History of Christianity Class 10
From Roman Empire to Holy Roman Empire
History of Christianity Class 10
From Roman Empire to Holy Roman Empire
Phase III - The Second Great Transition
This class marks the second great transition in our historical survey of Christianity; here, we move from imperial Christianity to medieval Christianity, from the Roman Empire to the Holy Roman Empire. For the most part, this section of the course turns from the East to the West, where we find the Latin language instead of Greek, the pope instead of patriarchs, tribal kings in place of an emperor, and instead of cultural continuity, cultural disruption and creative adaptation. It was in the medieval period, roughly between the 5th and 15th centuries, that Christianity established itself across all of Europe.
526 C.E.
The Western Roman Empire is Gone, Replaced by a Rule of German Tribal Kings
The Eastern Empire is Significantly Reduced and Under Attack
Political Context: 5th to 9th Centuries
Between the 5th and 9th centuries, the western part of the Roman Empire went through a process of rapid disintegration and slow reintegration.
We have already seen the disintegration in broad terms when we traced the movements of tribal peoples westward and southward over the 5th and 6th centuries: the Visigoths and Ostrogoths, Vandals, Burgundians, and Lombards.
In the face of these assaults—some friendly, some not—the former imperial structures in the west (e.g., Gaul, Spain, Italy) were battered and finally broken.
The temporary recovery by Constantinople of lands in Africa and Italy under Justinian (in the 6th century) did not last; only the area around Ravenna remained securely in Byzantine control. Under the assault of Persia and Islam, as we have seen, the Byzantine Empire ceded control of the west—in fact if not in theory—in order to survive in its own diminished domain.
The process of reintegration and stabilization began with the emergence of the Germanic people known as the Franks as the dominant force in Europe. As we trace these first steps, it is good to remember that as so often with historical periods of great importance and considerable obscurity, we are substantially dependent on a single main source, Gregory of Tours (539–594) in his History of the Franks, supplemented by the Chronicle of Fredegar (588–641).
The German tribe known as the Franks, distinguished as Salian and Ripuarian in the earliest sources, though the geographic distinction is not entirely clear, appeared between the 3rd and 5th centuries.
Beginning in the 5th century, the Frankish Merovingian dynasty, named for King Merovich (d. 457), began to conquer and consolidate ever larger portions of Europe under a single rule.
Beginning in the 5th century, the Frankish Merovingian dynasty, began to conquer larger portions of Europe under a single rule.
A series of strong Frankish leaders helped to secure both the political and religious stability of the territories situated in and around ancient Gaul.
Around 496, The Franks converted to Catholicism, a decision that proved fateful for the entire future of Europe, and in 507, they overthrew the Arian king Alaric II. Remember that the German tribes who had converted to Christianity had been almost entirely Arian in their understanding of Christ: He was more human than divine.
More than a century later, Charles Martel (690–741), nicknamed “the Hammer,” the son of the Merovingian King Pepin II by a concubine and himself destined to be the grandfather of Charlemagne, fought for control of the Merovingian kingdom from 714 to 718.
Charles was recognized by the Byzantine emperor Leo III as princeps Francorum (“ruler of the Franks”) in 723. This was a considerably higher recognition than that accorded Clovis.
His greatest historical significance lies in his monumental victory over the Arab army at Tours (or Poitiers) in 732, just when the Arabs seemed destined to conquer all of Europe. Charles stopped the northern expansion of Islam utterly; courted by the papacy, he was the protector of such missionaries as Boniface and Willibrord.
Pepin III (“the Short,” 714–768) was the son of Charles Martel and the father of Charlemagne. He became sole ruler of the Frankish kingdom in 747. Pope Zacharias approved his election as king in 751 and then repeated the coronation ceremony in 754. Note the regular and increased mutual courtship of the Germanic rulers and the papacy.
Pepin III was another strong military leader. His armies conquered Saxony, Aquitaine, and Alemannia.
In fulfillment of a promise made to the pope, Pepin won back Ravenna, the last outpost of the Byzantine Empire in Italy and was named “protector of the Holy See.” He increased the prestige of the Roman church by siding with monks—allied with Rome—against aristocratic bishops.
“Popes and Franks” may sound like ballpark food, but the phrase sums up precisely the two power sources that worked to create the catholic world of the Middle Ages.
Political Context: 9th to 15th Centuries
The second stage in the medieval political context begins with Charles the Great (Charlemagne, 742–814), the son of Pepin III, who is one of the most significant figures in the political and religious history of the West.
Charles was anointed as king of the Franks by Pope Stephen III in 754 and became sole heir of the kingdom in 771. He immediately engaged in a path of conquest and consolidation under his authority.
Between 771 and 799, he conquered Lombardy, the Saxons, Bavaria, the Avars, Pannonia, and Italy.
In 778, he crossed the Pyrenees to conquer Spain, which was in the hands of the Muslims, and was defeated at the Battle of Roncevalles. Thirteen years later, in 801, he conquered Barcelona and made it the center of the Spanish March (a buffer zone separating the Muslim and Frankish kingdoms).
In view of these triumphs, Pope Leo III, on Christmas Day, 800, in the city of Rome, crowned Charlemagne as emperor. It was an extraordinary act, and its implication (that the Franks were the approved continuation of the Roman heritage) was not appreciated by the Byzantines. Eventually, the emperor of the West would claim the formal title of Holy Roman Emperor.
In addition to these military conquests, Charlemagne solidified the new Roman Empire by attention to cultural realities in what is called the “Carolingian renaissance.”
Politically, he extended his power and influence through the use of personal delegates and the issuing of laws from his capital city of Aachen, the westernmost city of present-day Germany.
Educationally, Charlemagne established a palace school that sponsored an educational reform and drew such scholars as the great Alcuin. This was the real beginning of “chapter schools” throughout Europe, where young men could be prepared for royal and religious service.
Religiously, Charlemagne reciprocated the patronage of the papacy by a thorough commitment to Catholicism. He sponsored ecclesiastical reforms, supported the Latin Mass (Eucharist), and published canon law.
In short, the new emperor of the West took over all the privileges and responsibilities of patronage as it was practiced by the first emperors of Rome.
In addition to these military conquests, Charlemagne solidified the new Roman Empire by attention to cultural realities in what is called the “Carolingian renaissance.”
Politically, he extended his power and influence through the use of personal delegates and the issuing of laws from his capital city of Aachen, the westernmost city of present-day Germany.
Educationally, Charlemagne established a palace school that sponsored an educational reform and drew such scholars as the great Alcuin. This was the real beginning of “chapter schools” throughout Europe, where young men could be prepared for royal and religious service.
Religiously, Charlemagne reciprocated the patronage of the papacy by a thorough commitment to Catholicism. He sponsored ecclesiastical reforms, supported the Latin Mass (Eucharist), and published canon law.
In short, the new emperor of the West took over all the privileges and responsibilities of patronage as it was practiced by the first emperors of Rome.
Manorialism and Feudalism
Within this new political framework, a new form of society emerged that has been called “feudalism” or “manorialism.” This form persisted from the 9th to the 15th centuries in Europe.
The term “manorialism” refers to the character of an agriculturally based economy in which the basic unit was the demesne (estate or property).
The system possibly had roots in the ancient Roman villas. The manor was the main building at the center of fields that produced crops for the occupants and for sale.
The “lord” of the manor had complete authority within and over the estate, supervising the labor and collecting from the crops and livestock of those in direct dependence on the master (serfs) or those who were indirectly his clients (peasants/knaves).
Further Cultural Developments
Technology from the classical period was adapted and developed within this agricultural setting, including the heavy plough, horse collar, horseshoes, water mill, tide mill, winepress, grindstone, artesian well, heating through ducts, chimneys, and wheelbarrows.
In the towns and small cities of the early medieval period, guilds eventually formed for masons, carpenters, painters, clothing makers, tanners, bakers, shoemakers, apothecaries, and candlemakers. Exquisite art was practiced in brass, silver, gold, stone, and wood.
The larger societal system called “feudalism” extended the pattern of manorialism to the level of the kingdom: as the serf was to the master, so was the vassal (the individual landowner and master) to his lord (the king).
The king served as patron and master, supporting individual landowners and offering them protection from external and internal threats through his royal resources. The vassals owed the king payment (feudal = “fee”) either in tribute or, in times of trouble, the warriors from their estates to form the king’s army.
A major technological development, the stirrup, enabled the development of metal-armored and heavily weaponed knights. Small arms, such as the sword, bow, and lances, were buttressed by heavier weapons, such as the crossbow, the catapult, and other siege engines.
The knight and his entourage of squires, as well as foot soldiers, formed the “fee” of the vassal to a king as an expression of fealty (loyalty).
The greater the king, the greater the number of vassal knights whose fealty he could command.
The church also had its “lords of manors” in the form of abbots in monasteries and bishops in cathedral towns—who invariably controlled and were supported by precisely the same sort of reciprocal economic relationship with those who tilled their land and watched their herds and flocks.
On the positive side, the monasteries and dioceses functioned effectively within the same economic system, often playing a key role in the prosperity of a locale, because monasteries were typically models of efficient farming and small crafts.
On the negative side, the question must arise as to whom the abbot or the bishop owed ultimate fealty: the king or the pope. Many of the conflicts in medieval European Christianity played themselves out within the tension created by these disparate loyalties.
Evangelization of Western Europe
We talked earlier about the rapid emergence of the Franks and Frankish Kings as the dominant Germanic tribes, and how that began the reintegration and stabilization of what was frankly a new culture in western Europe.
And of the importance of the conversion of those Kings in 486 C.E. from Arian Christianity to Catholic Christianity.
And remembering our earlier class on the rise of Christian monasticism in the 300’s and how important that became to the Catholic church. It was at this time that the monastics made major contributions to the further strengthening of both secular and religious activities.
So how did Western Europe get it’s act together from such a low starting point – with seemingly all of the former strengths now gone.
Three main players were involved. And the eventual success made it seem that there was a grand plan. But in fact it was a very messy coming together of three main players who together made western Europe finally a Christian stronghold, much more so than during the Roman Empire.
The Three
- A multitude of monks working hard as Christian missionaries.
- The Kings who either sponsored them or were converted by them.
- The Popes who commissioned and directed them.
As the Popes in Rome continued to bestow more legitimacy to the Frankish kings as being “approved by God”, a concept that was later called “the “Divine Right of Kings”, the Frankish kings reciprocated by giving more secular support to the Pope as the head of the church. That support came in the form of an active support of the church and and as supporters and protectors of monasticism.
Not all popes were great or even competent; many were mediocrities. But when greatness in a person combined with the significance of the office, powerful things could happen. Especially when a Pope whose tenure was sufficiently lengthy and whose moral and intellectual integrity were sufficiently impressive to exercise great influence.
Noteworthy Popes During This Period
Damasus I was a vigorous opponent of Arianism and Donatism; united himself with the Cappadocians; strengthened the position of the papacy (establishing its archives); and commissioned Jerome to translate the Vulgate, the Latin version of the Bible, which provided a uniform Scripture to the West.
Gregory I (“the Great”), who lived from 540 to 604 and was pope from 590 to 604. He was a prefect in Rome in 573, but then sold all of his possessions, and founded 6 Benedictine monasteries in Sicily and Rome. Then entered one of them as a simple monk. But he was so capable, even as a monk, Pope Pelagius plucked him out of the monastery and sent him to the Byzantine court in 579. In 585 he returned to the monastery as was elected abbot. In 596 he was elected Pope.
Gregory was obsessed with serving the poor. His view was that the wealth of the world belonged to the poor, and should be distributed.
In 596, Gregory sent Augustine and 40 other monks to England, to evangelize that pagan land. He gave privileges to monks, which made them more directly dependent on the papacy.
Gregory made significant contributions to a new Roman Mass. His voluminous writings were widely read and studied in the Middle Ages.
He was very interested in the use of chanting as a religious practice. He combined both Roman and Frankish elements into a new style of chanting called the Gregorian chant.
Missionary and Scholar Monks
During all of this period there was a huge growth in monasteries throughout Europe. When we earlier discussed monasticism in Egypt I mentioned the first order written for Cenobitic monks by Pacomius. Benedict of Nursia (480-530 C.E.) developed a Rule for Monks that borrowed from Pacomius and became the standard for Europe. In fact from the 6th to the 11 centuries essentially all monasticts were Benedictine and followed this rule. The many other orders of monks that developed later in Europe did not start forming until the 12th century and after.
At the beginning of the fourteenth century the order is estimated to have comprised the enormous number of 37,000 monasteries. It had up to that time given to the Church no less than 24 popes, 200 cardinals, 7,000 archbishops, 15,000 bishops, and over 1,500 canonized saints. It had enrolled amongst its members 20 emperors, 10 empresses, 47 kings, and 50 queens.
The monastic culture of early medieval Europe led to the widespread production of religious manuscripts and literacy within monastic communities. In particular it is hard to imagine if we would have the Bible we have now because there was no printing press at this time. Thousand of monks spent most of their lives in monasteries simply copying carefully by hand new copies of the Bible.
Medieval monks were some of the most highly literate members of European society. Medieval monasteries boasted prodigious libraries and writing rooms where monks spent countless hours producing decorative manuscripts for posterity.
Powerful, elite families to build monasteries on the grounds of their estates. This led to strong ties between the monasteries and the influential civic forces in medieval society.
Monastic communities and monasteries frequently acted as educational centers, infirmaries, and lodges for medieval travelers.
Early medieval monks also greatly contributed to the agricultural and economic development of Europe.
And Benedictine monks became the foot soldiers for the Pope in missionary work all over Europe.
Both the Popes of Rome and the Frankish Kings strongly supported the Benedictines. Charlemagne (and later Frank kings) became the protectors and financial supporters of the Benedictines.
The Resurgence of Christianity and Secular order
In the 5th century in western Europe there was a very weakened Catholic church with a very weakened secular society with multiple states led by uncooperative German tribal kings.
Through the efforts of the Frankish Merovingian rulers, Benedictine monks, and a strong and aggressive papacy, the beginning of the 9th century a firmly established form of Catholic Christianity in northern Europe, thoroughly orthodox in doctrine, reformed in morals and clerical regulation, and increasingly uniform in liturgical observance. Catholic Europe was ready to embark on its centuries- long history.
By the beginning of the 9th century a firmly established form of Catholic Christianity in western Europe, thoroughly orthodox in doctrine, reformed in morals and clerical regulation, and increasingly uniform in liturgical observance. Catholic Europe was ready to embark on its centuries - long history.