HST 1100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Cassiodorus, Corpus Juris Civilis, Sophia (Wisdom)
Transition to the Middle Ages
Diocletian (285 – 305)
From area now known as Croatia
o Promoted by the military
Realized that the Empire was two big to rule over
o Split the Empire into a West and East so it would be easier to rule
Did it with a Tetrarchy – four rulers
o 2 “augustie” – emperors
▪ Diocletian in the East
▪ Maximian in the West
o 2 ceasar’s – second in command
▪ Galerius in the east
▪ Constantius in the West
o Makes his daughter marry the Caesar
Makes two large prefectures
o Split is the basis of 2 main cultures
o Latin west and Greek East
The military into 2 groups
Instituted economic reforms increasing military and civil service
o Fought inflation with reforms as well
Relying heavily on military to push reforms through
Curiales: middle class
o Hereditary nobility in charge of administrating the empire
o Forced to say by Diocletian
Ends the third century crisis
Constantine I (305 – 312)
Reunifies the Split Rome
Constantius dies and the army promotes Constantine but it is contensted
o Maxentius and Galerius
o Succession battle
o Battle of Milvian Bridge
▪ Makes Constantine the empire of the West
▪ Constantine has a vision of the simple labarum symbol and hears that “by this
sign you will conquer”
• He puts it on his troupes shields
▪ It was the symbol of Jesus Christ
• He then converts to Christianity
Conversion of Constantine
o Constantine passes the Edict of Milan (313) so the Christians will no longer be
persecuted
▪ The emperor of the West goes against this and Constantine uses this to attack
him (lichenius)
o He becomes the sole emperor
▪ Legitimizes Christianity and gives the Christian elite power
▪ New Christian order
o Refounded the city of Byzantium as Constantinople
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▪ The new Rome
Constantine – The New Church Order
Growth of Bishops and Archbishops
o Key places in the empire bishops and archbishops become crucial leaders
▪ Antioch
▪ Alexandria
▪ Jerusalem
▪ Rome
Firming of Church Doctrine
o The catholic or “universal doctrine” vs. Heresy
▪ Because it was underground there were many different interpretations
▪ Others become no longer within
The Council of Nicea (325):
o First Ecumenical council for the Christian church called by Constantine
▪ Leaders drawn from all of the places Christianity
▪ What kind of writings would be accepted and what ideas
▪ Settles the dispute of doctrine
• Arius (bishop): Arianism – Christ was the son of God, and God
couldn’t be Christ because God was unchanging
• Catholic church felt that he was being too polytheistic
o Saying that Christ, god, and the Holy Spirit were all the same
• Council condemns the Arians
▪ Formalized doctrine called the Nicene Creed
o St. Nick was there
▪ Helped people out and gave gifts
Constantine dies in 337 and splits control between his sons
o Leads behind a church order
Christian Doctrine
Saint Augustine of Hippo
o Bishop of Carthage
o Wrote a book called the City of God
▪ A response to the fall of Rome a city of man
▪ Sets up a dichotomy because the spiritual world and the real world
o Creates the idea of the Original Sin and celibacy
▪ Adam and Eve cause children to be born with sin inherent sin
▪ To get rid of it you must be baptized
▪ Lust is a major sin and celibacy is the holiest route
▪ The second best route to celibacy is marriage
The Papacy
o Ideology of Peterine supremacy
▪ Peter was the first Bishop of Rome
▪ People who served after felt they inherited Peter’s legacy as the chosen one
▪ So whoever was the bishop of rome had a little more say
▪ The beginnings for the Pope
Emperors are all largely Christian except for one named Julian who was an apostate
Emperor Theodosius
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o Declares Christianity as the official religion in 392
Christian Monasticism
o Saint Anthony – asceticism
▪ Life of simplicity that mirrors Christ
▪ Anthony is the first major Ascetic
▪ Begins to gather a group of followers who think he is on the right path
o Monks living to emulate Christ
▪ Anthony begins monasticism
▪ Easier in the East than the west
o Saint Benedict (480 – 542)
▪ Forms a new path of Monasticism
▪ Instead of finding a remote place you build your own community
▪ Creates a regulated life and the abbot (the father) is the leader
o Women did this as well as nuns
▪ Augustine says women are more likely to sim
▪ They are very heavily cloistered
Barbarian Tribes
Rome and “Barbarians” – Love/Hate
A lot of Barbarian borer raiding
o It began to die down
o Rome paid for peace
o Used barbarians as mercenaries
Germanic Society
o Tribal – loose confederations
o Ethnically diverse
o No clear group or cultural identity
▪ Given group names by romans
▪ Clan identity
Romans largely ignored them
o Saw Germanic culture as inferior
o Was not literate
Warlords unified Germanic tribes to push into Rome
o Warlords were the only occasional rulers
Crisis of the 3rd century
Germanic raids on Romans
o Roman tried to push tribes against tribes
o Visigoths and Ostrogoths
The Huns – “domino effect”
The Huns:
o Nomadic steppe peoples from central Asia
Consolidated under Attila in 434
o Hunnic Empire
Early Hun movements forces Germanic tribes into the roman empire as refugees
o About 376 – Huns pushed tribes to the West
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Document Summary
From area now known as croatia: promoted by the military. Realized that the empire was two big to rule over: split the empire into a west and east so it would be easier to rule. Makes two large prefectures: split is the basis of 2 main cultures, latin west and greek east. Instituted economic reforms increasing military and civil service: fought inflation with reforms as well. Relying heavily on military to push reforms through. Curiales: middle class: hereditary nobility in charge of administrating the empire, forced to say by diocletian. It was the symbol of jesus christ: he then converts to christianity. Growth of bishops and archbishops: key places in the empire bishops and archbishops become crucial leaders, antioch, alexandria, jerusalem, rome. Firming of church doctrine: the catholic or universal doctrine vs. heresy, because it was underground there were many different interpretations, others become no longer within.
