Birth of Europe — Fall

"THE ROMAN EMPIRE was the largest state western Eurasia has ever known. For over four hundred years it stretched from Hadrian’s Wall to the River Euphrates, transforming the lives of all the inhabitants within its frontiers and dominating landscapes and peoples for hundreds of kilometres beyond. Interconnected fortress systems, strategic road networks and professional, highly trained armies both symbolized and ensured this domination, and Roman forces were not averse to massacring any neighbour who stepped out of line. The opening scenes of the 2000 blockbuster Gladiator are based on the victories of Marcus Aurelius over the Marcomanni, a Germanic tribe of south-central Europe, in the third quarter of the second century. Two hundred years later, the Romans were still at it. In 357, 12,000 of the emperor Julian’s Romans routed an army of 30,000 Alamanni at the battle of Strasbourg. But within a generation, the Roman order was shaken to its core and Roman armies, as one contemporary put it, ‘vanished like shadows’. In 376, a large band of Gothic refugees arrived at the Empire’s Danube frontier, asking for asylum. In a complete break with established Roman policy, they were allowed in, unsubdued. They revolted, and within two years had defeated and killed the emperor Valens – the one who had received them – along with two-thirds of his army, at the battle of Hadrianople."

Peter Heather. The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History . Pan Macmillan.

IMPORTANT DATES IN THE SLOW DECLINE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND THE ADVANCE OF THE BARBARIANS
400 - The Goth Gainas is defeated in the East after he sacks Constantinopolis.
401 - Alaric invades Italy. Around this time Aetius is enrolled as a protector domesticus, earmarked for future office.
402 - Stilicho musters 30 Roman Legions and his Alan allies under Saul to fight the Battle of Pollentia and Battle of Verona.
405 - Radagasius invades Pannonia and Noricum, then marches into Italy. Flavius Aetius becomes tribunis praetoriani partis militaris after having served in the protectores domestici for several years, and is sent to Alaric as a hostage.
406 - The Vandals, Alans, and Suebes cross the Rhine after years of fleeing from Hunnic pressure.
408 - Stilicho is executed by Honorius, who then orders Gothic families to be captured or killed. Goths in the army revolt and join Alaric, forming the Visigoths of Spain.
406 - The Romans send 6000 men from the Dalmatian field army to reinforce Rome, but Alaric ambushes and destroys them en route.
410 - Alaric deposes Attalus and lays siege to Rome a third time. Rome is sacked for 3 days, the old senate house is burned and minor looting takes place, but otherwise there is no significant devastation.
416 - Visigoths formally settled in Aquitaine.
419 - Valentinan III is born after Galla Placidia married Constantius III.
421 - Constantius III becomes co-emperor, but dies shortly afterwards.
423 - Honorius dies.
424 - The Eastern Emperor, Theodosius II, launches a campaign to install Valentinian III as Emperor in Ravenna. Licinia Eudoxia and Valentinian III are betrothed. Galla Placidia the real power in Italy.
425 - Valentinian III on the throne in the West.
426 - Flavius Aetius defeats the Visigoths under their general Anaulf besieging Arelate, and establishes a treaty in which Sigisvult enters Roman service as comes foederatorum.
428 - Flavius Aetius defeats the Salian Franks of Chlodio and recaptures Colonia Agrippina and Augusta Treverorum. Flavius Constantius Felix repels Hunnic raiders in Pannonia.
432 - Aetius is made Consul, and defeats the Franks on the Rhine.
The Burgundians revolt again, likely in unison with the Visigoths, who lay siege to Narbona. Aetius uses his Hun foederati to utterly defeat the Burgundians, allegedly slaying 20,000 and killing their king Gundicar, forming the basis of the Nibelungenlied.
438 - Aetius defeats the Visigoths at the Battle of Mons Colubrarius, where they were unable to draw up a battle line and 8000 of them are reputedly slain. Litorius pursues the Visigoths into Aquitaine and lays siege to Tolosa (Toulouse). The Codex Theodosianus is published and implemented in the East, and Aetius presides over its adoption in the West.
440 - The right to bear arms, revoked in 386 AD, is restored under Valentinian III, who passes further laws in an attempt to secure funding for the army and maintain the treasury. The Vandals besiege Panormus and raid Bruttium but they retreat and the party in Bruttium is defeated by the local Vigilies. Aetius and the comes et magister utriusque militiae iunior Sigisvult prepare for a campaign against the Vandals in Africa. The Suebes capture Mertola. Flavius Gaudentius is born and Merobaudes issues a pangeyric. The Alans under Sambida are settled in deserted lands in Valence and Auvergne.
442 - The Treaty of 442 is signed giving the Vandals Numidia, Africa Proconsularis, and Byzacena, and they become the first independent kingdom in the Roman Empire.
443 - Burgundian remnants are settled under Roman control in Sapaudia, the treaty likely results in Ricimer entering Roman service as comes foederatorum.
444 - Attila becomes sole ruler of the Huns.
446 - Aetius consul for the Third time.
447 - Second Hunnic invasion of the Balkans. The Theodosian walls of Constantinople are struck by an earthquake but the city populace and nobility rapidly moves to have them repaired. It is likely the middle wall was added at this point.
448 - The East is forced into a treaty with the Huns with a tribute of 2100 pounds of gold and a buffer zone South of the Danube is established, as well as around 7000 pounds owed in back payments.
451 - Attila invades Gaul
452 - Attila invades again, devastating Noricum Mediterrane and attacks Italy. Aquileia, defended heavily due to foresight by Aetius, is sacked but seriously hampers the Hunnic invasion force.
453 - Attila the Hun dies from cirrhosis of the liver. Thorismund attacks and defeats the Alans of Sambida and Sangiban.
454 - Aetius consul for the Fourth time. Battle of the Nedao River: Hunnic Empire is broken up by the successful revolt of its vassal the Gepids under Ardaric. This prompts most of the other germanic nations to revolt as well, causing problems on the Danube for Aetius. Valentinian III, seeking to become an active emperor, plots to assassinate Aetius with the help of his chamberlain, Heraclius. On the 21st of September, Aetius is stabbed to death by Valentinian III himself. Terminal degeneration of the Western Empire is triggered by his death.
490 - Clovis in Gaul absorbs the former Limitanei garrisons on the Rhine, essentially formalizing their pseudonym of "Ripuarian Franks" and incorporating them into the new Merovingian Frankish Kingdom.
493 - Theodoric the Great is sent by the Eastern Emperor to Italy and establishes the Ostrogothic Kingdom at Ravenna after defeating Odoacer. Ravenna the new capital of Italy til Justinian. End to a Roman centered empire. From 500 on, the surviving Roman Empire is based at Constantinople til 1453.

RECOMMENDED READING

This great book by Peter Heather is the best one-volume study of the fall of the Roman Empire. It is up to date with material from all recent research in the field. And it is a great read – as good as a novel.

The death of the Roman Empire is one of the perennial mysteries of world history. Now, in this groundbreaking book, Peter Heather proposes a stunning new solution: Centuries of imperialism turned the neighbors Rome called barbarians into an enemy capable of dismantling an Empire that had dominated their lives for so long. A leading authority on the late Roman Empire and on the barbarians, Heather relates the extraordinary story of how Europe's barbarians, transformed by centuries of contact with Rome on every possible level, eventually pulled the empire apart. He shows first how the Huns overturned the existing strategic balance of power on Rome's European frontiers, to force the Goths and others to seek refuge inside the Empire. This prompted two generations of struggle, during which new barbarian coalitions, formed in response to Roman hostility, brought the Roman west to its knees. The Goths first destroyed a Roman army at the battle of Hadrianople in 378, and went on to sack Rome in 410. The Vandals spread devastation in Gaul and Spain, before conquering North Africa, the breadbasket of the Western Empire, in 439. We then meet Attila the Hun, whose reign of terror swept from Constantinople to Paris, but whose death in 453 ironically precipitated a final desperate phase of Roman collapse, culminating in the Vandals' defeat of the massive Byzantine Armada: the west's last chance for survival. Peter Heather convincingly argues that the Roman Empire was not on the brink of social or moral collapse. What brought it to an end were the barbarians.

REQUIRED READING FOR THE WHOLE ACADEMIC YEAR

This new history of the Middles Ages has just appeared from the best-selling author Dan Jones. It is perfect for us. The organization and the coverage is excellent. It reads well and is a pleasure. The cost of it is about 20$ from Amazon, either hardcover or paperback. If you prefer the lighter paperback then choose it, but the hardcore will endure better. Please use our link on this page to buy from Amazon because we get credit($) for each purchase.

Here are just a few of the reviews.

"Not only an engrossing read about the distant past, both informative and entertaining, but also a profoundly thought-provoking view of our not-really-so-‘new’ present . . . All medieval history is here, beautifully narrated . . . The vision takes in whole imperial landscapes but also makes room for intimate portraits of key individuals, and even some poems."—Wall Street Journal

"A lively history . . . [Jones] has managed to touch every major topic. As each piece of the puzzle is placed into position, the modern world gradually comes into view . . . Powers and Thrones provides the reader with a framework for understanding a complicated subject, and it tells the story of an essential era of world history with skill and style."—The New York Times

The New York Times bestselling author returns with an epic history of the medieval world—a rich and complicated reappraisal of an era whose legacy and lessons we are still living with today.

When the once-mighty city of Rome was sacked by barbarians in 410 and lay in ruins, it signaled the end of an era--and the beginning of a thousand years of profound transformation. In a gripping narrative bursting with big names—from St Augustine and Attila the Hun to the Prophet Muhammad and Eleanor of Aquitaine—Dan Jones charges through the history of the Middle Ages. Powers and Thrones takes readers on a journey through an emerging Europe, the great capitals of late Antiquity, as well as the influential cities of the Islamic West, and culminates in the first European voyages to the Americas.

The medieval world was forged by the big forces that still occupy us today: climate change, pandemic disease, mass migration, and technological revolutions. This was the time when the great European nationalities were formed; when the basic Western systems of law and governance were codified; when the Christian Churches matured as both powerful institutions and the regulators of Western public morality; and when art, architecture, philosophical inquiry and scientific invention went through periods of massive, revolutionary change.

The West was rebuilt on the ruins of an empire and emerged from a state of crisis and collapse to dominate the world. Every sphere of human life and activity was transformed in the thousand years covered by Powers and Thrones. As we face a critical turning point in our own millennium, Dan Jones shows that how we got here matters more than ever.

The Barbarian Invasions of the Roman Empire were marked by large-scale migrations and subsequent settlements of its former territories by various Barbarian tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman kingdoms. The various tribes invaded and then settled in dozens of different locations of the Empire: these tribes included the Franks, Goths, Alemanni, Alans, Huns, early Slavs, Pannonian Avars, Magyars, and Bulgars. The period is traditionally taken to have begun in AD 375 (possibly as early as 300) and ended in 568. Historians differ as to the dates for the beginning and ending of the invasion period. The beginning of the period is widely regarded as the invasion of Europe by the Huns from Asia in about 375 and the ending with the conquest of Italy by the Lombards in 568.

RECOMMENDED READING

Gregory of Tours (born Georgius Florentius; (538 – 1594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours during the Merovingian period and is known as the "father of French history." He was a prelate in the Merovingian kingdom, encompassing Gaul's historic region. Gregory's most notable work is the Decem Libri Historiarum (Ten Books of Histories), also known as the Historia Francorum (History of the Franks). Decem Libri Historiarum is considered a primary source for the study of Merovingian history and chronicles the accounts of the Franks during the period. Gregory is also known for documenting accounts of religious figures, notably that of Martin of Tours. It is believed that the Tomb of St. Martin became a Christian pilgrimage site in the 6th century due in part to Gregory's writings.

This history of the Franks is the best document we have with which to study the story of this one barbarian tribe that had huge success taking over most of Roman Gaul. They went on to build the new state of the Franks and his new kingdom was the single greatest success of all the Barbarian invader tribal states. The Franks built a solid, enduring, state that went on to become France. The Gothic state in Italy fell apart. And he Visigothic state in Spain was vanquished by the Islamic invaders in 711.

RECOMMENDED READING

Amazon.com Review
Although they exerted a profound, far-reaching influence on Continental geopolitics, the historical Goths (as opposed to contemporary fans of the Cure and Bauhaus) are little known. Peter Heather provides a readable precis of the Goths' role in ancient and medieval European history, examining the murky origins of various Gothic-speaking groups in the Vistula River region of northern Poland, from which they spread out eastward and southward. Pressured by the expanding Roman empire on one side and migrating Hunnish peoples from Central Asia on the other, the Goths aggressively defended their territory and eventually attacked westward, contributing to the collapse of Rome and establishing Gothic empires in Italy, Spain, and North Africa. Heather's useful book ends with the fall of these governments in the 7th century. --Gregory McNamee

Reviews
"...a volume of central importance on the place of the Goths in early European history and a fine contribution to the study of the transformation of Europe after Rome." Times Literary Supplement, January 1998.

"... an excellent introduction to the student" Archaeological Review from Cambridge

Between the first and seventh centuries AD, Gothic groups moved thousands of miles across the map of Europe, from the fringes of the Baltic to the shores of the Atlantic ocean. In the process, they transformed themselves from an insignificant people on the outskirts of the known world into highly militarized forces, capable of carving out successor states for themselves from the body politic of the Roman Empire. This book draws on all the available literary and archaeological evidence, much of the latter never before discussed in English, to reconstruct the Goths' dramatic history, and to explore the meaning of Gothic identity at different moments and in different contexts. The volume is divided into three parts, corresponding to the three main phases in Gothic history: their early history down to the fourth century, the revolution in Gothic society set in motion by the arrival of the Huns, and the history of the Gothic successor states to the western Roman Empire.
From the Back Cover
Between the first and seventh centuries AD, Gothic groups moved thousands of miles across the map of Europe, from the fringes of the Baltic to the shores of the Atlantic ocean. In the process, they transformed themselves from an insignificant people on the outskirts of the known world into highly militarized forces, capable of carving out successor states for themselves from the body politic of the Roman Empire.
About the Author
Peter Heather was born in Northern Ireland and educated at Maidstone Grammar School and New College, Oxford. He briefly joined HM Treasury before being awarded the Murray Fellowship in History at Worcester College, Oxford. His previous books include Goths and Romans, 332-489 (1991) and The Goths in the Fourth Century (1991).

REQUIRED READING FOR THE WHOLE ACADEMIC YEAR

This new history of the Middles Ages has just appeared from the best-selling author Dan Jones. It is perfect for us. The organization and the coverage is excellent. It reads well and is a pleasure. The cost of it is about 20$ from Amazon, either hardcover or paperback. If you prefer the lighter paperback then choose it, but the hardcore will endure better. Please use our link on this page to buy from Amazon because we get credit($) for each purchase.

As the Roman Empire fell into confusion and chaos and war, the first casualties of the empire were the big cities of Europe. Cities always need peace and trade along open highways and open rivers in order to survive and the first problems for the post imperial world was safe travel. It was unsafe to go anywhere. Therefore, the great cities declined for all of the 6th century, the 7th century, the 8th century, the 9th century, and then in the 900s some cities were rebuilding. The earliest European cities to grow were the great Italian cities such as Venice, Milan, Genoa, Florence, and Naples. These Italian cities began to flourish for one simple reason: the naval fleets of the sea powers joined together to reestablish peace in the western Mediterranean. Once the new peace was visible, trade began to flourish once again and these Italian cities benefited the most the earliest. Then after the year 1000, some northern cities began to rebuild and chief among these was Paris, which benefited from the successful unification of France under the Franks. During all of this process of decline and rebirth in Europe, the biggest city of all in the Mediterranean was always Constantinople which reached one million inhabitants at its peak (matching the same number for Ancient Rome).
On and around the year 1000 AD the cities of Europe, and especially of Italy, turn a corner. After centuries of war and invasion, almost suddenly, there is peace. Travel on land ad sea is safer. Products move around more easily. People move around more easily. And thus during the Eleventh Century, there is a general resurgence of the European economy and especially that of the cities. The cities grow fast. They expand fast. They build bigger walls. They build huge new cathedrals and huge new city halls like the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.
THE GREAT MEDIEVAL CITIES:
Venice
Genoa
Naples
Florence
Pisa
Milan
Paris
London
Toledo
Cordoba
Seville

REQUIRED READING FOR THE WHOLE ACADEMIC YEAR

This new history of the Middles Ages has just appeared from the best-selling author Dan Jones. It is perfect for us. The organization and the coverage is excellent. It reads well and is a pleasure. The cost of it is about 20$ from Amazon, either hardcover or paperback. If you prefer the lighter paperback then choose it, but the hardcore will endure better. Please use our link on this page to buy from Amazon because we get credit($) for each purchase.

In the Christian Church of the Middle Ages, a bishop was the chief pastor of a diocese; that is, an area containing more than one congregation. The bishop was an ordained priest who served as pastor of one congregation and oversaw the administration of any others in his district.

Any church that served as the primary office of a bishop was considered his seat, or cathedra, and was therefore known as a cathedral. The office or rank of a bishop is known as a bishopric.

Origins of the term "Bishop"
The word "Bishop" derives from the Greek epískopos (ἐπίσκοπος), which meant an overseer, curator or guardian.

The Duties
Like any priest, a bishop baptized, performed weddings, gave last rites, settled disputes, and heard confession and absolved. In addition, bishops controlled church finances, ordained priests, assigned clergy to their posts, and dealt with any number of matters pertaining to Church business.

Types of Bishops in Medieval Times
An archbishop was a bishop who oversaw several dioceses besides his own. The term "metropolitan" has sometimes been used for the archbishop of a city.

The Pope is the bishop of Rome. The holder of this see was considered the successor to St. Peter, and the office grew in prestige and influence over the first few centuries of the Middle Ages. Before the end of the fifth century, the office was established as the foremost authority in the western Christian Church, and the bishop of Rome became known as the father, or papa, or pope.

Patriarchs were bishops of particularly important sees in the eastern churches (which, after the Great Schism of 1054, would eventually become known as the Eastern Orthodox Church). This included the apostolic sees -- those believed to have been founded by Apostles: Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, and Jerusalem

Cardinal-bishops (now known simply as cardinals) were a privileged class as far back as the 8th century, and only those bishops who had received the red hat (a mark of a cardinal) could elect the pope or become pope.

Secular Influence as Well as Spiritual Power
Some Christian churches, including the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox, maintain that bishops are the successors of the Apostles; this is known as apostolic succession. As the Middle Ages unfolded, bishops often held secular influence as well as spiritual power thanks in part to this perception of inherited authority.
(article from https://www.learnreligions.com/definition-of-bishop-1788456

 

REQUIRED READING FOR THE WHOLE ACADEMIC YEAR

This new history of the Middles Ages has just appeared from the best-selling author Dan Jones. It is perfect for us. The organization and the coverage is excellent. It reads well and is a pleasure. The cost of it is about 20$ from Amazon, either hardcover or paperback. If you prefer the lighter paperback then choose it, but the hardcore will endure better. Please use our link on this page to buy from Amazon because we get credit($) for each purchase.

 

In the seventy-plus years between the last Roman Emperor (476 AD) and the death of Benedict (547 AD), Western Europe created a whole new version of Christianity: monastic Christianity. Born in the years of massive social unrest and political collapse, the new monastic life as it came to be lived in Italy under the leadership of Benedict, appealed to both men and women, rich and poor, young and old. It offered people the opportunity to withdraw from the confusion and to move into a safe space and to join a community of like-minded individuals who welcomed the simplicity of monastic life. The single most important individual in the creation of this new way of life was Benedict of Nursia.

Here is a summary of Benedict from Wikipedia:

Benedict of Nursia (Italian: San Benedetto da Norcia) (480 to 547) is a Christian saint, honoured by the Catholic Church and the Anglican Church[1] as the patron saint of Europe and students. Benedict founded twelve communities for monks at Subiaco, Italy (about 40 miles (64 km) to the east of Rome), before moving to Monte Cassino in the mountains of southern Italy. The Catholic Order of St Benedict and the Anglican Order of St Benedict are of later origin and, moreover, not an "order" as commonly understood but merely a confederation of autonomous congregations. Benedict's main achievement is his "Rule of Saint Benedict", containing precepts for his monks. It is heavily influenced by the writings of John Cassian, and shows strong affinity with the Rule of the Master. But it also has a unique spirit of balance, moderation and reasonableness, and this persuaded most religious communities founded throughout the Middle Ages to adopt it. As a result, his Rule became one of the most influential religious rules in Western Christendom. For this reason, Benedict is often called the founder of western monasticism.

REQUIRED READING:

This is one of the most influential books ever written. For over one thousand years, millions of people looked to this simple guide for a rule as to how to live each day, each week, each month. And here we have it in this nice little inexpensive paperback edition.

 

REQUIRED READING FOR THE WHOLE ACADEMIC YEAR

This new history of the Middles Ages has just appeared from the best-selling author Dan Jones. It is perfect for us. The organization and the coverage is excellent. It reads well and is a pleasure. The cost of it is about 20$ from Amazon, either hardcover or paperback. If you prefer the lighter paperback then choose it, but the hardcore will endure better. Please use our link on this page to buy from Amazon because we get credit($) for each purchase.

 

PART TWO: MONTE CASSINO

Monte Cassino is a rocky hill about 130 kilometres (81 mi) southeast of Rome, Italy, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the west of the town of Cassino (the Roman Casinum having been on the hill) and 520 m (1,706.04 ft) altitude.  St. Benedict of Nursia established his first monastery, the source of the Benedictine Order, here around 529. It was the site of the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944, where the building was destroyed by Allied bombing and rebuilt after the war. The site has been visited many times by the Popes and other senior clergy, including Pope Benedict XVI in May 2009.

The Franks or Frankish people (Latin: Franci or gens Francorum) were a West Germanic tribal confederation first attested in the third century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a kingdom on Roman-held soil that was acknowledged by the Romans after 357. In the climate of the collapse of imperial authority in the West, the Frankish tribes were united under the Merovingians and conquered all of Gaul in the 6th century. The Salian political elite would be one of the most active forces in spreading Christianity over western Europe. The Merovingian dynasty, descended from the Salians, founded one of the Germanic monarchies which replaced the Western Roman Empire from the fifth century. The Frankish state consolidated its hold over large parts of western Europe by the end of the eighth century, developing into the Carolingian Empire which dominated most of Western Europe. This empire would gradually evolve into France and the Holy Roman Empire. (Wikipedia)

The story of this new dynasty and its evolution is told by an eyewitness: Gregory of Tours. Tours remained one of the most important centers of French culture in the fifth and sixth centuries and Gregory continued the work of his famous predecessor Saint Martin. Gregory was Bishop of Tours from 573 until his death in 594. His book History of the Franks is our most important document for the story of the Franks.

RECOMMENDED READING

Gregory of Tours (born Georgius Florentius; (538 – 1594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours during the Merovingian period and is known as the "father of French history." He was a prelate in the Merovingian kingdom, encompassing Gaul's historic region. Gregory's most notable work is the Decem Libri Historiarum (Ten Books of Histories), also known as the Historia Francorum (History of the Franks). Decem Libri Historiarum is considered a primary source for the study of Merovingian history and chronicles the accounts of the Franks during the period. Gregory is also known for documenting accounts of religious figures, notably that of Martin of Tours. It is believed that the Tomb of St. Martin became a Christian pilgrimage site in the 6th century due in part to Gregory's writings.

(History of the Franks summary from Wikipedia)

Gregory of Tours' history is a dense work, full of numerous narratives and characters. Gregory's history contains Christian tales of miracles, descriptions of omens and natural events, stories of Christian martyrs, dialogues of church debates, lives of holy men, lives of the nobility, lives of eccentric peasants, frequent Bible verses and references, and complex international relations between numerous tribes and nations including the Lombards, Visigoths, Ostrogoths and Huns, not to mention Gregory's personal biography and interpretation of events. It begins with a pronouncement by the author, the Bishop of Tours, of Gregory's faith. That he is a Frankish Catholic clergyman who follows the Nicene Creed, and abhors heresy like those of the “wicked” Arian sect among other heresies. The Narrative history begins with a brief epitome of the Biblical Old Testament and New Testament, and the subsequent spread of the Christian Religion into Gaul. Next Gregory covers the history of Christianity in Gaul and some of the major events in Roman-Gallo relations. Book One ends with the death of Saint Martin of Tours in AD 397. It covers the beginnings of the Merovingian dynasty. Book Two ends with the death of King Clovis I in 511, after his conquest of large tracts of land in modern-day France. Also narrated is Clovis's conversion to Christianity by his wife Clotilde. The follows the four male inheritors of King Clovis who equally divide his realms at his death in AD 511. These four kings, Theodoric I, Lothar I, Childebert I, and Chlodomer, quarrel and fight for supremacy of the Frankish realm. Despite their disputes, the four brothers can occasionally work together against an outside threat, such as successful cooperation against the Burgundians in 523. Eventually Clothar becomes the most powerful King in the Frankish realm. Book Three ends with the death of king Theudebert I in 548. He is a grandson of Clovis and son to king Theodoric I, who died in 534 bequesting his kingdom to Theudebert. The kingdom after 548 falls to Theudebald until 555. The two remaining sons of Clovis die; King Childebert in 558 and King Clothar in 561. The last years of his life see the entire realm of the Franks ruled by Clothar. At the time of his demise in AD 561 (like Clovis before him), the Kingdom is divided equally between four sons of Clothar and again the kingly sons quarrel for control of the entire Kingdom. A truce between the brothers is maintained until after the death of King Charibert I (son of Clothar) in 567. Clothar's remaining sons, Kings Sigibert, Guntram, and Chilperic, fight for the supremacy of the kingdom, with King Sigibert showing the strongest military force. Book Four ends with the killing of King Sigbert in AD 575. Gregory of Tours blames Fredegund, the wife of King Chilperic, for this assassination. The death leaves King Chilperic as the dominant king. Fredegund has long held a grudge against King Sigibert and his wife Brunhilda. This book begins the part of the narrative where the author (Bishop Gregory of Tours) has much personal knowledge about the events in the Frankish Kingdom. This book and the ones hereafter, are considerably longer and more detailed than previous, whilst covering a smaller amount of time. This book also contains Gregory's impressions of ecclesiastical issues he saw in person and had some bearing on. This book describes a possible debate that Gregory had with a rival Arian church leader. Moreover, book 5 also introduces Childebert II, the son of recently slain King Sigibert, and of the still living Brunhilda. Childebert is taken along with Brunhilda under the protection of King Gunthram, brother and sometime rival of King Chilperic.

 

REQUIRED READING FOR THE WHOLE ACADEMIC YEAR

This new history of the Middles Ages has just appeared from the best-selling author Dan Jones. It is perfect for us. The organization and the coverage is excellent. It reads well and is a pleasure. The cost of it is about 20$ from Amazon, either hardcover or paperback. If you prefer the lighter paperback then choose it, but the hardcore will endure better. Please use our link on this page to buy from Amazon because we get credit($) for each purchase.

 

Archaeological evidence suggests that Mesolithic people settled in the region of York between 8000 and 7000 BC.

By the time of the Roman conquest of Britain, the area was occupied by a tribe known to the Romans as the Brigantes. The Brigantian tribal area initially became a Roman client state, but later its leaders became more hostile and the Roman Ninth Legion was sent north of the Humber into Brigantian territory. The Roman city was founded in 71 AD, when the Ninth Legion conquered the Brigantes and constructed a wooden military fortress on flat ground above the River Ouse close to its confluence with the River Foss. The fortress, whose walls were rebuilt in stone by the VI legion based there subsequent to the IX legion, covered an area of 50 acres (20 ha) and was inhabited by 6,000 legionary soldiers. The site of the principia (HQ) of the fortress lies under the foundations of the York Cathedral, and excavations in the undercroft have revealed part of the Roman structure and columns.

By the fourth century, York was an important Roman city. Roman Emperor Constantine the Great was proclaimed Emperor at York in 306 AD.The Emperors Hadrian, Septimius Severus, and Constantius I all held court in York during their various campaigns. Constantius I died in 306 AD during his stay in York, and his son Constantine the Great was proclaimed Emperor by the troops based in the fortress. In 314 AD a bishop from York attended the Council at Arles to represent Christians from the province. While the Roman colonia and fortress were on high ground, by 400 AD the town was victim to occasional flooding from the Rivers Ouse and Foss, and the population declined. York continued to decline in the post-Roman era, and was taken and settled by the Angles in the 5th century.

The king of Northumbria converted to Christianity in 627 and at this point, York became the most progressive, learned, center in all of England. Reclamation of parts of the town was initiated in the 7th century under King Edwin of Northumbria, and York became his chief city.The first wooden church was built in York for the baptism of Edwin in 627, according to the great Christian scholar and leader, the Venerable Bede. Edwin ordered the small wooden church be rebuilt in stone; however, he was killed in 633, and the task of completing the stone minster fell to his successor Oswald. In the following century, Alcuin of York came to the cathedral school of York. He had a long career as a teacher and scholar, first at the school at York now known as St Peter's School, founded in 627 AD, and later as Charlemagne's leading advisor on ecclesiastical and educational affairs. Through the influence of Alcuin, the Christian scholars of York converted much of Northern Europe to Christianity.

In 866, Vikings raided and captured York. As a thriving Anglo-Saxon metropolis and prosperous economic hub, York was a clear target for the Vikings. Led by Ivar the Boneless and Halfdan, Scandinavian forces attacked the town on All Saints' Day. Launching the assault on a holy day proved an effective tactical move – most of York's leaders were in the cathedral, leaving the town vulnerable to attack and unprepared for battle. After it was conquered, the city was renamed from the Saxon Eoforwic to Jorvik. It became the capital of Viking territory in Britain, and at its peak boasted more than 10,000 inhabitants. This was a population second only to London within Great Britain. Jorvik proved an important economic and trade centre for the Vikings. Norse coinage was created at the Jorvik mint, while archaeologists have found evidence of a variety of craft workshops around the town's central Coppergate area. These demonstrate that textile production, metalwork, carving, glasswork and jewellery-making were all practised in Jorvik. Materials from as far afield as the Persian Gulf have also been discovered, suggesting that the town was part of an international trading network. Under Viking rule the city became a major river port, part of the extensive Viking trading routes throughout northern Europe. The last ruler of an independent Jórvík, Eric Bloodaxe, was driven from the city in 954 AD by King Eadred in his successful attempt to complete the unification of England.
(Wikipedia in addition to my own comments-WHF)

 

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Vikings is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and settled throughout parts of Europe.They also voyaged as far as the Mediterranean, North Africa, Volga Bulgaria, and the Middle East. In their countries of origin, and some of the countries they raided and settled in, this period is popularly known as the Viking Age, and the term "Viking" also commonly includes the inhabitants of the Scandinavian homelands as a whole. Expert sailors and navigators of their characteristic longships, Vikings established Norse settlements and governments in the British Isles, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, Normandy, and the Baltic coast, as well as along the Dnieper and Volga trade routes across modern-day Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, where they were also known as Varangians. At one point, a group of Rus Vikings went so far south that, after briefly being bodyguards for the Byzantine emperor, they attacked the Byzantine city of Constantinople. While spreading Norse culture to foreign lands, they simultaneously brought home slaves, concubines and foreign cultural influences to Scandinavia, influencing the genetic and historical development of both. During the Viking Age, the Norse homelands were gradually consolidated from smaller kingdoms into three larger kingdoms: Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The Vikings spoke Old Norse and made inscriptions in runes. For most of the period they followed the Old Norse religion, but later became Christians. The Vikings had their own laws, art and architecture. Most Vikings were also farmers, fishermen, craftsmen and traders. Popular conceptions of the Vikings often strongly differ from the complex, advanced civilisation of the Norsemen that emerges from archaeology and historical sources. A romanticized picture of Vikings as noble savages began to emerge in the 18th century; this developed and became widely propagated during the 19th-century Viking revival. Perceived views of the Vikings as violent, piratical heathens or as intrepid adventurers owe much to conflicting varieties of the modern Viking myth that had taken shape by the early 20th century. (Wikipedia)

 

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"He was heavily built, sturdy, and of considerable stature, although not exceptionally so, since his height was seven times the length of his own foot. He had a round head, large and lively eyes, a slightly larger nose than usual, white but still attractive hair, a bright and cheerful expression, a short and fat neck, and he enjoyed good health, except for the fevers that affected him in the last few years of his life. Towards the end, he dragged one leg. Even then, he stubbornly did what he wanted and refused to listen to doctors, indeed he detested them, because they wanted to persuade him to stop eating roast meat, as was his wont, and to be content with boiled meat.Charles was temperate in eating, and particularly so in drinking, for he abominated drunkenness in anybody, much more in himself and those of his household; but he could not easily abstain from food, and often complained that fasts injured his health. He very rarely gave entertainments, only on great feast-days, and then to large numbers of people. His meals ordinarily consisted of four courses, not counting the roast, which his huntsmen used to bring in on the spit; he was more fond of this than of any other dish. While at table, he listened to reading or music. The subjects of the readings were the stories and deeds of olden time: he was fond, too, of St. Augustine's books, and especially of the one titled The City of God."
Einhard, Life of Charlemagne

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THE YEAR 1000 is a vivid evocation of how English people lived a thousand years ago - no spinach, sugar or Caesarean operations in which the mother had any chance of survival, but a world that knew brain surgeons, property developers and, yes, even the occasional gossip columnist. In the spirit of modern investigative journalism, Lacey and Danziger interviewed the leading historians and archaeologists in their field. In the year 1000 the changing seasons shaped a life that was, by our standards, both soothingly quiet and frighteningly hazardous - and if you survived, you could expect to grow to just about the same height and stature as anyone living today. This exuberant and informative book concludes as the shadow of the millennium descends across England and Christendom, with prophets of doom invoking the spectre of the Anti-Christ. Here comes the abacus - the medieval calculating machine - along with bewildering new concepts like infinity and zero. These are portents of the future, and THE YEAR 1000 finishes by examining the human and social ingredients that were to make for survival and success in the next thousand years.

 

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"THE ROMAN EMPIRE was the largest state western Eurasia has ever known. For over four hundred years it stretched from Hadrian’s Wall to the River Euphrates, transforming the lives of all the inhabitants within its frontiers and dominating landscapes and peoples for hundreds of kilometres beyond. Interconnected fortress systems, strategic road networks and professional, highly trained armies both symbolized and ensured this domination, and Roman forces were not averse to massacring any neighbour who stepped out of line. The opening scenes of the 2000 blockbuster Gladiator are based on the victories of Marcus Aurelius over the Marcomanni, a Germanic tribe of south-central Europe, in the third quarter of the second century. Two hundred years later, the Romans were still at it. In 357, 12,000 of the emperor Julian’s Romans routed an army of 30,000 Alamanni at the battle of Strasbourg. But within a generation, the Roman order was shaken to its core and Roman armies, as one contemporary put it, ‘vanished like shadows’. In 376, a large band of Gothic refugees arrived at the Empire’s Danube frontier, asking for asylum. In a complete break with established Roman policy, they were allowed in, unsubdued. They revolted, and within two years had defeated and killed the emperor Valens – the one who had received them – along with two-thirds of his army, at the battle of Hadrianople."

Peter Heather. The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History . Pan Macmillan.

IMPORTANT DATES IN THE SLOW DECLINE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND THE ADVANCE OF THE BARBARIANS
400 - The Goth Gainas is defeated in the East after he sacks Constantinopolis.
401 - Alaric invades Italy. Around this time Aetius is enrolled as a protector domesticus, earmarked for future office.
402 - Stilicho musters 30 Roman Legions and his Alan allies under Saul to fight the Battle of Pollentia and Battle of Verona.
405 - Radagasius invades Pannonia and Noricum, then marches into Italy. Flavius Aetius becomes tribunis praetoriani partis militaris after having served in the protectores domestici for several years, and is sent to Alaric as a hostage.
406 - The Vandals, Alans, and Suebes cross the Rhine after years of fleeing from Hunnic pressure.
408 - Stilicho is executed by Honorius, who then orders Gothic families to be captured or killed. Goths in the army revolt and join Alaric, forming the Visigoths of Spain.
406 - The Romans send 6000 men from the Dalmatian field army to reinforce Rome, but Alaric ambushes and destroys them en route.
410 - Alaric deposes Attalus and lays siege to Rome a third time. Rome is sacked for 3 days, the old senate house is burned and minor looting takes place, but otherwise there is no significant devastation.
416 - Visigoths formally settled in Aquitaine.
419 - Valentinan III is born after Galla Placidia married Constantius III.
421 - Constantius III becomes co-emperor, but dies shortly afterwards.
423 - Honorius dies.
424 - The Eastern Emperor, Theodosius II, launches a campaign to install Valentinian III as Emperor in Ravenna. Licinia Eudoxia and Valentinian III are betrothed. Galla Placidia the real power in Italy.
425 - Valentinian III on the throne in the West.
426 - Flavius Aetius defeats the Visigoths under their general Anaulf besieging Arelate, and establishes a treaty in which Sigisvult enters Roman service as comes foederatorum.
428 - Flavius Aetius defeats the Salian Franks of Chlodio and recaptures Colonia Agrippina and Augusta Treverorum. Flavius Constantius Felix repels Hunnic raiders in Pannonia.
432 - Aetius is made Consul, and defeats the Franks on the Rhine.
The Burgundians revolt again, likely in unison with the Visigoths, who lay siege to Narbona. Aetius uses his Hun foederati to utterly defeat the Burgundians, allegedly slaying 20,000 and killing their king Gundicar, forming the basis of the Nibelungenlied.
438 - Aetius defeats the Visigoths at the Battle of Mons Colubrarius, where they were unable to draw up a battle line and 8000 of them are reputedly slain. Litorius pursues the Visigoths into Aquitaine and lays siege to Tolosa (Toulouse). The Codex Theodosianus is published and implemented in the East, and Aetius presides over its adoption in the West.
440 - The right to bear arms, revoked in 386 AD, is restored under Valentinian III, who passes further laws in an attempt to secure funding for the army and maintain the treasury. The Vandals besiege Panormus and raid Bruttium but they retreat and the party in Bruttium is defeated by the local Vigilies. Aetius and the comes et magister utriusque militiae iunior Sigisvult prepare for a campaign against the Vandals in Africa. The Suebes capture Mertola. Flavius Gaudentius is born and Merobaudes issues a pangeyric. The Alans under Sambida are settled in deserted lands in Valence and Auvergne.
442 - The Treaty of 442 is signed giving the Vandals Numidia, Africa Proconsularis, and Byzacena, and they become the first independent kingdom in the Roman Empire.
443 - Burgundian remnants are settled under Roman control in Sapaudia, the treaty likely results in Ricimer entering Roman service as comes foederatorum.
444 - Attila becomes sole ruler of the Huns.
446 - Aetius consul for the Third time.
447 - Second Hunnic invasion of the Balkans. The Theodosian walls of Constantinople are struck by an earthquake but the city populace and nobility rapidly moves to have them repaired. It is likely the middle wall was added at this point.
448 - The East is forced into a treaty with the Huns with a tribute of 2100 pounds of gold and a buffer zone South of the Danube is established, as well as around 7000 pounds owed in back payments.
451 - Attila invades Gaul
452 - Attila invades again, devastating Noricum Mediterrane and attacks Italy. Aquileia, defended heavily due to foresight by Aetius, is sacked but seriously hampers the Hunnic invasion force.
453 - Attila the Hun dies from cirrhosis of the liver. Thorismund attacks and defeats the Alans of Sambida and Sangiban.
454 - Aetius consul for the Fourth time. Battle of the Nedao River: Hunnic Empire is broken up by the successful revolt of its vassal the Gepids under Ardaric. This prompts most of the other germanic nations to revolt as well, causing problems on the Danube for Aetius. Valentinian III, seeking to become an active emperor, plots to assassinate Aetius with the help of his chamberlain, Heraclius. On the 21st of September, Aetius is stabbed to death by Valentinian III himself. Terminal degeneration of the Western Empire is triggered by his death.
490 - Clovis in Gaul absorbs the former Limitanei garrisons on the Rhine, essentially formalizing their pseudonym of "Ripuarian Franks" and incorporating them into the new Merovingian Frankish Kingdom.
493 - Theodoric the Great is sent by the Eastern Emperor to Italy and establishes the Ostrogothic Kingdom at Ravenna after defeating Odoacer. Ravenna the new capital of Italy til Justinian. End to a Roman centered empire. From 500 on, the surviving Roman Empire is based at Constantinople til 1453.

RECOMMENDED READING

This great book by Peter Heather is the best one-volume study of the fall of the Roman Empire. It is up to date with material from all recent research in the field. And it is a great read – as good as a novel.

The death of the Roman Empire is one of the perennial mysteries of world history. Now, in this groundbreaking book, Peter Heather proposes a stunning new solution: Centuries of imperialism turned the neighbors Rome called barbarians into an enemy capable of dismantling an Empire that had dominated their lives for so long. A leading authority on the late Roman Empire and on the barbarians, Heather relates the extraordinary story of how Europe's barbarians, transformed by centuries of contact with Rome on every possible level, eventually pulled the empire apart. He shows first how the Huns overturned the existing strategic balance of power on Rome's European frontiers, to force the Goths and others to seek refuge inside the Empire. This prompted two generations of struggle, during which new barbarian coalitions, formed in response to Roman hostility, brought the Roman west to its knees. The Goths first destroyed a Roman army at the battle of Hadrianople in 378, and went on to sack Rome in 410. The Vandals spread devastation in Gaul and Spain, before conquering North Africa, the breadbasket of the Western Empire, in 439. We then meet Attila the Hun, whose reign of terror swept from Constantinople to Paris, but whose death in 453 ironically precipitated a final desperate phase of Roman collapse, culminating in the Vandals' defeat of the massive Byzantine Armada: the west's last chance for survival. Peter Heather convincingly argues that the Roman Empire was not on the brink of social or moral collapse. What brought it to an end were the barbarians.

REQUIRED READING FOR THE WHOLE ACADEMIC YEAR

This new history of the Middles Ages has just appeared from the best-selling author Dan Jones. It is perfect for us. The organization and the coverage is excellent. It reads well and is a pleasure. The cost of it is about 20$ from Amazon, either hardcover or paperback. If you prefer the lighter paperback then choose it, but the hardcore will endure better. Please use our link on this page to buy from Amazon because we get credit($) for each purchase.

Here are just a few of the reviews.

"Not only an engrossing read about the distant past, both informative and entertaining, but also a profoundly thought-provoking view of our not-really-so-‘new’ present . . . All medieval history is here, beautifully narrated . . . The vision takes in whole imperial landscapes but also makes room for intimate portraits of key individuals, and even some poems."—Wall Street Journal

"A lively history . . . [Jones] has managed to touch every major topic. As each piece of the puzzle is placed into position, the modern world gradually comes into view . . . Powers and Thrones provides the reader with a framework for understanding a complicated subject, and it tells the story of an essential era of world history with skill and style."—The New York Times

The New York Times bestselling author returns with an epic history of the medieval world—a rich and complicated reappraisal of an era whose legacy and lessons we are still living with today.

When the once-mighty city of Rome was sacked by barbarians in 410 and lay in ruins, it signaled the end of an era--and the beginning of a thousand years of profound transformation. In a gripping narrative bursting with big names—from St Augustine and Attila the Hun to the Prophet Muhammad and Eleanor of Aquitaine—Dan Jones charges through the history of the Middle Ages. Powers and Thrones takes readers on a journey through an emerging Europe, the great capitals of late Antiquity, as well as the influential cities of the Islamic West, and culminates in the first European voyages to the Americas.

The medieval world was forged by the big forces that still occupy us today: climate change, pandemic disease, mass migration, and technological revolutions. This was the time when the great European nationalities were formed; when the basic Western systems of law and governance were codified; when the Christian Churches matured as both powerful institutions and the regulators of Western public morality; and when art, architecture, philosophical inquiry and scientific invention went through periods of massive, revolutionary change.

The West was rebuilt on the ruins of an empire and emerged from a state of crisis and collapse to dominate the world. Every sphere of human life and activity was transformed in the thousand years covered by Powers and Thrones. As we face a critical turning point in our own millennium, Dan Jones shows that how we got here matters more than ever.

The Barbarian Invasions of the Roman Empire were marked by large-scale migrations and subsequent settlements of its former territories by various Barbarian tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman kingdoms. The various tribes invaded and then settled in dozens of different locations of the Empire: these tribes included the Franks, Goths, Alemanni, Alans, Huns, early Slavs, Pannonian Avars, Magyars, and Bulgars. The period is traditionally taken to have begun in AD 375 (possibly as early as 300) and ended in 568. Historians differ as to the dates for the beginning and ending of the invasion period. The beginning of the period is widely regarded as the invasion of Europe by the Huns from Asia in about 375 and the ending with the conquest of Italy by the Lombards in 568.

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Gregory of Tours (born Georgius Florentius; (538 – 1594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours during the Merovingian period and is known as the "father of French history." He was a prelate in the Merovingian kingdom, encompassing Gaul's historic region. Gregory's most notable work is the Decem Libri Historiarum (Ten Books of Histories), also known as the Historia Francorum (History of the Franks). Decem Libri Historiarum is considered a primary source for the study of Merovingian history and chronicles the accounts of the Franks during the period. Gregory is also known for documenting accounts of religious figures, notably that of Martin of Tours. It is believed that the Tomb of St. Martin became a Christian pilgrimage site in the 6th century due in part to Gregory's writings.

This history of the Franks is the best document we have with which to study the story of this one barbarian tribe that had huge success taking over most of Roman Gaul. They went on to build the new state of the Franks and his new kingdom was the single greatest success of all the Barbarian invader tribal states. The Franks built a solid, enduring, state that went on to become France. The Gothic state in Italy fell apart. And he Visigothic state in Spain was vanquished by the Islamic invaders in 711.

RECOMMENDED READING

Amazon.com Review
Although they exerted a profound, far-reaching influence on Continental geopolitics, the historical Goths (as opposed to contemporary fans of the Cure and Bauhaus) are little known. Peter Heather provides a readable precis of the Goths' role in ancient and medieval European history, examining the murky origins of various Gothic-speaking groups in the Vistula River region of northern Poland, from which they spread out eastward and southward. Pressured by the expanding Roman empire on one side and migrating Hunnish peoples from Central Asia on the other, the Goths aggressively defended their territory and eventually attacked westward, contributing to the collapse of Rome and establishing Gothic empires in Italy, Spain, and North Africa. Heather's useful book ends with the fall of these governments in the 7th century. --Gregory McNamee

Reviews
"...a volume of central importance on the place of the Goths in early European history and a fine contribution to the study of the transformation of Europe after Rome." Times Literary Supplement, January 1998.

"... an excellent introduction to the student" Archaeological Review from Cambridge

Between the first and seventh centuries AD, Gothic groups moved thousands of miles across the map of Europe, from the fringes of the Baltic to the shores of the Atlantic ocean. In the process, they transformed themselves from an insignificant people on the outskirts of the known world into highly militarized forces, capable of carving out successor states for themselves from the body politic of the Roman Empire. This book draws on all the available literary and archaeological evidence, much of the latter never before discussed in English, to reconstruct the Goths' dramatic history, and to explore the meaning of Gothic identity at different moments and in different contexts. The volume is divided into three parts, corresponding to the three main phases in Gothic history: their early history down to the fourth century, the revolution in Gothic society set in motion by the arrival of the Huns, and the history of the Gothic successor states to the western Roman Empire.
From the Back Cover
Between the first and seventh centuries AD, Gothic groups moved thousands of miles across the map of Europe, from the fringes of the Baltic to the shores of the Atlantic ocean. In the process, they transformed themselves from an insignificant people on the outskirts of the known world into highly militarized forces, capable of carving out successor states for themselves from the body politic of the Roman Empire.
About the Author
Peter Heather was born in Northern Ireland and educated at Maidstone Grammar School and New College, Oxford. He briefly joined HM Treasury before being awarded the Murray Fellowship in History at Worcester College, Oxford. His previous books include Goths and Romans, 332-489 (1991) and The Goths in the Fourth Century (1991).

REQUIRED READING FOR THE WHOLE ACADEMIC YEAR

This new history of the Middles Ages has just appeared from the best-selling author Dan Jones. It is perfect for us. The organization and the coverage is excellent. It reads well and is a pleasure. The cost of it is about 20$ from Amazon, either hardcover or paperback. If you prefer the lighter paperback then choose it, but the hardcore will endure better. Please use our link on this page to buy from Amazon because we get credit($) for each purchase.

As the Roman Empire fell into confusion and chaos and war, the first casualties of the empire were the big cities of Europe. Cities always need peace and trade along open highways and open rivers in order to survive and the first problems for the post imperial world was safe travel. It was unsafe to go anywhere. Therefore, the great cities declined for all of the 6th century, the 7th century, the 8th century, the 9th century, and then in the 900s some cities were rebuilding. The earliest European cities to grow were the great Italian cities such as Venice, Milan, Genoa, Florence, and Naples. These Italian cities began to flourish for one simple reason: the naval fleets of the sea powers joined together to reestablish peace in the western Mediterranean. Once the new peace was visible, trade began to flourish once again and these Italian cities benefited the most the earliest. Then after the year 1000, some northern cities began to rebuild and chief among these was Paris, which benefited from the successful unification of France under the Franks. During all of this process of decline and rebirth in Europe, the biggest city of all in the Mediterranean was always Constantinople which reached one million inhabitants at its peak (matching the same number for Ancient Rome).
On and around the year 1000 AD the cities of Europe, and especially of Italy, turn a corner. After centuries of war and invasion, almost suddenly, there is peace. Travel on land ad sea is safer. Products move around more easily. People move around more easily. And thus during the Eleventh Century, there is a general resurgence of the European economy and especially that of the cities. The cities grow fast. They expand fast. They build bigger walls. They build huge new cathedrals and huge new city halls like the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.
THE GREAT MEDIEVAL CITIES:
Venice
Genoa
Naples
Florence
Pisa
Milan
Paris
London
Toledo
Cordoba
Seville

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In the Christian Church of the Middle Ages, a bishop was the chief pastor of a diocese; that is, an area containing more than one congregation. The bishop was an ordained priest who served as pastor of one congregation and oversaw the administration of any others in his district.

Any church that served as the primary office of a bishop was considered his seat, or cathedra, and was therefore known as a cathedral. The office or rank of a bishop is known as a bishopric.

Origins of the term "Bishop"
The word "Bishop" derives from the Greek epískopos (ἐπίσκοπος), which meant an overseer, curator or guardian.

The Duties
Like any priest, a bishop baptized, performed weddings, gave last rites, settled disputes, and heard confession and absolved. In addition, bishops controlled church finances, ordained priests, assigned clergy to their posts, and dealt with any number of matters pertaining to Church business.

Types of Bishops in Medieval Times
An archbishop was a bishop who oversaw several dioceses besides his own. The term "metropolitan" has sometimes been used for the archbishop of a city.

The Pope is the bishop of Rome. The holder of this see was considered the successor to St. Peter, and the office grew in prestige and influence over the first few centuries of the Middle Ages. Before the end of the fifth century, the office was established as the foremost authority in the western Christian Church, and the bishop of Rome became known as the father, or papa, or pope.

Patriarchs were bishops of particularly important sees in the eastern churches (which, after the Great Schism of 1054, would eventually become known as the Eastern Orthodox Church). This included the apostolic sees -- those believed to have been founded by Apostles: Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, and Jerusalem

Cardinal-bishops (now known simply as cardinals) were a privileged class as far back as the 8th century, and only those bishops who had received the red hat (a mark of a cardinal) could elect the pope or become pope.

Secular Influence as Well as Spiritual Power
Some Christian churches, including the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox, maintain that bishops are the successors of the Apostles; this is known as apostolic succession. As the Middle Ages unfolded, bishops often held secular influence as well as spiritual power thanks in part to this perception of inherited authority.
(article from https://www.learnreligions.com/definition-of-bishop-1788456

 

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In the seventy-plus years between the last Roman Emperor (476 AD) and the death of Benedict (547 AD), Western Europe created a whole new version of Christianity: monastic Christianity. Born in the years of massive social unrest and political collapse, the new monastic life as it came to be lived in Italy under the leadership of Benedict, appealed to both men and women, rich and poor, young and old. It offered people the opportunity to withdraw from the confusion and to move into a safe space and to join a community of like-minded individuals who welcomed the simplicity of monastic life. The single most important individual in the creation of this new way of life was Benedict of Nursia.

Here is a summary of Benedict from Wikipedia:

Benedict of Nursia (Italian: San Benedetto da Norcia) (480 to 547) is a Christian saint, honoured by the Catholic Church and the Anglican Church[1] as the patron saint of Europe and students. Benedict founded twelve communities for monks at Subiaco, Italy (about 40 miles (64 km) to the east of Rome), before moving to Monte Cassino in the mountains of southern Italy. The Catholic Order of St Benedict and the Anglican Order of St Benedict are of later origin and, moreover, not an "order" as commonly understood but merely a confederation of autonomous congregations. Benedict's main achievement is his "Rule of Saint Benedict", containing precepts for his monks. It is heavily influenced by the writings of John Cassian, and shows strong affinity with the Rule of the Master. But it also has a unique spirit of balance, moderation and reasonableness, and this persuaded most religious communities founded throughout the Middle Ages to adopt it. As a result, his Rule became one of the most influential religious rules in Western Christendom. For this reason, Benedict is often called the founder of western monasticism.

REQUIRED READING:

This is one of the most influential books ever written. For over one thousand years, millions of people looked to this simple guide for a rule as to how to live each day, each week, each month. And here we have it in this nice little inexpensive paperback edition.

 

REQUIRED READING FOR THE WHOLE ACADEMIC YEAR

This new history of the Middles Ages has just appeared from the best-selling author Dan Jones. It is perfect for us. The organization and the coverage is excellent. It reads well and is a pleasure. The cost of it is about 20$ from Amazon, either hardcover or paperback. If you prefer the lighter paperback then choose it, but the hardcore will endure better. Please use our link on this page to buy from Amazon because we get credit($) for each purchase.

 

PART TWO: MONTE CASSINO

Monte Cassino is a rocky hill about 130 kilometres (81 mi) southeast of Rome, Italy, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the west of the town of Cassino (the Roman Casinum having been on the hill) and 520 m (1,706.04 ft) altitude.  St. Benedict of Nursia established his first monastery, the source of the Benedictine Order, here around 529. It was the site of the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944, where the building was destroyed by Allied bombing and rebuilt after the war. The site has been visited many times by the Popes and other senior clergy, including Pope Benedict XVI in May 2009.

The Franks or Frankish people (Latin: Franci or gens Francorum) were a West Germanic tribal confederation first attested in the third century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a kingdom on Roman-held soil that was acknowledged by the Romans after 357. In the climate of the collapse of imperial authority in the West, the Frankish tribes were united under the Merovingians and conquered all of Gaul in the 6th century. The Salian political elite would be one of the most active forces in spreading Christianity over western Europe. The Merovingian dynasty, descended from the Salians, founded one of the Germanic monarchies which replaced the Western Roman Empire from the fifth century. The Frankish state consolidated its hold over large parts of western Europe by the end of the eighth century, developing into the Carolingian Empire which dominated most of Western Europe. This empire would gradually evolve into France and the Holy Roman Empire. (Wikipedia)

The story of this new dynasty and its evolution is told by an eyewitness: Gregory of Tours. Tours remained one of the most important centers of French culture in the fifth and sixth centuries and Gregory continued the work of his famous predecessor Saint Martin. Gregory was Bishop of Tours from 573 until his death in 594. His book History of the Franks is our most important document for the story of the Franks.

RECOMMENDED READING

Gregory of Tours (born Georgius Florentius; (538 – 1594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours during the Merovingian period and is known as the "father of French history." He was a prelate in the Merovingian kingdom, encompassing Gaul's historic region. Gregory's most notable work is the Decem Libri Historiarum (Ten Books of Histories), also known as the Historia Francorum (History of the Franks). Decem Libri Historiarum is considered a primary source for the study of Merovingian history and chronicles the accounts of the Franks during the period. Gregory is also known for documenting accounts of religious figures, notably that of Martin of Tours. It is believed that the Tomb of St. Martin became a Christian pilgrimage site in the 6th century due in part to Gregory's writings.

(History of the Franks summary from Wikipedia)

Gregory of Tours' history is a dense work, full of numerous narratives and characters. Gregory's history contains Christian tales of miracles, descriptions of omens and natural events, stories of Christian martyrs, dialogues of church debates, lives of holy men, lives of the nobility, lives of eccentric peasants, frequent Bible verses and references, and complex international relations between numerous tribes and nations including the Lombards, Visigoths, Ostrogoths and Huns, not to mention Gregory's personal biography and interpretation of events. It begins with a pronouncement by the author, the Bishop of Tours, of Gregory's faith. That he is a Frankish Catholic clergyman who follows the Nicene Creed, and abhors heresy like those of the “wicked” Arian sect among other heresies. The Narrative history begins with a brief epitome of the Biblical Old Testament and New Testament, and the subsequent spread of the Christian Religion into Gaul. Next Gregory covers the history of Christianity in Gaul and some of the major events in Roman-Gallo relations. Book One ends with the death of Saint Martin of Tours in AD 397. It covers the beginnings of the Merovingian dynasty. Book Two ends with the death of King Clovis I in 511, after his conquest of large tracts of land in modern-day France. Also narrated is Clovis's conversion to Christianity by his wife Clotilde. The follows the four male inheritors of King Clovis who equally divide his realms at his death in AD 511. These four kings, Theodoric I, Lothar I, Childebert I, and Chlodomer, quarrel and fight for supremacy of the Frankish realm. Despite their disputes, the four brothers can occasionally work together against an outside threat, such as successful cooperation against the Burgundians in 523. Eventually Clothar becomes the most powerful King in the Frankish realm. Book Three ends with the death of king Theudebert I in 548. He is a grandson of Clovis and son to king Theodoric I, who died in 534 bequesting his kingdom to Theudebert. The kingdom after 548 falls to Theudebald until 555. The two remaining sons of Clovis die; King Childebert in 558 and King Clothar in 561. The last years of his life see the entire realm of the Franks ruled by Clothar. At the time of his demise in AD 561 (like Clovis before him), the Kingdom is divided equally between four sons of Clothar and again the kingly sons quarrel for control of the entire Kingdom. A truce between the brothers is maintained until after the death of King Charibert I (son of Clothar) in 567. Clothar's remaining sons, Kings Sigibert, Guntram, and Chilperic, fight for the supremacy of the kingdom, with King Sigibert showing the strongest military force. Book Four ends with the killing of King Sigbert in AD 575. Gregory of Tours blames Fredegund, the wife of King Chilperic, for this assassination. The death leaves King Chilperic as the dominant king. Fredegund has long held a grudge against King Sigibert and his wife Brunhilda. This book begins the part of the narrative where the author (Bishop Gregory of Tours) has much personal knowledge about the events in the Frankish Kingdom. This book and the ones hereafter, are considerably longer and more detailed than previous, whilst covering a smaller amount of time. This book also contains Gregory's impressions of ecclesiastical issues he saw in person and had some bearing on. This book describes a possible debate that Gregory had with a rival Arian church leader. Moreover, book 5 also introduces Childebert II, the son of recently slain King Sigibert, and of the still living Brunhilda. Childebert is taken along with Brunhilda under the protection of King Gunthram, brother and sometime rival of King Chilperic.

 

REQUIRED READING FOR THE WHOLE ACADEMIC YEAR

This new history of the Middles Ages has just appeared from the best-selling author Dan Jones. It is perfect for us. The organization and the coverage is excellent. It reads well and is a pleasure. The cost of it is about 20$ from Amazon, either hardcover or paperback. If you prefer the lighter paperback then choose it, but the hardcore will endure better. Please use our link on this page to buy from Amazon because we get credit($) for each purchase.

 

Archaeological evidence suggests that Mesolithic people settled in the region of York between 8000 and 7000 BC.

By the time of the Roman conquest of Britain, the area was occupied by a tribe known to the Romans as the Brigantes. The Brigantian tribal area initially became a Roman client state, but later its leaders became more hostile and the Roman Ninth Legion was sent north of the Humber into Brigantian territory. The Roman city was founded in 71 AD, when the Ninth Legion conquered the Brigantes and constructed a wooden military fortress on flat ground above the River Ouse close to its confluence with the River Foss. The fortress, whose walls were rebuilt in stone by the VI legion based there subsequent to the IX legion, covered an area of 50 acres (20 ha) and was inhabited by 6,000 legionary soldiers. The site of the principia (HQ) of the fortress lies under the foundations of the York Cathedral, and excavations in the undercroft have revealed part of the Roman structure and columns.

By the fourth century, York was an important Roman city. Roman Emperor Constantine the Great was proclaimed Emperor at York in 306 AD.The Emperors Hadrian, Septimius Severus, and Constantius I all held court in York during their various campaigns. Constantius I died in 306 AD during his stay in York, and his son Constantine the Great was proclaimed Emperor by the troops based in the fortress. In 314 AD a bishop from York attended the Council at Arles to represent Christians from the province. While the Roman colonia and fortress were on high ground, by 400 AD the town was victim to occasional flooding from the Rivers Ouse and Foss, and the population declined. York continued to decline in the post-Roman era, and was taken and settled by the Angles in the 5th century.

The king of Northumbria converted to Christianity in 627 and at this point, York became the most progressive, learned, center in all of England. Reclamation of parts of the town was initiated in the 7th century under King Edwin of Northumbria, and York became his chief city.The first wooden church was built in York for the baptism of Edwin in 627, according to the great Christian scholar and leader, the Venerable Bede. Edwin ordered the small wooden church be rebuilt in stone; however, he was killed in 633, and the task of completing the stone minster fell to his successor Oswald. In the following century, Alcuin of York came to the cathedral school of York. He had a long career as a teacher and scholar, first at the school at York now known as St Peter's School, founded in 627 AD, and later as Charlemagne's leading advisor on ecclesiastical and educational affairs. Through the influence of Alcuin, the Christian scholars of York converted much of Northern Europe to Christianity.

In 866, Vikings raided and captured York. As a thriving Anglo-Saxon metropolis and prosperous economic hub, York was a clear target for the Vikings. Led by Ivar the Boneless and Halfdan, Scandinavian forces attacked the town on All Saints' Day. Launching the assault on a holy day proved an effective tactical move – most of York's leaders were in the cathedral, leaving the town vulnerable to attack and unprepared for battle. After it was conquered, the city was renamed from the Saxon Eoforwic to Jorvik. It became the capital of Viking territory in Britain, and at its peak boasted more than 10,000 inhabitants. This was a population second only to London within Great Britain. Jorvik proved an important economic and trade centre for the Vikings. Norse coinage was created at the Jorvik mint, while archaeologists have found evidence of a variety of craft workshops around the town's central Coppergate area. These demonstrate that textile production, metalwork, carving, glasswork and jewellery-making were all practised in Jorvik. Materials from as far afield as the Persian Gulf have also been discovered, suggesting that the town was part of an international trading network. Under Viking rule the city became a major river port, part of the extensive Viking trading routes throughout northern Europe. The last ruler of an independent Jórvík, Eric Bloodaxe, was driven from the city in 954 AD by King Eadred in his successful attempt to complete the unification of England.
(Wikipedia in addition to my own comments-WHF)

 

REQUIRED READING FOR THE WHOLE ACADEMIC YEAR

This new history of the Middles Ages has just appeared from the best-selling author Dan Jones. It is perfect for us. The organization and the coverage is excellent. It reads well and is a pleasure. The cost of it is about 20$ from Amazon, either hardcover or paperback. If you prefer the lighter paperback then choose it, but the hardcore will endure better. Please use our link on this page to buy from Amazon because we get credit($) for each purchase.

Vikings is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and settled throughout parts of Europe.They also voyaged as far as the Mediterranean, North Africa, Volga Bulgaria, and the Middle East. In their countries of origin, and some of the countries they raided and settled in, this period is popularly known as the Viking Age, and the term "Viking" also commonly includes the inhabitants of the Scandinavian homelands as a whole. Expert sailors and navigators of their characteristic longships, Vikings established Norse settlements and governments in the British Isles, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, Normandy, and the Baltic coast, as well as along the Dnieper and Volga trade routes across modern-day Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, where they were also known as Varangians. At one point, a group of Rus Vikings went so far south that, after briefly being bodyguards for the Byzantine emperor, they attacked the Byzantine city of Constantinople. While spreading Norse culture to foreign lands, they simultaneously brought home slaves, concubines and foreign cultural influences to Scandinavia, influencing the genetic and historical development of both. During the Viking Age, the Norse homelands were gradually consolidated from smaller kingdoms into three larger kingdoms: Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The Vikings spoke Old Norse and made inscriptions in runes. For most of the period they followed the Old Norse religion, but later became Christians. The Vikings had their own laws, art and architecture. Most Vikings were also farmers, fishermen, craftsmen and traders. Popular conceptions of the Vikings often strongly differ from the complex, advanced civilisation of the Norsemen that emerges from archaeology and historical sources. A romanticized picture of Vikings as noble savages began to emerge in the 18th century; this developed and became widely propagated during the 19th-century Viking revival. Perceived views of the Vikings as violent, piratical heathens or as intrepid adventurers owe much to conflicting varieties of the modern Viking myth that had taken shape by the early 20th century. (Wikipedia)

 

REQUIRED READING FOR THE WHOLE ACADEMIC YEAR

This new history of the Middles Ages has just appeared from the best-selling author Dan Jones. It is perfect for us. The organization and the coverage is excellent. It reads well and is a pleasure. The cost of it is about 20$ from Amazon, either hardcover or paperback. If you prefer the lighter paperback then choose it, but the hardcore will endure better. Please use our link on this page to buy from Amazon because we get credit($) for each purchase.

"He was heavily built, sturdy, and of considerable stature, although not exceptionally so, since his height was seven times the length of his own foot. He had a round head, large and lively eyes, a slightly larger nose than usual, white but still attractive hair, a bright and cheerful expression, a short and fat neck, and he enjoyed good health, except for the fevers that affected him in the last few years of his life. Towards the end, he dragged one leg. Even then, he stubbornly did what he wanted and refused to listen to doctors, indeed he detested them, because they wanted to persuade him to stop eating roast meat, as was his wont, and to be content with boiled meat.Charles was temperate in eating, and particularly so in drinking, for he abominated drunkenness in anybody, much more in himself and those of his household; but he could not easily abstain from food, and often complained that fasts injured his health. He very rarely gave entertainments, only on great feast-days, and then to large numbers of people. His meals ordinarily consisted of four courses, not counting the roast, which his huntsmen used to bring in on the spit; he was more fond of this than of any other dish. While at table, he listened to reading or music. The subjects of the readings were the stories and deeds of olden time: he was fond, too, of St. Augustine's books, and especially of the one titled The City of God."
Einhard, Life of Charlemagne

RECOMMENDED READING

 

REQUIRED READING FOR THE WHOLE ACADEMIC YEAR

This new history of the Middles Ages has just appeared from the best-selling author Dan Jones. It is perfect for us. The organization and the coverage is excellent. It reads well and is a pleasure. The cost of it is about 20$ from Amazon, either hardcover or paperback. If you prefer the lighter paperback then choose it, but the hardcore will endure better. Please use our link on this page to buy from Amazon because we get credit($) for each purchase.

THE YEAR 1000 is a vivid evocation of how English people lived a thousand years ago - no spinach, sugar or Caesarean operations in which the mother had any chance of survival, but a world that knew brain surgeons, property developers and, yes, even the occasional gossip columnist. In the spirit of modern investigative journalism, Lacey and Danziger interviewed the leading historians and archaeologists in their field. In the year 1000 the changing seasons shaped a life that was, by our standards, both soothingly quiet and frighteningly hazardous - and if you survived, you could expect to grow to just about the same height and stature as anyone living today. This exuberant and informative book concludes as the shadow of the millennium descends across England and Christendom, with prophets of doom invoking the spectre of the Anti-Christ. Here comes the abacus - the medieval calculating machine - along with bewildering new concepts like infinity and zero. These are portents of the future, and THE YEAR 1000 finishes by examining the human and social ingredients that were to make for survival and success in the next thousand years.

 

REQUIRED READING FOR THE WHOLE ACADEMIC YEAR

This new history of the Middles Ages has just appeared from the best-selling author Dan Jones. It is perfect for us. The organization and the coverage is excellent. It reads well and is a pleasure. The cost of it is about 20$ from Amazon, either hardcover or paperback. If you prefer the lighter paperback then choose it, but the hardcore will endure better. Please use our link on this page to buy from Amazon because we get credit($) for each purchase.