Byzantium, A New Rome
“During its
one-thousand-year existence, the Byzantine Empire took its Roman heritage and
became an autocratic, static entity in a world of great upheaval . . .” MP, 184
The Eastern Roman Empire
·
The name “Byzantine” is modern and comes from
Byzantium, the original name of Constantinople
·
Continuity
o
Maintained the Roman tradition of law and
government
o
Throughout its history, subjects of the Eastern,
or “Byzantine,” Empire thought of themselves as Rhomaioi, or Romans
·
Change
o
Greek speaking
o
Orthodox Christian
o
Increasingly “oriental” (eastern)
Phases of Byzantine History
Almost 1000 years of history, from the Fall of the Western Roman Empire
almost until the time of Columbus (see
MP, 184-186)
·
Revival
of Empire (A.D. 476-641)
·
Withdrawal
and Renewal (A.D. 641-867)
·
Golden
Age (A.D. 867-1081)
·
Challenge
from the West (A.D. 1081-1261)
·
Palaeologian
Emperors (A.D. 1261-1453)
·
Revival
of Empire (A.D. 476–641)
Justinian (r. 527–565)
·
Last emperor to speak Latin as his native
language
·
Rigorously supported Orthodox Christianity and
enforced religious conformity
·
North
Africa and Italy re-conquered
·
Great
period of architecture and culture
Early reign
·
Saw himself as destined to reconquer the West
·
Sought to unify the old Roman world as a
Christian Empire
·
Gradually won back former Roman territories
·
Closed famous philosophical schools in Athens
·
His wars had taxed (pun intended) the resources
of the empire, and when he died the empire was practically in financial ruin!
Codex Justinianus
·
Consolidated and abridged all known Roman law
·
Four parts:
·
The law code itself
·
Clarification of past legal opinions (Digest)
·
Textbook for law students (Institutes)
·
Laws & decrees of Justin himself (Novellae)
·
Justinian’s law code became the basis for many
law codes throughout Europe in the middle ages
“Justice is the set and constant
purpose which gives to every man his due. Jurisprudence is the knowledge of
things divine and human, the science of the just and the unjust. The precepts
of the law are these: to live honestly, to injure no one, and to give every man
his due” (Institutes1.1.1).
Byzantine Empire under Justinian
·
Unresolved conflict between Christian and
Classical ideals
·
Religious
forms—deeply spiritual, transcendently spiritual
·
Classical values of restraint, dignity, and
serenity, but somewhat suppressed
humanism—autocratic government, man’s submission to divine
Orthodox Church
·
The
Great Schism
·
State control of the Church
·
Iconoclast
Controversy
·
Religious
and cultural expansion into Eastern Europe and Russia
·
Continued conflict with the West
Charles to Charlemagne
·
A.D. 768: At Pepin’s death kingdom divided
between Charles and Carloman
·
A.D. 771 Charles became sole king
·
Life of constant military campaigning
o
Drives Spanish Muslims across Pyrenees
o
Conquers and Christianizes pagan Saxons
o
Fights Avars and Slavs
·
His military exploits won him the name Carolus
Magnus
o
“Charles the Great” or, in French, Charlemagne
A New Emperor
·
Conquered northern Italy from Lombards, saves
Pope
·
Christmas Day A.D. 800: Pope Leo II crowns
Charlemagne “emperor of the Romans”
o
First emperor in the west since A.D. 476
o
Charlemagne as protector of Catholic Church
§
Who has the real power?
·
Establishment of the “Holy Roman Empire”
o
One Ruler, One Empire, One Church
The Carolingian Renaissance
·
In addition to the rebirth of the political
concept of empire, Charlemagne also encouraged the rebirth of learning and
culture
·
A New Capital: Charlemagne’s Aachen
·
Churches and Palaces intended to match the Roman
model
Palace and cathedral at Aachen
·
Byzantine models, especially San Vitale in
Ravenna
·
The Cathedral Church at Aachen
·
Classical columns and arches from Aachen
A Renaissance of Letters--Alcuin and the
revival of learning
·
Charlemagne needed bureaucrats to administer his
empire
·
Alcuin, a student of Bede, came from
England to establish Charlemagne’s palace school (A.D. 782–96)
·
Promising students were brought to Aachen,
Charlemagne’s capital, and taught Latin and secular as well as religious topics--learning
had been the province of the Church to that point
·
He impressed Charlemagne and was brought to Aachen
to be headmaster of the Palace School
o
Blended secular and religious studies
·
“potius animam curare memento, quam carnem,
quoniam haec manet, illa perit.”
'Better to take
(good/more) care of the soul rather than the body(flesh), for the former remains,
the latter perishes.‘
Alcuin’s Curriculum
·
Course of study based on Classical models
·
Later formalized as the Medieval quadrivium
and trivium
o
Quadrivium (sciences)
§
arithmetic
§
geometry
§
music
§
astronomy
o
Trivium (arts)
§
grammar
§
rhetoric
§
dialectic
Results of Alcuin’s Program
·
Preserved and considered texts
·
Revived Latin as a literary language
·
Rise of literacy, education of the young
·
Alcuin was largely responsible for the educational
system of Europe and the West
Societal Divisions in the Middle Ages
·
Modern society divides itself according to how
much people have (usually money!)
·
In the Middle Ages the division were based on
what people did
o
Oratores (those who pray)
o
Bellatores (those who fight)
o
Laborares (those who work)
·
We should avoid using the word “class”, since it
is a modern concept
o
Words like “order” might be more suitable
Those Who Pray
·
Oratores were members of the clergy--not
just priests and bishops, but members of monastic communities
·
Members of religious communities had special
privileges and had a different set of expectations than others
·
Viewed as the guardians of society
o
Why? How were they the guardians? What if they
didn’t fulfill their obligation as guardians?
Those Who Fight
·
Bellatores were the knights of the time
o
Be careful not to think of knights from the High
Middle Ages…like the knight on the bottom
·
Knights were mounted warriors who wore armor and
specialized in the massed cavarly charge
·
Bellatores came exclusively from the
nobility
·
More on knights and chivalry later
Those Who Work
·
Laborares were everyone else!
o
There was a difference between work and work
§
Studying medicine or writing literature is
different than picking up rocks!
·
Serfs were tied to the land and could not leave
without permission
o
The land was owned by someone else, and they had
to share whatever they grew/produced
·
In return for working the land of their lord,
they were supposed to be protected
Feudalism
·
Feudalism: A military
& political system based on personal loyalty
o
a series of relationships between people
o
Kings, lords, knights, serfs
§
Superiors offered protection, while inferiors
offered support and loyalty
Vassalage
·
A vassal was a person who owed allegiance
to a superior, and supported him militarily
·
In return, the vassal was given a fief
·
There was often an official ceremony
Act of Homage
o
The vassal would approach and kneel weaponless,
with his head uncovered, and his hands clasped in front of him
§
Possible that this is the origin of praying on
one’s knees…
o
The lord would take the vassal’s hands in his
own, signifying his superiority
Oath of
Fealty
·
The vassal would place his hand on a bible or
other religious relic and swear to never do harm to his lord
An Economic System for the Middle Ages
·
The “manor” was an agricultural estate run by a
lord and worked by peasants
·
Manorialism: An economic
system based on limited land ownership & forced labor
·
New tools, like the carruca—a heavy,
wheeled plow with an iron plowshare—made agriculture a little easier
Serf: one who was in a condition of
involuntary and hereditary servitude
o
Serfs worked their lord’s land and paid rent
o
Serfs were unable to leave the land without
permission
o
Serfs could not marry someone outside the manor
without the lord’s approval
·
Not quite slaves…
·
“Peasants did not face a life of constant labor,
thanks to the feast days, or holidays, of the Catholic Church…the three
great feasts were Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost.” (Glencoe, World History,
337)
Different Peoples
·
Angles & Saxons: Germanic peoples from
northern Europe
o
United by King Alfred the Great and ruled by
Anglo-Saxon kings
o
Normans: Vikings who had been allowed to settled
in northern France (Normandy)
The Norman Conquest
o When
the English King Edward died in 1066, many men desired the throne
o On
October 14, 1066 William of Normandy landed on the coast of England and
defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings
o
William replaced the old English aristocracy
with a new French one
o
English nobles were dispossessed and their lands
given to his supporters from Normandy
o
A new language—a hybrid of Old English and Old
French!
A New Language
o When
the “French” speaking Normans conquered England, their language became the
“official” one for educated people
o Words
used by these social and political elites became more formal
o
“cordial reception” (French) vs. “hearty
welcome” (Germanic)
o Some
swear words that survive into English usage were simply the Anglo-Saxon word!
English Government & the Magna Carta
o Kings
exercised increasingly tyrannical power
o
Particularly King John (higher taxes,
unsuccessful wars, conflicts with the Pope)
o English
barons forced King John to sign the Magna Carta
o
Limited royal authority & gave barons
certain controls over the monarchy
o
The Magna Carta
o 63
total clauses
o
#39: “No freeman shall be…imprisoned…except by
the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.”
o
#40: “To no one will we sell, to no one will we
refuse or delay, right or justice.”
o Other
clauses limit the power of the king, assuring that he was bound by the
rule of law
Parliament
o The
English Parliament was created during the reign of Henry III (r.
1216–1272)
o
Reestablished the Great Council, known as
Parliament (from the French parler, “to talk”)
o
2 knights from every county, 2 people from every
town, all nobles and bishops throughout England
§
Nobles and church officials become House of
Lords
§
Knights and townspeople become House of Commons
