1. Ekklesia: Christian Communities

2. Timeline for the Christianization of Europe
390: Roman emperors outlaw pagan practices
450: St. Patrick completes his missionary work in Ireland
500: Franks convert to Roman Christianity
: Anglo-Saxons convert to Christianity
664: Northumbrian King chooses Roman Christianity
: Christian missionaries convert remaining tribes (Saxons, Frisians) across Germany
1000: Christianity adopted across Scandinavia

3. The Origins of Christianity were in the eastern Mediterranean

4. How did Christianity unify Europe?
Identification of common…
beliefs in the nature of God and attainment of the afterlife
Heroes: martyrs and saints
enemies: non Christians or heretical Christians
ruler/leaders: bishops; Christian kings and princes
history/mythologies: the Bible provided a view of the distant past
God intervenes on behalf of his people
way of life - ethics, sexual mores, social relations
set of rituals - group activities that often reinforce or explain social relations

5. How did Christianity promote unifying tendencies?
By strengthening kingship
By creating a sense of community through rituals
By providing a shared view of the past
By reinforcing a common sets of values
All of the above

6. Celtic Settlements c. 550 CE

7. What was NOT one of the features of ancient Celtic culture?
Warriors fought with reckless abandon and sometimes entered an altered state
They tended to treat women with more dignity and respect than Germanic tribes
They had a supreme ruler in Dublin who ruled over the Celtic empire
They were masters of metalwork and specialized in abstract curvilinear artwork

8. Layout of an Irish Monastery

9. The Proliferation of Irish/Celtic Monasticism 500-800 CE

11. Christian Evangelism among the English 550-700 CE

12. Pope Gregory the Great c. 600 author of the life of St. Benedict

13. Augustine of Canterbury c. 600

14. Roman Tonsure

15. Synod of Whitby - 664

16. Discuss Evangelization
How did missionaries win over the common people and the illiterate warriors of early medieval Europe?

17. St. John’s Eve Bonfire

18. The beating of the bounds was a medieval ritual that survived the Protestant Reformation

19. How did stories of saints promoted fusion between Christian and Barbarian Cultures

20. Hagiography promoted shared vales Faith = Loyalty to God

21. Hope = Bravery St. Boniface converts the continental Saxons c. 720

22. Charity=Hospitality St. Martin of Tours 316-397 CE

23. Archbishop Turpin in Song of Roland

24. Beowulf

25. Discuss Beowulf What were his strengths and weaknesses as a king?
How well did Beowulf listen to Hrothgar’s advice?
Based on the story, how could Christianity have strengthened Beowulf’s kingship?

26. Which of the following was true about Beowulf the king?
He prepared his son to assume a position of leadership
He ruled for 50 years
His kingdom had nothing to fear from its enemies upon his death
He deliberately engaged in a program of building loyalty and teamwork among his thegns

27. Which feature of Christianity had the most substantial impact on the transformation of Germanic kingship?
It was a book religion
Asceticism
Hierarchy
Evangelism
Something else
Rituals, stories of saints & miracles

28. Features of Early Medieval Christianity
Ascetic: It discouraged materialism
Literate among the elite: Book Religion
Evangelical: Duty to Spread the faith
Hierarchical: more structure, less chaos
Heroes & Legends: Lives of Saints
Rituals: Collective Identity

29. Rituals & Processions Strengthened Collective Identity

30. Benedictine Monasticism included communal prayer

31. Monastic scribes

32. Ancient Scrolls
Egyptian Papyrus

33. Selecting Vellum

34. Cutting Folios

35. Lining the Folios

36. Scrap paper/bones

37. Christianity was a book religion Codex Amiatinus c. 700

38. Lindisfarne Gospels c. 700
Cross page from the Lindisfarne Gospels, British Museum

39. Book of Kells c. 800 Artistic Revival

40. Laws of Aethelberht of Kent c. 600 CE

41. Charters

42. Anglo-Saxon Charter

43. Tribal Hidage c. 700 Hwinca syfan þusend hyda. 7,000
Ciltern sætna feower þusend hyda. 4,000
Hendrica þryu þusend hyda ond fif hund hyda. 3,500
Unecungaga twelf hund hyda. 1,200
Arosætna syx hund hyda. 600
Bilmiga syx hund hyda. 600
Widerigga eac swa. 600
Eastwilla syx hund hyda 600
Westwilla syx hund hyda 600
East engle þrittig þusend hida 30,000
Eastsexena syofon þusend hyda 7,000
Cantwarena fiftene þusend hyda 15,000
Suþsexena syufan þusend hyda 7,000
Westsexena hund þusend hyda. 100,000

44. How did Germanic people react to the introduction of writing?
They were likely suspicious of it
They did not really think about it
They recognized its value and promoted it enthusiastically
I cannot even imagine how that might have played out.

45. Chirograph

48. Discuss Early Medieval Christianity
How did it influence Germanic culture?
Kingship
Kinship
Intellectual activity
Fused with existing rituals
Hero worship
Government

49. The Anglo-Saxons c

50. Christian Monasticism Started in the Egyptian desert c
Christian Monasticism Started in the Egyptian desert c It tended to be hermetic

51. St. Simeon Stylites c.430

52. St. Boniface c
Born in Devonshire and joined Benedictine monastery in Exeter
Migrated to Germany where he engaged in conversion of the pagan Saxons
Martyred in modern Holland

53. Overview
Background
How did Christianity unify Western European culture?
Through the establishment of Christian communities
A long term process
What was the role of monasticism in this process?
Islands of intense commitment to Christianity
Authors of hagiography: Christian heroes
Preservers of classical and Christian texts

54. Background
With the collapse of the political authority of the Roman Empire, political power fragmented into local centers, such as
chieftains or feudal lords
priests and bishops
During the early Middle Ages ( CE) missionaries, kings, queens, and monasteries established Christianity as the dominant religion of Europe

55. Christian Heroes: Age of Martyrs, 100-312
Key features of Christianity during this formative period:
cult
underground
believers often endured torture
unwilling to accept the Emperor as God
the heroism of martyrs provides basis for Christian solidarity

56. Hagiography – General Overview
Literally means writings about holy things but generally applies to written accounts of saints lives
Not written for purpose of historical accuracy but rather to perpetuate their memory among the faithful
Edification and emulation not information
To reflect Christ like qualities
All saints are one: the communion of saints
Originated with the veneration of martyrs
Christian heroism
Annual commemoration on the martyr's birthday
Relics worshipped for spiritual powers
Prayers to martyrs

57. The Definition of Orthodoxy 312-451 (standardization of beliefs)
Standardization of canonical texts
Councils
Nicaea (325)
Chalcedon (451)
Church Fathers
Augustine, Jerome, Gregory
Controversies
Hierarchical purity (Donatism)
Trinitarian (Arians)
Christological (Monophysites)

58. The Common Enemy: Heretics
Before 500, the institutional Church persecuted
Donatists
Arians
Monophysites
Heresy of the three languages
Pagans
After 1000
Muslims & Jews
Cathars/Albigensians
Lollards
Hussites
Protestantants

59. A Common Enemy: Donatism
Donatus
associated with anti-corruption
the persecution of 303
organizes rival hierarchy in N. Africa
Donatism (c c. 700)
sacraments performed by corrupt priests are null and void
refuted by St. Augustine c. 400
remains influential until Muslim conquest
reinforced by cultural differences

60. A Common Enemy: Arians Arius (250-336) Arianism (c. 300-c.550)
denied divinity of Christ
excommunicated in 321
Arianism (c. 300-c.550)
sympathizers in Syria, Palestine, barbarian Europe
viewed as a pagan heresy
most influential c. 350
independence from imperial domination
attacked by Emperor Theodosius c.380

61. A Common Enemy: Monophysites (430-650)
One nature of Christ: divine was the common assumption
Cultural fissures played a huge role in the spread of this schism
Aramaic language - Syrian monophysites
Egyptian language - Coptic monophysites
monophysitism was particularly strong in rural society
Underlying issue
Competition for power between Byzantine patriarch and patriarchs of Syria and Alexandria
Control of orthodoxy

62. Authority and the Church
Where does authority reside? Several views:
ceasaropapism - unified temporal and spiritual authority; in other words, the emperor exercises religious authority
papal authority - plenitudino potestas: unlimited authority of a single spiritual leader who is superior to the temporal authority
Church Councils - gathers of bishops and clerical princes
Saints - Holy men who exercised authority beyond their institutional position e.g. St. Bernard
Bishops - exercised spiritual and temporal authority at the local level, where it really mattered

63. Christian History/Mythology
Shared beliefs about the past unified Christians
Life of Christ and The New Testament
the Gospels were the word of God; indisputable
early compilers: Irenaeus c. 180 CE
the Christian canon of gospels is essentially finalized by 360 CE
Hagiography
lives of martyrs were the first instances of hagiography
lives of other saints, such as Anthony, Patrick, and Benedict, proliferate in early Middle Ages
miracles
hagiography begins c. 360 and continues into late Middles Ages

64. Western Monasticism
Communities of devout Christians who exercized enormous influence over European civilization
Early Period:
Proliferation of orders
Standardization:
Benedictines continually grappled with reform
New Orders Emerge after 1100
Cistercians
Franciscans
Dominicans
Carmelites
Carthusians
Augustinians

65. The Benedictines Established by St. Benedict (c.480- c.547)
Tonsure - the monastic haircut
Clothing - unity through a similar appearance
Code of Conduct
poverty, chastity, & obedience were vows all monks took
stability & consensus were guiding principles of organization
Rituals/Liturgical hours - opus Dei
matins
vespers
5 others

66. Benedictines 800-1100 Increasing wealth Periodic Reforms
: Benedict of Aniane
Cluny
Citeaux
Literary contributions
Monastic schools
scriptoria
hagiography
history

67. Rituals for the Laity and Clergy
Christian Rituals: Sacraments
baptism
eucharist
penance
ordination
extreme unction
confirmation
By sharing in these rituals, Christians developed a common identity

68. Summary
Christianity provided a powerful force for community building during the Early Middle Ages
on the macro level it united Europeans across social and political boundaries
on the micro level, it provided the basis for the establishment of Christian devotional communities: monasteries
As missionaries, such as Patrick, spread Christian beliefs, it sometimes challenged and other times reinforced existing social identities across Europe

69. Summary
The establishment of monastic communities across western Europe between 600 and 800 CE created an institutional framework for the consolidation of Christian beliefs and culture across areas that had previously been both inside and outside of the Roman Empire
In many ways Christianity promoted the fusion of barbarian and Greco-Roman cultures while adding its own distinct cultural elements

70. What was the religious relationship between the poem’s main characters and its audience around ?
Both the characters and the audience were pagans
Both the characters and the audience were Christians
While the audience was mostly pagan, the characters were quasi-Christian
While the audience embraced Christianity, the characters were depicted as likeable but flawed pagans.