Chapter 8

Question 1

Dioceses

Answer 1

Geographic administrative distinct of the church, each under the authority of a bishop and centered around a cathedral.

Question 2

Arianism

Answer 2

A theological belief, originating with Arius, a priest of Alexandria, that denied that Christ was co-external with God the Father

Question 3

popes

Answer 3

Heads of the Roman Catholic church, who became political as well as religious authorities. The period of a pope’s term in office is called a “pontificate.”

Question 4

Orthodox Church

Answer 4

Another name for the Eastern Christian Church, over which emperors continued to have power

Question 5

iconoclastic controversy

Answer 5

The conflict over the veneration of religious images in the Byzantine Empire

Question 6

Sacraments

Answer 6

Certain rituals of the church believed to act as a conduit of God’s grace, such s the Eucharist and baptism.

Question 7

Penance

Answer 7

Ritual in which Christians asked a priest for forgiveness for sins, and the priest set certain actions to atone for the sins

Question 8

Saints

Answer 8

People who were venerated for having lived or died in a way that was spiritually heroic or noteworthy

Question 9

Wergeld

Answer 9

compensatory payment for death or injury set in many barbarian law codes

Question 10

Merovingian

Answer 10

A dynasty founded in 481 by the Frankish chieftain Clovis in what is now France. Merovingian derives from Merovech, the name of the semi-legendary leader from whom clovis claimed descent

Question 11

Carolingian

Answer 11

A dynasty of rulers that took over the Frankish kingdom from the Merovingians in the seventh century; Carolingian derives from the Latin word for “Charles,” the name of several members of this dynasty.

Question 12

Treaty of Verdun

Answer 12

A treaty ratified in 843 that divided Charlemagne’s territories among his three surviving grandsons; their kingdoms set the pattern for the modern states of Germany, France, and Italy.

Question 13

How was the Byzantine Empire able to survive for so long, and what were its most important achievement?

Answer 13

during the sixth and seventh centuries the Byzantine Empire survived waves of attacks, owning to effective military leadership and to fortification around Constantinople. From this strong position Byzantine emperors organized and preserved Roman institutions, and the Byzantine Empire survived until 1453, nearly a millennium longer than the Roman Empire in the West. Emperor Justinian oversaw creation of the Code, which distilled the legal genius of the Romans into a coherent whole, eliminated out mode laws and contradictions, and clarified the law itself. Just as they valued the law, the Byzantines prized education, and because of them many master pieces of ancient Greek literature survived to influence intellectual life such a math and science. Byzantines passed Greco-Roman learnings on to the arabs. Byzantines also paid a lot of attention to medicine and their general level of medical competence was far higher than that of western europeans.

Question 14

What factors enabled the Christian Church to expand and thrive?

Answer 14

Christian’s gained the support of 4th century emperors and gradually adopted the roman system of hierarchical organization. church possessed able administrators and leaders whose skills were tested in the chaotic environment of the end of the Roman Empire in the West. Bishops expanded their activities and in the 5th century , taking the title “pope” began to stress their supremacy over other christian communities. Monasteries offered opportunities for individuals to develop spiritual devotion and also provide a model of christian living.

Question 15

How did Christian thinkers and missionaries adapt Greco-Roman ideas to Christian theology and develop effective techniques for converting barbarian peoples?

Answer 15

Christian thinkers reinterpreted the classics in a christian sense, incorporating elements of Greek and Roman philosophy and of various pagan religious groups into Christian teachings. Augustine of Hippo was very influential, his ideas about sin, free will and sex shaped western european thought from the 5th century. Missionaries and priests got pagan and illiterate peoples to understand and become more accepting of christianity by preaching the basic teachings of the religion, stressing similarities between pagan customs and beliefs and those of Christianity, and introducing the ritual of penance and the veneration of saints

Question 16

How did the barbarians shape social, economic, and political structures in Europe and western Asia?

Answer 16

Barbarians began to migrate and brought a combination tradition of classical and christian customs and beliefs. Barbarians generally had no notion of the state as we use the term today, they thought in social, not political terms. Basic social unit was the tribe made of kin groups formed by families. Family groups lived in small villages, with differences of wealth status. Barbarian kingdoms were weak and short, used military victories and strategic alliances to enhance authority. Carolingian gov reach peak under charlemagne who continued the expansionist policies of his ancestors, extending the Frankish kingdom to include all of continental Europe except Spain, Scandinavia, southern Italy and the Slavic area of the East.