Western Civilization. Paul R. Waibel

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      Figure 4.2 A Medieval Manor was an economically self‐sufficient world of its own.

The introduction of the three‐field system greatly increased production. Two fields were cultivated each year, one devoted to winter crops and one devoted to summer crops. The third lay fallow so as to replenish its nutrients. An acre (4046.9 sq. m.) would produce about seven bushels (approx. 0.035 cubic meter) of wheat in an average year. Two bushels would be retained for seed for the next year. After the lord's portion and a 10% church tax were deducted, little was left for the serf. Also, a portion was paid to the lord for use of his mill to grind the wheat into flour and for use of the lord's oven to bake the bread. Grain (mostly wheat, but also barley and rye) in the form of bread or gruel was the staple in the serf's diet. Cabbage, onions, peas, beans, and turnips were also a part of the serf's diet.

      In addition to the arable land, a portion of the manor consisted of non‐arable land – forest, common pasture, orchard, and meadow. The serfs lived in the manorial village in windowless, one‐room huts with a dirt floor and a hole in the roof to let out smoke from a small fire in the center. During winter, the serf's family shared the space with the farm animals whose presence helped provide some warmth. Since bathing was considered unhealthy, and little attention was paid to personal hygiene by even members of the nobility, it is unlikely that the stench of the animals bothered the residents. The manorial village included a church for the serfs, complete with a priest chosen by the lord of the manor.

      The lord of the manor and his family lived in the manor house. It was built as a residence, not a castle for defense. The manor house reflected the wealth and standing of the lord. In general, it included a Great Hall, chapel, living quarters, kitchen, storerooms, and servants’ quarters. If the lord possessed more than one manor, the individual manors were managed by a steward or bailiff.

      Together, the feudal and manorial systems provided a measure of stability during an era that lacked any meaningful central authority and lacked a money economy. Whether lord or serf, each held a recognized place in the divinely ordained hierarchical order referred to as the Great Chain of Being. Each person enjoyed all the rights, privileges, and obligations of the social class to which the individual belonged. As hard as the life of a serf often was, the serf possessed customary rights that the lord of the manor could not ignore. Of course, reality seldom approximated theory. Whether lord or serf, life in the Middle Ages was harsh and short and always filled with a monotonous routine, where the only hope of relief came with death and an eternity spent in God's presence, access to which was controlled by the church.

Europe's Neighbors

      The Byzantine Empire

      In the year 330, Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire to the East. He chose the site of Byzantium, a Greek colony founded in c. 667 bc. It was a strategically important location on the European side of the Strait of Bosporus that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Black Sea. The city overlooked the Sea of Marmora and the Bosporus. On the northern side was the Golden Horn, an excellent harbor.

Rome ceased to be the capital of the empire when Diocletian created the Tetrarchy in 293. The Tetrarchy provided for four administrative centers, or capitals, but the economic and political center of the empire was increasingly in the East. The eastern provinces of the empire – Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt – were the wealthiest part of the empire. There, were found the most prosperous cities with a vibrant urban culture. There was also an abundant labor supply, and productive agriculture, especially in Asia Minor.

      Constantine named his new capital simply “New Rome.” After his death in 337, the city was known as Constantinople in his honor, and remained so until 1923. Greek was the popular language and Latin the official language. It was not until the middle of the eighth century, when the Byzantine Empire was reduced to Greek‐speaking Asia Minor, the Balkans, and a portion of southern Italy, that the empire became culturally Greek. Justinian (c. 482–565) was the last emperor to use the title “Caesar.” By 750, the emperor's official title was “king” (basileus) and Greek was the official language.

      Justinian was the greatest of the Byzantine emperors, the one most responsible for the image we have today of the Byzantine Empire. He became emperor after the death of his uncle, Justin I (450–527), an illiterate peasant and swineherd who rose to become Commander of the Palace Guard. Justin became emperor when Anastasius I died in 518. In April, 527, just four months before his death, Justin named Justinian, who was already co‐emperor, his successor. This soldier of humble origins became one of the most historically important figures of late antiquity and the early Middle Ages.

      Justinian tried to reunite the old Roman Empire. With his armies under the command of Belisarius (500–565), a brilliant military commander who ranks along with Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, and Napoleon Bonaparte, Justinian won back most of Italy, eastern Spain, and the coastline of North Africa, but at a great price. What remained of Roman civilization in Italy after the fall of the empire in the West was destroyed in the struggle between the Goths and Belisarius' army. The necessary taxes to finance the conquest in the West and the wars with Persia in the East placed stress on the empire's resources and caused unrest among the populace. Almost all of the reconquered territories were lost after Justinian's death. Only in southern Italy did the Byzantine Empire remain in control into the eleventh century. It was from southern Italy and Sicily that the Byzantine culture exerted a lasting influence on the development of European civilization.

      Justinian's greatest achievement was the Corpus Iuris Civilis (“Body of Civil Law”), the first comprehensive compilation and codification of Roman law. The task began in 527, when Justinian ascended the throne, and was not complete until 565, the year of Justinian's death. Its impact was felt well beyond the Byzantine Empire. The revived interest in Roman law at the new European universities during the tenth century, especially the University of Bologna in Italy, led to it becoming the basis of the Roman Catholic Church's canon law. It eventually СКАЧАТЬ