The Latin West
The Latin West
• In western Europe, Latin Christianity converts
the peoples of many tribes (Goths early on,
but other Germanic peoples later: the
Magyars and the Vikings)
• 5th-11th century: missionary work and military
expedition
• Muslim pockets in Spain and Sicily
• Isolated Jewish communities
The Latin West
• 1. The birth of Latin Christendom
– New Germanic kingdoms = new kind of society
• Borrowed from Roman law, but also traditional rule
• Unification based in a. Loyalty / Kinship (versus
citizenship; b. Common faith (links rulers with subjects);
c. Common language (Latin: for worship, learning,
diplomacy)
• These kingdoms appear in Anglo-Saxon England,
Frankish Gaul, Visigothic Spain, Lombard Italy
The Latin West
• 1. The birth of Latin Christendom
– New Germanic kingdoms = new kind of society
– England
• Far enough away from Rome that civilization collapses
further than other places (5th c. Angle and Saxon
invasions define their history)
• Fragmentation due to war of Angles and Saxons vs.
Roman Britons till 750; 8th c. the three warring
kingdoms that dominate are Mercia, Wessex, and
Northumbria
The Latin West
• 1. The birth of Latin Christendom
– New Germanic kingdoms = new kind of society
– England
– Gaul (France)
• 3rd-7th c. Franks produced largest and most powerful
kingdom in western Europe
• Merovingian Franks in power first (Childeric 460-481;
his son Clovis 481-511)
• Carolingian Franks take over in the 8th c. (Charles Martel
719-741; his son Pepin the Short 741-768 becomes king
of the Franks relying on the Pope’s legitimization)
The Latin West
• 1. The birth of Latin Christendom
– New Germanic kingdoms = new kind of society
– England
– Gaul (France)
– Spain
• Visigoths (mostly Arians); they don’t allow the Franks to
conquer Spain
• Muslims invade in 711; only in the northwestern part of
the peninsula are some able to keep Christianity alive
The Latin West
• 1. The birth of Latin Christendom
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New Germanic kingdoms = new kind of society
England
Gaul (France)
Spain
Italy
• Germanic Lombards (=“long-beards”) control northern and central
peninsula 568-774.
• Invaded Italy due to weakness of Byzantine attempts at
reconquest
• Different ethnic tribes: led to lack of unity and strength to come
• Constant fight against Byzantine forces and internal strife;
eventually overcome by the Franks (Charlemagne)
The Latin West
• 2. The spread of Latin Christianity
– A spread through missionary work (polytheism
and Arianism to monotheism and
orthodoxy/catholicity); conventional religion in
the cities (the preaching of the bishops); and
monastic mission (monasteries become the
centers of intellectual life, a change from
aristocratic Rome)
The Latin West
• 2. The spread of Latin Christianity
– A spread through missionary work; conventional religion;
and monasticism
– Papacy
• Byzantium still has political authority in theory
• Popes handle local affairs as Byzantium has some violent problems
• Gregory the Great (590-604)
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No relief from Constantinople
Therefore diplomacy with western kings (friendly ones)
Paves spread of Christianity in Germany and England
Trains clergymen
All this sets the stage for increase in papal power
By 8th c., they seek protection from Frankish kings, no longer
Constantinople
The Latin West
• 2. The spread of Latin Christianity
– A spread through missionary work; conventional
religion; and monasticism
– Papacy
– Irish and Anglo-Saxons
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431: missionaries in Ireland
Patrick (+492) converts all of Ireland
No cities in Ireland; monasteries train the country parsons
Columba (521-597) in Scotland
Missionaries use cross-cultural methods (temples and
traditions; calendar conventions)
The Latin West
• 2. The spread of Latin Christianity
– A spread through missionary work; conventional
religion; and monasticism
– Papacy
– Irish and Anglo-Saxons
– Monasticism
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Vigorous from the time of Benedict (480-547) and his Rule
Reading the Bible and the classics: a contemplative life
At least two rooms: scriptorium and library
Bede (+735): History of the English Church and People
Promoted some literacy in their domains (with
administrative benefits)
The Latin West
• 3. Carolingians
– Merovingians give way to the Franks, 751
– Pepin’s sons share the kingdom until 771;
Charlemagne survives; becomes mightiest ruler in
western Europe.
• Constant warfare, esp. against polytheistic German tribes: a.
spread Christianity; b. protect borders; c. satisfy followers
(aristocracy) with new lands and plunder
• Result: network of subservient kingdoms and tribute
• Coronation 12/25/800ad: an imitation of Rome, and an
obligation to protect the Roman Popes; Frankish protection
= legitimacy of divine sanction
The Latin West
• 3. Carolingians
– Merovingians give way to the Franks, 751
– Charlemagne
– Carolingian empire
• Lack army, navy, civil servants, good roads, communication,
money economy … so it’s not exactly Roman empire reborn.
• Contrast Byzantium and Muslim caliphates
• Result: personal forms of rule rather than institutional ones
• Written decrees instead of oral ones (Alcuin (732-804)
becomes important)
• Administration by “counties” (hence “count”)
• Church provides structure for adminstration: Carolingians
appoint (and sell) offices
The Latin West
• 4. After Charlemagne
– Louis the Pious inherits Charlemagne’s throne in 814
– Divides kingdom among his three sons (Treaty of
Verdun 843, after years of fighting between Charles
the Bald +877 [West Francia], Lothar +855 [Middle
Kingdom], Louis the German +876 [East Francia])
– Laws of inheritance further fragment holdings in
succeeding generations; Carolingians die out by 987.
– Post-Carolingian Europe fragmented as local
aristocrats fill the vacuum, but are vulnerable to new
invaders.
The Latin West
• 5. Invasion and Recovery
– By 900, Latin Christianity is limited to Frankish
lands, Italy, parts of Germany under Carolingian
rule, British Isles, and a little bit of Spain. 9th-10th
c. invasions come from polytheistic tribes (Vikings
and Magyars) and Muslims (from Africa to Italy);
missionary activity continues to convert the West
to Christianity.
The Latin West
• 5. Invasion and Recovery
– Invaders
• Magyars and Vikings; 8th-11th centuries.
• Some looted and returned home; others settled
• Magyars entered from the Eurasian Steppe; plundered and
enslaved; finally stopped by Otto I (955)
• Finally Christianized (Latin), Christmas Day 1000ad
• Vikings = Norsemen = Northmen (Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
• Plundered for silver
• Eventually wintered on the continental and insular shores; creating
communities (and armies): created Viking settlements like
Normandy (the conquerors of the English)
• Cultural impact: mythology and literature (cf. Beowulf)
The Latin West
• 5. Invasion and Recovery
– Invaders
• Magyars and Vikings; 8th-11th centuries.
– Some looted and returned home; others settled
– Magyars entered from the Eurasian Steppe; plundered and
enslaved; finally stopped by Otto I (955)
– Finally Christianized (Latin), Christmas Day 1000ad
The Latin West
• 5. Invasion and Recovery
– Invaders
• Magyars and Vikings; 8th-11th centuries.
– Vikings = Norsemen = Northmen (Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
– Plundered for silver
– Eventually wintered on the continental and insular shores;
creating communities (and armies): created Viking
settlements like Normandy (the conquerors of the English)
– Cultural impact: mythology and literature (cf. Beowulf)
– 870: Iceland; 10th c. sagas of Eric the Red etc.
– 10th c. Scandinavian kings control the raiders; convert to
Christianity and bring their constituency with them
The Latin West
• 5. Invasion and Recovery
– Invaders
– Rulers
• Carolingian rule disintegrates, leading to rule by local warlords
• Provide protection in a period of anarchy
• Kinship and loyalty as virtues give way to dominion of lords over
vassals
• Vassalage – the personal relationship often came with a grant of
land (the fief)
• Fief could supply income for weapons and horses, necessary for a
knight (12th c. term)
• This connection between the fief and the lord-vassal relationship is
what we call FEUDALISM
The Latin West
• 5. Invasion and Recovery
– Invaders
– Rulers
• Rulers fill the void left by kings: judges over property, inheritance,
sentencing criminals, etc.
• The vassalage relationship continued down the clientela pyramid
(recall clients and patrons from ancient Rome)
• Some lords could have competing holdings of land, and some
vassals could conceivably have loyalty to more than one lord
• Women could inherit (but no military service)
• Vassals owe service, including military service, advice, judgment of
peers, travel room and board, certain fees, ransom
The Latin West
• 5. Invasion and Recovery
– Invaders
– Rulers
• Being king in such an economy was difficult: lords are
independent-minded, and feudalism is more real in a local
and everyday way than the relationship of king and subject
• Loyalty paid off for some lords and the kings who pulled the
strings: they were given royal prerogatives by kings (rights to
receive fines, collect taxes, etc.: “feudal kingship”)
• The necessary myth of the sacred nature of kingship allowed
many to hold sway over the lords of the land (with the help
of the clergy)
The Latin West
• 5. Invasion and Recovery
– Invaders
– Rulers
• East Francia (German empire) 10th-11th c.
– Germanic tribes, led by a Frankish official (duke) till 919
– Dukes of Saxony were kings after this; sought to acquire other
duchies, appointed family to high church offices
– Greatest of the Saxon kings: Otto I (the great) 936-973
– Supported missionary work in Scandinavia and Slavic lands
– Pope crowned him in 962
– German empire in 1030’s: Germanic duchies, northern Italy,
Burgundy (collectively known as “Holy Roman Empire”)
– Patronized literati, a period known as the “Ottonian Renaissance”
The Latin West
• 5. Invasion and Recovery
– Invaders
– Rulers
• East Francia (German empire) 10th-11th c.
• West Francia (France) 10th-11th c.
– Capetians take over after the Carolingians, 987.
– Began around Paris (Hugh Capet’s feudal domain); under his rule,
all of West Francia becomes known as “France”
– Elevated as “king of West Francia” at a ceremony with prayers
from the Archbishop: a precedent of secular and religious synergy
(protection and legitimization)
– Robert II the Pious, Hugh’s son, crowned shortly after his own
coronation; miraculously heals skin diseases with “the king’s
touch”
The Latin West
• 5. Invasion and Recovery
– Invaders
– Rulers
• East Francia (German empire) 10th-11th c.
• West Francia (France) 10th-11th c.
• England 10th-11th c.
– Extensive damage by Vikings; Alfred the Great (king of Wessex) defeats
them in 879 and establishes law code
– Alfred and successors cooperate with nobility; broad base of support in
local units of government (shires)
– Monarchy also enjoys support of the Church
– Inspires literacy (learning Latin); A-S and Latin literature flourish under
Alfred (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is an impt history)
– Norman invasion 1066 connects England and the continent (William vs.
Harold)
The Latin West
• 5. Invasion and Recovery
– Invaders
– Rulers
– Conversion
• Kings and chiefs converted, and then their people
• Monks came after, and Christian princes established new
bishoprics (these become cultural centers, attracting
members of the upper classes)
• Conversion compels tribes to abandon polygamy
• 14th c.: polytheism disappears in Scandinavia
• New bishoprics in Slavic lands (Poland, Bohemia, Hungary)
ensure Latin Christianity there (instead of Eastern)
The Latin West
• 6. The Crusades
– Origins
• Mid-11th century Seljuk Turks converted to Islam and pressured Byzantine
empire
• Alexius Comnenus (Byzantine emperor) requested military assistance
• Armed pilgrimage to the Holy Land begins with Pope Urban II (1088-1095)
preaching the news that Muslims in the East (Palestine) were persecuting
Christians and ransacking holy places (pilgrimage sites)
• Mission: take, retake, and protect Christian Jerusalem (11th-13th centuries)
• Instead of Western mercenaries, Alexius receives a volunteer army of 100,000
who don’t exactly want to help their Byzantine brothers
• Peter’s People’s Crusade (poor and homeless)
• Pope Urban’s sermon on penance: a confusion of pilgrims and Crusaders:
armed pilgrims who receive special rewards from the Church
• Some join knightly orders (quasi-monastic): e.g. Templars: end up exercising
political influence and gaining wealth
• Other reasons to go to war: promise of booty, piety, population of young men
of fighting age
The Latin West
• 6. The Crusades
– Origins
– Warfare
• First Crusade: 1095-1099 successful due to Muslim weakness and
Christian strength: Arabs were already fighting Turks; Shi’ites and
Sunnis were divided
• Christians establish “Latin Principalities” (fortresses in the East);
Muslims captured Edessa leading to 2nd Crusade
• Second Crusade: 1147-1149 failed in the East; succeeded in the West
(King of Portugal retakes Lisbon from Muslims)
• 1187 Sultan of Egypt and Syria Saladin recaptures Jerusalem; Third
Crusade: 1189-1192 assembles great army, led by most powerful kings
in Europe: Frederick Barbarossa (German emperor), Richard the LionHeart (king of England), Philip Augustus (king of France)
• Frederick drowned on the way there; Philip went home; Richard
negotiated a truce with Saladin (then got kidnapped)
The Latin West
• 6. The Crusades
– Origins
– Warfare
– Significance
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Huge waste of time, money, and human life
Expansion of trade and economic contacts
Profit for Italian cities (Genoa, Pisa, Venice)
Continuing ideal of the Crusader (age of exploration)