Traditions and Encounters, AP Edition (Bentley), 5th Edition

Chapter 16: The Two Worlds of Christendom

Chapter Outline

1. The quest for political order
1. The Early Byzantine Empire
1. The City of Constantine
2. Caesaropapism
3. Justinian (527-565 C.E.) and his legacy; Theodora (empress)
1. Rebuilt Constantinople, including Hagia Sophia
4. Justine's Code
1. Codified Roman law Corpus iuris civilis (The Body of the Civil Law)
5. Byzantine Conquests
2. Muslim Conquests and Byzantine Revival
1. Muslim Conquests
2. The Theme system
3. The Rise of the Franks
1. Germanic Kingdoms
2. The Franks
3. Charlemagne (reigned 768-814 C.E.)
1. Grandson of Charles Martel, founder of Carolingian empire
2. Control extended to northeast Spain, Bavaria, north Italy
4. Charlemagne's Administration
1. Capital city at Aachen (in modern Germany)
2. Relied on aristocratic deputies, known as counts
3. Used missi dominici to oversee local authorities
5. Charlemagne as Emperor
1. Pope Leo III proclaimed Charlemagne emperor, 800
2. The coronation strained relations with Byzantine emperors
6. The Age of the Vikings
1. Louis the Pious
2. Invasions
3. Vikings
4. Devolution of Political Authority


2. Economy and Society in Early Medieval Europe
1. The Two Economies of Early Medieval Europe
1. Byzantine Peasantry
2. Manufacturing
3. Silk
4. Agriculture production suffered from repeated invasions
5. Heavy plows
1. Heavy plows appeared in the sixth century; could turn heavy northern soils
2. Became common from the eighth century; production increased
3. Cultivation of new lands; watermills; and rotating crops
6. Rural society--agricultural surplus not enough to support large cities
7. Mediterranean trade--Italian and Spanish merchants trade with Muslims
8. Norse merchant mariners in North and Baltic Seas
1. Followed routes of Vikings
2. Traded actively with Byzantine and Abbasid empires
3. Imported Abbasid silver used in European coinage
9. Population: 36 million in 200; down to 26 million in 600; back up to 36 million in 1000
2. Social Development in the Two Worlds of Christendom
1. Byzantium: An Urban Society
2. City Life
3. Attractions of Constantinople
4. Western Europe: A Rural Society
5. The Question of Fudalism
6. Peasants
7. Population


3. The Evolution of Christian Societies in Byzantium and Western Europe
1. Popes and Patriarchs
1. The Papacy
2. Pope Gregory I
1. Organized defense of Rome against Lombard's' menace
2. Reasserted papal primacy over other bishops
3. Strongly emphasized the sacrament of penance--confession and atonement
3. The Patriarchs
4. Iconoclasm
2. Monks and Missionaries
1. Asceticism
1. Devout Christians practiced asceticism in deserts of Egypt, second and third century
2. Monastic lifestyle became popular when Christianity became legal, fourth century
2. St. Basil and St. Benedict
1. St. Basil of Caesarea (329-379 C.E.) organized monastic movement
2. St. Benedict (480-547 C.E.) provided a set of regulations
3. Virtues of Benedictine monks: poverty, chastity, and obedience
3. St. Scholastica
1. St. Benedict's sister, a nun
2. Adapted the Rule, and provided guidance for religious life of women
4. Monasticism and Society
1. Became dominant feature in social and cultural life of western Europe
2. Accumulated large landholdings
3. Organized much of the rural labor force for agricultural production
4. Provided variety of social services: inns, shelters, orphanages, hospitals, schools
5. Libraries and scriptoria became centers of learning.
5. Missionaries
3. Two Churches
1. Religious Rivalry
1. Constantinople and Rome: strains mirrored political tensions
2. Ritual and doctrinal differences, such as iconoclasm
2. Schism
1. Schism in 1054--Eastern Orthodox versus Roman Catholic