The Roots of Europe

Introduction

This course is in modern European history, but Western history did not begin in 1500. It goes back thousands of years.

• Today’s class looks at the roots of Western history, at the ideas that played an important part in its development.

• How there came to be a "West". 

Chronology and Periodization

• "Classical", "Medieval", "Early Modern", and " Modern".

• has much to do with type of sources that survive

• also generally from elite view point 

Egypt and Mesopotamia

• Egypt - c. 4000 BCLongest continuous civilizationReligion, Architecture, Math

• Mesopotamia - also c. 4000 BC - in IraqSumeria, Babylonia, Assyria-Writing-Numbers - use of base 12 - in time-Astronomy and Astrology

• E and M influence the west through the Greeks and Jews

The People of Israel

• The Jews are the only ancient people still around. One does not often meet Hittites or Goths in the street, but the Jews are still here.

• They absorbed a lot from Egypt and Mesoptamia (the creation, flood stories)

• But one massive contribution- Monotheism - Unity of culture and ethics

The People of Israel

• Also a belief in history - that we are going somewhere. This is a contrast with the more cyclic views of the East, and of the Egyptians.

• Jews wrote most of the Bible: Most read book in the world - parts are at least 3000 years old.The Bible is one of the chief sources of western cultureThese IDEAS pass into Christianity and Islam.

Greece

• The other major source of Western IDEAS.Ideas more important heritage than details of its history. Ideas survived in literature and art:

• From around 750BC- Homer: The Iliad and The Odyssey

• The idea of ORDERED COSMOS - vital in Western ideas about science and God.

• Diffusion of writing - for everyone not just the clergy.

Greeks

• Thales of Miletus - asked for the first time what the world was made of. SCIENCE

• Athens - The People, Democracy, natural art,• Socrates: People as morally autonomous,• Plato - Asked most of the Philosophical

Questions- how do we know what we know?• Aristotle - Introduces observation into science.

Greeks

• Note: Greeks did not know about the Jews: Jews did know about the Greeks.

• Until… Alexander the Great - c. 300BC. Conquers the whole Eastern Mediterranean. Greek ideas, and the Greek language dominate the area.

Rome – A Western City

• From around 300BC it began to grow in importance. Within 300 years it had unified the Mediterranean into one state.

• All elites spoke Latin and/or Greek • Intellectually Rome was dominated by Greece, but its

genius was in Government, law and war.• Roman Law is still the basis of Law, via Napoleon, in

most of Europe. US law derives from English Law, but that also is influenced by Rome.

• The ideal of Unity and the Universal state has been important in Western history ever since.

Christianity

• Jesus of Nazareth. Lived c.6BC-33AD. Founder of Christianity.

• St. Paul, A Greek-speaking Jew and main apostle of the Faith. United Jewish and Greek ideas in Christianity.

• Christianity becomes main religion of Mediterranean area by 400.

• The most Christian areas are probably Egypt and Anatolia.

Breakup of Classical World

• ByzantiumThe Roman Empire in the East continued, based in Constantinople. 

• It was Christian and Roman and Greek. It was the most obvious heir to the culture of the Classical world.

• The Byzantine Empire lasts until 1453.Its culture still dominates Eastern Europe and Russia, through Orthodoxy.

Breakup of the Classical World

• IslamIslam was the religion of Arab townsmen. Led by Mohammad (d. c. 640, Hijira 622). They swept out of the Arabian peninsula. Eventually took control of all North Africa, Egypt, Anatolia (under the Turks) and for a time Spain.

• Islam also is an heir to Classical civilization. It also learned math from Mesopotamia, Philosophy from the Greeks and Monotheism from the Jews.

• For almost a thousand years Muslims were by all objective standards more advanced than Western Europe.

Breakup of the Classical World

• Latin Christendom- Finally, what was left was dominated by Barbarians. France, Spain, Italy, Britain, Germany.

• The least developed of the three cultures that succeeded the classical world.

• It was dominated increasingly also by the Church of Rome. It was a Latin reading and speaking world. i.e "Latin Christendom." 

• This area was to become the West. 

The Western Middle Ages

• From around 600 to 1000 AD conditions were fairly bleak. 

• Around 800 was Charlemagne.Most people lived on the land, subsistence farming.No towns larger than about 10,000 - at the most.

Latin Christendom Awakes

• Politically States begin to pull themselves together,England, France, Germany (for a time)- Concept of Kingship and what a king should be/do develops.

• Crusades - Westerners attack both Byzantium and Islam in order to conquer Jerusalem. They succeed for a time.-Architecture develops.

• Intellectual Life - great writers like St. Thomas Aquinas (13th. C.)

• Christianity becomes more like it is today.Devotion to Mary, Mass, Development of all the religious orders.

Latin Christendom Awakes

• Art and Music - We can now trace direct lines from then to now.

• Economically - From around 1050 a Commercial revolution. In the earlier period money had largely disappeared. Now it becomes important again and trade starts up in local areas and between far distant areas.

• In short the West begins to have notion of itself. The notion is called Christendom, but develops into the idea of Europe.

• In the Middle Ages we have the origin of a specifically Western civilization, based not on the Mediterranean, but the Western lands of the entire Continent.

The Renaissance Period from late 14th, early 15th Century (1300s and 1400s)

- a new emphasis, spurred by examination of Classical past but also by internal European developments, created an artistic and intellectual ferment first in Italy and then in the rest of Europe.

Renaissance thought stressed Classicism, Individualism, Humanism - belief in no limits to human accomplishment. This, rather than more medieval ideas, was the precursor to modern ways of thinking.

Humanism - A. Erasmus of Rotterdam - Version of Bible in Greek attacked superstition B. Thomas More - Humanism in EnglandC. Calvin - first serious writing in FrenchD. Printing Invented - led to great changes as information could be spread much more easily - Johannes Gutenberg 1468

Religious Thought: Reformation and Counter-Reformation

• The Reformation was another great development at the late Middle Ages/Early Modern period.

• Religion united both the intellectual elite and the people. Ways of thinking were not scientific for many - their  pre-occupation was with God and especially Salvation (getting to heaven). The thinkers we shall be examining as creators of the modern world lived in this background.

• Importance of Reformation was it split Europe into two ideological groups. This in fact allowed new ideas to develop and have a chance to become widespread.

The Reformation (early 16th Cen.)

• Martin Luther (1483-1546)Began challenge to Rome in 1517.His main concern was with personal salvation-Justification (setting right before God), was the most important thing for him.

• -But it is important to note another aspect of the Lutheran Reformation - the very great respect it gave to the state. In effect Lutheranism allowed a separate morality for individuals and the State. This had big effects in European history.

Reformation

• John Calvin (1509-64)Advanced the Reformation in French speaking areas.-Most of his thought is implicit in Luther, but Calvin was more rigorous. He had the doctrine of predestination to salvation or damnation. The saved (the Elect) were a major part of his thought. (Came from his experience as a preacher - why did some not believe). 

• -Note importance of notion of the Elect. It made Calvinists Political in a way Lutherans were not They felt able to reject the state - led to religious wars in short term - but the is also important in revolutionary thought. Calvinists often felt themselves to be justified - gave confidence to Calvinist entrepreneurs.

The Counter Reformation

• Catholic Church reformed itself

• Council of Trent (1545-63). This re-established Catholic norms. It even cleared up previously undefined areas. It was very anti-protestant.

• The Jesuits – Action takers, leaders of the Church. Insisted on intellectual rigor. Became missionaries, teachers.

Effects of Renaissance & Reformation

• The Counter Reformation made Catholic countries firm in their Catholicism - and made it impossible, or very hard, for non-believers to live there.

• Secondly it was much harder to express new opinions and ideas in Catholic Countries (France was different - the French Church -the Gallican Church - was under royal control - some liberty of thought allowed)

• So most of the new ideas that made modern world grew up in Protestant countries and France (Value of diversity of states in Europe)

The Thirty Years War and 1648

• There were a lot of religious conflicts in Europe for almost 150 years after Luther. These were major wars that tore countries apart - The Holy Roman Empire was divided, France was rocked by wars between Catholics and Calvinists.

• Religion was not the only factor, often not even the major one. Many states came close to destruction, and one, Poland, disappeared.

• There was a large scale general European war from 1618-1648. (Thirty Years War) Ended with Treaty of Westphalia 1648. Pope not invited.

• In Europe - a general feeling that religion should be removed from politics. The 18th century was to be much less religious.It is at this point we can start modern history.

Continuity of Old Ideas • There was an entirely different world view for people in late

middles ages, plus 15th Century - also note that these ideas persisted a long time - alongside more modern ones – ex: modern newspaper astrologers.It was hard to break out of this view of the world - Great intellects had built it up and it took enormous breadth of knowledge imagination to change it. The changing of the Scientific world view, was the single most characteristic change that led to a modern world view.

• We have been discussing the world that people lived in at the start of the modern era. Many of theses ideas we have been discussing continued long after the revolutions in European life. One of these was the Divine Right of Kings. Lead into Absolutism - to be covered in our class.