Even if the internal divisions weren’t going to dismember the Carolingian empire, external
pressures may have

Beginning in the late 8th century, three groups of invaders pillaged the Franks for wealth
in towns and monasteries
 From the south came Muslims who raided Med Europe
 Conquered the islands of Sicily, and seized territory in southern Italy and southern
France
 From the east came the Magyars, descendants of nomads in Hungary
 From the north came the Vikings, most feared, who began mounting raids into northern
France during Charlemagne’s lifetime
 The Viking invasions were part of a larger process of expansion by Nordic peoples
 One cause was population growth fueled by increased agricultural growth in Scandinavia
 Norse expansion depended on a remarkable set of shipbuilding techniques and seafaring
skills developed during the 7th and 8th centuries
 Built rugged, shallow-draft boats outfitted with sails, enabling them to travel through the
open ocean, and with oars, allowing them to navigate rivers
 Vikings
 Many Norse seafarers were merchants seeking commercial opportunities or migrants
seeking lands to settle and cultivate
 Some turned their maritime skills towards raiding and plundering rather than trading or
raising crops
 These were the Vikings, originally referring to groups that raided the British elements from
their home at Vik
 Over time, the term referred more generally to Norse mariners who mounted invasions
and plundered settlements from Russia and eastern Europe to the Med lands
 With their shallow-draft boats, the Vikings could make their way up many rivers offering
access to interior Europe
 Coordinated their ships’ movements and timed their attacks to take advantage of the
tides
 Could sail up a river, surprise a village or monastery far from the sea, spill out crews of
warriors who conducted lightning raids on unprepared villages
 The first Viking invaders began to attack unprotected monasteries in the 790s
 Learning from their raids, more than 150 Viking ships sailed up the Garonne river in 844
 Sometimes they attacked large cities- in 845, 800 vessels appeared at Hamburg
 885, 700 ships sailed up the Seine and besieged Paris
 994, 100 ships raided London
 Some Vikings passed the nearby areas and ventured into the Med and plundered the
Balearic islands, Sicily, and southern Italy
 By following the Russian rivers to the Black Sea, other Vikings made their way to
Constantinople, which they raided thrice during the 9th and 10th centuries
 Dissolution of Political Authority
 The Carolingians had no navy and no means to protect vulnerable sites, and no way to
predict the Vikings movements
 Defense against the Magyars, Muslims, and Vikings rested on local forces that could
rapidly response to invasions
 Since the imperial authorities couldn’t defend their territories, the empire became the
main casualty of the invasions
 After the 9th century, political and military initiative in western Europe devolved to
regional and local authorities
 The devolution took different forms in different areas

In England and Germany, regional kingdoms emerged and successfully defended
territories more compact
 In France, the counts and other Carolingian subordinates usurped royal rights and
prerogatives for themselves
 The Vikings established settlements in northern France and southern Italy, where they
carved out small independent states
 Following a century of internal conflict and external invasion, the emergence of regional
kingdoms and local authorities made it unlikely imperial rule would return to Western Europe
 Like postclassical India but unlike postclassical societies in China, SW Asia, and the
eastern Med, western Europe became a society of competing regional states
 By putting an end to the 9th century invasions and establishing a stable political order,
these states laid a foundation for social, economic, and cultural development in later
centuries
Economy and Society in Medieval Europe
 Intro
 Economic and social development in the two areas of Christendom mirrored their different
political fortunes in the postclassical (p.c.) era
 Byzantium was an economic powerhouse in the eastern Med
 The Byzantine countryside produced large agricultural surpluses
 Supported large urban populations and manufacturers
 Merchants participated in long-distance commercial networks that linked lands
throughout the eater hemisphere
 Western Europe, but contrast, experienced both a decline of agricultural production and
weakening of cities
 Repeated invasions disrupted economic, social, and political affairs
 By the 10th century, a measure of political stability helped serve as a foundation for
economic recovery
 Western European peoples began to more actively participate in the larger trading world
of the eastern hemisphere
The Two Economies of Early Medieval Europe
 The Byzantine Peasantry
 Byzantium was strongest when its free peasant class was strongest
 After adopting the theme system in the 8th century, soldiers received allotments of land
when they left the army
 Helped support and large and prosperous class of free peasants, who cultivated their
land intensively in hopes of improving their families’ fortunes
 The free peasants declined as a class after the 11th century as wealthy cultivators
accumulated large estates
 For as long as it flourished, the free peasant class provided farming surpluses that
served as the foundation for prosperity in the Byzantine empire
 Manufacturing
 Farming surpluses supporting manufacturing in the cities, esp Constantinople
 The city was home to lots of artisans and craft workers as well as thousands of imperial
officers and bureaucrats

Enjoyed a reputation for their glassware, linen and woolen textiles, gems, jewelry, gold
and silver work
 Silk
 In the 6th century, craft workers added high-quality silk textiles from China to their list of
manufactured products
 Made a major contribution to the Byzantine economy
 By the late 6th century, Byzantine silks matched the quality of Chinese silks
 Had become the principal supplier of silk to the Mediterranean lands
 Was so important to the economy that the Byzantine gov’t closely monitored every stop
in the production and sale
 Allowed individuals to only participated in one part of the process to prevent the
creation of a monopoly by a few entrepreneurs
 Byzantine Trade
 Sitting on routes going east and west as well as north and south, Constantinople served as
the main clearing house for trade in the western part of Eurasia
 The merchants of Constantinople maintained commercial links with manufacturers and
merchants in central Asia, Russia, Scandinavia, northern Europe, the Black Sea and the
Med basin
 Even after the early Muslim conquests, they maintained trade with their Muslims
counterparts in Persia, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt except during outright war
 Byzantium was so dominant in trade that their gold coin, the bezant, was the standard
currency of the Med basin for more than half a millennium, from the 6th through 12th
century
 Drew enormous wealthy by simply controlling trade and levying taxes on merchandise that
passed through its lands
 Byzantium served as the western anchor of the Eurasian trading network that revived the
Silk Roads of classical times
 Silk and porcelain came to Constantinople from China, spices from India and SE
Asia
 Carpets from Persia, woolen textile from Europe; timber, furs, honey, amber, and
slaves from Russia and Scandinavia
 Consumed some products from distant lands, but mostly redistributed products, often
after adding to their value by processing them
 Jewelry out of gems from India, or dyeing raw woolen cloth from western Europe
 As Byzantium prospered, western Europe struggled to find its economic footing in an era of
invasion and political turmoil
 Disrupted both agricultural production and large-scale manufacturing
 While dealing with these political and military challenges, western Europe also adopted a
series of innovations that yielded increased agricultural production
 Heavy Plows
 One innovation involved a heavier plow that replaced the light Med plows
 Were reasonable in the light and well-drained Med soils; did not work well in the heavy,
wet soils of the north
 After the 8th century, a more serviceable plow came into use: a heavy tool equipped with
iron tips and a mould-board that turned the soil to aerate it and break up the roots of the
weeds
 Was more expensive, and required cultivators to harness more energy; once hitched to
oxen or draft horses, the heavy plow contributed to greater farming production
 As the heavy plow spread through western Europe, cultivators took other steps to increase
farming
 Cleared new lands for cultivation, built ponds for fishing
 Constructed water mills, freeing humans and animals for other work
 Employed a special horse collar, allowing them to rely on speedier horses to pull heavy
plows
 Increased cultivation of beans and legumes
 Made numerous small adaptations that created a foundation for rural success after 1000
ce
 Trade in Western Christendom
 Trade did not disappear from Western Europe
 Local markets and fairs offered small-scale exchanged; peddlers shopped their wares
from one settlement to another
 Maritime trade flourished in the Med despite Muslims conquests
 Christian merchants from Italy and Spain regularly traded across religious lines with
Muslims of Sicily, Spain, and norther Africa
 Indirectly linked Europe to a larger world of communication and exchange
 Norse Merchant-Mariners
 Maritime trade also flourished in the North Sea and the Black Sea; most active among the
early medieval merchants in the northern seas were the Norse seafarers, kinsmen of the
Vikings
 Followed the same routes as Viking raiders, and many individuals switched between
commerce and plunder
 Called at ports from Russia to Ireland, carrying cargoes of fish and furs from
Scandinavia, honey from Poland, wheat from England, wine from France, beer from the
Low Countries, and swords from Germany
 By travelling down the Russian rivers to the Black Sea, they were able to trade in both
the Byzantine and the Abbasid empires
 Like the Med merchants, the Norse mariners linked western Europe with Islam
 The Carolingian empire heavily depended on this connection
 Took Scandinavian products to the Abbasid and exchanged them for silver, which they
trade at Carolingian ports for wine, jugs, and glassware
 The silver from the Abbasid empire was a principal source of bullion used for minting
coins in early Medieval Europe
 A crucially important element of the western European economy
 Even if the western European merchants were not as numerous or prominent as their
Byzantine counterparts, they still participated in the trading networks of the larger eastern
hemisphere
Social Development in the Two Worlds of Christendom
 Byzantium: An Urban Society
 The Byzantine was rich in large, prosperous, cosmopolitan cities
 Alexandria, Antioch, and Damascus
 Until the Muslim conquests of the late 7th and early 8th centuries, Byzantium was the
most urbanized society in the world
 The residents enjoyed the benefits and observed urban traditions inherited from the
classical Med world
 Constantinople had no rival amongst Byzantine cities
 The heart of the city was the imperial palace which employed 20,000 ppl
 City Life
 Aristocrats maintained enormous palaces for their extended family, servants, and slaves
 Women lived in separate apartments and did not receive male visitors from outside the
household
 They did not participate in banquets and parties
 Wore veils to discourage the attention of me
 Dwellings of the less privileged were less maintained
 Artisans and craft workers typically lived above their workshop
 Clerks and gov’t officials occupied multistory apartment buildings
 Workers and the poor lived in rickety tenements with shared kitchens and bathrooms
with the neihbors
 Attractions of Constantinople
 Even for the poor, Constantinople had attractions
 City of baths
 Taverns and restaurants offered social gatherings
 Theaters provided entertainment
 Mass entertainment occurred in the Hippodrome, a large stadium adjacent to the imperial
palace
 Watched chariot races, athletic matches, contests between wild animals, circuses
 Western Europe: A Rural Society
 Cities to the west like Constantinople had largely disappeared by the 5th century in the wake
of the Germanic invasions and the collapse of the Roman empire
 The agricultural surplus of western Europe was enough to sustain local political elites
 Not substantial enough to support large, urban populations of artisans, craftsmen,
merchants, and professionals
 Towns survived, but they were more as economic hubs rather than vibrant centers
integrating large-scale economic activities
 The Question of Feudalism
 How did the peoples of western Christendom reorganize after the fall?
 Historians once used the term feudalism to characterize the political and social order of
medieval Europe
 Spoke of a “feudal system” involving a hierarchy of lords and vassals, who took charge of
political and military affairs on the basis of personal relationships
 Provided grants of land to their retainers in exchange for loyalty and military service
 Over the years, this idea has been undermined as an oversimplification
 More of a society in which local political and military elites worked in various ways to
organize their territories and maintain social order
 Had deep implications for the lives of political and military elites as well as their
relationship with commoners
 In the absence of an effective central authority, local notables or lords mobilized small private
armies of army retainers
 Some of these were descendants of Carolingian or other ruling houses, others were
ambitious strongmen
 Both the lords and their retainers were warriors with horses, weapons, and military
expertise
 Lords would sometimes reward retainers with grants of land or something else valuable,
like income from a mill, or rents or payments from a village, even money

In other cases, lords retained them by maintaining them in their own household
 Provided them equipment and training
 After 1000, lords increasingly hired their retainers, paying for them as need be
 By one mechanism or another, lords and retainers were a privileged political and military
elite who dominated local regions
 Peasants
 Lords and retainers mainly supported themselves on surplus agricultural production from the
subject peasants
 Political and military elites obliged local peasants to provide labor services and payments
of rents, such as a portion of a harvest, a chicken, or a dozen eggs
 Male peasants typically worked three days a week for the lord while also providing
additional labor services during planting and harvesting
 Women peasants churned butter, made cheese, brewed beer, spun threat, wove cloth,
or sewed clothes for their lords and family
 Some peasants also kept sheep or cattle, with their obligations to their lords including
products from both
 Because lords provided peasants with land to cultivate and the tools and animals, peasants
had little ability to move to different lands
 They were usually only able to do it with permission from their lords
 Had to pay fees for the right to marry a peasant who worked for a different lord
 Population
 During the 5th and 6th centuries, epidemic disease and political turmoil took a demographic
toll on both areas
 From 36 million at the time of the Roman Empire in 200 ce, population fell to 26 million in
600 ce (19 in Byzantium, 7 in western Europe)
 Population fluctuated dramatically over the next two centuries
 Byzantines lost territories to Muslims and western Europeans suffered repeated
invasions
 After the 8th century, both Byzantium and western Europe began to recover population
 Political stability created a foundation for more productive farming as new crops
made their way from the Muslim world to Byzantium and Med Europe
 Durum wheat, rice, spinach, artichokes, eggplant, lemons, limes, oranges, and
melons brought increased calories and variety that supported increasing populations
 By the year 800, the had a combined pop of about 29 million, 32 million in 900 and 36
million in 1000
 By the year 1000, Byzantium and western Europe had built productive farming
economies that sustained sizable and increasing populations
 Finally matched the Roman Empire
The Evolution of Christian Societies in Byzantium and
Western Europe
 Intro
 Byzantium and western Europe were the heirs to the Roman Empire and to Christianity
 The two realms created distinct and competing forms of their common religion
 Christianity served as the main source of religious, moral, and cultural authority in both areas
 Both lands supported church hierarchies with monastery networks

Both societies worked to extend the reach of Christianity by sending missionaries to
northern areas (Russia, Slavic lands, Scandinavia, British Isles)
 By the year 1000, the two heirs of Roman Christianity had created the foundation for a
Christian cultural zone in Europe
 Similar to the Buddhist and Islamic zones of Asia
 Even as they were promoting Christianity in their own societies and beyond, church
authorities in the areas had deep disagreements on doctrine, ritual, and church authority
 By the mid-11th century, their differences were so great that church leaders denounced
on another and established their two rival communities
 Eastern Orthodox church in Byzantium
 Roman Catholic church in western Europe
Popes and Patriarchs
 Intro
 Christianity was more hierarchical than any other major religious tradition
 Inherited a strong organizational structure from the late Roman Empire
 In the early middle ages, the two most important authorities were the bishop of Rome
aka the pope, and the patriarch of Constantinople
 The Papacy
 When the western Roman Empire collapsed, the papacy survived and claimed continuing
spiritual authority over the lands formerly of the Roman Empire
 At first, the popes cooperated closely with the Byzantine emperors, who were the natural
heirs of the emperors of Rome
 Beginning in the late 6th century, the popes acted more independently and devoted their
efforts to strengthening the Western Christian church based at Rome
 Distinguished it from the eastern Christian church in Constantinople
 Pope Gregory I
 The person most responsible for an independent Roman church was Pope Gregory I (50604 ce), known as Gregory the Great
 As pope, had numerous challenges
 During the late 6th century, the Germanic Lombards campaigned in Italy, menacing
Rome and the church
 Mobilized local resources and organized the defense of Rome, saving both the city
and the church
 Faced difficulties within the church, since bishops acted with independent authority in
their own ecclesiastical authorities within their own dioceses
 To regain the initiative, Gregory asserted claims of papal primacy, the idea that
bishop of Rome was the ultimate authority for all the Christian church
 Also made contributions as a theologian
 Emphasized the sacrament of penance, requiring individuals to confess their sins to
their priests and atone for them by penitential acts
 Enhanced the influence of the Roman church in the lives of individuals
 The Patriarchs
 The patriarchs of Constantinople were powerful officials, but they did not enjoy the
independence of their brethren to the west
 Following caesaropapism of Constantine, Byzantine emperors treated the church as a
department of state

Appointed the patriarchs, instructing patriarchs, bishops, and priests to deliver sermons
that supported imperial policy and encouraged obedience to imperial authorities
 Caesaropapism was source of tension between imperial and ecclesiastical authorities
 Had the potential to provoke popular dissent when imperial values clashed with those of
the larger society
 Iconoclasm
 The most divisive policy implemented was iconoclasm, inaugurated by Emperor Leo III (r.
717-741)
 Byzantium had a long tradition of icon painting- paintings of saints, Jesus, and other
religious figures- many of them works of art
 Most theologians took these icons as visual stimulation that inspired reverence for holy
personages
 Leo, however, became convinced that the veneration of images was sinful, similar to the
worship of idols
 726, embarked on a policy of iconoclasm (“breaking of icons”), destroying religious
images and prohibiting their use in churches
 The policy sparked protests and riots throughout the empire, since icons were extremely
popular
 Only in 843 did Leo’s followers abandoned the policy of iconoclasm
Monks and Missionaries
 Intro
 Consumed with matters of theology, ritual, and church politics, popes and patriarchs rarely
dealt directly with the lay population of their churches
 For personal religious instruction and inspiration, lay Christians looked less to the church
hierarchy than to local monasteries
 Asceticism
 Christian monasticism grew out of the efforts of devout individuals to lead especially holy
lives
 Early Christian ascetics in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Persia adopted extreme regimes of
self-denial to focus all of their attention on religious matters
 Some lived as hermits, and others formed communes where they devoted themselves to
the pursuit of holiness rather than worldly success
 Many dedicated themselves to celibacy, fasting, and prayer
 Drawn by the reputation for piety, disciples gathered around these ascetics and established
communities of men and women determined to follow their example
 These examples became the earliest monasteries
 During the early days of monasticism, each community developed its own rules, procedures,
and priorities
 The result was wild inconsistency: some monasteries imposed harsh and austere
regimes of self-denial, and others offered little to no guidance
 St. Basil and St. Benedict
 Monasteries became much more influential when reformers provided them with discipline
and a sense of purpose
 The two most important reformers were the patriarch St. Basil of Caesarea (329-379 ce) in
Byzantium and St. Benedict of Nursia (480-547 ce) in Italy
 Both men prepared regulations for monasteries that provided for mild but not debilitating
asceticism combined with meditation and work on behalf of the church

In both Basilian and Benedictine monasteries, individuals gave up their personal
possessions and lived communal, celibate lives under the direction of the abbots who
supervised the communities
 Poverty, chastity, and obedience became the prime virtues for Basilian and Benedictine
monks
 At certain hours, monks came together for religious services and prayers, dividing the
remainder of the day into periods for study, reflection, and labor
 St. Scholastica
 Monasteries throughout Byzantium adopted the Basilian rule for their own use, while their
counterparts in western Europe largely followed the rule of St. Benedict
 Through the influence of St. Benedict’s sister, the nun St. Scholastica (482-543 ce), an
adaptation of the Benedictine rule provided guidance for the religious life of women living
in converts
 Monasticism and Society
 Like Buddhist monasteries in Asian lands and charitable religious foundations in Muslim
lands Christian monasteries provided a variety of social services that enabled them to build
close relationships with local communities
 Monks and nuns offered spiritual counsel to local laity
 Organized relief efforts during times of trouble by supplying food and medical attention
 Monasteries and convents both served as orphanages and inns
 Some also provided rudimentary educational services for local communities
 Because of the various roles they played in larger society, monasteries were effective agents
in the spread of Christianity
 While provided social services, monks also preached Christianity and tended to the
spiritual needs of rural populations
 For many people, a local neighboring monastery was the only source of instruction in
Christian doctrine
 A local monastic church offered the only practical opportunity for them to take part in
religious services
 Through patience and persistence over decades and centuries, monks and nuns helped
instill Christian values in countless generations of European peasants
 Missionaries
 Some monks went beyond the bounds of their own society and sought to spread Christianity
in the larger world
 One of the more remarkable developments of the early middle ages was the creation of a
large Christian cultural zone in the western part of the European continent
 Christianity was already well established in the Med region
 Pagan Germanic and Slavic peoples occupied the more northerly parts of Europe
 In the late 6th century, Pope Gregory I sent missionaries to England and targeted the pagan
Germanic kings who ruled various parts of the island
 Hoped that their conversion would induce their subjects to adopt Christianity
 This tactic largely succeeded- by the early 7th century Christianity enjoyed a stable
foothold
 By 800, England was securely within the fold of the Roman church
 The Franks and Charlemagne later sponsored effort to extend Christianity to northern
Germany and Scandinavia
 Met spirited resistance from Germanic peoples who had desire to abandon their inherited
gods or pagan beliefs
 By the year 1000, Christianity won a sizable and growing following
 Meanwhile, Byzantine authorities sent missionaries to Balkan and Slavic lands
 The most famous of the missionaries to the Slavs were Saints Cyril and Methodius, two
brothers from Thessaloniki in Greece
 During the mid-9th century, Cyril and Methodius conducted missions in Bulgaria and Moravia
 There, they devised an alphabet known as the Cyrillic alphabet for the previously illiterate
Slavic peoples
 Adapted from written Greek, the Cyrillic alphabet represented the sounds of Slavic
languages more precisely than did Greek
 Remained in use in much of eastern Europe until supplanted by the Roman alphabet
in the 20th century
 In Russia and many other parts of the former Soviet Union, the Cyrillic alphabet
survives to the present day
 North of Bulgaria another Slavic group began to organize large states: the Russians
 About 989, Prince Vladimir of Kiev converted to Christianity at the urging of Byzantine
missionaries
 Ordered his subjects to follow his example
 After his conversion, Byzantine influences followed rapidly into Russia
 Cyrillic writing, literacy, and Christian missionaries all spread quickly throughout
Russia
 Byzantine teachers traveled north to establish schools, and Byzantine priests
conducted services for Russian converts
 Kiev served as a conduit for the spread of Byzantine cultural and religious influence
in Russia
Two Churches
 Intro
 While they professed the same basic doctrine, the churches of Constantinople and Rome
experienced increasing friction after the 6th century
 Tensions mirrored political strains
 Such as deep resentment in Byzantium after Charlemagne accepted the title of
emperor from the pope in Rome
 Church authorities in Constantinople and Rome harbored different views on religious and
theological issues
 The iconoclast movement of the 8th and 9th centuries was one focus of difference
 Western theologians regarded religious images as appropriate aids to devotion and
resented Byzantine claims to the contrary
 The iconoclasts took offense at the efforts of their Roman counterparts to have images
restored in Byzantium
 Religious Rivalry
 Over time, the Christian churches based in Constantinople and Rome disagreed on many
other points
 Some ritual and doctrinal differences concerned forms of worship and the precise
wording of theological teachings
 Minor issues that shouldn’t have caused a deeper division in the larger Christian
communities
 Byzantine theologians objected to the fact that western priests shaved their beads and
use unleavened bread when saying Mass

Others were more substantive theological matters, such as the precise relationship
between God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit
 All regarded as manifestations of God by most Christian theologians of the day
 Schism
 Alongside ritual and doctrinal differences, the Byzantine patriarchs and the Roman popes
disputed their respective rights and powers
 Patriarchs argued for the autonomy of all major Christian jurisdictions, including
Constantinople, where popes asserted the primacy of Rome as the sole seat of authority
 Ultimately, relations became so strained that the western and eastern halves went their
separate ways
 In 1054, the patriarch and the pope mutually excommunicated each other, each refusing
the recognize the other’s church as properly Christian
 Had profound historical consequences since the schism between eastern and western
Christian church has persisted to this day
 In light of the schism, historians refer to the eastern Christian church after 1054 as the
Eastern Orthodox church and its western counterpart as the Roman Catholic church