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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
 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
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 In the 8 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 largescale 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 (50-604 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 figuresmany 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