The Early Medieval Period 500-1000 A. D

The Early Medieval Period

• 500-1000 A.D.

Christian Meeting Places

• In the New Testament, the meeting place was primarily domestic—in homes.

• The Jerusalem church met in the temple for teaching and prayer, and also met in their homes for breaking bread.

• The shift from domestic meeting place to a dedicated meeting facility had a significant impact on the nature of Christianity.

Dura Europos: Church Plan

The Roman Basilica

• Romans emphasized law and order.

• Their law courts were not only places for legal proceedings but were centers of civic and public activities. They functioned sometimes as “town meeting” halls under the guidance of the government.

• The basilica form was adopted by Christians as the best architecture suited for church buildings (rather than temples).

The Roman Basilica

Basilica as Church Building

• A basilica was a “Roman town hall” derived from a Greek word which means “belonging to the king.”

• The apse was the authority seat in the hall where the council or chairperson would sit.

• The bishop’s chair was called a throne (cathedra) because the Greek word also referred to a teacher’s seat and not only to royalty.

Buildings and the Arts

• Just as Roman public buildings were decorated with art, so church buildings were decorated with frescos and mosaics.

• The earliest known Christian mosaic was found beneath St. Peter’s Basilica in the 1940s—Jesus is pictured in a gold mosaic as the sun-god, Helios.

• Frescos were more common as mosaics were expensive. Most of these are lost to us due to the Germanic settling of the West but frescos were revived in the Renaissance period.

Earliest Christian Mosaic, ca. 300

• Earliest known Christian mosaic was found beneath St. Peter’s Basilica in the 1940s—Jesus is pictured in a gold mosaic as the sun-god, Helios.

Byzantine Architecture

• Where: Eastern Turkey, Northern Italy, Slavic countries and Russia.

• When: 330-1453

• Major Building Form: Churches

• Plan: Cross-in-Square capped with Dome

Byzantine Architecture

• Support: Pendentives and Piers

• Hallmark: Dome

• Décor: Lavish inside, plain outside (though development meant more ornamentation on the outside); mosaics and icons dominate.

Byzantine Architecture

• Effect: Mysterious, transcendence, the presence of God

• Inspiration: God’s own throne room.

• Goal: to arouse emotion, transport into the presence of God, evoke worship

Byzantine Architecture: Hagia Sophia

• Built by Justinian in 532-37 to project the power of his church and empire.
• Dome: 107’ diameter and 180’ height.
• Hired two geometricians (Anthemios and Isidorus) to design it.
• The arches open up into apses, and domes into semi-domes to create a funneling effect of space.
• Dome rests of 70’ piers hidden by colonnades and rounded arches
• In contrast to classical architecture, it is all curves that intersect, as if in motion.

Hagia Sophia

Massive Church

• In 612 the records list a total of 600 persons assigned to serve in Hagia Sophia: 80 priests, 150 deacons, 40 deaconesses, 60 subdeacons, 160 readers, 25 chanters, 75 doorkeepers.

• Impresses everyone:

• Russian Non-Christians
• Western Christians
• Turkish Muslims

Basilica St. Vitale in Ravenna

Byzantine Architecture Basilica of San Marco, Venice

• Though overlaid with Gothic features, the interior preserves the domed, Greek-cross plan built to house the body of St. Mark (stolen by a Venice Merchant from Egypt).
• Begun in 830, final completions in 1094
• 45,000 square feet of mosaics and filled with decorations (including four gilded-bronze horses stolen from Constantinople in 1204)

San Marco Floor Plan

Byzantine Art

• Byzantine churches are rarely decorated with statues and, in the beginning, not very ornate on the outside.

• However, on the inside they are filled with frescos, mosaics and icons.

• Art creates the atmosphere of heavenly surroundings while architecture creates a sense of three levels: heaven, paradise and earth.

The “Cult of the Martyrs”

• Tombs of martyrs became sacred places with annual memorials and feasts.

• The relics of martyrs were thought to have spiritual power, especially against demons and for physical healings.

• Two Classes:

• Martyrs
• Confessors

The “Cult of the Saints”

• Since dead saints, especially martyrs, were now in the presence of Christ, they could intercede for others.

• San Sebastian Catacomb in Rome, ca. 260: “Peter and Paul, pray for me in eternity.”

• Saints were not, however, worshipped, though they were venerated or honored.

• Saint market days and holidays grew locally at first with the consecration of local bishops but about 1200 only the Pope in the West could decide who was “regarded” as a saint.

Origins of Monasticism

• Several conditions contributed to the rise of Monasticism:

• With peace between the Empire and the church, there were no more martyrs. In an era of persecution, one’s Christianity separated them from the “world.”
• With the influx of “pagans” into the church, the church appeared to become more “worldly.” Monks sought a higher form of spirituality.

• The search for spiritual communion with God led many into new forms of spirituality that was a new form of martyrdom (sacrifice) and anti-worldliness.

Monasticism

• Beginnings in Egypt: Saint Anthony

• Egyptian Hermits (“The Desert Fathers;” the solitary way)

• Communal Beginnings: Pachomius

• From Hermits to Monks (cenobitic life)

• Eastern Empire: St. Basil (Asia Minor)

• Basil visited Pachomius’ monastery in 357-358.
• Prayer, Good Works, Meditation, Solitary Life (living as “skete” or “lavra” (groups of monastic cottages of 2 to 6 under the personal direction of an elder or geron).
• “Guarding the Walls”—Palladios of Helenspolis (360-430).

• Western Empire: St. Benedict (Italy)

• Added Labor (agriculture, copying books, serving churches)

Mt. Athos: Three Eastern Monastic Forms

• Solitary

• Cenobitic

• “Skete” or “Lavra” (alley)—living in individual cells but sharing a common small group or church with a spiritual guide. Also known as idiorrhythmic

Eastern Monasticism

• “The pride of Christ’s Church consists in the life of the solitaries.”

• St. Issac the Syrian (died around 700).

• “Unless someone says in his heart, ‘In the world there is only myself and God,’ he will find no peace.”

• The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

• “Love the ease of solitude more than providing for the starving in the world and converting a multitude of heathen from error to the worship of God…Better is he that edified his own soul than he that edifies the whole world.”

• St. Issac the Syrian.

“Life According to the Gospel” St. Basil

• Monks are not exceptions or abberations of the gospel life, but are examples to the whole Church—a life withdrawn from the sinfulness of the world and in obedience to Scripture.

• Monasticism, however, is regarded as a “second baptism”—a renewal of baptismal vows.

• Monasticism is a “sacrament of love” where people devote themselves to loving God and loving their neighbor without reserve.

• Monasticism is the life of continual repentance—a life of constantly renewed conversion.

• St. Anthony: “This is our chief task: always to be mindful of our sinfulness in God’s sight.”
• Abba Dioscorus (died 400) constantly weeps over sin in his cell.

Eastern Orientation

• Eschatological: herald the coming of the new age by their radical detachment (renunciation) from the world.

• Marriage is a “cataphatic” (affirmative) way of affirming the sacrament of love, but monasticism is a “apophatic” (negative) expression.

• Marriage: “Grant, Lord, that in loving each other we may love you.”
• Monks: express their love for God without the mediation of another human being—they love directly and wholly.
• Monks thereby anticipate the eschatological reality—to live in the presence of God without marriage.
• Thus, in later Byzantium only monks could become bishops as those dedicated to the “higher” form of life which is the goal of all Christians.
• Monks become salt and light, examples of the kingdom of God.

Eastern Priorities

• First Priority: The Living Flame of Prayer as Loving God.

• St. Seraphim of Sarov (d. 1833): “Acquire inner peace, and thousands around you will find their salvation.”
• The goal is to intercede for themselves, for others and seek union with God.

• Secondary Priorities: Loving Neighbor

• Scholarly and educational work
• Evangelism and missionary work
• Social and philanthropic work
• Spiritual guidance and mentoring work

Irish (Celtic) Monasticism

• Irish monasticism predates Benedict’s westernization of monasticism.

• The first monks lived as hermits in “beehive” cells where the cold was their penance instead of the heat (Ireland instead of Egypt).

• Irish monasticism has a tradition of spirituality similar to Eastern monasticism.

The Benedictine Rule

• Growing up near Rome, he experienced the chaotic life of an era embroiled in constant war.

• In 529, Benedict (480-550) founded a monastery at Monte Cassino for which he wrote his Rule.

• The Benedictine Rule emphasized poverty, chastity and solitude, but it also emphasized the importance of work (agriculture), learning and communal meals.

• The Benedictine monastic tradition is the foundation of Western monastic life.

• Monasteries became islands of learning; faith and order in Western Europe which was filled with disorder, war and insecurity.

Western Monasticism

• It was primarily, if not exclusively, cenobitic (communal).

• It found its priorities in service, education, and mission alongside of worship and prayer.

• Benedict’s rule regulates the community, provides a spiritual leader (abbot), and emphasizes the above priorities.

• It was written for autonomous communities and not intended as a special monastic order.

Western Monastic Orders

• Monastery of Cluny spreads its communal form through the establishment of more than 1000 monasteries from 900 to 1100.

• Carthusian Order began in 1084 as a place for the solitary life in the western world.

• In 1098 Cistercian order began to emphasize the role of manual labor in a communal life (“white friars”).

• In 1210 the Franciscan order begins which stresses the vow of poverty and working among the poor (“grey friars”)

• In 1215 the Dominican order begins which stresses the role of education and theological orthodoxy (“black friars”).

Muhammad (570-632)

• Born in Mecca, at the age of 40 began to receive a series of revelations. He begins to affirm monotheism as he is taught through visions from the angel Gabriel.

• These “recitations” (qur’an) given through the angel Gabriel became the Koran.

• Muhammad was the last prophet of the God of Abraham and the Koran was the perfect expression of divine will for all humanity.

Muhammad’s Career

• 610-622, he lived in Mecca preaching his monotheistic faith. He was a shepherd but married into the family of his employer and became a teacher of ethics.

• 622 (year 1 for Muslims), he fled to Yathrib (Medina, “the city”). Muhammad became the leader of the city where a theocratic style of government was implemented.

• 624-628, Mecca and Medina fought three major battles.

• 629, Muhammad makes a pilgrimage to Mecca.

• 630, Muhammad becomes theocratic ruler of Mecca and by his death in 632 of the whole Arab peninsula.

• Muhammad united Arabs politically and religiously

Islam’s Missionary Zeal

• By 632, Islam was the faith of the Arabian peninsula with Mecca as its political and cultural center.

• By 661, Islam had spread to Libya, Egypt, Palestine and Mesopotamia with Damascus as its political and cultural center under the Umayyad Dynasty.

• By 732, Islam covered North Africa, Spain, southern France, parts of Asia Minor, at times parts of Sicily and southern Italy and the Indus Valley with Baghdad as its political and cultural center under the Abbasid Dynasty

Stopping the Spread of Islam

• Leo III of the Byzantine Empire drove back a Muslim army from a siege of Constantinople in 717-18.

• Charles Martel, King of the Franks, defeated a Muslim army in 732 at Tours, France and forced it back across the Pyrennes into Spain.

• Gibraltar is the “rock of Tariq” (Gib-al-Tariq). The Muslim Tariq invaded Spain in 711.

Later Developments

• Seljuk Turks from Central Asia, after converting to Islam, conquered the Arabic dynasties by 1050.

• Mongols from Asia conquered Baghdad in 1258. This led to the existence of small Islamic states rather than one Empire.

• Ultimately, all the Arabic states fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1517. The Ottoman Empire existed till 1918.

The Basic Impulse of Islam

• Monotheistic faith

• Submission to the will of God

• Islam means “submission”
• Muslim means “those who submit”

• Jesus, like the OT kings and prophets, were true prophets, but Judaism and Christian corrupted the “true religion.”

• The Qu’ran (from the Arabic root which means “to read”) calls for toleration of the “people of the book” (Jews and Christians) though polytheists and pagans are called infidels. The Hadith are a collection of traditions based on Islamic teaching.

Five Pillars of Islamic Piety

• Confession: There is one God and Muhammed is his prophet.

• Pray five times a day toward Mecca—communal prayer on Friday

• Fast during the month of Ramadan

• Give alms to the poor—required 2.5% giving.

• Make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once for those who are able.

Basic Beliefs

• Paradise is their view of the afterlife.

• Acceptance of Old Testament ethics.

• Strict administration of justice.

• The presence of angels and jinn (spirit beings who can possess human beings for good or evil).

• Fatalistic or deterministic understanding of Allah.

• Strong ethic: no alcoholic drinks.

• Seclusion of women—protection against sexual aggressors/predators.

• God intends one community among all people.

• Holy War (Jihad)

Three Islamic Divisions

• Sunni Muslims: mainstream faith and majority (90% of Muslims).

• Shi’ite Muslims: believe that only a blood relative of Muhammed can lead the Muslim faith. Shi’ite means “partisan of Ali” who was the son-in-law and cousin of Muhammad. They look to the “Imam.”

• Sufi Muslims: believe in the continuation of revelations through mystical encounters and practiced a relatively ascetic lifestyle

Origins of the Icnonclastic Controversy

• The beginnings of Christian art are found in the catacombs and in early church buildings—more often the portrayal of biblical stories rather than iconography.

• Icons as images of Christ for liturgical purposes began to appear in the fourth century in the Constantinian age.

• By the seventh century, the use of icons is a well-established tradition in the church.

Seventh Century Understanding Leonitus of Neapolis

• “I sketch and paint Christ and the sufferings of Christ in churches, in homes, in public squares, on icons, on linen cloth, on clothes, and in every place I paint so that men may see them plainly, may remember them and not forget them…And as you, when you make your reverence to the Book of the Law, bow down not to the substance of skins and ink, but to the sayings of God that are found in therein, so I do reverence the image of Christ. Not to the substance of wood and paint—that shall never happen!...But by doing reverence to an inanimate image of Christ…I think to embrace Christ Himself and to do Him reverence….We Christians by bodily kissing an icon of Christ, or of an apostle or martyr, are in spirit kissing Christ Himself or His martyr.”

Recognition of Abuse

• St. Anastasius of Sinai: “Many think that he sufficiently revers his baptism who, entering the church, kisses all the icons without paying attention to the Liturgy and the divine service.”

• Orthodox theologians have always rejected such abuses and have tried to give a theological grounding to the use of icons.

Icon Controversy (726-843)

• Several bishops on the Eastern borders of the empire began to oppose icons and Germanos the Patriarch of Constantinople defended them.

• Emperor Leo III decided against icons and ordered their destruction in 730.

• Perhaps he thought spiritual realities should not be depicted in material form.
• Perhaps he was reacting to the Muslim charges of idolatry.
• Leo felt he should defend the faith: “The Lord, having entrusted the realm to the emperors, has likewise commanded them to tend Christ’s faithful flock, after the example of Peter.”

• Immediately divided the Empire.

• Iconoclasts (icon-smashers)
• Iconodules (icon-venerators)

John of Damascus

• Born in Damascus, he served as a chief advisor to the Muslim Caliph for many years.

• In 725 he retired to a monk’s life and began writing and died in 749.

• His most famous book is The Orthodox Faith, which is part 3 of his massive work The Fountain of Knowledge (Wisdom).

• He also composed hymns, wrote works on ethics and epitomized Orthodox theology. Still standard Orthodox theology.

Imperial Iconoclasm

• Constantine, Leon’s son, inaugurated a systematic persecution of iconodules.

• In 753 he summoned a council at Constantinople after he had purged the episcopate of many iconodules. The council condemned icons and their veneration
• From 762-775, he exiled and executed monks who resisted his policy.
• The persecution did not end till after his death and elevation of his son Leo IV. When he died in 780, the Empress Irene restored iconodules to episcopacies and installed Patriach Tarasius who supported icons.

• Destroyed icons had been replaced by “secular” art depicting hunting scenes, decorative designs and the like.

John of Damascus on Icons

• “When He Who is without a body and without form, Who has neither quanity nor magnitude, Who is incomparable with respect to the superiority of His nature, Who exists in Divine form—accepts a bond-servant’s appearance and arrays Himself in bodily form, then do you trace Him upon wood, and rest your hopes in contemplating Him, Who has permitted Himself to be seen…I do not bow down to matter but to the Creator of matter, Who for my sake took on substance and Who through matter accomplished my salvation, and I shall not cease to honor matter, through which my salvation was accomplished.”

• Thus, matter has been sanctified and has become a means of grace.

Theology of Icons

• According to John of Damascus, just as the wine, bread and water of the sacraments (mysteries) makes Christ present to his people, the portrayal of Christ in an icon may also be filled with the grace and power of Christ’s presence.

• It is no longer a mere image of Christ, but a the means by which we encounter the spiritual reality of Christ.

• This is primarily rooted in the affirmation of the reality of the incarnation—just as Christ sanctified flesh, so he sanctified materiality. Materiality, including images, can convey the spiritual presence of divine grace.

Controversy Settled

• Though often politically volatile and sometimes violent, the theology was settled at the 2nd Council of Nicea (787), the 7th ecumenical council.

• Images of God in his essence are forbidden.
• Images of God in the flesh (incarnate) or God in his theophanies, Mary and his saints are permitted.
• Images represent God’s involvement in the material world and through those images people approach God without worshipping the image.
• Images can mediate divine presence and mystical encounter; they are not mere aides for the faithful.

7th Ecumenical Council

• We, therefore, following the royal pathway and the divinely inspired authority of our Holy Fathers and the traditions of the Catholic Church (for, as we all know, the Holy Spirit indwells her), define with all certitude and accuracy that just as the figure of the precious and life-giving Cross, so also the venerable and holy images, as well in painting and mosaic as of other fit materials, should be set forth in the holy churches of God, and on the sacred vessels and on the vestments and on hangings and in pictures both in houses and by the wayside, to wit, the figure of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, of our spotless Lady, the Mother of God, of the honorable Angels, of all Saints and of all pious people.

7th Ecumenical Council

• For by so much more frequently as they are seen in artistic representation, by so much more readily are men lifted up to the memory of their prototypes, and to a longing after them; and to these should be given due salutation and honorable reverence, not indeed that true worship of faith which pertains alone to the divine nature; but to these, as to the figure of the precious and life-giving Cross and to the Book of the Gospels and to the other holy objects, incense and lights may be offered according to ancient pious custom. For the honor which is paid to the image passes on to that which the image represents, and he who reveres the image reveres in it the subject represented.

Revival of Iconoclasm

• Upon the death of Irene in 802, the empire’s misfortunes were blamed upon icon-veneration.

• In 815, Emperor Leo V decreed that icons should be raised above human height so that no one could kiss them. Monks led a protest procession carrying icons. The Emperor responded with violence.

• The persecution continued under Michael II (820-29) and Theophilus (829-842).

Triumph of Icon-Veneration

• Empress Theodora, wife of Theophilus, halted the persecution after the death of her husband in 842.

• In March, 843, Methodius, one of the persecuted, became Patriarch.

• On the first Sunday of Lent icons were reinstated in Hagia Sophia. Each year the church celebrates this victory as the “Triumph of Orthodoxy.”

• “Icon of the Holy Trinity” by St. Andrei Rublev, Russian Orthodox (1411) for the “Holy Trinity Monastery” founded by St. Sergius.

• “Theotokos” (Mother of God) by Vladimir from the end of the 11th century (Constantinople), but moved to Moscow in the 13th century where it remains.

Diminished Empire after Justinian

• Germanic Lombards invade and conquer Italy

• Visigoths retake previously lost parts of Spain.

• Slavs (primarily Bulgars) take Balkan provinces except Thrace

• Arabs take Africa and the east (including Jerusalem) except for Asia Minor

Map of Post-Justinian Empire, ca. 700

Significance of Byzantium

• Strengths:

• Geography encourages trade
• Impregnable city of Constantinople
• Strong imperial personalities, autocracy
• Hellenistic culture and religiously united (except for some Christian “heresies”—the monophysites)

• Weaknesses:

• Problems with Succession (2/3 killed)
• Isolated, Separatistic
• Cultivated luxurious, pleasure-seeking culture

Significance of Byzantium

• Language and Literature

• Preserved Greek, including Bible MSS.
• Half of literature was theological
• Based education on Greek classics
• Preserved Greek culture while the West was overrun with “Barbarian” cultures (except what was introduced into Celtic culture in Ireland)

• Influence on Slavic Culture

• Gave them religion, alphabet, art, architecture
• Christian Slavic nations looked to Byzantium for leadership

Byzantium and the West

• Had territories in Italy till 1100.

• Substantial commerce between Constantinople, Venice and other Italian cities.

• Preserved Roman law and Greek culture for the West to rediscover

Slavic Missions: Cyril & Methodius

• Invited by the Prince Ratislav to Moravia in 862

• The brothers led Moravia into Christianity, and their disciples evangelized the Bulgars and other Slavs.

• Moravia ultimately came under Roman Catholic control but the influence of the brothers continued among the other Slavs.

Cyril and Methodius

• They created a written language for Slavonic—provided Slav churches with alphabet, translations of creeds, liturgies and texts (“Old Church Slavonic”).

• Unlike the West where Latin was the only liturgical language, the East had from the beginning used the language of the people for liturgy.

• The Cyrillic alphabet, developed in the 10th century, was based on their old alphabet and language.

The Primary Chronicle

• Vladimir again called together his vassals and the elders. The Prince announced the return of the envoys who had been sent out, and suggested that their report be heard. He commanded them to speak out before his vassals. The envoys reported: "When we traveled among the Bulgars, we saw how they worship in their temple, called a mosque, while they lounge about slackly. Bulgarians bow, sit down, and look here and there as if possessed. There is no happiness among them, but instead only sadness and bad smells. Their religion is not good. Next we went among the Germans. We saw them performing many ceremonies in their temples, but we saw no glory there. Then we went on to Greece. The Greeks led us to the edifices where they worship their God, and we did not know whether we were in heaven or on earth. On earth there is no such splendor or such beauty, and we are at a loss how to describe it. We know only that God lives there among men, and that the Greek service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations. We cannot forget that beauty. Once he has tasted sweetness, no man is willing to settle for bitterness.

Conversion of Rus

• Vladimir, the prince of Rus, invited Byzantine teachers to Kiev in 988.

• All Russians were commanded to be baptized in order to stay in favor with the Prince.

• Vladimir married the sister of the Byzantine Emperor in 989.

Russian History

• Russian Christianity was centered in Kiev from 988 to 1240 when Mongols burned Kiev to the ground.

• The center of Russian Christianity moved to Moscow in the 14th century when in the 1380s Mongols (Tartars) were first defeated by Muscovite princes.

• Moscow becomes the Patriarch of Russian Christianity in the late 14th century.

Merovingian Franks

• Clovis (466-511), a Frank, married a

• Burgundian princess who insisted he

• become Catholic.

• After winning a battle, he converted in 496 and supported missionaries. He also forced conversions among the Franks and those he conquered.

• Germanic Gaul became Christian and began the fusion of Germanic and Roman culture.

• Clovis is the first “French” King.

St. Patrick (385-461), Apostle to the Irish

• Patrick was a missionary among the Irish Celts.

• Native Welsh (Maewyn), former slave, 12 years in Gaul.

Conversion of England

• After the fall of Rome, England was overrun by pagan Saxons, Angles and Jutes between 450-500.

• Irish monks evangelized in England (primarily northern), but also Augustine of Rome was sent by Pope Gregory I in 597. He converted Ethelbert (560-616; a Jute), King of Kent, in 601 and established the bishopric of Canterbury (later center of the English church).

• Celtic and Augustinian (Roman) Christianity had their differences and this created tension.

Resolution to Side with Rome

• Celtic Church older with own traditions

• Existed in Scotland, Northern England and Ireland
• Emphasized monasticism and learning

• Roman and Celtic missionaries “compete” for English Northumberland.

• King Oswy of Northumberland called synod
• Synod of Whitby (664)
• Oswy decided for Roman based on the “Petrine Thesis” (Roman primacy).

Boniface, Apostle of Germany

• Boniface (675-754), Anglo-Saxon from southern England, pioneered missionary work among the Saxons of Hesse.

• He was ultimately appointed Archbishop of Mainz.

• He was martyred while preaching among the pagans in Frisia.

Carolingian Franks

• Pope Zacharias (741-752) approved the plan of Pepin the Short to seize the throne for himself after the last Merovingian died.

• Pope Stephen II (752-757) appealed to Pepin for help against the Germanic Lombards and the Byzantine Empire.

• Pepin conquered Italy and received the title of “father-protector of the Romans”. He gave the Papacy the lands the Pope claimed in Italy (“the Papal States”), which was called the “Donation of Pepin.”

• The document entitled “Donation of Constantine” appeared which gave the Pope of Rome jurisdiction over the whole of the western church unhindered by the emperor.

Creates an empire

• Creates an empire

• 53 military campaigns
• Crowned emperor 800

• Rules well

• Appoints own household staff
• Primitive law: ordeals
• Creates feudal army
• Builder
• Weights and Measures

• Generous to church, but master of church

Charlemagne (742-814)

• Pacified the Saxons in Germany, extended the border to the Danube in eastern Europe, pacified the Lombards in Italy and crossed the Pyrennes into Spain.

• When Pope Leo III (795-816) was forced out of Rome by local nobles, Charlemagne arranged his return. In Rome, December 25, 800 A.D., Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the “Holy Roman Empire.”

Carolingian Renaissance

• 600 years before the Italian Renaissance, it successfully merged Germanic and Greco-Roman cultures into “Christian Europe.”

• Alcuin of York (740-804), one of Charlemagne’s scholars at Aachen (near Cologne), taught at a palace school. The net effect was higher educational and moral standards for clergy. Education was popularized in France.

• Alcuin established the basic liberal arts educational philosophy:

• Elementary disciplines: grammar, rhetoric, dialectic (logic)
• Advanced disciplines: arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy
• Highest discipline: theology

Invasion of Vikings

• Invasion of Vikings

• Carolingian kings unable to protect people
• Paris withstood the onslaught (888)

• Normans invade and settle in north

• Rollo first Duke of Normandy 933
• Normandy strongest area in France

• Lords ask Hugh Capet to be king 987

• Son of Eudes’ brother Robert
• Beginning of Capetian Dynasty

Two Kingdoms Emerge

• Frankish (French) Kingdom:

• Hugh Capet (987-996).

• German and Saxon Kingdom:

• Otto the Great (936-973). Otto continued the legacy of the “Holy Roman Empire” as he sought to control Italy as part of his territory.

Otto I, 936-973

• Makes Germany great

• Establishes authority
• Dreams of re-creating Roman Empire
• Builds up alliances
• Uses middle class as civil service
• Puts down revolt of nobles

• Defeats Magyars at Lech 955

Germany Becomes Empire

• 962 Otto crowned emperor

• Son married to Byzantine princess

• Church is weak

• Otto deposes 2 popes, elects 2
• Otto meddles in Italian affairs

• Otto re-creates Carolingian Empire

Papacy and Frankish Empire

• Frankish/German Emperors control the Papacy

• Popes tortured, killed, desecrated

• 48 popes, 880-1046

• Most were immoral, incompetent

• Deliberate strategy of German emperors

Pope Innocent I (401-417)

• The western Emperor Honorius had moved his government to Ravenna.

• Innocent I was Pope when Rome was sacked by the Visigoths in 410.

• Innocent I took the opportunity to extend his authority in both political and theological contexts.

• He confirmed the decisions of the North African churches against Pelagianism as he sided with Augustine.
• He took on political and judicial functions in the city of Rome, especially the absence of imperial authority.

Pope Leo I (the Great), 440-461

• Leo centralized western ecclesial government and located juridical power in Rome.

• Leo also led the city politically and was praised for dissuading Attila the Hun from sacking Rome in 452.

• Stressed the priority of Rome in the universal government of the church, especially as he sought to maintain jurisdiction over Illyricum.

• Leo is sometimes regarded as the “first Roman Pope” since he stressed his universal responsibility for the church based on Petrine supremacy and his rights as the successor of Peter.

Gregory I (the Great, 590-605)

• Born of aristocratic Roman family

• Comes with political, diplomatic experience

• Papal ambassador to Constantinople

• Roman official then monk, then Pope

• Sends Augustine to England as Missionary

Gregory I (the Great)

• Takes over the political rule of city of Rome

• (Helps when Rome besieged)

• Works for high morals in church

• (Encouraged monks to be faithful to their vows)

• Uses family home as a church; Did not want titles or honor

• Developed idea of Purgatory; emphasized penance over grace

• Encouraged idea of Communion as literal body & blood

• Wrote and collected songs: Gregorian Chants; Prolific writer