Chapter+9+Christian+Europe+Emerges

Byzantine cultural achievements- Constantinople’s Hagia Sophia (“Sacred Wisdom”) cathedral, religious art featuring holy figures against gold backgrounds, musical traditions in medieval Latin churches, writing system called Cyrillic used by Slavic Christians adhering to the Orthodox/Byzantine rite along with Cyrillic alphabet.
 * Revival of Western Europe (1000-1200)** - Changes in military techniques increased battlefield effectiveness while new agricultural technologies led to population increases that revitalized urban life and contributed to the crusading movement by making the nobility hunger for new lands.
 * Vladimir I choosing Orthodox Christianity over Islam -why Monasticism** –Vladimir I makes himself the grand prince of Kievan Russia. He and his advisers decided against Islam as the official religion because of its ban on alcohol and rejected Judaism because they thought that a truly powerful god would not have let the ancient Jewish kingdom be destroyed. After visiting Constantinople and Byzantine churches, his agents say what a great place it was ...
 * Responsibilities of monasteries and convents**- keeping of archaeology and records that show a “profound economic transformation that accompanied the new Germanic political order.” Also planted Christianity in new lands, serviced the needs of travelers, organized agricultural production on their lands, and took in infants abandoned by their parents. Monasteries preserved literacy and learning in the early medieval period. Convents provided refuge for widows and other women who lacked male protection in the harsh medieval world or who desired a spiritual life.
 * Rise of the mounted warrior** –Mounted warriors were the central force of the Carolingian army. They were those that joined war parties out of loyalty or desire for adventure. The status of the mounted warrior led to landholding, or ownership to land, becoming almost inseparable from military service by the tenth century.
 * Europe from 300 to 1200 as “feudal”**- Latin //feodum// means a land awarded for military service. Medieval Europe was commonly referred to as a “feudal society” in which kings and lords gave land to “vassals,” or noble followers, in return for sworn military support.
 * “plague of Justinian”** –bubonic plague named after the emperor who ruled ofrom 527 to 565. suffered by both Byzantium and Western Europe
 * Byzantine Empire loss of territory** –between 634 and 650, Arab armies captured the empire. many Christians adopted the Muslim faith as a result. reduced the empire’s power and they never regained the lost lands.
 * Byzantines – how different than west** -“Byzantium inherited a robust and self-confident late Roman society and economy while western Europe could not achieve political unity and suffered severe economic decline. Yet by 1200 western Europe was showing renewed vitality and flexing its military muscles, while Byzantium was showing signs of decline and military weakness.”

KEY TERMS:
 * **Charlemagne**: “Charles the Great” –first in western Europe to bear the title //emperor// in over three hundred years\
 * **Medieval**: “middle age” that came between the era of Grec-Roman civilization and the intellectual, artistic, and economic changes of the Renaissance in the fourteenth century.
 * **Byzantine Empire**: the Eastern Roman Empire after the seventh century, known to Muslims as Rum. -Christianity established as official religion. –Roman imperial rule
 * **Kievan Russia**: The kingdom that was shaped by the authority of the Byzantine emperors blended with the influence of the Christian church
 * **Schism**: A formal split within a religious community where the patriarchs of Constantinople had challenged the territorial jurisdiction of the popes of Rome and some of the practices of the Latin Church. formed the split between the Latin Church and the Orthodox Church
 * **Manor**: self-sufficient farming estates that became the primary centers of agricultural production.
 * **Serfs**: agricultural workers who belonged to manors, tilled its fields, and owed other dues and obligations. They could not leave the manor where they were born and attach themselves to another lord.
 * **Fief**: A grant of land in return for a pledge to provide military service
 * **Vassals**: Noble followers
 * **Papacy**: the office of the pope
 * **Holy Roman Empire**: Loose federation of mostly German states and principalities, headed by an emperor elected by the princes. It lasted from 962 to 1806.
 * **Investiture Controversy**: A term applied to the medieval struggle between the church and the lay lords to control ecclesiastical appointments; also referring to the broader conflict of popes versus emperors and kings.
 * **Monasticism**: Living in a religious community apart from secular society and adhering to a rule stipulating chastity, obedience, and poverty. It was a prominent element of medieval Christianity and Buddhism. Monasteries were the primary centers of learning and literacy in medieval Europe.
 * **Horse Collar**: Harnessing method that increased the efficiency of horses by shifting the point of traction from the animal’s neck to the shoulders; its adoption favors the spread of horse-drawn plows and vehicles
 * **Crusades**: A series of religiously inspired Christian military campaigns against Muslims in the eastern Mediterranean that dominated the politics of Europe from 1095 to 1204
 * **Pilgrimage**: Journey to a sacred shrine by Christians seeking to show their piety, fulfill vows, or gain absolution for sins.