1. Bishops in the Post-Roman West Flashcards
Why does Rosenwein title the first chapter, The Roman World Transformed?
Typically, this time for the Roman empire was described as a decline and fall by 18th-century historian Edward Gibbon.
Yet, in the 1960s, this was challenged by Peter Brown, who stressed cultural and religious vitality. This has then been questioned by Bryan Ward-Perkins and Kyle Harper, using the standard of living and climate change decline and pandemics as evidence. Still, it’s important to remember others did not experience this.
Judith Herren believes it was an era of extraordinary dynamism because it ushered in “a newly Christianized world.
Therefore, Rosenwein titles the first chapter, The Roman World Transformed, as it considers the nuance that simply the “decline and fall” misses. The Roman Empire was not a monolith but a patchwork of diverse regions and communities. A decline for one group often meant rejuvenation for another.
Rosenwein sees three main developments taking place during this period (500). Can you identify these?
At first, Christianity increased in the middle class, who sought more knowledge to progress to heaven. In times of crisis, the Romans persecuted Christians, but they were at other times tolerant of other religions. Christianity expanded to elites and others under Constantine, who in 313 realised the Edict of Milan that made it an official religion. In the new order, monasteries became important landowners, and the religion was domesticated.
Emergence of local cultures and kingdoms. For example, Classical Roman art was based on Hellenistic models, and local styles were tamped down, but with the growing importance of provenances in the 3rd century, regional artistic traditions began to grow, for example, in GB and North Africa. Christians quickly adopted the new style of art. Roman art made a comeback in the form of the Renaissance of the late fourth and early fifth centuries, which infused classical and medieval art.
There was a shift from urban to rural settlements due to the fourth-century tax. The affluent rural areas did not pay, but the poorer urban people paid as the town councillors sought the shortfalls out. Therefore, many people moved to the wealthy rural estates, giving up their free status in return for protection and land. The regional exchange networks eroded long-distance connections.
Rosenwein writes about ‘sibling cultures’. What exactly does she mean by this term? Which aspects of these sibling cultures do, indeed, show a shared inheritance? Are there elements that do not show such a shared culture at all?
Byzantine, European, and Islamic were the sibling heirs to Rome, meaning they share a common heritage but are unique in many ways. They all took the land once Roman.
Byzantine did not have the city-based Greco-Roman culture due to invasion raids and the plague of Justinian. These were all punishments God was angry at their sins.
Like the Byzantines, Muslims thought of themselves as God’s people, and their God was the same as the Jewish and Christian God.
Byzantine cut back and reorganised, and Islam spread its language and ruled over a territory twice the size of the US whilst the West was in poverty.
Islam differ in religion to the Roman Empires but they had similar military strategies. The initial politics of islam was to not change the religion of locals they wanted tax and administrate correctly which was the admin system of Roman.
Byzantine kept the imperialist view differences harder to see as they saw themselves as a continuation of the roman empire.
European culture did not have a unified Christian culture
Describe the change in the middle age paradigm
14/15 Century Humanists
The middle ages were unimportant as they were a period of decay and barbarianism. They were seen as stupid due to the church forbidding science. This is negative in comparison to how they periodise the classical period before and the modern period afterwards.
The 17/18 Century Enlightenment
They saw it as a period of superstition e.g the church didn’t was astronomy to be researched. Edward Gibbon (1737-1739) Grand Narrative displayed in “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”. He argued religion and barbarism caused the fall. Relied on primary sources, rational inquiry and scepticism shows he was apart of the enlightenment.
The 18/19 Century Romantic Period
More positive and authentic past compared to the classical period due to their search for origins and the origin of the nation
Now
Changing paradigm instead its seen as a period of creativity and new developments like in Peter Brown’s “The world of late antiquity”. Rosenwein distances herself from the concept of ‘Decline and Fall’
Speaks of a process of transformation and around the year 1000 she observes a real break within this period.
Who were the Barbarians?
Originally a non- Greek speaking person
No self-identification, but a term used by others
For the Romans: peoples that need to be subjected to Roman rule.
Typically seen as on the move but this is wrong they were leaders of armys some related to roman army
What was Rosenwein’s view of the Barbarians?
Living in settled communities (archaeological site of Wijster)
No biological differences between different peoples (or between Romans and barbarians). tainted by racial ideas during ww2 in Vienna they started to look at it more but distanced from the racial ideas
Cultural differences, but these were not static. They were continually subject to change.
Ethnic identity was fluid, malleable. Romans adopted a gothic identity eg wearing their clothes
Peoples appear and disappear quite suddenly.
Theory of ethnogenesis
Did the Barbarians cause the fall of Rome?
Local elite paid the Barbarians less and were better protected by their military leaders as they were closer instead of the roman empire. This may have cause the fall of Rome
What is the criticism of the transformation period?
Byran Ward-Perkins “The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization” “there is certainly a link between interpretations of the Germanic invaders as primarily peaceful, and the remarkable … success that modern Germany has had at constructing a new and positive identity within Europe after the disastrous Nazi years.
Kyle Harper The Fate of Rome
Climate change and the microbes played an important role. Harper describes the consequences of three major plagues:
during the reign of emperor Antoninus Pius in 165 in the middle of the 3rd century (249-262) (the plague of Cyprian of Carthage)
the most serious one around the middle of the 6th century: the plague of Justinian
All these plagues caused a serious crisis, but especially the last one (bubonic plague) was a demographic catastrophe. Almost 50% of the population would have died.
According to Harper the outbreak of major diseases is not purely chance.
The Romans created the circumstances in which diseases could spread easily:
they took part in a worldwide trade network that facilitated the dissemination of microbes from Africa and Asia into Europe
The impressive Roman grain transports (annona) helped the dissemination of rats
The infractructure for transporting people and goods contributed to the dissemination of the diseases
Moreover, climate change disrupted agricultural productivity
In the period 450 – 700 the average temperature dropped (Late Antique Little Ice Age)
The year 536 was “a year without summer”as the historian Procopius writes.
This was probably the result of volcanic activity in combination with a decline in solar activity
“global climate changes set off a reaction of people movements and refugee crises that realigned the pressures on the edges of Roman territory.” (Harper 159)
“The Huns were armed climate refugees on horseback.” (Harper 192).
What was Constantine’s significance?
313 Edict of Milan
Christianity is accepted as a legitimate religion in the Roman Empire.
The emperor himself favours Christianity
New capital with a clear Christian identity
325 council of Nicaea
Holy Sepulchre
St. Peter’s in Rome (Maarten van Heemskerk c. 1535)
How did religion change in this period? Compare this to the Romans
- Christians suddenly had to identify themselves as belonging to the Roman Empire but prevously they were not.
- Thus religion turned into a matter of general concern; no longer a matter for a particular town or elite.
- Christianity is not only about performing the right kind of rituals, but also about particular forms of conduct and moral values.
- Christianity should perhaps be compared with a philosophical school rather than with classical Roman or Greek religion.
- Such a comparison can also be made in relation to the role of texts in Christian religion but ancient religion did not have that.
- However philosophical texts were written by and for a learned elite.
Christian texts (the Bible) compare poorly to the literary qualities of philosophical texts (e.g. Cicero) - Roman religion was performative Christianity was more about the private behavour of people like marriage and food consumption more ethical values and philosophy suggest why it spread through middle class it was personal
- Rosenwein: ‘the Church Fathers were the victors in the battle over doctrine’.
- They played a crucial role in making Christianity acceptable for the ears of the Roman elites.
- Well-educated Romans regarded Christianity as a rather primitive sort of religion.
- The Bible was for Roman ears a primitive work of literature.
- Lactantius (c. 320): “Nobody assesses a case on the truthfullness, but only on the basis of outward presentation. People do not believe in Holy Scripture because they lack a rhetorical varnish.”
- Augustine (354-430) saw scriptures as unworthy
Who were the four church fathers?
Gregory the Great (ca. 540-604), Ambrose of Milan (333-397), Augustine of Hippo (354-430) and Jerome (of Stridon) (c. 342-420)
Greek church fathers played similar roles Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory of Nazianze
What was the church father’s backgrounds?
They all came from a well-established family: Ambrose from a senatorial family, Augustine and Jerome from provicial elites.
Therefore they were all grounded in Latin literature and most of all the discipline of rhetoric.
Jerome, for example, had been trained by Aelius Donatus the famous grammarian of his age.
They entertained close relations with the upper echelons of Roman imperial circles
Ambrose had close contacts with the emperor who resided in his bishopric (emperor Theodosius)
Jerome was the personal secretary of the bishop of Rome (Pope Damasus)
Augustine was in close contact with the senator Symmachus, possibly the most influential senator in his time.
What did the four church fathers contribute to biblical studies?
Jerome
* Translated the Bible into (proper) Latin called The Vulgate (earliest ms. ca. 425 now in St. Gall) which was commissioned by the Pope. He was trilungial spoke hebrew latin and greek.
* wrote a book on the interpretation of names in the Bible: De situ et nominibus locorum Hebraeorum.
All
* Wrote commentaries on the books of the Bible thereby demonstrating that the Bible had a deeper meaning.
* Allegorical layers of interpretation were added to the literal one.
* Typological readings made connections between the Old and the New Testament: thus demonstrating that Jewish religion found its fulfillment in Christianity and establishing a venerable past for Christian beliefs.
Ambrose
* wrote a famous commentary on the six days of creation: (Exameron)
Augustine
* wrote a commentary on the book of Genesis
How did the four church fathers contribute to a Christian society?
Ambrose:
- Defended Christianity in a number of conflicts for example the removal of the altar of Victory in the senate 4th c.
- Refused the emperor entrance into the church
- Refused to hand over a church to the Arians
- Brought in the relics of two martyrs into the basilica in the city
Augustine:
- Defended Christianity in his De Civitate Dei (The City of God) after Pagans accused the sack of Rome in 410 being a consequence of abolishing Pagen worship
- Augustine encouraged the monastic life particually to his clergy
Jerome:
- Lived the life of a hermit in the desert in Syria and in Bethlehem
- He sponsored a group of Roman women to live a life of chastity
How did the four church fathers contribute to a Christian doctrine?
Ambrose:
* played an important role in the struggle with ‘Arians’ about the nature of Christ
Jerome:
* played an important role in the struggle with ‘Arians’ about the nature of Christ.
* discussed the question of the free will with Pelagius.
Augustine:
* discussed the question of the free will with Pelagius.
* Augustine was in conflict with the ‘Donatists’ and asked the Roman State for military assistance (compelle intrare)
