Christian Europe Emerges300 – 1200 C.E.

I. Early Medieval Europe, 300 – 1000 C.E. A. From Roman Empire to Germanic Kingdoms 1. December 25th, 800 - Charlemagne was

crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III.

2. Charlemagne (meaning Carolus Magnus or Charles the Great) was the first to hold such a title in over 300 years.

3. Western European culture was then a combination of German customs and Christian Piety.

Charlemagne

4. By 395 C.E., the Roman Empire was permanently split between east and west.

5. Germanic peoples in the early fifth century C.E. took pieces of the western Roman Empire bit by bit.

6. The city of Rome itself was sacked by Visigoths in 410, and the last Roman emperor was deposed in 476.

Germanic Invasions of Rome

7. Rome lost political importance but maintained religious influence in the person known to be the Bishop of Rome, or Pope.

8. Europe divides itself into three linguistic zones (1) countries in the west and south speaking Romance languages, (2) countries in the north and center speaking either Germanic or Scandinavian languages, and (3) countries in the east speaking Slavic languages.

Viking conquests

B. A Self-Sufficient Economy 1. With the arrival of Germanic

peoples in Western Europe came withering of urban-based civilizations.

2. Trade languished as coin purchases were replaced by a barter system.

3. The wheat that had once came from Egypt was now heading east forcing these people to become self-sufficient.

4. Self-sufficient farming estates known as manors became the primary centers of agricultural production.

5. Common farmers had to give their lands to large landowners in return for political and physical protection.

6. Manors now required to provide a decree of protection which led to the development of Castles and fortifications.

Early Castle Designs

7. The lord and his family exercised almost unlimited power over their serfs – agricultural workers who belonged to the manor.

8. These serfs were not permitted to leave the manor and attach themselves to another lord.

9. Serfs were obligated to till their lord’s fields and were subject to other dues and obligations.

C. Early Medieval Society 1. The use of the mounted warrior

became a mainstay for those loyal enough to continually join war parties.

2. Eventually, warfare was so incessant that the mounted warrior evolved into the knight.

3. This allows landholding to become inseparable from military service.

Dueling Knights

4. This complicated tradition of landholding and obligation is often times called feudalism.

5. Feudalism can be defined by the multitude of agreements in which kings and lords gave land to “vassals” in return for sworn military support.

6. A grant of land in return for a sworn oath to provide specified military service was often called a fief.

7. Kings during this time in Europe tended to be weak and quite dependent on their vassals – noble followers who were required to provide services.

II. Western Church A. The Structure of Christian Faith 1. Growing Christian populations

recognized the authority of certain political establishments within the old Roman Empire.

2. Christian populations in eastern Europe recognized the authority of the patriarch of Constantinople.

3. Christian populations in western Europe recognized the authority of the office of the pope –or papacy - in Rome.

4. During the council of Nicea in 325 C.E., Christian Bishops had decided that certain areas within Christendom had authority outside of their metropolitan areas – Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch to name a few.

5. These areas were referred to as Patriarchs and they were placed in order of importance with Rome being first.

6. During the 2nd ecumenical council of 381 C.E., Constantinople was placed as number two just below Rome itself.

7. When disagreements arose concerning doctrine charges of heresy were often brought up.

8. This caused a great deal of concern because ordinary people felt that the ultimate issue of salvation hung in the balance.

9. The best example came in north Africa and the lands of the eastern Mediterranean resulting in a schism – a formal division resulting from disagreements about doctrine.

10. Another doctrine that endangered church unity was the widespread belief in Arianism – this held that Christ was a creation of god and therefore a lesser divinity.

The First Council of Nicea

B. Politics and the Church 1. By 962 C.E., a secular political authority

came into being within a loose confederation of German provinces known as the Holy Roman Empire.

2. A dispute arose between Pope Gregory VII and the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV called the investiture controversy.

3. Lords and monarchs were accustomed to giving such things as a ring and/or staff as symbols of authority on bishops and abbots. This is called investing.

4. The Pope believed that only he can depose and restore bishops along with other rights making the Pope in charge of emperors.

5. This was somewhat resolved in the Concordant of Worms, 1122 C.E.

6. Emperor Henry V renounced his right to choose bishops and abbots, in return the Pope allowed the emperor to invest the appointees of the Pope.

Investiture

C. Monasticism 1. Monasticism – the religious practice of

celibacy, continual devotion to prayer, and living apart from society – became a distinct feature of western Europe during this time.

2. In western Europe holy hermits such as Benedict of Nursia (480 – 547 C.E.) laid the foundation for western monasticism.

3. He wrote a rule that governed the monks’ behavior that emphasized celibacy, poverty, and obedience to the abbot.

Monasticism

4. Monastic life allowed thousands of pious men and women to leave towns and villages reinforcing a tendency toward separation of religious affairs from ordinary politics and economics.

5. Monasteries were the primary centers of literacy and learning.

6. A few planted Christianity in new lands like Saint Patrick did in Ireland 432 C.E.

III. The Byzantine Empire, 300 – 1200 C.E. A. Church and State 1. European Christian civilization in the

eastern region was very different that the west.

2. In 324, the emperor Constantine marked out the limits of the new capital: the 1000 year old Greek city of Byzantium.

3. This city was originally called Nova Roma but was renamed Constantinople after the death of Constantine.

Byzantine Empire 480 C.E.

4. The Byzantine emperor appointed the patriarch of Constantinople and often times involved himself is doctrinal disputes.

5. Unlike western Europe, polytheism died fairly quickly and was replaced quickly by Christianity.

6. By 392, the emperor Theodosius banned all pagan ceremonies.

B. Society and Urban Life 1. The status of women declined in the

Byzantine Empire. 2. Initially, family structure was loose and

women were active in public life but eventually they were confined to the home and were required to wear a veil around their face when in public.

3. It has often been believed that the social conditions in the Byzantine empire mirrored those of their neighboring Islamic foes.

4. Several emperors ordered collections of laws such as the Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of Civil Law) compiled under the rule of Justinian.

5. Another lasting influence of the Byzantines was the Hagia Sophia – the great domed cathedral of Constantinople.

Hagia SophiaDURING THE BYZANTINE

EMPIRE 2004

IV. Western Europe Revives, 1000 – 1200 A. The Crusades 1. The Crusades – a series of

Christian military campaigns against Muslims in the eastern Mediterranean – dominated the politics of Europe from 1100 to 1200.

2. The crusades were actually the culmination of social and economic currents of the 11th century.

3. There are three reasons that should be considered when describing the crusades: (1) There was a movement to stop the fighting between Christian lords, (2) ambitious rulers were seeking new lands to conquer, and (3) Italian merchants were eager to increase trade.

4. The Holy Land became a focus for these ambitious rulers because of the importance of Pilgrimages – journey to a sacred shrine by Christians seeking to show piety, fulfill vows, or gain forgiveness for past sins.

Map of the 1st Crusade

5. Christian pilgrims were generally tolerated by Muslim leaders after they gained control in the 7th century.

6. However, after 1071 that changed when Turkish nomads were allowed to spread throughout Anatolia.

7. In 1095, at the Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II responded by telling Christians to stop fighting each other and travel to the Holy Land to fight Muslims. The crowd exclaimed, “God wills it!”.