THE COLLAPSE OF ROMAN POWER IN THE WEST
| beg. in 3rd C. | Roman aristocrats increasingly shun cities and urban officeholding and retreat to rural villas with private armies; aristocracy and power shift from urban-centered to rural-centered; by 5th century, towns in decline in the West |
| c. 375-600 | Germanic migrations/invasions into Western Europe |
| 391 | Theodosius I makes Christianity the Roman state religion |
| 395 | Death of Theodosius I; empire divided between his two sons: map |
| 410 | Visigoths sack Rome |
| d. 419 | St. Jerome (Vulgate Bible) |
| d. 430 | St. Augustine of Hippo (City of God; Confessions) |
| 452 | Attila and Huns threaten Rome; Pope Leo I persuades them to leave |
| 455 | Vandals sack Rome |
| 476 | Odovacar deposes Western Emperor Romulus Augustulus; = end of Western Empire |
| 452-511 | Clovis establishes Merovingian dynasty of Franks |
| 493-526 | Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, defeats Odovacer and establishes Ostrogothic kingdom in N. Italy |
Important source for our knowledge of the early Germanic tribes: Tacitus, Germania (AD 98)
Click here to see “Tollund Man,” an Iron Age body discovered in a Danish peat bog in the 1950s. (Tollund Man had been hanged, perhaps as a sacrifice.)
[Note: References to “corn” in Tacitus and in other ancient or medieval texts mean “grain“, not maize (sweet corn). Maize is a New World crop, and was unknown in Europe before the 16th century.]
Features of early Germanic culture include:
- No writing
- No cities
- Importance of kinship ties
- Warfare and blood-feuds common; personal feuds could be settled by payment of wergild (“man-price”) to victim or victim’s kin
- In legal disputes, guilt or innocence was established through divine judgment by two methods: compurgation (a declaration of innocence by high-ranking defendants and their oath-helpers)
- ordeal (a physical test, used for low-ranking defendants)
- Importance of gift-giving and loyalty between war-leader and his warriors
- Elective element in selection of king
THURSDAY:
THE GERMANIC KINGDOMS
Videos:
Sutton Hoo ship burial (1:32 min.):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxUMc_7K5wMIn Focus: Sutton Hoo (4:21 min.):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np0pD1wW_BoThe Franks (13:37 min.):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXLyrmd34WISome important Germanic tribes and their activities:
HUNS
c. 375 Destroy Gothic kingdom in S. Russia 441-453 Attila attacks Roman Empire (threatens Rome, 452) 476-493 Odovacar deposes last W. Emperor; uses Ravenna as capital; is killed by Theodoric the Ostrogoth OSTROGOTHS
375-379 Flee Huns; settle in Pannonia (N. Yugoslavia, now Slovenia and Bosnia) 493-526 Theodoric the Great establishes kingdom in N. Italy, with capital at Ravenna; Arian Ostrogoths segregated from orthodox Italians. Important sources, by senior officials of Theodoric’s court:- Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy
- Cassiodorus, royal correspondence and History of the Goths
Click on the hot links below for photographs of some of Theodoric the Great’s buildings in Ravenna:- Map of Italy showing Ravenna
- The Arian Baptistry
- Mosaics from the church of Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo (built under Theodoric, some alterations under Byzantines, c. 560), including detail of
- Theodoric’s palace
- Theodoric’s tomb
533-553 Gothic War: Ostrogothic kingdom destroyed by Byzantines (E. Romans) VISIGOTHS
375-378 Flee Huns; move westward into Roman Empire 410 Sack Rome (under Alaric) early 5th C. Establish kingdom in S. France later 5th C. Important source: letters of Sidonius Apollinaris (c. 431-489) late 5th C. Pushed out by Clovis the Frank; establish new kingdom in Spain; convert from Arianism to orthodox Christianity
Click here for photograph of a votive crown of King Reccesuinth (d. 672)
711 Visigothic kingdom in Spain destroyed by Arabs VANDALS
early 5th C. Cross Rhine River, Gaul (France), and Spain, and establish kingdom in N. Africa with capital at Carthage 455 Sack Rome (under Geiseric) 534-5 N. African Vandal kingdom destroyed by Byzantines (E. Romans) BURGUNDIANS
448 Establish kingdom near French Alps 516 Convert to orthodox Christianity 534 Burgundian kingdom destroyed by Franks FRANKS
5th C. Move into Gaul (France) 482-511 Clovis (Chlodovech) establishes Merovingian royal dynasty (named for his grandfather, Merovech), which lasts until 750s; converts from paganism to orthodoxy Christianity; capital = Paris late 6th C. Important source: Gregory, bishop of Tours, History of the Franks Click here for photographs of Frankish art and artifacts- Childeric’s sword-hilt and scabbard (father of Clovis, died late 5th cent.)
- two fibulas (brooches) from a princess’s grave (early 6th cent.)
- jewelry and sarcophogus and skeleton and remains of clothing of Queen Arnegundis (d. c. 580; buried at St-Denis), and linen tunic with embroidered “jewelry” from grave of Queen Bathildis (d. 680; buried at Chelles Abbey, which she founded)
LOMBARDS
568 Establish kingdom in N. Italy (after destruction of Ostrogoths by Byzantines) by mid 7th C. Convert to orthodox Christianity 751 Capture Ravenna from Byzantines 774 Destroyed by Charlemagne the Frank ANGLES, SAXONS, AND JUTES
c. 410 Roman army leaves Britain c. 450-525 Angles, Saxons, and Jutes invade Britain by 590s Former Roman province of Britannia is known as England (“Angle-land”) Click here for some photographs of the excavation at Sutton Hoo (1939):Some important primary sources for the Germanic invasions and migrations include:
Gregory, bishop of Tours (d. 594), History of the Franks: on Clovis, king of the Franks (d. 511)
Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths (d. 526): correspondence (written by his secretary, Cassiodorus)
The Venerable Bede (d. 735; his tomb in Durham Cathedral survives), Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Chapter 15: The coming of the Anglo-Saxons to Britain
