An Introduction to the History of Western Europe Part 2

In spite of the general decline of which we have been speaking, the Roman world appeared to be making progress in one important respect.

During the first and second centuries a sort of moral revival took place and a growing religious enthusiasm showed itself, which prepared the way for the astonishingly rapid introduction of the new Christian religion.

Some of the pagan philosophers had quite given up the old idea which we find in Homer and Virgil, that there were many G.o.ds, and had reached an elevated conception of the one G.o.d and of our duty toward Him. "Our duty," writes the philosopher Epictetus at the end of the first century, "is to follow G.o.d, ... to be of one mind with Him, to devote ourselves to the performance of His commands." The emperor Marcus Aurelius (d.

180) expresses similar sentiments in his _Meditations_,[3] the notes which he wrote for his own guidance. There was a growing abhorrence for the notorious vices of the great cities, and an ever-increasing demand for pure and upright conduct. The pagan religions taught that the souls of the dead continued to exist in Hades; but the life to come was believed to be a dreary existence at best.

[Sidenote: Promises of Christianity.]

Christianity brought with it a new hope for all those who would escape from the bondage of sin, of which the serious-minded were becoming more and more conscious. It promised, moreover, eternal happiness after death to all who would consistently strive to do right. It appealed to the desires and needs of all kinds of men and women. For every one who accepted the Gospel might look forward in the next world to such joy as he could never hope to experience in this.

[Sidenote: Christianity and paganism tend to merge into one another.]

[Sidenote: Boethius.]

The new religion, as it spread from Palestine among the Gentiles, was much modified by the religious ideas of those who accepted it. A group of Christian philosophers, who are known as the early fathers, strove to show that the Gospel was in accord with the aspirations of the best of the pagans. In certain ceremonies the former modes of worship were accepted by the new religion. From simple beginnings the church developed a distinct priesthood and an elaborate service. In this way Christianity and the higher forms of paganism tended to come nearer and nearer to each other as time went on. In one sense, it is true, they met like two armies in mortal conflict; but at the same time they tended to merge into one another like two streams which had been following converging courses. At the confluence of the streams stands Boethius (d.

about 524), the most gifted of the later Roman writers. His beautiful book, _The Consolation of Philosophy_, was one of the most popular works during the Middle Ages, when every one believed that its author was a Christian.[4] Yet there is nothing in the book to indicate that he was more than a religious pagan, and some scholars doubt if he ever fully accepted the new religion.

[Sidenote: The primitive, or apostolic, church.]

7. We learn from the letters of St. Paul that the earliest Christian communities found it necessary to have some organization. They chose certain officers, the bishops--that is to say, overseers--and the presbyters or elders, but St. Paul does not tell us exactly what were the duties of these officers. There were also the deacons, who appear to have had the care of the poor of the community. The first Christians looked for the speedy coming of Christ before their own generation should pa.s.s away. Since all were filled with enthusiasm for the Gospel and eagerly awaited the last day, they did not feel the need of an elaborate const.i.tution. But as time went on the Christian communities greatly increased in size, and many joined them who had little or none of the original fervor and spirituality. It became necessary to develop a regular system of church government in order to control the erring and expel those who brought disgrace upon their religion by notoriously bad conduct.

[Sidenote: The 'catholic', or universal, church.]

A famous little book, _The Unity of the Church_, by Bishop Cyprian (d.

258) gives us a pretty good idea of the Church a few decades before the Christian religion was legalized by Constantine. This and other sources indicate that the followers of Christ had already come to believe in a "Catholic"--i.e., a universal--Church which embraced all the communities of true believers wherever they might be. To this one universal Church all must belong who hoped to be saved.[5]

[Sidenote: Organization of the church before Constantine.]

A sharp distinction was already made between the officers of the Church, who were called the _clergy_, and the people, or _laity_. To the clergy was committed the government of the Church as well as the instruction of its members. In each of the Roman cities was a bishop, and at the head of the country communities, a priest (Latin, _presbyter_), who had succeeded to the original elders (presbyters) mentioned in the New Testament. Below the bishop and the priest were the lower orders of the clergy,--the deacon and sub-deacon,--and below these the so called minor orders--the acolyte, exorcist, reader, and doorkeeper. The bishop exercised a certain control over the priests within his territory. It was not unnatural that the bishops in the chief towns of the Roman provinces should be especially influential in church affairs. They came to be called _archbishops_, and might summon the bishops of the province to a council to decide important matters.

[Sidenote: The first general council, 325. Position of the Bishop of Rome during this period.]

In 311 the emperor Galerius issued a decree placing the Christian religion upon the same legal footing as paganism. Constantine, the first Christian emperor, carefully enforced this edict. In 325 the first general council of Christendom was called together under his auspices at Nicaea. It is clear from the decrees of this famous a.s.sembly that the Catholic Church had already a.s.sumed the form that it was to retain down to the present moment, except that there is no explicit recognition of the Bishop of Rome as the head of the whole church. Nevertheless, there were a number of reasons--to be discussed later--why the Bishop of Rome should sometime become the acknowledged ruler of western Christendom.

The first of the Roman bishops to play a really important part in authentic history was Leo the Great, who did not take office until 440.[6]

[Sidenote: The Church in the Theodosian Code.]

Constantine's successors soon forbade pagan practices and began to issue laws which gave the Christian clergy important privileges. In the last book of the Theodosian Code, a great collection of the laws of the Empire, which was completed in 438, all the imperial decrees are to be found which relate to the Christian Church and the clergy. We find that the clergy, in view of their holy duties, were exempted from certain onerous offices and from some of the taxes which the laity had to pay.

They were also permitted to receive bequests. The emperors themselves richly endowed the Church. Their example was followed by rulers and private individuals all through the Middle Ages, so that the Church became incredibly wealthy and enjoyed a far greater income than any state of Europe. The clergy were permitted to try certain cases at law, and they themselves had the privilege of being tried in their own church courts for minor criminal offenses. This last book of the Code begins with a definition of the Trinity; and much s.p.a.ce is given to a description of the different kinds of unbelievers and the penalties attached to a refusal to accept the religion of the government.[7]

[Sidenote: The Church survives the Empire.]

In these provisions of the Theodosian Code the later mediaeval Church is clearly foreshadowed. The imperial government in the West was soon overthrown by the barbarian conquerors, but the Catholic Church conquered and absorbed the conquerors. When the officers of the Empire deserted their posts the bishops stayed to meet the on-coming invader.

They continued to represent the old civilization and ideas of order. It was the Church that kept the Latin language alive among those who knew only a rude German dialect. It was the Church that maintained some little education in even the darkest period of confusion, for without the ability to read Latin its services could not have been performed and its officers could not have carried on their correspondence with one another.

[Sidenote: The Eastern Empire.]

8. Although the Roman Empire remained one in law, government, and culture until the Germans came in sufficient force to conquer the western portions of it, a tendency may nevertheless be noticed some time before the conquest for the eastern and western portions to drift apart.

Constantine, who established his supremacy only after a long struggle with his rivals, hoped to strengthen the vast state by establishing a second capital, which should lie far to the east and dominate a region very remote from Rome. Constantinople was accordingly founded in 330 on the confines of Europe and Asia.[8] This was by no means supposed to destroy the unity of the Empire. Even when Theodosius the Great arranged (395) that both his sons should succeed him, and that one should rule in the West and one in the East, he did not intend to divide the Empire.

It is true that there continued to be thereafter two emperors, each in his own capital, but they were supposed to govern one empire conjointly and in "unanimity." New laws were to be accepted by both. The writers of the time do not speak of two states but continue to refer to "the Empire," as if the administration were still in the hands of one ruler.

Indeed the idea of one government for all civilized mankind did not pa.s.s away but continued to influence men during the whole of the Middle Ages.

Although it was in the eastern part of the Empire that the barbarians first got a permanent foothold, the emperors at Constantinople were able to keep a portion of the old possessions of the Empire under their rule for centuries after the Germans had completely conquered the West. When at last the eastern capital of the Empire fell, it was not into the hands of the Germans, but into those of the Turks, who have held it since 1453.

There will be no room in this volume to follow the history of the Eastern Empire, although it cannot be entirely ignored in studying western Europe. Its language and civilization had always been Greek, and owing to this and the influence of the Orient, its culture offers a marked contrast to that of the Latin West, which was adopted by the Germans. Learning never died out in the East as it did in the West, nor did art reach so low an ebb.

[Sidenote: Constantinople the most wealthy and populous city of Europe during the early Middle Ages.]

For some centuries after the disruption of the Roman Empire in the West, the capital of the Eastern Empire enjoyed the distinction of being the largest and most wealthy city of Europe. Within its walls could be found the indications of a refinement and civilization which had almost disappeared in the Occident. Its beautiful buildings, its parks and paved streets, filled the traveler from the West with astonishment.

When, during the Crusades, the western peoples were brought into contact with the learning and culture of Constantinople they were greatly and permanently impressed by them.

General Reading.--For an outline of the history of the Roman Empire during the centuries immediately preceding the barbarian invasions, see BOTSFORD, _History of Rome_, WEST, _Ancient History to the Death of Charlemagne_, MYERS, _Rome: Its Rise and Fall_, or MOREY, _Outlines of Roman History_,--all with plenty of references to larger works on the subject. The best work in English on the conditions in the Empire upon the eve of the invasions is DILL, _Roman Society in the Last Century of the Western Empire_ (Macmillan, $2.00). HATCH, _The Influence of Greek Thought upon the Christian Church_ (Williams & Norgate, $1.00), and RENAN, _The Influence of Rome on the Development of the Catholic Church_ (Williams & Norgate, $1.00), are very important for the advanced student. The best of the numerous editions of Gibbon's great work, _The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_, which covers the whole history of the Middle Ages, is that edited by Bury (The Macmillan Company, 7 vols., $14.00).

CHAPTER III

THE GERMAN INVASIONS AND THE BREAK-UP OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

[Sidenote: The Huns force the Goths into the Empire. Battle of Adrianople, 378.]

9. Previous to the year 375 the attempts of the Germans to penetrate into the Empire appear to have been due to their love of adventure, their hope of enjoying some of the advantages of their civilized neighbors, or the need of new lands for their increasing numbers. And the Romans, by means of their armies, their walls, and their guards, had up to this time succeeded in preventing the barbarians from violently occupying their territory. But suddenly a new force appeared which thrust the Germans out upon the weakened Empire. The Huns, a Mongolian folk from central Asia, swept down upon the Goths, who were a German tribe settled upon the Danube, and forced a part of them to seek shelter across the river, within the boundaries of the Empire. Here they soon fell out with the imperial officials, and a great battle was fought at Adrianople in 378 in which the Goths defeated and slew the emperor, Valens. The Germans had now not only broken through the boundaries of the Empire, but they had also learned that they could defeat the Roman legions. The battle of Adrianople may, therefore, be said to mark the beginning of the conquest of the western part of the Empire by the Germans. For some years, however, after the battle of Adrianople the various bands of West Goths--or Visigoths, as they are often called--were induced to accept the terms offered by the emperor's officials and some of the Goths agreed to serve as soldiers in the Roman armies.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE BARBARIAN INROADS]

[Sidenote: Alaric takes Rome, 410.]

Before long one of the German chieftains, Alaric, became dissatisfied with the treatment that he received. He collected an army, of which the nucleus consisted of West Goths, and set out for Italy. Rome fell into his hands in 410 and was plundered by his followers. Alaric appears to have been deeply impressed by the sight of the civilization about him.

He did not destroy the city, hardly even did serious damage to it, and he gave especial orders to his soldiers not to injure the churches or take their property.[9]

[Sidenote: West Goths settle in southern Gaul and Spain.]

Alaric died before he could find a satisfactory spot for his people to settle upon permanently. After his death the West Goths wandered into Gaul, and then into Spain, which had already been occupied by other barbarian tribes,--the Vandals and Suevi. These had crossed the Rhine into Gaul four years before Alaric took Rome; for three years they devastated the country and then proceeded across the Pyrenees. When the West Goths reached Spain they quickly concluded peace with the Roman government. They then set to work to fight the Vandals, with such success that the emperor granted them a considerable district (419) in southern Gaul, where they established a West Gothic kingdom. Ten years after, the Vandals moved on into Africa, where they founded a kingdom and extended their control over the western Mediterranean. Their place in Spain was taken by the West Goths who, under their king, Euric (466-484), conquered a great part of the peninsula, so that their kingdom extended from the Loire to the Straits of Gibraltar.[10]

[Sidenote: General dismemberment of the Empire in fifth century.]

It is quite unnecessary to follow the confused history of the movements of the innumerable bands of restless barbarians who wandered about Europe during the fifth century. Scarcely any part of western Europe was left unmolested; even Britain was conquered by German tribes, the Angles and Saxons.

[Sidenote: Attila and the Huns.]

[Sidenote: Battle of Chalons, 451.]

[Sidenote: Founding of Venice.]

To add to the universal confusion caused by the influx of the German tribes, the Huns, the Mongolian people who had first pushed the West Goths into the Empire, now began to fill western Europe with terror.

Under their chief, Attila,--"the scourge of G.o.d," as the trembling Romans called him,--the savage Huns invaded Gaul. But the Roman inhabitants and the Germans joined against the invaders and defeated them in the battle of Chalons, in 451. After this rebuff Attila turned to Italy. But the impending danger was averted. Attila was induced by an emba.s.sy, headed by Pope Leo the Great, to give up his plan of marching upon Rome. Within a year he died and with him perished the power of the Huns, who never troubled Europe again. Their threatened invasion of Italy produced one permanent result however; for it was then that fugitives from the cities of northeastern Italy fled to the sandy islets just off the Adriatic sh.o.r.e and founded the town which was to grow into the beautiful and powerful city of Venice.[11]

[Sidenote: The 'fall' of the Empire in the West, 476.]