Write an essay on Medieval Europe -Rise of Christianity.
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This is a particularly fine tribute to a particularly fine scholar. No respectable medievalist can fail to come to terms with the impressive and stimulating work of John Van Engen, which has been outlined as an appendix. This festschrift and Van Engen’s work reflect several important principles, each of which is worthy of consideration and acceptance. First, the scholar must become familiar with the grain of historiographical understanding and, once familiar with the well-worn pathways, intentionally go against the grain and chart out new pathways. Second, medievalists must take religion seriously. Third, Van Engen’s work and the essays in this collection warn about the propensity to sort medieval matters into approved and disapproved taxonomies. Fourth, while the concept of reform may be vexatious, it cannot be dismissed. Fifth, the value of a counterfactual principle should be applied to the entire Middle Ages. Sixth, the goal of scholarship should be neither to defend nor condemn, but to understand and explain. Seventh, ‘Christianity’, in the later Middle Ages especially, represents a multi-layered complexity filled with options, opportunities, and otherness which defies simplification. The volume is divided into four foci: the idea of Christianisation; twelfth-century culture; Jews and Christian society; and late medieval religious life. The essays are evenly important, generally well written, suggestive, signposting additional research possibilities: they are a credit to the editors and worthy of presentation to Van Engen. It is impossible in the allotted space to say something about each contribution. I have therefore chosen to reflect on matters that are of personal interest. Lisa Wolverton’s essay on the Christianisation of Bohemia is a model of solid scholarship and critical evaluation. Her contribution, along with those of David Mengel and Marcela Perrett, bring attention to Bohemia, which has for far too long been allowed to languish on the shoals of the mainstream of medieval studies. Perrett’s essay is another contribution to an expanding field of investigation into the vernacular sources of the Hussite period. Curiously, she does not mention the analysis of Příbram’s polemic against the Táborite priests published by this reviewer in 2011. Another essay that stands out for its erudition is R. I. Moore’s on the Cathar Middle Ages as an historiographical problem. Against naysayers, it is essential to acknowledge that there really were heretics in the Middle Ages, those who deliberately rejected the authority and teachings of the official Church. Robert Lerner did rightly dispatch the phantom of the Free Spirit heretics a generation ago, but Cathar, Waldensian, and Hussite heretics really did prowl the dimly lit hallways of medieval Europe. The insistence on affirming that heretics were simply created by inquisitors and prelates is not persuasive. Howard Kaminsky was wrong and Jan Hus, for example, was a heretic and so were some of his disciples, the appropriately named Hussites. Moore’s essay has historiographical value and should be carefully read. Christine Caldwell Ames’s contribution is also valuable in this respect. Moore rightly points out that the collection, Inventer l’hérésie? Discours polémiques et pouvoirs avant l’Inquisition (CEPAM, 1998), marks the resetting of the historiographical clock in the study of heresy. This volume is an instructive lesson of how ‘nonsense in academic garb should be dealt with’. This is how Moore describes Norman Cohn’s takedown of Margaret Murray’s thesis about a witch cult and his observation continues to have wide applicability. Translated primary source documents accompanying several of the contributions are welcome and useful. I find endnotes tedious, and contrary to the objections of all too many publishing houses, notes at the foot of the page are preferred and ever so much more useful. The volume might have included a photograph of the man who has inspired so many. Otherwise, the editors have much to be proud of and the University of Notre Dame Press has produced an excellent volume, handsomely assembled, and pleasing in every respect, worthy of the substance and reputation of John Van Engen
The rise of Christianity changed classical Western Civilization to medieval Western Civilization by absorbing the traditions and cultures of Rome, Greece, and the Hellenistic states and uniting Europe under the new religion. During the Roman Empire, there was tremendous inequality. The majority of the population lived in poverty, while only a very small portion of the population held immense wealth. Rome had a very strict social hierarchical system. At the pinnacle was the Emperor, above all in power and divinity. Next was the aristocracy who ran the city and controlled the wealth. Below them were merchants, often wealthy but not aristocratic. Then came the artisans who made the goods, but were heavily taxed. The lowest class of residents were those who performed the menial tasks, followed by peasant farmers and slaves. Free grain was often distributed to these lower classes in cities to prevent uprisings (Stockman, Christianity in the Classical World).
In the early days of the Empire, Rome was polytheistic. Worship of many religions was tolerated, so long as none threatened the peace of the Empire. However, over time, people began to desire a more spiritual experience than what the state religion offered (Guisepi). They looked to the mystery religions to fulfill this need. Mithraism was one such cult. It was a belief in the story of the son of the Sun God who also came to earth to rescue mankind. Mithraists believed that Mithra came to earth in a human form in order to experience human suffering and to atone for this suffering. Mithra had followers with which he shared a last supper before he was executed and rose from the dead (Hooker). When Christianity came around, people found it somewhat familiar. The appeal was greatly enhanced however, in that the “Son” was a human being, not a myth. It fulfilled the human need to belong, instead of living in isolation (PBS / WGBH Educational Foundation). Christians helped each other. A major focus of the faith was the care of widows, orphans, the sick and the aged. Christianity made all people equal with other members of the community, from the wealthiest to the slaves. In addition, it offered a personal relationship with God (Spielvogel 175).
In the beginning, Christianity was a flexible religion, adapting its rules and teachings based on the cultures it encountered. Christianity began from the teachings of Jesus, a Jew from Nazareth. Jesus’ mission was to prepare the Jews for the end of time, the apocalypse. His teachings taught of social equality, harmony, and the freedom of men to decide their own fate. After Jesus was crucified, the spread of his religion was taken up by a small number of his followers. James travelled to Palestine, Thaddeus went to Armenia, which, in the fourth century, would become the first official Christian state, and Peter went to Rome (Roman Religion). Although Jesus focused only on Jews, Paul reached out to everyone, Jews and Gentiles. He opened the doors of Christianity to all people, providing a “universal foundation for the spread of Jesus’ ideas” (Spielvogel 171). Paul was determined that Christians should become evangelists, that they should spread the truth about Jesus as the dead and risen god. He believed it was his responsibility to prepare as many people as possible for the upcoming apocalypse, as foretold by Jesus (Hooker). Later, Christianity showed its adaptability by embracing pagan holy days into Christian practice. It was this religion’s ability to adapt to the many cultures and people it encountered that allowed it to spread so easily and so far. Paul was made a martyr in 65 A.D., beheaded by Nero, as was Peter (Guisepi). But by this time, Christian communities had sprung up in all the important cities of the Empire.
The spread of Christianity was also aided by the army. The monotheistic concept of Mithras was popular in the Legions, the basic units of the Roman army (Roman Religion). As the army travelled throughout the empire, the monotheistic concept travelled with it. The colonies established by veterans of the Legion helped Romanize the new territories, and allowed monotheism and Christianity to spread throughout the provinces. By the third century, Christianity had established itself, had a set of sacred books in the Gospels, and had established its own rituals with baptism and the Eucharist (PBS / WGBH Educational Foundation)