introduction to the course the high and late middle ages
TRANSCRIPT
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Introduction to the Course
The High and Late Middle Ages
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Periodization: Problems
• Continuity vs. change• When did it begin? When did it end?– What would are markers be for answering
this question?
• What are the unifying features? How do we decide what features are worth emphasizing over others?
• Specific questions:– The “end” of Rome: fall or transition?– The “Renaissance”: new period?
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Periodization (cont.)
• What does “medieval” mean?– Something “in between” ancient world, and
something we call modern. – Tends to include the period from about 500
A.D. to 1450. – In reality, these dates incorporate a vastly
varied period, changes over time and territory. Convenient breakdown: early middle ages ending at around 1000, high middle ages 1000-1300; late middle ages 1300-1450.
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Beginnings of Rome
• Civilization that originated on Italian peninsula, had great success at conquering neighbors, eventually gained dominance in Mediterranean.
• Gave rise to Empire; was imperialistic before institutions of Republic gave way to autocracy.
• 753: legendary date of founding• 509: Etruscan kings driven out,
Republic was declared.
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Republican Rome
• Consuls held executive function– Imperium– Executive branch expanded; many
offices
• Senate had advisory function; ex-consuls
• Assembly had veto power over legislation
• Office of dictator instituted to deal with emergencies
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Principate
• Expansion of Rome made it increasingly unwieldy
• Julius Caesar had himself declared dictator for life, was assassinated in 44 B.C.
• Adopted son Octavian, 27 B.C. was declared imperator, Augustus, pontifex maximus
• Republican institutions continued in theory, autocracy in practice
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Crisis of the Third Century
• Empire was no longer expanding; army became a revenue sink
• Hyperinflation; difficulty in providing basic supplies
• High turnover in emperors, who were brought into power by violence
• Increased pressure from beyond the borders
• New order eventually instituted: Dominate
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Separation of East, West• Diocletian (284-305) provided for two emperors and two
successors, one of each in east, west. • Constantine built a capital, Constantinople, in eastern
empire. • By 395 empire contact has decreased.
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Barbarian Invasions!• Constant fighting around borders • Huns in 4th century: pushed people westward• Visigoths entered Rome with permission of
emperor• 410: Sack of Rome by Alaric, Visigothic king• 456: Sack of Rome by Vandals• 476: last Roman emperor deposed• Justinian, emperor in the east, early 6th century,
tried to reunite Rome• Lombards invaded 586• Plague mid 6th century, followed by demographic
collapse.
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Invasion Routes
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IslamOriginated in Arabia in the early 7th century. • Last of the world’s major religions to undergo
formative period. • 610, merchant named Mohammed, had a series of
visions, believed to have come from the angel Gabriel. • Conquered Arabia, swept over North Africa, across
Strait of Gibralter into Spain. Also pushed eastward into Persia.
• Arabian cities highly cosmopolitan, presence of Christians and Jews; Mohammed’s seventh-century reform grounded in Jewish, Christian tradition. Also highly conversant in Greek, Roman world.
• Stopped in 732 by a Frankish chieftain named Charles Martel, grandfather of emperor Charlemagne.
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Byzantium
• Less affected by population decline than in west;
• Invasions by Germans mainly concentrated in west;
• Maintained greater continuity with Roman institutions for a longer period; did not actually fall until 1453;
• Religious institutions developed along different lines than in west;
• Particularly affected by competition with Islamic world.
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The Heirs of Rome, c. 800
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In the west: Basic points of comparison Roman Empire vs. medieval period
• Ancient Rome: culture based in the cities. The culture of early Medieval Europe in the west was based in the countryside. Cities in the east survived better.
• Religious pluralism characterized ancient Rome, not so medieval Europe, which was Christian. In Arab world: Islam imposed unity.
• Population density of the ancient world was dealt a resounding blow in the 6th century, began to make a recovery only in the 9th century, but then was set back again.
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Beyond stereotypes
• Rome's urban life had been supported by an agricultural base (although long-distance trade and specialization characterized the empire's economy).
• Roman empire's cultural, political dominance did not stamp out local customs, especially among people not of the ruling classes.
• People still saw themselves in kind of continuity with Rome – Church – Emperor Charlemagne in 800. – Cities
• Eastern half of the empire survived until 1453, when it was overthrown by the Ottoman Turks. Emperors continued to rule, and people thought of themselves as Roman.
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Three components of early medieval society in the west: Rome
• Bureaucratic state, impersonal institutions;• elaborate military machine;• long-standing written tradition; • codified laws; • technological sophistication; • Incorporation of artistic and literary forms
as well as philosophical tradition of the Greeks;
• Honor invested in family, political service.
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Second component: Germanic
• Personal leadership based on relationships of loyalty to individuals;
• Warrior aristocracy with traditions based on personal bravery, fierce pride, independence;
• Oral tradition; • Relatively primitive level of material
life.
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Third Component: Christianity
• Gospel message of selflessness, humility, chastity, non-violence.
• Two institutional frameworks:–Monastery, emphasizing living in
community according to a Rule for sake of perfecting a holy life;
– “Secular” priesthood, hierarchical, allowing for oversight
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Feudalism• Became a means of combining military
protection with governance. – A vassal would take an oath of loyalty to a lord,
promising military service in return for a gift, usually land.
– The land would become the vassal's fief, and he would enjoy the privilege of immunity.
– He also had rights to the productive labor of those farming the land.
• Song of Roland (late 11th c): – Great concern with honor; stability of the system
rested on the personal faith one had in one's fellow warriors.
– Physical bravery also essential.
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High Middle Ages
• Invaders assimilated; hunger for expansion. • Population growth, increase in trade, cities. • Crusades: at the end of llth century, drive
eastward.• Contact with Islamic world leads to a recovery
of texts of Aristotle, commentaries by Islamic authors.
• Rise of the university, 13th century.– Guilds– Development of Scholasticism: Anselm, Abelard,
Aquinas
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Late Middle Ages
• 1347/8 and onward: Black Death, demographic collapse.
• 1337-1453: Hundred Years' War. • 1309-1378: Avignon Papacy;• 1378-1417: Papal schism• Breakdown of synthesis between reason,
revelation• Period of Renaissance: occurred against
the backdrop of these catastrophes
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Looking ahead: Carolingian Europe
• 800: crowned Emperor by the Pope.
• Under Charlemagne: more systematic approach to monastic life, liturgy, even a revival of cultural life in his court. Called the Carolingian Renaissance.
• Empire divided 843, Treaty of Verdun.
• More invasions in 9th, 10th centuries: Vikings, Magyars, Saracens.