A Short History of the Middle Ages Chapter 1

Define "confessio."

A place where martyrs or their relics were buried.

Identify major concentrations of Christian communities and comment on their geographical settings.

At the end of the third century, the Eastern Roman Empire had the greatest concentrations of Christians, and many of its cities had churches and even bishops. From its birthplace in Palestine, the Christian religion spread north toward Anatolia (modern Turkey) and south to Egypt. Christians also brought their religion westward, but by comparison with the East, that half of the Empire had smaller and more scattered concentrations of Christian communities. The exceptions—the more popular western centers of Christianity—were the North African area around Carthage, the southern tip of Spain, and the region around Rome.

Why were there several capital cities in the Empire besides Rome?

Between the years 235 and 284, more than twenty men—mostly from the provinces—claimed the title of Roman emperor. Some of them led "breakaway empires," symptomatic of increasing decentralization, disaffection with Rome, and the power of the provincial army legions. Rome itself was too far from the fields of war. Thus, Emperor Maximian (r.286-305) turned Milan into a new capital. Soon other favored cities—Trier, Sardica, Nicomedia, Constantinople (formerly Byzantium), and much later Ravenna—joined Milan in overshadowing Rome.

What was the significance of the cemetery? Why was there a baptistery near the church of Saint Martin?

By 600 Roman cemeteries had become centers of settlement due to the prestige of the honored saints buried there. In the cemetery outside the city of Tours, a new church was built over the relics of Saint Martin. It served as a magnet for Christians, who came to venerate Martin's relics. The baptistery near the church was constructed to baptize the infants of pilgrims and others who came to the tomb of Saint Martin hoping for a miracle.

Define "federates."

By the Latin word foederati (federates), Romans referred to populations linked to Rome by a treaty (foedus) of alliance. By the end of the fourth century, tribes of Goths fought as "federates" for the Roman government under their own chiefs.

Who were the so-called Church Fathers and what part did they play in doctrinal disputes of Christianity's first six centuries?

Church Fathers were highly influential churchmen who taught their "sons and daughters" (i.e. the faithful) the tenets of Christian orthodoxy. Famous among them were Athanasius and Augustine, who led battles over the doctrines of the Church and singled out for condemnation the first heresies—Arianism, Donatism, and Manichaeism. Their writings and their leading roles at Church councils shaped Christianity for centuries to come.

Define "clergy."

Clergy refers to the body of people ordained for religious services (e.g. priests and bishops). Priests were supervised by their bishop, who was himself assisted by priests, deacons, and lesser servitors. Some bishops—those of Alexandria, Antioch, Carthage, Jerusalem, and Rome (whose bishop was later called the "pope")—were more important than others.

Define "ecumenical."

Ecumenical means "universal," especially with regard to religion. A church council is said to be ecumenical (see e.g. the Council of Nicaea) when it assembles ecclesiastical dignitaries of the whole Christian Church.

In what ways did Emperor Justinian try to lead the Roman Empire back to its former glory? Was he successful?

Emperor Justinian tried to renew the Roman Empire's former glory by fighting the Persians; by reconquering North Africa and Italy and even some of Spain; by issuing law codes (e.g. the Codex Justinianus); and by commissioning splendid buildings. His successes were only temporary. The war against the Persians was indecisive; the wars against the Vandals in North Africa and against the Ostrogoths in Italy seemed to give him victory, and the south of Spain was brought under Roman rule. (See Map 1.8.) But these triumphs did not bring back Rome's former glory: although the territories in North Africa remained under Eastern Roman rule for about a century, the Lombards soon conquered most of Italy.

Define "ethnogenesis."

Ethnogenesis refers to the process by which barbarian peoples gained and changed their identities as they joined with or broke away from other groups. Thus, ethnogenesis is opposed to a "biological" view of peoples; it sees "ethnicity" as a practice, as the active adoption of ethnic styles, myths, and habits that may change over time.

Define "Eucharist."

Eucharist in the Catholic Church refers to the consecrated bread and wine, which become the body and blood of Christ during the Mass.

Define "Roman Province."

Every region that the Romans conquered, except for Italy itself, was a "Roman province."

Define "heresy."

Heresy refers to an idea or opinion that departs from Christian doctrine as determined by Church councils.

What were the milestone dates for the Christian religion in the fourth century and why were they important?

Important dates include at least 313, 325, and 380. In 313, the Christian religion received official recognition in the so-called Edict of Milan. Emperors Licinius and Constantine declared toleration for all the religions in the Empire. In fact, the Edict helped Christians above all: they had been the ones persecuted and now, in addition to enjoying the toleration declared in the Edict, they regained their property. In 325, Constantine called and presided over the Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical (universal) church council, in which the assembled bishops hammered out some of the canon law and major doctrines of the Christian church. In 380, with the Edict of Thessalonica and with other successive laws, Emperor Theodosius I declared that the form of Christianity determined at the Council of Nicaea applied to all Romans, and he outlawed all the old public and private cults. The years 313-380 saw Christianity's transformation from a persecuted sect to the official religion of the Roman Empire.

What were the consequences of the battle of Adrianople (378)?

In 378, the Roman army lost the battle of Adrianople against the Visigoths, and Emperor Valens was killed on the field. The defeat meant more than the death of an emperor; it badly weakened the Roman army. Because the emperors needed soldiers and the Visigoths needed food and a place to settle, various arrangements were tried, including treaties making the Visigoths federates and promises of pay and reward. But the Visigoths considered all insufficient, and under their leader Alaric (d.410) they set out both to avenge their wrongs and to find land. One consequence was their sack of Rome in 410. This was a traumatic event for the Romans, symbolizing their weakness in the face of new groups that were beginning to assert their dominance within the Empire.

Define "iconography."

In art history, iconography refers to the identification, description, and interpretation of the subjects and symbols of painted or sculpted images.

What was the main point of Augustine's City of God?

Inspired by the shocking sack of Rome inflicted by the Visigoths in 410, Augustine's City of God defined two cities: the earthly one in which our feet are planted, in which we are born, learn to read, marry, get old, and die; and the heavenly one, on which our hearts and minds are fixed. The first, the "City of Man," is impermanent, subject to fire, war, famine, and sickness; the second, the "City of God," is the opposite. Only there is true, eternal happiness to be found. Yet the first, however imperfect, is where the institutions of society—local churches, schools, governments—make possible the attainment of the second. Thus "if anyone accepts the present life in such a spirit that he uses it with the end in view of [the City of God], ... such a man may without absurdity be called happy, even now." In Augustine's hands, the old fixtures of the ancient world were reused and reoriented for a new Christian society.

Define "laity."

Laity (from the Greek laikos, meaning "of the people") refers to the entirety of non-ordained people.

What are the relics of saints and why were they important to pious laypeople and clergymen?

Relics are bodies or parts of the bodies of deceased saints. They may also be items associated with saints, such as clothing or the soil around their tombs. When holy men and women died, their power (or rather God's power working through them) lived on in their relics, which were believed to work miracles. Pious laypeople and clergymen wanted access to relics in order to connect individually or communally to the power of God acting through his saints.

The argument of The Decline of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon (1732-1794), as excerpted in the epigraph of your book, is quite different from the discussion in Chapter 1. Gibbon wrote: "The union of the Roman Empire was dissolved, its genius was humbled in the dust; and armies of unknown barbarians, issuing from the frozen regions of the North, had established their victorious reign over the fairest provinces of Europe and Africa." For Gibbon, there was no doubt that the Roman Empire, at least in the West, had actually fallen by c.600. But nowadays views on this subject have changed. Give at least two arguments for and against Gibbon's view, with supporting examples from your textbook, and draw your own conclusions.

Some possible arguments for Gibbon's view: *Rome's central government, its coinage, its system of taxation, and the general dominance of the city of Rome indeed changed or disappeared. *A number of "barbarian" peoples took over parts of what once belonged to the Empire (see Map 1.6). Christianity was antithetical to old Roman values. These developments had profound effects on the "traditional" culture of Rome. Some possible arguments against Gibbon: *Although Rome's political dominion ended in the West, many of its institutions and structures remained (e.g. schools, the network of roads, bishops in the cities, the use of Latin, and the issuing of law codes). In the East, Roman institutions remained even more persistent. The idea of the Roman Empire stayed very much alive; the barbarian "successor states" felt that they continued the Empire. *The barbarians had, in fact, already been part of the Empire for centuries, so their so-called take-over of the provinces should be regarded as evidence of continuity rather than of radical change. Many barbarians, moreover, had been profoundly Romanized (consider King Theodoric). *Even before the Empire fell politically, the indigenous cultures of the provinces, long under Roman rule, came to the fore, exhibiting a side of Rome that had previously been little recognized or appreciated. Consider, for example, the art of the provinces, which eventually became "imperial" art. *By c.400, Christianity was already an integral part of what it meant to be Roman, so the persistence of Christianity among the barbarians, although it was Arian Christianity, is a sign that Rome's traditions and values persisted even in the West when the barbarians took over.

Why did barbarians issue law codes for themselves and what models did they use?

Starting in the fifth century, as barbarians were taking over Roman institutions they issued laws to establish their own regulations. Their law codes drew greatly on their Roman imperial precedents and were indeed written in Latin rather than any barbarian language. The result was a combination of Roman legal tradition and barbarian tribal customs.

Why did Emperor Diocletian divide the Roman Empire into four parts, and how did his decision contribute to the end of the "crisis of the third century"?

The Roman Empire was too large to be ruled by one man in one place. This became clear during the "crisis of the third century," when two different groups from two different directions (barbarians from the north and Persians from the east) bore down on the frontiers of the Empire. Political instability and an epidemic contributed greatly to the crisis. Diocletian, a provincial from Dalmatia (today Croatia), brought the crisis under control: for administrative purposes, Diocletian divided the Empire into four parts with four men sharing supreme power simultaneously. The Tetrarchy, as this form of government was called, brought political stability and put an end to the border wars.

Define "Tetrarchy."

The Tetrarchy in Roman history refers to the form of government initiated by Emperor Diocletian (r.284-305) when he divided the Empire into four parts with four persons sharing power simultaneously.

How had the western half of the Roman Empire changed by c.600?

The new barbarian kingdoms completely reshaped the West. The Germanic groups that replaced Roman rule were themselves disunited; by c.500 they had taken over the western half of the Roman Empire. Map 1.6 shows a mosaic of barbarian kingdoms in the West. However, most of the Eastern Roman Empire remained intact, and by c.600 it had regained much of the Mediterranean world, especially along the North African coast.

1. How and why did the "provincialization" of the Empire take place?

The third century was a critical period in Roman history. From c.250, the Roman government responded to the military emergencies at its borders with wide-ranging reforms that brought new prominence to the provinces of the Roman Empire. This process is called "provincialization." Reforms included: *Expansion of the army and an overall militarization of the government. New recruits were also enlisted from Germanic and other barbarian groups of warriors who were settled within the Empire. *Commanders were no longer chosen from the senatorial aristocracy, but rather from the ranks of the army. Some of them later became emperors. The greater part of the army and most of the new imperial capitals were in the provinces. *The wealth and labor of the Empire moved inexorably toward the provinces in order to feed and supply the army.

What do the archaeological findings near Wijster (today in the Netherlands) tell us about Germanic groups in general?

They suggest that the Germanic peoples were long used to a settled existence before any entered the Roman Empire. The settlement near Wijster was inhabited between c.150 and c.400, thus providing evidence that, contrary to earlier historical hypotheses, the people living there were not constantly "on the move."

How would you describe early monasticism?

Your answer might include the following points: *Monks lived a life of daily martyrdom, giving up their wealth, family ties, and sensual pleasures. *Early monks were not quite laity (since they made religious vows) and not quite clergy (since they were only rarely ordained). *Some monks lived solitary lives, while others lived in communities. Some communities were of men only, some of women, some of both (in separate quarters). Monks lived in obedience to a "rule" that gave them a stable and orderly way of life. Saint Benedict wrote the most famous of the monastic rules some time between 530 and 560. With its adoption, much later, by the Carolingian kings of the ninth century, the Benedictine Rule became the monastic norm in the West. It divided the day into discrete periods of prayer, reading, and labor. *Monks were seen as models of virtue, and their prayers were thought to reach God's ear. *In the course of the fifth and the sixth centuries, monasteries became important corporate landowners.