Ch. 10: Christian Europe Emerges,

Transcription

1 Ch. 10: Christian Europe Emerges, I. Early Medieval Europe, a. From Roman Empire to Germanic Kingdoms i. 5 th cen., Roman Empire broke down. Europe fragmented. Various Germanic tribes pushed west by Huns & each other establish kingdoms using tribal frameworks. (Ex.: Angles & Saxons in England, Franks in Gaul, Lombards in Italy ) ii. W. Europe invaded by Muslim Arabs & Berbers (from Iberian peninsula to France; defeated by Charles Tours). iii. 8 th cen.: Carolingians created Frankish Empire. Charlemagne greatest (Emperor of the Romans). Carolingian Renaissance. Later subdivided. iv. 8 th -9 th cen.: Vikings attack England, France, Spain. Settle Iceland, Normandy (1066, William the Conqueror takes England.) b. Self-sufficient economy i. Fall of Rome accompanied by economic transformation: de-urbanization & decline in trade. Regional elites became more self-sufficient; small traditions flourished (including vernacular languages). Ruralization. ii. Diet: In N: beer, lard/butter, bread, vegetables, cheese. In S: wheat, wine, olive oil. iii. Estates (manors) were primary centers of ag production. Met need for self-sufficiency & self-defense. iv. Lord had almost unlimited power over workers (serfs). Working conditions varied; free peasantry in some areas (villeins). c. Early medieval society i. Noble class emerged; developed into mounted knights. Landholding and military service virtually inseparable. Complex network of relationships between lords & vassals called feudalism. (Regional differences.)

2 II. ii. Need for security led to new technology: stirrup, bigger horses, armor/weapons Knighthood expensive estates needed for support. Training as page & squire started in childhood. iii. Lord (king, noble) grants land (fief) to vassal in return for military service. By 10 th cen., fiefs hereditary. iv. Kings weak; dependent on vassals. Vassals may have loyalties to several lords. Vassals held much of realm and granted fiefs to their own vassals. v. Kings/nobles had limits on administration/taxes. Cannot tax Church lands. For most, lord s manor = government. vi. Noble women: pawns in marriage politics. Ran estates in lord s absence. Could own land. Commoner women: worked alongside men. The Western Church a. Structure of Christian faith i. Christian faith & Catholic Church, headed by pope, offered unity & order. ii. 4 th cen. on: hierarchy of patriarchs, bishops, & priests. Set of shared rituals & sacraments: Mass, baptism, marriage Some disagreements on theology/ritual; Monophysites split. iii. Hierarchy dealt w/challenges by calling councils of bishops. Often dealt w/orthopraxy rather than orthodoxy. ( Right Practice versus Right Belief. ) b. Politics & Church i. Popes sought to combine religious & political power with alliances with kings and 962 crowning of German Holy Roman Emperor (HRE). (Empire really only a loose coalition of German princes.) ii. Investiture controversy: kings wanted to appoint bishops who held fiefs. Popes disagreed compromise. England: Henry II tried to reform laws & gain control over nobility. Conflict between secular & church power. (Struggle w/archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas a Becket.)

3 iii. W. Europe had 3 legal traditions: Germanic feudal, canon, and Roman law. Conflicting theories & jurisdictions a significant problem. c. Monasticism i. Christian monasticism developed in 4 th -cen. Egypt on basis of religious practices of celibacy, prayer, and isolation. ii. Benedict organized monasteries & wrote rules for all aspects of life (5 th -6 th cen). Thousands followed. iii. Functions of monasteries: centers of literacy/learning (Latin preserved). Refuges for widows/women. Inns; orphanages; hospitals; ag estates. iv. Oversight difficult. 11 th cen: Cluny reforms work to improve administration & discipline (and reputation!). d. Shaping European society i. Christianity changed society. Rejected Roman tolerance of slavery (but serfs OK), religious pluralism (and toleration), overt sexuality. Legal status of Jews became fragile (even ejected from several regions.) ii. Family more narrowly defined. Social life rituals, festivals, monuments, art transformed to meet Christian demands (although many Christian holidays usurped pagan dates on the calendar). III. Byzantine Empire, a. Church & State i. Roman rule & traditions preserved (but Greek common language). ii. Roman popes independent of secular power. Byzantine emperor appointed patriarch of Constantinople & intervened in the many doctrinal disputes. (Many issues but polytheism eliminated.) iii. Political/religious unity kept empire together. Foreign threats: Goths, Huns, Sasanids. iv. Muslim Arabs took wealthy provinces & converted people to Islam. Byzantine power reduced. Relations

4 w/popes & western princes declined; 1054, schism between Latin & Orthodox Churches. b. Society & Urban life i. Decline in urbanization (not as severe as in west). Loss of middle class meant huge gap between wealthy aristocrats & poor peasants. ii. Family more rigid. Women confined to home; veiled outside. Some exceptions: Theodora helped Justinian, women helped rule from Did not take refuge in nunneries, as in west. iii. Emperors intervened in economy: set prices, controlled grain provision, monopolized some goods. Constantinople well-supplied, but other cities & rural areas lagged in wealth & technology. (Justinian spent lots of money, especially rebuilding after 7 th cen. Nika Rebellion problem!) iv. West: by 7 th cen., viewed Byzantine E. as a crumbling power. Byzantines viewed West as uncouth barbarians. c. Cultural achievements i. Compilation of Roman laws & edicts: Body of Civil Law (Corpus Juris Civilis), AKA Justinian Code, became the basis of Western European civil law. ii. Domed buildings (ex., Hagia Sophia) copied by Italian Renaissance. iii. 9 th cen.: missionaries Cyril & Methodius preach to Slavs, develop Cyrillic alphabet. IV. Kievan Russia, a. Geography & background i. Black/Caspian seas to Baltic/White. Series of E-W ecological zones; several navigable rivers (Dnieper important). ii. Early: numerous different language/ethnic groups. Pattern: Slavs E, Finns N, Turkic S. iii. Forest dwellers, steppe nomads, & farmers traded. Caravan trade links to Silk Road; Varangians on rivers; Khazar mouth of Volga R.

5 b. Rise of Kievan state i. Rus: societies of w. Slav farmers w/ Varangian nobles (from Scandinavia). Cities/trade centers: Kiev, Novgorod. ii. 980: Vladimir I becomes Prince of Kiev. Made Orthodoxy official religion & imitated Byzantine culture (churches, Cyrillic alphabet, trade contacts). c. Society & Culture i. Poor land, short season, primitive farming technology. Food production low; power of state from trade, not landholding. ii. Kiev & Novgorod had populations of 30,000-50,000 (relatively small). Urban areas were centers for craftsmen & artisans (status higher than peasants). iii. Christianity spread slowly pagan customs & polygamy until 12 th cen. Then Christianity triumphs & church power grows (some clergy served as tax collectors for state). V. Western Europe Revives, a. Role of technology i : population & ag production increases. Result: resurgence of trade; kings strengthened control. Why? New technologies, rise of self-governing cities. ii. Innovations: heavy moldboard plow, horse collar, breaststrap harness. (Not sure of source of collar/harness or exact date of switch from oxen to horses.) b. Cities & rebirth of trade i. Independent, self-governing cities 1 st in Italy & Flanders. Income from manufacturing & trade independence meant laws favored manufacturing/trade. ii. Italy: Venice dominant sea power. Traded w/ Muslims for spices/goods. Flanders: Ghent imported English wool; wove cloth for export. iii. Increase in use of 1 st silver, then gold coins (start in 12 th cen.)

6 VI. c. Crusades i. Series of Christian campaigns against Muslims in eastern Med., Factors included religious zeal, knights willingness for church-sanctioned war (& lords to get rid of troublesome vassals), desire for land, adventure, trade, ii. Holy Land focus because of Muslim control of pilgrimage sites & Byz. Empire s request for help. 1095: Pope Urban II calls 1 st Crusade (only successful one). 3 rd : 3 Kings Crusade. Children s Crusade many kids dead or enslaved. 4 th : Crusaders sack Constantinople! iii. Limited impact on Muslim world (negative: damage to political relations, attitudes between Christians/Muslims). Europe s intellectual isolation ended; Arabic & Greek manuscripts gave access to Greek philosophy. Demand for trade goods created. Conclusion a. The collapse of the Roman Empire and the subsequent development of western European society may be compared to the collapse of the Han dynasty, Islam s Abbasid caliphate, and the Alexandrian Empire. In all cases, the periods of political fragmentation following the collapse of an empire seem to have been times of dynamic intellectual, religious, and scientific developments. b. The Byzantine Empire maintained political and cultural stability, but it lacked the dynamism of either western Europe or the Islamic lands. In terms of social & political dynamism, the Kievan state is more comparable to the West than to the Byzantine Empire.