EARLY EUROPEAN HISTORY

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THE MARTYRS

The Christians joyfully suffered for their religion. They welcomed the
torture and death which would gain for them a heavenly crown. Those who
perished were called martyrs, that is, "witnesses." Even now the festal
day of a martyr is the day of his death.

[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE CATACOMBS
The catacombs of Rome are underground cemeteries in which the Christians
buried their dead. The bodies were laid in recesses in the walls of the
galleries or underneath the pavement. Several tiers of galleries (in one
instance as many as seven) lie one below the other. Their total length has
been estimated at no less than six hundred miles. The illustration shows a
small chamber, or cubiculum. The graves have been opened and the bodies
taken away.]

80. TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY

CHRISTIANITY BECOMES A TOLERATED RELIGION

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 toleration. It
gave absolute freedom to every man to choose and follow the religion which
he deemed best suited to his needs. This edict placed the Christian faith
on an equality with paganism.

CONSTANTINE'S CONVERSION

The conversion of Constantine is one of the most important events in
ancient history. A Roman emperor, himself a god to the subjects of Rome,
became the worshiper of a crucified provincial of his empire. Constantine
favored the Christians throughput his reign. He surrounded himself with
Christian bishops, freed the clergy from taxation, and spent large sums in
building churches. One of his laws abolished the use of the cross as an
instrument of punishment. Another enactment required that magistrates,
city people, and artisans were to rest on Sunday. This was the first
"Sunday law." [23]

[Illustration: THE LABARUM
The sacred military standard of the early Christian Roman emperors. First
adopted by Constantine. It consisted of a staff or lance with a purple
banner on a cross-bar. The two Greek letters XP (CHR) make a monogram of
the word Christ (Greek _Christos_).]

CHURCH COUNCIL AT NICAEA, 325 A.D.

Significant of the emperor's attitude toward Christianity was his action
in summoning all the bishops in the different provinces to a gathering at
Nicaea in Asia Minor. It was the first general council of the Church. The
principal work of the Council of Nicaea was the settlement of a great
dispute which had arisen over the nature of Christ. Some theologians
headed by Arius, a priest of Alexandria, maintained that Christ the Son,
having been created by God the Father, was necessarily inferior to him
Athanasius, another Alexandrian priest, opposed this view and held that
Christ was not a created being, but was in all ways equal to God. The
Council accepted the arguments of Athanasius, condemned Arius as a
heretic, and framed the Nicene Creed, which is still the accepted summary
of Christian doctrine. Though thrust out of the Church, Arianism lived to
flourish anew among the Germanic tribes, of which the majority were
converted to Christianity by Arian missionaries.

[Illustration: ARCH OF CONSTANTINE
Erected at Rome in 315 A.D. to commemorate the victory of Constantine over
Maxentius. The monument consists of a central gateway and two smaller
arches flanked by detached columns in the Corinthian style. The arch is
decorated with four large statues in front of the upper story and also
with numerous sculptures in relief.]

CHRISTIANITY BECOMES THE STATE RELIGION UNDER THEODOSIUS, 379-395 A.D.

The recognition given to Christianity by Constantine helped immensely to
spread the new faith. The emperor Theodosius, whose services to the church
won him the title of "the Great," made Christianity the state religion.
Sacrifices to the pagan gods were forbidden, the temples were closed, and
their property was taken away. Those strongholds of the old paganism, the
Delphic oracle, the Olympian games, and the Eleusinian mysteries, were
abolished. Even the private worship of the household Lares and Penates
[24] was prohibited. Though paganism lingered for a century or more in the
country districts, it became extinct as a state religion by the end of the
fourth century.

[Illustration: Map, THE GROWTH OF CHRISTIANITY TO THE END OF THE FOURTH
CENTURY.]

81. CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE ON SOCIETY

MORAL TEACHINGS OF CHRISTIANITY

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 with the improvement of ancient morals.

SOCIAL TEACHINGS OF CHRISTIANITY

Perhaps even more original contributions of Christianity to civilization
lay in its social teachings. The belief in the fatherhood of God implied a
corresponding belief in the brotherhood of man. This doctrine of the
equality of men had been expressed before by ancient philosophers, but
Christianity translated the precept into practice. In this way it helped
to improve the condition of slaves and, by favoring emancipation, even
tended to decrease slavery. [27] Christianity also laid much emphasis on
the virtue of charity and the duty of supporting all institutions which
aimed to relieve the lot of the poor, the sick, and the downtrodden.

CHRISTIANITY AND THE GERMANS

At the close of the fourth century the Germanic tribes living nearest the
frontiers had been visited by missionaries and had become converts to
Christianity. The fact that both Romans and Germans were Christians tended
to lessen the terrors of the invasions and to bring about a peaceful
fusion of the conquerors and the conquered.

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 European country under a centralized administration; of a European
country under an absolute government.

6. What are the advantages of local self-government over a centralized
government?

7. "The emperor of the first century was a _Prince_, that is, 'first
citizen'; the emperor of the fourth century was a _Sultan_." Comment on
this statement.

8. What arguments might have been made for and against the removal of the
capital to Constantinople?

9. Enumerate the causes of the decline of population in imperial times.

10. Show how an unwise system of taxation may work great economic injury.

11. Give reasons for the decline of Greek and Roman paganism.

12. Why should Mithraism have proved "the most formidable foe which
Christianity had to overcome"?

13. Were any of the ancient religions missionary faiths?

14. When and where was Jesus born? Who was king of Judea at the time? Were
the Jews independent of Rome during the lifetime of Jesus?

15. Locate on the map, facing page 230, the three divisions of Palestine
at the time of Christ.

16. To what cities of Asia Minor did Paul write his epistles, or letters?
To what other cities in the Roman Empire?

17. What was the original meaning of the words "presbyter," "bishop," and
"deacon"?

18. What is meant by calling the Church an episcopal organization?

19. How can you explain the persecution of the Christians by an emperor so
great and good as Marcus Aurelius?

20. What is the meaning of the word "martyr"?

21. "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church." Explain.

22. Describe the _Labarum_ (illustration, page 235).

23. What reasons suggest themselves as helping to explain the conversion
of the civilized world to Christianity?

FOOTNOTES

[1] See page 200.

[2] See pages 184, 194.

[3] Vopiscus, _Saturninus_, 10.

[4] The number and arrangement of these divisions varied somewhat during
the fourth century. See the map, between pages 222-223, for the system as
it existed about 395 A.D.

[5] See page 186.

[6] See page 88.

[7] See the map, page 340.

[8] Until the capture of the city by the Ottoman Turks in 1453 A.D.

[9] See pages 200, 219.

[10] See page 77.

[11] See page 196.

[12] See page 201.

[13] See the map, page 107.

[14] Isocrates, _Panegyricus_, 29.

[15] See page 54.

[16] _Soli Invicto Mithrae._ An interesting survival of Mithra worship is
the date of our festival of Christmas. The 25th of December was the day of
the great annual celebration in memory of the Persian deity. In 274 A.D.
the emperor Aurelian raised a gorgeous temple to the sun god in the Campus
Martius, dedicating it on the 25th of December, "the birthday of the
Unconquerable Sun." After the triumph of Christianity the day was still
honored, but henceforth as the anniversary of the birth of Christ.

[17] The exact date of the crucifixion is unknown. It took place during
the reign of Tiberius, when Pontius Pilatus was procurator of Judea.

[18] Tertullian, _Apology_, 37.

[19] See page 199, note 1.

[20] The meeting was called _ecclesia_ from the Greek word for "popular
assembly." Hence comes our word "ecclesiastical."

[21] Whence the word "priest."

[22] The word "bishop" comes from the Greek _episkopos_ and means,
literally, an "overseer."

[23] It is highly doubtful, however, whether this legislation had any
reference to Christianity. More probably, Constantine was only adding the
day of the Sun, the worship of which was then firmly established in the
empire (see page 229, note 1) to the other holy days of the Roman
calendar.

[24] See page 146.

[25] See page 253.

[26] See page 267.

[27] See page 270.

CHAPTER XI

THE GERMANS TO 476 A.D. [1]

82. GERMANY AND THE GERMANS

PHYSICAL FEATURES OF GERMANY

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 such a
region everything was opposed to civilization. Hence the Germans, though a
gifted race, had not advanced as rapidly as the Greek and Italian peoples.

THE GERMANS DESCRIBED BY THE ROMANS

Our earliest notice of the Germans is found in the _Commentaries_ by
Julius Caesar, who twice invaded their country. About a century and a half
later the Roman historian, Tacitus, wrote a little book called Germany,
which gives an account of the people as they were before coming under the
influence of Rome and Christianity. Tacitus describes the Germans as
barbarians with many of the usual marks of barbarism. He speaks of their
giant size, their fierce, blue eyes, and their blonde or ruddy hair. These
physical traits made them seem especially terrible to the smaller and
darker Romans. He mentions their love of warfare, the fury of their onset
in battle, and the contempt which they had for wounds and even death
itself. When not fighting, they passed much of their time in the chase,
and still more time in sleep and gluttonous feasts. They were hard
drinkers, too, and so passionately fond of gambling that, when a man's
wealth was gone, he would even stake his liberty on a single game. In some
of these respects the Germans resembled our own Indian tribes.

GERMAN MORALS

On the other hand, the Germans had certain attractive qualities not always
found even among civilized peoples. They were hospitable to the stranger,
they respected their sworn word, they loved liberty and hated restraint.
Their chiefs, we are told, ruled rather by persuasion than by authority.
Above all, the Germans had a pure family life. "Almost alone among
barbarians," writes Tacitus, "they are content with one wife. No one in
Germany laughs at vice, nor is it the fashion to corrupt and be corrupted.
Good habits are here more effectual than good laws elsewhere." [2] The
Germans, then, were strong and brave, hardy, chaste, and free.

PROGRESS OF THE GERMANS

The Germans, during the three centuries between the time of Tacitus and
the beginning of the invasions, had advanced somewhat in civilization.
They were learning to live in towns instead of in rude villages, to read
and write, to make better weapons and clothes, to use money, and to enjoy
many Roman luxuries, such as wine, spices, and ornaments. They were
likewise uniting in great confederations of tribes, ruled by kings who
were able to lead them in migrations to other lands.

[Illustration: RUNIC ALPHABET
The word "rune" comes from a Gothic word meaning a secret thing, a
mystery. To the primitive Germans it seemed a mysterious thing that
letters could be used to express thought. The art of writing with an
alphabet appears to have been introduced into Germanic Europe during the
first centuries of our era. Most Runic inscriptions have been found in
Denmark and the Scandinavian peninsula.]

REASONS FOR THE GERMANIC MIGRATIONS

During this same period, also, the Germans increased rapidly in numbers.
Consequently it was a difficult matter for them to live by hunting and
fishing, or by such rude agriculture as their country allowed. They could
find additional land only in the fertile and well cultivated territories
of the Romans. It was this hunger for land, together with the love of
fighting and the desire for booty and adventure, which led to their
migrations.

GROWING WEAKNESS OF ROME

The German inroads were neither sudden, nor unexpected, nor new. Since the
days of Marius and of Julius Caesar not a century had passed without
witnessing some dangerous movement of the northern barbarians. Until the
close of the fourth century Rome had always held their swarming hordes at
bay. Nor were the invasions which at length destroyed the empire much more
formidable than those which had been repulsed many times before. Rome fell
because she could no longer resist with her earlier power. If the
barbarians were not growing stronger, the Romans themselves were steadily
growing weaker. The form of the empire was still the same, but it had lost
its vigor and its vitality. [3]

83. BREAKING OF THE DANUBE BARRIER

THE GOTHS

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 came in
contact with Roman civilization and began to lead more settled lives. Some
of them even accepted Christianity from Bishop Ulfilas, who translated the
Bible into the Gothic tongue.

THE VISIGOTHS CROSS THE DANUBE, 376 A.D.

The peaceful fusion of Goth and Roman might have gone on indefinitely but
for the sudden appearance in Europe of the Huns. They were a nomadic
people from central Asia. Entering Europe north of the Caspian Sea, the
Huns quickly subdued the Ostrogoths and compelled them to unite in an
attack upon their German kinsmen. Then the entire nation of Visigoths
crowded the banks of the Danube and begged the Roman authorities to allow
them to cross that river and place its broad waters between them and their
terrible foes. In an evil hour for Rome their prayer was granted. At
length two hundred thousand Gothic warriors, with their wives and
children, found a home on Roman soil.

BATTLE OF ADRIANOPLE, 378 A.D.

The settlement of such a host of barbarians within the frontier of the
empire was in itself a dangerous thing. The danger was increased by the
ill treatment which the immigrants received. The Roman officials robbed
them of their possessions, withheld the promised supplies of food, and
even tried to murder their leaders at a banquet. Finally, the Germans
broke out in open revolt. The emperor Valens misjudged their strength and
rashly gave them battle near Adrianople in Thrace. The once invincible
legions fell an easy prey to their foes, and the emperor himself perished.

[Illustration: A PAGE OF THE GOTHIC GOSPELS (REDUCED)
A manuscript of Ulfilas's translation of the Bible forms one of the
treasures of the library of the university of Upsala, Sweden. It is
beautifully written in letters of gold and silver on parchment of a rich
purple dye. In making his version Ulfilas, who was himself a converted
Visigoth, generally indicated the Gothic sounds by means of the Greek
alphabet. He added, however, a few signs from the Runic alphabet, with
which the Germans were familiar.]

RESULTS OF THE BATTLE

The defeat at Adrianople is considered one of the few really decisive
battles in the world's history. It showed the barbarians that they could
face the Romans in open fight and beat them. And it broke, once for all,
the Danube barrier. Swarms of fighting men, Ostrogoths as well as
Visigoths, overran the provinces south of the Danube. The great ruler,
Theodosius, [5] saved the empire for a time by granting lands to the
Germans and by enrolling them in the army under the high-sounding title of
"allies." Until his death the Goths remained quiet--but it was only the
lull before the storm.

ALARIC THE VISIGOTH

Theodosius, "the friend of the Goths," died in 395 A.D., leaving the
defense of the Roman world to his weakling sons, Arcadius and Honorius. In
the same year the Visigoths raised one of their young nobles, named
Alaric, upon a shield and with joyful shouts acclaimed him as their king.
The Visigothic leader despised the service of Rome. His people, he
thought, should be masters, not servants. Alaric determined to lead them
into the very heart of the empire, where they might find fertile lands and
settle once for all.

ALARIC IN GREECE AND ITALY

Alaric at first fixed his attention on Constantinople. Realizing, at
length, how hopeless would be the siege of that great city, he turned
toward the west and descended upon Greece. The Germans marched unopposed
through the pass of Thermopylae and devastated central Greece, as the
Persians had done nearly nine centuries before. [6] Then the barbarians
entered the Peloponnesus, but were soon driven out by Stilicho, a German
chieftain who had risen to the command of the army of Honorius. Alaric
gave up Greece only to invade Italy. Before long the Goths crossed the
Julian Alps and entered the rich and defenseless valley of the Po. To meet
the crisis the legions were hastily called in, even from the distant
frontiers. Stilicho formed them into a powerful army, beat back the enemy,
and captured the Visigothic camp, filled with the spoil of Greek cities.
In the eyes of the Romans Stilicho seemed a second Marius, who had arisen
in an hour of peril to save Italy from its barbarian foes. [7]

THE VISIGOTHS BEFORE ROME

Alaric and his Goths had been repulsed; they had not been destroyed.
Beyond the Alps they were regaining their shattered strength and biding
their time. Their opportunity came soon enough, when Honorius caused
Stilicho to be put to death on a charge of plotting to seize the throne.
The accusation may have been true, but in killing Stilicho the emperor had
cut off his right hand with his left. Now that Stilicho was out of the
way, Alaric no longer feared to descend again on Italy. The Goths advanced
rapidly southward past Ravenna, where Honorius had shut himself up in
terror, and made straight for Rome. In 410 A.D., just eight hundred years
after the sack of the city by the Gauls, [8] Rome found the Germans within
her gates.

SACK OF ROME BY THE VISIGOTHS, 410 A.D.

The city for three days and nights was given up to pillage. Alaric, who
was a Christian, ordered his followers to respect the churches and their
property and to refrain from bloodshed. Though the city did not greatly
suffer, the moral effect of the disaster was immense. Rome the eternal,
the unconquerable, she who had taken captive all the world, was now
herself a captive. The pagans saw in this calamity the vengeance of the
ancient deities, who had been dishonored and driven from their shrines.
The Christians believed that God had sent a judgment on the Romans to
punish them for their sins. In either case the spell of Rome was forever
broken.

KINGDOM OF THE VISIGOTHS, 415-711 A.D.

From Rome Alaric led his hosts, laden with plunder, into southern Italy.
He may have intended to cross the Mediterranean and bring Africa under his
rule. The plan was never carried out, for the youthful chieftain died
suddenly, a victim to the Italian fever. After Alaric's death, the
barbarians made their way northward through Italy and settled in southern
Gaul and Spain. In these lands they founded an independent Visigothic
kingdom, the first to be created on Roman soil.

[Illustration: Map, THE GERMANIC MIGRATIONS to 476 A.D.]

ROMANIZATION OF THE VISIGOTHS

The possessions of the Visigoths in Gaul were seized by their neighbors,
the Franks, in less than a century; [9] but the Gothic kingdom in Spain
had three hundred years of prosperous life. [10] The barbarian rulers
sought to preserve the institutions of Rome and to respect the rights of
their Roman subjects. Conquerors and conquered gradually blended into one
people, out of whom have grown the Spaniards of modern times.

84. BREAKING OF THE RHINE BARRIER

THE GERMANS CROSS THE RHINE, 406 A.D.

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 ruins of the
empire.

KINGDOM OF THE BURGUNDIANS, 443-534 A.D.

The Burgundians settled on the upper Rhine and in the fertile valley of
the Rhone, in southeastern Gaul. Alter less than a century of independence
they were conquered by the Franks. [11] Their name, however, survives in
modern Burgundy.

VANDAL KINGDOM IN NORTH AFRICA, 429-534 A.D.

The Vandals settled first in Spain. The territory now called Andalusia
still preserves the memory of these barbarians. After the Visigothic
invasion of Spain the Vandals passed over to North Africa. They made
themselves masters of Carthage and soon conquered all the Roman province
of Africa. Their kingdom here lasted about one hundred years. [12]

THE FRANKS IN NORTHERN GAUL

While the Visigoths were finding a home in the districts north and south
of the Pyrenees, the Burgundians in the Rhone valley, and the Vandals in
Africa, still another Germanic people began to spread over northern Gaul.
They were the Franks, who had long held lands on both sides of the lower
Rhine. The Franks, unlike the other Germans, were not of a roving
disposition. They contented themselves with a gradual advance into Roman
territory. It was not until near the close of the fifth century that they
overthrew the Roman power in northern Gaul and began to form the Frankish
kingdom, out of which modern France has grown.

THE ANGLES AND SAXONS IN BRITAIN, FROM 449 A.D.

The troubled years of the fifth century saw also the beginning of the
Germanic conquest of Britain. The withdrawal of the legions from that
island left it defenseless, for the Celtic inhabitants were too weak to
defend themselves. Bands of savage Picts from Scotland swarmed over
Hadrian's Wall, attacking the Britons in the rear. Ireland sent forth the
no less savage Scots. The eastern coasts, at the same time, were
constantly exposed to raids by German pirates. The Britons, in their
extremity, adopted the old Roman practice of getting the barbarians to
fight for them. Bands of Jutes were invited over from Denmark in 449 A.D.
The Jutes forced back the Picts and then settled in Britain as conquerors.
Fresh swarms of invaders followed them, chiefly Angles from what is now
Schleswig-Holstein and Saxons from the neighborhood of the rivers Elbe and
Weser in northern Germany. The invaders subdued nearly all that part of
Britain that Rome had previously conquered. In this way the Angles and
Saxons became ancestors of the English people, and Engleland became
England. [13]