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2. Varieties of Civilizations

Christendom

since 600 CE, Christian faith expanded dramatically in Europe even as it contracted sharply in Asia and Africa (many converted to Islam)

Byzantine Empire/Byzantium had for centuries been most powerful Christian empire/civilization but was declining by 1200

religious, political, cultural traditions influenced the Rus

emerging civilization in Eastern Europe

while civilization contracted in Western Europe as Roman Empire collapsed, by 1200 was emerging as dynamic, expansive, innovative civilization

combined Greco-Roman-Christian past with culture of Germanic and Celtic peoples

hybrid/blended civilization

Eastern Orthodox world

Byzantium

Continuation of Roman Empire

unlike other empires, Byzantium did not have a clear starting point, and just was viewed as a continuation of the Roman Empire

initially had large parts of eastern Roman Empire

Egypt, Greece, Syria, Anatolia

late Roman stuff persisted in Byzantium

roads

taxation system

military structures

centralized administration

imperial court

laws

Christian Church

sought to preserve legacy of classical Greco-Roman civilization

capital: Constantinople

est. 330 CE

“New Rome”

people referred to themselves as “Romans”

Islamic expansion (7th century) led to loss of Syria, Palestine, Egypt, North Africa

until 1200, smaller Byzantine Empire was major force in eastern Mediterranean

controlled Greece, much of Balkans (Southeastern Europe), Anatolia

naval and merchant vessels active in both Mediterranean and Black Seas

Peak

political authorities tightly centralized in Constantinople

emperor claimed to govern all creation as God’s worldly representative, “sole ruler of the world”

imperial court tried to imitate what it thought was God’s heavenly court

Eastern Orthodox Church intimately tied to politics (relationship called caesaropapism)

both “caesar” (head of state) and pope (head of church) are the same person

appointed patriarch (leader) of Orthodox Church

made decisions about doctrine

called church councils into session

treated church as government department

Eastern Orthodox Christianity legitimated supreme and absolute authority of emperor

God-anointed

reflection of glory of God on Earth

cultural identity for empire’s subjects

more than just “Roman” but also orthodox/”right-thinking” Christians

Decline

tensions between Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches (headed by pope in Rome) grew

in 1054 representatives of both churches mutually excommunicated

declared those in the opposing tradition not genuine Christians

⁠

Crusades⁠

launched in 1095 by Catholic pope against Islam

made relations work

Fourth Crusade 1204: Western forces seized Constantinople, ruled Byzantium for next half century

after 1085: slow and terminal decline

territory shrank due to invasions/attacks

Western European powers

Catholic Crusaders

Turkic Muslims

ended in 1453: Turkic Ottoman Empire took Constantinople

Rus

most significant region of expansion of Orthodox Christianity

Slavic peoples of present-day Ukraine and western Russia, also included Finnic, Baltic, Viking

state called Kievan Rus (KEE-yehv-ihn ROOS)

emerged in 9th century

named after most prominent city, Kiev

Government

loosely led by various princes

society of opposites and inequalities

slaves and freemen

privileged and commoners

dominant men and subordinate women

grouping led to a civilization in the making

Religion

988: Prince Vladimir of Kiev looking for religion to unify, link into wider networks

affiliated with Eastern Orthodox Christianity of Byzantium

top-down development

ordinary people followed rulers into church

slow process

elements of traditional religious sensibility remained among those who considered themselves Christian

long-term implications for Russian history

new civilization firmly in Orthodox Christianity

separated from Islam and Roman Catholicism

Borrowing from Byzantium

Byzantine architectural styles

Cyrillic alphabet based on Greek

icons (religious images)

monastic tradition stressing prayer and service

political ideals of imperial control of church

orthodoxy: unified identity, religious legitimacy

Western Europe

by 1200, Christianity as Roman Catholic

church replaced some political, administrative, educational, welfare functions of vanished Roman Empire

status and legitimacy of “civilized” and literate religion

still bore some grandeur from Rome

for centuries, priests and bishops had to warn against worshipping/believing in other things

nature

ancient gods

monsters, trolls

spirits

Feudalism

Environment

geographic location far western end of Eurasia, distant from growing routes of world trade (Indian Ocean, Silk Roads, Sand Roads)

population centers divided

mountains, forests

five major peninsulas, two large islands

extensive coastlines, internal river systems facilitated exchange

well-supported for productive agriculture

moderate climate

plentiful rainfall

fertile soils

Manorialism

power (political, economic, social) exercised by warrior elite of landowners

9th and 10th centuries, persisted in some regions until 15th

highly fragmented and decentralized

thousands of independent, self-sufficient, largely isolated landed estates/manors

lesser lords/knights swore allegiance to greater lords/kings

became their vassals

received land/plunder

gave military service

some monasteries became lords of manors (usually from donations)

Serfdom

not like slaves

not personal property of masters

could not be arbitrarily thrown off their land

allowed to live in families

bound to masters’ estates as peasant laborers

owed various payments and services to lord

in return, received small farm and protection

often only security available to individuals/families

ties to kin, manor, lord, church were primary human loyalties

Competing states

11th-13th century: monarchs consolidate their authority, outlines of states begin to appear with unique languages and cultures

royal courts, fledgling bureaucracies established

professional administrators appeared

institutions of government commanded loyalty/obedience of subjects

some regions: smaller states

Italy: city-states, urban areas more wealthy/powerful

Germany: small principalities within Holy Roman Empire

Shaping the West

gave rise to frequent wars

brought death, destruction, disruption

enhanced role/status of military men

elite society and values more militarized

interstate rivalry and willingness to borrow led to technological development

first to use gunpowder (invented in China) in cannons, early 14th century

by 1500: most advanced arsenals in world

advances in shipbuilding, navigational techniques → mastery over seas

magnetic compass, sternpost rudder (China)

lanteen sail (adapted from Mediterranean or Arab) allowed sail against wind

Politics and religion

rulers had to contend with competing sources of power (e.g. nobility and church)

1200-1450: Roman Catholic Church only organization in Western Europe whose influence stretched across entire region

hierarchical organizations (popes, bishops, priests, monasteries) meant they had representation in nearly every community

Latin was shared language among churchmen, even as it gave way to vernacular languages in common speech

by 1200: quite wealthy, large amounts of land

gave great power and influence within states

funded religious, charitable, educational initiatives

lavish lifestyles

political aspirations

politics, religion sometimes worked together

rulers provided protection for papacy, encouragement for faith

church offered religious legitimacy for powerful/prosperous

“It is the will of the Creator that the higher shall always rule over the lower. Each individual and class should stay in its place [and] perform its tasks” (teaching of church)

Merchants

urban-based merchants achieved independence from political authority

inability of kings, warrior aristocrats, church leaders to prevail

many cities won the right to make/enforce own laws, appoint own officials

some became almost completely independent city-states (like Venice, Genoa, Florence, Milan)

charters granted by kings in some cities

kings were in search of allies/resources for fight against church and aristocrats

cities had own courts, laws, government

payed taxes to king

more leeway, more thorough development of capitalism due to relative weakness of rulers

development of representative institutions/parliaments where opposing viewpoints could be expressed and accommodated

parliaments did not represent the “people” or the “nation” but one of the three great “estates of the realm”

clergy (first estate)

landowning nobility (second estate)

urban merchants (third estate)

High Middle Ages

favorable climate, more security and stability led to the High Middle Ages (1000-1300)

population grew from 35 million in 1000 to 80 million in 1340

lords, bishops, religious orders organized new villages on what was recently forest, marshes, wasteland

warmer weather in summer meant farmers and pastoralists could herd flocks into previously wild highland regions

peasants could loosen restrictions of serfdom

expansion meant new opportunities for settlement

greater stability

power of states over local lords

after 1350: Black Death (plague) created shortages of labor, so those still alive could demand lower rents, better wages, better conditions

Technological breakthroughs

Agriculture

heavy-wheeled plow to handle dense soils of Northern Europe

use horses instead of oxen

pull plow

iron horseshoes

more efficient collar (probably from China/Central Asia)

three-field system of crop rotation so there is more land to be planted at any one time

negative effect on environment

deforestation

damaged freshwater ecosystems

tilling of fields

overfishing

human waste

rapid increase in number of new water mills and associated ponds

Mechanical

broke ancient tradition of relying almost wholly on animal or human muscle

process

devices like:

cranks

flywheels

camshafts

complex gearing mechanisms

combined with:

windmills

water mills

provided power for:

grinding grain

sieving flour

tanning hides

making beer

sawing wood

manufacturing iron

making paper

Trade

considerable growth in long-distance trade

within Europe

with more established civilizations of Byzantium and Islam

increasingly forged commercial bonds among themselves and with more distant peoples

Population

early 1300s

London: 40,000

Paris: 80,000

Venice: 150,000

compare to:

Constantinople: 400,000 in 1000

Córoba, Muslim Spain: 500,000 in 1000

Hangzhou, Song Dynasty: 1 million in 13th

towns gave rise to and attracted new groups

merchants

bankers

artisans

university-trained professionals

lawyers

doctors

scholars

groups organized themselves into guilds

associations of people pursuing same line of work

regulate professions

Life of women

Jobs

active in many urban professions

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