Unit 23: The Roman Legacy
Contents and layout ©1999 Joseph J. Hughes, Ph.D.
Revised 09 November 2000
Papacy Charlemagne
Holy Roman Empire Justinian
Clovis Romaioi
I. Christianity and the "fall" of the Empire
A. rise of Christianity
1. survives persecutions of 3d century
a. important factor in life of the poor
b. closely-knit but small communities
2. established as state religion by Constantine
a. dynamic social movement
b. tool to control public
c. add to social stability
B. Christianity as state religion
1. schisms and disharmony
a. attempts to provide a unified creed
b. attempts to set up a unified hierarchy
1). patriarchs in big Eastern cities
a). Constantinople: first in East
b). more the clerical arm of Eastern Empire
2). bishop of Rome in the West
a). Petrine primacy
b). develops into Papacy
c). exerts intermittently strong control on Catholic kings
2. Christian church as social arm of state
a. provided for poor and ill (both sides of Empire)
1). government had long since stopped caring
2). this became its recognized function
b. could also exercise power in secular affairs
1). sometimes more influential than government
2). Popes became powerful
3. Christian church as agent of decay
a. attracted able men
1). aided growth of Church
2). might otherwise have served State
b. was given huge amounts of money
1). aided Church and its programs
2). might otherwise have bailed out State
c. drew men's minds from the temporal to the spiritual
1). brought comfort to members of the Church
2). aided spirit of defeatism in West
II. Survival of the Western Empire
A. division of the former Western Empire
1. Burgundian kingdom: SE Gaul
2. Frankish kingdom: N Gaul
3. Visigoth kingdom: SW Gaul and Spain
4. Vandal kingdom: Africa
5. Ostrogoth kingdom: Italy
B. rise of the Holy Roman empire
1. Clovis (482-511) the Frank
a. accepts the Catholic faith
b. approved by Eastern Roman Empire
c. founds Merovingian dynasty
2. Merovingian dynasty replaced by Carolingian (751)
3. Charlemagne crowned at Rome 800
a. styles himself Emperor of Rome
b. receives crown from Pope Leo III
4. Holy Roman Empire is actually a triple misnomer
a. often enough was at odds with the Pope in Rome
b. More Franco-Germanic than it was Roman
c. Tended to consist of dollops of Germany and Italy
C. creation of Spain
1. Visigoths maintain their hold on Iberian peninsula
a. kicked out of Gaul by Franks
b. entrench themselves in Spain
2. become rather Romanized
a. convert to Catholicism
b. strike their own national coinage
3. pushed out of the south by Muslims ca. 711
D. Incursions of Eastern Empire (reinstitution of Romaioi?)
1. Justinian pushes Vandals out of Africa
2. Justinian pushes Ostrogoths out of Italy
III. Survival of the Eastern Empire (= Byzantine)
A. relations with the Western Empire
1. bad relations with Stilicho
2. deal effectively with the Huns
a. bought off Attila
b. turned him against the Western Empire
B. age of Justinian I (527-565)
1. cultural atmosphere
a. last emperor to speak Latin better than Greek
b. built Constantinople into a fitting equal of Rome
c. codified Roman law
2. political accomplishments
a. controlled the church
b. ruled empire with strict hand
3. military achievements
a. held his own against Persian empire
b. recovered Africa and Italy
1). generals, Belisarius and Narses
2). did not hold on for long
4. Good read: the Anecdota of Procopius
a. trusted palace official
b. lotsa stuff about Justinian and wife Theodora
C. reasons for survival of Byzantine empire until 1453
1. preserved culture of Roman empire
a. who says the Empire fell entirely?
b. primarily Greek in culture
c. ruled in the Roman tradition
1). preserved integrity of Empire
2). called themselves "Romaioi"
2. geographical convienience
a. West was much harder to defend
1). upper and middle Danube
2). Rhine
b. Byz. empire had two
1). lower Danube
2). Persian frontier
3. sounder social and economic structure
a. less disunity between classes
b. stronger middle class
c. more populous, better cultivated
4. impressive political stability
IV. Fall of the Roman Empire
A. arguments in favor
1. division of the West
a. constant war between nations
b. Western Roman Empire became only a name
1). no more central authority
2). no more commonwealth
3). forerunners of nation-states
2. decline in cultural values
a. decline from the classical
b. Christianity a deleterious factor
3. decline in standard in living
a. physical standard of living the same
b. feudalism becomes common
4. Byzantine empire a completely different entity
a. only claimed to be -Romaioi-
b. more a development of Hellenistic East
1). spoke the Greek language
2). primarily urban
B. arguments against
1. continuity in effective government
2. new cultural values arise
a. Latin remains official language in West
1). Roman law still survives
2). Church adopted Latin as official language
b. Christian tradition an equal to the classical
1). Christianity a creative factor
2). many great authors, etc.
3. standard of living the same
a. just recognized under different name
b. had nothing to do with political factors
4. Byzantine empire a legitimate survival
a. called themselves -Romaioi-
b. carried on traditions of Roman Empire
1). legal
2). military
c. carried on the classical tradition
1). Greek literature
2). center for classical studies
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