St. Augustine and Early Christianity

Christian Scholar - Augustine

• Studied in Roman Africa and became a bishop
• Converted to Christianity after having a vision
• Became a missionary to spread the teachings of Jesus

Pax Romana

• Means Roman peace
• A 200-year period of peace and economic prosperity
• Characterized by a time of peaceful and prosperous conditions

Early Church Hierarchy

• Pope/Patriarch → Bishop → Diocese → Priest → Community
• The hierarchy of the early Christian Church

Medieval Christian Europe

• Justinian - Byzantine Emperor who created Justinian's Code, a collection of Roman laws
• Charter - a written document that set out the rights and privileges of a town
• Common Law - a legal system based on custom and court rulings
• Autocrat - a ruler with complete authority
• Magna Carta - a document that limited royal power and established certain rights of English freemen
• Feudalism - a loosely organized system of government in which local lords governed their own lands but owed military service and other support to a greater lord
• Charlemagne - King of the Franks, the Lombards, and emperor of the Romans who conducted military campaigns, spread Christianity, and supported cultural renewal
• Feudal Contract - an exchange of pledges between lords and vassals
• Secular - having to do with worldly, rather than religious, matters
• Due Process of Law - the requirement that the government act fairly and in accordance with established rules
• Anti-semitism - discrimination against or dislike of Jews
• Habeas Corpus - the principle that a person cannot be held in prison without first being charged with a specific crime
• Usury - the practice of lending money at interest
• Vikings - Scandinavian peoples who raided Europe from the 700s through the 1100s

Justinian's Code

• A collection of Roman laws created by Justinian
• Served as a model for the Church and Medieval Monarchs
• Allowed women to own property, make contracts, and bring lawsuits

The Franks

• A Germanic tribe that conquered present-day France and neighboring lands in the 400s

Life of Serfs

• Serfs were peasants bound to the lord's land
• They had hard lives and were restricted in their movements and activities

Role of Popes in the Middle Ages

• The pope was the spiritual leader of Roman Catholic Christians
• Also ruled vast lands in central Italy, later called the Papal States

Popes vs Monarchs

• Monarchs were absolute rulers who were kings or queens
• Popes led the Church, which sometimes led countries

Pope Innocent III

• Became pope and extended the authority of the papacy over Rome and in Italy

The Great Schism

• Two sections of the Church were formed: the Roman Catholic and the Byzantine

Effects of the 100 Years War

• Destroyed the feudal nobility and brought about a new social order

The Renaissance

Shakespeare

• A famous poet and playwright during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I
• Wrote 37 plays that are still performed around the world
• Invented words and phrases still used today

Humanism

• An intellectual movement that focused on education and the classics
• Took a humanist approach to characters

Johannes Gutenberg

• A goldsmith, printer, and publisher who invented the printing press with moveable type
• Printed the first complete edition of the Christian Bible around 1455

Scientific Method

• A careful, step-by-step process used to confirm findings and prove or disprove a hypothesis

Leonardo da Vinci

• An Italian artist considered the ideal Renaissance man due to his varied talents

Indulgence

• A pardon for sins committed during a person's lifetime in the Roman Catholic Church

Sir Thomas More

• Wrote Utopia, describing an ideal society
• The word utopian came to mean idealistic or visionary

Theocracy

• A government run by religious leaders

Copernicus

• A Polish astronomer who concluded that the sun is the center of the universe
• Contradicted the religious and scientific belief that Earth was the center of the universe

Vernacular

• The everyday language of the normal people

Martin Luther

• A German monk and theologian who was the catalyst of the Protestant Reformation
• Challenged Church teachings with his 95 Theses
• Led to the development of Lutheranism, the first of several Protestant sects

Henry VIII

• The second Tudor king of England
• Started a policy of religious compromise

Isaac Newton

• A scientist who discovered gravity and developed the basics for calculus
• Described a heliocentric universe

Absolutism and the Enlightenment

John Locke

• A prolific writer on political philosophy who influenced the U.S. Constitution and the development of American government
• Proposed that people are born with certain natural rights that cannot be taken away, including life, liberty, and property

Balance of Power

• A distribution of military and economic power that prevents any one nation from becoming too strong

Peter the Great

• Proclaimed emperor in 1721
• One of Russia's greatest statesmen, organizers, and reformers

English Bill of Rights

• A series of acts passed in 1689 by the English Parliament that limited the rights of the monarchy and ensured the superiority of Parliament

Adam Smith

• A Scottish economist who argued for free markets with minimal government interference
• Helped shape productive economies around the world for more than 200 years

Thomas Hobbes

• An influential English political philosopher who advocated for a powerful government to protect society
• Believed that people entered into a social contract with their government to avoid chaos and lawlessness

Absolute Monarchy

• A form of government in which a ruler has complete authority over the government and lives of the people they govern

Louis the XIV

• Served as king of France and is considered the symbol of absolute monarchy

Limited Government

• The government only has those powers delegated to it by law

Catherine the Great

• German-born empress of Russia who led her country in becoming part of the political and cultural life of Europe

Divine Right

• The idea that a ruler's authority came directly from God

Natural Rights

• Rights that belong to all humans from birth, such as life, liberty, and property

Constitutional Government

• A government whose power is defined and limited by law

Social Contract

• An agreement by which people gave up their freedom to a powerful government in order to avoid chaos

Phillip II

• Supported and provided financial support for the arts

Henry IV

• Helped reunite France by renouncing Protestantism and converting to Roman Catholicism

Oliver Cromwell

• An English soldier and gentleman who led the forces against Charles I of England during the English Civil War
• Made himself Lord Protector of England in 1653, leading the country as a republic until his death

English Bill of Rights' Impact on Parliament

• Firmed established the principles of frequent parliaments, free elections, and freedom of speech within Parliament

Characteristics of England's Constitutional Government

• The rule of law, the separation of government into executive, legislative, and judicial branches, the accountability of ministers to Parliament, and the independence of the judiciary