Early European History - free ebook by Hutton Webster

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Early European History

Hutton Webster

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EARLY EUROPEAN HISTORY

EARLY EUROPEAN HISTORY

"There is no part of history so generally useful as that which relates to the progress of the human mind, the gradual improvement of reason, the successive advances of science, the vicissitudes of learning and ignorance, which are the light and darkness of thinking beings, the extinction and resuscitation of arts, and the revolutions of the intellectual world." —SAMUEL JOHNSON, Rasselas ....

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PREFACE

PREFACE

This book aims to furnish a concise and connected account of human progress during ancient, medieval, and early modern times. It should meet the requirements of those high schools and preparatory schools where ancient history, as a separate discipline, is being supplanted by a more extended course introductory to the study of recent times and contemporary problems. Such a course was first outlined by the Regents of the University of the State of New York in their Syllabus for Secondary Schools ,

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LIST OF MAPS

LIST OF MAPS

Distribution of Semitic and Indo-European Peoples. Physical Map of Asia. Egyptian Empire (about 1450 B.C.) Canaan as divided among the Tribes. Solomon's Kingdom. Assyrian Empire (about 660 B.C.) Lydia, Media, Babylonia, and Egypt (about 550 B.C.) Persian Empire at its Greatest Extent (about 500 B.C.) Ancient Trade Routes Phnician and Greek Colonies. Physical Map of Europe. Ancient Greece and the Aegean. Aegean Civilization. Greek Conquests and Migrations. The World

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LIST OF PLATES

LIST OF PLATES

Ancient and Medieval Gems Stonehenge The Rosetta Stone (British Museum, London) The Vaphio Gold Cups (National Museum, Athens) Greek Gods and Goddesses: Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Aphrodite Aphrodite of Melos (Louvre, Paris) Hermes and Dionysus (Museum of Olympia) Sarcophagus from Sidon (Imperial Ottoman Museum, Constantinople) Laocoön and his Children (Vatican Museum, Rome) Victory of Samothrace (Louvre, Paris) Oriental, Greek, and Roman Coins A Scene in Sicily Bay of Naples

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PERIODICALS

PERIODICALS

All serious students of history should have access to the American Historical Review (N. Y., 1895 to date, quarterly, $4.00 a year). This journal, the organ of the American Historical Association, contains articles by scholars, critical reviews of all important works, and notes and news. The History Teacher's Magazine is edited under the supervision of a committee of the American Historical Association (Philadelphia, 1909 to date, monthly, $2.00 a year). Every well-equipped school library should

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SYLLABI

SYLLABI

The Illustrated Topics for Ancient History , arranged by D. C. Knowlton (Philadelphia, McKinley Publishing Co., 65 cents), contain much valuable material in the shape of a syllabus, source quotations, outline maps, pictures, and other aids. The following syllabi have been prepared for collegiate instruction: Botsford, G. W. A Syllabus of Roman History (N. Y., 1915, Macmillan, 50 cents). Munro, D. C., and SELLERY, G. C. A Syllabus of Medieval History, 395- 1500 (N. Y., 1913, Longmans, Green, and

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GENERAL WORKS

GENERAL WORKS

Carlyle, Thomas. On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History (N. Y., 1840, Dutton, 35 cents). Creasy, E. S. The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World from Marathon to Waterloo (N. Y., 1854, Dutton, 35 cents). Gibbins, H. De B. The History of Commerce in Europe (26. ed., N. Y., 1897, Macmillan, 90 cents). Herbertson, A. J., and Herbertson, F. D. Man and His Work (3d ed., N. Y., 1914, Macmillan, 60 cents). An introduction to the study of human geography. Jacobs, Joseph. The Story of Geograp

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PREHISTORIC TIMES

PREHISTORIC TIMES

Clodd, Edward. The Story of Primitive Man (N Y., 1895, Appleton, 35 cents). Generally accurate and always interesting. ——— The Childhood of the World (2d ed., N. Y., 1914, Macmillan, $1.25). Elliott, G. F. S. Prehistoric Man and His Story (Philadelphia, 1915, Lippincott, $2.00). Holbrook, Florence. Cave, Mound, and Lake Dwellers (N. Y., 1911, Heath, 44 cents). Mason, O. T, Woman's Share in Primitive Culture (N. Y., 1900, D. Appleton, $1.75). The only work on the subject; by a competent anthropol

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ORIENTAL HISTORY

ORIENTAL HISTORY

Baikie, James. The Story of the Pharaohs (N. Y., 1908, Macmillan, $2.00). A popular work; well illustrated. * Ball, C. J. Light from the East (London, 1899, Eyre and Spottiswoode, 15s.). An account of Oriental archaeology, with special reference to the Old Testament. Banks, E. G. The Bible and the Spade (N. Y., 1913, Association Press, $1.00). A popular presentation of Oriental archaeology. * Breasted, J. H. A History of Egypt from the Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest (2d ed., N. Y., 1909,

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GREEK AND ROMAN HISTORY

GREEK AND ROMAN HISTORY

Abbott, Evelyn. Pericles and the Golden Age of Athens (N. Y., 1891, Putnam, $1.50). "Heroes of the Nations." Baikie, James. The Sea-Kings of Crete (2d ed., N. Y., 1912, Macmillan, $1.75). A clear and vivid summary of Cretan archaeology. Blümner, Hugo. The Home Life of the Ancient Greeks , translated by Alice Zimmern (3d ed., N. Y., 1910, Funk and Wagnalls Co., $2.00). Bulley, Margaret H. Ancient and Medieval Art (N. Y., 1914, Macmillan, $1.75). An elementary treatment, particularly designed for

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MEDIEVAL HISTORY

MEDIEVAL HISTORY

Adams, G. B. The Growth of the French Nation (N. Y., 1896, Macmillan, $1.25). The best short history of France. Archer, T. A., and Kingsford, C. L. The Crusades (N. Y., 1894, Putnam, $1.50). Baring-Gould, Sabine. Curious Myths of the Middle Ages (N. Y., 1869, Longmans, Green, and Co., $1.25). Bateson, Mary. Medieval England (N. Y., 1903, Putnam, $1.50). Deals with social and economic life. "Story of the Nations." Cheyney, E. P. An Introduction to the Industrial and Social History of England (N.

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TRANSITION TO MODERN TIMES

TRANSITION TO MODERN TIMES

Cheyney, E. P. European Background of American History, 1300-1600 (N. Y., 1904, Harper, $2.00). Creighton, Mandell. The Age of Elizabeth (13th ed., N. Y., 1897, Scribner, $ 1.00). "Epochs of Modern History." Fiske, John. The Discovery and Colonization of North America (Boston, 1905, Ginn, 90 cents). Gardiner, S. R. The Thirty Years' War (N. Y., 1874, Scribner, $1.00). Goodyear, W. H. Renaissance and Modern Art (N. Y., 1894, Macmillan, $1.00). Hudson, W. H. The Story of the Renaissance (N. Y., 19

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1. THE STUDY OF HISTORY

1. THE STUDY OF HISTORY

History is the narrative of what civilized man has done. It deals with those social groups called states and nations. Just as biography describes the life of individuals, so history relates the rise, progress, and decline of human societies. History cannot go back of written records. These alone will preserve a full and accurate account of man's achievements. Manuscripts and books form one class of written records. The old Babylonians used tablets of soft clay, on which signs were impressed with

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2. PREHISTORIC PEOPLES

2. PREHISTORIC PEOPLES

In studying the historic period our chief concern is with those peoples whose ideas or whose deeds have aided human progress and the spread of civilization. Six-sevenths of the earth's inhabitants now belong to civilized countries, and these countries include the best and largest regions of the globe. At the beginning of historic times, however, civilization was confined within a narrow area—the river valleys of western Asia and Egypt. The uncounted centuries before the dawn of history make up t

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3. DOMESTICATION OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS

3. DOMESTICATION OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS

Prehistoric man lived at first chiefly on wild berries, nuts, roots, and herbs. As his implements improved and his skill increased, he became hunter, trapper, and fisher. A tribe of hunters, however, requires an extensive territory and a constant supply of game. When the wild animals are all killed or seriously reduced in number, privation and hardship result. It was a forward step, therefore, when man began to tame animals as well as to kill them. The dog was man's first conquest over the anima

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4. WRITING AND THE ALPHABET

4. WRITING AND THE ALPHABET

Though history is always based on written records, the first steps toward writing are prehistoric. We start with the pictures or rough drawings which have been found among the remains of the early Stone Age. [8] Primitive man, however, could not rest satisfied with portraying objects. [Illustration: VARIOUS SIGNS OF SYMBOLIC PICTURE WRITING 1, "war" (Dakota Indian); 2, "morning" (Ojibwa Indian); 3, "nothing" (Ojibwa Indian); 4 and 5, "to eat" (Indian, Mexican, Egyptian, etc.).] He wanted to reco

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5. PRIMITIVE SCIENCE AND ART

5. PRIMITIVE SCIENCE AND ART

We have already seen that prehistoric men in their struggle for existence had gathered an extensive fund of information. They could make useful and artistic implements of stone. They could work many metals into a variety of tools and weapons. They were practical botanists, able to distinguish different plants and to cultivate them for food. They were close students of animal life and expert hunters and fishers. They knew how to produce fire and preserve it, how to cook, how to fashion pottery an

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6. HISTORIC PEOPLES

6. HISTORIC PEOPLES

At the dawn of history the various regions of the world were already in the possession of many different peoples. Such physical characteristics as the shape of the skull, the features, stature, or complexion may serve to distinguish one people from another. Other grounds for distinction are found in language, customs beliefs, and general intelligence. If we take complexion or color as the basis of classification, it is possible to distinguish a few large racial groups. Each of these groups occup

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. On an outline map indicate the areas occupied in antiquity by Semites and Indo-Europeans. 2. Find definitions for the following terms: society, nation, state, government, institution, culture, and civilization. 3. Explain the abbreviations B.C. and A.D. In what century was the year 1917 B.C.? the year 1917 A.D.? 4. Look up the derivation of the words "paper" and "Bible." 5. Distinguish between the three stages of savagery, barbarism, and civilization, and give examples of existing peoples in

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7. PHYSICAL ASIA

7. PHYSICAL ASIA

Ancient history begins in the East—in Asia and in that part of Africa called Egypt, which the peoples of antiquity always regarded as belonging to Asia. If we look at a physical map of Asia, we see at once that it consists of two very unequal divisions separated by an almost continuous mass of mountains and deserts. These two divisions are Farther and Nearer, or Eastern and Western, Asia. [Illustration: Map, PHYSICAL MAP OF ASIA.] Farther Asia begins at the center of the continent with a series

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8. BABYLONIA AND EGYPT

8. BABYLONIA AND EGYPT

Two famous rivers rise in the remote fastnesses of Armenia—the Tigris and the Euphrates. As they flow southward, the twin streams approach each other to form a common valley, and then proceed in parallel channels for the greater part of their course. In antiquity each river emptied into the Persian Gulf by a separate mouth. This Tigris-Euphrates valley was called by the Greeks Mesopotamia, "the land between the rivers." Babylonia is a remarkably productive country. The annual inundation of the r

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9. THE BABYLONIANS AND THE EGYPTIANS

9. THE BABYLONIANS AND THE EGYPTIANS

The earliest inhabitants of Babylonia of whom we know anything were a people called Sumerians. They entered the Babylonian plain through the passes of the eastern mountains, three or four thousand years before the Christian era. Here they formed a number of independent states, each with its capital city, its patron god, and its king. After them came Semitic tribes from the deserts of northern Arabia. The Semites mingled with the Sumerians and adopted Sumerian civilization. Of all the early Babyl

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10. THE PHOENICIANS AND THE HEBREWS

10. THE PHOENICIANS AND THE HEBREWS

The Phoenicians were the first Syrian people to assume importance. Their country was a narrow stretch of coast, about one hundred and twenty miles in length, seldom more than twelve miles in width, between the Lebanon Mountains and the sea. This tiny land could not support a large population. As the Phoenicians increased in numbers, they were obliged to betake themselves to the sea. The Lebanon cedars furnished soft, white wood for shipbuilding, and the deeply indented coast offered excellent ha

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11. THE ASSYRIANS

11. THE ASSYRIANS

Assyria, lying east of the Tigris River, was colonized at an early date by emigrants from Babylonia. After the Assyrians freed themselves from Babylonian control, they entered upon a series of sweeping conquests. Every Asiatic state felt their heavy hand. The Assyrian kings created a huge empire stretching from the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf, the Mediterranean, and the Nile. For the first time in Oriental history Mesopotamia and Egypt, with the intervening territory, were brought under one

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12. THE WORLD EMPIRE OF PERSIA

12. THE WORLD EMPIRE OF PERSIA

Not much earlier than the break-up of the Assyrian Empire, we find a new and vigorous people pressing into western Iran. They were the Persians, near kinsmen of the Medes. Subjects at first of Assyria, and then of Media, they regained their independence and secured imperial power under a conquering king whom history knows as Cyrus the Great. In 553 B.C. Cyrus revolted against the Median monarch and three years later captured the royal city of Ecbatana. The Medes and Persians formed henceforth a

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. On the map Physical Map of Asia, section 7. Physical Asia, topic Grand Divisions of Asia, see what regions of Asia are less than 500 feet above sea level; less than 3000 feet; less than 9000 feet; less than 15,000 feet; over 15,000 feet. 2. On an outline map of the Orient indicate eight important rivers, two gulfs, three inland seas, the great plateaus and plains, the principal mountain ranges, two important passes, and the various countries and cities mentioned in this chapter. 3. On an outl

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13. SOCIAL CLASSES

13. SOCIAL CLASSES

Our present knowledge of the Orient has been gained within recent times. Less than a century ago no one could read the written records of the Egyptians and Babylonians. The decipherment of the Rosetta Stone, which contained an inscription in both Greek and hieroglyphics, led to the understanding of Egyptian writing. Scholars later succeeded in interpreting the Babylonian cuneiform script. Modern excavations in the valleys of the Nile and the Euphrates have now provided them with abundant materia

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14. ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

14. ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

Such fruitful, well-watered valleys as those of the Nile and the Euphrates encouraged agricultural life. Farming was the chief occupation. Working people, whether slaves or freemen, were generally cultivators of the soil. All the methods of agriculture are pictured for us on the monuments. We mark the peasant as he breaks up the earth with a hoe or plows a shallow furrow with a sharp-pointed stick. We see the sheep being driven across sown fields to trample the seed into the moist soil. We watch

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15. COMMERCE AND TRADE ROUTES

15. COMMERCE AND TRADE ROUTES

The use of the precious metals as money greatly aided the exchange of commodities between different countries. The cities of the Tigris- Euphrates valley were admirably situated for commerce, both by sea and land. They enjoyed a central position between eastern and western Asia. The shortest way by water from India skirted the southern coast of Iran and, passing up the Persian Gulf, gained the valley of the two great rivers. Even more important were the overland roads from China and India which

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16. LAW AND MORALITY

16. LAW AND MORALITY

It is clear that societies so highly organized as Phoenicia, Egypt, and Babylonia must have been held together by the firm bonds of law. The ancient Babylonians, especially, were a legal-minded people. When a man sold his wheat, bought a slave, married a wife, or made a will, the transaction was duly noted on a contract tablet, which was then filed away in the public archives. Instead of writing his name, a Babylonian stamped his seal on the wet clay of the tablet. Every man who owned property h

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17. RELIGION

17. RELIGION

Oriental ideas of religion, even more than of law and morality, were the gradual outgrowth of beliefs held by the Asiatic peoples in prehistoric times. Everywhere nature worship prevailed. The vault of heaven, earth and ocean, sun, moon, and stars were all regarded either as themselves divine or as the abode of divinities. The sun was an object of especial adoration. We find a sun god, under different names, in every Oriental country. Another inheritance from prehistoric times was the belief in

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18. LITERATURE AND ART

18. LITERATURE AND ART

Religion inspired the largest part of ancient literature. Each Oriental people possessed sacred writings. The Egyptian Book of the Dead was already venerable in 3000 B.C. It was a collection of hymns, prayers, and magical phrases to be recited by the soul on its journey beyond the grave and in the spirit world. A chapter from this work usually covered the inner side of the mummy case. [Illustration: THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD From a papyrus containing the Book of the Dead . The illustration shows

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19. SCIENCE AND EDUCATION

19. SCIENCE AND EDUCATION

Conspicuous advance took place in the exact sciences. The leading operations of arithmetic were known. A Babylonian tablet gives a table of squares and cubes correctly calculated from 1 to 60. The number 12 was the basis of all reckonings. The division of the circle into degrees, minutes, and seconds (360°, 60', 60") was an invention of the Babylonians which illustrates this duodecimal system A start was made in geometry. One of the oldest of Egyptian books contains a dozen geometrical problems.

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. What was the origin of the "divine right" of kings? 2. Explain what is meant by despotism ; by autocracy . 3. What European state comes nearest to being a pure despotism? What European monarch styles himself as an autocrat? 4. What do the illustrations on pages 38, 43 tell about the pomp of Oriental kings? 5. Why did the existence of numerous slaves in Egypt and Babylonia tend to keep low the wages of free workmen? Why is it true that civilization may be said to have begun "with the cracking

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20. PHYSICAL EUROPE

20. PHYSICAL EUROPE

The continent of Asia, projecting its huge bulk southwestward between the seas, gradually narrows into the smaller continent of Europe. The boundary between the two regions is not well defined. Ancient geographers found a convenient dividing line north of the Black Sea in the course of the river Don. Modern map makers usually place the division at the Ural Mountains, the Caspian Sea, and the Caucasus. Each of these boundaries is more or less arbitrary. In a geographical sense Europe is only the

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21. GREECE AND THE AEGEAN

21. GREECE AND THE AEGEAN

The Aegean is an almost landlocked body of water. The Balkan peninsula, narrowing toward the Mediterranean into the smaller peninsula of Greece, confines it on the west. On the east it meets a boundary in Asia Minor. The southern boundary is formed by a chain of islands, while the only opening northward is found in the narrow passage leading to the Black Sea. The coasts and islands of the Aegean thus make up a little world set off by itself. [Illustration: Map, PHYSICAL MAP OF EUROPE] Continenta

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22. THE AEGEAN AGE (TO ABOUT 1100 B.C.)

22. THE AEGEAN AGE (TO ABOUT 1100 B.C.)

The Greeks of historic times knew very little about their prehistoric period. Instead of accurate knowledge they had only the beautiful legends preserved in ancient poems, such as the Iliad and the Odyssey . Within our own day, however, remarkable excavations have disclosed the remains of a widespread and flourishing civilization in times so distant that the historic Greeks had lost all sight of it. As in the Orient, [4] the labors of modern scholars are yearly adding to our knowledge of ancient

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23. THE HOMERIC AGE (ABOUT 1100-750 B.C.)

23. THE HOMERIC AGE (ABOUT 1100-750 B.C.)

The barbarians who overthrew Aegean civilization seem to have entered Greece from the north, perhaps from the region the Danube River. They pushed gradually southward, sometimes exterminating or enslaving the earlier inhabitants of the country, but more often settling peaceably in their new homes. Conquerors and conquered slowly intermingled and so produced the one Greek people which is found at the dawn of history. These Greeks, as we shall call them henceforth, also occupied the islands of the

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24. EARLY GREEK RELIGION

24. EARLY GREEK RELIGION

We may learn from the Homeric poems what were the religious ideas held by the early Greeks. The greater gods and goddesses were not numerous. Less than a score everywhere received worship under the same names and in all the temples. Twelve of the chief deities formed a select council, which was supposed to meet on the top of snow-crowned Olympus. The Greeks, however, did not agree as to what gods and goddesses should be included in this august assemblage. Many of the Olympian deities appear to h

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25. RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS: ORACLES AND GAMES

25. RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS: ORACLES AND GAMES

The Greeks believed that communications from the gods were received from certain inspired persons at places called oracles. The oracle of Apollo at Delphi in Phocis enjoyed the utmost veneration. It lay within a deep cave on the rocky side of Mount Parnassus. Out of a chasm rose a volcanic vapor which had a certain intoxicating power. The Pythia, or prophetess of Apollo, sat on a tripod over the steaming cleft and inhaled the gas. The words she uttered in delirium were supposed to come from the

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26. THE GREEK CITY-STATE

26. THE GREEK CITY-STATE

The Greeks in Homeric times had already begun to live in towns and cities. A Greek city, being independent and self-governing, is properly called a city-state. Just as a modern nation, it could declare war, arrange treaties, and make alliances with its neighbors. Such a city-state included not only the territory within its walls, but also the surrounding district where many of the citizens lived. The members of a Greek city-state were very closely associated. The citizens believed themselves to

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27. THE GROWTH OF SPARTA (TO 500 B.C.)

27. THE GROWTH OF SPARTA (TO 500 B.C.)

The Greek invaders who entered southern Greece, or the Peloponnesus, [21] were known as Dorians. They founded the city of Sparta, in the district of Laconia. By the close of the sixth century B.C. the Spartans were able to conquer their immediate neighbors and to organize some of the city-states of the Peloponnesus into a strong confederacy called the Peloponnesian League. The members of the league did not pay tribute, but they furnished troops to serve in war under Spartan leaders, and they loo

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29. COLONIAL EXPANSION OF GREECE (ABOUT 750-500 B.C.)

29. COLONIAL EXPANSION OF GREECE (ABOUT 750-500 B.C.)

While Athens, Sparta, and their sister states were working out the problems of government, another significant movement was going on in the Greek world. The Greeks, about the middle of the eighth century B.C., began to plant numerous colonies along the shores of the Mediterranean and of the Black Sea. The great age of colonization covered more than two hundred years. [26] Several reasons led to the founding of colonies. Trade was an important motive. The Greeks, like the Phoenicians, [27] could

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30. BONDS OF UNION AMONG THE GREEKS

30. BONDS OF UNION AMONG THE GREEKS

The Greek colonies, as we have seen, were free and independent. In Greece itself the little city-states were just as jealous of their liberties. Nevertheless ties existed, not of common government, but of common interests and ideals, which helped to unite the scattered sections of the Greek world. The strongest bond of union was, of course, the one Greek speech. Everywhere the people used the same beautiful and expressive language. It is not a "dead" language, for it still lives in modified form

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. On the map facing page 66 see what regions of Europe are less than 500 feet above sea level; less than 3000 feet; over 9000 feet. 2. Why was Europe better fitted than Asia to develop the highest civilization? Why not so well fitted as Asia to originate civilization? 3. "The tendency of mountains is to separate, of rivers to unite, adjacent peoples." How can you justify this statement by a study of European geography? 4. Why has the Mediterranean been called a "highway of nations"? 5. Locate o

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31. THE PERILS OF HELLAS

31. THE PERILS OF HELLAS

The history of the Greeks for many centuries had been uneventful—a history of their uninterrupted expansion over barbarian lands. But now the time was approaching when the independent and isolated Greek communities must meet the attack of the great despotic empires of Asia. The Greek cities of Asia Minor were the first part of the Hellenic world to be involved. Their conquest by the Lydian king, Croesus, about the middle of the sixth century B.C., showed how grave was the danger to Greek indepen

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32. EXPEDITIONS OF DARIUS AGAINST GREECE

32. EXPEDITIONS OF DARIUS AGAINST GREECE

No sooner was quiet restored in Asia Minor than Darius began preparations to punish Athens for her part in the Ionian Revolt. The first expedition under the command of Mardonius, the son-in-law of the Persian monarch, was a failure. Mardonius never reached Greece, because the Persian fleet, on which his army depended for provisions, was wrecked off the promontory of Mount Athos. Darius did not abandon his designs, in consequence of the disaster. Two years later a second fleet, bearing a force of

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33. XERXES AND THE GREAT PERSIAN WAR

33. XERXES AND THE GREAT PERSIAN WAR

"Ten years after Marathon," says a Greek historian, "the 'barbarians' returned with the vast armament which was to enslave Hellas." [5] Darius was now dead, but his son Xerxes had determined to complete his task. Vast quantities of provisions were collected; the Hellespont was bridged with boats; and the rocky promontory of Mount Athos, where a previous fleet had suffered shipwreck, was pierced with a canal. An army of several hundred thousand men was brought together from all parts of the Great

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34. ATHENS UNDER THEMISTOCLES, ARISTIDES, AND CIMON

34. ATHENS UNDER THEMISTOCLES, ARISTIDES, AND CIMON

After the battle of Plataea the Athenians, with their wives and children, returned to Attica and began the restoration of their city, which the Persians had burned. Their first care was to raise a wall so high and strong Athens in future would be impregnable to attack. Upon the suggestion of Themistocles it was decided to include within the fortifications a wide area where all the country people, in case of another invasion, could find a refuge. Themistocles also persuaded the Athenians to build

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35. ATHENS UNDER PERICLES

35. ATHENS UNDER PERICLES

The ostracism of Cimon deprived the aristocrats of their most prominent representative. It was possible for the democratic or liberal party to assume complete control of public affairs. Pericles, their leader and champion, was a man of studious habits. He never appeared on the streets except when walking between his house and the popular assembly or the market place, kept rigidly away from dinners and drinking bouts, and ruled his household with strict economy that he might escape the suspicion

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36. THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR, 431-404 B.C.

36. THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR, 431-404 B.C.

The brilliant Age of Pericles had not come to an end before the two chief powers in the Hellenic world became involved in a deadly war. It would seem that Athens and Sparta, the one supreme upon the sea, the other at the head of the Peloponnesus, might have avoided a struggle which was sure to be long and costly. But Greek cities were always ready to fight one another. When Athens and Sparta found themselves rivals for the leadership of Greece, it was easy for the smouldering fires of distrust a

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37. THE SPARTAN AND THEBAN SUPREMACIES, 404-362 B.C.

37. THE SPARTAN AND THEBAN SUPREMACIES, 404-362 B.C.

Sparta was now the undisputed leader of Continental Greece and of the Aegean. As the representative of the liberty-loving Greeks she had humbled the pride and power of "tyrant" Athens. A great opportunity lay before her to reorganize the Hellenic world and to end the struggles for supremacy between rival cities. But Sparta entered upon no such glorious career. She had always stood as the champion of aristocracy against democracy, and now in her hour of triumph she began to overturn every democra

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38. DECLINE OF THE CITY-STATE

38. DECLINE OF THE CITY-STATE

The battle of Mantinea proved that no single city—Athens, Sparta, or Thebes—was strong enough to rule Greece. By the middle of the fourth century B.C. it had become evident that a great Hellenic power could the not be created out of the little, independent city-states of Greece. The history of Continental Hellas for more than a century after the close of the Persian War had been a record of almost ceaseless conflict. We have seen how Greece came to be split up into two great alliances, the one a

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. On an outline map indicate the principal places mentioned in this chapter. 2. On an outline map indicate the Athenian allies and dependencies and those of Sparta at the opening of the Peloponnesian War. 3. What do you understand by a "decisive" battle? Why has Marathon been considered such a battle? 4. Why did Xerxes take the longer route through Thrace, instead of the shorter route followed by Datis and Artaphernes? 5. What was the importance of the Phoenician fleet in the Persian invasions?

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39. PHILIP AND THE RISE OF MACEDONIA

39. PHILIP AND THE RISE OF MACEDONIA

The land of Macedonia, lying to the north of Greece, for a long time had been an inconspicuous part of the ancient world. Its people, though only partially civilized, were Greeks in blood and language. No doubt they formed an offshoot of those northern invaders who had entered the Balkan peninsula before the dawn of history. The Macedonian kings, from the era of the Persian wars, seized every opportunity of spreading Greek culture throughout their realm. By the middle of the fourth century B.C.,

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40. DEMOSTHENES AND THE END OF GREEK FREEDOM

40. DEMOSTHENES AND THE END OF GREEK FREEDOM

Philip for many years had been steadily extending his sway over Greece. In the face of his encroachments would Athens, Sparta, and Thebes, so long the leading cities, submit tamely to this Macedonian conqueror? There was one man, at least, who realized the menace to Greek freedom from Philip's onward march. In Demosthenes Greece found a champion of her threatened liberties. [Illustration: DEMOSTHENES (Vatican Museum, Rome) A marble statue, probably a copy of the bronze original by the sculptor P

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41. ALEXANDER THE GREAT

41. ALEXANDER THE GREAT

Alexander was only twenty years of age when he became ruler of Macedonia. From his father he inherited the powerful Frame, the kingly figure, the masterful will, which made so deep an impression on all his contemporaries. His mother, a proud and ambitious woman, told him that the blood of Achilles ran in his veins, and bade him emulate the deeds of that national hero. We know that he learned the Iliad by heart and always carried a copy of it on his campaigns. As he came to manhood, Alexander dev

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42. CONQUEST OF PERSIA AND THE FAR EAST, 334-323 B.C.

42. CONQUEST OF PERSIA AND THE FAR EAST, 334-323 B.C.

Alexander crossed the Hellespont in the spring of the year 334 B.C. He landed not far from the historic plain of Troy and at once began his march along the coast. Near the little river Granicus the satraps of Asia Minor had gathered an army to dispute his passage. Alexander at once led his cavalry across the river in an impetuous charge, which soon sent the Persian troops in headlong flight. The victory cost the Macedonians scarcely a hundred men; but it was complete. As Alexander passed southwa

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43. THE WORK OF ALEXANDER

43. THE WORK OF ALEXANDER

Alexander the Great was one of the foremost, perhaps the first, of the great captains of antiquity. But he was more than a world-conqueror; he was a statesman of the highest order. Had he been spared for an ordinary lifetime, there is no telling how much he might have accomplished. In eleven years he had been able to subdue the East and to leave an impress upon it which was to endure for centuries. And yet his work had only begun. There were still lands to conquer, cities to build, untrodden reg

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44. HELLENISTIC KINGDOMS AND CITIES

44. HELLENISTIC KINGDOMS AND CITIES

The half century following Alexander's death is a confused and troubled period in ancient history. The king had left no legitimate son—no one with an undisputed title to the succession. On his deathbed Alexander had himself declared that the realm should go "to the strongest." [12] It was certain, under these circumstances, that his possessions would become the prey of the leading Macedonian generals. The unwieldy empire at length broke in pieces. Out of the fragments arose three great states, n

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45. THE HELLENISTIC AGE

45. THE HELLENISTIC AGE

These splendid cities in the Orient were the centers of much literary activity. Their inhabitants, whether Hellenic or "barbarian," used Greek as a common language. During this period Greek literature took on a cosmopolitan character. It no longer centered in Athens. Writers found their audiences in all lands where Greeks had settled. At the same time literature became more and more an affair of the study. The authors were usually professional bookmen writing for a bookish public. They produced

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46. THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD

46. THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD

The Hellenistic Age was characterized by a general increase in wealth. The old Greeks and Macedonians, as a rule, had been content to live plainly. Now kings, nobles, and rich men began to build splendid palaces and to fill them with the products of ancient art—marbles from Asia Minor, vases from Athens, Italian bronzes, and Babylonian tapestries. They kept up great households with endless lords in waiting, ladies of honor, pages, guards, and servants. Soft couches and clothes of delicate fabric

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. On an outline map indicate the routes of Alexander, marking the principal battle fields and the most important cities founded by him. Note, also, the voyage of Nearchus. 2. On an outline map indicate the principal Hellenistic kingdoms about 200 B.C. 3. Give the proper dates for (a) accession of Alexander; (b) battle of Issus; (c) battle of Arbela; and (d) death of Alexander. 4. In what sense was Chaeronea a decisive battle? 5. How is it true that the expedition of the Ten Thousand forms "an e

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47. ITALY AND SICILY

47. ITALY AND SICILY

The shape of Italy is determined by the course of the Apennines. Branching off from the Alps at the gulf of Genoa, these mountains cross the peninsula in an easterly direction, almost to the Adriatic. Here they turn sharply to the southeast and follow the coast for a considerable distance. The plains of central Italy, in consequence, are all on the western slope of the Apennines. In the lower part of the peninsula the range swerves suddenly to the southwest, so that the level land is there on th

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48. THE PEOPLES OF ITALY

48. THE PEOPLES OF ITALY

Long before the Romans built their city by the Tiber every part of Italy had become the home of wandering peoples, attracted by the mild climate and rich soil of this favored land. Two of these peoples were neighbors of the Romans—Etruscans on the north and Greeks on the south. The ancestors of the historic Etruscans were probably Aegean sea-rovers who settled in the Italian peninsula before the beginning of the eighth century B.C. The immigrants mingled with the natives and by conquest and colo

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49. THE ROMANS

49. THE ROMANS

Rome sprang from a settlement of Latin shepherds, farmers, and traders on the Palatine Mount. [7] This was the central eminence in a group of low hills south of the Tiber, about fifteen miles by water from the river's mouth. Opposite the Palatine community there arose on the Quirinal Hill another settlement, which seems to have been an outpost of the Sabines. After much hard fighting the rival hill towns united on equal terms into one state. The low marshy land between the Palatine and Quirinal

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50. EARLY ROMAN SOCIETY

50. EARLY ROMAN SOCIETY

Agriculture was the chief occupation of the Roman people. "When our forefathers," said an ancient writer, "would praise a worthy man, they praised him as a good farmer and a good landlord; and they believed that an praise could go no further." [10] Roman farmers raised large crops of grain—the staple product of ancient Italy. Cattle-breeding, also, must have been an important pursuit, since in early times prices were estimated in oxen and sheep. [11] [Illustration: A ROMAN FARMER'S CALENDAR A ma

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51. ROMAN RELIGION

51. ROMAN RELIGION

The Romans, like the ancient Greeks and the modern Chinese, paid special veneration to the souls of the dead. These were known by the flattering name of manes , the "pure" or "good ones." The Romans always regarded the manes as members of the household to which they had belonged on earth. The living and the dead were thus bound together by the closest ties. The idea of the family triumphed even over the grave. The ancient Roman house had only one large room, the atrium , where all members of the

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52. THE ROMAN CITY-STATE

52. THE ROMAN CITY-STATE

We find in early Rome, as in Homeric Greece, [16] a city-state with its king, council, and assembly. The king was the father of his people, having over them the same absolute authority that the house-father held within the family. The king was assisted by a council of elders, or Senate (Latin senes , "old men"). Its members were chosen by the king and held office for life. The most influential heads of families belonged to the Senate. The common people at first took little part in the government

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53. EXPANSION OF ROME OVER ITALY, 509(?)-264 B.C.

53. EXPANSION OF ROME OVER ITALY, 509(?)-264 B.C.

The first centuries of the republic were filled with constant warfare. The Romans needed all their skill, bravery, and patriotism to keep back the Etruscans on the north, and the wild tribes of the Apennines. About 390 B.C. the state was brought near to destruction by an invasion of the Gauls. [24] These barbarians, whose huge bulk and enormous weapons struck terror to the hearts of their adversaries, poured through the Alpine passes and ravaged far and wide. At the river Allia, only a few miles

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54. ITALY UNDER ROMAN RULE

54. ITALY UNDER ROMAN RULE

Italy did not form a single state under Roman rule. About one-third of Italy composed the strictly Roman territory occupied by Roman citizens. Since ancient Rome knew nothing of the great principle of representative government, [29] it was necessary that citizens who wished to vote or to stand for office should visit in person the capital city. Few men, of course, would journey many miles to Rome in order to exercise their political rights. The elections, moreover, were not all held on one day,

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55. THE ROMAN ARMY

55. THE ROMAN ARMY

While the Romans were conquering Italy, they were making many improvements in their army. All citizens between the ages of seventeen and forty-six were liable to active service. These men were mainly landowners—hardy, intelligent peasants—who knew how to fight and how to obey orders. An army in the field consisted of one or more legions. A legion included about three thousand heavy-armed footmen, twelve hundred light infantry, and three hundred horsemen. After the conquest of Italy the states al

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. On an outline map indicate the Roman dominions in 509 B.C.; in 338 B.C.; in 264 B.C. 2. Make a list of the Roman magistrates mentioned in this chapter, and of the powers exercised by each. 3. Give the meaning of our English words "patrician," "plebeian," "censor," "dictator," "tribune," "augury," "auspices," and "veto." 4. Connect the proper events with the following dates: 753 B.C.; 509 B.C.; and 338 B.C. 5. Why have Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica been called the "suburbs of Italy"? 6. "Italy

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56. THE RIVALS: ROME AND CARTHAGE, 264-218 B.C.

56. THE RIVALS: ROME AND CARTHAGE, 264-218 B.C.

The conquest of Italy made Rome one of the five leading states of the Mediterranean world. In the East there were the kingdoms of Macedonia, Syria, and Egypt, which had inherited the dominions of Alexander the Great. In the West there were Carthage and Rome, once in friendly alliance, but now to become the bitterest foes. Rome had scarcely reached the headship of united Italy before she was involved in a life-and-death struggle with this rival power. The three wars between them are known as the

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57. HANNIBAL AND THE GREAT PUNIC WAR, 218-201 B.C.

57. HANNIBAL AND THE GREAT PUNIC WAR, 218-201 B.C.

The steady advance of the Carthaginian arms in Spain caused much uneasiness in Rome and at length led that city to declare war. Carthage herself was not unwilling for a second trial of strength. Her leading general, Hannibal, who had been winning renown in Spain, believed that the Carthaginians were now in a position to wage an aggressive war against their mighty rival. And so the two great Mediterranean powers, each confident of success, renewed the struggle for supremacy. At the opening of the

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58. ROMAN SUPREMACY IN THE WEST AND IN THE EAST, 201-133 B.C.

58. ROMAN SUPREMACY IN THE WEST AND IN THE EAST, 201-133 B.C.

Carthage had been humbled, but not destroyed. She still enjoyed the advantages of her magnificent situation and continued to be a competitor of Rome for the trade of the Mediterranean. The Romans watched with jealousy the reviving strength of the Punic city and at last determined to blot it out of existence. In 149 B.C. a large army was landed in Africa, and the inhabitants of Carthage were ordered to remove ten miles from the sea. They resolved to perish in the ruins of their capital, rather th

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59. THE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD UNDER ROMAN RULE

59. THE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD UNDER ROMAN RULE

Rome's dealings with the new dependencies across the sea did not follow the methods that had proved so successful in Italy. The Italian peoples had been treated with great liberality. Rome regarded them as allies, exempted them from certain taxes, and in many instances gave them Roman citizenship. It did not seem possible to extend this wise policy to remote and often barbarous lands beyond the borders of Italy. Rome adopted, instead, much the same system of imperial rule that had been previousl

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60. THE GRACCHI

60. THE GRACCHI

In 133 B.C., a year otherwise made memorable by the final subjugation of Spain and the acquisition of Asia, efforts began Rome to remedy some of the disorders which were now seen to be sapping the strength of Roman society. The first persons to undertake the work of reform were the two brothers, Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus. The Gracchi belonged to the highest nobility of Rome. Their father had filled a consulship and a censorship and had celebrated triumphs. Cornelia, their mother, was a daughte

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61. MARIUS AND SULLA

61. MARIUS AND SULLA

Although Rome now ruled throughout the Mediterranean, she was constantly engaged in border wars in one corner or another of her wide dominions. These wars brought to the front new military leaders, of whom the first was Gaius Marius. He was a peasant's son, a coarse, rude soldier, but an honest, courageous, and able man. Marius rose to prominence in the so- called Jugurthine War, which the Romans were waging against Jugurtha, king of Numidia. That wily African had discovered that it was easier t

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62. POMPEY AND CAESAR

62. POMPEY AND CAESAR

The struggle between Marius and Sulla, decided as it was by the sword, marks a stage in the decline of the Roman Republic. The careers of these two men showed how easily the state could be ruled by a successful commander who had his soldiers behind him. After Sulla's death his friend Pompey became the leading figure in Roman politics. Pompey's first service was in Spain, where the adherents of Marius sought to humble the Senate and the aristocratic party by encouraging the Spaniards to rise agai

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63. THE WORK OF CAESAR

63. THE WORK OF CAESAR

The new government which Caesar brought into being was a monarchy in all except name. He became dictator for life and held other republican offices, such as the consulship and censorship. He refused the title of king, but accepted as a civil magistrate the name of imperator , [26] with which the soldiers had been wont to salute a victorious general. Though he abolished none of the old republican forms, the Senate became simply his advisory council, the assemblies, his submissive agents the consu

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64. ANTONY AND OCTAVIAN

64. ANTONY AND OCTAVIAN

The murderers of Caesar called themselves the "liberators" of the republic. They thought that all Rome would applaud their deed, but the contrary was true. The senatorial order remained lukewarm. The people, instead of flocking to their support, mourned the loss of a friend and benefactor. Soon the conspirators found themselves in great peril. Caesar's friend and lieutenant, Antony, who became sole consul after Caesar's death, quickly made himself master of the situation. Brutus and Cassius were

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65. THE END OF AN EPOCH

65. THE END OF AN EPOCH

The republic, indeed, was doomed. A hundred years of dissension and civil warfare proclaimed clearly enough the failure of the old order. Rome was a city-state suddenly called to the responsibilities of universal rule. Both the machinery of her government and the morals of her people were inadequate for so huge a task. The gradual revolution which changed this Roman city-state into imperial Rome, judged by its results, is perhaps the most momentous movement in the annals of mankind. Let us summa

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. Write a summary account (500 words) of Roman expansion 264-133 B.C. 2. On outline maps indicate the possessions of Carthage and Rome at the beginning of the First Punic War; at the beginning of the Second Punic War; at the end of the Second Punic War. 3. On outline maps indicate the boundaries of the Roman world in 133 B.C. and in 31 B.C. and the division into provinces at these dates. 4. What events are connected with the following places: Zama; Cannae; Actium; Pharsalus, and Philippi? 5. Wh

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67. THE SUCCESSORS OF AUGUSTUS, 14-96 A.D.

67. THE SUCCESSORS OF AUGUSTUS, 14-96 A.D.

For more than half a century following the death of Augustus his place was filled by emperors who, either by descent or adoption, claimed kinship with himself and the mighty Julius. They are known as the Julian and Claudian Caesars. [8] Though none of these four princes had the political ability of Augustus, two of them (Tiberius and Claudius) were excellent rulers, who ably maintained the standards set by that great emperor. The other two (Caligula and Nero) were vicious tyrants, the recital of

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68. THE "GOOD EMPERORS," 96-180 A.D.

68. THE "GOOD EMPERORS," 96-180 A.D.

The five rulers—Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius—whose reigns cover the greater part of the second century, are sometimes called the Antonine Caesars, because two of them bore the name Antoninus. They are better known as the "Good Emperors," a title which well describes them. Under their just and beneficent government the empire reached its greatest prosperity. [Illustration: NERVA (Vatican Museum, Rome) A remarkably fine example of Roman portrait statuary.] The empero

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69. THE PROVINCES OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

69. THE PROVINCES OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

The Roman Empire, at its widest extent in the second century, included forty-three provinces. They were protected against Germans, Parthians and other foes by twenty-five legions, numbering with the auxiliary forces, about three hundred thousand men. This standing army was one of Rome's most important agencies for the spread of her civilization over barbarian lands. Its membership was drawn largely from the border provinces, often from the very countries where the soldiers' camps were fixed. Tho

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70. THE ROMAN LAW AND THE LATIN LANGUAGE

70. THE ROMAN LAW AND THE LATIN LANGUAGE

The Romans were the most legal-minded people of antiquity. It was their mission to give laws to the world. Almost at the beginning of the republic they framed the code of the Twelve Tables, [17] which long remained the basis of their jurisprudence. This code, however, was so harsh, technical, and brief that it could not meet the needs of a progressive state. The Romans gradually improved their legal system, especially after they began to rule over conquered nations. The disputes which arose betw

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71. THE MUNICIPALITIES OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

71. THE MUNICIPALITIES OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

The world under Roman rule was a world of cities. Some had earlier been native settlements, such as those in Gaul before the Roman conquest. Others were the splendid Hellenistic cities in the East. [20] Many more were of Roman origin, arising from the colonies and fortified camps in which citizens and soldiers had settled. [21] Where Rome did not find cities, she created them. Not only were the cities numerous, but many of them, even when judged by modern standards, reached great size. Rome was

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72. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN THE FIRST AND SECOND CENTURIES

72. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN THE FIRST AND SECOND CENTURIES

The first two centuries of our era formed the golden age of Roman commerce. The emperors fostered it in many ways. Augustus and his successors kept the Mediterranean free from pirates, built lighthouses and improved harbors, policed the highways, and made travel by land both speedy and safe. An imperial currency [23] replaced the various national coinages with their limited circulation. The vexatious import and export duties, levied by different countries and cities on foreign produce, were swep

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73. THE GRAECO-ROMAN WORLD

73. THE GRAECO-ROMAN WORLD

Just as the conquests of Alexander, by uniting the Orient to Greece, produced a Graeco-Oriental civilization, so now the expansion of Rome over the Mediterranean formed another world-wide culture, in which both Greek and Roman elements met and mingled. A new sense of cosmopolitanism arose in place of the old civic or national patriotism. Roman elements met and mingled. A new sense of cosmopolitanism arose in place of the old civic or national patriotism. [Illustration: A ROMAN TEMPLE The best pr

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. On an outline map indicate the additions to Roman territory: during the reign of Augustus, 31 B.C.-14 A.D.; during the period 14-180 A.D. 2. On an outline map indicate ten important cities of the Roman Empire. 3. Connect the proper events with the following dates: 79 A.D.; 180 A.D.; and 14 A.D. 4. Whom do you consider the greater man, Julius Caesar or Augustus? Give reasons for your answer. 5. Compare the Augustan Age at Rome with the Age of Pericles at Athens. 6. What is the Monumentum Ancyr

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74. THE "SOLDIER EMPERORS," 180-284 A.D.

74. THE "SOLDIER EMPERORS," 180-284 A.D.

The period called the Later Empire covers the two hundred and fifteen years from the accession of Commodus to the final division of the Roman world at the death of Theodosius. It formed, in general, a period of decline. The very existence of the empire was threatened, both from within and from without. The armies on the frontiers often set up their favorite leaders as contestants for the throne, thus provoking civil war. Ambitious governors of distant provinces sometimes revolted against a weak

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75. THE "ABSOLUTE EMPERORS," 284-395 A.D.

75. THE "ABSOLUTE EMPERORS," 284-395 A.D.

Diocletian, whose reign is one of the most illustrious in Roman history, entered the army as a common soldier, rose to high command, and fought his way to the throne. A strong, ambitious man, Diocletian resolutely set himself to the task of remaking the Roman government. His success in this undertaking entitles him to rank, as a statesman and administrator, with Augustus. The reforms of Diocletian were meant to remedy those weaknesses in the imperial system disclosed by the disasters of the prec

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76. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN THE THIRD AND FOURTH CENTURIES

76. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN THE THIRD AND FOURTH CENTURIES

Rome, it has been said, was not built in a day; the rule of Rome was not destroyed in a day. When we speak of the "fall" of Rome, we have in mind, not a violent catastrophe which suddenly plunged the civilized world into ruin, but rather the slow and gradual decay of ancient society throughout the basin of the Mediterranean. This decay set in long before the Germans and the Persians became a serious danger to the empire. It would have continued, doubtless, had there been no Germans and Persians

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77. THE PREPARATION FOR CHRISTIANITY

77. THE PREPARATION FOR CHRISTIANITY

Several centuries before the rise of Christianity many Greek thinkers began to feel a growing dissatisfaction with the crude faith that had come down to them from prehistoric times. They found it more and more difficult to believe in the Olympian deities, who were fashioned like themselves and had all the faults of mortal men. [10] An adulterous Zeus, a bloodthirsty Ares, and a scolding Hera, as Homer represents them, were hardly divinities that a cultured Greek could love and worship. For educa

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78. RISE AND SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY

78. RISE AND SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY

Christianity rose among the Jews, for Jesus was a Jew and his disciples were Jews. At the time of the death of Jesus [17] his immediate followers numbered scarcely a Christianity hundred persons. The catastrophe of the crucifixion struck them with sorrow and dismay. When, however, the disciples came to believe in the resurrection of their master, a wonderful impetus was given to the growth of the new religion. They now asserted that Jesus was the true Messiah, or Christ, who by rising from the d

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79. THE PERSECUTIONS

79. THE PERSECUTIONS

The new religion from the start met popular disapproval. The early Christians, who tried to keep themselves free from idolatry, were regarded as very unsociable persons. They never appeared at public feasts and entertainments. They would not join in the amusements of the circus or the amphitheater. They refused to send their children to the schools. The ordinary citizen could not understand such people. It is not surprising, therefore, that they gained the evil name of "haters of mankind." If th

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80. TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY

80. TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY

Diocletian's persecution, which continued for several years after his abdication, came to an end in 311 A.D. In that year Galerius, the ruler in the East, published an edict which permitted the Christians to rebuild their churches and worship undisturbed. It remained for the emperor Constantine to take the next significant step. In 313 A.D. Constantine and his colleague, Licinius, issued the Edict of Milan, which proclaimed for the first time in history the noble principle of religious toleratio

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81. CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE ON SOCIETY

81. CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE ON SOCIETY

The new religion certainly helped to soften and refine manners by the stress which it laid upon such "Christian" virtues as humility, tenderness, and gentleness. By dwelling on the sanctity of human life, Christianity did its best to repress the very common practice of suicide as well as the frightful evil of infanticide. [25] It set its face sternly against the obscenities of the theater and the cruelties of the gladiatorial shows. [26] In these and other respects Christianity had much to do wi

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. On an outline map indicate the territories of the Roman Empire and their division, 395 A D. 2. What is the date of the accession of the emperor Commodus? of the accession of Diocletian? of the death of Theodosius? of the Edict of Milan? of the Council of Nicaea? 3. What elements of weakness in the imperial system had been disclosed during the century 180-284 A.D.? 4. Explain Diocletian's plan of "partnership emperors." 5. Define the terms absolutism and centralization . Give an example of a E

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82. GERMANY AND THE GERMANS

82. GERMANY AND THE GERMANS

The Germans were an Indo-European people, as were their neighbors, the Celts of Gaul and Britain. They had lived for many centuries in the wild districts of central Europe north of the Alps and beyond the Danube and the Rhine. This home land of the Germans in ancient times was cheerless and unhealthy. Dense forests or extensive marshes covered the ground. The atmosphere was heavy and humid; in summer clouds and mists brooded over the country; and in winter it was covered with snow and ice. In su

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83. BREAKING OF THE DANUBE BARRIER

83. BREAKING OF THE DANUBE BARRIER

North of the Danube lived, near the close of the fourth century, a German people called Visigoths, or West Goths. Their kinsmen, the Ostrogoths, or East Goths, held the land north of the Black Sea between the Danube and the Don. These two nations had been among the most dangerous enemies of Rome. In the third century they made so many expeditions against the eastern territories of the empire that Aurelian at last surrendered to the Visigoths the great province of Dacia. [4] The barbarians now ca

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84. BREAKING OF THE RHINE BARRIER

84. BREAKING OF THE RHINE BARRIER

After the departure of the Visigoths Rome and Italy remained undisturbed for nearly forty years. The western provinces were not so fortunate. At the time of Alaric's first attack on Italy the legions along the Rhine had been withdrawn to meet him, leaving the frontier unguarded. In 406 A.D., four years before Alaric's sack of Rome, a vast company of Germans crossed the Rhine and swept almost unopposed through Gaul. Some of these peoples succeeded in establishing kingdoms for themselves on the ru

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85. INROADS OF THE HUNS

85. INROADS OF THE HUNS

We know very little about the Huns, except that they were not related to the Germans or to any other European people. Some scholars believe them to have belonged to the Mongolian race. But the Huns, to the excited imagination of Roman writers, were demons rather than men. Their olive skins, little, turned-up noses, and black, beady eyes must have given them a very frightful appearance. They spent most of their time on horseback, sweeping over the country like a whirlwind and leaving destruction

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86. END OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE IN THE WEST, 476 A.D.

86. END OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE IN THE WEST, 476 A.D.

Rome escaped a visitation by the Huns only to fall a victim, three years later, to the Vandals. After the capture of Carthage,[16] these barbarians made that city the seat of a pirate empire. Putting out in their long, light vessels, they swept the seas and raided many a populous city on the Mediterranean coast. So terrible were their inroads that the word "vandalism" has come to mean the wanton destruction of property. In 455 A.D. the ships of the Vandals, led by their king, Gaiseric, appeared

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87. GERMANIC INFLUENCE ON SOCIETY

87. GERMANIC INFLUENCE ON SOCIETY

Classical civilization suffered a great shock when the Germans descended on the empire and from its provinces carved out their kingdoms. These barbarians were rude in manners, were very ignorant, and had little taste for anything except fighting and bodily enjoyments. They were unlike the Romans in dress and habits of life. They lived under different laws, spoke different languages, obeyed different rulers. Their invasions naturally ushered in a long period of confusion and disorder, during whic

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. On an outline map indicate the extent of Germany in the time of Tacitus. 2. Make a list of all the Germanic nations mentioned in this chapter, and give a short account of each. 3 Give dates for the following: battle of Châlons; sack of Rome by Alaric; battle of Adrianople; and end of the Roman Empire in the West. 4. What resemblances existed between the culture of the Germans and that of the early Greeks? 5. Why did the Germans progress more slowly in civilization than the Greeks and the Roma

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88. THE CLASSICAL CITY

88. THE CLASSICAL CITY

The history of the Greeks and Romans ought not to be studied only in their political development and the biographies of their great statesmen and warriors. We must also know something of ancient literature, philosophy, and art. Especially do we need to learn about the private life of the classical peoples—their manners, customs, occupations, and amusements. This life centered in the city. A Greek or a Roman city usually grew up about a hill of refuge ( acropolis, capitolium ), to which the peopl

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89. EDUCATION AND THE CONDITION OF CHILDREN

89. EDUCATION AND THE CONDITION OF CHILDREN

The coming of a child, to parents in antiquity as to parents now, was usually a very happy event. Especially welcome was the birth of a son. The father felt assured that through the boy his old age would be cared for and that the family name and the worship of the family ancestors would be kept up after his own death. "Male children," said an ancient poet, "are the pillars of the house." [2] The city, as well, had an interest in the matter, for a male child meant another citizen able to take the

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90. MARRIAGE AND THE POSITION OF WOMEN

90. MARRIAGE AND THE POSITION OF WOMEN

A young man in Athens or in Rome did not, as a rule, marry immediately on coming of age. He might remain a bachelor for several years, sometimes till he was thirty or over. The young man's father had most to do with the selection of a wife. He tried to secure for his son some daughter of a friend who possessed rank and property equal to his own. The parents of the two parties would then enter into a contract which, among other things, usually stated how large a dowry the bride's father was to se

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91. THE HOME AND PRIVATE LIFE

91. THE HOME AND PRIVATE LIFE

There were no great differences between the dress of the two classical peoples. Both wore the long, loosely flowing robes that contrast so sharply with our tight-fitting garments. [9] Athenian male attire consisted of but two articles, the tunic and the mantle. The tunic was an undergarment of wool or linen, without sleeves. Over this was thrown a large woolen mantle, so wrapped about the figure as to leave free only the right shoulder and head. In the house a man wore only his tunic; out of doo

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92. AMUSEMENTS

92. AMUSEMENTS

The Athenians celebrated many religious festivals. One of the most important was the Great Panathenaea, [15] held every fourth year in the month of July. Athletic contests and poetical recitations, sacrifices, feasts, and processions honored the goddess Athena, who presided over the Athenian city. Even more interesting, perhaps, were the dramatic performances held in midwinter and in spring, at the festivals of Dionysus. The tragedies and comedies composed for these entertainments took their pla

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93. SLAVERY

93. SLAVERY

The private life of the Greeks and Romans, as described in the preceding pages, would have been impossible without the existence of a large servile class. Slaves did much of the heavy and disagreeable work in the ancient world, thus allowing the free citizen to engage in more honorable employment or to pass his days in dignified leisure. The Greeks seem sometimes to have thought that only barbarians should be degraded to the condition of servitude. Most Greek slaves, as a matter of fact, were pu

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94. GREEK LITERATURE

94. GREEK LITERATURE

The literature of Greece begins with epic poetry. An epic may be defined as a long narrative in verse, dealing with some large and noble theme. The earliest epic poetry of the Greeks was inseparable from music. Wandering minstrels sang at feasts in the palaces of kings and accompanied their lays with the music of the clear-toned lyre. In time, as his verse reached a more artistic character, the singer was able to give up the lyre and to depend for effect solely on the poetic power of his narrati

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95. GREEK PHILOSOPHY

95. GREEK PHILOSOPHY

The Greek philosophy took its rise in the seventh century B.C., when a few bold students began to search out the mysteries of the universe. Their theories were so many and so contradictory, however, that after a time philosophers gave up the study of nature and proposed in turn to study man himself. These later thinkers were called sophists. They traveled throughout Greece, gathering the young men about them and lecturing for pay on subjects of practical interest. Among other things they taught

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96. ROMAN LITERATURE

96. ROMAN LITERATURE

The beginnings of Roman literature go back to the third century B.C., when some knowledge of the Greek language became increasingly common in Rome. The earlier writers—chiefly poets and dramatists—did little original work, and usually were content to translate and adapt the productions of Greek authors for Roman audiences. During this period the Romans gradually discovered the capabilities of their language for prose composition. The republican institutions of Rome, like those of Athens, were hi

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97. GREEK ARCHITECTURE

97. GREEK ARCHITECTURE

The existing monuments of Greek architecture—chiefly ruined temples— afford some idea of its leading characteristics. The building materials were limestone and white marble. The blocks of stone were not bound together by cement, but by metal clamps which held them in a firm grip. It was usual to color the ornamental parts of a temple and the open spaces that served as a background for sculpture. The Greeks did not employ the principle of the arch, in order to cover large spaces with a vaulted ce

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98. GREEK SCULPTURE

98. GREEK SCULPTURE

The greatest achievement of the Greeks in art was their sculpture. Roman artists surpassed them in the creation of massive architectural works; modern artists have surpassed them in painting. In sculpture the Greeks still remain unexcelled. The existing remains of Greek sculpture are very scanty. The statues of gold and ivory vanished long ago. The bronze statues, formerly numbered by thousands, have nearly all gone into the melting pot. Sculptures in marble were turned into mortar or used as bu

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99. ROMAN ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE

99. ROMAN ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE

In architecture the Romans achieved preëminence. The temples and other public works of Greece seem almost insignificant beside the stupendous edifices raised by Roman genius in every province of the empire. The ability of the Romans to build on so large a scale arose from their use of vaulted constructions. Knowledge of the round arch passed over from the Orient to the Etruscans and from them to the Romans. [33] At first the arch was employed mainly for gates, drainage sewers, aqueducts, and bri

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100. ARTISTIC ATHENS

100. ARTISTIC ATHENS

Athens and Rome were the artistic centers of the classical world. Architects, sculptors, and painters lavished their finest efforts on the adornment of these two capitals. Here there are still to be seen some of the most beautiful and impressive monuments of antiquity. Athens lies in the center of the Attic plain, about four miles from the sea. [42] The city commands a magnificent view of purple-hued mountains and the shining waters of the Aegean. Roads approached the ancient city from all parts

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101. ARTISTIC ROME

101. ARTISTIC ROME

The monuments of Rome, unlike those of Athens, cannot lay claim to great antiquity. The destruction wrought by the Gauls in 390 B.C. and the great fire under Nero in 64 A.D. removed nearly all traces of the regal and republican city. Many buildings erected in the imperial age have also disappeared, because in medieval and modern times the inhabitants of Rome used the ancient edifices as quarries. The existing monuments give only a faint idea of the former magnificence of the capital city. The ci

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. What is the origin of our words pedagogue , symposium , circus , and academy ? 2. Make a list of such Roman names as you have met in your reading. 3. Write a letter describing an imaginary visit to the theater of Dionysus during the performance of a tragedy. 4. What did civic patriotism mean to the Greek and to the Roman? 5. Have we anything to learn from the Greeks about the importance of training in music? 6. What were the schoolbooks of Greek boys? 7. What features of Athenian education ar

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102. THE OSTROGOTHS IN ITALY, 488-553 A.D.

102. THE OSTROGOTHS IN ITALY, 488-553 A.D.

We are not to suppose that the settlement of Germans within the Roman Empire ended with the deposition of Romulus Augustulus, near the close of the fifth century. The following centuries witnessed fresh invasions and the establishment of new Germanic states. The study of these troubled times leads us from the classical world to the world of medieval Europe, from the history of antiquity to the history of the Middle Ages. The kingdom which Odoacer established on Italian soil did not long endure.

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103. THE LOMBARDS IN ITALY, 568-774 A.D.

103. THE LOMBARDS IN ITALY, 568-774 A.D.

The destruction of the Ostrogothic kingdom did not free Italy of the Germans. Soon after Justinian's death the country was again overrun, this time by the Lombards. The name of these invaders (in Latin, Langobardi ) may have been derived from the long beards that gave them such a ferocious aspect. The Lombards were the last of the Germanic peoples to quit their northern wilderness and seek new homes in sunny Italy. They seized the territory north of the river Po—a region ever since known as Lomb

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104. THE FRANKS UNDER CLOVIS AND HIS SUCCESSORS

104. THE FRANKS UNDER CLOVIS AND HIS SUCCESSORS

We have already met the Franks in their home on the lower Rhine, from which they pushed gradually into Roman territory. [6] In 486 A.D., just ten years after the deposition of Romulus Augustulus, the Franks went forth to conquer under Clovis, [7] one of their chieftains. By overcoming the governor of Roman Gaul, in a battle near Soissons, Clovis destroyed the last vestige of imperial rule in the West and extended the Frankish dominions to the river Loire. Clovis then turned against his German ne

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105. THE FRANKS UNDER CHARLES MARTEL AND PEPIN THE SHORT

105. THE FRANKS UNDER CHARLES MARTEL AND PEPIN THE SHORT

After the middle of the seventh century the Frankish rulers, worn out by violence and excesses, degenerated into weaklings, who reigned but did not rule. The actual management of the state passed into the hands of officers, called "mayors of the palace." They left to the kings little more than their title, their long hair,—the badge of royalty among the Franks,—and a scanty allowance for their support. The later Merovingians, accordingly, are often known as the "do-nothing kings." The most illus

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106. THE REIGN OF CHARLEMAGNE, 768-814 A.D.

106. THE REIGN OF CHARLEMAGNE, 768-814 A.D.

Pepin was succeeded in 768 A.D. by his two sons, one of whom, Charlemagne, three years later became sole king of the Franks. Charlemagne reigned for nearly half a century, and during this time he set his stamp on all later European history. His character and personality are familiar to us from a brief biography, written by his secretary, Einhard. Charlemagne, we learn, was a tall, square-shouldered, strongly built man, with bright, keen eyes, and an expression at once cheerful and dignified. Rid

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107. CHARLEMAGNE AND THE REVIVAL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, 800 A.D.

107. CHARLEMAGNE AND THE REVIVAL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, 800 A.D.

Charlemagne, the champion of Christendom and the foremost ruler in Europe, seemed to the men of his day the rightful successor of the Roman emperors. He had their power, and now he was to have their name. In the year 800 A.D. the Frankish king visited Rome to investigate certain accusations made against the pope, Leo III, by his enemies in the city. Charlemagne absolved Leo of all wrong-doing and restored him to his office. Afterwards, on Christmas Day Charlemagne went to old St. Peter's Church,

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108. DISRUPTION OF CHARLEMAGNE'S EMPIRE, 814-870 A.D.

108. DISRUPTION OF CHARLEMAGNE'S EMPIRE, 814-870 A.D.

The empire of Charlemagne did not long remain intact. So vast was its extent and so unlike were its inhabitants in race, language, and customs that it could be managed only by a ruler of the greatest energy and strength of will. Unfortunately, the successors of Charlemagne proved to be too weak for the task of maintaining peace and order. Western Europe now entered on a long period of confusion and violence, during which Charlemagne's possessions broke up into separate and warring kingdoms. Char

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109. GERMANY UNDER THE SAXON KINGS, 919-973 A.D.

109. GERMANY UNDER THE SAXON KINGS, 919-973 A.D.

The tenth century saw another movement toward the restoration of law and order. The civilizing work of Charlemagne was taken up by German kings, not of the old Prankish stock, but belonging to that Saxon people which had opposed Charlemagne so long and bitterly. Saxony was one of the five great territorial states, or stem-duchies, as they are usually called, into which Germany was then divided. [19] Germany at that time extended only as far east as the river Elbe, beyond which lay the territory

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110. OTTO THE GREAT AND THE RESTORATION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, 962 A.D.

110. OTTO THE GREAT AND THE RESTORATION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, 962 A.D.

Otto the Great is not to be remembered only as a German king. His reign was also noteworthy in the history of Italy. The country at this time was hopelessly divided between rival and contending peoples. The emperor at Constantinople controlled the southern extremity of the peninsula. The Mohammedans held Sicily and some cities on the mainland. The pope ruled at Rome and in the States of the Church. A so-called king of Italy still reigned in Lombardy, but he could not manage the powerful counts,

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111. THE ANGLO-SAXONS IN BRITAIN, 449-839 A.D.

111. THE ANGLO-SAXONS IN BRITAIN, 449-839 A.D.

From the history of Continental Europe we now turn to the history of Britain. That island had been overrun by the Germanic barbarians after the middle of the fifth century. [24] They are commonly known as Anglo-Saxons, from the names of their two principal peoples, the Angles and Saxons. The Anglo-Saxon conquest of Britain was a slow process, which lasted at least one hundred and fifty years. The invaders followed the rivers into the interior and gradually subdued more than a half of what is now

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112. CHRISTIANITY IN THE BRITISH ISLES

112. CHRISTIANITY IN THE BRITISH ISLES

The Anglo-Saxons also brought to Britain their heathen faith. Christianity did not come to them until the close the sixth century. At this time more or less intercourse had sprung up between the people of Kent, lying nearest to the Continent, and the Franks in Gaul. Ethelbert, the king of Kent, had even married the Frankish princess, Bertha. He allowed his Christian wife to bring a bishop to her new home and gave her the deserted church of St. Martin at Canterbury as a place of worship. Queen Be

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113. THE FUSION OF GERMANS AND ROMANS

113. THE FUSION OF GERMANS AND ROMANS

We have now followed the fortunes of the Germans for five centuries from the end of the Roman Empire in the West. Most of their kingdoms, it has been seen, were not permanent. The Visigothic and Burgundian dominions in Gaul yielded to the Franks, and those of the Visigoths in Spain, to the Mohammedan Arabs. [30] The Vandal possessions in North Africa were regained by the emperors at Constantinople. [31] The rule of the Ostrogoths in Italy endured for only sixty years and that of the Lombards pas

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. On an outline map indicate the boundaries of the empire of Charlemagne, distinguishing his hereditary possessions from those which he acquired by conquest. 2. On an outline map indicate the boundaries of the empire of Otto the Great. 3. What events are connected with the following places: Soissons; Mersen; Whitby; Reims; Verdun; Canterbury; and Strassburg? 4. What is the historical importance of Augustine, Henry the Fowler, Pepin the Short, Charles Martel, Egbert, and Ethelbert? 5. Give dates

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114. THE ROMAN EMPIRE IN THE EAST

114. THE ROMAN EMPIRE IN THE EAST

The Roman Empire in the West moved rapidly to its "fall" in 476 A.D., at the hands of the Germanic invaders. The Roman Empire in the East, though threatened by enemies from without and weakened by civil conflicts from within, endured for more than a thousand years. Until the middle of the eleventh century it was the strongest state in Europe, except during the reign of Charlemagne, when the Frankish kingdom eclipsed it. Until the middle of the fifteenth century it preserved the name, the civiliz

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115. THE REIGN OF JUSTINIAN, 527-565 A.D.

115. THE REIGN OF JUSTINIAN, 527-565 A.D.

The history of the Roman Empire in the East, for more than one hundred years after the death of Theodosius, is uneventful. His successors, though unable to prevent the Germans from seizing Italy and the other western provinces, managed to keep their own dominions intact. The eastern provinces escaped the fate of those in the West, because they were more populous and offered greater obstacles to the barbarian invaders, who followed the line of least resistance. The gradual recovery of the empire

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116. THE EMPIRE AND ITS ASIATIC FOES

116. THE EMPIRE AND ITS ASIATIC FOES

The Roman Empire in the East did not long remain at the pinnacle of greatness to which Justinian had raised it. His conquests, indeed, weakened rather than strengthened the empire, since now there were much more extensive frontiers to defend. Within half a century after his death it was attacked both in Europe and in Asia. The Lombards [9] soon seized Italy, and in the East the Persians renewed their contest against the Roman power. [Illustration: Map, THE ROMAN EMPIRE IN THE EAST DURING THE TEN

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117. THE EMPIRE AND ITS FOES IN EUROPE

117. THE EMPIRE AND ITS FOES IN EUROPE

The troubled years after Justinian's death also witnessed the beginning of the Slavic [12] settlements in southeastern Europe. The Slavs belonged to the Indo-European race, but had not progressed in civilization as far as the Germans. Their cradle land seems to have been in western Russia, whence they slowly spread to the Baltic, the Elbe, and the Danube. We have already mentioned the campaigns which Charlemagne and Henry the Fowler waged against them. [13] The emperors at Constantinople were le

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118. BYZANTINE CIVILIZATION

118. BYZANTINE CIVILIZATION

The Roman Empire in the East, though often menaced by barbarian foes, long continued to be the leading European power. Its highest degree of prosperity was reached between the middle of the ninth and the middle of the eleventh century. The provinces in Asia Minor and the Balkan peninsula produced a vast annual revenue, much of which went for defense. It was necessary to maintain a large, well-disciplined army, great fleets and engines of war, and the extensive fortifications of Constantinople an

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119. CONSTANTINOPLE

119. CONSTANTINOPLE

The heart of Byzantine civilization was Constantinople. The city lies on a peninsula between the Sea of Marmora and the spacious harbor called the Golden Horn. Washed on three sides by the water and, like Rome, enthroned upon seven hills, Constantinople occupies a site justly celebrated as the noblest in the world. It stands in Europe, looks on Asia, and commands the entrance to both the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. As a sixteenth century writer pointed out, Constantinople "is a city which N

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. Compare the area of the Roman Empire in the East in 395 A.D. with its area in 800 A.D. (maps between pages 222-223 and facing page 308). 2. Compare the respective areas in 800 A.D. of the Roman Empire in the East and Charlemagne's empire. 3. On the map, page 338, locate Adrianople, Gallipoli, Nicaea, the Bosporus, Sea of Marmora, and Dardanelles. 4. Who were Belisarius, Chosroes II, and Heraclius? 5. In your opinion which of the two rival imperial lines after 800 A.D. had the better title to

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120. DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

120. DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

A preceding chapter has traced the early history of Christianity. We there saw how the new religion appeared in the Orient, how it spread rapidly over the Roman Empire, how it engaged with the imperial government in the long conflict called the Persecutions, how the emperor Constantine, after his conversion, placed it on an equality with paganism, and how at the end of the fourth century the emperor Theodosius made it the state religion. By this time the Church had become a great and powerful or

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121. EASTERN CHRISTIANITY

121. EASTERN CHRISTIANITY

By the time of Constantine, Christianity had spread widely throughout the eastern half of the Roman Empire. Asia Minor was then largely Christian. Thrace, Macedonia, Epirus, and Greece were all ecclesiastical provinces with their own metropolitans. Many Christians were found in Syria and Egypt. Churches also existed in Mesopotamia and Arabia, and even beyond the boundaries of the empire in Armenia and Persia. Between the time of Constantine and that of Justinian, Christianity continued to expand

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122. WESTERN CHRISTIANITY: RISE OF THE PAPACY

122. WESTERN CHRISTIANITY: RISE OF THE PAPACY

Christianity in the West presented two sharp contrasts to eastern Christianity. In the first place, the great heresies which divided the East scarcely affected the West. In the second place, no union of Church and State existed among western Christians. Instead of acknowledging the religious supremacy of the emperor at Constantinople, they yielded obedience to the bishop of Rome, the head of the Roman Church. He is known to us as the pope, and his office is called the Papacy. We shall now inquir

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123. GROWTH OF THE PAPACY

123. GROWTH OF THE PAPACY

Up to the middle of the fifth century about forty-five bishops had occupied St. Peter's chair at Rome. The most eminent these was Leo the Great. When he became bishop, the Germans were overrunning the western provinces of the empire. The invaders professed the Arian faith, as we have seen, and often persecuted the orthodox Christians among whom they settled. At such a time, when the imperial power was growing weaker, faithful Catholics in the West naturally turned for support to the bishop of Ro

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124. MONASTICISM

124. MONASTICISM

The Papacy during the Middle Ages found its strongest supporters among the monks. By the time of Gregory the Great monasticism [18] was well established in the Christian Church. Its origin must be sought in the need, often felt by spiritually-minded men, of withdrawing from the world —from its temptations and its transitory pleasures—to a life of solitude, prayer, and religious contemplation. Joined to this feeling has been the conviction that the soul may be purified by subduing the desires and

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125. LIFE AND WORK OF THE MONKS

125. LIFE AND WORK OF THE MONKS

St. Benedict sought to draw a sharp line between the monastic life and that of the outside world. Hence he required that, as far as possible, each monastery should form an independent, self-supporting community whose members had no need of going beyond its limits for anything. In course of time, as a monastery increased in wealth and number of inmates, it might come to form an enormous establishment, covering many acres and presenting within its massive walls the appearance of a fortified town.

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126. SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY OVER EUROPE

126. SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY OVER EUROPE

Almost all Europe had been won to Christianity by the end of the eleventh century. In the direction of this great missionary campaign the Roman Church took the leading part. [23] The officers of her armies were zealous popes, bishops, and abbots; her private soldiers were equally zealous monks, priests, and laymen. Pagan Rome had never succeeded in making a complete and permanent conquest of the barbarians. Christian Rome, however, was able to bring them all under her spiritual sway. Christianit

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127. SEPARATION OF EASTERN AND WESTERN CHRISTIANITY

127. SEPARATION OF EASTERN AND WESTERN CHRISTIANITY

Before the Christian conquest of Europe was finished, Christianity had divided into two great communions—the Greek Church and the Roman Church. Their separation was a long, slow process, arising from the deep-seated differences between East and West. Though Rome had carried her conquering arms throughout the Mediterranean basin, all the region east of the Adriatic was imperfectly Romanized. [30] It remained Greek in language and culture, and tended, as time went on, to grow more and more unlike

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128. THE GREEK CHURCH

128. THE GREEK CHURCH

The Greek and Roman churches, in some respects, are nearer together than Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Both recognize three orders for the ministry, namely, bishops, priests, and deacons. Priests of the Greek Church may marry, but this privilege is not extended to bishops, who, therefore, are chosen from the monks. Baptism, by both churches, is administered to infants, but by the Greek Church under the form of total immersion. Confirmation in the Greek Church follows immediately after bap

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129. THE ROMAN CHURCH

129. THE ROMAN CHURCH

The separation of eastern and western Christianity naturally increased the importance of the Papacy. The popes henceforth had a free hand to guide the destinies of the Roman Church. That church under their direction was to show itself vigorous and progressive, with a wonderful power of adaptation to new and changed conditions. The Roman Empire in the West had gone down before the assaults of the Germanic barbarians, but in its place had arisen a new creation—the Roman Church. The chief city of t

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. In what different senses is the word "church" often used? 2. "The eastern patriarch was the shadow of the emperor, cast on the spiritual world." Explain this statement. 3. Why did heresies develop in the East rather than in the West? 4. Look up in the New Testament the following texts relating to the primacy of St. Peter: Matthew , xvi, 18-19; Luke , xxii, 31-32; and John , xxi, 15-17. 5. What is "the power of the keys" which the popes claim to possess? 6. What reasons for the growth of the P

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130. ARABIA AND THE ARABS

130. ARABIA AND THE ARABS

Arabia, a vast peninsula between the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean, and the Red Sea, forms the link between Asia and Africa. It is connected with Asia by the arid plains extending northward to the Euphrates; with Africa, by the equally arid isthmus of Suez. Though the country is more than one- third the size of the United States (excluding Alaska), it has never supported a large population. The interior, except for occasional oases, is a desert, inhabited only by wandering tribes. Along the sou

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131. MOHAMMED: PROPHET AND STATESMAN, 622-632 A.D.

131. MOHAMMED: PROPHET AND STATESMAN, 622-632 A.D.

Mohammed, [2] born at Mecca about 570 A.D., belonged to the tribe of the Koreish, who had long been guardians of the sacred Kaaba. Left an orphan at an early age, the future prophet was obliged to earn his own living. He served first as a shepherd on the hillsides of Mecca. This occupation, though lowly, gave him the love of solitude, and helped to nourish in his soul that appreciation of nature which later found expression in so many of his utterances. While still a youth he became a camel-driv

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132. ISLAM AND THE KORAN

132. ISLAM AND THE KORAN

The religion which Mohammed preached is called Islam, an Arabic word meaning "surrender," or "resignation." This religion has its sacred book, the Koran ("thing read" or "thing recited"). It contains the speeches, prayers, and other utterances of Mohammed at various times during his career. Some parts of the Koran were dictated by the prophet to his disciples and by them were written out on skins, leaves of palm trees, bones, and bits of parchment. Many other parts remained at first only in the

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133. EXPANSION OF ISLAM IN ASIA AND EGYPT

133. EXPANSION OF ISLAM IN ASIA AND EGYPT

Mohammed, as we have learned, did not scruple to use the sword as a means of spreading his new religion among the idolatrous Arab tribes. By thus following up preaching with force, he subdued the greater part of Arabia. The prophet's methods were adopted by his successors. Within a century after Mohammed's death, they carried the doctrines of Islam over a large part of the civilized world and founded an Arabian Empire. Islam was a religion of conquest. It proclaimed the righteousness of a "holy

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134. EXPANSION OF ISLAM IN NORTH AFRICA AND SPAIN

134. EXPANSION OF ISLAM IN NORTH AFRICA AND SPAIN

Though repulsed before the impregnable walls of Constantinople, the Arabs continued to win new dominions in other North Africa parts of the Christian world. After their occupation of Egypt, they began to overrun North Africa, which Justinian, little more than a century earlier, had reconquered from the Vandals. [10] The Romanized provincials, groaning under the burdensome taxes imposed on them by the eastern emperors, made only a slight resistance to the Moslem armies. A few of the great cities

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135. THE CALIPHATE AND ITS DISRUPTION, 632-1058 A.D.

135. THE CALIPHATE AND ITS DISRUPTION, 632-1058 A.D.

Only eighteen years after the battle of Tours, the Arabian Empire was divided into two rival and more or less hostile parts, which came to be called the Eastern and Western caliphates. The title of caliph, meaning "successor" or "representative," had first been assumed by Mohammed's father-in-law, Abu Bekr, who was chosen to succeed the prophet as the civil and religious head of the Moslem world. After him followed Omar, who had been one of Mohammed's most faithful adherents, and then Othman and

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136. ARABIAN CIVILIZATION

136. ARABIAN CIVILIZATION

The great Moslem cities of Bagdad, Damascus, Cairo, and Cordova were not only seats of government for the different divisions of the Arabian Empire; they were also the centers of Arabian civilization. The conquests of the Arabs had brought them into contact with highly developed peoples whose culture they absorbed and to some extent improved. They owed most to Persia and, after Persia, to Greece, through the empire at Constantinople, In their hands there was somewhat the same fusion of East and

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137. THE INFLUENCE OF ISLAM

137. THE INFLUENCE OF ISLAM

The division of the Arabian Empire into rival caliphates did not check the spread of Islam. The Turks and Mongols during the Middle Ages carried it to the uttermost regions of Asia and throughout southeastern Europe. Some parts of the territory thus gained by it have since been lost. Spain and the Balkan peninsula are once more Christian lands. In other parts of the world, and notably in Africa and India, the religion of Mohammed is spreading faster than any other creed. Islam to-day claims abou

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. On an outline map indicate the Arabian Empire at its widest extent. Locate the more important cities, including Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, Damascus, Bagdad, Cairo, Alexandria, Granada, Cordova, and Seville. 2. Define the following: Kaaba; Islam; Koran; and caliph. 3. How did the geographical situation of Arabia preserve it from being conquered by Persians, Macedonians, or Romans? 4. Why had the Arabs, until the time of Mohammed, played so inconspicuous a part in the history of the world? 5. Mo

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138. SCANDINAVIA AND THE NORTHMEN

138. SCANDINAVIA AND THE NORTHMEN

From the East we return once more to the West, from Asia to Europe, from Arabia to Scandinavia. We have now to deal with the raids and settlements of the Norsemen or Northmen. Like the Arabs the Northmen quitted a sterile peninsula and went forth to find better homes in distant lands. Their invasions, beginning toward the close of the eighth century, lasted about three hundred years. The Northmen belonged to the Teutonic family of peoples. They were kinsmen of the Germans, the Anglo-Saxons, and

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139. THE VIKING AGE

139. THE VIKING AGE

The Viking Age, with which historic times begin in northern Europe, extends from about 800 A.D. to the introduction of Christianity in the tenth and eleventh centuries. This was the period when the Northmen, or Vikings, realizing that the sea offered the quickest road to wealth and conquest, began to make long voyages to foreign lands. In part they went as traders and exchanged the furs, wool, and fish of Scandinavia for the clothing, ornaments, and other articles of luxury found in neighboring

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140. SCANDINAVIAN HEATHENISM

140. SCANDINAVIAN HEATHENISM

The religion of the Northmen bore a close resemblance to that of the other Teutonic peoples. The leading deity was Odin (German Woden ), whose exploits are celebrated in many of the songs of the Elder Edda . Odin was represented as a tall, gray-bearded chieftain, carrying a shield and a spear which never missed its mark. Though a god of battle, Odin was also a lover of wisdom. He discovered the runes which gave him secret knowledge of all things. Legend told how Odin killed a mighty giant, whose

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141. THE NORTHMEN IN THE WEST

141. THE NORTHMEN IN THE WEST

The Northmen were still heathen when they set forth on their expeditions of plunder and conquest. Doubtless the principal cause of this Viking movement is to be sought in the same hunger for land which prompted the Germanic invasions and, in fact, has led to colonial expansion in all ages. By the ninth century Scandinavia could no longer support its rapidly growing population, and enforced emigration was the natural consequence. The political condition of Scandinavia at this time also helps to e

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142. THE NORTHMEN IN THE EAST

142. THE NORTHMEN IN THE EAST

In the Viking movement westward across the Atlantic the Norwegians took the leading part. They also sailed far northward, rounding the North Cape and reaching the mouth of the Dwina River in the White Sea. Viking sailors, therefore, have the credit for undertaking the first voyages of exploration into the Arctic. The Swedes, on account of their geographical position, were naturally the most active in expeditions to eastern lands. At a very early date they crossed the Gulf of Bothnia and paid fre

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145. NORMAN CONQUEST OF ENGLAND; WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR

145. NORMAN CONQUEST OF ENGLAND; WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR

Edward the Confessor having left no direct heirs, the choice of his successor fell lawfully upon the Witenagemot, [21] as the national assembly of noblemen and higher clergy was called. This body chose as king, Harold, earl of Wessex, the leading man in England. Harold's right to the succession was disputed by William, duke of Normandy, who declared that the crown had been promised to him by his cousin, the Confessor. William also asserted that Harold had once sworn a solemn oath, over a chest o

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146. RESULTS OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST

146. RESULTS OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST

The coming of the Normans to England formed the third and last installment of the Teutonic invasion. Norman merchants and artisans followed Norman soldiers and settled particularly in the southern and eastern parts of the island. They seem to have emigrated in considerable numbers and doubtless added an important element to the English population. The Normans thus completed the work of the Anglo-Saxons and Danes in making England a Teutonic country. It must be remembered, however, that the Norma

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147. NORMAN CONQUEST OF SOUTHERN ITALY AND SICILY

147. NORMAN CONQUEST OF SOUTHERN ITALY AND SICILY

The conquest of England, judged by its results, proved to be the most important undertaking of the Normans. But during this same eleventh century they found another field in which to display their energy and daring. They turned southward to the Mediterranean and created a Norman state in Italy and Sicily. The unsettled condition of Italy [24] gave the Normans an opportunity for interference in the affairs of the country. The founding of Norman power there was largely the work of a noble named Ro

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148. THE NORMANS IN EUROPEAN HISTORY

148. THE NORMANS IN EUROPEAN HISTORY

The conquests of the Normans in England, Italy, and Sicily were effected after they had become a Christian and a French-speaking people. In these lands they were the armed missionaries of a civilization not their own. The Normans, indeed, invented little and borrowed much. But, like the Arabs, they were more than simple imitators. In language, literature, art, religion, and law what they took from others they improved and then spread abroad throughout their settlements. It seems at first sight r

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. What events are associated with the following dates: 988 A.D.; 862 A.D.; 1066 A.D.; 1000 A.D.; and 987 A.D.? 2. What was the origin of the geographical names Russia, Greenland, Finland, and Normandy? 3. Mention some of the striking physical contrasts between the Arabian and Scandinavian peninsulas. 4. Why has the Baltic Sea been called a "secondary Mediterranean"? 5. How does it happen that the gulf of Finland is often frozen over in winter, while even the northernmost of the Norse fiords rem

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149. RISE OF FEUDALISM

149. RISE OF FEUDALISM

The ninth century in western Europe was, as we have learned, [1] a period of violence, disorder, and even anarchy. Charlemagne for a time had arrested the disintegration of society which resulted from the invasions of the Germans, and had united their warring tribes under something like a centralized government. But his work, it has been well said, was only a desperate rally in the midst of confusion. After his death the Carolingian Empire, attacked by the Northmen and other invaders and weakene

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150. FEUDALISM AS A SYSTEM OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT

150. FEUDALISM AS A SYSTEM OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT

The basis of feudal society was usually the landed estate. Here lived the feudal noble, surrounded by dependents over whom he exercised the rights of a petty sovereign. He could tax them; he could require them to give him military assistance; he could try them in his courts. A great noble, the possessor of many estates, even enjoyed the privilege of declaring war, making treaties, and coining money. How, it will be asked, did these rights and privileges arise? Owing to the decay of commerce and

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151. FEUDAL JUSTICE

151. FEUDAL JUSTICE

Feudalism was not only a system of local government; it was also a system of local justice. Knights, barons, counts, and dukes had their separate courts, and the king had his court above all. Cases arising on the lord's estate were tried before him and the vassals whom he called to his assistance in giving justice. Since most wrongs could be atoned for by the payment of a fine, the conduct of justice on a large fief produced a considerable income. The nobles, accordingly, regarded their judicial

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152. FEUDAL WARFARE

152. FEUDAL WARFARE

Feudalism, once more, was a system of local defense. The knight must guard his small estate, the baron his barony, the count his county, the duke his duchy. At the lord's bidding the vassal had to follow him to war, either alone or with a certain number of men, according to the size of the fief. But this assistance was limited. A vassal served only for a definite period (varying from one month to three in the year), and then only within a reasonable distance from the lands for which he did homag

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153. THE CASTLE AND LIFE OF THE NOBLES

153. THE CASTLE AND LIFE OF THE NOBLES

The outward mark of feudalism was the castle, [10] where the lord resided and from which he ruled his fief. In its earliest form the castle was simply a wooden blockhouse placed on a mound and surrounded by a stockade. About the beginning of the twelfth century the nobles began to build in stone, which would better resist fire and the assaults of besiegers. A stone castle consisted at first of a single tower, square or round, with thick walls, few windows, and often with only one room to each st

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154. KNIGHTHOOD AND CHIVALRY

154. KNIGHTHOOD AND CHIVALRY

The prevalence of warfare in feudal times made the use of arms a profession requiring special training. A nobleman's son served for a number of years, first as a page, then as a squire, in his father's castle or in that of some other lord. He learned to manage a horse, to climb a scaling ladder, to wield sword, battle-ax, and lance. He also waited on the lord's table, assisted him at his toilet, followed him in the chase, and attended him in battle. This apprenticeship usually lasted from five t

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155. FEUDALISM AS A SYSTEM OF LOCAL INDUSTRY

155. FEUDALISM AS A SYSTEM OF LOCAL INDUSTRY

Under the Roman Empire western Europe had been filled with flourishing cities. [16] The Germanic invasions led to a gradual decay of trade and manufacturing, and hence of the cities in which these activities centered. As urban life declined, the mass of the population came to live more and more in isolated rural communities. This was the great economic feature of the early Middle Ages. The introduction of feudalism fostered the movement from town to country, for feudalism, as has been shown, res

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156. THE VILLAGE AND LIFE OF THE PEASANTS

156. THE VILLAGE AND LIFE OF THE PEASANTS

The peasants on a manor lived close together in one or more villages. Their small, thatch-roofed, and one-roomed houses would be grouped about an open space (the "green"), or on both sides of a single, narrow street. The only important buildings were the parish church, the parsonage, a mill, if a stream ran through the manor, and possibly a blacksmith's shop. The population of one of these villages often did not exceed one hundred souls. Perhaps the most striking feature of a medieval village wa

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157. SERFDOM

157. SERFDOM

A medieval village usually contained several classes of laborers. There might be a number of freemen, who paid a fixed rent, either in money or produce, for the use of their land. Then there might also be a few slaves in the lord's household or at work on his domain. By this time, however, slavery had about died out in western Europe. Most of the peasants were serfs. Serfdom represented a stage between slavery and freedom. A slave belonged to his master; he was bought and sold like other chattel

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158. DECLINE OF FEUDALISM

158. DECLINE OF FEUDALISM

Feudalism had a vigorous life for about five hundred years. Taking definite form early in the ninth century, it flourished throughout the later Middle Ages, but became decadent by the opening of the fourteenth century. As a system of local government, feudalism tended to pass away when the rulers in England, France, and Spain, and later in Germany and Italy, became powerful enough to put down private warfare, execute justice, and maintain order everywhere in their dominions. The kings were alway

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. Write a brief essay on feudal society, using the following words: lord; vassal; castle; keep; dungeon; chivalry; tournament; manor; and serf. 2. Explain the following terms: vassal; fief; serf; "aid"; homage; squire; investiture; and "relief." 3. Look up the origin of the words homage, castle, dungeon, and chivalry. 4. "The real heirs of Charlemagne were from the first neither the kings of France nor those of Italy or Germany; but the feudal lords." Comment on this statement. 5. Why was the f

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159. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH

159. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH

A preceding chapter dealt with the Christian Church in the East and West during the early Middle Ages. We learned something about its organization, belief, and worship, about the rise and growth of the Papacy, about monasticism, and about that missionary campaign which won all Europe to Christianity. Our narrative extended to the middle of the eleventh century, when the quarrel between pope and patriarch led at length to the disruption of Christendom. We have now to consider the work and influen

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160. CHURCH DOCTRINE AND WORSHIP

160. CHURCH DOCTRINE AND WORSHIP

In medieval times every loyal member of the Church accepted without question its authority in religious matters. The Church taught a belief in a personal God, all-wise, all-good, all-powerful, to know whom was the highest goal of life. The avenue to this knowledge lay through faith in the revelation of God, as found in the Scriptures. Since the unaided human reason could not properly interpret the Scriptures, it was necessary for the Church, through her officers, to declare their meaning and set

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161. CHURCH JURISDICTION

161. CHURCH JURISDICTION

The Church had regular courts and a special system of law [10] for the trial of offenders against its regulations. Many cases, which to-day would be decided according to the civil or criminal law of the state, in the Middle Ages came before the ecclesiastical courts. Since marriage was considered a sacrament, the Church took upon itself to decide what marriages were lawful. It forbade the union of first cousins, of second cousins, and of godparents and godchildren. It refused to sanction divorce

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162. THE SECULAR CLERGY

162. THE SECULAR CLERGY

Some one has said that in the Middle Ages there were just three classes of society: the nobles who fought; the peasants who worked; and the clergy who prayed. The latter class was divided into the secular [14] clergy, including deacons, priests, and bishops, who lived active lives in the world, and the regular [15] clergy, or monks, who passed their days in seclusion behind monastery walls. It has been already pointed out how early both secular and regular clergy came to be distinguished from th

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163. THE REGULAR CLERGY

163. THE REGULAR CLERGY

The regular clergy, or monks, during the early Middle Ages belonged to the Benedictine order. By the tenth century, however, St. Benedict's Rule had lost much of its force. As the monasteries increased in wealth through gifts of land and goods, they sometimes became centers of idleness, luxury, and corruption. The monks forgot their vows of poverty; and, instead of themselves laboring as farmers, craftsmen, and students, they employed laymen to work for them. At the same time powerful feudal lor

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164. THE FRIARS

164. THE FRIARS

The history of Christian monasticism exhibits an ever-widening social outlook. The early hermits [22] had devoted themselves, as they believed, to the service of God by retiring desert for prayer, meditation, and bodily mortification. St. Benedict's wise Rule, as followed by the medieval monastic orders, marked a change for the better. It did away with extreme forms of self-denial, brought the monks together in a common house, and required them to engage in daily manual labor. Yet even the Bened

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165. POWER OF THE PAPACY

165. POWER OF THE PAPACY

The name "pope" [26] seems at first to have been applied to all priests as a title of respect and affection. The Greek Church still continues this use of the word. In the West it gradually came to be reserved to the bishop of Rome as his official title. The pope was addressed in speaking as "Your Holiness." His exalted position was further indicated by the tiara, or headdress with triple crowns, worn by him in processions. [27] He went to solemn ceremonies sitting in a chair supported on the sho

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166. POPES AND EMPERORS, 962-1122 A.D.

166. POPES AND EMPERORS, 962-1122 A.D.

One might suppose that there could be no interference between pope and emperor, since they seemed to have separate spheres of action. It was said that God had made the pope, as the successor of St. Peter, supreme in spiritual matters and the emperor, as heir of the Roman Caesars, supreme in temporal matters. The former ruled men's souls, the latter, men's bodies. The two sovereigns thus divided on equal terms the government of the world. The difficulty with this theory was that it did not work.

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167. POPES AND EMPERORS, 1122-1273 A.D.

167. POPES AND EMPERORS, 1122-1273 A.D.

Thirty years after the signing of the Concordat of Worms the emperor Frederick I, called Barbarossa from his red beard, succeeded to the throne. Frederick, the second emperor, of the Hohenstaufen dynasty [37] was capable, imaginative, and ambitious. He took Charlemagne and Otto the Great as his models and aspired like them to rule Christian Europe and the Church. His reign is the story of many attempts, ending at length in failure, to unite all Italy into a single state under German sway. Freder

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168. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH

168. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH

Medieval society, we have now learned, owed much to the Church, both as a teacher of religion and morals and as an agency of government. It remains to ask what was the attitude of the Church toward the great social problems of the Middle Ages. In regard to warfare, the prevalence of which formed one of the worst evils of the time, the Church, in general, cast its influence on the side of peace. It deserves credit for establishing the Peace and the Truce of God and for many efforts to heal strife

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. Explain the following terms: abbot; prior; archbishop; parish; diocese; regular clergy; secular clergy; friar; excommunication; simony; interdict; sacrament; "benefit of clergy"; right of "sanctuary"; crosier; miter; tiara; papal indulgence; bull; dispensation; tithes; and "Peter's Pence." 2. Mention some respects in which the Roman Church in the Middle Ages differed from any religious society of the present day. 3. "Medieval Europe was a camp with a church in the background." Comment on this

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169. CAUSES OF THE CRUSADES

169. CAUSES OF THE CRUSADES

The series of military expeditions, undertaken by the Christians of Europe for the purpose of recovering the Holy Land from the Moslems, have received the name of crusades. In their widest aspect the crusades may be regarded as a renewal of the age-long contest between East and West, in which the struggle of Greeks and Persians and of Romans and Carthaginians formed the earlier episodes. The contest assumed a new character when Europe had become Christian and Asia Mohammedan. It was not only two

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170. FIRST CRUSADE, 1095-1099 A.D.

170. FIRST CRUSADE, 1095-1099 A.D.

The signal for the First Crusade was given by the conquests of the Seljuk Turks. [3] These barbarians, at first the mercenaries and then the masters of the Abbasid caliphs, infused fresh energy into Islam. They began a new era of Mohammedan expansion by winning almost the whole of Asia Minor from the Roman Empire in the East. One of their leaders established himself at Nicaea, the scene of the first Church Council, [4] and founded the sultanate of Rum (Rome). The presence of the Turks so close t

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171. CRUSADERS' STATES IN SYRIA

171. CRUSADERS' STATES IN SYRIA

After the capture of Jerusalem the crusaders met to elect a king. Their choice fell upon Godfrey of Bouillon. He refused to wear a crown of gold in the city where Christ had worn a crown of thorns and accepted, instead, the modest title of "Protector of the Holy Sepulcher." [8] Godfrey died the next year and his brother Baldwin, who succeeded him, being less scrupulous, was crowned king at Bethlehem. The new kingdom contained nearly a score of fiefs, whose lords made war, administered justice, a

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172. SECOND CRUSADE, 1147-1149 A.D., AND THIRD CRUSADE, 1189-1192 A.D.

172. SECOND CRUSADE, 1147-1149 A.D., AND THIRD CRUSADE, 1189-1192 A.D.

The success of the Christians in the First Crusade had been largely due to the disunion among their enemies. But the Moslems learned in time the value of united action, and in 1144 A.D. succeeded in capturing Edessa, one of the principal Christian outposts in the East. The fall of the city, followed by the loss of the entire county of Edessa, aroused western Europe to the danger which threatened the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem and led to another crusading enterprise. The apostle of the Second Cru

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173. FOURTH CRUSADE AND THE LATIN EMPIRE OF CONSTANTINOPLE, 1202-1261 A.D.

173. FOURTH CRUSADE AND THE LATIN EMPIRE OF CONSTANTINOPLE, 1202-1261 A.D.

The real author of the Fourth Crusade was the famous pope, Innocent III. [16] Young, enthusiastic, and ambitious for the glory of the Papacy, he revived the plans of Urban II and sought once more to unite the forces of Christendom against Islam. No emperor or king answered his summons, but a number of knights (chiefly French) took the crusader's vow. The leaders of the crusade decided to make Egypt their objective point, since this country was then the center of the Moslem power. Accordingly, th

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174. RESULTS OF THE CRUSADES

174. RESULTS OF THE CRUSADES

The crusades, judged by what they set out to accomplish, must be accounted an inglorious failure. After two hundred years of conflict, after a vast expenditure of wealth and human lives, the Holy Land remained in Moslem hands. It is true that the First Crusade did help, by the conquest of Syria, to check the advance of the Turks toward Constantinople. But even this benefit was more than undone by the weakening of the Roman Empire in the East as a result of the Fourth Crusade. Of the many reasons

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. On an outline map indicate Europe and the Mediterranean lands by religions, about 1095 A.D. 2. On an outline map indicate the routes of the First and the Third Crusades. 3. Locate on the map the following places: Clermont; Acre; Antioch; Zara; Edessa; and Damascus. 4. Identify the following dates: 1204 A.D.; 1095 A.D.; 1096 A.D.; 1291 A.D. 5. Write a short essay describing the imaginary experiences of a crusader to the Holy Land. 6. Mention some instances which illustrate the religious enthus

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175. THE MONGOLS

175. THE MONGOLS

The extensive steppes in the middle and north of Asia have formed, for thousands of years, the abode of nomadic peoples belonging to the Yellow race. In prehistoric times they spread over northern Europe, but they were gradually supplanted by white-skinned Indo-Europeans, until now only remnants of them exist, such as the Finns and Lapps. In later ages history records how the Huns, the Bulgarians, and the Magyars have poured into Europe, spreading terror and destruction in their path. [1] These

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176. CONQUESTS OF THE MONGOLS, 1206-1405 A.D.

176. CONQUESTS OF THE MONGOLS, 1206-1405 A.D.

For ages the Mongols had dwelt in scattered tribes throughout their Asiatic wilderness, engaged in petty struggles with one another for cattle and pasture lands. It was the celebrated Jenghiz Khan, [4] chief of one of the tribes, who brought them all under his authority and then led them to the conquest of the world. Of him it may be said with truth that he had the most victorious of military careers, and that he constructed the most extensive empire known to history. If Jenghiz had possessed th

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177. THE MONGOLS IN CHINA AND INDIA

177. THE MONGOLS IN CHINA AND INDIA

The Mongols ruled over China for about one hundred and fifty years. During this period they became thoroughly imbued with Chinese culture. "China," said an old writer, "is a sea that salts all the rivers flowing into it." The most eminent of the Mongol emperors was Jenghiz Khan's grandson, Kublai (1259-1294 A.D.). He built a new capital, which in medieval times was known as Cambaluc and is now called Peking. While Kublai was on the throne, the Venetian traveler, Marco Polo, [9] visited China, an

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178. THE MONGOLS IN EASTERN EUROPE

178. THE MONGOLS IN EASTERN EUROPE

The location of Russia [11] on the border of Asia exposed that country to the full force of the Mongol attack. Jenghiz Khan's successors, entering Europe north of the Caspian, swept resistlessly over the Russian plain. Moscow and Kiev fell in quick succession, and before long the greater part of Russia was in the hands of the Mongols. Wholesale massacres marked their progress. "No eye remained open to weep for the dead." [Illustration: THE TAJ MAHAL, AGRA Erected by the Mogul emperor, Shah Jehan

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179. THE OTTOMAN TURKS AND THEIR CONQUESTS, 1227-1453 A.D.

179. THE OTTOMAN TURKS AND THEIR CONQUESTS, 1227-1453 A.D.

The first appearance of the Ottoman Turks in history dates from 1227 A.D., the year of Jenghiz Khan's death. In that year a small Turkish horde, driven westward from their central Asian homes by the Mongol advance, settled in Asia Minor. There they enjoyed the protection of their kinsmen, the Seljuk Turks, and from them accepted Islam. As the Seljuk power declined, that of the Ottomans rose in its stead. About 1300 A.D. their chieftain, Othman, [14] declared his independence and became the found

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180. THE OTTOMAN TURKS IN SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

180. THE OTTOMAN TURKS IN SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

Turkey was now a European state. After the occupation of Constantinople the Ottoman territories continued to expand, and at the death of Mohammed II they included what are now Bulgaria, Rumania, Serbia, Albania, and Greece. Of all the Balkan states only tiny Montenegro, protected by mountain ramparts, preserved its independence. The Turks form a small minority among the inhabitants of the Balkans. At the present time there are said to be less than one million Turks in southeastern Europe. Even a

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. Locate these cities: Bokhara; Samarkand; Merv; Herat; Bagdad; Peking; Delhi; Kiev; Moscow; and Adrianople. 2. Who were Baber, Kublai Khan, Othman, Mohammed II, Constantine Palaeologus, and Ivan the Great? 3. Why should the steppes of central and northern Asia have been a nursery of warlike peoples? 4. What parts of Asia were not included in the Mongol Empire at its greatest extent? 5. Trace on the map on page 486 the further expansion of the Mongol Empire after the death of Jenghiz Khan. 6. "

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181. GROWTH OF THE NATIONS

181. GROWTH OF THE NATIONS

The map of western Europe, that is, of Europe west of the great Russian plain and the Balkan peninsula, shows this part of the continent at present divided into no less than thirteen separate and independent nations. Most of them arose during the latter part of the Middle Ages. They have existed so long that we now think of the national state as the highest type of human association, forgetting that it has been preceded by other forms of political organization, such as the Greek republic, the Ro

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182. ENGLAND UNDER WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, 1066-1087 A.D.; THE NORMAN KINGSHIP

182. ENGLAND UNDER WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, 1066-1087 A.D.; THE NORMAN KINGSHIP

The Normans were the last invaders of England. Since 1066 A.D. the English Channel, not more than twenty-one miles wide between Dover and Calais, has formed a watery barrier against Continental domination. The English people, for eight and a half centuries, have been free to develop their ideals, customs, and methods of government in their own way. We shall now learn how they established a strong monarchy and at the same time laid deep and firm the foundations of constitutional liberty. William

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183. ENGLAND UNDER HENRY II, 1154-1189 A.D.; ROYAL JUSTICE AND THE COMMON LAW

183. ENGLAND UNDER HENRY II, 1154-1189 A.D.; ROYAL JUSTICE AND THE COMMON LAW

HENRY II, PLANTAGENET Henry II, who ascended the English throne in 1154 A.D., was a grandson of William the Conqueror and the first of the famous Plantagenet [2] family, Henry spent more than half of his reign abroad, looking after his extensive possessions in France but this fact did not prevent him from giving England good government. Three things in which all Englishmen take special pride—the courts, the jury system, and the Common law—began to take shape during Henry's reign. Henry, first of

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184. THE GREAT CHARTER, 1215 A.D.

184. THE GREAT CHARTER, 1215 A.D.

The great Henry, from whose legal reforms English-speaking peoples receive benefit even to-day, was followed by his son, Richard, the Lion-hearted crusader. [6] After a short reign Richard was succeeded by his brother, John, a man so cruel, tyrannical, and wicked that he is usually regarded as the worst of English kings. In a war with the French ruler, Philip Augustus, John lost Normandy and some of the other English possessions on the Continent. [7] In a dispute with Innocent III he ended by ma

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185. PARLIAMENT DURING THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY

185. PARLIAMENT DURING THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY

The thirteenth century, which opened so auspiciously with the winning of the Great Charter, is also memorable as the time when England developed her Parliament [12] into something like its present form. The first steps in parliamentary government were taken during the reign of John's son, Henry III. It had long been the custom in England that in all important matters a ruler ought not to act without the advice and consent of his leading men. The Anglo-Saxon kings sought the advice and consent of

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186. EXPANSION OF ENGLAND UNDER EDWARD I, 1272-1307 A.D.

186. EXPANSION OF ENGLAND UNDER EDWARD I, 1272-1307 A.D.

Our narrative has been confined until now to England, which forms, together with Wales and Scotland, the island known as Great Britain. Ireland is the only other important division of the United Kingdom. It was almost inevitable that in process of time the British Isles should have come under a single government, but political unity has not yet fused English, Scotch, Welsh, and Irish into a single people. The conquest of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons drove many of the Welsh, [14] as the invaders c

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187. UNIFICATION OF FRANCE, 987-1328 A.D.

187. UNIFICATION OF FRANCE, 987-1328 A.D.

Nature seems to have intended that France should play a leading part in European affairs. The geographical unity of the country is obvious. Mountains and seas form its permanent boundaries, except on the north-east where the frontier is not well defined. The western coast of France opens on the Atlantic, now the greatest highway of the world's commerce, while on the southeast France touches the Mediterranean, the home of classical civilization. This intermediate position between two seas helps u

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188. THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR BETWEEN FRANCE AND ENGLAND, 1337-1453 A.D.

188. THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR BETWEEN FRANCE AND ENGLAND, 1337-1453 A.D.

The task of unifying France was interrupted by a deplorable war between that country and England. It continued, including periods of truce, for over a century. The pretext for the war was found in a disputed succession. In 1328 A.D. the last of the three sons of Philip IV passed away, and the direct line of the house of Capet, which had reigned over France for more than three hundred years, came to an end. The English ruler, Edward III, whose mother was the daughter of Philip IV, considered hims

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189. UNIFICATION OF SPAIN (TO 1492 A.D.)

189. UNIFICATION OF SPAIN (TO 1492 A.D.)

The Spanish peninsula, known to the Romans as Hispania, is sharply separated from the rest of Europe by the Pyrenees Mountains. At the same time the nearness of the peninsula to Africa has always brought it into intimate relations with that continent. Just as Russia has formed a link between Asia and Europe, so Spain has served as a natural highway from Africa to Europe. The first settlers in Spain, of whom we know anything, were the Iberians. They may have emigrated from northern Africa. After

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190. AUSTRIA AND THE SWISS CONFEDERATION, 1273-1499 A.D.

190. AUSTRIA AND THE SWISS CONFEDERATION, 1273-1499 A.D.

The name Austria—in German Oesterreich—means simply the eastern part of any kingdom. It came to be applied particularly to the territory on the Danube east of Bavaria, which Otto the Great had formed into a mark or border province for defense against the Magyars. [28] This mark, soon to be known as Austria, gained an important place among German states. The frontiers were pushed down the Danube valley and the capital was finally located at Vienna, once a Roman city. Frederick Barbarossa raised A

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191. EXPANSION OF GERMANY

191. EXPANSION OF GERMANY

An examination of the map shows how deficient Germany is in good natural boundaries. The valley of the Danube affords an easy road to the southeast, a road which the early rulers of Austria followed as far as Vienna and the Hungarian frontier. Eastward along the Baltic no break occurs in the great plain stretching from the North Sea to the Ural Mountains. It was in this direction that German conquests and colonization during the Middle Ages laid the foundation of modern Prussia. The Germans, in

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. On an outline map indicate (a) William the Conqueror's French dominions and (b) additional dominions of the Plantagenet kings in France. 2. Prepare a chart showing the leading rulers mentioned in this chapter. Arrange your material in parallel columns with dates, one column for England, one for France, and one for the other European countries. 3. Locate the following places: Crécy; Calais; Poitiers; Salisbury; Stirling; Edinburgh; Orléans; and Granada. 4. What happened in 987 A.D.? in 1066 A.

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192. GROWTH OF THE CITIES

192. GROWTH OF THE CITIES

Civilization has always had its home in the city. [1] The statement applies as well to medieval times as to the present day. Nothing marks more strongly the backwardness of the early Middle Ages than the absence of large and flourishing cities throughout western Europe. The growth of trade in the later Middle Ages led, however, to a civic revival beginning in the eleventh century. This change from rural to urban life was scarcely less significant for European history than the change from the feu

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194. CIVIC INDUSTRY: THE GUILDS

194. CIVIC INDUSTRY: THE GUILDS

The Anglo-Saxon word "guild," which means "to pay," came to be applied to a club or society whose members made contributions for some common purpose. This form Of association is very old. Some of the guilds in imperial Rome had been established in the age of the kings, while not a few of those which flourish to-day in China and India were founded before the Christian era. Guilds existed in Continental Europe as early as the time of Charlemagne, but they did not become prominent till after the cr

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195. TRADE AND COMMERCE

195. TRADE AND COMMERCE

Nearly every town of any consequence had a weekly or semiweekly market, which was held in the market place or in the churchyard. Marketing often occurred on Sunday, in spite of many laws against this desecration of the day. Outsiders who brought cattle and farm produce for sale in the market were required to pay tolls, either to the town authorities or sometimes to a neighboring nobleman. These market dues still survive in the "octroi" collected at the gates of some European cities. People in th

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196. MONEY AND BANKING

196. MONEY AND BANKING

We have seen that business in the Middle Ages was chiefly of a retail character and was conducted in markets and fairs. The artisan who manufactured the goods he sold and the peddler who carried his goods about from place to place were the leading types of medieval traders. Little wholesale business existed, and the merchant prince who owned warehouses and large stocks of goods was an exceptional figure. One reason for the small scale of business enterprise is found in the inadequate supply of m

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197. ITALIAN CITIES

197. ITALIAN CITIES

The cities of northern Italy owed their prosperity, as we have learned, to the commerce with the Orient. It was this which gave them the means and the strength to keep up a long struggle for freedom against the German emperors.[21] The end of the struggle, at the middle of the thirteenth century, saw all North Italy divided into the dominions of various independent cities. Among them were Milan, Pisa, Florence, Genoa, and Venice. Milan, a city of Roman origin, lay in the fertile valley of the Po

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198. GERMAN CITIES: THE HANSEATIC LEAGUE

198. GERMAN CITIES: THE HANSEATIC LEAGUE

The important trade routes from Venice and Genoa through the Alpine passes into the valleys of the Rhine and Danube were responsible for the prosperity of many fine cities in southern and central Germany. Among them were Augsburg, which rivaled Florence as a financial center, Nuremberg, famous for artistic metal work, Ulm, Strassburg, and Cologne. The feeble rule of the German kings compelled the cities to form several confederacies for the purpose of resisting the extortionate tolls and downrig

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199. THE CITIES OF FLANDERS

199. THE CITIES OF FLANDERS

In the Middle Ages the Netherlands, or "Low Countries," now divided between Holland and Belgium, consisted of a number of feudal states, nominally under the control of German and French kings, but really quite independent. Among them was the county of Flanders. It included the coast region from Calais to the mouth of the Scheldt, as well as a considerable district in what is now northwestern France. The inhabitants of Flanders were partly of Teutonic extraction (the Flemings) and partly akin to

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. Indicate on the map some great commercial cities of the Middle Ages as follows: four in Italy; three in the Netherlands; and six in Germany. 2. Why does an American city have a charter? Where is it obtained? What privileges does it confer? 3. Who comprised the "third estate" in the Middle Ages? What class corresponds to it at the present time? 4. Why has the medieval city been called the "birthplace of modern democracy"? 5. Compare the merchant guild with the modern chamber of commerce, and c

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200. FORMATION OF NATIONAL LANGUAGES

200. FORMATION OF NATIONAL LANGUAGES

The twelfth and thirteenth centuries, which in western Europe saw the rise of national states out of the chaos of feudalism and the development of cities, may be regarded as the central period of the Middle Ages. During this time there flourished a civilization which is properly described as "medieval," to distinguish it from classical civilization on the one side and modern civilization on the other side. The various European languages then began to assume something like their present form. A l

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201. DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL LITERATURES

201. DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL LITERATURES

Medieval literature, though inferior in quality to that of Greece and Rome, nevertheless includes many notable productions. In the twelfth and the thirteenth centuries Latin hymns reached their perfection. The sublime Dies Irae ("Day of Wrath") presents a picture of the final judgment of the wicked. The pathetic Stabat Mater , which describes the sorrows of Mary at the foot of the Cross, has been often translated and set to music. These two works were written by a companion and biographer of St.

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202. ROMANESQUE AND GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE; THE CATHEDRALS

202. ROMANESQUE AND GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE; THE CATHEDRALS

The genius of the Middle Ages found its highest expression, not in books, but in buildings. For several hundred years after the barbarian invasions architecture had made little progress in western Europe, outside of Italy, which was subject to Byzantine influence, [8] and Spain, which was a center of Mohammedan culture. [9] Beginning about 800 A.D. came a revival, and the adoption of an architectural style called Romanesque, because it went back to Roman principles of construction. Romanesque ar

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203. EDUCATION; THE UNIVERSITIES

203. EDUCATION; THE UNIVERSITIES

Not less important than the Gothic cathedrals for the understanding of medieval civilization were the universities. They grew out of the monastic and cathedral schools where boys were trained to become monks or priests. Such schools had been created or restored by Charlemagne. [18] The teaching, which lay entirely in the hands of the clergy, was elementary in character. Pupils learned enough Latin grammar to read religious books, if not always to understand them, and enough music to follow the s

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204. SCHOLASTICISM

204. SCHOLASTICISM

Theology formed the chief subject of instruction in most medieval universities. Nearly all the celebrated scholars of the age were theologians. They sought to arrange the doctrines of the Church in systematic and reasonable form, in order to answer those great questions concerning the nature of God and of the soul which have always occupied the human mind. For this purpose it was necessary to call in the aid of philosophy. The union of theology and philosophy produced what is known as scholastic

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205. SCIENCE AND MAGIC

205. SCIENCE AND MAGIC

Not all medieval learning took the form of scholasticism. The twelfth and thirteenth centuries were marked by a healthy interest in science. Long encyclopedias, written in Latin, collected all available information about the natural world. The study of physics made conspicuous progress, partly as a result of Arab influence. Various scientific inventions, including magnifying glasses and clocks, were worked out. The mariner's compass, perhaps derived from the Arabs, also came into general use. [2

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206. POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS

206. POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS

Many medieval superstitions are preserved in folk tales, or "fairy stories." Every child now reads these tales in books, but until the nineteenth century very few of them had been collected and written down. [30] They lived on the lips of the people, being told by mothers and nurses to children and by young and old about the firesides during the long winter evenings. Story-telling formed one of the chief amusements of the Middle Ages. The fairies who appear so commonly in folk tales are known by

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207. POPULAR AMUSEMENTS AND FESTIVALS

207. POPULAR AMUSEMENTS AND FESTIVALS

It is pleasant to turn from the superstitions of the Middle Ages to the games, sports, and festivals which helped to make life agreeable alike for rich and poor, for nobles and peasants. Some indoor games are of eastern origin. Thus chess, with which European peoples seem to have become acquainted as early as the tenth century [33] arose in India as a war game. On each side a king and his general, with chariots, cavalry, elephants, and infantry, met in battle array. These survive in the rooks, k

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208. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS

208. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS

A previous chapter (Chapter XVIII.) described some features of domestic life in castle and village during the age of feudalism. In England, where the Norman kings discouraged castle building, the manor house formed the ordinary residence of the nobility. Even in Continental Europe many castles were gradually made over into manor houses after the cessation of feudal warfare. A manor house, however, was only less bare and inconvenient than a castle. It was still poorly lighted, ill-ventilated, and

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. Look up on the map between pages 358-359 the following places where Gothic cathedrals are found: Canterbury, York, Salisbury, Reims, Amiens, Chartres, Cologne, Strassburg, Burgos, Toledo, and Milan. 2. Look up on the map facing page 654 the location of the following medieval universities: Oxford, Montpellier, Paris, Orléans, Cologne, Leipzig, Prague, Naples, and Salamanca. 3. Explain the following terms: scholasticism; canon law; alchemy; troubadours; Provençal language; transept; choir; flyi

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209. MEANING OF THE RENAISSANCE

209. MEANING OF THE RENAISSANCE

The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, covering the later period of the Middle Ages, are commonly known as those of the Renaissance. This French word means Rebirth or Revival. It is a convenient term for all the changes in society, law, and government, in science, philosophy, and religion, in literature and art which gradually transformed medieval civilization into that of modern times. The Renaissance, just because of its transitional character, cannot be exactly dated. Some Renaissance moveme

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210. REVIVAL OF LEARNING IN ITALY

210. REVIVAL OF LEARNING IN ITALY

The literature of Greece and Rome did not entirely disappear in western Europe after the Germanic invasions. The monastery and cathedral schools of the Middle Ages had nourished devoted students of ancient books. The Benedictine monks labored zealously in copying the works of pagan as well as Christian authors. The rise of universities made it possible for the student to pursue a fairly extended course in Latin literature at more than one institution of learning. Greek literature, however, was l

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211. PAPER AND PRINTING

211. PAPER AND PRINTING

The revival of learning was greatly hastened when printed books took the place of manuscripts laboriously copied by hand. Printing is a complicated process, and many centuries were required to bring it to perfection. Both paper and movable type had to be invented. The Chinese at a remote period made paper from some fibrous material. The Arabs seem to have been the first to make linen paper out of flax and rags. The manufacture of paper in Europe was first established by the Moors in Spain. The A

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212. REVIVAL OF ART IN ITALY

212. REVIVAL OF ART IN ITALY

Gothic architecture, with its pointed arches, flying buttresses, and traceried windows, never struck deep roots in Italy. The architects of the Renaissance went back to Greek temples and Roman domed buildings for their models, just as the humanists went back to Greek and Latin literature. Long rows of Ionic or Corinthian columns, spanned by round arches, became again the prevailing architectural style. Perhaps the most important accomplishment of Renaissance builders was the adoption of the dome

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213. REVIVAL OF LEARNING AND ART BEYOND ITALY

213. REVIVAL OF LEARNING AND ART BEYOND ITALY

About the middle of the fifteenth century fire from the Italian altar was carried across the Alps, and a revival of learning began in northern lands. Italy had led the way by recovering the long-buried treasures of the classics and by providing means for their study. Scholars in Germany, France, and England, who now had the aid of the printing press, continued the intellectual movement and gave it widespread currency. The foremost humanist of the age was Desiderius Erasmus. Though a native of Ro

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214. THE RENAISSANCE IN LITERATURE

214. THE RENAISSANCE IN LITERATURE

The renewed interest in classical studies for a time retarded the development of national languages and literatures in Europe. To the humanists only Latin and Greek seemed worthy of notice. Petrarch, for instance, composed in Italian beautiful sonnets which are still much admired, but he himself expected to gain literary immortality through his Latin works. Another Italian humanist went so far as to call Dante "a poet for bakers and cobblers," and the Divine Comedy was indeed translated into Lat

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215. THE RENAISSANCE IN EDUCATION

215. THE RENAISSANCE IN EDUCATION

The universities of the Middle Ages emphasized scholastic philosophy, though in some institutions law and medicine also received much attention. Greek, of course, was not taught, the vernacular languages of Europe were not studied, and neither science nor history enjoyed the esteem of the learned. The Renaissance brought about a partial change in this curriculum. The classical languages and literatures, after some opposition, gained an entrance into university courses and displaced scholastic ph

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216. THE SCIENTIFIC RENAISSANCE

216. THE SCIENTIFIC RENAISSANCE

The Middle Ages were not by any means ignorant of science, [18] but its study naturally received a great impetus when the Renaissance brought before educated men all that the Greeks and Romans had done in mathematics, physics, astronomy, medicine, and other subjects. The invention of printing also fostered the scientific revival by making it easy to spread knowledge abroad in every land. The pioneers of Renaissance science were Italians, but students in France, England, Germany, and other countr

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217. THE ECONOMIC RENAISSANCE

217. THE ECONOMIC RENAISSANCE

Thus far the Renaissance has been studied as an intellectual and artistic movement, which did much to liberate the human mind and brought the Middle Ages to an end in literature, in art, and in science. It is necessary, however, to consider the Renaissance era from another point of view. During this time an economic change of vast significance was taking place in rural life all over western Europe. We refer to the decline and ultimate extinction of medieval serfdom. Serfdom imposed a burden only

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. Prepare a chronological chart showing the leading men of letters, artists, scientists, and educators mentioned in this chapter. 2. For what were the following persons noted: Chrysoloras; Vittorino da Feltre; Gutenberg; Boccaccio; Machiavelli; Harvey; and Galileo? 3. How did the words "machiavellism" and "utopian" get their present meanings? 4. Distinguish and define the three terms, "Renaissance," "Revival of Learning," and "Humanism." 5. "Next to the discovery of the New World, the recovery

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218. MEDIEVAL GEOGRAPHY

218. MEDIEVAL GEOGRAPHY

There was also a geographical Renaissance. The revival of the exploring spirit led to the discovery of ocean routes to the Far East and the Americas. In consequence, commerce was vastly stimulated, and two continents, hitherto unknown, were opened up to civilization. The geographical Renaissance, which gave man a New World, thus cooperated with the other movements of the age in bringing about the transition from medieval to modern times. The Greeks and Romans had become familiar with a large par

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219. AIDS TO EXPLORATION

219. AIDS TO EXPLORATION

The new knowledge gained by European peoples about the land routes of Asia was accompanied by much progress in the art of ocean navigation. First in importance came the compass to guide explorers across the waters of the world. The Chinese appear to have discovered that a needle, when rubbed with a lodestone, has the mysterious power of pointing to the north. The Arabs may have introduced this rude form of the compass among Mediterranean sailors. The instrument, improved by being balanced on a p

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220. TO THE INDIES EASTWARD: PRINCE HENRY AND DA GAMA

220. TO THE INDIES EASTWARD: PRINCE HENRY AND DA GAMA

In the history of the fifteenth century few names rank higher than that of Prince Henry, commonly called the Navigator, because of his services to the cause of exploration. The son of a Portuguese king, he devoted himself during more than forty years to organizing scientific discovery. Under his direction better maps were made, the astrolabe was improved, the compass was placed on vessels, and seamen were instructed in all the nautical learning of the time. The problem which Prince Henry studied

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221. THE PORTUGUESE COLONIAL EMPIRE

221. THE PORTUGUESE COLONIAL EMPIRE

After Da Gama's voyage the Portuguese made haste to appropriate the wealth of the Indies. Fleet after fleet was sent out to establish trading stations upon the coasts of Africa and Asia. The great viceroy, Albuquerque, captured the city of Goa and made it the center of the Portuguese dominions in India. Goa still belongs to Portugal. Albuquerque also seized Malacca, at the end of the Malay Peninsula, and Ormuz, at the entrance to the Persian Gulf. The possession of these strategic points enabled

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222. TO THE INDIES WESTWARD: COLUMBUS AND MAGELLAN

222. TO THE INDIES WESTWARD: COLUMBUS AND MAGELLAN

Six years before Vasco da Gama cast anchor in the harbor of Calicut, another intrepid sailor, seeking the Indies by a western route, accidentally discovered America. It does not detract from the glory of Columbus to show that the way for his discovery had been long in preparation. In the first place, the theory that the earth was round had been familiar to the Greeks and Romans, and to some learned men even in the darkest period of the Middle Ages. By the opening of the thirteenth century it mus

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223. THE INDIANS

223. THE INDIANS

The first inhabitants of America probably came from the Old World. At a remote epoch a land-bridge connected northwest Europe with Greenland, and Iceland still remains a witness to its former existence. Over this bridge animals and men may have found their way into the New World. Another prehistoric route may have led from Asia. Only a narrow strait now separates Alaska from Siberia, and the Aleutian Islands form an almost complete series of stepping-stones across the most northerly part of the

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224. SPANISH EXPLORATIONS AND CONQUESTS IN AMERICA

224. SPANISH EXPLORATIONS AND CONQUESTS IN AMERICA

The discoverers of the New World were naturally the pioneers in its exploration. The first object of the Spaniards had been trade with the Indies, and for a number of years, until Magellan's voyage, they sought vainly for a passage through the mainland to the Spice Islands. When, however, the Spaniards learned that America was rich in deposits of gold and silver, these metals formed the principal objects of their expeditions. The Spaniards at first had confined their settlements to the Greater A

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226. ENGLISH AND FRENCH EXPLORATIONS IN AMERICA

226. ENGLISH AND FRENCH EXPLORATIONS IN AMERICA

The English based their claim to the right to colonize North America on the discoveries of John Cabot, an Italian mariner in the service of the Tudor king, Henry VII. [31] In 1497 A.D. Cabot sailed from Bristol across the northern Atlantic and made land somewhere between Labrador and Nova Scotia. The following year he seems to have undertaken a second voyage and to have explored the coast of North America nearly as far as Florida. Cabot, like Columbus, believed he had reached Cathay and the domi

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227. THE OLD WORLD AND THE NEW

227. THE OLD WORLD AND THE NEW

The New World contained two virgin continents, full of natural resources and capable in a high degree of colonization. The native peoples, comparatively few in number and barbarian in culture, could not offer much resistance to the explorers, missionaries, traders, and colonists from the Old World. The Spanish and Portuguese in the sixteenth century, followed by the French, English, and Dutch in the seventeenth century, repeopled America and brought to it European civilization. Europe expanded i

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. On an outline map indicate those parts of the world known in the time of Columbus (before 1492 A.D.). 2. On an outline map indicate the voyages of discovery of Vasco da Gama, Columbus (first voyage), John Cabot, and Magellan. 3. What particular discoveries were made by Cartier, Drake, Balboa, De Soto, Ponce de León, and Coronado? 4. Compare the Cosmas map (page 617) with the map of the world according to Homer (page 76). 5. Compare the Hereford map (page 617) with the map of the world accordi

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228. DECLINE OF THE PAPACY

228. DECLINE OF THE PAPACY

The Papacy, victorious in the long struggle with the Holy Roman Empire, reached during the thirteenth century the height of its temporal power. The popes at this time were the greatest sovereigns in Europe. They ruled a large part of Italy, had great influence in the affairs of France, England, Spain, and other countries, and in Germany named and deposed emperors. From their capital at Rome they sent forth their legates to every European court and issued the laws binding on western Christendom.

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229. HERESIES AND HERETICS

229. HERESIES AND HERETICS

During the first centuries of our era, when the Christians had formed a forbidden sect, they claimed toleration on the ground that religious belief is voluntary and not something which can be enforced by law. This view changed after Christianity triumphed in the Roman Empire and enjoyed the support, instead of the opposition, of the government. The Church, backed by the State, no longer advocated freedom of conscience, but began to persecute people who held heretical beliefs. It is difficult for

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230. MARTIN LUTHER AND THE BEGINNING OF THE REFORMATION IN GERMANY, 1517- 1522 A.D.

230. MARTIN LUTHER AND THE BEGINNING OF THE REFORMATION IN GERMANY, 1517- 1522 A.D.

Though there were many reformers before the Reformation, the beginning of that movement is rightly associated with the name of Martin Luther. He was the son of a German peasant, who, by industry and frugality, had won a small competence. Thanks to his father's self-sacrifice, Luther enjoyed a good education in scholastic philosophy at the university of Erfurt. Having taken the degrees of bachelor and master of arts, Luther began to study law, but an acute sense of his sinfulness and a desire to

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231. CHARLES V AND THE SPREAD OF THE GERMAN REFORMATION, 1519-1556 A.D.

231. CHARLES V AND THE SPREAD OF THE GERMAN REFORMATION, 1519-1556 A.D.

The young man who as Holy Roman Emperor presided at the Diet of Worms had assumed the imperial crown only two years previously. A namesake of Charlemagne, Charles V held sway over dominions even more extensive than those which had belonged to the Frankish king. Through his mother, a daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, [16] he inherited Spain, Naples, Sicily, and the Spanish possessions in the New World. Through his father, a son of the emperor Maximilian I, he became ruler of Burgundy and the Ne

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232. THE REFORMATION IN SWITZERLAND; ZWINGLI AND CALVIN

232. THE REFORMATION IN SWITZERLAND; ZWINGLI AND CALVIN

The Reformation in Switzerland began with the work of Zwingli. He was the contemporary but not the disciple of Luther. From his pulpit in the cathedral of Zurich, Zwingli proclaimed the Scriptures as the sole guide of faith and denied the supremacy of the pope. Many of the Swiss cantons accepted his teaching and broke away from obedience to Rome. Civil war soon followed between Protestants and Roman Catholics, and Zwingli fell in the struggle. After his death the two parties made a peace which a

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233. THE ENGLISH REFORMATION, 1533-1658 A.D.

233. THE ENGLISH REFORMATION, 1533-1658 A.D.

The Reformation in Germany and Switzerland started as a national and popular movement; in England it began as the act of a despotic sovereign, Henry VIII. This second Tudor [17] was handsome, athletic, finely educated, and very able, but he was also selfish, sensual, and cruel. His father had created a strong monarchy in England by humbling both Parliament and the nobles. When Henry VIII came to the throne, the only serious obstacle in the way of royal absolutism was the Roman Church. [Illustrat

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234. THE PROTESTANT SECTS

234. THE PROTESTANT SECTS

The Reformation was practically completed before the close of the sixteenth century. In 1500 A.D. the Roman Church embraced all Europe west of Russia and the Balkan peninsula. By 1575 A.D. nearly half of its former subjects had renounced their allegiance. The greater part of Germany and Switzerland and all of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Holland, England, and Scotland became independent of the Papacy. The unity of western Christendom, which had been preserved throughout the Middle Ages, thus disappe

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235. THE CATHOLIC COUNTER REFORMATION

235. THE CATHOLIC COUNTER REFORMATION

The rapid spread of Protestantism soon brought about a Catholic Counter Reformation in those parts of Europe which remained faithful to Rome. The popes now turned from the cultivation of Renaissance art and literature to the defense of their threatened faith. They made needed changes in the papal court and appointed to ecclesiastical offices men distinguished for virtue and learning. This reform of the Papacy dates from the time of Paul III, who became pope in 1534 A.D. He opened the college of

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236. SPAIN UNDER PHILIP II, 1556-1598 A.D.

236. SPAIN UNDER PHILIP II, 1556-1598 A.D.

In 1555 A.D., the year of the Peace of Augsburg, [25] Charles V determined to abdicate his many crowns and seek the repose of a monastery. The plan was duly carried into effect. His brother Ferdinand I succeeded to the title of Holy Roman Emperor and the Austrian territories, while his son, Philip II, [26] received the Spanish possessions in Italy, the Netherlands, and America. There were now two branches of the Hapsburg family—one in Austria and one in Spain. The new king of Spain was a man of

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237. REVOLT OF THE NETHERLANDS

237. REVOLT OF THE NETHERLANDS

The seventeen provinces of the Netherlands occupied the flat, low country along the North Sea—the Holland, Belgium, and northern France of the present day. During the fifteenth century they became Hapsburg possessions and thus belonged to the Holy Roman Empire. As we have learned, Charles V received them as a part of his inheritance, and he, in turn, transmitted them to Philip II. The inhabitants of the Netherlands were not racially united. In the southernmost provinces Celtic blood and Romance

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238. ENGLAND UNDER ELIZABETH, 1558-1603 A.D.

238. ENGLAND UNDER ELIZABETH, 1558-1603 A.D.

Queen Elizabeth, who reigned over England during the period of the Dutch revolt, came to the throne when about twenty-five years old. She was tall and commanding in presence and endowed with great physical vigor and endurance. After hunting all day or dancing all night she could still attend unremittingly to public business. Elizabeth had received an excellent education; she spoke Latin and several modern languages; knew a little Greek; and displayed some skill in music. To her father, Henry VII

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239. THE HUGUENOT WARS IN FRANCE

239. THE HUGUENOT WARS IN FRANCE

By 1500 A.D. France had become a centralized state under a strong monarchy. [31] Francis I, who reigned in the first half of the sixteenth century, still further exalted the royal power. He had many wars with Charles V, whose extensive dominions nearly surrounded the French kingdom. These wars prevented the emperor from making France a mere dependency of Spain. As we have learned, [32] they also interfered with the efforts of Charles V to crush the Protestants in Germany. Protestantism in France

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240. THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR, 1618-1648 A.D.

240. THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR, 1618-1648 A.D.

The Peace of Augsburg [36] gave repose to Germany for more than sixty years, but it did not form a complete settlement of the religious question in that country. There was still room for bitter disputes, especially over the ownership of Church property which had been secularized in the course of the Reformation. Furthermore, the peace recognized only Roman Catholics and Lutherans and gave no rights whatever to the large body of Calvinists. The failure of Lutherans and Calvinists to cooperate wea

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. On an outline map indicate the European countries ruled by Charles V. 2. On an outline map indicate the principal territorial changes made by the Peace of Westphalia. 3. Identify the following dates: 1648 A.D.; 1519 A.D.; 1517 A.D.; 1588 A.D.; 1598 A.D.; and 1555 A.D. 4. Locate the following places: Avignon; Constance; Augsburg; Zurich; Worms; Magdeburg; and Utrecht. 5. For what were the following persons noted: Cardinal Wolsey; Admiral de Coligny; Duke of Alva; Richelieu; St. Ignatius Loyola

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241. THE DIVINE RIGHT OF KINGS

241. THE DIVINE RIGHT OF KINGS

Most European nations in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries accepted the principle of absolutism in government. Absolutism was as popular then as democracy is to-day. The rulers of France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Scandinavia, and other countries, having triumphed over the feudal nobles, proceeded to revive the autocratic traditions of imperial Rome. Like Diocletian, Constantine, and later emperors, they posed as absolute sovereigns, who held their power, not from the choice or consent of

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242. THE ABSOLUTISM OF LOUIS XIV, 1661-1715 A.D.

242. THE ABSOLUTISM OF LOUIS XIV, 1661-1715 A.D.

France in the seventeenth century furnished the best example of an absolute monarchy supported by pretensions to divine right. French absolutism owed most of all to Cardinal Richelieu, [5] the chief minister of Louis XIII. Though a man of poor physique and in weak health, he possessed such strength of will, together with such thorough understanding of politics, that he was able to dominate the king and through the king to govern France for eighteen years (1624-1642 A.D.). Richelieu's foreign pol

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243. FRANCE UNDER LOUIS XIV

243. FRANCE UNDER LOUIS XIV

No absolute ruler, however conscientious and painstaking, can shoulder the entire burden of government. Louis XIV necessarily had to rely very much on his ministers, of whom Colbert was the most eminent. Colbert, until his death in 1683 A.D., gave France the best administration it had ever known. His reforming hand was especially felt in the finances. He made many improvements in the methods of tax-collection and turned the annual deficit in the revenues into a surplus. One of Colbert's innovati

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244. THE WARS OF LOUIS XIV

244. THE WARS OF LOUIS XIV

How unwise it may be to concentrate all authority in the hands of one man is shown by the melancholy record of the wars of Louis XIV. To aggrandize France and gain fame for himself, Louis plunged his country into a series of struggles from which it emerged completely exhausted. Like Philip II, Louis dreamed of dominating all western Europe, but, as in Philip's case, his aggressions provoked against him a constantly increasing body of allies, who in the end proved too strong even for the king's a

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245. THE ABSOLUTISM OF THE STUARTS, 1603-1642 A.D.

245. THE ABSOLUTISM OF THE STUARTS, 1603-1642 A.D.

During the same century which saw the triumph of absolutism and divine right in France, a successful struggle took place in England against the unlimited power of kings. Absolutism in England dated from the time of the Tudors. Henry VII humbled the nobles, while Henry VIII and Elizabeth brought the Church into dependence on the crown. [17] These three sovereigns were strong and forceful, but they were also excellent rulers and popular with the influential middle class in town and country. The Tu

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246. OLIVER CROMWELL AND THE CIVIL WAR, 1642-1649 A.D.

246. OLIVER CROMWELL AND THE CIVIL WAR, 1642-1649 A.D.

Thus far, the Long Parliament had acted along the line of reformation rather than revolution. Had Charles been content to accept the new arrangements, there would have been little more trouble. But the proud and imperious king was only watching his chance to strike a blow at Parliament. Taking advantage of some differences in opinion among its members, Charles summoned his soldiers, marched to Westminister, and demanded the surrender of five leaders, including Pym and Hampden. Warned in time, th

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247. THE COMMONWEALTH AND THE PROTECTORATE, 1649-1660 A.D.

247. THE COMMONWEALTH AND THE PROTECTORATE, 1649-1660 A.D.

Shortly after the execution of Charles I the "Rump Parliament" abolished the House of Lords and the office of king. It named a Council of State, most of whose members were chosen from the House of Commons, to carry on the government. England now became a commonwealth, or national republic, the first in the history of the world. It is clear that this republic was the creation of a minority. The Anglicans, the Presbyterians, and the Roman Catholics were willing to restore the monarchy, but as long

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248. THE RESTORATION AND THE "GLORIOUS REVOLUTION," 1660-1689 A.D.

248. THE RESTORATION AND THE "GLORIOUS REVOLUTION," 1660-1689 A.D.

Charles II, on mounting the throne, pledged himself to maintain Magna Carta, the Petition of Right, and other statutes limiting the royal power. The people of England wished to be governed by the king, but they also wished that the king should govern by the advice of Parliament. Charles, less obstinate and more astute than his father, recognized this fact, and, when a conflict threatened with his ministers or Parliament, always avoided it by timely concessions. Whatever happened, he used to say,

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249. ENGLAND IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

249. ENGLAND IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

The population of England at the close of the seventeenth century exceeded five millions, of whom at least two-thirds lived in the country. Except for London there were only four towns of more than ten thousand inhabitants. London counted half a million people within its limits and had become the largest city in Europe. Town life still wore a medieval look, but the increase of wealth gradually introduced many new comforts and luxuries. Coal came into use instead of charcoal; tea, coffee, and cho

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STUDIES

STUDIES

1. Give dates for (a) Peace of Utrecht, (b) execution of Charles I, (c) the "Glorious Revolution," and (d) revocation of the Edict of Nantes. 2. For what were the following men notable: Pym; Bossuet; duke of Marlborough; Louvois; Hampden; Mazarin; William III; and Colbert? 3. Explain and illustrate the following terms: (a) balance of power; (b) budget system; (c) absolutism; (d) writ of habeas corpus ; (e) militarism; (f) "ship money," and (g) Star Chamber. 4. Compare the theory of the divine ri

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TABLE OF EVENTS AND DATES

TABLE OF EVENTS AND DATES

Before 1000 B.C., and in some instances even later, nearly all dates must be regarded as merely approximate. (Specially important dates are in italics) 3400 Menes, king of Egypt 3000-2500 The pyramid kings 2000 Hammurabi, king of Babylonia 1800-1600 Rule of the Hyksos in Egypt 1292-1225 Rameses II, king of Egypt 1035-925 The undivided Hebrew monarchy Saul, 1035-1015 David, 985-955 Solomon, 955-925 92

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