Western Civ Ch 8

Edict of Milan

issued by Constantine in 313, ended the "great persecution" and legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire

Nicene Creed

Statement of fundamental Christian beliefs issued by an ecumenical council convened by Constantine in 323-325.

Diocletian

(r. 284-305) Roman emperor who established the tetrarchy (rule by four) and initiated the Great Persecution, a time when many Christians became martyrs for their faith.

Constantine the Great

(r. 312-337) The first emperor of Rome to convert to Christianity, Constantine founded a new imperial capital, Constantinople.

Rule of Saint Benedict

A communal handbook written by St. Benedict of Nursia (480-547) to guide the monastery he had established; its focus on the physical and intellectual as well as spiritual well-being of monks led to its being widely adopted by monastic communities across medieval Europe.

Constantinople

Founded by the emperor Constantine on the site of a maritime settlement known as Byzantium, Constantinople became the new capital of the Roman Empire in 324 and continued to be the seat of imperial power after it's capture by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. It is now known as Istanbul.

Monasticism

In the rapidly Christianizing world, the movement to reject normal family and social life, along with the concern for wealth, status, and power, in favor of a harsh life of solitude and spiritual discipline in communities of other monks.

Themes

New system of organizing army under Byzantine emperor Heraclius in the 7th century that redistributed land to military officers and soldiers

Wergeld

Old Germanic term "man money" for the compensation owed by an offender to his victim, according to custom

Justinian I

Sixth century emperor of the eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, famous for waging costly wars to reunite the empire.

Late Antiquity

Term ancient historians use for the Dark Ages

Dark Ages

The period in Western Europe from the 4th to the 8th centuries, so named because of the chaos that reigned after the fall of the western Roman Empire and the endless depredations of various barbarian invasions.

Great Persecution

The violent program initiated by Diocletian in 303 to make Christians convert to traditional religion or risk confiscation of their property and even death

Tetrarchy

Under Diocletian, a new system whereby the Roman Empire was formally divided into two halves, with a separate emperor (augustus, in Latin) for each. Each half was further divided in half again, and each augustus therefore had a subordinate vice emperor, or caesar.

Pope

the Bishop of Rome and the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. the power of the Roman bishop is largely derived from his role as the traditional successor to St. Peter, to whom, according to the Bible, Jesus gave the keys of Heaven, naming him the "rock" on which the church would be built.