Reading Guide: Chapter 16 – The Two Worlds of Christendom
1.
Briefly describe the chapter title’s “two worlds of Christendom.” (p. 327-328)
The two worlds of Christendom refer to the two very distinct regions of Europe that
emerged after the fall of the western half of the Roman Empire in the late fifth century.
Dominating the eastern half of the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions was the centralized
Byzantine Empire, which was a direct continuation of the most prosperous parts of the classical
Roman Empire. It continued to be productive and played a key role in trade throughout the
eastern hemisphere in the postclassical world. To the west – in lands that today include Britain,
France and Germany – was the region of the Roman Empire that fell to invaders. Instead of a
large, centralized political authority, this region gave way to a succession of Germanic states with
local or regional rulers. Both the Byzantine Empire and the Germanic successor states inherited
Christianity from the Romans, but over time disputes between the two emerged.
2.
What was the geographic extent of Byzantium, or the Byzantine Empire?
(p. 329) Byzantium was headquartered in the highly defensible city of Constantinople
(named after the Roman emperor Constantine) and included Anatolia (Turkey), Greece,
Palestine, Egypt and – for a brief period in the sixth century – Italy, Sicily and parts of
northwestern Africa and southern Spain.
3.
Explain the term caesaropapism. (p. 330)
4.
Why was Justinian the most important of the early Byzantine emperors?
(p. 330-332)
5.
What parts of the Byzantine Empire fell to Muslim conquests in the seventh
century, and how was it able to resist further Muslim encroachments and
retain Anatolia, Greece and the Balkans? (p. 332)
6.
Explain the theme system. (p. 332)
7.
How did the Franks become the most influential of the Germanic peoples?
(p. 333)
8.
Who was Charlemagne, and how did he administer his realm? (p. 333-334)
9.
Briefly describe the internal and external factors that brought the
Carolingian Empire to an end. (p. 334-337)
10.
How was Byzantium able to sustain large agricultural surpluses, and why did
that change after the eleventh century? (p. 337)
11.
Briefly describe Byzantium’s manufacturing capabilities. (p. 337)
12.
Explain Byzantium’s role in Eurasia’s trading network. (p. 337-338)
13.
Describe the innovations that allowed western Europe to begin to find its
economic footing. (p. 338)
14.
Characterize the primary features of medieval trade in western Europe.
(p. 339)
15.
Describe the city life of Byzantium, including Constantinople. (p. 339-340)
16.
How was western European society organized in the absence of an effective
central authority such as an emperor? (p. 340)
17.
Describe – and explain the reasons for – western Europe’s demographic
trajectory from the fifth through tenth centuries. (p. 341-342)
18.
Briefly describe the hierarchical organizational structure of the Eastern
Orthodox church in Byzantium and the Roman Catholic church in western
Europe. (p. 343)
19.
What was iconoclasm, and why was it divisive? (p. 343)
20.
Explain the relationship between asceticism and monasticism, and the role
of monasteries in medieval European society. (p. 343-345)
21.
How did Byzantium exert a strong cultural influence on Slavic peoples,
including Russians? (p. 345)
22.
Briefly explain the rivalry between the two European Christian churches that
led to the eleventh-century schism. (p. 345-346)