FEUDALISM  lack of any unifying secular authority
 constant threat of invasion
 Europe develops into a fighting society
 loyalty and honor are highly valued
MANORIALISM  totality of life for most of Europe
 serfs tied to 1000 acre communities
 community is self sufficient
 spiritual needs met locally
 life is a vale of tears leading to heavenly
reward
 no questioning
 no formal education
 most Europeans are cut off from the
outside world and from the Greco-Roman
legacy
MONASTICISM  ca. 529 Benedict founds Benedictine
Order
 order spring up all over Europe
 simple contemplative life
 preservation of written manuscripts
 knowledge is kept inside
Saint Benedict
(480?-547)
Father of Western Monasticism
Early years spent studying in Rome
Shocked by the degenerate life of the city
Withdraws to a cave for three years
Invited to become the abbot of a group of monks living in northern Italy
Monks disagree with his rules and try to poison him
Leaves the group and shortly thereafter and founds a monastery at Monte Cassino
Benedictine Rule:
Stressed communal living and physical labor
Monks not allowed to own property
Communal meals
Unnecessary conversation avoided
Time devoted to the needs of the local people
Distribution of alms and food to the poor
Rule later adopted by most Western monasteries
Franciscans
Itinerant preachers
Extreme poverty
Augustinians
Less rigid
(Martin Luther)
Consolidation of the Church
Early Structure -


power divided among
bishops
variety of interpretations
Theological Unification
Heresies –
Donatist
 challenges ability of
certain priests to
administer sacraments
 resolution: infallibility
of the office of priest
Arian
 challenges the nature of
the Trinity
 resolution: Council of
Nicaea
No Dissent Tolerated
Administrative Unification
Primacy of Rome
Peter considered Christ’s spiritual successor
Leo (440-461) – claims ecclesiastical authority
Gregory the Great (590-604) - consolidates authority through diplomacy
Church asserts itself over all secular power – no king is strong enough to challenge its authority
AD 600 – the Church is ready to become the new unifying force in Western Europe
Augustine the Searcher
I. Christian mother
II. Manichean
III. Skeptic
IV. Neo-Platonist
V. Baptized by Ambrose
VI. Bishop of Hippo
Writings:
Confessions
Nature of Reality
Creation from Nothingness
City of God
God is the only reality
GRACE makes God knowable to everyone
Goal – union with God
Platonic Essence of God’s Mind:

Eternal Truths [Pythagoras / Mathematics]

Patterns that acquire physical substance
[Allegory of the Cave]
Time
Time exists for the temporal world
Allows for FREE WILL
Past/Future do not exist for God
God can know outcomes without
influencing them
[Basis for Predestination]
Material World:
•God created the material world, so it must be good
•Platonic view – the material world is impermanent
•focus on the material world diverts us from contemplating God
Conflict:
City of
vs.
City of
has existed since creation
originated with Satan’s revolt
only Hebrews prior to Christ
all Gentiles prior to Christ
after Christ – the Saved
after Christ – the Damned
condemns Greco-Roman heritage
NORSEMEN  catalyst-their raids are a major cause of feudalism
 conquests have socio-political implications for England,
France, Sicily, and Russia
 gloomy view of afterlife
 mythology and legends contribute to the Epic tradition in
Western Europe
Carolingian Renaissance
Frankish Kingdom
Charles “The Hammer” Martel defeats Moors at Tours AD 732
Charlemagne {reigned AD 768-814}
drives Moors back into Spain
drives Norsemen back to Denmark
drives Lombards back into Italy
forcibly Christianizes Europe during conquests
crowned Holy Roman Emperor AD 800
Revival
Charlemagne’s capital at Aachen modeled after Ravenna
introduces Roman stone construction to Northern Europe
encourages scholars to come to Aachen
Palatine School – no original scholarship, but sets
precedent as center of learning
Assimilation
 Celto-Germanic
{energetic}
 Greco-Roman
{rational}
Europe achieves brief unity under Charlemagne
cultures blend with NORTHERN emphasis
Epic Literature
Beowulf – the ultimate Germanic hero
savage deeds not rational philosophy
Le Chanson du Roland –
based on Charlemagne’s nephew and actual battle
feudal / Christian values