The Transformation of Empire
Goals for this week (October 13th)
By the end of this week, what should students know, be able to do and understand?
understand how changes to the religious and cultural identity of Late Antiquity contributed to the existing structural problems of the Roman system, thereby encouraging decentralization/ fragmentation of power
critique the "Migration Thesis" interpretation of European History, which locates modern nations in an idealized Germanic Past
learn how to read against the grain with primary sources. We will read three sacred biographies (hagiographies), but we will ignore the authors' embedded arguments (X was a saint) to see what they say about Late Antique society in flux.
Overview:
This week we will explore the end of Late Antiquity, and the rise of two key forces that promoted then end of the existing Roman system around the Mediterranean: the rise of Christianity as an Imperial ideaology and the growing influence of the provinces (aka the Barbarians). These two trends lead to a weakening of traditional Roman elites and begin a process of fragmentation, which manifests itself in division of Europe into kingdoms, and later in the loss of control over the Near East/ North Africa.
Online Time
On Tuesday, October 13th, we will address the figure of Constantine and his role in legitimizing Christianity (and beginning its ascendence as an Imperial religion). We will then address (and largely reject) the idea of the "Fall of Rome" at the hands of Barbarian hordes.
In our class, the professor will lecture and students will also break up into smaller groups to discuss the Lives of three Late Antique Saints. We will then rejoin the main meeting to discuss what these texts written at the end of Antiquity tell us about contemporary attitudes to their changing times.
Read/Watch/Listen
On Perusall, you will read and annotate a chapter from Chris Wickham's The Inheritance of Rome which provides a detailed introduction to the questions we will be discussing in class. Wickham is one of the foremost scholars of the early medieval world today and in his other writings has questioned the received picture of the time period. Consider, as much as possible, how this chapter (written for a popular and undergraduate audience) differs from the briefer introduction in Rosenwein's textbook.
On Perusall, you will read and annotate the Lives (italicized because they are a genre) of three Late Antique/Early Medieval people. Their lives (i.e. lived experience) were commemorated because of their holy reputation, but these Lives (the texts) also give us a sense of the changing societies of the Fourth century CE (and afterwards). If you were to read these sources not (as the authors intend) as proof of their sanctity, but as evidence for social change, what clues exist in the narratives?
Carleton's library subscribes to Films-On-Demand, an online streaming service largely for documentary programs. The Library website outlines the different services for you to access videos here. If you are interested in historical documentaries, I would suggest Films-On-Demand. To sign in through the library, follow this link:
(Optional): For more about Constantine's conversion you can watch this hour long documentary, The Conversion of Constantine produced by Arte France (part of a larger series on the end of Antiquity).
Description: How and why did the emperor Constantine convert to Christianity during the Battle at the Milvian Bridge in 312? Was it a sincere personal decision or politically motivated? What were the advantages of converting? Though he chose Christianity, did Constantine continue to believe in the Sun God? Was the covenant between the Church and the Empire inevitable?
(Optional) for more about the history of Constantine's city, you can watch Byzantium: Tale of Three Cities which traces the history of this city from Late Roman to Ottoman times.
(Optional) You can watch this episode, Adrinople: Rome against the Barbarians of "documentary series" about Turning Points in History. The episode addresses key events defining the end of Late Antique Rome. BE critical! This is a very dated historiography represented here.
Practice
In the optional discussion group, led by Vanessa, she will give general feedback about the latest assignment you submitted, and address more generally the question of "What is YOUR Middle Ages?"
Assess
In this week and the next, you will receive feedback on your first Critical Reponse (which was due October 9th).
Going Further
If you want to read Chris Wickham's magisterial redefinition of how to approach the early Middle Ages, read his Framing the Middle Ages available online throught the library. A paper copy of The Inheritance of Rome is also available for curbside pickup/mail from the Library if you want to read more. N.B. Framing is meant for an audience of academics (i.e. professors) but Inheritance is meant to be more introductory.
Peter Brown has defined the field of Late Antique religion for the past 40 years. Check out his most recent book Through the Eye of a Needle : Wealth, the Fall of Rome, and the Making of Christianity in the West, 350-550 AD (available online through the Library).
On the hagiographic genre, Lucy Pick is a superstar scholar. See her article on the pedagogical intent of hagiography. Or Peter Turner's article on Late Antique hagiography in the West.
Help
If you are feeling behind, or confused for what you need to be submitting and where, message Marc or Vanessa to organize a one-on-one meeting.
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