UNIT 4THE BYZANTINE AND CAROLINGIAN

EMPIRES

The Roman Empire

The division of the Roman Empire

GERMANIC PEOPLE(Ancient Western Roman Empire)

Economic Crisis (From the Third Century onwards) + Invasions of Germanic tribes (5th Century) The end of the Western Roman Empire (476).

They were called barbarians (= foreigner) by the Romans.

They came from northern and eastern Europe.

Economy: Agriculture and livestock. Rural societies.

They were organised into tribes. The monarchy was usually elective. Underdeveloped culture. But they

adopted some elements of Roman Culture Christianity and Latin.

Causes of the Migration Period

A period of very cold weather in northern Europe They were looking for hotter lands.

Population growth: Need for new pastures for livestock.

The weakening of the Roman political and military structure.

The Hun invasion(Group of nomadic people, who migrated out of the Mongolia Region towards Central Europe)

The most important migrations happened in the 5th Century.

Barbarian invasions

The most important Germanic Kingdoms

THE VISIGOTHS They originally lived in Central Europe, north of the

Danube. At the end of the 4th century, they were attacked by

the Huns, so they were forced to escape and occupy the Western Roman Empire.

The Visigoths created a kingdom, centred at Toulouse (5th Century).

In the 6th century the center of Visigothic kingdom shifted to Toledo.

Political organisation

The Visigoth Hispania had an elected monarchy

The king was helped by the Aula Regia.

He controlled the administration and made the laws. He was the supreme judge and head of the army.

The main decisions on political and religious matters were taken on the Councils.

Economy and society

The Visigoths were dedicated to agriculture and livestock.

Craftwork went into decline (only metallurgy and ceramic continued to develop)

Trade also declined (although they continued to have relation with Byzantium)

Society consisted of several groups: The king, the nobility and the Church: They had privileges and

didn’t pay taxes. Free men: They didn’t have the same privileges- Tenant farmers: Worked the land of a noble and paid him rent. Serfs: Were under the orders of a noble.

Culture and arts Visigoth culture had a close connection with

the Catholic Church. The great Visigoth intellectuals were

ecclesiastics, such Saint Leandro and Saint Isidoro).

Architecture: The most important buildings were churches.

Material: Ashlars with few small windows. Horseshoe arches. A basilica (rectangular) or cruciform (cross-

shaped) floor plan. Barrel vault or wooden roof. Decoration: Reliefs with animals, plant motifs,

geometrical shapes and human figures.

Ashlars Basilica Cruciform floor plan

Barrel vault

San Juan de Baños

Quintanilla de las Viñas

San Pedro de la Nave

Daniel in the Lion’s Den

The Sacrifice of Isaac

THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE

The Eastern Roman Empire (= Byzantine Empire) repelled attacks by the barbarians.

At the beginning of the 6th century, the Empire covered the Eastern Roman Empire (Greece, the Balkans, the Anatolian Peninsula, Syria, Palestine and Egypt).

But the Emperor Justinian conquered some of the territories of the former Western Roman Empire (his objective was to restore the Roman Empire to its ancient boundaries).

Mosaic of the Emperor Justinian

After his death, the empire began to lose all the conquered territories in Western Europe. The lombards conquered Italy. The Visigoths reconquered the Iberian Peninsula. The Muslims conquered the southern and eastern

coasts of the Mediterranean Sea.

By the 15th century, only Constantinople remained. In 1453 it was conquered by the Ottoman Turks. This marked the end of the Middle Ages.

Political organisation

The EMPEROR had absolute power (it was believed that his authority to rule was given to him by God).

The emperor was the head of the Church (the Patriarch of Constantinople).

The emperor was the head of the army and the supreme legistator and judge. Justinian compiled a code with Roman and

Byzantine laws (Justinian’s code).

Byzantine territory was divided into THEMES (= provinces). Each one was ruled by a streategoi.

There was an efficient administration system run by many officials.

The emperor had a well-trained army, formed by local troops. However, from the 11th century onward, it was necessary to recruit mercenaries.

Economy

Agriculture was one of the main sources of wealth. Each theme was specialised in one crop.

Craftwork was important in some cities.

Trade was important during the 11th century. Trade routes linking the East to the West. They exported textiles, wine, jewels… They imported ivory, spices, precious stones,…

Society

Rural society: The big rural landowners, who owned the

latifundia was the most powerful group. Coloni worked on the latifundia. Some peasants were owners of small plots of

land.

Urban society: The ruling class: big rural landowners, high

officials and wealthy merchants. The lower class: small merchants, craftsmen

(organised into collegia) and slaves.

TEXTO:Los gremios en Bizancio

“Los artesanos se agrupaban en gremios presididos por un jefe designado por el Estado. El gobierno controlaba la vida económica de estas corporaciones: todo estaba reglamentado, desde la compra de materiales de trabajo hasta la venta de los productos, pasando por la calidad de las mercancías, la cantidad, los precios,… Cada gremio debía desempeñar su oficio en el barrio de la ciudad que se le asignaba y ofrecía directamente sus productos al consumidor.

Los miembros de un gremio tenían que demostrar sus habilidades frente al Estado, que en lo sucesivo no regateaba a la hora de cobrar impuestos especiales a la corporación. Asimismo, estaban obligados a practicar únicamente su oficio y no podían cambiar a otro”

E.G. MAIER y P. SHERRARDBizancio

BYZANTINE ART

ARCHITECTURE: Main building: Churches. Materials: Brick, mortar. Constructive elements:

Semicircular arch and barrel vault.

Monolithic columns

Dome on pendentives.

Types of plant: Basilica plan or greek-cross plan with domes.

Contrast between the exterior (poor) and the interior (wealthy: mosaics)

Hagia Sophia in Constantinople: (6th century) Materials: Brick and mortar. Interior:

Mosaics and painting.

Plan: Basilica plan, centralised by a dome.

MOSAIC AND PAINTING: In the interior of churches and the

icons. Flat and one-dimensional figures, with a

rigid, unnatural expression. Symmetric composition and

hierarchical perspective (the most important character is bigger than the others).

THE FRANKS AND CAROLINGIANS

Treaty of Verdun: Disintegration of the Carolingian Empire

Carolingian Art