Download tema 4 bizantinos y carolingios

UNIT 4
THE BYZANTINE AND CAROLINGIAN
EMPIRES
The Roman Empire
The division of the Roman Empire
GERMANIC PEOPLE(Ancient Western
Roman Empire)
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Economic Crisis (From the Third Century
onwards) + Invasions of Germanic tribes
(5th Century)
The end of the Western
Roman Empire (476).
They were called barbarians (= foreigner)
by the Romans.
They came from northern and eastern
Europe.
Economy: Agriculture and livestock.
Rural societies.
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They were organised into tribes.
The monarchy was usually elective.
Underdeveloped culture. But they
adopted some elements of Roman Culture
Christianity and Latin.
Causes of the Migration Period
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A period of very cold weather in northern
Europe
They were looking for hotter
lands.
Population growth: Need for new pastures
for livestock.
The weakening of the Roman political and
military structure.
The Hun invasion(Group of nomadic
people, who migrated out of the Mongolia
Region towards Central Europe)
The most important migrations happened
in the 5th Century.
Barbarian invasions
The most important Germanic
Kingdoms
THE VISIGOTHS
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They originally lived in Central Europe, north of the
Danube.
At the end of the 4th century, they were attacked by
the Huns, so they were forced to escape and occupy
the Western Roman Empire.

The Visigoths created a kingdom, centred
at Toulouse (5th Century).

In the 6th century the center of Visigothic
kingdom shifted to Toledo.
Political organisation
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The Visigoth Hispania had an elected
monarchy
The king was helped by the Aula Regia.
He controlled the administration and
made the laws. He was the supreme
judge and head of the army.
The main decisions on political and
religious matters were taken on the
Councils.
Economy and society
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The Visigoths were dedicated to agriculture and
livestock.
Craftwork went into decline (only metallurgy and
ceramic continued to develop)
Trade also declined (although they continued to
have relation with Byzantium)
Society consisted of several groups:

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The king, the nobility and the Church: They had privileges
and didn’t pay taxes.
Free men: They didn’t have the same privilegesTenant farmers: Worked the land of a noble and paid him
rent.
Serfs: Were under the orders of a noble.
Culture and arts

Visigoth culture had a close connection with
the Catholic Church.
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The great Visigoth intellectuals were
ecclesiastics, such Saint Leandro and Saint
Isidoro).
Architecture: The most important buildings
were churches.
 Material: Ashlars with few small windows.
 Horseshoe arches.
 A basilica (rectangular) or cruciform (crossshaped) floor plan.
 Barrel vault or wooden roof.
 Decoration: Reliefs with animals, plant motifs,
geometrical shapes and human figures.
Ashlars
Barrel vault
Basilica
Cruciform floor plan
San Juan de Baños
Quintanilla de las Viñas
San Pedro de la Nave
Daniel in
the Lion’s
Den
The
Sacrifice
of Isaac
THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE
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The Eastern Roman Empire (= Byzantine Empire)
repelled attacks by the barbarians.
At the beginning of the 6th century, the Empire
covered the Eastern Roman Empire (Greece, the
Balkans, the Anatolian Peninsula, Syria, Palestine
and Egypt).
But the Emperor Justinian conquered some of the
territories of the former Western Roman Empire (his
objective was to restore the Roman Empire to its
ancient boundaries).
Mosaic of the Emperor Justinian
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After his death, the empire began to lose
all the conquered territories in Western
Europe.
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The lombards conquered Italy.
The Visigoths reconquered the Iberian Peninsula.
The Muslims conquered the southern and eastern
coasts of the Mediterranean Sea.
By the 15th century, only Constantinople
remained. In 1453 it was conquered by the
Ottoman Turks. This marked the end of
the Middle Ages.
Political organisation
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The EMPEROR had absolute power (it was
believed that his authority to rule was
given to him by God).
The emperor was the head of the Church
(the Patriarch of Constantinople).
The emperor was the head of the army and
the supreme legistator and judge.

Justinian compiled a code with Roman and
Byzantine laws (Justinian’s code).
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Byzantine territory was divided into
THEMES (= provinces). Each one was ruled
by a streategoi.
There was an efficient administration
system run by many officials.
The emperor had a well-trained army,
formed by local troops. However, from the
11th century onward, it was necessary to
recruit mercenaries.
Economy
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Agriculture was one of the main sources of
wealth. Each theme was specialised in one
crop.
Craftwork was important in some cities.
Trade was important during the 11th
century. Trade routes linking the East to
the West.
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They exported textiles, wine, jewels…
They imported ivory, spices, precious stones,…
Society
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Rural society:
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The big rural landowners, who owned the
latifundia was the most powerful group.
Coloni worked on the latifundia.
Some peasants were owners of small plots of
land.
Urban society:
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The ruling class: big rural landowners, high
officials and wealthy merchants.
The lower class: small merchants, craftsmen
(organised into collegia) and slaves.
TEXTO:
Los gremios en Bizancio
“Los artesanos se agrupaban en gremios
presididos por un jefe designado por el
Estado. El gobierno controlaba la vida
económica de estas corporaciones: todo
estaba reglamentado, desde la compra de
materiales de trabajo hasta la venta de
los productos, pasando por la calidad de
las mercancías, la cantidad, los precios,…
Cada gremio debía desempeñar su oficio
en el barrio de la ciudad que se le
asignaba y ofrecía directamente sus
productos al consumidor.
Los miembros de un gremio tenían que
demostrar sus habilidades frente al
Estado, que en lo sucesivo no regateaba a
la hora de cobrar impuestos especiales a
la corporación. Asimismo, estaban
obligados a practicar únicamente su oficio
y no podían cambiar a otro”
E.G. MAIER y P. SHERRARD
Bizancio
BYZANTINE ART
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ARCHITECTURE:
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Main building: Churches.
Materials: Brick, mortar.
Constructive elements:
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Semicircular arch and barrel vault.
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Monolithic columns
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Dome on pendentives.
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Types of plant: Basilica plan or greekcross plan with domes.
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Contrast between the exterior (poor) and the
interior (wealthy: mosaics)
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Hagia Sophia in Constantinople: (6th
century)
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Materials: Brick and mortar. Interior:
Mosaics and painting.
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Plan: Basilica plan, centralised by a
dome.
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MOSAIC AND PAINTING:
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In the interior of churches and the
icons.
Flat and one-dimensional figures, with
a rigid, unnatural expression.
Symmetric composition and
hierarchical perspective (the most
important character is bigger than the
others).
THE FRANKS AND CAROLINGIANS
Treaty of Verdun: Disintegration of the
Carolingian Empire
Carolingian Art