The End of the Old Empire

Introduction 

The Birth of Medieval Europe

Raphael: The Coronation of Charlemagne 1516-17

The Political structure of Europe 

The Forces that ran and controlled Europe grew out of a religious and secular alliance that was established in Rome around the 5th Century AD, out of the ashes of a crumbling Roman Empire. 

It was a very tumultuous period of time but finally it settled on one pivotal event. This was the crowning of the Frankish King Charlemagne the Great on Christmas day 800AD when Pope Leo III placed a crown on his head and declared him to be the Emperor of the new Roman Empire. 

No King of Europe would be recognised as such without the official Blessing of the Pope from this day on. The power of Church and State was absolute and this (un)Holy alliance would eventually eclipse its eastern Empire Rivals in Constantinople and dominate the entire norther Hemisphere.

The rebirth of Europe

By the end of the 3rd Century AD, the diminishing power of Roman Empire in Western Europe began to loosen its grip in Europe and also on the Italian Peninsular. By the 5th Century there was in Italy and Western Europe a power vacuum that the far flung Court of Constantinople could no longer effectively govern. 

Who would step into the breach and take control? 

Would it be the Barbarian Hordes pouring across the Rhine unopposed that would eventually consolidate themselves and rule the defenceless and abandoned Roman Provinces? Well to some extent this would be the case, but they could not do it alone. 

Into the Administrative and Political breach was the Leaders of the Christian Church. These leaders were after all Romans themselves and understood the workings of the Roman infrastructure. So as the power of the Senate shrank the political order of Roman government was adopted taken over by the Church Hierarchy. The head of the western Ecclesiastical authority was the Pope and he was based in the old Capital of Rome itself.  

The shift in control of the new Medieval Europe was best illustrated in a confrontation between a yet another group of invaders who threatened the peace of the Empire in 440 AD, this was a particularly savage and cruel invader, the Huns who hailed from Central Asia. Under their formidable leader Atilla they spread terror from from the Caucasus to Gaul. 

Verdi’s Attila at the San Francisco Opera 2012

Pope Leo and Atilla 

But it was in Italy that they were finally halted and did not progress beyond Normandy. As it turns out, it was no General or Emperor who made Attila turn back. It was the Bishop of Rome, Pope Leo 1, “The Great”. 

Leo had became Pope in 440 AD It was he that pushed for the ascendancy of the Pope of Rome over the other centres of Leadership. And what better event to further his cause than this meeting with the pagan invader, a risky business requiring daring and skilled diplomacy.

What in fact transpired is not fully known, but as Atilla approached, Leo hastened to the North and confronted the Hun on the River Mincio. How did the Pope persuade Atilla to abandon his campaign and leave? The details of the meeting are not known, but, as it so turned out, leave they did! 

Leo was certainly a man of vision and his dream of a Church controlled empire can be said to have been given the impetus it needed with this one Historic event. Not only that but the dream of centralised control of this revitalised  Empire certainly became a distinct possibility in the minds of the leaders of the Church of Rome 

The importance of this date is seen today in the celebrated depiction that records this event in one the The four Raphael Rooms, Stanza d’Eliodoro, in the Vatican Palace painted by Raphael in 1514. 

Raphael's The Meeting between Leo the Great and Attila depicts Leo, escorted by Saint Peter and Saint Paul, meeting with the Hun king outside Rome

The official End of Empire

For those who see dates and timelines as significant in the chronology of History, the Roman Empire was supposed to end officially in 476 when the Germanic Odoacer removed the last Western Roman Emperor Romulus Augustulus and declared himself King over Italy. 

The capitol of the Western Empire had not been Rome for quite some time,  it had been removed from Rome to Milan by Diocletian back in 286 AD and after it was besieged by the Visigoths in AD 402, Emperor Honorius transferred the capital of the Western Roman Empire from Milan to Ravenna. 

The Capital is moved to Ravenna 

The transfer was made partly for defensive purposes: Ravenna was surrounded by swamps and marshes, and was perceived to be easily defensible, it is also likely that the move to Ravenna was due to the city's port and good sea-borne connections to the Eastern Empire.

Ravenna 

The seat of the Roman Empire in the 5th century and then of Byzantine Italy until the 8th century. 

It has a unique collection of early Christian mosaics and monuments. All eight buildings – the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, the Neonian Baptistery, the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, the Arian Baptistery, the Archiepiscopal Chapel, the Mausoleum of Theodoric, the Church of San Vitale and the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe – were constructed in the 5th and 6th centuries. They show great artistic skill, including a wonderful blend of Graeco-Roman tradition, Christian iconography and oriental and Western styles.

The Byzantine Legacy

It is ironic that the remains of the Byzantine style in architecture and Art that was established in Constantinople is far more visible today in Ravenna. More so when one considers the establishment of the Empire in the east would have appeared far more permanent than the rapidly declining stability of the Italian peninsular at that time. Who would have predicted the fall of Constantinople, probably the most impregnable and fortified city of ancient times?

But not for a while this was to happen nearly a millennium later when eventually the Ottoman Turks would achieve this in 1453.

The Eastern half of the empire is cut off 

There was no longer any political rule over the West and in spite of several valiant efforts to regain control of Italy and the West, the Western side of the Roman empire had basically fallen into the hands of the Barbarian hordes it had for so many years been trying to keep out.

It was not a matter of some Barbarian Chieftain working his way down from the Rhine and marching into Rome. The Barbarian tribes had been mingling in and amongst the Romans for centuries. As the Italian army needed more and soldiers to patrol its enormous frontiers, Barbarian tribes made all kinds of treaties with the Romans. The Romans reasoned that the outer provinces could allow foreigners in and act as buffers against other more hostile tribes. So in exchange for land they were incorporated into the Roman army and often Barbarian leaders were able to work their way through the ranks to positions of great authority. 

A good example of this was Odoacer

He was of Skirian (East German) descent and a soldier in the Roman army who ascended through the ranks to general. After the mercenary general Orestes refused to grant him land in Italy his soldiers proclaimed Odoacer as their leader. 

The Roman senate, wanting to get rid of Orestes approved Odoacer's leadership and awarded him the honorary status of a patrician.  He proceeded to deal with the Usurper and his son, Romulus Augustulus installed by his father as his puppet. 

Instead of Odoacer claiming the status of Emperor for himself he obediently made overtures to Eastern Emperor Zeno (425-491) to recognise him officially as Emperor instead of re-instating the official ruler Julius Nepos, who had been usurped by Orestes. 

Perhaps recognising the strength and ability of Odoacer as a better option he was allowed to continue to rule, as a compromise Julius Nepos retained his title but was regarded as his Client and not allowed to return to Rome.

The Ostrogoth campaign

Byzantine costume 5th-6th Century AD

Odoacer ruled as King of Italy for 13 years, but in 489 Eastern Emperor Zeno began to sense a threat, sent the Ostrogoth King Theoderic the Great to re-take the Italian peninsula, thus deliberately turning one Hostile Barbarian against the other to divert them from threatening his capital. After losing the Battle of Verona, Odoacer retreated to Ravenna, where he withstood a siege of three years by Theoderic, until the taking of Rimini deprived Ravenna of supplies. 

Theoderic took Ravenna in 493, supposedly slew Odoacer with his own hands, and Ravenna became the capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy. 

Under Theodoric Ravenna enjoyed a great flowering of Byzantine Culture that was to reach its apogee later in the 6th Century under Justinian. 

The Acacian schism

During the reign of Pope Felix III  (Pope 483 - 492) a doctrinal dispute arose between eastern and western Churches which lasted thirty-five years, till 519. It resulted from a drift in the leaders of Eastern Christianity toward Miaphysitism, this was an argument over the deity of Jesus Christ and  his relationship with God the father whether he had one divine nature or two natures, divine and human as was held by the Chalcedonian creed, which was really a struggle to finalise the concept of the Trinity. 

The Emperor at Constantinople, Zeno's (was Eastern Roman Emperor from 474 to 475 and again from 476 to 491) Made an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the parties with the Henotikon this was rejected by Felix who excommunicated Acacias, patriarch of Constantinople.

Arianism vs Chalcedonian

The idea that since the time of Constantine there was this unified Empire under a common belief, is far from reality. In Constantinople itself there were many different ideas and disputes over the tenants of Christianity and various ideas and factions achieved the upper hand only to be refuted and some other faction would gain ascendancy later. 

Many of these came and went as Scholars and theologians grappled with finalising the main doctrines of the faith. One enormous dispute arose that seemed to completely polarise Christians into two camps. This was a result of the teachings of a certain Arius (circa 250 -336 AD).

He had risen in Church ranks and had become a Church leader (presbyter, elder) in Alexandria at a time when many of these doctrines of the Christian Church had not been ratified and were hotly debated. Arius became the namesake for  a particular point of view concerned with the Deity of Christ. 

In essence he taught that Christ was not equal to God the father and was a created being, this was in opposition to the ‘Chalcedonian’  concept of God the father, the son and the Holy Spirit all being equal in the Godhead and the basis for the teaching of the Trinity. 

This had become such a problem that as a matter of grave concern  Constantine personally called all Church Leaders to gather together to the city of Nicea (on the mainland of Asia Minor what is today the Turkish city of İznik)  in order to resolve the conflict. This was the primary reason for the council of Nicea in 325 AD. 

It was then decided at the council that the trinitarian concept or Chalcedonian* view, as it became know as later, was the true orthodox position and the teachings of Arius were regarded as heretical. ‘Arianism’ as it came to be called, however, still proliferated. 

Pagan Barbarians became converted to Arianism

It would be reasonable to assume the Barbarians believed primarily in their Teutonic Gods with their accompanying mythology as well as their various pagan superstitions. In contrast the Romans had by and large accepted Christianity as the official religion of the empire.

But in fact the picture we are presented with is quite different…..

The teachings of Arius gained support and then were refuted only rise up again, for example Constantine’s successor, Constantius II (Emperor from 337 to 361), was an Arian sympathiser. Emperor Valens was also inclined towards Arianism, later, emperor Theodosius I took steps against Arianism and at the Second Ecumenical Council in 381, the Nicene Creed was reaffirmed. 

It was during the reign of Constantius II, that a Barbarian convert Ulfilas was consecrated a bishop by Eusebius of Nicomedia, who apparently had Arian sympathies, he then sent Ulfilas on a mission to convert his own people. Therefore when he preached the gospel to the Barbarians they accepted Arianism as the true orthodox faith. It was Arianism that then took hold in the Gothic and Vandal Barbarians and subsequently became their official religion  in North Africa, Spain and Portions of Italy. So the invaders of Italy from at least the 4th Century AD were in fact by and large Christian Arian converts. 

Odoacer was an example of a Barbarian leader who had been converted to Arian Christianity 

Justinian became eastern Roman Emperor from 527 - 565

Justinian is remembered today as is his equally famous wife Theodora, as the most famous and successful of the eastern Emperors. This ambitious ruler had decided to wrest the empire back from the Ostrogoths and re-unite the Eastern Empire with the West. Under his famous General Belisarius he invaded Italy in 540 AD and was able to restore much of the Ostrogothic kingdom after more than half a century of rule.  

The Mosaic of Justinian and Theodore in the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna
The church was begun by Bishop Ecclesius in 526, when Ravenna was under the rule of the Ostrogoths and completed by the 27th Bishop of Ravenna, Maximian, in 547.

Rome now ruled by the Ostrogoths.

These converted barbarians eventually set up various Kingdoms in the Italian Peninsular.

 The old Roman Senate long since stripped of wider powers, continued to administer Rome itself, with the Pope usually coming from a senatorial family. 

The Ostrogoths had become assimilated into Roman culture and ruled as the previous Roman s before them. This all came to an end however in the reign of Amalasuntha, a queen of the Ostrogoths from 526 to 534. She was the youngest daughter of Theoderic the Great, and pro-imperial Gothic queen, she had strong political connections to the court of Justinian in Constantinople was highly educated and spoke three languages, latin Greek and Gothic. 

Her husband had died young and she ruled as Empress. She intended instating Theodahad, her cousin, as her co-ruler a political move  to strengthen her position. However his loyalty was to the Ostrogoth faction that wanted independence from the Emperor of Constantinople. 

Belisarius 

Belisarius Begging for Alms - Jacques Luois David 1781

Theodahad then usurped the throne in 535 AD and had Amalasuntha imprisoned and then murdered. The Eastern Roman emperor, Justinian I (reigned 527–565), used this as a pretext to send forces to Italy under his famed general Belisarius, recapturing the city next year. The Ostrogoths were taken by surprise at the occupation of Rome and speedily deposed Theodahad replacing him with a warrior named Witigis. He bribed the Franks with a promise of land and they swept down to besiege Rome. After an extremely debilitating year long seige,the Byzantines managed to hold on to the city, after liberating Rome he moved north and eventually took Ravenna. Witigis was captured at Ravenna and imprisoned and so the Goths elected a successor a brilliant General and leader, Totila. 

The Legend of Belisarius

Belisarius ended his military career in 559 but in the intrigues and paranoia of court affairs, he was implicated on a charge of corruption in 562
This may well have been trumped up by rival factions and also ,the court proceedings were presided over by Procopius who judging from his "secrete Lives" in which he describes Belisarius as a weak character who was constantly cheated on by his debauched wife Antonina. 
In the Middle ages a legend arose about Belisarius, Justinian had ordered him to be blinded and reduced to the state of a homeless beggar before eventually being pardoned. 

The most famous depiction of this is Jacque Louis David's depiction of "Belisarius Begging for Alms" in  1781, by now this was a famous account which totally eclipsed the actual facts of Belisarius's Life. The tragic Deposition of the noble soldier at the hands of a callous elite was a perfect theme for the Jacobin insurrection in the French Revolution.   

Ostrogoths retake Rome.

But in 546 the Ostrogoths rallied and took Rome under their new leader Totila. This is another key date, Totila apparently found on 500 souls alive in Rome and expelled even these leaving Rome a desolate ruin. Belisaurius was able to enter the abandoned city and repair its defences and in 547 he endured another siege, but in 549 Totila acquired it for a second time. 

Belisarius was replaced by Narses, who captured Rome from the Ostrogoths for good in 552, ending the so-called Gothic Wars which had devastated much of Italy. 

The Decline of Rome

The continual war around Rome in the 530s and 540s left it in a state of total disrepair — near-abandoned and desolate with much of its lower-lying parts turned into unhealthy marshes as the drainage systems were neglected and the Tiber's embankments fell into disrepair in the course of the latter half of the 6th century. Here, malaria developed. The aqueducts were never repaired, leading to a shrinking population of less than 50,000 concentrated near the Tiber and around the Campus Martius, abandoning those districts without water supply.

Rome was a depopulated ruin in the 5th Century AD it would take a millenium to rebuild it anywhere near its former Glories
Engraving By Pirenesi who specialised in architectural studies of Roman Ruins in the 18th C

The Beginnings of the Modern Papacy

After the wars, Justinian attempted to re-establish the Roman government in Rome.The Senate was theoretically restored under the supervision of the urban prefect and other officials appointed by, and responsible to, the Byzantine authorities in Ravenna.

However, it was the Pope who by now was one of the leading religious figures in the entire Byzantine Empire and effectively more powerful locally than either the remaining senators or local Byzantine officials. local power in Rome devolved to the Pope and, over the next few decades, both much of the remaining possessions of the senatorial aristocracy and the local Byzantine administration in Rome were absorbed by the Church.

The Lombards

The kingdom of Lombardy was to last 200 years and the region they controlled in Italy still bears this name today.

586 AD Yet another Barbarian invasion, 

the Lombards who left an indelible stamp on Italy’s history. The kingdom of Lombardy was to last 200 years and the region they controlled in Italy still bears this name today. In this period Italy no longer had one capital, but three, Pavia of the Lombards, Ravenna of the Byzantines and the ailing Rome, the domain of the Popes. 

Emperor Constans and the Pantheon

663 AD After the excesses of the war, Rome was visited by further indignities when the Emperor Constans II entered into Rome 306 years after the last Byzantine King, to mark the occasion he brazenly helped himself to the last remnants of the gilded bronze coverings over which the the ancient monuments, including the Pantheon, were decorated. Totally ignoring the declaration of the Pantheon as a Christian church by Pope Boniface, more than 50 years before.  

Pope Gregory 1

The Papacy, in the form and structure we can still see today really begins with Gregory. 

St Gregory and the Dove

The Legend of Pope Gregory

In Art Gregory is commonly depicted in the presence of a Dove which is an obvious reference to Story of Christ's Baptism. This is another well known apocryphal story which would have been a kind authentication of Gregory's divine appointment as Pope. 
The Story goes, he was busy dictating to his scribe, in those times for reasons unclear there was a curtain between the narrator and the scribe. The pope remained silent for long periods at a time, the servant became curious and made a hole in the curtain in order to see what Gregory was doing,  he the saw a dove sitting on Gregory's head with its beak between his lips. When the dove withdrew its beak the pope spoke and the secretary took down his words; but when he became silent the servant again applied his eye to the hole and saw the dove had replaced its beak between his lips. (Catholic Encyclopedia) 


Gregory was ruler of the Holy See from 590 to 604, he was originally from an aristocratic family and had became prefect of the city in 579 AD. But he became a monk and founded several monasteries out of his own families funds. He was sent to Constantinople and the Pope’s envoy and gained much knowledge and insight to the workings  of Byzantine  religion and politics. He became Abbott of his monastery upon his return and became the logical successor to the Papal crown in 590 AD.

Realising the Lombards were going to stay, Pope Gregory of Rome realised he needed to make peace with the invaders. Now Rome had an emperor, but it is clear where the true political power lay, since pious supporters had already shown their support of the Pope with not only money but also with land. So it is during his reign the accumulation of the independently owned ‘Papal States’ began. 

It was Gregory who in yet another apocryphal account who enquired about some blond captives being sold in the market place in Rome, he was told they had come from Britannica and they were Barbarian Angels. Immediately, it is told, he exclaimed. . .

 ‘Not Angles, but Angels. 

 subsequently  he dispatched St Augustine to Britannica to convert the English.  

19th century mosaic in Westminster Cathedral, Non Angli sed Angeli

Episcopal see

An episcopal see is, in the usual meaning of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. These would have been restricted to a central authority for the Christian Church but from the beginning of the 5th Century these would become areas of Poltical as well as religious control. These areas were synonymous with the old Roman Provinces called Diocese.

These were areas of Jurisdiction In later Roman times, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated in a larger unit, the diocese (Latin dioecesis). 

With the adoption of Christianity as the Empire's official religion in the 4th century, the clergy assumed official positions of authority alongside the civil governors. A formal church hierarchy was set up, parallel to the civil administration, whose areas of responsibility often coincided.

The word "see" is derived from Latin sedes, which in its original or proper sense denotes the seat or chair that, in the case of a bishop, is the earliest symbol of the bishop's authority.

This symbolic chair is also known as the bishop's cathedra, and is placed in the diocese principal church, which for that reason is called the bishop's cathedral, from Latin ecclesia cathedralis, meaning the church of the cathedra. The word "throne" is also used, especially in the Eastern Orthodox Church, both for the seat and for the area of ecclesiastical jurisdiction.

 (The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church  - Oxford University Press 2005, ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3)

Next: The Conversion of Pagan Britain 

But the English had already by and large, been converted.
In Britain there already existed quite an active Celtic church.


Which owed no allegiance to Rome. 

However, All that was about to Change.