midievil europe
Confessor
A confessor is a saint that is so good throughout their life that they are saint without martyrdom. The position of a confessor opened up new opportunities for people to become saints. All saints that were not martyrs or ascetics were confessors.
Hagiography
A hagiography is a biography of a Christian saint that sought to inspire admiration and imitation. It allowed readers to learn about Christian practice. Hagiography's tried to convince other people that certain people were saints. One of the first hagiographies was written for St. Antony of Egypt (lived 251-356).
King Attila of the Huns: died 453
Attila is the leader of the huns and tries to take over the entire roman empire. He makes it all of the way to modern france, but Rome and the federates defeat him. Atilla then encircles Rome, and when the empire calls the federates they do not come. As a result the federation falls apart. The huns leave Rome without taking it. When Atilla dies in 453, the huns dissipate. This marks the break down of the alliance created by the Roman empire and the federates.
St. Augustine of Canterbury
Augistine of Canterbury was a Catholic Benedictian monk. Pope Gregory I sent St. Augustine of Canterbury to England as a missionary (597). In 597 Augustine of Caterbury is treated nicely by the king of kent, Ethelberht, who is Anglo-Saxon. The King of Kent converts to Christianity because he knew that Romans and Christians were prestigious and that God would give him a spiritual advantage and allies in the west. The king of Kent marries a Christian and is Baptized with hundreds of people by Augustine of Canterbury. This is a foundational moment for English Christianity. Augustine was consecrated as a Bishop in england by Ethelbert and had a mass conversion on Christmas day 597. He is considered the founder of the Catholic church in England.
Diaspora
Judea is home of the Jews. But after the Jewish revolt in 70 CE, their temple is destroyed and the Jewish community disperses and settles across the roman world. This dispersal is called diaspora. Many Jews go to Spain.
Sephardic Jews
"Sephardic" refers to any Jews in Spain--whether under Visigothic or Islamic rule. After Jews disperse from Judeah (diaspora) many of them settle in Spain. The Jews come under visigothic rule in the 5th century, and are known as Sephardic jews. They do not have many rights and practically forced into conversion by the visigothic code. After 711, this changes as the Muslims begin their conquest on Spain (Al Andalus is eventually ruled by the Umayyad emirs). Under Islam the Jews were considered people of the book, and had protected status. Many Jews supported the Islamic takeover because they could now practice in the open and were not forced to convert. The Status of Jews rose in Al Andalus. Sephardic Jews see the Al Andalus rennaisance within their own culture, and engage heavily with Muslim rulers. They collaborate on Jewish scholarship, medicine, science, and architecture.
Saints
A saint is someone who is so pious that they got to skip judgement day. Saints helped Christ judge humanity, so people wanted to make saints like them. Therefore saints were very popular for adoration, and there were thousands of saints in western europe. After the split of the roman empire, many saints stayed in abandoned cities in the west. Even though saints had an ordinary lifespan they were still believed to have power after death. Saints had a foot in both worlds, and were still able to intervene with human affairs. A saint was given recognition based on how they live their lived. They could perform miracles, which is something that a human can't do without God, or is effected by God. The first saints were martyrs. In 313 when christianity was legalized, asceticism became the popular way to become a saint by replicating the pain of martyrdom. Then confessors were saints without having to bodily harm themselves.
Donation of Constantine (probably written in the 750's)
According to the document, the donation of Constantine was in 317. It describes Constantines interaction with the bishop of Rome Pope Sylvester the 1st. Constantine came down with leprosy. Pagan preists tell him to kill a bunch of babies and bathe in their blood, but Constantine says no and decides to live with his leprosy. In a dream, Constantine sees angels and they tell him that if he gets baptized he will be cleaned of leprosy. This comes true. Constantine then gives Pope Sylvester the 1st all of western Europe in return. He hands over the Palace, the city of Rome, its provinces, district, and all cities in Italy or its western regions. The problem with this document is that it is a forgery written probably in the 750's by a Papal scribe when Pippin III gives the military help to Pope. However, the document give the Carolingians an obligation to help the Pope. The document confirmed that the Pope was the number 1 clergyman in the world. The Pope also had the authority of the clergy and secular leaders because technically he owned Europe. The secular and sacred rulership of the Pope included the Donation of Constantine and when Charlemagne grants land and privileges to the clergy. If the Pope had both earthly and spiritual authority then he had more leverage than earthly kings. In the Carolingian period the Pope made himself powerful by setting himself up as the head of the church, reciprocity, his power to make kings emperor, and collecting revenue from land.
Ascetic, Asceticism
After 313 when christianity was legalized, there were no martyrs to act as saints. As a result people began to try and suffer for their faith without dying. Ascetics therefor thought that physical deprivation proved their faith. St Antony set the standard for ascetiscs when he went to the desert. His hagiography inspired an entire generation to become ascetics.
Arians, Arianism
After Christianity was legalized by Constantine with the Edict of Milan in 313 there was no uniform theology. All Christians believe that God was a Trinity but they did not agree on which piece was more powerful. The Arians believed that the son was created by the father and as a result, the son was inferior. Non-Arians believed that the Trinity was equally important. Arianism was ruled to be heresy at the Council of Nicaea in 325. Arians are either driven out of the Roman empire or forced to convert. As a result, many of the Germanic people outside of the Roman empire after the year 400 were Arian. Also ruled against at the council of toledo in 589.
Caliph
After Muhammad there was no real replacement (632). Muhammad was an earthy leader, and when he left there was a diplomatic void. Caliph means successor. A Caliph was a political and spiritual leader. The first Caliph was Abu Bakr, and his main goal was to keep the Muslim community united. Abu Bakr was Muhammad's father in law and under him there was a huge expansion fo Muslim territory. Ali, Muhammads son in law, becomes Caliph in 656. Ali did not convert to Islam right away so people protest his reighn. He is assassinated by an opposing faction in 661 causing a rupture in the Muslim community. Ali is replaced by a military general Muawiyah who founded the Umayyad dynasty. This results in the split of the Muslim religion into the Shi'ites and the Sunni's. The Shi'ites are people who beleive that Ali's descendents are the true Caliphs. The Sunni's supported the Umayyad dynasty Caliphs founded by Muawiyah.
Abbasid Caliphate of Damascus
After the Umayyad dynasty fell in damascus, a new dynasty that came to power was the Abbasids (take over caliphate in 750). The Abbasids have issues that ultimatley change the role of the caliph to be more political than religious. The religious roles move more to the scholars.
Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba
Al Andalus become more independent and isolated from Damascus. In 929, the emirs give themselves a promotion and declare themselves Caliphs. This results in 2 caliphs ruling the islamic world. Abd Al-Rahman III is responsible for promoting himself to caliph.
Abd al-Rahman III: r. 912-961
Al Andalus become more independent and isolated from Damascus. In 929, the emirs give themselves a promotion and declare themselves Caliphs. This results in 2 caliphs ruling the islamic world. Abd Al-Rahman III is responsible for promoting himself to caliph. He is emir from 912-929, and caliph from 929-961.
King Alaric of the Visigoths: r. 395-410
Alaric is the king of the visigoths and wants Roman respect, so he joins the roman army. Aleric holds rome under siege in 410. The government of Rome fled, and as a result the victims were the common people. Aleric and the visigoths destroy rome for the first time in centuries indicating that something was changing in the Roman empire. As a result, Rome gives the visigoths Spain where they settle and stay. This sets the precedence that if you annoy rome they will give you a province, and so other groups follow Alaric's example.
Burh
Alfred the Great (871-899) led a series of raids against the vikings. Alfred re-organized his army, set up strongholds called Burhs and created a fleet of ships (navy). Burhs are a network of fortresses created by Alfred the Great. He put them wherever viking could landed, so that area could be defended. This stops the vikings. The vikings dominant the east of England, but these measured put forth by Alfred allow him to gain control over most of the rest.
Alfred the Great: r.871-899
Alfred the Great was the king of Wessex. He beat back viking invaders, created a code of law that drew from all others in England (creating a common law), and undertook a program to translate major works of latin into vernacular, anglo-saxon (old english), so everyone could understand them: one of which was Gregory the greats Pastoral care, which was a handbook for bishops. He also focused on education. In the face of viking invasions he developed new mechansism of royal government. He made military reforms such as burhs and the creation of the navy. He creates a standing army and builds ships for defense. He creates burhs. The burhs stop the vikings. Alfred the Great makes treatise with the vikings and the vikings become Christians. The vikings stop raiding and are allowed to settle in Danelaw where they are assimilated into english identity. King Alfred's law code of the late 9th century is the first big law code of the 9th century. He made up a bunch of laws but said they were old laws to appease the people. He emulated Charlemagne and pushed for literacy. Alfreds code had laws for and from all English kingdoms. He was also interested in religious and intellectual reforms. He thought the cause of Englands troubles were the sins of the people, brought on by their ignorance. He said it was okay to push the vernacular and old english was allowed to be written. Texts were translated from latin to english. Alfred was both a lawmaker and an educator. Alfred intended to educate all free born men. He translated key religious works from latin to old english/ the vernacular. He translated Pastoral Care by Gregory the Great. Commissioned the anglo-saxon chronicle.
Sunni and Shi'ite
Ali, Muhammads son in law, becomes Caliph in 656. Ali did not convert to Islam right away so people protest his reighn. He is assassinated by an opposing faction in 661 causing a rupture in the Muslim community. Ali is replaced by a military general Muawiyah who founded the Umayyad dynasty. The Shi'ites are people who beleive that Ali's descendents are the true Caliphs. The Sunni's supported the Umayyad dynasty Caliphs founded by Muawiyah. This split happens in the first generation of Islam.
Ecclesiastical History of the English People: 731
Bede (died 735) wrote the ecclesiastical history of the english people (731). It is the history of the Christian churches of England. Describes the original fragmented country, and mainly conversion rather than invasion. Bede cannot forgive the native Brits bor never converting Anglo-Saxons. The Anglo Saxons were converted by the Pope. In the 590s Pope Gregory and Bede are walking theough Rome. They walk into a slave market and see blond haired blue eyed people. The Pope thinks that it is a shame if the blonde people burn in hell for eternity. At the beginning of the book Bede describes St. Augustines mission to England which brought Christianity to the Anglo-saxons. The history is divided into 5 books, covering the time from Julius Caesar to 731 when it was written. ------------------------------------------------------------------Written by the venerable Bede in latin. Earliest history of the anglo-saxon invasions and settelment. Conversion to christianity by earliest kings (kent)
The Venerable Bede: died 735
Bede was an english monk and scholar in the kingdom of Northumbria. Bede wrote the ecclesiastical history of the english people (731). Describes the original fragmented country, and mainly conversion rather than invasion. Bede cannot forgive the native Brits for never converting Anglo-Saxons. The Anglo Saxons were converted by the Pope. In the 590s Pope Gregory and Bede are walking through Rome. They walk into a slave market and see blond haired blue eyed people. The Pope thinks that it is a shame if the blonde people burn in hell for eternity. Pope Gregory I sent St. Augustine of Canterbury to England as a missionary.
Ravenna
Between 400 and 526 Italy has many Germanic invasions and the elites escape to Ravenna. From 410 onward, Ravenna functions as the capital. Ravenna is captured by the Theoderic and the Ostrogoths, by order of Byzantium, but the Ostrogoths keep it. Ravenna is symbolic to Romans. In 751, Ravenna falls to the Lombards.
Monastery of Cluny: founded 910
By the 900's there was a push to reform ecclastial life. This push was spurred by one of the most powerful nobles, the duke of aquitaine. He founded a new monastery called the monastery of Cluny in 910. The Duke of Aquitaine donated the monastery to Peter and Paul the saints. This removed the monastery from earthly power, because it was not entrusted to local power and instead entrusted to the Pope. He also gave away all of his practical control of Cluny. The monks were able to choose their own leader, and the monks were autonomous so they did not answer to any layman. This eliminated the problems plaguing French monasteries, making the monastery revolutionary. Cluny was the purest monastery in Europe and soon became wealthy and prestigous. Over time it was the biggest monastery in western Europe, and it starts to find daughter monasteries. Cluny style monastacism (as a subset of Benedictian Monastacism) becomes a phenomenon across Europe.
Martyrdom (303-305)
Christianity spread between 300-600c. The Jesus cult initially attracted the poor, but in the second century it began to attract rich people. These rich people were the pillars of Roman society, and their conversion to Christianity threatened the integrity of the state. Rome responded by persecuting Christians and burning their churches. Rome decided that the citizens needed to swear an oath to polytheistic Gods, but many refused because they considered it adultery. Many of these Christian were arrested or executed. As a result, they became martyrs or someone who witnesses their faith by dying for it. In 313, martyrs were considered saints. Diocletian tried to make polythesian official and in 303 he created a full scale persecution policy that required everyone to take a loyalty oath or be persecuted. This created a massive martyrdom between 303-305. As a result, the martyrs were worshipped by saints and Diocletian's persecutions were the last in the empire.
Carolingian Renaissance
Charlemagne (768-814) cultivate cultural identity and cohesiveness. He took a page out of the Romans book and cultivated national pride through the Carolingian Renaissance. It was inspired by the Christian Roman empire. Charlemagne patronized a lot of art and wanted the royal centers to be cultural centers. Out of this came the Ebbo gospels, the reliquary of st. stephen, the gospel book from fleury, and the aachan. There was an increase in writing, literature, the art, architecture, and scripture studies. Charlemagnes Admonitio generalis served as manifestos of the rennaisance. People made efforts to write better latin, copy and preserve classical texts, and develop more legible script including the Carolingian miniscule. They also provided a common language and handwriting style. Charlemagne uniting the frankish empire brought peace and stability, setting the stage for prosperity. The Renaissance also flourished under Louis the Pious, Charlemagne's son. He emphasized the church, education, and literature.
Aachen
Charlemagne built a lot of palaces all over the place because of his itinerant kingship. One of these palaces was Aachan which was the most beautiful and his home base and chapel. Aachan could accomodate a lot of people and was a central gathering place. Most of the palace was built in the end and beginning of the 700's. It served as a characteristic example of the Carolingian renaissance.
Christmas Day 800
Charlemagne himself was crowned by Pope Leo III on Christmas day 800. In 799 Pope Leo III is in a religious procession when he gets ambushed by political opponents and kidnapped. His eyes and tongue were likely cut out, and his face was brutalized. Charlemagne sends in the military and helps the Pope. The Pope surprises Charlemagne at Christmass mass when he kneeling and declares him emporer of western Europe with a crown. Charlemagne accepts his duty to western europe and God, creating a new Carolingian empire.----------------------------Charlemagne conquered the Lombards and stopped them from threatening the papal headquarters (that was well before he became emperor). Later, in 799, Charlemagne sent his missi to protect Leo III and ensure that he was re-established as pope after his kidnapping; in 800, he arrived in Rome himself, to publicly announce his protection of Leo. It was this rescue and protection that led immediately to him being crowned Emperor.
Itinerant kingship
Charlemagne the great (r. 768-814) expanded Frankish control of western Europe and doubled its territory. He created an Itinerant kingship, which is a king that moves around all of the time (constant travel around ones kingdom. As a result, everyone recognizes Charlemagne, and this helps to cultivate the kingdom and national cohesion, and improve surveillance of the realm. The kingdom therefore had no permanent seat of government, although Charlemagne spent much of his time at Aachan.
Charlemagne: r.768-814
Charlemagne the great is Pippin's son. He expanded Frankish control of western Europe and doubled its territory. He created an Itinerant kingship, which is a king that moves around all of the time (constant travel around ones kingdom). As a result, everyone recognizes Charlemagne. He also built palaces all over. One of these palaces was Aachan which was the most beautiful and his home base. Charlemagne also made the Missi Dominici. Strategies Charlemagne use to cultivate the kingdom were... 1. Cultivate cultural identity and cohesiveness. He took a page out of the Romans book and cultivated national pride through the Carolingian Renaissance. Charlemagne patronized a lot of art and wanted the royal centers to be cultural centers. Out of this came the Ebbo gospels, the reliquary of st. stephen, the gospel book from fleury, and the aachan. There was very strict and detailed record keeping for the first time. Writing things became a cultural identity. But there were not many scribes or materials for record keeping at that time. Charlemagne started a new handwriting system called the Carolingian miniscule which was very different from merovingian minuscule. Charlemagne wanted there to be widespread literacy, so reading became prestigious, and even some women could read. He also wrote the Admonitio generalis. 2. Charlemagne served as patron of the church and clergy because he wanted to see the church flourish. He kept spiritual authority based off of his ancestor Pippin III who got permission to overthrow the monarchy from the Pope (751). Charlemagne himself was crowned emporer by Pope Leo III on Christmas day 800. Charlegmane had a Constantine like attitude and did a lot of favors for the Pope. These included many military conquests against the Lombards in Italy. Eventually he annexes the Lombards from italy.
Emperor Louis "the Pious": r. 814-840
Charlemagne's son is Louis "the Pious." Louis was devoted to God and the church, with an emphasis on the church, education, and literature. Under Louis the Carolingian renaissance flourished. Louis was able to keep the Charlemagne empire intact. This was hard to do because the empire wasn't expanding, but he kept administrative power. Louise had 2 problems... 1. Nobility: the nobles were wealthy, aristocratic elite land owners. They were also the warrior class that had fought for Charlemagne. With Charlemagne the warrior class had an understanding of reciprocity because Charlemagne gave them a bunch of stuff for their service. This was an affectionate relationship, but very fragile because it was formed through personality. Louis did not have the inherit loyalty of the nobles, and as a result, it took him a long time to establish power. Additionally, the noble loyalty wasnt always stable. 2. When Louis died he had 3 adult sons that fought for power, ultimately splitting the empire at the treaty of Verdun.
Emperor Louis "the Pious": r. 814-840
Charlemagne's son is Louis "the Pious." Louis was devoted to God and the church, with an emphasis on the church, education, and literature. Under Louis the Carolingian renaissance flourished. Louis was able to keep the Charlemagne empire intact. This was hard to do because the empire wasn't expanding, but he kept administrative power. Louise had 2 problems... Nobility: the nobles were wealthy, aristocratic elite land owners. They were also the warrior class that had fought for Charlemagne. With Charlemagne the warrior class had an understanding of reciprocity because Charlemagne gave them a bunch of stuff for their service. This was an affectionate relationship, but very fragile because it was formed through personality. Louis did not have the inherit loyalty of the nobles, and as a result, it took him a long time to establish power. Additionally, the noble loyalty wasnt always stable. When Louis died he had 3 adult sons that fought for power, ultimately splitting the empire at the treaty of Verdun.
Charles Martel: r.714-741
Charles Martel is the Mayor of the palace under the Merovingian dynasty. He is the one who holds things together. He decides to reclaim territory that the Merovingian kings lost over time, and re-establish the franks as the undisputed rulers of Gaul. He wins the Battle of Poitiers (732) and ends Islamic expansion. After the battle he is recognized as the de facto leader of the Franks. Pippin is his son. He gave the name Carolingian to the Carolingian dynasty. Charles son, Pippin III, became the first king of the Carolingian dynasty.
Emperor Charles the Fat: r. 881-888
Charles the fat was the youngest son of Louise the German, who was Louise the Pious son (Charles the fat was Louise the Pious grand son). Charles the Fat was terrible at getting the nobility on his side and ended up being thrown off of the throne. He was thus the last of the carolingian emperors, ending the Carolingian dynasty. This resulted in a split in the Francia empire. The Eastern side of the empire was ruled by the Ottonian and Salian dynasties and the western side was ruled by the Capetian dynasty.
Merovingian Dynasty
Clovis of the Franks (481-511) was the beginning of the Merovingian dynasty, and all other Arain kings followed him by converting to Catholic Christianity. He was able to rally his own troops and fight for the Frankish throne. He won the throne militarily. The Merovingians ruled for a long time because of biological good fortune and political sense. They allied with major lay aristocrats and church authorities. The royal court was the focus of political life. Kings often married slaves or women captured from war to stave off challenges on their royal authority. Merovingian kings had long hair. Clovis was the first Merovingian king and started a strong line of kings. They were effective at keeping the Frankish territory together. In the 7th century, many deaths cause kids to become king, weakening the kingship. The Merovgingian kings needed to delicate authority so they created the mayor of the palace. However, the Mayor of the Palace Pippin III takes over the kingship, ending the Merovingian dynasty. ------------------------------------------------------------------Long haired kings. Clovis = first merovingian king. He chose catholic Christianity. Gregory of Tours wrote about Clovis (590 - a century after Clovis dies). Eventually get ousted by the mayor of the palace who become the Carolingians. Pippin the short overthrows the Merovingians. He asks the Pope for permission. Merovingians last for a very long time (until 751). By the end their nick name is the do nothing kings.
Frankish King Clovis: r. 481-511
Clovis was Roman, Frankish, and a Germanic ruler. He was 15 years old when his father died and he came to power. He was able to rally his own troops and fight for the Frankish throne. He won the throne militarily. Clovis was very successful, violent, and aggressive. He kept the kingdom together and established his precedence as a king. He was baptized Catholic making the Franks the only Germanic peoples to have a Catholic King. People then decide to follow his religious decision and converts. Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks was written about Clovis' conversion. Clovis of the Franks was the beginning of the Merovingian dynasty that united francia under merovingian rule. Only Germanics to be Christian once he was converted. It was likely they were Arian beforehand. However Once the Merovingian kingship comes along, the Franks are catholic Christians. Franks are the earliest Christians from the Merovingian kings.
Emperor Constantine I, "the Great": r. 306-337
Constantine reversed the policy of persecution. We do not know if he was a Christian convert or not, but it seems likely. In 312 at the battle of Milvian Bridge Constantine had a vision on the verge of battle when he was challenged by another emperor. In his vision on the night before the battle, Constantine saw a vision of a cross and an angel. As a result, Constantine brings a cross into battle and wins. He then makes Christianity legal with the edict of milan. Constantine was the emperor appointed to the west of the Roman empire. Constantine conquered Licinius in 324. He renamed the city of Byzantium Constantinople. Constantine ruled the western empire after Diocletian's split, and wrote the Edict of Milan with Licinius the emporer of the Eastern empire. Constantine also called the Council of Niceae where he ruled arianism as heresy.
Council of Nicaea: 325
Constantine tries to fix the division between Arians and non-Arians by deciding who is right. Constantine decides in favor of the non-Arians. Arianism was now considered heresy. As a result, the non-Arians have to leave or convert. This created catholic christianity which was adopted by the Roman empire and set the stage for christianity to be the world religion. Many Arians left and converted others to Arianism so almost all of the Germanic people that come in the empire after 400 are Arian.
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the western Roman empire of Byzantium after the Diocletian split. Constantinople used to be byzantium and the capitol of Licineus. It is named after Constantine after he conquers it. After Constantine takes over it, it is thriving. It eventually fell to the Ottoman empire. Emperor Justinian r. (527-565 CE) built Hagia Sophia there.
Convivencia
Convivencia is cultural free exchange and cohabitation. This was strongly seen in Al Andalus. Sephardic Jews see the Al Andalus rennaisance within their own culture, and engage heavily with Muslim rulers. They collaborate on Jewish scholarship, medicine, science, and architecture. Mozarabic Christians weere Spanish Christians under the rule of Islam in Al Andalus. Many of them began to assimilate to arabic culture without adopting islam. Jews and Christians wanted to participate in Muslim culture. Everyone was informed about other religions and there was a lot of cultural exchange such as translation of love songs. Convivencia consisted of Umayyad Muslims, sephardic jews, and mozarabic Christians. However this exchange stopped at the pyrenees and does not extend beyond spain. As a result, Al-Andalus was a self contained islamic state that was isolated from the Muslim world. However, there were still rules including the fact that non muslims were subordinate to Muslims. Christians and Jews had to pay an extra tax, dress distinctively, and they couldn't preach or try to convert Muslims.
Emperor Diocletian: r. 284-305
Diocletian attempted to bring the empire under control because the empire was too large and resources were stretched. Diocletian chopped the empire into two sides creating an administrative division. Diocletian also tried to make polythesian official and in 303 he created a full scale persecution policy that required everyone to take a loyalty oath or be persecuted. This created a massive martyrdom between 303-305. As a result, the martyrs were worshipped by saints and Diocletian's persecutions were the last in the empire.
Berbers
During the expansion of Islam between 661 and 750 because of the Jihad, Muslim was welcomed by much of North Africa. Native people to this region were called the Berbers. Much of this territory became Muslim. They culturally assimilated, and joined Islamic armies. Generals who led the invasion of Spain wee Arabs, but the rank-and-file fighters were Berber. They did not speak much Arabic, and the Arabic considered them only imperfectly Muslim. In 711 Arabs and Berber armies cross into Spain where the Visigothic Christians are. Before this, there had not been an invasion in Spain for a long time and the Visigothic army was basically made up of the kings possy. The Visigoths are destroyed. There is no infrastructure to replace the king and city after city falls in Spain. This was a peaceful takeover with no violence at all. The conditions of the takeover were economic which was a typical response of people conquered by Muslims. The conquered people were never forced to convert to Islam unless they were Pagan.
Emperor Otto I, "The Great": r.936-973
Eastern Germany is fragmented after the end of the Carolingian dynasty. By the early 10th century the nobles think that they need a king leading to the Dukes of Saxony. Saxony is a territory of the earliest post Carolingian kings. The Dukes of Saxony are the earliest dynasty post Carolingian, and Emperor Otto I is the first, creating the Ottonian Dynasty. Otto won a lot of battles. After the Carolingian decline the Lombards threaten Rome again, and Otto suppresses them. The Pope then makes Otto emperor, making him the first emperor after Charles the fat. But Otto is weaker and poorer than the Carolingians. Otto therefore tried to make himself look strong. He started a tradition of imperial art and performed a lot of rituals. But the nobles were still a problem, so Otto stops patronizing them. He instead focuses all of his efforts on the Church. He appointed as many friendly clergymen as possible so that all of the clergy supported him over the nobles. First real king of the ottonian dynasty.
Ottonian Dynasty: 919-1024
Eastern Germany is fragmented after the end of the Carolingian dynasty. By the early 10th century the nobles think that they need a king leading to the Dukes of Saxony. Saxony is a territory of the earliest post Carolingian kings. The Dukes of Saxony are the earliest dynasty post Carolongian, and Emporer Otto I is the first, creating the Ottonian Dynasty.-------------------------------------------Rulers of germany in the post carolingian world. Wars between charlemagnes grand sons and deposition of charles the fat = seperation of france and germany. German nobles want a king. They promote the family of Otto the great.
Confession and Penance
Even though you are washed of you original sin when you are baptized, you still continue to sin throughout your life. So the church created confession and penance. Confession is where you confess your sins and you feel sorry for that sin. Confession is like removing the sin from yourself. Penance is an action that counteracts the sin you committed such as praying, fasting, or bodily pain. Penance is like the physical therapy. If you sin and don't confess, then you make the church sick. in the 7th century the only way to go to heaven is through the church.
Feud
Feud is a state of perpetual hostility between families, tribes, individuals, or groups marked by murderous assaults in revenge for some previous insult or injury. It is a retailiation for wrong. The building of fortress for midievil castles illustrates this. When the Carolingian dynasty ended and western europe militarized, the nobles built castles to defend from their neighbors. This causes feud and violence to exploded. The rational for feuding was emotional. Revenge was a concept of honour. Honour was intangible currency that could be lost or gained. The goal was to avoid shame and humiliation and to maintain respect and standing in the eyes of others. Feuds originated in non-military scenarios. It was dishonorouble to not take revenge. There was no good way out of a feud, and they spanned generations. Feuding spanned extended families as well. The two big problems with the three orders of society were that a feud was an unjust war for personal gain. As a result, everyones souls were in danger. Also those who work and pray were in the cross fires of feuds. So the casualties were churchmen and laborers.
Feudalism
Feudalism is a modern idea that midievil people dont know about. It is a model or made up concept by historians to describe a social phenomenon. The social phenomenon is the feudal heirarchy made up of lords, Vassals, and serfs.
Franks, Francia
France was the Roman province of Gaul, and was one of the best established Roman Provinces. The Franks were a Germanic tribe that settled in Gaul as federates. Gaul became Francia which encompassed modern France, Germany, and Spain. The Franks participated in the battle against the Huns (Battle of Chalon: 451). They ruled a mix of Roman and Germanic people, and emulated Roman emperors. The Franks were the only Germanic people that were Catholic Christian. The Franks were romanized and had a relationship with Rome before they settled in Francia. When they began to settle in Francia, they fought against themselves and there was a power vacuum when the Roman empire disintegrated.
Germanic Peoples
Germanic people is an ethnicity that has similar values, language, ect. Although it doesn't mean they're uniform. Germanic people are highly romanized and have good relations with rome for many years. Rome invites them to join their armies and start to make up entire military units where they rise in rank. Germanic people are extremely integral to the empire. Conclusions about Germanic Societies that Historians can make are... 1. Historians cannot take the kingship for granted. Attaining the kingship was messy and violent, and only in the 6th century do you see royalty established. 2. Christianity was a unifying force among Germanic kingdoms even though there was localization and Christianity evolved in very different ways. 3. Germanic kings took over where Roman emperors left off because they wanted to build off of their legacies.
Emperor Henry IV: r.1056-1106
Henry was a Salian emperor. In 1075 Pope Gregory the VII tells Emporer Henry IV that he needs to stop investiture right now. Henry holds a council with the Bishops that he appointed and the bishops tell him to ignore Gregory. Henry demands that Gregory resigns. Gregory is then excommunicated by Henry. The nobles revolt against Henry causing a Civil war. Henry then does penance in front of the Pope by standing in the snow barefoot for 3 days. Gregory has no choice but to forgive him and let him back in the church. Henry then goes back to civil war with Gregory and Gregory has to flee. From Germany. Installs new pope after Pope Gregory VII and has himself crowned emporer
Pope Gregory I, "The Great": r.590-604
Gregory I was concerned with the administration, economic stability, and purity of the Church. -----------------Popes become the head of the church, but it takes them centuries to acquire status. For the first approximately 600 years of Christianity, they are just considered the Bishops of Rome. However this changed with Pope Greogory I. Pope Gregory sent Augustine to England and authored pastoral care creating a lasting legacy. While he was alive, Rome was a mess. Gregory was born into an elite family and becomes a bureaucrat. However, he realizes that he wants to be a monk and starts practicing Benedictine Monasticism when he joins a monastery. But the reigning Pope of that time wanted him to be a representative of the Rome church in Constantinople because he is very knowledgeable about political affairs. In 590, there was a plague in Rome, natural disasters and the lombards were trying to take the city. The Roman public begged Pope Gregory to be Pope. When he ascended power there was no emporer, no military, and the elites had fled, making the Pope the only person with real authority. Gregory starts to organize a military defence by paying for soldiers and rallying ordinary people. This stops the Lombards from getting in the city. However, Gregory is conflicted because he just wants a life with God, but is forced into secular power. Gregory reforms the church in 3 ways... 1. Economic: Gregory took control of Papal property. He drained the Papal treasury to defend the city, but rich people donated stuff to the church over the years and it was never collected. So, Gregory took control of the stuff and the church becomes a major property owner that collects taxes. 2. Administrative: Gregory had all of the clergy answer to the Pope. At that time, the most authority in Europe was with the local Bishops who were corrupt. Gregory instead chooses representatives to supervise the bishops and from this point onward you need approval to be a bishop. 3. Spiritual: Gregory imposed monastic values on the clergy. A lot of people that worked for the church were secular, regular layman who had no monastic values. Gregory proclaimed that the clergy should live as if they were Benedictian monks and the papacy should be a world wide abbot that acted in place of Christ. In order for everyone to get to heaven, the church had to be pure. However, future Popes did not hold these pure standard and relied on secular help ------------------------------------------------------------------First set of church reform (other one is gregory the 7th). Gregory the great made the Papacy look like the Papacy. Said the pope was the number 1 clergymen in the world. Wanted all of his employees to be members of the clergy, and live like monks. Instituted economic reform = gave papacy resources to implement changes.
Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks
Gregory of tours was a Bishop. The History of the Franks is an account of King Colis' conversion to Christianity. It states that Clovis was born and raised Pagan. When he marries a Catholic Christian women, she bugs him a lot to convert. His son is baptized but soon dies afterwards, making Clovis think that the Pagan Gods are punishing him for the baptism. Later in battle, Clovis prays to the Christian God, wins, and then converts to Christianity. Clovis doesnt think anyone will convert to Christianity, but when he assebles the leading people of the Franks everyone decides to convert. This story is similar to what happened to Constantine and Constantinople, so it is familiar to people. As a result, the History of the Franks makes the Barbarian king seem like a Roman emperor. Later this story is romanticized and seen as a pivitol moment of the Franks and France itself. However, Gregory actually made up the story, because Clovis started out as Arianism and then was convinced to switch. Historians think that Gregory is lying because it is common sense that Clovis would be Arianism, the Pagan information in the book is from very earlier in history (Roman paganism was dead when it was written), and there are letters from people in Gaul and Italy congratulating Clovis for abandoning heresy (which was a term used for Arianism not Paganism). Gregory was also a Catholic Christian that hated Arianism, so he likely did not want to bring it up at all. Instead, Roman heroes were Pagan, so Gregory equated Clovis to Roman emperors in the past. Gregory as an author shaped historical events to fit an ideological perspective. (500s)
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia was the cathedral built by Justinian (527-565) in Constantinople after the city was destroyed by riots (532). Hagia Sophia means holy wisdom and is enormous and sophisticated. It created civic pride and later becomes a mosque in Istanbul. As a result, Justinian is recognized as one of the most important patrons of the city. There is a mosaic of Justinian holding Hagia Sofia out to Christ and the Virgin Mary. Also Constantine is holding out Constantinople to them.
Excommunication
If you sin and don't confess, then you make the church sick. If no one finds out about your sin then God sends you to hell. If people do know about your sin and you still refuse to confess then you can be excommunicated or thrown out of the church. This is reversible, but if it never gets reversed then you go to hell. As a result, in the 7th century the only way to go to heaven is through the church, which had a hierarchical structure.
The Investiture Controversy
In 1075 Pope Gregory the VII tells Emporer Henry IV that he needs to stop investiture right now. Henry holds a council with the Bishops that he appointed and the bishops tell him to ignore Gregory. Henry demands that Gregory resigns. Henry is then excommunicated by Gregory. The nobles revolt against Henry causing a Civil war. Henry then does penance in front of the Pope by standing in the snow barefoot for 3 days. Gregory has no choice but to forgive him and let him back in the church. Henry then goes back to civil war with Gregory and Gregory has to flee. At the concordat of worms the investiture problem was finally addressed. The investiture would be given in two parts: the ring would be given by a clergymen and the staff would be given by the king.
Saints Perpetua and Felicity (203 CE)
In 203CE 2 women of the same church, one upper class and one lower class became friends and were put in prison. Perpetua (the upper class one) refused to leave prison and would not deny Christianity. Perpetua wrote about her experiences from prison. The two friends were sentenced to die in the Roman arena, and the Romans wanted them to be an example. However, when they came out the crowd booed. The women sang songs until they died and were confident in dying. This inspired curiosity in Christianity. This was a local persecution that lived and died in Northern Africa.
King Ethelbert of Kent: died 616
In 597 Augustine of Caterbury is treated nicely by the king of kent, Ethelberht, who is Anglo-Saxon. He was the first english king to be converted to Christianity. The King of Kent converts to Christianity because he knew that Romans and Christians were prestigious and that God would give him a spiritual advantage and allies in the west. The king of Kent marries a Christian and is Baptized with hundreds of people by Augustine of Canterbury. This is a foundational moment for English Christianity. This is a top down conversion where everyone follows the kings. Their is a strong legacy of Rome and their missionaries, and the goal is to depict kings as heirs to Christian legacy. The golden age of the Anglo-saxons includes conversion, art, and manuscripts such as the lindisfarne of gospels. Pope Gregory I sent St. Augustine of Canterbury to England as a missionary (597). Written law codes were a way for early midievil kings to signal that there realms were part of the roman tradition. The law codes were products of local conditions and circumstances. Aethelred reighn was plagued with viking invasions and internal feuds. Aethelresd code (Law code of 1008) says it was issued with the approval of his ecclesiastical and lay counselors. Ethelberht, once he converted, all of his subjects joined in: you could say that he was the leader in the mass conversion.
Pope Leo III: r.795-816
In 799, Pope Leo III was captured, mutilated, and stripped naked showing that he was vulnerable to political aggression. He was accused of terrible crimes. In the 7th century there were complaints that the Pope was not religious enough, partly because the Papacy was centered in Rome which was also a political center. People also saw the Papacy as a way to get power. The Pope came from the political elite. There was less oversight by the Pope throughout Europe. This created a power vacuum when the Pope did not have power over the clergy, allowing the kings to step in. Charlemagne was crowned by Pope Leo III on Christmas day 800. In 799 Pope Leo III is in a religious procession when he gets ambushed by political opponents and kidnapped. His eyes and tongue were likely cut out, and his face was brutalized. Charlemagne sends in the military and helps the Pope. The Pope surprises Charlemagne at Christmass mass when he kneeling and declares him emporer of western Europe with a crown. Charlemagne accepts his duty to western europe and God, creating a new Carolingian empire.
Original Sin
In Catholic Christianity the Church was envisioned as the body of Christ, with Christ being the head and Christians being the body. The body needed to stay healthy so every Christian needed to do the right stuff on a daily basis. Specifically, they were supposed to avoid sin because it was an offence against God. The first sin was in the Garden of Eden. This original sin was by Adam and Eve and was a sin of pride and disobedience. This original sin was believed to be hereditary, and was passed on to kids. Therefor every baby was tainted with sin. The one way to escape this original sin was to accept Christianity and to become baptized. You cannot get into heaven without being baptized.
Umayyad Dynasty
In the 650's the consensus of Ummah breaks down. Ali, Muhammads son in law, becomes Caliph in 656. Ali did not convert to Islam right away so people protest his reighn. He is assassinated by an opposing faction in 661 causing a rupture in the Muslim community. Ali is replaced by a military general Muawiyah who founded the Umayyad dynasty. Muawiyah moved the Islam capitol from Mecca to demascus. They attack Constantinople and the borders of Byzantium shrink. This results in the split of the Muslim religion into the Shi'ites and the Sunni's. The Shi'ites are people who beleive that Ali's descendents are the true Caliphs. The Sunni's supported the Umayyad dynasty Caliphs founded by Muawiyah. After the Umayyad dynasty fell in damascus, a new dynasty that came to power was the Abbasids (take over caliphate in 750). Move capital from mecca to damascus for a survival tactic because Mecca was crazy.
Battle of Poitiers: 732
In the 730s the Muslims begin to encroch on Frankish territories. The people call Charles Martel to come help, not the king. The Muslims are defeated, ensuring that they will go back to Spain. This ends Islamic expansion and makes Charles Martel the de-facto leader of the Franks. ------------------------------------------------------------------Charles martel versus muslim invaders from spain. Charles martel as mayor of palace pushes them back over pyrenees and they never make any serious advances again. Solidifies Martels reputation as the real leader and made his followers rich.
Abd al-Rahman I: r. 756-788
In the 8th century Damscus begins to fall apart and in 750 there is a palace revolt. There is 1 survivor from the Umayyud dynasty: Abd al-Rahman 1. Abd al-Rahman 1 flees to North Africa and then to Spain where he declared himself emir. An Emir is subordinate to Caliphs but they rule a territory. Spains Arabic name under Abd al-Rahman is Al-Andalus. Abd al Rahman I brings an eastern asthetic to Spain, including mosques with an eastern style. Literature and art flourish in the 700 and 800s, making Al Andalus equitable with the Carolingian rennaisance. Everyone wants to be a part of this new culture. He commisions the building of the Mosque of Cordaba.
Al-Andalus
In the 8th century Damscus begins to fall apart and in 750 there is a palace revolt. There is 1 survivor from the Umayyud dynasty: Abd al-Rahman 1. Abd al-Rahman 1 flees to North Africa and then to Spain where he declared himself emir. An Emir is subordinate to Caliphs but they rule a territory. Spains Arabic name under Abd al-Rahman is Al-Andalus. Al-Andalus was rulled by the Umayyad dynasty and was more tolerable of Jews than the Visigoths before them. Abd al Rahman I brings an eastern asthetic to Spain, including mosques with an eastern style. Literature and art flourish in the 700 and 800s, making Al Andalus equitable with the Carolingian rennaisance. Everyone wants to be a part of this new culture. When Abd-Al Rahman became emir he did not have to do any of the military work to take over a territory because that was already done. As a result he could focus on culture.
Messiah
In the year 0, messianic cults rose. The word messiah in hebrew means anointed. Small groups believed a messiah would show up. The Roman empire tolerated such cults as long as they recognized the empire. However the Jesus cult broke the deal the empire made with the Jews, and decided they would rather die than worship Roman Gods. In year 33, Jesus was arrested and sentenced to crucifixion. 3 days later he rose from the dead, proving that he was the Messiah.
Duke William I of Aquitaine: d. 918
In western france after the Carolingian dynasty ends there are not strong kings because no one is fundamentally different from the nobles. Specifically (1) they were not as rich as the Carolingians or their neighbors. As a result, people had less incentive for reciprocity with kings. (2) By the late 1800's everyone had a lot of money and was comfortable from the Carolingians so people didnt really need stuff. Most nobles set up their own mini kingdoms and declared themselves counts and dukes. They stopped fighting for the kingship and stopped paying attention to the Missi Dominici. The King only became a ceremonial power, and it was the nobles who had real power. Each noble tried to gain power from each other and they went to war with their neighbors. This created a shift in the landscape as nobles built fortress like castles to proclaim their military strength and wealth. In 900 there was an up-cropping of stone fortresses whos primary purpose was defense. There was a stratification as nobles who were rich and attacked neighbors created a patchwork of local authority. The nobles stepped into the kings secular roles and became church patrons. They began patronizing individual clergyman and gave them land and money. Most nobles built new churches to get support in political conflicts. They construed it as there duty, but were actually just power hungry. The nobles began to misunderstand patronage, and collected taxes from the churches. They also placed their friends into high church office that were not actually clergy. This created an influx of unqualified people becoming clergy, and as a result a loss of spiritual cleanliness. By the 900's there was a push to reform ecclastial life. This push was spurred by one of the most powerful nobles, the duke of aquitaine. He founded a new monastery called the monastery of Cluny in 910. This monastery had brand new ideas.
Investiture
Investiture is the process creating a Bishop, or granting clergymen spiritual office. Lay investiture was the process of a layman appointing a spiritual office. This was start by Otto I the great. In the Ottonian dynasty, a king gave the person a ring symbolizing spiritual power and a staff symbolizing secular power. The bishop would kneel before Otto, which seemed like Otto was given the power by God. Lay investiture is when bishops are appointed by layman instead of clergy. In 1075 Pope Gregory the VII tells Emporer Henry IV that he needs to stop investiture right now. Henry holds a council with the Bishops that he appointed and the bishops tell him to ignore Gregory. Henry demands that Gregory resigns. Henry is then excommunicated by Gregory. The nobles revolt against Henry causing a Civil war. Henry then does penance in front of the Pope by standing in the snow barefoot for 3 days. Gregory has no choice but to forgive him and let him back in the church. Henry then goes back to civil war with Gregory and Gregory has to flee. At the concordat of worms the investiture problem was finally addressed. The investiture would be given in two parts: the ring would be given by a clergymen and the staff would be given by the king.
Mecca
Islam begins in the Arabian peninsula where there are nomadic tribes/Arabs who are good traders. Mecca flourished because of trade. Mecca is a site of pilgrimage because it has the Kaaba which is a shrine. The Kaaba is filled with idols of Pagan Gods before Islam. The Kaaba caused Mecca to become so wealthy and powerful. Muhammad is born in Mecca as an orphan (570CE), and is regarded as the site of his revelation. In 630 Muhammad retakes Mecca. A pilgrimage to Mecca is known as the Hajj, and is obligatory for Muslims.
Judaea
Judea was a province of the Roman empire annexed in 6 CE. Judea was the center of Jewish worship. The temple of jerusalem was the main temple of jewish worship. Jews were monotheistic which was strange for Romans who worshipped many Gods. However, Rome was accepting of other religions when they expanded, and embraced as they conquered. In the 1st century, the Roman emperors were believed to be Gods and the Romans proposed a deal to them: the Jews can sacrifice to their own God on behalf of the emperor and empire. However, several rebellions broke out in Judea and in 66CE there was an uprising that burnt down the city. In 70 CE the temple of jerusalem caught fire and was destroyed. After, many Jews disperse across the Roman empire (known as diaspora).
Emperor Justinian: r. 527-565 CE
Justinian came into power the year after Theoderic of the Ostrogoths died (526). He had a hard time gaining respect. His first goal was to consolidate his own authority. He created the Justinian law. However, he chose advisors people did not like and the people pushed against him. He also married a common person who may have been a prostitute or someone who worked at the circus. In 532 the public against him erupted in Constantinople durig a chariot race. The two opposing teams of the race joined forces and rioted against Justinian. They burnt and destroyed Constantinople, surrounding the castle. His wife persuades him to stay in the city and he suppresses the riots by killing thousands of people. People then start to fall in line. Justinian rebuilds Constantinople, with a new cathedral: Hagia Sophia. Justinian also launches a campaign to reconquer western Europe. He builds a major military operation and is moderately successful in the Lombards, North Africa, and Spain. But this campaign bankrupted the empire. When Justinian dies (565) the empire is large, but about 10 years later the empire shrinks back down again. After Justinian dies the expansion doesnt last because no one wants to pay the army, Persians begin attacking, there is no infrastructure in conquests (no way to enforce power), and in 542 there is a terrible plague. The mid 500s is the last hurrah of Byzantium of imperialism, and it mostly has shrunk to what it was. Western Europe is mostly on its own and the split is solidified.
Reciprocity
Kings often beleived themselves to have a Christian kingship where it was there obligation to govern the church. For example, royal patronage included granting land and privileges to the clergy and building churches. Bishops and Clergy controlled a lot of power and were big land owners, making it in Kings interest to gain their support and be friends with them. In the 7th century the Pope had symbolic authority because he was associated with St. Peter the apostle. St Peter was the first Bishop of Rome given the power by Jesus. He was also the gatekeeper of heaven. So the Pope as St. Peters heir was able to allow people into heaven or keep them out. Reciprocity is giving and taking in an equal measure, and this was important between kings and the clergy. For example in Pippin overthrows the Mervingian kings and the Pope gives him legitamacy to do this. In exchange the Carolingian kings must help the Pope whenever he asks. In reality reciprocity didn't really work because the symbolic authority of the Pope doesn't go that far. As a result, Popes of the 7th and 8th century tried to make kings indebted to them. Pope Leo the III came up with the idea of emperial crownings when he crowned Charlemagne emporer on Christmas day in 800. Carolingian kings fight over emperial crownings.
Medina
Medina flourished because of trade. Where Muhammad fled to when Mecca became too dangerous for him in 622 CE. This became known as the Hijra. This became known as the Hijra. 622 CE is year 1 on the Muslim Calendar. Medina is the second holiest site in Islam for this reason. In Medina, Muhammad became both a religious and secular leader. This set the pattern for Islamic government afterwards.
Missi Dominici (a.k.a. Missi)
Missi Dominici were a regular part of Charlemagne the great (r. 768-814) reign. They were sent around the Frankish kingdom to do stuff. Specifically, they were pairs of people entrusted with authority over a particular region. They were travelling royal representatives. They performed important intermediate functions between the royal and local functions. After Charlemagne's death, the power of the missi somewhat disappears under his 3 grand sons.
Monasticism
Monastary means people were alone but together. Monasticism is one renounces worldly pursuits in order to devote oneself to a spiritual life. It came to be regulated by religious rules, such as the Rule of St. Benedict. Earlier ascetic saints (like Antony and Simeon) were considered monks. However, this solitary life was unrealistic for most Christians. Benedict created a new type of monasticism, where monks or nuns could live communally--still withdrawn from the world, still practicing moderate asceticism, but not isolated. Benedictine monasticism became the standard in medieval Europe.
Mozarabic Christians
Mozarabic Christians weere Spanish Christians under the rule of Islam in Al Andalus. Many of them began to assimilate to arabic culture without adopting islam. Muslims of Al Andalus are a ruling minority. But the mozarabic Christians dont just take over because Al Andalusion culture is very appealing and asthetic. Christians want to be apart of the culture and many convert to Islam in order to work for the Caliph. However, there is still a minority that thinks the cultural intermingling between Christians and Muslims is bad. To them, the Umayyad culture is dangerous because conversion is happening only 1 way, with no new Christians. They were concerned that their religion would be wiped out. The song of ROoland is Historical ficiton because it is only based off of the fight by Charlemagne is 778 (Battle of Renecvals). This battle becomes legendary, and is when the Muslims are trying to push north. In the poem there is hateful rhetoric against a religious enemy (the Muslims) and it serves as propoganda. This shows the anxiety of Islam encroaching on Christian Europe, posing a threat. The presence of Muslims in Spain gave the poem legitimacy, that the hero was fighting against a perceived enemy of Christianity. Therefor Roland is fighting a just war by chopping a guy in half, and it is okay. Additionally in the poem, the Franks are defending the empire against invaders, are under Charlemagnes authority, the war is openly declared, and the fighters have riteouse Christian anger. The poem therefor stands as an example that if you want a legitamet just war, make sure your fighting non-Christians
Muhammad: c. 570-632 CE
Muhammad is born in Mecca as an orphan, but becomes a successful trader. He marries his boss but is unsatisfied, so he often goes to the mountains to pray to Pagan Gods. In 610 he has a divine revelation of Gabriel the Angel of the God of Abraham (Monotheistic Allah). He begins preaching and attracts followers. The aristocracy of Mecca doesn't like his preaching because of economic reasons, and were afraid people would stop making the pilgrimage to the Kaaba. Mecca became dangerous for Muhammad and so he left for Medina in 622 CE. This became known as the Hijra. 622 CE is year 1 on the Muslim Calendar. Muhammad stayed there for 8 years and became well respected. He began to retaliate against Mecca and economically squeezed Mecca. In 630 Muhammad retakes Mecca and 2 years later he dies. However Christianity created 1 new community of Arabs called the Ummah. Islam spreads dramatically throughout the middle East and Roman empire. The main revelation was that Muhammad was the last and most perfect prophet. He was not a Messiah or a savior, but a mediator between heaven and earth. His goal was to bring the final message of God to humans
Old English
Old english was similar to nordic / scandinavian languages. In england the vernacular (common tongue spoken by everyone) was acceptable de to Alfred the Great (871-899). This was unique to Europe. The benefits of making the vernacular prestigious were that it promoted national pride, national identity, connectivity, and assimilation. It became the literary and governmental standard under Alfred the Great. Alfred advocated for education in old english and had many works translated into english.
Catholic Christianity
Opposite of arianism "correct christianity". Official form of christianity practice by roman empire from council of nice (325) with constantine. Continuation of roman style catholic christianity was seen in the middle ages.
People of the Book
People conquered by Islam who were Christians or Jews, but not Muslim. Under Muslim rule they were taxed, couldnt hold office above a Muslim, and couldnt preach against a Muslim or insult Muhammad.
Pippin III: r.741-768
Pippin the short is Charles Martels son. From 741-751 Pippin is the Mayor of the Palace in Merovingian Dynasty. Pippin continues his fathers goal of expansion and running things. He writes a letter to the Pope while the Lombards are trying to take Rome, and the Pope tells Pippin that he should be king. Pippin then overthrows the Merovingian king creating the Carolingian dynasty. Pippin is therefore the first Carolingian king of the Franks. Pippin is a king with the Pops blessing, so he has divine will. Pippin abolishes the role of Mayor of Palace and depicts Merovingian kings as lazy and worthless ("do nothing kings"). Pippins son is Charlemagne. Pope Stephen II asked Pippin to send an army against the Lombards in Italy. This is called the donation of Pippin (756). Pippin forced the Lombards to give some cities back to the Pope. This recognized the papacy as the ruler of central Italy. This created a strong tie between the Carolingian dynasty and religious rulers, adding to their legitimacy and power. In exchange the Carolingian kings must help the Pope whenever he asks.
Carolingian Dynasty (741
Pippin writes a letter to the Pope while the Lombards are trying to take Rome, and the Pope tells Pippin that he should be king. Pippin then overthrows the Merovingian king creating the Carolingian dynasty in Franica. Pippin is therefore the first Carolingian king of the Franks. Pippin was anointed by the Pope, and helped the Pope fight off the Lombards in Rome in 756. As a result, the Carolingian dynasty had a Christian aura that added to its legitimacy. In exchange the Carolingian kings must help the Pope whenever he asks participating in reciprocity. The Carolingian dynasty reached its peak with the crowning of Charlemagne as emperor of romans by the Pope. Charlemagne's death (814) began the decline of the Carolingian dynasty and the Frankish empire they had built. The last Carolingian emporer is Charles the fat.
Pope Gregory VII: r.1073-1085
Pope Gregory VII was heavily involved in church reform and tried to get rid of lay investiture. Lay investiture was how the Salians and Ottonians got power, by appointing friendly clergy that supported them. Thought investiture should stayy within the churches. Also wanted to get rid of clerical marriage. In 1075 Pope Gregory the VII tells Emporer Henry IV that he needs to stop investiture right now. Henry holds a council with the Bishops that he appointed and the bishops tell him to ignore Gregory. Henry demands that Gregory resigns. Henry is then excommunicated by Gregory. The nobles revolt against Henry causing a Civil war. Henry then does penance in front of the Pope by standing in the snow barefoot for 3 days. Gregory has no choice but to forgive him and let him back in the church. Henry then goes back to civil war with Gregory and Gregory has to flee. -----------Gregory VII was concerned with simony, clerical marriage, and lay investiture. The Salian dynasty was supportive of--and even may have initiated--the efforts of eleventh-century popes against simony and clerical marriage (but they got annoyed when Gregory VII went after lay investiture). Simony was present in both halves of the former Carolingian empire.
Cult of the Saints
Saints were very popular in western europe because they helped Jesus judge humanity. This created the cult of saints. People therefor did not pray to saints, but instead requested them to intervene with God on their behalf. This was not considered adultery. People did everything in there power to befriend saints. Subset of christian practice. Beleif saints are intercessors with God. If you make friends witha saint you have a better chance that saints will intercede on your behalf in judgement. Invovlves possessing or seeing relics. Beleif saints will be present at last jusdgment and can help you. Started with roman martyrdoms (2nd or early 3rd century). Well established by midielivilt.
St. Antony of Egypt: lived 251-356
St. Antony of Egypt was an ascetic that went to the desert and rejected the city. He set the standard for ascetics. In the roman world the desert was the place you went to die. Therefor, he turned the roman social values on its head by rejecting the earthly community. This showed his disdain for the world around him. Antony was imitating Jesus because Jesus went to the desert to fight with the devil. One of the first hagiographys was written about him just 20 years after his death. Antonys hagiography became insanely popular and encouraged an entire generation to go to the desert and push the limits of human endurance
Just War
St. Augustine of Hippo also wrote Just war. Just war takes the Roman idea of legitimate warfare and adopts it for Christians. War must be waged by a public authority such as the king/pope/clergymen War must be openly declared War must be fought for justifiable reasons and no personal gain. War needs to be for the pursuit of peace such as when your being infiltrated or with someone who can't be reasoned with like Atilla the hun. War must be without hatred, violence, cruelty and without passion. The real evils in war are love of violence, revengeful cruelty, fierce and implacable enmity, wild resistance and the lust for power. Selfish warfare is not better than any other kind. However, Augistine stated that war can sometimes be an act of love or charity if you trying to keep the peace and protect Christians. Loving your enemy is noble. Warefare is consistent with Gods will. For example, a strap from the staffordshire has a biblical verse on it. In any situation of just or unjust war, the leader bears the responsibility for what happens. Individual soldiers are safe if they are following orders. Breaking orders is treason. The problem with just war is that it is more effective in theory then in practice.
St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo: lived 354-430
St. Augustine was the Bishop of Hippo and was a celebrity. He converted to Catholic Christianity and tried to convert others through debating and writing. Part of Roman world, and writes in latin. St. Augistine wrote the City of God which was enormous. The text stated that there were two cities: earth and God, and what you do on earth directly affects your ability to get into heaven. The earthly city of utilitarian. The local event of when the visigoths sacked rome in 410 inspired St. Augustine to write this. The other inspiration was to disprove Roman paganism. Many Romans thought the sack of Rome was punishment by the old Roman Gods and started to turn back to Paganism. St. Augustine uses the sac itself to prove that Christianity is better. During the sack of Rome, everyone fled to churches for safety and they were not hurt there. St. Augustine calls this a miracle: God was causing the Barbarians to spare people inside of the churches. He uses this example to prove the power of Christianity over paganism. In reality the Visigoths were Christian, but St. Augustin left this fact out because the Visigoths were the wrong kind of Christian (Arianism). St. Augustine of Hippo also wrote Just war. Just war takes the Roman idea of legitimate warfare and adopts it for Christians. 1. War must be waged by a public authority such as the king/pope/clergymen 2. War must be openly declared 3. War must be fought for justifiable reasons and no personal gain. War needs to be for the pursuit of peace such as when your being infiltrated or with someone who can't be reasoned with like Atilla the hun. 4. War must be without hatred, violence, cruelty and without passion. The real evils in war are love of violence, revengeful cruelty, fierce and implacable enmity, wild resistance and the lust for power. Selfish warfare is not better than any other kind. However, Augistine stated that war can sometimes be an act of love or charity if you trying to keep the peace and protect Christians. Loving your enemy is noble. Warefare is consistent with Gods will. For example, a strap from the staffordshire has a biblical verse on it. In any situation of just or unjust war, the leader bears the responsibility for what happens. Individual soldiers are safe if they are following orders. Breaking orders is treason. The problem with just war is that it is more effective in theory then in practice.
St. Benedict of Nursia: c.480-547
St. Benedict was from Italy. Being an ascetic was not physically available to many people. Benedict of Nursia tried to be an ascetic but got mobbed by followers because of his reputation as a holy man. He decides that its better to have people pursuing him and begins the benedictine monastery. This was a moderate approach to monasticism. He wrote the Benedictine rule, outlining how monks should act. This became one of the most famous monastic rules, and later became the monastic norm. Benedictine monasteries became an acceptable avenue of prestige, alongside the army and school.
St. Martin of Tours: c.336-397
St. Martin was a soldier that became a confessor. The first twenty years of his life he lived with his pagan family and then he joined the military. Sulpicius Severus wrote his hagiogeography. One of the most famous stories surrounding St. Martin is when he was approching a city he approached a beggar and gave him half of his military cloak. Martin then had a vision of Jesus saying that he cloathed him with his cloak. His hagiography was a success and st. martin soon became the subject of supplementary accounts. St. martin was adopted as the patron saint of the merovingian kings. Martin was a bishop, so sulpicius needed to find a way to combine the life of an ascetic monk with a man of the world. This created a conflict.
St. Simeon and the Stylites
St. simeon goes to the desert, finds a column and stays there for 35 years. People copied him, and became the stylites who were 5th century desert ascetics. The stylites became a tourist attraction. St. Simeon was an ascetic saint. Crowds of people would come to them seeking guidance and prayers.
Battle of Chalons: 451
The Battle of Chalons was the battle against the Huns in France/Gaul. Germanic Federates composed the majority of the army, including King Theodoric I of the Ostrogoths. It was the last major battle of the western Roman empire. This stopped the Hunnic invasion of europe .Happens in Gaul (modern day france). Federates in Gaul were the franks. This was the last time Rome was able to call on the federates for help. Good number of germanic people were sent there. The federates and roman army won. Atilla then surrounds Rome and never actually gets it. Win but not decisively.
Honor
after the fall of the Carolingian dynasty and western Europe militarized the concept of feud was to maintain honour. Honour was intangible currency that could be lost or gained. The goal was to avoid shame and humiliation and to maintain respect and standing in the eyes of others. Honour was concentrated in the upper class: if someone hit you and you didnt hit back you would lose honour.
Byzantium, Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine empire was the eastern roman empire of the 7th century after Diocletian split it. Byzantium thrived because of strong and capable emperors. Byzantium survived the attacks by outsiders by preserving its capital city with walls and having a stable army. Its capital had been founded as Byzantium, but was re-named Constantinople under emporer Constantine. Under Justinian, the empire reached its greates extent as he attempted to re-claim the Roman empire. However, this extent did not last long after his death. It eventually fell to the Ottomon Turks.
Edict of Milan: 313
The Edict of Milan is the first step to legalizing Christianity in the empire, and leads to Christianity becoming the official religion (in 392). It was carried written by Emperor Constantine and Licinius. It reverses the policy of persecution, stating that Christian are protected from physical harm and their things are returned to them. The traditional Roman religion is no longer integral to the empire, and Christianity becomes mainstream. Christians are no longer the persecuted minority
Huns
The Huns were nomadic people. In the late 4th century the Huns form in central and western Asia. They rose in power and started pillaging the roman empire. They pushed the Visigoths to seek refuge in the Roman empire. The huns are defeated in modern france by Rome and the federates at the Battle of Chalone in (451). Atilla then encircles Rome, and when the empire calls the federates they do not come. As a result the federation falls apart. The huns leave Rome without taking it. This marks the break down of the alliance created by the Roman empire and the federates.
Jihad
The Jihad means striving towards Gods will and following the example of the prophet. This may include violence to protect and define the religious community. This also includes expanding territory under islamic rule in order to spread the religion and create opportunities for conversion. This channeled violence within the Islamic community because before Islam there was an annual feuding season amongst tribes. So the Jihad turned aggression outwards to fight outsiders and control territory to facilitate conversion. When Muhammad took Mecca by force in 630 it was an example of how to spread Islam. Later generations emulated this effort and went to Persia, Byzantium, North Africa, and Spain. Populations willingly adopted Islam, but if they didnt want to convert they were known as people of the book. People of the Book worshipped the same God and were respected by Islam. In some territories, Christians were more free under Islamic rule than Roman or Byzantium. But Islam made authorities nervous. The Byzantium old method of talking down invaders didn't work because Muslim armies believed they had a moral impertive to conquer. Byzantium had to fight back and this stopped all communication and trade between the east and west empire.
Lindisfarne
The Lindisfarne of gospels was produced in Northumbria in 698 during the golden age of the anglo-saxons. This was a manuscript and its production indicates the stability of the anglo-saxon culture. They are four canonical accounts of Christs life and death in the new testament. The arts united Anglo-saxon, Irish, and Roman artistic traditions with full page illustrations. The scandinavian raiders and traders had incredible ship technology. They were not Christian so they raided churches. In 793 there was a viking raid in Lindisfarne Northumbria, marking the first raid on a monastery. They slaughtered all of the monks and took all of the goods. Vikings did hit and run raids where they didnt fight if they didnt have to. There was no good way to stop them so from 793 until 800s they raided. Lindisfarne is an island off of England. ------------------------------------------------------------------Tiny island off of the coast of england with a rich and beautiful monastary. Created a beutiful manuscript called the lindisfarne gospels. Wealthy and secure until vikings show up. Raid = first real attack of vikings in the western world. People were slaughtered or taken captive. Demolished.
Mayors of the Palace
The Merovingian kings (Clovis: 481-511) needed to delicate authority so they created the mayor of the palace. The mayor of the palace administered the kings will. Over time, they became more and more powerful and began to govern a lot. In the 7th century, you start to see a problem in the Merovingian dynasty. Many deaths cause children to become king. In the 7th century, the mayor of the palace becomes a hereditary role.
Ostrogoths
The Ostrogoths were the Eastern goths. Unlike the Visigoths who came into the Roman empire as refugees and were granted land, the Ostrogoths were invited into the empire by Rome. The Ostrogoths were respected, and were pulled into the Roman army. They were highly Romanized and the title "Master of Soldiers" was reserved specifically for Ostrogothic generals. They therefore collaborated with Rome. The Ostrogoths take the city of Ravenna rather than giving it to the Byzantines who hired them. The Ostrogoths take over the Italian peninsula. Italy at this point has a mixed population, with Arians conquering Roman Catholics. The ostrogoths are eventually wiped out by the Lombards.
Visigothic Code
The Visigothic Code was a mish mash of native Visigothic laws and laws from Roman models. It was similar to the Theodosian code of Byzantium with some differences. For example, it issued that clergy would work with lawmakers and their would be collaboration between the church and Visigothic leaders. Specific and practical laws were written to resolve conflict. As a result, all people in the Visigothic kingdom were under similar jurisdiction. Practically forces Jews to convert.
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The anglo-saxon chronicles chronicles the history of the Anglo-saxons in old english. The first account of the viking raid on the Linisfarne monastary. The chronicle was long after the event happened. Alfred the great commissioned this (r. 871-899).. It is a year by year account of the British people. It is in the form of annals, or by year. It is one of the most important historical documents accounting the history of England. ------------------------------------------------------------------In old english. Year by year account of the events that happen from 55BCE (Julius ceaser attacks britain). Problem = part of Alfred the Greats education program. Chronicle starts 1000 years earlier, and then is a year by year account from when it was commissioned.
Anglo-Saxons
The anglo-saxons were people who inhabited great Britain in the 5th century. They were comprised of Germanic tribes. THe history of the Anglo Saxons was recorded by the Venerable Bede in the Eccliastical History of the English people (731). When Britain was abandoned by Rome in 410CE, they were really bad at defending themselves and were continuously attacked by Barbarians. Between 400-526CE there were Barbarian migrations and in the 5th century, Anglo Saxon Migrations. The native Britains (Celts) ask for help from Germany and southern Scandinavia who hire mercenaries. These mercenaries win and take over Britian, pushing the natives to the outer parts (wales). The Anglo Saxons take the best parts of Britain (modern day England) and rule. The Anglo Saxons were Pagan because they were never Romanized. They worshipped warlike Gods like Odin and Thor. They terrified the native Brits. In 597 the Anglo-Saxons converted to Christiany by king Ethelbert of Kent, but there is no contemporary literature on them because they were pre-literate. 300 years later there are accounts of invasions.
Benedictine Rule (a.k.a. Rule of St. Benedict)
The benedictian rule showed the monks how to live without destroying their bodies. This became extraordinarily popular because there was a yearning to devote oneself to God. This become the core form of saintly life. 1. Obedience: submission to authority 2. Humility: reject pride 3. Give up all worldly goods: severe ties to outside and devote your entire life to God.
Council of Toledo: 589
The biggest issue in Spain under Visigothic rule was that there were different kinds of Christianity. Leovigildus's son is king and all the Bishops meet him at the Council of Toledo. Everyone at the meeting agrees to abandon Arianism for Catholic Christianity. They even burnt Arian books. The clergy and the king created an alliance. This Council follows the idea of Visigoth's wanting to be Roman. It also established that the king was the leader of the church and had the right to weigh in on church affairs, which gave Visigothic kings more authority.
Simony
The buying and selling of ecclesiastical office. The Salian dynasty (1024-1125) worked with the Pope to stamp this out. Considered extremely sinful. Could happen with lay investiture.
Simony
The buying and selling of ecclesiastical office. The Salian dynasty (1024-1125) worked with the Pope to stamp this out. Considered extremely sinful. Could happen with lay investiture. -----------------------------------------------------Gregory VII was concerned with simony, clerical marriage, and lay investiture. The Salian dynasty was supportive of--and even may have initiated--the efforts of eleventh-century popes against simony and clerical marriage (but they got annoyed when Gregory VII went after lay investiture). Simony was present in both halves of the former Carolingian empire.
Concordat of Worms: 1122
The concordat of worms brought to an end the power struggle between the Papacy and the Holy Roman emporers, or the investiture conflict. The king had the right to invest bishops with secular authority (by presenting a staff), but not sacred authority (by presenting a ring). Bishops owed allegiance in worldy matters to both the king and the pope.
Fealty & Homage
The connection between the feudal lords and vassals is defined by loyalty or fealty. This is more formal than the comitatus relationship. The vassal had to make a payment of homage or oath of fealty to the feudal lord in a ritual. In the ritual, the vassal kneels and the lord put his hands around the vassals hands indicating the vassals submission. Paying homage was basically a legal contract and the vassal was obligated to support the lord no matter what. As a result, armies were made of lords and vassals. The vassals received protection from the lord and land. ---------homage: making an oath of fealty to a lord--------------------fealty: the formal bond of loyalty between a lord and a vassal
Fief
The connection between the feudal lords and vassals is defined by loyalty or fealty. This is more formal than the comitatus relationship. The vassal had to make a payment of homage or oath of fealty to the feudal lord in a ritual. In the ritual, the vassal kneels and the lord put his hands around the vassals hands indicating the vassals submission. Paying homage was basically a legal contract and the vassal was obligated to support the lord no matter what. As a result, armies were made of lords and vassals. The vassals received protection from the lord and land. The land granted to a vassal by a lord was called a feif and it came with serfs.
Lord, Vassal, Serf
The feudal lord is the most powerful person in the area. Underneath the lord are the vassals. The vassals are rich and powerful elites. The connection between the feudal lords and vassals is defined by loyalty or fealty. This is more formal than the comitatus relationship. The vassal had to make a payment of homage or oath of fealty to the feudal lord in a ritual. In the ritual, the vassal kneels and the lord put his hands around the vassals hands indicating the vassals submission. Paying homage was basically a legal contract and the vassal was obligated to support the lord no matter what. As a result, armies were made of lords and vassals. The vassals received protection from the lord and land. The land granted to a vassal by a lord was called a feif and it came with serfs. Vassals could have vassals, and they had the same contract as the vassal did to their lord. Lords and vassals had a good system of mutual obligation creating the potential for a huge fighting force at the disposal for lords. The protection for vassals was very important for feuds. These obligation webs excacerbated feud scenarios. If the vassals were messed with, the lords would lose honour if they didnt take revenge. Serfs were midievil peasants who worksed the land. Serfs did not have a fealty or contract and provided all of the labour with minimum pay. They had no social mobility, no disposable wealth, and no way of leaving.
Five Pillars of Islam
The five pillars of Islam are not part of the Qu'ran, but are 5 big things to do as a Muslim. 1. Affirm the faith: Muhammad is Allahs prophet. There is no other God but Allah (monotheism). This is similar to the Niceae creed of Christians. "I beleive that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's prophet. 2. Prayer: Worship 5 times a day. This is similar to Christian monks, but everyone in Islam had to do it and face Mecca. They do not have an alter or a mediator/preist. 3. Charity and care for the poor (almsgiving): theres a tax that goes to releif for the poor 4. Fasting: This is a devotion to God and includes the month of Ramadan. 5. Pilgrimage to Mecca: Brings the community together. This is all similar to Judeah Christian practice. The defining factor of Islam is the surrender to Gods will/ submission.
Qur'an
The main unifying factor of Islam is monotheism because they worship the same God as the Jews and Christians. Islam respected Jewish and Christian prophets but they beleived that Jewish and Christian scripture was wrong. To Islam, the Qu'ran is dictated to Muhammad by an Angel and God. So the Qu'ran is the actual perfect word of God. The actual words of text of the Qu'ran are very important and translations aren't enough. Originally, the Qu'ran was meant to be heard aloud. Scribed began writing things down in 650 creating a standard form. Sura are versus of the Qu'ran that are organized by length, and they dont need context to read them. The Qu'ran is always the same and always in Arabic.
Relic, Reliquary
The most effective place to get saints attention was their bodies. Relics were something that saints left behind on earth after they died. The most desirable bits of things the saints left behind was there body. As a result, saints bodies were floating around everywhere. A piece of a saint was beleived to be a direct line to heaven. Saints bodies became commodities. For example, st. valentines skill lives in a church in a glass box. A reliquary is where you kept saints skeletons. Reliquaries were often made of precious metals that hid the grossness of the decaying body. Relics and saint powers were considered real. The reliquaries that enshrined the relics were themselve precious objects. Relics brought sacred things into everyday life.
Baptism
The one way to escape the hereditary original sin was to accept Christianity and to become baptized. When you were baptized the original sin was washed away. You cannot get into heaven without being baptized.
Battle of Adrianople: 378
The roman emperor valens battles the visigoths. The visigoths destroy the roman army and killed the emperor. This badly weakened the Roman army. Various treatise were tried because Rome needed fighters and the Visigoths needed food and land, but nothing was considered sufficient. Under king Alaric of the Visigoths. They wanted to avenge their wrongs and find land. The Visigoths eventually settled Gaul and by 484 they had taken all of Spain. This was a turning point in the history of Rome. This marked the beginning of the fall of the western roman empire
Comitatus
The roman empire and byzantium had professional armies, where being a soldier was a career. However, after the fall of Rome there was no standing army. Instead in the early middle ages there was the Comitatus. The comitatus were a band of warriors that surrounded nobles. They were not on salary and were not organized. They were rich elites who worked for material reward and on commission. The better they fought, the more money they got. The only thing binding them to a lord was loyalty and money. This bond was loos, based off of friendship, il-defined, and nebulous. However, warriors were at odds with the 10 commandments so many scholars tried to justify the warrior lifestyle.
Roman Empire
The roman empire had its peak between 14 and 117 CE. Pax Romana means peace of rome. Pax Romana in practice meant that there was no harassment of romans in the empire, there was a high standard of living, and they had an enormous army. In the early 100's the Roman empire was enormous resulting in disparity between the center and the periphery. This can be attributed to the fact that the power of the empire was held in the cities, making the roman empire an urban empire. Rome was the most important city serving as the heart of the empire. Rome was symbolic for the empire, and was an economic hub causing it to have a lot of resources and a rich way of life. Rome was the seat of the imperial government and the heart of roman identity. The provinces, or the periphery of rome was isolated and less civilized than the cities because they were conquered territories. The edges were mainly military outposts that were linked by roads. The provinces did not have as strong of a roman identity, and they all spoke different languages. There was also less wealth and culture in the provinces, and they were considered backwaters. Military: the military of the roman empire was huge, well trained, efficient, and made up of professionals Bureaucratic network: collected taxes and were distributed where needed Citizenship: the roman empire had universal citizenry including everyone except slaves and newcomers. Universal language: The universal language of the roman empire was latin and there was high degrees of literacy. There was also little dialect, and many people were bilingual with greek. Religion: The roman empire had a uniform religion that was polytheistic. But it officially switched to Christianity. Overall there was cohesion, communication, and homogeneity. When the empire was split by Diocletian there was two empires, creating competition between the two regions. The two capitals were Rome and Constantinople. The problems were that there was no resources and tension. As a result the empire pulls in its boundaries and in 410 the roman empire abandons Britain and pulls in their borders. All Roman officials are pulled back, and immediately after, people begin to invade. Roman araes have to hire mercenaries to protect them because Rome wont help them, and the mercenaries end up taking over. Did Rome fall apart? Attacks, can't sustain population, outsiders destroying homogeneity, massive taxings, administration breakdown, religious disagreement, 2 halves of the empire start to pull apart, the language changes (west = latin, east = greek) In 500 the east stops sending help to the west, and the west is taken over by settlers. 500 onward = sub-roman period
Salian Dynasty: 1024-1125
The salian dynasty was after the Ottonian dynasty, and was a cousin branch of the Ottonian dynasty. They invested in religious reform. They collaborated with the Pope to wipe out problems such as simony and clerical marriage.---------Gregory VII was concerned with simony, clerical marriage, and lay investiture. The Salian dynasty was supportive of--and even may have initiated--the efforts of eleventh-century popes against simony and clerical marriage (but they got annoyed when Gregory VII went after lay investiture). Simony was present in both halves of the former Carolingian empire.
Peace of God: 989
The two big problems with the three orders of society were that a feud was an unjust war for personal gain. As a result, everyones souls were in danger. Also those who work and pray were in the cross fires of feuds. So the casualties were churchmen and laborers. This led to a the grassroots movement in western europe called the peace movement. This occurred in the late 900s and emerges to oppose the violence wreaking havoc among the two lower levels of the order of society. The 2 lower levels decide to push back against those who fight and demand that the lords make peace. The peace of God was an actual decree of the church and stated that you would be excommunicated if you attacked a church, stole from the poor, or attacked an unarmed clergymen. THis prevented top down or vertical violence. The peace movement didn't really work, but it did raise awareness that it was a Christian obligation and that unjust wars endanger everyones soul.
Song of Roland: composed c. 1000
The song of Roland is a French epic poem. Roland is a general who cuts a guy in half and seems like he's enjoying it. This poem therefor doesnt seem to coincide with Just War outlined by St. Augustine of Hippo. It also seems to be a quest for his gold and shiny things which does not align with just war either. The song of roland was written by midievil Christians, although it doesnt seem to be in the criteria of midievil Christianity, but rather for entertainment. This illustrates how warfare was central to noble life and was hard to get rid of. The song of ROoland is Historical ficiton because it is only based off of the fight by Charlemagne is 778 (Battle of Renecvals). This battle becomes legendary, and is when the Muslims are trying to push north. In the poem there is hateful rhetoric against a religious enemy (the Muslims) and it serves as propoganda. This shows the anxiety of Islam encroaching on Christian Europe, posing a threat. The presence of Muslims in Spain gave the poem legitimacy, that the hero was fighting against a perceived enemy of Christianity. Therefor Roland is fighting a just war by chopping a guy in half, and it is okay. Additionally in the poem, the Franks are defending the empire against invaders, are under Charlemagnes authority, the war is openly declared, and the fighters have riteouse Christian anger. The poem therefor stands as an example that if you want a legitamet just war, make sure your fighting non-Christians.
Theodosian Code: 438
The theodosian code was written by Theodosius II (r. 408-450). The theodosian code was the first compilation of roman law, with some laws that theodosian specifically made himself. It was the first uniform legal standard for all byzantine citizens. It focused on domestic life such as how to live with a family and divorce as well as social and political issues. For example is stated that churches should be open to people who need refuge, except delinquent taxpayers. The fact that the laws were conditional in nature showed its sophistication. The code unified law across byzantium.
Three Orders of Society
The three orders of society occurred around 900. It was a pyramid of those who fight, those who pray, and those who work. All three were interdependent. This pyramid is invented and recognized by midieval people. In theory the three orders were meant to help each other. The bottom of the pyramid was those who work such as the serfs/peasants. Without the bottom everyone else would fail. The middle was those who pray or the clergy. Those who pray provide the spiritual needs of Christians and ensure God has favor for the kindom. They pray for God to help them, especially if they are Benedictian and cluneic monks, allowing everyone else to prosper. Those who fight defend the kingdom from harm and protect the church and population as a whole. They physically defend those who pray and those who work. The problem with this was that those who fight did not stick to their bargain of helping the other two levels. They also did not fight the just war. They created a feud culture where those who fight werre constanlty fighting each other. Christians were fighting Christians for personal gain. They fought like 9, 10, 11 viking raids. The clergy and peasants did not have castles for protection and ended up being slaughtered. Those who fight burned churches and murdered peasants. Those who work and pray were really announced. The two big problems with the three orders of society were that a feud was an unjust war for personal gain. As a result, everyones souls were in danger. Also those who work and pray were in the cross fires of feuds. So the casualties were churchmen and laborers.
Peace movement
The two big problems with the three orders of society were that a feud was an unjust war for personal gain. As a result, everyones souls were in danger. Also those who work and pray were in the cross fires of feuds. So the casualties were churchmen and laborers. This led to a the grassroots movement in western europe called the peace movement. This occurred in the late 900s and emerges to oppose the violence wreaking havoc among the two lower levels of the order of society. The 2 lower levels decide to push back against those who fight and demand that the lords make peace. There were large gatherings, or peace councils that formed in fields with thousands of people. The clergy played a prominent role. They brought relics of saints with them and preached that Jesus was the prince of peace and the lamb of God. Noblmen were often loured into the middle of the massive crowds of peasants where the clergymen used social and religious pressure to have them make an oath of peace. This worked because by evoking God, the lords could get out of the honour argument and could still go home with their honor. The peace movement didn't really work, but it did raise awareness that it was a Christian obligation and that unjust wars endanger everyones soul.
Truce of God: 1041
The two big problems with the three orders of society were that a feud was an unjust war for personal gain. As a result, everyones souls were in danger. Also those who work and pray were in the cross fires of feuds. So the casualties were churchmen and laborers. This led to a the grassroots movement in western europe called the peace movement. This occurred in the late 900s and emerges to oppose the violence wreaking havoc among the two lower levels of the order of society. The 2 lower levels decide to push back against those who fight and demand that the lords make peace. The truce of God stated that you would be excommunicated if you fought between sundown on wednesday and sunrise on Monday, or if you fought on holidays or during advent or lent. This was to try to make people value their soul more than fighting. At first this was welcomed and supported by nobles, but soon they found other excuses to fight. The peace movement didn't really work, but it did raise awareness that it was a Christian obligation and that unjust wars endanger everyone's soul.
Visigoths
The visigoths entered the roman empire as refugees from the Hun attacks in the late 300's. The refugee camps they lived in were horrible, which the visigoths considered a insult. As a result, the visigoths began raiding and pillaging the roman empire. In 378, at the battle of Adrianople the Visigoths destroy the roman army and kill emporer valens. in 410, they sacked the city of rome under king Aleric. That same year they settled in spain as roman federates who will help the Roman empire when they are needed. Indeed, they helped the empire with the last battle against the huns (battle of Chalons, 451). The Visigothic kings were the most powerful in Germanic territories, but when a leader died there was a very unstable search for a new king. However, Isidore of Seville wrote the etymologies in Spain indicating that overall Spain was very stable.
Lombards
Theoderic is succeeded by his Grandson, but no one can replicate Theoderics leadership. As a result, Byzantium has a new push to take Italy. Justinian, the Byzantium emperor (533-554) hires the Lombard Barbarians. It takes 20 years for the battle to be resolved. Eventually the Lombards win and wipe out most of the Ostrogoths entirely. Lombards, like the Ostrogoths, keep Italy and in 568 they set up their own kingdom their. For the next 5 years the lombards conquer southern italy. The Lombard kingdom is largely independent through the 8th century, but Ravenna and Rome are excluded from Lombard rule. In 751 Ravenna finally falls. The Lombards promised Justinian they were Catholics, but they were actually Arian. As a result, the Catholic and Arian churches coexist in Italy until Arianism peters out and after 652 there are no more Arian kings. The Lombards never get driven out of Italy.
Ostrogothic King Theodoric I: r. 493-526
Theoderic started in the Roman empire army and became a master of soldiers. In 489 he was hired by the Byzantine empire to re-take the city of Ravenna because Ravenna and Rome were symbolic to Romans so the Byzantines wanted to hold on to them. The Byzantine empire outsourced by using the Ostrogoths instead of their own army. In 489 Theoderic heads to Italy and in 493 he holds Ravenna. But instead of giving to Byzantium, Theoderic declares himslef king of the Ostrogoths in Italy. The Ostrogoths take over the Italian peninsula. Italy at this point has a mixed population, with Arians conquering Roman Catholics. Theoderic was different from Spain because although Theoderic beleived himself to be Romanized, the elite Romans in Italy beleived themselves to be the rightful rulers. As a result, the Ostrogoths and the Romans worked together. Theoderic ruled just like a Roman emporer, and became very popular establishing real institutions.
Emperor Theodosius II: r.408-450
Theodosius II was 6 years old when he came to power, and as a result had a 40 year reign. There was chaos in the west, but emporer theodosius made sure that byzantium was safe. He built walls around the cities making sure the huns never came, and tightened administration and government. This created strict law and order that was different from the notoriously messy roman laws. In 438 he created the theodosian code. Theodosius solidified the split of the roman empire by never sending help to the west.
Ummah
Ummah is an arabic word meaning community, or community of the faithful. Christianity created 1 new community of Arabs called the Ummah. Before, Arab society was tribal and competitive with those around them. The Ummah cut across tribal allegiances and created "supertribe" dedicated to the victory over the enemies of God.
Federates
When Germanic people are given land to settle in the empire in exchange for their military help, they are called federates. At first, there is only a small amount of federates, however over time they flood into the Roman empire.
Treaty of Verdun: 843
When Louis the Pious died he had 3 adult sons. Louise designated the oldest as his successor but between 840 and 843 the Frankish empire was in a civil war between the sons. Lothair was the oldest, Louise the German, and then Charles the Bald. The treaty of Verdun divided Charlemagnes empire into three. Charles the bald took the west, Louis the German took the east, and Lothair took the middle. Lothair was also crowned emperor by the Pope making him senior to the other two. When Lothair dies there is a new war, and Charles the Bald wins. The Treaty of Verdun broke the unity established by Charlemagne and resulted in the nobility being able to be bought. 50 years after the treaty, there is rarely 1 ruler.
Visigothic King Leovigild: r. 569-586
When the Visigoths settled in Spain it was a mixed population made up of Roman and Catholic Christians, squatter Germanic people, and now Visigoths. This created a lot of competition. It therefore took the Visigoths 100 years after 410 when they settled to soldify control. Leovigild had a good military following and threatened local leaders to follow him. He consolidated power well and centralized the monarchy. As a result, he united the Visigoths and Roman populations of Spain. The Roman populations initially had some resistance because Leovigild was a Barbarian. The Visigoths became more eager to be Roman, and the kings began to emulate Roman emperors. Coinage with their faces on it was an example of this. Leovigild also issued laws in latin. . son = council of Toledo
Great Mosque of Cordoba
he great mosque of Cordoba was commisioned by Abd al-Rahman I. Jewish culture and Islamic cultures overlapped a bit. When Abd-Al Rahman became emir he did not have to do any of the military work to take over a territory because that was already done. As a result he could focus on culture. He attempted to build up the capitol city of Cordoba and therfor builds the Great mosque. The size of the mosque is massive proclaiming its importance of Islam and its ties to the East. This allows rulers of Al-Andalus to be comparable to other rulers. Subsequent rulers continue to add to the mosque. The mosque is similar to Hagia Sophia built in Byzantium by Justinian in the 6th century, and Aachan built by Charlemagne in the 9th century. The mosque therefor places emirs in the european ruling contect.