of the Roman Empire. By comparing the map showing the boundaries of the Roman Empire at the beginning of the migrations (p. 14) with that of Charlemagne's empire (pp. 28–29), we can see how great a shifting of populations and boundaries had taken place in these four centuries of invasion and conquest.1 The Byzan'tine or Eastern Roman Empire still ruled Asia Minor, Thrace, portions of ancient Greece and southern Italy, and the islands of Crete, Sicily, and Sardinia. The Bulgarians (an Asiatic people) had cut off the lower valley of the Danube, and barbarian Slavs formed an alien wedge running through the interior of the Balkan peninsula and into the Peloponnesus. On the middle course of the Danube dwelt the Avars (ä'värz), a Tartar tribe from Asia. North of these were Slavic peoples, and still farther north were the Finns. All of these peoples were still heathen; and the slow progress of Christianity among them was one of the features of the Middle Ages. Scandinavia was taking on its threefold form of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden; but the worship there of the old Teutonic gods, Woden and Thor, was as yet unshaken. In the British Isles, the Angles and Saxons (as we shall see) had been Christianized, and were about to unite into a single kingdom. Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, though Christian, were independent Celtic lands. In northern Spain there existed petty Christian states which in the next seven centuries were to grow into a powerful monarchy and cast out the Mohammedans. The central political fact in the West was the existence of the Frankish kingdom, as reestablished and strengthened by Charles Martel and Pepin the Short. These sweeping changes in the map were not accomplished without the destruction of much of that classical civi24. Retro lization of Greece and Rome which had been building for spect and a thousand years. To use the comparison of a modern his- prospect torian, the situation was similar to that which would be created 1 Excepting the additions to the Frankish territory made by Charlemagne (see page 20), the locations of peoples and states in 800 were practically those given in the map for Charlemagne's reign. if bands of Indian warriors should take possession of a civilized land. They would see about them on every hand a thousand things which they could not understand or use. So it was Adams, Civ- with the Germans in the civilized lands of the Roman ilization durEmpire. They were unaccustomed to city life, and a ing the Middle Ages, 8-9 great part of Roman institutions and Roman civilization was either useless to them or unappreciated. The surprising thing is not that the Germans destroyed so much of what they found in the Roman Empire, but that under the circumstances they destroyed so little. Art, science, knowledge of the Greek language and of much of the Latin literature, skill in handicrafts, and the machinery of orderly government, were overwhelmed. The whole western world fell back to a lower stage of civilization than under Roman rule. But the loss was only temporary, and was made good by ultimate recovery. We may indeed say that "almost, if not quite, every achievement of the Greeks and Romans in thought, in science, in law, in the practical arts, is now a part of our civilization." It was the work of the Middle Ages to raise the Germanic barbarians to the level of civilization attained by the ancient world, and at the same time to subject them to the influence of the Christian religion. In the making of medieval civilization, therefore, three factors should be noted: (1) The classical civilization, which has already been described. (2) The Christian religion, with its principles of monotheism, personal immortality, the brotherhood of man, and its lofty ethical ideals. (3) The Germans themselves a fresh, vigorous race, with a remarkable ability for adapting themselves to new conditions and for assimilating a higher culture. The Germans imparted to the enfeebled stocks of the Roman world their own youthful energy and vigor. They also brought with them certain ideas and political institutions which have contributed in large degree to the development of modern free governments. The most important of these were the idea of personal independence, a strong sense of the value of the individual as compared with the state, the practice of holding public assemblies, and government by a monarch chosen by and responsible to the people. It was in the so-called Dark Age, the history of which we have been surveying, that these three elements the classical, the Christian, and the German were first blended to form medieval civilization. This in turn was to grow and expand into the modern Christian civilization, now spread over the greater part of the whole earth. IMPORTANT DATES 376. Visigoths enter the Roman Empire. 410. Rome sacked by Alaric. 449. Angles and Saxons invade Britain. 451. Huns defeated in Gaul. 476. Odoacer overthrows the Western Empire. 481-511. Clovis king of the Franks. 493. Theodoric the Ostrogoth conquers Italy. 527-565. Justinian ruler of the Eastern Empire. 568. Lombards settle in Italy. 632. Death of Mohammed. 732. Battle of Tours. 751. Pepin the Short becomes king of the Franks. 768. Charlemagne becomes king of the Franks. TOPICS AND REFERENCES Suggestive Topics. (1) Why do mountains tend to separate and rivers to unite adjacent peoples? (2) What geographical advantages has Europe over Asia? Over Africa? (3) Why was Europe not so well fitted to originate as to develop and spread civilization? (4) In what ways would its history have been different if Europe were entirely surrounded by water? (5) Why is our knowledge of history less certain than our knowledge of the natural sciences? (6) What precautions should be exercised in using newspapers as materials for history? (7) Why is the term "Middle Ages" plural? (8) Summarize the causes of the fall of the Roman Empire. (9) Has Mohammedanism done more harm or good in the world? (10) What things aided the Pope to become head of the church? (11) Why did the Frankish kingdom prove more permanent than the other barbarian kingdoms on the Continent? (12) What advantages did the Pope gain from alliance with the Franks? What advantages did the Franks gain? (13) Compare the area of Christianity in 800 with its area to-day. (14) Make a table to show the wanderings of the Germans. Arrange it in columns under the following headings: Name of people; Location in 376 A.D.; Date of entrance into the Empire; Leaders; Final settlement; Fate of settlement. Search Topics.—(1) INFLUENCE OF GEOGRAPHY ON HISTORY. George, Relations of Geography and History, ch. ii.—(2) GREEK CONTRIBUTIONS TO CIVILIZATION. Seignobos, Ancient Civilization, 160–172; Adams, Civilization during the Middle Ages, 15–19.—(3) ROMAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO CIVILIZATION. Morey, Outlines of Roman History, 311-326; Morey, Outlines of Ancient History, 470-478; Adams, Civilization during the Middle Ages, 20-38. − (4) CHARACTER AND INSTITUTIONS OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. Emerton, Introduction, 14-17; Bémont and Monod, Medieval Europe, ch. ii; Adams, Civilization during the Middle Ages, 89-104; Harding, Story of the Middle Ages, 12-22; Ogg, Source Book, 19–31. — (5) THE ROMAN LAW. Morey, Outlines of Roman History, 320-323; Thatcher and Schwill, Europe in the Middle Age, 73–74; Encyclopedia Britannica, “Justinian I.” — (6) GerMANIC IDEAS OF LAW. Emerton, Introduction, ch. viii; Ogg, Source Book, 59-67; Duruy, Middle Ages, 61-66; Thatcher and Schwill, Europe in the Middle Age, 53-55.—(7) MOHAMMEDAN RELIGION AND WORSHIP. Seignobos, Medieval and Modern Civilization, 39-46; Duruy, Middle Ages, 81-84; Ogg, Source Book, 97-104; Emerton, Introduction, 122-125; Encyclopedia Britannica, "Mohammedan Religion." — (8) CHARLES MARTEL AND THE BATTLE OF TOURS. Emerton, Introduction, 112-122, 126-129; Creasy, Fifteen Decisive Battles, ch. vii; Masterman, Dawn of Medieval Europe, ch. xi. (9) BONIFACE AND THE CONVERSION OF THE GERMANS. Merivale, Conversion of the West, ch. vii; Robinson, Readings in European History, I, 105-111; Bémont and Monod, Medieval Europe, 175-179; Munro and Sellery, Medieval Civilization, 120–128. — (10) CHRISTIANITY AS AN ELEMENT IN THE MAKING OF EUROPE. Adams, Civilization during the Middle Ages, 50-60.- (11) POPE GREGORY THE GREAT. Encyclopedia Britannica (11th ed.), XII, 566-568; Emerton, Introduction, 108-113; Bémont and Monod, Medieval Europe, 121-124; Robinson, Readings in European History, I, 73-82. General Reading. The best brief accounts of the introductory period are in Emerton, Introduction to the Middle Ages; Church, Beginning of the Middle Ages; and Masterman, Dawn of Medieval Europe (476-918). Oman's The Dark Ages (476-918) is more advanced. Sheppard's The Fall of Rome is a comprehensive account; its lecture form makes it readable. Villari's Barbarian Invasions of Italy is recent and valuable. The most complete work in English is Hodgkin's Italy and her Invaders, in eight volumes. Gibbon's classical Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire has recently been reëdited by Professor Bury. CHAPTER I THE EMPIRE OF CHARLEMAGNE AND ITS DISSOLUTION A. CHARLEMAGNE'S WARS AND GOVERNMENT (768-814) place in WITH the accession of Charles the Great (or Charlemagne), after the death of his father Pepin the Short in 768, we come to one of the great outstanding figures of world history. 25. CharleIn the history of the early Middle Ages, Charlemagne is as important as Caesar is in ancient history, or Napoleon history in modern history, or George Washington in the history of our own country. His reign is noteworthy both for its military conquests and for its peaceful achievements. The latter are the more important, but we will turn first to his conquests. A list of the peoples against whom he waged war during the forty-six years that he ruled shows the wide area covered by his military operations. It includes the Aquitanians and Bretons of southern and western Gaul; the Mohammedans in Spain and the Mediterranean islands; the Lombards in Italy; the German Thuringians, Bavarians, and Saxons, and their neighbors the Danes; and the Avars, Slavs, and Greeks of eastern Europe. In all, Charlemagne sent forth more than fifty military expeditions, at least half of which he commanded in person. Saxons Against several of these peoples repeated expeditions were necessary. Of all his enemies the most stubborn were the heathen and barbarian Saxons, who dwelt in the trackless 26. Conforests and swamps bordering on the North Sea between quest of the the rivers Ems and Elbe. The task of conquering this people required for its completion eighteen separate expeditions, distributed over thirty years. The most troublesome tribes were transported to other parts of the kingdom. Throughout Saxony fortresses were established and bishoprics founded |