Week 1/2?

To summarize we’re talking about these migration of these peoples of germanic tribes the most, but also gaelic speaking people coming into Scotland but also salvics.

They come in as mercenaries, boarder guards and military veterans. They bring there families with them and settle amongst the Romans, but as the Roman empire ‘down sizes’ they begin to take over to a certain extent, taking on the tasks. They begin to demand money off the people because the empire is no longer paying they. They show loyalty to there tribal chiefs and kings, so we see the emergence of the barbaric kingdoms.
As we saw in the case of Theodoric, we see a high level of integration. Taking on Roman titles, and ways of life. But just a cultural level, no much has changed in Mediterranean Europe except for the rulers. They even seem to be governing in the name of the Roman Empire.
The more we get to the edges of the empire, such as Britain, the more Roman becomes an idea rather than a reality.
For example King Coroticus, an English King - ruling Kingdom of Strathclyde. St. Patrick to manipulate Coroticus, he asks, what kind of Roman are you? He’s basically saying how civilized are you?
‘With my own hand I have written and composed these words, to be given, delivered, and sent to the soldiers of Coroticus, I do not say, to my fellow citizens, or to fellow citizens of the holy Romans, but to fellow citizens of the demons, because of their evil works. Like our enemies, they live in death, allies of the Scots and the apostate Picts. Dripping with blood, they welter in the blood of innocent Christians, whom I have begotten into the number for God and confirmed in Christ!’
Patrick, Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus (5th century)
Large kudos the term Roman carries in both Religious and Cultural sense, even if people adapt it for there own uses.
St. Patrick
Possible lived some time in the 5th century, it’s possible that there was even two Patrick’s. He wrote two documents in Latin.
In the Confessio, he says he was born in a British Christian settlement, somewhere on the west coast. In this area, on the Latin Christian side, it is still in some sense roman, he’d be used to at least writing Latin. his father was a deacon and his Grandfather was a priest.
At the age of about 16, he was kidnapped by Scots pirates and taken off to Ireland. He worked there as a slave herding cattle, he regards this as a chastisement for his sins. Compares it to the Babylonian captivity. After about 6 years he escapes to Gaul and then back to Britain. Whilst in Britain he receives a vision. Something about the voice of Ireland.
He wrote this confessio because he got into trouble with British church and he felt he had to justify his mission in Ireland. Not sure what this trouble is but likely that he was ‘treading on someone else’s turf’ that he might not have had the authority. He says he’s a bishop but questionable if he was ever ordained. By Patrick’s account, the vision was enough.
There seemed to be Christians in Ireland already, who had something to do with the bishop Peladius who was almost certainly already there (possible that he was Patrick 1) and the Patrick who wrote confessio was already there.
Other types of missionaries
Many would simply leave there homes or monasteries and go on pilgrimage or exile. One of these was Columba. Thought that he murdered someone or started extended family feud in an argument over a manuscript to do with the gospel. So he goes wondering for Christ but not for quite the same reasons that other monastic do. He heads off to Iona, fairly central but remote if you need to be. Central to ’Scottish Mediterranean’. Iona becomes the center of Christina empire, becomes centre of network of other monasteries that take Iona as there model, extending into Britain, Ireland and even Europe. Rather than linking themselves to town, they link to rural families, some times very hard to distinguish between monastery and family farm stead. Monks shape the character of Christianity they take with them, predominately monastic, quite importantly it’s remote form the kind of structures you find in me Christianity like the episcopate and parish. There are bishops but there function is a rather remote one, they don’t have the same contact as you would in a city. In the gaelic speaking area the ministry is provided by the monks.
This model is spread from the British isles into Europe by a number of wondering monks, through barbarian kingdoms and even into the med. Monastic ‘internet’ spreading, keeping this sense of Romaness and Christianity alive, but also spreads it’s own particular take on what it means to be christian. E.g. tariff penance - the idea that if you commit a sin then you atone for i by confessing to a monk and receiving a small penance to do in it’s place - or if it’s a big sin a very big penance! Before the canonical system meant you only had to do penance for really big sins and then you had to spend the rest of your life in sack cloth, ashes, fasting and abstinence. The irish would rather you monitored your day to day sinfulness so you do not build up and up until you slip into a big sin. The gaelic system also allows you to sin more than once.
The conversion of the English
Gregory I sent missionaries there, because it was still meant to be Roman. According to Bede Gregory was wondering through a slave market when he saw some pale slaves, when asked he finds they are from Britain. Resolves Gregory upon mission, which he gives to Benedictine monk - Augustine. He leaves in 596 Rome and arrives in Kent in 597. According to Bede, the King there was baptized in the same year.
There may have been other reasons why Gregory chose to send missionaries to the Britain, may have been diplomatic. King of Kent’s capital was in Cantebury, where Augustine bases his mission. The King was married to Franc princess - Bertha, she was already Christian who had a chaplain with her, Ethelbert (the King) may well have been trying to secure alliance, a clause may have meant Ethelbert converting to Christianity.
This is the beginning but not the end of roman missionaries attempts in the the tribal areas. Bear in mind the British Isles were a patch work of many kingdoms.

Thursday’s lesson
Commerce - all kinds of contact of exchange between cultures and people.
We here have a lot of archeological evidence but also ambiguous archeological evidence.
e.g. silver wear buried around the time of the roman withdrawal, they show Christians scenes. Are they Christians or are they wealthy people owning nice roman cutlery?
Not just goods that are being exchanged across the boarder - it’s people as well.
Brings Nick to the conversion of the Goths, different tribes that have a common language, set along the boarders that gradually begin to trickle across. Low grade violence common between the goths themselves. Lots of these types being taken into slavery, as such they have to take on the religion of there masters i.e. Christian.
IN 340, a member of a Gothic diplomatic mission - Ulfila, came to Constantinople, and was consecrated a bishop. He was descendent of Greco-Roman slaves who had been kidnapped by the Goths. But he was made a bishop so the Christian Goths would have some clergy. They wanted to provide for people they saw there own - descendants of the Greco-Roman. But Ulfila was important in that he translated the bible from Greek into the Gothic language. He omits 1 and 2 Kings because there was far to much fighting and he thought the Goths didn’t need any encouraging.
At this time Christianity was not tridentine, it was e, in that Christ was just the first born of mankind. The problem is that the Goths had acquired a different kind of Christianity that was established in the empire. Arian Christianity spread through the Gothic kingdoms and when Aleric’s goths sacked Rome they brought there Christianity back. Although Augustine portrays they otherwise they were Christian.
They believed that there form of Christianity was superior to that of old Rome.

Marriage
Paul says in Corinthians, that Christians sanctifies his or her spouse through marriage. Additionally usually the offspring of these couplings are generally Christian. Also marriages for diplomatic reasons e.g. Ethelbert and Bertha, part of the alliance with the family means taking on there religion also.
A particlarly important marriage in this respect is between the Francish King Clovis and Bergundian princess, Clotilde. Clotilde followed Byzantine Christianity, and instantly after marriage, Clovis was pressurised into adopting her religion. She has a baby and wants its baptised, Clovis says ok, and the baby dies soon after baptism. One up for the pagans. They have another baby, and this time Clotilde prays to a saint martin. She succeeds in getting new baby baptized and it lives. One all.
Clovis is going into battle against another Northern tribe, and he knows that Clotilde is still praying. He wins, thus he is convinced the Christian God works.
Very similar to Constantine’s conversion, which may have been the writers intention.
In 507 Clovis is baptized with his whole household and also with 3000 of his warriors. It was done in a river and the warriors went down on mass but all held there fighting arm above the water, not wanting to forsake that part of there previoius life.
The crucial thing about the conversion of Clovis is that there is now a huge group of germanic tribes following the Roman Christianity - note that they are the military superior. He does as Constantine did and founds his own capital - Paris. He builds a big church and starts holding councils.
This becomes particularly important several generations later when Islam emerges out of Arabia, through Roman territories into France and would’ve gotten a lot further had there not been a huge warlike people with unbaptized fighting arms ready to defend there faith. The Francs drives them south.
Important thing now is that the bishops of Rome have on there side, a military force ready to stick up for there kind of Christianity against there foes.
In 768, Charles Martelles grandson, also Charles becomes King of the Francs, because of his military prowess and his alligence to Rome he earns the title ‘Great’ known in English as Charlemagne. He begins military campaigns spreading his religion. E.g. the Saxons. The Church is not particularly comfortable with this way of conversion. Charlemagne sees himself in very biblical ways, he sees himself as a Israelite king, laying waste to the idoliters. Founds his capital - Aachen, builds big chapel.
In 800, Charlemagne heads south on a pilgrimage to Rome, and on Christmas day, Pope Leo III, places imperial crown on his head and throws himself at his feet. At this point Pope’s were still loyal subjects of the Roman empire and subject to the emperor. But at this point there was already an emperor in Constantinople. What’s Leo doing??
Leo recognizes that the Francs are needed for protection, by this action Rome is allying themselves heavily.
How would Constantinople Emperor react to this? In order to keep emperor, Charlemagne adopts title governing emperor.

Two Roman, monk, diplomats, Cyril and Methodius. Translate the liturgy to the language of the people they are trying to convert - very new because Christianity had been a Latin religion because it was Roman. Frankish missionaries very up in arms about this, Pope didn’t really give a monkies. Cyril and Methodius go back to Rome to defend themselves, they are greeted by the Pope Adrian II and in order to signify his approval he has there new liturgy in slavonic he has it celebrated in St.Peters. They brought with them the relics of the third pope - Clemet. Who died by being thrown into the sea attached to an anchor. Cyril died whilst in Rome and was buried in the basement of Clement’s basilica.
Growing basis of petty fighting, political tension between two empires, orthodox east and catholic west schism begins to emerge.