HIST 107 1st Edition Lecture 7 Outline of Last Lecture I Byzantine Empire A Constantine B Justinian II The Emergence of Islam A Muhammad Outline of Current Lecture I Christian Expansion A Bede B Gregory the Great II The Roman Papacy A The Power of Peter Current Lecture 1 28 The Impoverished but Inventive West Rome and England Primary Source Reading the Middle Ages 2 14 Bede Ecclesiastical History of the English People o Bede was primarily writing about the history of the church in England centuries before his time o Bede tells the story of Augustine of Canterbury monk who was sent to England by the pope Gregory the Great to help spread Christianity These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute o He additionally discusses a debate between Irish Christians who followed Lunar Calendar dating and Roman Christians who followed Roman dating regarding the appropriate period for the celebration of Easter It was decided that one form of Christianity and ritual dating needed to be dominant Who won the debate Romans because of the Pope s relation to Peter see below o In Europe it was understood that a sense of Christian unity emerged among Europeans with relation to the Roman church which is thought to have a connection to the birth of Europe o Bede additionally wrote about the life of Gregory the Great highlighting his belief that Gregory held an extremely central role in the expansion of Christianity in the Medieval world General Reading Whalen The Medieval Papacy 34 62 o Many believed that the saint Peter was given the keys to heaven the power to loose and bind and the power of determination by God Peter founded the church at Rome He died in Rome and many people come to circulate around his memory and supposed power o The bishop of Rome became the central figure for the city An argument developed over claims that the bishop of Rome was the direct heir of the power of Peter As the Roman Empire was fragmenting under the increasing presence of barbarian kingdoms the bishop stepped in as the central figure for maintaining order and assisting Roman citizens The bishop of Rome held more power than all others because of his claim to the power of Peter operating as the binding figure of a lasting spiritual empire The Roman bishop is the Pope the most important religious figure in Christianity o Gregory the Great Gregory I Roman Pope 590 604 Christian author Local administrator Claimed to hold the Power of Peter as the head of the universal Christian church General Reading Short History of the Middle Ages 39 75 o Describes the Pope as being a man in the middle why Pope still looked to the East Byzantine Empire Popes also saw themselves as having a key role in the emergence of new societies to the West barbarian kingdoms through the spreading of their Christian beliefs Popes had no direct support in these efforts o The famous example of the Popes interference in these Western societies is the mission in England mentioned above organized by Gregory the Great At the time of the missionaries arrival Christianity already existed in England the Queen herself was Christian however it was a different type of Christianity than that of the Romans Gregory sent letters to the missionaries throughout the mission acknowledging that the conversion process would be gradual Gregory I additionally believed that the end of the world was quickly approaching which is thought to have been the inspiration behind his efforts to spread his faith The connection between England and Rome o Pilgrimages were being taken by individuals between England and Rome This movement led to the exchange of letters books and various relics A hybrid of Roman and Anglo Saxon English cultural and artistic styles was evidenced in works such as the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Codex Amiatinus