Imperial Decline and the Birth of Christian Europe

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Chapter 10

• Imperial Decline and the Birth of Christian Europe

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Roman Decline

• Romes power to rule began to decline
• Germanic tribes invaded outer provinces
• Internal strife
• 4th C effort at renewal and realignment with
  Christianity and absolute monarchy doomed
• Germans invaded heartlands and imposed forms of
  Roman law and government
• Slow process of conversion to Christian belief
  softened Germanic warrior culture
• Dark Age began to lift
• Charlemagne - reviver of Roman authority and
  belief, had transitory moment

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Internal Upheaval and Invading Barbarians

• After 193, central government fell into hands of
  military
• Age of the Barracks Emperors
• Ordinary citizens suffered because of power
  struggles
• Coincided with first barbarian invasions
• Gaps in border defenses allowed entry
• Romans beat them back

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Restructuring the Empire

• Diocletian
• Emperor was an absolute ruler
• Divided empire into East and West with emperors
  in each Tetrarchy
• Constantine the Great
• More restrictions on personal freedoms
• Moved imperial government to Eastern Empire
• West went into permanent decline

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Map 10.1
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Christianity

• Christianity developed as Roman Empire weakened
• Jesus challenged authority led to his execution
• Christian cult spread slowly in Judea
• Fanatical Jews rebelled in Jewish War
• Appeal of Christianity
• Universality
• Hope and optimism
• Spirit of mutuality
• Appeal to idealism

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Christianitys Spread and Official Adoption

• Christian groups sprang up in major towns
• Constantines Edict of Milan ended persecutions
  of Christians
• Christianity became official religion of the
  empire
• Recognition both helped and hindered the new
  religion

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Map 10.2
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Early Church Organization and Doctrine

• Bishops, elected as head of diocese, appointed
  priests
• Petrine Succession Bishop of Rome claimed
  primacy as direct successor of Peter
• Council of Nicaea defined questions of theology
  and church administration
• Fathers of the Church Augustine and Ambrose
  apologists (explainers of sacred doctrine)

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Germanic Invaders

• Vulnerability of West was clear
• Germanic tribes roamed at will
• New kingdoms formed
• Franks
• Angles and Saxons
• Vandals
• West Goths (Visigoths) and East Goths
  (Ostrogoths)
• Western half of empire in ruins by 500s

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Map 10.3
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Germanic Customs and Society

• Brought habits, values, beliefs with them
• Highly personalized concept of government
• Traveled until found favorite castles or towns
• New idea subjects to give tribute to office of
  king, not to the individual
• Conversion to Christianity
• Germans originally animists no priests, temples,
  theology
• Some tribes converted to Christianity 450-700
• Accepted Christianity because of internal
  politics, desire for trade, recognition of
  advantages

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Germanic Customs and Society

• Germanic Law
• Derived from unwritten custom, collective memory
• Objective to prevent/diminish personal violence
  by payment of fines (wergild)
• Used trial by fire, water, and combat to decide
  guilt
• Purpose of trial was to ascertain damages,
  determine compensation
• Female status
• Attention given to rights of mothers, wives
• Womans chief asset was to perpetuate family name
  through children
• Romans admired Germanic sexual morality

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Feudalism and the Dark Age

• Beginnings of Feudalism
• New self-sufficient, self-governing manors
  (estates)
• Local owners of manors took over basic government
  during invasions
• Increasingly, population was in manorial villages
  controlled by local landlords
• The Dark Age
• Refers to lack of documentation
• Clergy were only group semi-literate
• Bishops had secular and military duties kings
  lieutenants
• Christian Church was only imperial institution to
  survive German invasions
• Church was changed, for the worse, by German
  custom and concepts
• Church also operated charitable and medical
  institutions
• Church supplied all of education in early
  medieval Europe

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Charlemagne and Holy Roman Empire

• Charlemagne was greatest of Germanic kings
• Controlled largest area since western empire fell
• Tried to revive Roman order
• Carolingian Renaissance
• Missi dominici created by Charlemagne officials
  reported on nobles
• Tried to encourage learning and piety
• His renaissance was short-lived
• Disintegration of Carolingian Empire
• Empire was divided among his 3 sons
• War between brothers until Treaty of Verdun (843)
• King of Germany now called Holy Roman Emperor

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Map 10.4
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Invasions and Feudalism

• Renewed invasions
• Vikings, or Norsemen
• Magyars
• Muslims
• Development of Feudalism
• Government authority more fragmented
• Local strongmen and their mercenaries (knights)
  controlled increasingly large areas
• Invasions stimulated appearance of professional
  military and feudal military system

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The Byzantine Empire

• Grew out of eastern half of early Christian world
• Emperor became semi-divine head of state and
  church Casearo-Papism
• Emperor Justinian ordered many public works,
  including Hagia Sophia church
• Remained most powerful political and military
  unit in Mediterranean basin

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The Byzantine Empire

• Empire was under attack for 2 centuries
• Lost both eastern and western territories
• Attacks by Muslims and Slavs
• Most outstanding achievement was Christianization
  of eastern Europe and Russia
• Christianity was permanently divided into West
  and East
• Corpus juris Byzantine distillation of Roman
  law and practice

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Discussion Questions

• 1. The early Christian church was composed of a
  number of small groups of worshippers all over
  the Roman Empire, yet it grew rapidly in converts
  and popularity, to the point that it became the
  official religion in 381. Why did it grow so
  quickly? What factors were responsible for its
  popularity? What groups did it particularly
  attract why?
• 2. The Germanic invaders were regarded as
  barbarians by the Romans, uncouth and
  uncivilized. Yet many aspects of the culture and
  world-view can be seen in todays culture and
  law. What elements of Germanic culture can you
  see in modern society? In particular, can you
  see remnants of their attitudes and practices
  regarding women in todays world?