Here’s my Question. Which place in Medieval Europe would you live in? Holy Roman Empire or Byzantine Empire?
3 Likes
The Byzantine Empire. You?
2 Likes
The Byzantine Empire as well because they kept the philosophies of Aristotle.
2 Likes
I’ll have to peel the rust off my memory of whatever I knew about it (!) But if they liked Aristotle I’ll go with the same choice as you two!
2 Likes
What are your thoughts on this video?
2 Likes
It’s fine as far as it goes: a skim through the history of the divided Roman empire and the split between Catholic and Orthodox Christendom.
Catholic Christianity brought down a thousand years of darkness on Western Europe. Eastern Christianity allowed learning to survive and flourish. “Why the difference?” is an interesting question. There is no clear answer, but the fact that the Eastern Empire was Greek - Greek speaking, direct inheritor of Greek culture - surely has more than a little to do with it. (As you mentioned, Yazmin, they kept Aristotle.)
One thing the narration gets wrong (but it is a point Christianity insists upon so that those few who maintain it is an error are not heard): Christianity was NOT started in Judea. It was the invention of “St. Paul”, the self-appointed “Apostle to the Gentiles”, who tirelessly roamed the Eastern Empire - until he ended up in Rome - preaching that a citizen of Judea who had been executed by the Roman authorities for trying to instigate an insurrection, was the (Jewish) God Incarnate. That was the beginning of Catholic Christianity. The followers of the executed insurrectionist remained in Judea. They never believed that he was divine, and since Christianity is a belief that he was, they cannot correctly be called Christians. They were in fact called “Ebionites”, meaning “The Poor”, and their small sect lasted for about 400 years. (The so-called “New Testament” is a collection of documents of Christian propaganda, not historical fact.)
2 Likes
It’s always a shock to hear about the brutality that was constantly going on in royal families through history. Queen Irene gouged out the eyes of her own son?! Wow…
2 Likes
I’m going to correct you there about the Byzantine Empire, they didn’t have Kings and Queens, they had Emperors and Empresses. So it’s actually Empress Irene.
2 Likes
But Queen Irene sounds better!
2 Likes
I found a follow up video on the previous video. What are your thoughts on this?
2 Likes
Interesting! They started out going to retake Jerusalem, and ended up taking Constantinople.
2 Likes
1 Like
The Dark Ages indeed!
2 Likes
2 Likes
2 Likes
2 Likes
Yazmin. This video series is not bad, but it is not very good. Too superficial.
The best of many books I have read on Constantinople and the East Roman Empire is:
LOST TO THE WEST
The Forgotten Byzantine Empire that Rescued Western Civilization
by Lars Brown Worth
2 Likes
Thanks for another book recommendation.
2 Likes
Interesting bit of information here:
2 Likes
That is so.
2 Likes