Chapter
10: Rome and the Rise of Christendom
Section 1- Christianity became a strong religion in the Roman World
By the middle of the fourth century, once powerful Roman Empire showed signs
of decay
Government was riddled with corruption
Barbarian tribes broke through imperial frontiers
Heavy taxes burdened citizens
City mobs shouted for food production droppage
People lost confidence in human leaders
Turned more
towards religion
Some also turned to philosophy
Especially Stoicism
Taught to accept fate with quiet courage- no feeling
Romans looked for support in divine gods
Mars, Jupiter, Minerva etc
People doubted these gods during terrible conditions
Thousands took on other Middle Eastern Religions
Christianity and Judaism
Interest in Christianity was major significance in history of western civilization
Was originally founded in Palestine- Roman Province
Was based on teachings of Jesus, a Jew
Christianity began with Jesus
Most of what is known about Jesus comes from the gospels
First four books of the New Testament
New Testament- Part of Bible containing life and teachings of
Jesus
Mathew, Mark, Luke, John
Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in Judea
Reared in village of Nazareth, in Galilee- district to the north
Around age 30, stopped working as carpenter to travel throughout Palestine,
teaching his doctrines
Map page 178
Teachings of Jesus had roots in Judaism
Condemned violence/selfishness and taught human brotherhood
Teachings, personal examples of love/ caring and sacrificial death on the cross
provided the foundation for Christian faith
On Cross, you suffocate to death- lungs squeezed by your body weight
Olive wood crosses- Nails hook shaped so don’t come out
Calvary- Hill that Christ died on
Jesus’ followers called him the Messiah
Means “anointed one” in Hebrew
Greek word for Messiah is Christ
Most Jews didn’t accept his claim to be Messiah and chosen to usher final
judgment
Had group of followers and attracted large crowds
Roman and Jewish leaders reacted
Feared Political Turmoil- Romans
Jewish Leaders thought he was blaspheming
Historians differ to what happened during later years of Jesus’ Life
Around 33 AD, was put to death by crucifixion by order of Pontius Pilate
Was Roman Governor
New Testament tells how he reappeared to confirm teachings of eternal
life
Disciples as new missionaries, spread news
Jesus’ resurrection, is son of god, sent to earth to show way
to eternal life, Christian living- followers called “brethren”
or brothers of the way, only later were called Christians
Gospels written after death of Christ from Hebrew to Greek to Latin
Old Testament- History of the Jews
New Testament- teachings
Judaism branched into two religions: Islam (not around yet) and Christianity
Paul Spreads the Teachings of Jesus
Most important missionary was Paul
Well educated Jew from Tarsus in Asia Minor
As young Man, believed Christian teachings were against Judaism and took part
in Christian Persecution
According to the Acts of the Apostles 9:1-5 Paul was going to arrest
Christians and was surrounded by light from Heaven and became a
Christian
Set out to teach Jesus’ Message to both Jew and Gentile
“Apostle to the Gentiles”
37 AD to 67 AD- death
Map page 178
Wrote letters to small Christian communities
Called epistles
Strengthened Christian beliefs and helped make it a world religion
Christianity triumphed over persecution
Roman officials allowed various religions if they accepted government authority
Christians were critical of immoral behavior widespread in Roman
Empire
Also refused Emperor Worship
Were used as Scapegoats
Nero blamed them for burning of Rome in 64 AD and persecuted severely
Also crucified, thrown to wild beasts, or burned alive (often in Coliseum)
Last mass execution from 303-313 AD
Were forced underground
Wasn’t wiped out
Courage towards death inspired writer in Rome during second century “the blood
of the martyrs became the seed of the church”
When Martyrs died courageously, they got people’s attention
Christianity was made legal in Eastern portion of Roman
Empire in 311 AD
2 years later, in west, Constantine issued Edict of Milan, legalizing in
entire Empire
In 395, Emperor Theodosius made Christianity official Religion
Christianity was strengthened by it’s appealing creed
Reasons for success of Christianity:
1.
Bible
2.
Special Closeness to God
3.
Appealing Code of Conduct- based
on love
4.
Promise of Eternal Life
Guided how to behave to equals and superiors
Was Spiritual Comfort in troubled a world
Christian Symbols- Fish, Boat (mass is a cross), Bread (Cut bread into fourths)
Christians used to draw fish, bread or boat in sand to show another person
they were a Christian, if other person wasn’t a Christian, the drawer didn’t give away he was a Christian (secret
code)
Early Christians had different views of substance of god and Christ
To resolve, Constantine issued Council of Nicaea in year 325
Nicene Creed- Says god and Christ are of same substance
All agreed except Arius and his followers
Thought god and Christ were different
Were banished as heretics
Church developed official book
Old Testament combined with writings collected after death of
Jesus (New Testament) 27 books
Paul’s Letters included
Church Fathers developed Christian Theology
Saint Jerome (340-420) made Latin version of Hebrew original Bible
called Vulgate
Official bible of the Roman Catholic Church
Saint Augustine wrote The City of God
Foundation for Christian Theology
Apostles- spread word, but knew Jesus personally
The Christian Church became very well organized
At first met
in small groups, often in homes
Presbyters- later known as priests were ordained or officials consecrated to
conduct of service/ business
Several Village Regions made a Diocese
Number of Diocese made up province
Under Archbishop Authority
Numbers of Provinces make up Patriarchate
Ruled of Patriarch- later Pope- also ruled his large City
Pope- Greek word meaning Father
Cardinals- advisors to the Pope
Leadership in west because Rome is in western part of Empire
Emperors authority declined, bishops increased
Eventually, Pope had supremacy
Petrine theory- says Pope in Rome was heir to Peter, first
Roman Bishop
By 600, Rome was capital of west church
Eastern Church refused to make Pope Leader
Section 2- the Roman Empire collapsed under attacks from Germanic Tribes
The Church was getting stronger, but the government was crumbling
Internal problems- corruption and disunity
Made it easier for external forces to destroy it
Final crushing blow- by Germanic Tribes
German Tribes pressed against the Roman Frontier
To west and North of Black Sea were Gothic people
East Goths- Ostrogoths West Goths- Visigoths
To west of Goths were large area east of Rhine River
Vandals, Lombards, Alemanni, Burgundians and Franks
In present Day Denmark Lived the Jutes, Angeles, and Saxons
Map page 182
All these Germanic tribes were Semi-nomads, both herded cattle and farmed
Energetic and vigorous- prized strength and courage in battle
Worshipped many gods, including Tiw, god of war, Wotan, chief of gods,
Thor, god of Thunder, and Freya, goddess of fertility
Names make up Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
Governed themselves in tribal assemblies of voting freemen
Laws based on long established customs
These political practices especially assemblies had strong influence
on medieval England- Parliamentary government/ English law
For hundreds of years, Romans and Germans fought each other on borders of Roman Empire
Still were long periods of peace and periods of war
During peace, two peoples mixed
Settling, slaves, soldiers etc in other nation
If continued, Germans may have absorbed Empire
Instead took advantage of Rome’s weakness and
invaded
German Tribes forced their way into all parts of the Western Roman Empire
German tribes were forced into motion by group of people called Huns (Chapter 8
Early Civ.)
In fourth Century, moved from central Asia to China, India and Europe
On swift horses, attacked with lightning ferocity
Crossed Dnieper River and Conquered Ostrogoths in Eastern
Europe
Visigoths feared attack, sought safety by attacking Roman lands
Alaric- leader of Visigoths
378, Roman Emperor Valens, led large army against Visigoths at Adrianople in Present
Day Bulgaria
Visigoths won, surprisingly; scattered Roman forces; killed emperor
Valens
Considered one of most decisive battles in history
Left Roman Empire defenseless
Was first major battle Rome lost in hundreds of years
32 years after Adrianople, in 410, Visigoth General, Alaric, led Visigoths to Rome- sacked and
looted
By this time, other Germanic tribes- Franks, Vandals, Bulgarians also
moved into Empire
450, German tribes from Northwest Europe: Angles, Saxons and Jutes sailed to
Britain, and killed/enslaved some of Britons and forced others to Wales/Scotland
Rome previously owned Britain, but withdrew troops to protect Empire
near Italy
Anglo- Saxon invaders destroyed Roman Britain and set up rival kingdoms
For six hundred years, had weak central government
Had strong tradition of Participating in local government
Seeded later democratic governments
Huns, led by Attila, also invaded Rome/ Germans
Attila’s nickname- Scourge of God
Rome/ Germans united against Huns and defeated them at battle of
Chalons
The Western Empire collapsed in 476 (Theodosius divided Empire)
West- Holy Roman Empire
East- Byzantine Empire
Capital of Byzantine Empire was Byzantium- name switched to
Constantinople, then to Istanbul
Emperors became puppets for the army- lost power
Many Roman Soldiers were German descent
Odoacer, was commander of Roman Army
In 476, last Roman Emperor
Romulus Augustus
Odoacer was first Germanic ruler of Rome- Not officially approved by state
476 is year for fall of Rome
No real fall- decline was slow/ complicated
Weak emperors, corrupt officials, admission of German soldiers
Since early decades of fourth century, emperors sensed growing weakness
In 330, Constantine moved capital to Byzantium and renamed it
Constantinople
Division, two empires thought as one
Western part broke up
476, German kingdoms established
Anglo Saxons in England
Visigoths in Spain
North Africa- Vandals
Franks in Gaul (Modern France)
Civil War
Eastern part didn’t break for another 1000 years
Reason is geography- capital is only place to go through to get to Empire
Preserved Greco- Roman Culture
Movie Notes:
-Herod- King of Palestine
-Heretic- one who blasphemes
-Pontius Pilate- governor of Judea
-Saint Peters church in Rome- built by Constantine
-Constantine became a Christian- saw light in shape of P behind and X after a -bridge fell in battle- P and X are first two letters in Christ
Section 3- The Church became a force in preserving Civilization
As Roman Empire declined, new
civilization took its place
Combined old roman culture with vigor and energy
of Germanic tribes
Christian Church was main force in shaping it
The
Church provided protection and order
During Germanic invasions,
Roman government gradually stopped provided services
needed to carry on daily urban life
City population declined, people returned to
farming for survival- worked
for powerful land owners
Farmers fell behind rent payments to the church
Roman law bound them to land to work debt
Changes were slow occurred
over 100’s of years
Most people were unaware they were becoming property of their lords as
serfs
In many regions, Germans
outnumbered old inhabitants
Eventually took on Roman customs and continued blending of cultures
Kept Latin as official language, and converted to Christianity
In Rome, Emperors became
weaker, and popes assistants took on some powers of government
Church officials set up church courts and collected taxes
590-604- Gregory the Great was Pope
Supervised Police, directed army generals, coined money, kept
aqueducts
in repair
Missionaries
spread Christianity
As early as 3rd
century, missionaries went beyond Roman borders
Most important one was Ulfilas
An Arian Christian, preached to Goths and made a Gothic
alphabet,
which he translated the bible into- Latin to Gothic
Another was St. Patrick
Born in Britain around 389
Went to Ireland to convert Celtics, and founded monasteries
In 596, Pope Gregory sent
Roman monk, Augustine as a missionary to England
Converted Ethelbert, King of Kent and later became the first Archbishop
of Canterbury
Monks
and Nuns helped preserve culture
During Roman persecutions,
some Christians went to Wilderness giving up worldly
interests and living alone
Others in groups, dedicating themselves to service of god
Monasteries and convents
First set up in Egypt in fourth century and soon spread
throughout
the Roman Empire
When people went to live
holy life alone, were often very hard on themselves
Some hermits tormented themselves, prolonged fasting, rolling in thorns,
living in snake infested swamps etc
St. Simeon Stylites, built
pillar sixty feet high and spent thirty years on top of it
Hindus do similar actions- purifying
Driven by extreme spiritual feelings
Believed suffering and deprivation would purify soul
Such practices were not
typical of most Christians
Less extreme monks and nuns thought solitary life was not how to practice
Christianity
Chose to live together in communities instead
Farmed etc, but didn’t torment themselves
Church helped blend two
cultures>>Church has more $ than emperor>>Church
controls courts and has weekly offering ($)
There is a monastery in
Richardton—and Abby Convent in Dickinson
Many hours in day and night in meditation
Monasteries and convents gave people way to live apart, but be productive
About year 520, Saint Benedict
set up Monastary at Monte Cassino, Italy and drew up rules for monks to live by
Required obedience, poverty, daily prayers, six hours or more of useful
work each day
Were widely adopted and still used today
In German lands, where
life was isolated, monks also advanced civilization
Cleared forests, drained swamps, introduced new crops
Few schools during middle ages- ones that were, were run by monks
Also served as hospitals and inns
During this time, libraries
were neglected, but monks wrote out scripture, and other works and
preserved them in monasteries
Nearly every monastery had a writing room where monks copied
manuscripts by hand
Were lavishly illustrated
Inks of god and rare minerals
Also kept historical records
called Chronicles
One was Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation
Written by Saint Bede in early 700’s
Best known account available of 200 years of early English history
Movie
Notes: Attila is thought to mean iron in Hun’s language
Attacked Visigoths
Hostage- person exchanged for another in another culture, to learn about
each-other
Sword of god- Attila found a sword half buried, his cow stepped on it-
supposed to give power
Pope convinced Attila not to attack Rome/looting
Was “strangled by own blood”- He ate too much/Got drunk
During life, Church feared Attila most- If he conquers, Christianity is gone
Church called him the Scourge of God
Was buried in a river with his sword of god
Section 4- An alliance of Popes and
Franks helped western Christendom grow and prosper
In
late fifth century, Franks began to develop Gaul
Modern day France
is named after Franks
Became
largest Empire in Europe during medieval times
Clovis united the Franks and extended the Power
of the Church
481, Clovis became ruler
of small Frankish kingdom on Rhine River in present day Germany
Within 20 years, overcame last remnant of Roman authority in North
Gaul
and conquered much of Germany
Became one of most powerful
rulers in Western Europe
First Germanic king to become a Roman Catholic
To accept Nicene Creed upheld by Pope in Rome
All other Germanic Rulers,
except those in England were Arian
Christians>>From Ufilus
Pope considered Arians
to be heretics
Gave Clovis an excuse to attack neighbors
“I cannot endure that those Arians should posses any part of Gaul.
With God’s
aid we will go against them and conquer their lands.”
He did- helped extend Pope’s authority
Clovis died in 511,
but successors were generally incompetent- weak immoral
rulers- were known as do-nothing-kings
The Carolingian Family
won control of the Franks
Frankish kings didn’t perform their duties
Mayor of Palace became politically important in
Frankish Kingdom
Charles
Martel took total control of kingdom- never took title of king
To
be continued.....
