The Roots of Europe

1
The Roots of Europe
2
Introduction

• This course is in modern European history, but
  Western history did not begin in 1500. It goes
  back thousands of years.
• Todays class looks at the roots of Western
  history, at the ideas that played an important
  part in its development.
• How there came to be a "West". 

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Chronology and Periodization

• "Classical", "Medieval", "Early Modern", and "
  Modern".
• has much to do with type of sources that survive
• also generally from elite view point 

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Egypt and Mesopotamia

• Egypt - c. 4000 BCLongest continuous
  civilizationReligion, Architecture, Math
• Mesopotamia - also c. 4000 BC - in IraqSumeria,
  Babylonia, Assyria-Writing-Numbers - use of
  base 12 - in time-Astronomy and Astrology
• E and M influence the west through the Greeks and
  Jews

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The People of Israel

• The Jews are the only ancient people still
  around. One does not often meet Hittites or Goths
  in the street, but the Jews are still here.
• They absorbed a lot from Egypt and Mesoptamia
  (the creation, flood stories)
• But one massive contribution- Monotheism - Unity
  of culture and ethics

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The People of Israel

• Also a belief in history - that we are going
  somewhere. This is a contrast with the more
  cyclic views of the East, and of the Egyptians.
• Jews wrote most of the Bible Most read book in
  the world - parts are at least 3000 years
  old.The Bible is one of the chief sources of
  western cultureThese IDEAS pass into
  Christianity and Islam.

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Greece

• The other major source of Western IDEAS.Ideas
  more important heritage than details of its
  history. Ideas survived in literature and art
• From around 750BC- Homer The Iliad and The
  Odyssey
• The idea of ORDERED COSMOS - vital in Western
  ideas about science and God.
• Diffusion of writing - for everyone not just the
  clergy.

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Greeks

• Thales of Miletus - asked for the first time what
  the world was made of. SCIENCE
• Athens - The People, Democracy, natural art,
• Socrates People as morally autonomous,
• Plato - Asked most of the Philosophical
  Questions- how do we know what we know?
• Aristotle - Introduces observation into science.

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Greeks

• Note Greeks did not know about the Jews Jews
  did know about the Greeks.
• Until Alexander the Great - c. 300BC. Conquers
  the whole Eastern Mediterranean. Greek ideas, and
  the Greek language dominate the area.

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Rome A Western City

• From around 300BC it began to grow in importance.
  Within 300 years it had unified the Mediterranean
  into one state.
• All elites spoke Latin and/or Greek
• Intellectually Rome was dominated by Greece, but
  its genius was in Government, law and war.
• Roman Law is still the basis of Law, via
  Napoleon, in most of Europe. US law derives from
  English Law, but that also is influenced by Rome.
• The ideal of Unity and the Universal state has
  been important in Western history ever since.

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Christianity

• Jesus of Nazareth. Lived c.6BC-33AD. Founder of
  Christianity.
• St. Paul, A Greek-speaking Jew and main apostle
  of the Faith. United Jewish and Greek ideas in
  Christianity.
• Christianity becomes main religion of
  Mediterranean area by 400.
• The most Christian areas are probably Egypt and
  Anatolia.

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Breakup of Classical World

• ByzantiumThe Roman Empire in the East continued,
  based in Constantinople. 
• It was Christian and Roman and Greek. It was the
  most obvious heir to the culture of the Classical
  world.
• The Byzantine Empire lasts until 1453.Its
  culture still dominates Eastern Europe and
  Russia, through Orthodoxy.

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Breakup of the Classical World

• IslamIslam was the religion of Arab townsmen.
  Led by Mohammad (d. c. 640, Hijira 622). They
  swept out of the Arabian peninsula. Eventually
  took control of all North Africa, Egypt, Anatolia
  (under the Turks) and for a time Spain.
• Islam also is an heir to Classical civilization.
  It also learned math from Mesopotamia, Philosophy
  from the Greeks and Monotheism from the Jews.
• For almost a thousand years Muslims were by all
  objective standards more advanced than Western
  Europe.

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Breakup of the Classical World

• Latin Christendom- Finally, what was left was
  dominated by Barbarians. France, Spain, Italy,
  Britain, Germany.
• The least developed of the three cultures that
  succeeded the classical world.
• It was dominated increasingly also by the Church
  of Rome. It was a Latin reading and speaking
  world. i.e "Latin Christendom." 
• This area was to become the West. 

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The Western Middle Ages

• From around 600 to 1000 AD conditions were fairly
  bleak. 
• Around 800 was Charlemagne.Most people lived on
  the land, subsistence farming.No towns larger
  than about 10,000 - at the most.

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Latin Christendom Awakes

• Politically States begin to pull themselves
  together,England, France, Germany (for a time)-
  Concept of Kingship and what a king should be/do
  develops.
• Crusades - Westerners attack both Byzantium and
  Islam in order to conquer Jerusalem. They succeed
  for a time.-Architecture develops.
• Intellectual Life - great writers like St.
  Thomas Aquinas (13th. C.)
• Christianity becomes more like it is
  today.Devotion to Mary, Mass, Development of all
  the religious orders.

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Latin Christendom Awakes

• Art and Music - We can now trace direct lines
  from then to now.
• Economically - From around 1050 a Commercial
  revolution. In the earlier period money had
  largely disappeared. Now it becomes important
  again and trade starts up in local areas and
  between far distant areas.
• In short the West begins to have notion of
  itself. The notion is called Christendom, but
  develops into the idea of Europe.
• In the Middle Ages we have the origin of a
  specifically Western civilization, based not on
  the Mediterranean, but the Western lands of the
  entire Continent.

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The Renaissance

• Period from late 14th, early 15th Century (1300s
  and 1400s)- a new emphasis, spurred by
  examination of Classical past but also by
  internal European developments, created an
  artistic and intellectual ferment first in Italy
  and then in the rest of Europe.
• Renaissance thought stressed Classicism,
  Individualism, Humanism - belief in no limits to
  human accomplishment. This, rather than more
  medieval ideas, was the precursor to modern ways
  of thinking.
• Humanism - A. Erasmus of Rotterdam - Version of
  Bible in Greek attacked superstition B. Thomas
  More - Humanism in EnglandC. Calvin - first
  serious writing in FrenchD. Printing Invented -
  led to great changes as information could be
  spread much more easily - Johannes Gutenberg 1468

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Religious Thought Reformation and
Counter-Reformation

• The Reformation was another great development at
  the late Middle Ages/Early Modern period.
• Religion united both the intellectual elite and
  the people. Ways of thinking were not scientific
  for many - their  pre-occupation was with God and
  especially Salvation (getting to heaven). The
  thinkers we shall be examining as creators of the
  modern world lived in this background.
• Importance of Reformation was it split Europe
  into two ideological groups. This in fact allowed
  new ideas to develop and have a chance to become
  widespread.

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The Reformation (early 16th Cen.)

• Martin Luther (1483-1546)Began challenge to Rome
  in 1517.His main concern was with personal
  salvation-Justification (setting right before
  God), was the most important thing for him.
• -But it is important to note another aspect of
  the Lutheran Reformation - the very great respect
  it gave to the state. In effect Lutheranism
  allowed a separate morality for individuals and
  the State. This had big effects in European
  history.

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Reformation

• John Calvin (1509-64)Advanced the Reformation in
  French speaking areas.-Most of his thought is
  implicit in Luther, but Calvin was more rigorous.
  He had the doctrine of predestination to
  salvation or damnation. The saved (the Elect)
  were a major part of his thought. (Came from his
  experience as a preacher - why did some not
  believe). 
• -Note importance of notion of the Elect. It made
  Calvinists Political in a way Lutherans were not
  They felt able to reject the state - led to
  religious wars in short term - but the is also
  important in revolutionary thought. Calvinists
  often felt themselves to be justified - gave
  confidence to Calvinist entrepreneurs.

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The Counter Reformation

• Catholic Church reformed itself
• Council of Trent (1545-63). This re-established
  Catholic norms. It even cleared up previously
  undefined areas. It was very anti-protestant.
• The Jesuits Action takers, leaders of the
  Church. Insisted on intellectual rigor. Became
  missionaries, teachers.

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Effects of Renaissance Reformation

• The Counter Reformation made Catholic countries
  firm in their Catholicism - and made it
  impossible, or very hard, for non-believers to
  live there.
• Secondly it was much harder to express new
  opinions and ideas in Catholic Countries (France
  was different - the French Church -the Gallican
  Church - was under royal control - some liberty
  of thought allowed)
• So most of the new ideas that made modern world
  grew up in Protestant countries and France (Value
  of diversity of states in Europe)

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The Thirty Years War and 1648

• There were a lot of religious conflicts in Europe
  for almost 150 years after Luther. These were
  major wars that tore countries apart - The Holy
  Roman Empire was divided, France was rocked by
  wars between Catholics and Calvinists.
• Religion was not the only factor, often not even
  the major one. Many states came close to
  destruction, and one, Poland, disappeared.
• There was a large scale general European war from
  1618-1648. (Thirty Years War) Ended with Treaty
  of Westphalia 1648. Pope not invited.
• In Europe - a general feeling that religion
  should be removed from politics. The 18th century
  was to be much less religious.It is at this
  point we can start modern history.

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Continuity of Old Ideas

• There was an entirely different world view for
  people in late middles ages, plus 15th Century -
  also note that these ideas persisted a long time
  - alongside more modern ones ex modern
  newspaper astrologers.It was hard to break out
  of this view of the world - Great intellects had
  built it up and it took enormous breadth of
  knowledge imagination to change it. The changing
  of the Scientific world view, was the single most
  characteristic change that led to a modern world
  view.
• We have been discussing the world that people
  lived in at the start of the modern era. Many of
  theses ideas we have been discussing continued
  long after the revolutions in European life. One
  of these was the Divine Right of Kings. Lead into
  Absolutism - to be covered in our class.