Transition: England, The Church, And The Growth Of Islam Flashcards
Who was Alfred the Great?
- The Saxon king of Wessex
- Considered founder of English kingdom and greatest European ruler after Charlemagne
- Also a scholar
What was Danelaw?
- arranged by Alfred the Great
- restricted Danes to North of Thames River and left Southern England under Alfred’s control
NTR LSE
What was Alfred’s government based on?
- Germanic structure
- Alfred had his Witan, which consisted of nobles/earls, and thegns
What was the wergild of a peasant and nobleman?
P-200 shillings
N-1200 shillings
Which Latin manuscripts did Alfred the Great order to be translated into Anglo-Saxon?
- Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation
- Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy
- Some books of the Scripture
What was the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle?
- Alfred the Great urged this
- The earliest history of Anglo-Saxons
Who were Edward and Athelstan?
- Alfred’s son and grandson
- powerful leaders
Who was Eric Bloodaxe?
Last Viking king of York, killed in 954
Who was Bede?
- Venerable Bede
- greatest scholars of his time
- monk
- wrote Ecclesiastical History of the English People
- died in 735
What is a fresco?
Watercolor paintings done on wet plaster
What is an illuminated manuscript?
Manuscript decorated with gold
What is a mosaic?
Decoration or picture made of small pieces of stone and glass in a frame
Who are Thanes?
A member of a social class including lesser nobles, soldiers, and ministers
When was Beowulf most likely written in?
7th or 8th century
What caused the revival of the Byzantine Empire from the 9th to 11th centuries?
- Macedonian kings
- ruled 200 years
Who was the greatest king of the Macedonian dynasty?
Basil II
Who was Basil II?
- ‘Bulgarian Slayer’ because he devastated the Bulgarian army in 1014 and sent 15000 prisoners blinded
- Gained the most territory held by the empire since Justinian
During Basil II’s reign, what place was the cultural center of the Mediterranean?
Constantinople
Who were the two missionaries who were sent to Northumbria and Wessex?
- Willibrord of Ripon and Boniface
- famous for conversion of tribesmen in Germanic forests
What are the two most famous illuminated manuscripts?
- Book of Kells
- Lindisfarne Gospels
When did artistic pieces depicting the life of Christ become a controversy?
8th and 9th centuries
What did Emperor Leo III do to religious paintings and statues?
- 726
- ordered to be destroyed
When was Iconoclasm condemned by the church?
787
When was there a break between Roman and Eastern churches?
1054
The peak of Islamic power was reached during which Caliphate?
Abbasid Caliphate in 750
Where did the Abbasids move their capital?
Bagdad in Iraq
During which caliph reigns did arts and sciences flourish
Harum Al-Rashid and Al-Mamun
Why did the decline of Islamic power in the 9th century occur?
Increased:
- foreign soldiers and palace guards made up of Turks
- attention to luxury than military affairs
When was Bagdad captured and by who?
Seljuk Turks in 1055
Who established the Umayyad Caliphate in Cordoba?
- 756
- Abd ar-Rahman
Who often attacked Cordoba?
Franks and scattered Spanish Christian groups
When did the Caliphate of Cordoba fall?
1031
What was the Fatimid Caliphate?
- Shi’ites
- ruled Egypt and North Africa
