barbarian invasions & medieval fusion the creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000
TRANSCRIPT
Barbarian Invasions&
Medieval Fusion
The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000
Discuss Beowulf
Discuss Beowulf
• What makes the story attractive?
• Consider Beowulf as evidence of medieval fusion
• Interpret the three struggles (agons, p. 25) that Beowulf undertakes during the poem. See article by Tolkein in the back for more information
• Why do you suppose the author wrote down this story?
When was the Beowulf poem first written?
A. C. 700
B. C. 800
C. C. 900
D. C. 1000
Where does the first part of the poem take place?
A. Scotland
B. England
C. Denmark
D. Frankia (France)
Barbarian Migrations 350-500
Sutton Hoo Burial Mounds
Sutton Hoo Burial Mask
Christian Evangelism among the English
550-700 CE
Raedwald• East Anglian King• Baptized 605• Died 625• Induced to adopt Christianity
by Ethelbert of Kent• Bretwalda• Both pagan and Christian
Burial Mounds in Sweden
Romano-Saxon Pottery
Stilicho: Vandal
and Roman Consulc. 400
Greek mythology on a Gallo-Roman plate
from 4th century
“The Empire” c. 500 CE
Germanic Warriors
Dominated the Western Empire
from 400 CE onwards
St. Augustine of Hippo
c. 400
Niccolo Machiavell
c. 1500
Edward GibbonDecline & Fall of
the Roman Empire
1776-1789
Barbarian Migrations 350-500
Hunnish Empire c. 400
Hunnish Cavalry
Aetius – Master of the Roman Army c. 450
“The Empire” c. 500 CE
Augustine of Canterbury
c. 600
Ethelbert of Kent• Married Christian Bertha
of the Franks• Converted to Christianity
after arrival of Augustine in 597
• Bretwalda• Produced first vernacular
legal code in England
Medieval Fusion
The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000
Barbarian Invasions
• Continuity in the East
• Disruption in the West
• Explanations for the Fall of Rome– St Augustine– Machiavelli & Gibbon– Internal factors
• Christianity
• Crisis of the third century
– Exogenous factors• Growth of Germanic supergroups
Overview
• Features of Medieval Fusion– Barbarian cultures: Germans, Celts– The Judeo-Christian Culture– Classical institutions and traditions
• Discussion of Beowulf
Overview
• Features of Medieval Fusion– Barbarian cultures: Germans, Celts– The Judeo-Christian Culture– Classical institutions and traditions
• Discussion of Beowulf
During the Middle Ages, several cultures fuse within Europe
• Barbarian– Germanic/Norse– Celtic– Gothic– Slavic
• Ancient– Roman– Greek– Middle Eastern
• Christian
Germanic Literature
• Literature as a source and its difficulties– Ancient literature: Tacitus - A Roman writes about Germania– Medieval literature: Beowulf, Njal’s Saga
• Glorification of warrior heroes– great fighters– overcome incredible odds– superhuman strength
• Often fatalistic in outlook; the inevitably of death• Love of gold and riches: plunder• Vengeance and retribution: law of the talion
– barbarian legal codes
Germanic Literature: Beowulf
• Composition of the poem • Sometime between 580 and 1000
• Based on oral tradition
• For public recitation– musical accompaniment– recited lyrically
• Written manuscript from 11th century
• Contains approximately 1/10th of all written Old English
Germanic Literature: Beowulf
• Pagan/Germanic Elements • Mythical monsters
• Norse gods
• Magical weapons
• Celebration of booty
• Heroism
• Fate and Mortality
• Kinship
Germanic Literature: Beowulf
• Christian Undertones • Moral anecdotes
• Warnings against excessive pride
• Tension with pagan themes
• The ephemeral nature of life
• Beowulf’s moral conscience
Barbarian Legal Codes
• Often include Ten Commandments as a preamble • Often written after conversion to Christianity• Money payments specified as punishment for
– breach of the king’s peace– remuneration for theft and acts of violence
• Money payments reflect higher value associated with members of upper class– acts of violence against members of the kings household
require higher fines than acts of violence against members of the earl’s household
Summary of Barbarian Cultures
• Rural or agrarian• Illiterate with exceptions• Strong kinship • Weak kingship• Social bonding
– guilds of mutual assistance– comitatus
• Violent and militaristic• Hero worship• Religion of magic and superstition
The Classical Contribution• In Contrast to barbarian culture, the Greco-Roman
world was – more urban– less influenced by oral tradition
• an abundance of literature, such as philosophy, letters, and speeches,
were not stories
– could be much more introspective• reflections on the human condition
– classical humanism: focused on issues related to this life• little concern for the afterlife
– more systematic• legal codes were based on system of classification• administrative structures were hierarchical
The Classical Contribution• The Greco Roman world preserved, modified, or enhanced
many of the greatest achievements of the ancient Near East (Sumeria, Egypt, the Hebrews)– mathematics/astronomy– philosophy/religion
• The classical world also developed forms of art and expression that were either scarce or totally absent in the barbarian tradition– theater– sculpture that accurately depicted the human form
• In general the classical world was much more literate than the barbarians who had virtually no institutions for the transmission of learning i.e. schools
Christian Culture• Provided a method for the transmission of the tradition of literacy
– precise theology: trinity and christology– administered by Church hierarchy
• Shared ideology– otherworldliness: emphasis on afterlife– resurrection/redemption– God’s intervention in human history
• Pliable and absorbing– Barbarian holidays – Roman organizational structure– Greek philosophy, rhetoric, and logic became embedded
Christian Culture
• Monasticism– emerged as a powerful social force in the fourth
through sixth centuries
– huge influence on Christian ideals
– institutional framework for the preservation of the Christian tradition
– the primary means of education between 500 and 1100 in the West
– preservation of classical texts
Summary
• After the fifth century the Byzantine Empire continued the Greco-Roman traditions with only minor influence from the barbarian invasions
• By contrast, the Western Empire became increasingly barbarian in outlook and culture so that many aspects of the classical culture perished from most of western Europe
• Monasteries played a vital role in the preservation of the classical tradition and particularly of the Roman tradition, which was not so highly valued in the Byzantine Empire