The Useful Fiction of the Holy Roman Empire

Concepts in this lecture

Carolingian Renaissance Confederation State Feudalism Legitimacy Theory Natural Boundaries Papal Authority Political Fiction River Civilization

Outline

[0:00] Thesis: The Holy Roman Empire was a "useful fiction" — in no way truly holy, Roman, nor an empire — created to provide legitimacy, unity, and differentiation to a divided and fragmented Europe.
[2:01] Charlemagne's Context and Motivations

Charlemagne unified most of Europe through military innovation (armored knights), laying groundwork for feudalism
Founded the Carolingian Renaissance, a period of peace and prosperity
Built 14 cathedrals, including the famous Aachen Cathedral, designed with acoustic properties to project the priest's voice throughout and evoke transcendence

[6:02] Geographic Determinism: Why Europe Differed from Other Early Civilizations

Four ancient civilizations (Egypt, Mesopotamia, Indus Valley, China) shared three characteristics: temperate climate, river-based agriculture, and natural boundary protection
Europe lacked all three: too far north, no major rivers, surrounded by internal mountains creating divisions
Europe was historically divided, poor, and isolated — unlike Rome (a Mediterranean empire, not European)
Europe's disadvantages ironically forced innovation, eventually enabling it to conquer the world

[10:04] The Problem of Political Legitimacy in Europe

Charlemagne could not unify Europe through military conquest alone — local kings controlled fortified fiefdoms in mountainous terrain
Key insight: Legitimacy, not force, was required. Kings had to believe Charlemagne was rightful — achieved through alliances, treaties, and marriages, not coercion
The Pope's authority over the Catholic Church made him the ideal source of legitimacy

[14:04] Barbarian Migrations and the Rise of the Franks

Migrations from the steppes (pushed by the more aggressive Huns under Attila) brought Germanic tribes into Europe
This was migration, not invasion — migrants sought economic opportunity and were willing to assimilate
The Franks gradually conquered most of Europe, establishing the Frankish Empire by Charlemagne's time

[16:04] The Holy Roman Empire as Non-Hereditary Confederation

Unlike true empires, the Emperor was elected by other kings (prince electors), not born into the role
This was an alliance of autonomous kingdoms, not a unified state
After Charlemagne's death, the empire repeatedly fragmented and almost collapsed

[20:08] The Official History of the Catholic Church

Jesus was a god who sacrificed himself to redeem humanity
His disciples (bishops) spread Christianity through faith and miracles, eventually converting Rome and the pagan world

[24:09] The Real History: Catholics as a Roman-Jewish Alliance

Romans and Jews were in constant conflict; Jews (10% of Roman Empire) refused to worship the Emperor
Major wars in Judea killed millions; Jews were scattered and enslaved throughout the Empire
Critical factor: Paul of Tarsus, a Hellenized Jewish Roman citizen, saw Christianity as a solution to Jewish-Roman tensions
Jesus reframed: From a violent messiah who would lead Jews against Rome to a prophet of peace, forgiveness, and mercy — compatible with Roman rule
Paul, backed by the Roman state, transformed Christianity into a religion allowing Jews to practice faith without threatening the Empire

[28:11] Christianity Spreads as Elite Alliance

The Catholic Church began as an elite social club for high-status Jews and Romans to cooperate
Because the Church was organized, wealthy, and state-backed, it outcompeted other Christian sects
Romans recognized the Church's utility: it pacified the "Jewish problem"

[32:14] The Church as Mechanism for Assimilating Barbarians

As barbarians migrated into the collapsing Empire, the Church became the primary tool for assimilation
Barbarians were pagans (worship war and violence); Christianity's preaching of peace made them easier to govern
Psychological principle: New converts, having sacrificed community and identity (sunk cost fallacy), became the most fanatical believers and proselytizers
The Church offered social mobility to outsiders and hereditary legitimacy to barbarian leaders (converting temporary authority into permanent dynasty)

[38:17] Church Organization: Five Major Patriarchies

Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem were the five major sees, each with local autonomy
Rome was primary because it was the Empire's capital — its bishop called the "Pope" to distinguish him
In 330, the capital moved to Constantinople; Constantinople later tried to impose doctrinal uniformity (Nicene Creed) on all churches

[40:19] The Iconoclasm Crisis and Rome's Reassertion

Constantinople's decree against religious images (iconoclasm) was unpopular
Rome saw an opportunity to reassert independence and regain lost authority
Rome's growing power and Constantinople's declining military strength shifted the balance

[44:23] The Great Schism (ca. 1000)

Rome and Constantinople permanently split; refuse to acknowledge each other
Rome becomes the basis of the Roman Catholic Church (universal), believed by ~1 billion today
Constantinople becomes the Eastern Orthodox Church, believed by ~230 million, mainly in Eastern Europe
Doctrinal difference: Rome asserts the Pope has ultimate authority (first among equals); Orthodoxy asserts all churches are equal

[46:24] Why Charlemagne and Leo Crowned the Holy Roman Empire: Three Motives

For Charlemagne: Legitimacy ("God chose me"), Unity ("We are Christians"), Differentiation ("We are not Byzantines")
For Pope Leo: Assert papal authority as God's representative, protect himself from rival bishops seeking to assassinate him, compete with the Byzantine Empire for claim to Rome's legacy

**[50:25] Augustine's City of God as Intellectual Blueprint**

Augustine (Bishop of Hippo) wrote City of God after Rome's sack by Gothic barbarians (410 CE)
Central thesis: Two cities exist — the City of Man (Rome, temporal, pursuing power) and the City of God (Jerusalem, spiritual, pursuing faith)
Rome seeks Pax Romana (eternal earthly peace); Jerusalem seeks salvation through faith alone
The Catholic Church is the City of God on Earth — Augustine's vision made manifest
Key fact: Charlemagne reportedly illiterate but had City of God read to him daily and made it the official text of the HRE
Power of ideas: Without Augustine's intellectual framework (written 400 years earlier), Leo and Charlemagne could not have imagined the Holy Roman Empire

[56:26] Analysis: "Holy Roman Empire" Unpacked — Voltaire's Quotation

"Not holy": The Church's supremacy is pageantry and fiction. Both Pope and Emperor benefit from pretending the Church is in charge (to confer legitimacy), but actual power depends on their cooperation, which often fails
Underlying conflict persists: Popes insist on power over emperors; emperors insist on power over popes. Both Pope and Emperor are elected by ambitious local lords seeking higher office
Medieval period descends into hidden wars, competition, and "Game of Thrones" dynamics disguised as unity

[58:26] "Not Roman": The Church Mimics but Does Not Continue Rome**

The Church uses Latin bureaucracy and imitates Roman practices to claim descent from Rome
Flaw: Roman culture died with the Empire (especially after 212 CE when citizenship was granted universally, eroding Roman identity)
The Byzantine Empire was truly Roman (had imperial bureaucracy and enforcing military); the Holy Roman Empire was never truly centralized

[60:28] "Not an empire": The Emperor Had No Absolute Will**

True empires (like Byzantium) enforce the emperor's will through bureaucracy and military
The Holy Roman Emperor needed support from prince electors; they rebelled when he tried to assert absolute authority
Real power lay with local princes, giving rise to feudalism
The HRE was a confederation dependent on voluntary cooperation, not imperial command

Conclusion: The Holy Roman Empire was a useful fiction serving all parties — it provided a narrative of legitimacy, unity, and Christian civilization across a fragmented, warring Europe. Yet beneath the fiction, power remained decentralized, ambition remained fierce, and conflict remained endemic.

Sources & References

Voltaire — French Enlightenment philosopher; famous for the quotation "The Holy Roman Empire was in no way holy, nor Roman, nor an empire"
Charlemagne — Frankish king (748–814); crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III in 800; founder of Carolingian Renaissance
Pope Leo III — Pope who crowned Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor; also victim of internal Church political conflict
Aachen Cathedral — One of 14 cathedrals built by Charlemagne; still standing in Aachen, Germany; notable for acoustical design
Paul of Tarsus — Jewish Roman citizen and apostle; reframed Jesus as a prophet of peace to resolve Jewish-Roman tensions
Augustine of Hippo — Bishop; author of City of God
**City of God** — Augustine's theological treatise (413–426 CE); presents two cities (City of Man/Rome and City of God/Jerusalem); served as intellectual blueprint for the Holy Roman Empire concept; Charlemagne reportedly had it read to him daily
Nicene Creed — Doctrinal formulation of the Holy Trinity; Constantinople imposed this orthodoxy on dissenting churches through military expeditions
Iconoclasm — Constantinople's decree against religious imagery; triggered conflict with Rome and revealed Rome's desire to reassert independence
Great Schism — Permanent split between Catholic Church (Rome) and Orthodox Church (Constantinople) around 1000 CE
Roman Catholic Church — Emerged from Rome after Great Schism; ~1 billion adherents today
Eastern Orthodox Church — Emerged from Constantinople after Great Schism; ~230 million adherents, mainly Eastern Europe
Attila the Hun — Leader of the Huns; pushed Germanic tribes westward into Europe
Yamnaya — Ancient steppe people who migrated into Europe and conquered it
King David — Biblical figure; sponsored writing of the Bible for legitimacy, unity, and differentiation (similar motives to Charlemagne)
Augustus Caesar — Roman Emperor; sponsored the Aeneid for legitimacy, unity, and differentiation
Aeneid — Latin epic poem commissioned by Augustus Caesar
Byzantine Empire — Eastern continuation of Roman Empire; maintained imperial bureaucracy and military control
Protestant Reformation — Religious movement; caused Catholic doctrine to diverge further from Orthodoxy after the Great Schism

Source

Watch on YouTube ↗

Transcript

ShowHide full transcript

---

0:00Okay, good morning. So, today we are doing the Holy Roman Empire. Now, last class we did the Byzantine Empire, which is considered the continuation of the Roman Empire in Eastern Europe. The Holy Roman Empire is considered the continuation of the Roman Empire in Western Europe. So, the um when we think about the Holy Roman Empire in the West, we think of the famous Voltaire quotation about the Holy Roman Empire. Voltaire is um a very famous French Enlightenment thinker. We will talk about Voltaire when we get to the Enlightenment. What he said was the Holy Roman Empire was in no way holy, nor Roman, nor an empire. And this sounds funny, um and a lot of historians thought it was a joke. But what I will show you this class is actually this is very true. Okay? So, um the Holy Roman Empire was started in the year 800, um when the Frankish king Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo the third in Rome. Okay? And this marked a turning point in Western history because this is really the first time that the Pope could anoint a monarch. Before it was the emperor who anointed the Pope. Now it's the reverse. And this shows the supremacy of the Catholic Church. Historians have debated for a long time why Charlemagne would agree to such an arrangement. And so, this is the topic we will we

2:01will examine this class. What motivated Charlemagne to agree to agree to such a deal, and what gave the Catholic Church Sorry, what gave the Catholic Church so so much power and prestige that they were allowed that they had the power to anoint emperors? Okay? So, that's the topic we're looking at today. All right. So, let's first look at Charlemagne's motivations. Charlemagne, um his name means Charles the Great, and he is of the Frankish Empire. And he was able to unite most of Europe um through major innovations in the military. Um so, he was the first to introduce the idea of armored knights, which became the standard military doctrine and practice in Europe for centuries. And the idea of the knight would also pave the way for feudalism in Europe. And these are topics we'll discuss later on uh in the class, okay? In this semester. Um what Charlemagne is most celebrated for um uh is the fact that he started something called the Carolingian Renaissance. Car- Carolingian is the name of of his family, and the Renaissance is this um period of peace and prosperity in Europe. Um and he's most famous for the building of cathedrals. He built 14 of them. This is the most famous. It's called the Aachen Cathedral in Aachen, Germany. You can Guys, you can still go visit it, okay? It is beautiful. Um the cathedrals of medieval Europe are really the pyramids, like the pyramids. They are meant to give people a sense of awe and unity. Uh the cathedral was meant to bring heaven onto uh Earth. One really amazing aspect about the cathedrals are their acoustics, the

4:01sounds within uh the buildings. It is designed in a way that when the priest speaks, his voice is projected all around the cathedral, and the walls bounce the um voice back. And so, the parishioners, the people who listen to the priest, they feel they're surrounded by the voice of God, okay? The vo- the the voice literally enters you and makes you feel transcendent. It makes you feel you are moving towards heaven, that you are approaching God. All right? And these buildings are still around. So, you can actually go and uh visit them. This is a picture of modern-day uh Aachen, Germany, where people go where tourists go and visit the cathedral. Okay? So, these buildings were designed to be eternal. Okay. So, um before I talk about Charlemagne and why he chose to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor, I need to give you a little bit background about the geography of Europe. Now, if we if we look at the um four major civilization empires of early human history, uh mainly Egypt, Mesopotamia, Indus Valley, and China, we will discover that there are three major similarities among all four. Okay? The first, as you can see from this picture, is two latitude only, okay? They are in the same place. They all benefit from temperate climate, which allows for year-long agriculture. That's the first major similarity. The second major similarity is these are all river civilizations, meaning they at the center is a major river surrounded by flat lands that allows for the production of agriculture.

6:02All right? So, in Egypt, there's the Nile. In Mesopotamia, there are two rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates. Indus Valley Civilization is obviously Indus River. And in China, there are two rivers, right? There's the Yellow River, and then there's the uh Yangtze, okay? The Chang Jiang. All right? And the third major characteristic um that's very important is they're surrounded by natural boundaries, whether it's mountains or deserts or oceans or seas, okay? And from this map, you can see very clearly uh these three characteristics for Egypt, right? Egypt has the Nile surrounded by natural boundaries. The desert is the Sahara Desert to the west, these mountains um then protect uh Egypt. And that's what allows unity to take hold very quickly in these civilizations, and what allows uh this civilization to defend against outside invaders, okay? The same is true in China, obviously, right? Okay? Um surrounded by mountains to the south, to the west, and to the north, and then the sea, okay? So, for most of of its history, China was protected from outside invaders. This is all especially true in humanity's greatest empire called the United States. All right? So, if you look at the United States, it is a fortress, basically. It's protected by two oceans and then mountains. But when we within the United States, it's serviced by the Mississippi River, which allows for agricultural surplus, and which allows for trade and communication within the United States. So, very early on, the United States could become very wealthy as well as unified. And it did not have to fear external enemies, and therefore it could prosper

8:04without worrying too much about um its national defense. Okay, this is very important because none of these three things are true for the European continent, okay? Especially Western Europe. Um it's much too uh uh north, um and it's surrounded by lots and lots of mountains. It also has no major rivers. Okay? So, as you can see from this map, in Southern uh Western Europe, it's mainly mountains, and to the north, there are um flat lands, but they're usually covered by forests. Okay? So, for most of its history, Europe was divided and poor, and um isolated from the rest of the world. Okay? The other thing about Europe that made it distinct from the other civilizations is within Europe, there are lots of natural boundaries, and that's why Europe remained divided for such a long time. It was extremely hard to unite Europe. Please remember, the Rome was not a European empire. It was a Mediterranean Empire. That's a huge difference, okay? So, throughout most of its history, Europe was divided into different fiefdoms. And the prince the princes, the kings had a complete authority over their kingdom. It was very hard to compel them to um listen to your authority. Charlemagne had at at at that time the greatest army in Europe, but even then, he was still compelled to uh cooperate with the other kings. Okay? So, he achieved a lot of what he did

10:04through conquest, but he also achieved a lot of what he did through alliances and treaties and friendships and marriages, okay? So, what this means is if you want a unified Europe, you cannot do so through military conquest. You have to do do so through the idea of legitimacy. People have to believe you are the legitimate ruler. You cannot compel them. You must win their hearts and minds. Okay? And this explains why Charlemagne would want to be crowned by the Pope because the Pope did have legitimacy, he did have authority because the Pope was the leader of the Catholic Church. Now, at this time, there were many kings, not all of them, but there were many kings in Europe who were of the Catholic faith. Okay? Um so, this is a map of the major cities of the world at the time of the fall of the Roman Empire, okay? As you can see, most of the cities are located at a certain latitude. And to the north, okay, which is where Europe is, there are not that many major cities. All right? So, at the fall of the Roman Empire, Europe was a divided, weak, and poor place. Okay? All right? So, again, the Please remember for the rest of the semester these three factors, right? Latitude, you need a temperate climate, you need um natural boundaries, and you need a major river. And this will And this will allow civilizations to rise and prosper. The great irony of The great irony here, of course, and we will learn about this

12:04um later in the semester, is despite its disadvantages, Europe was still able to conquer the world. All right? And it did so because of these disadvantages. If you think about it, these disadvantages compel you as a people, as a culture, to be innovative to overcome these disadvantages. All right? And this is something that we will learn when we get to the Enlightenment, Renaissance, and uh Scientific Revolution, which we will do very quickly. All right? Um the other thing about Europe that's very important is um it was constantly being invaded. Look, if you look at this map, you will see that there are a lot of mountains protecting Egypt, Mesopotamia, um and Indus Valley and China, but there are almost none protecting Europe from the steppes. As we discussed last semester, the steppes traditionally has been the most aggressive place um in human history. People are always fighting each other for territory. These are pastoral people who need land to raise their uh sheep and cattle. And so, they're always fighting each other. So, what happens over time is these people are pushed further out into the uh borderlands, okay? They're often pushed into Europe. All right? So, remember about the Yamnaya people, how they migrated from the steppes to Europe and basically conquered all of Europe. Well, this process never really stops. Okay? So, um in the time of the Roman Empire, towards the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, there's huge migrations of people from the steppes into Europe. And they're being pushed out by a new, more aggressive people called the Huns, okay? You may have heard of Attila the

14:04Hun. Well, he's of that group. And they are extremely violent, and they have made major military innovations that allow them to outcompete others in the steppes, which forced these other tribes and groups into uh Europe, okay? Which is the only place they can go. All right? Um after the collapse of the Roman Empire, um these different groups start to form their own kingdoms. And around Germany are the Franks. And then eventually over time, um as these groups compete against each other, the Franks will ultimately defeat them and expand. Okay? But this is a process that will take centuries through multiple kings and through multiple dynasties. But eventually, um the the Franks will expand out from Germany and conquer most of Europe. Not all of Europe, but they will conquer um most of Europe. And in the process, what's interesting for us is they will make contact with the once isolated um Scandinavian countries. Um the the the Norsemen, okay? They're called the Norse. We we often refer them to as Vikings, and we will study them next class, okay? But now they're brought brought into the orbit of this new Frankish Empire. Okay? But again, becau- And and this is the Frankish Empire at the time of Charlemagne, when he creates the Holy Roman Empire. But again, because this is not really an empire, it's more of a confederation, it doesn't really last much longer after his death. What's really interesting for us is to remember that these emperors, they are not born as emperor. They are elected by other kings.

16:04So again, you should see this as an alliance, as a confederacy, where each king has voting power. Okay? So, this is not a hereditary title. This is something that you are elected to. Okay? So, after the death of Charlemagne, um a couple decades later after his death, the empire splits into three. Okay? And even though um on paper, this empire does last until the year 1806, it's a history uh that is extremely tumultuous. And most And there are sometimes when the empire completely disintegrates. Okay? But they keep up the pretense of having an empire because again, in Egypt, what matters is not territory or military or resources. What matters the most is legitimacy. And the idea of the Holy Roman Empire gives uh legitimacy, confers legitimacy, mainly through the Catholic Church. Okay? Does that make sense, guys? So, we'll be discussing more of this as we go um into the history of Europe. But before that, are there any questions? I'm sorry. Uh are are are are Are there any questions? All right? So, now what I want to discuss is why the Catholic Church is able to confer legitimacy. What gives the Catholic Church the power and authority to confer legitimacy uh to kings and emperors? Okay? But before I do that, um are you guys clear about what I just presented? You mentioned that Charlemagne was crowned by Pope Pope Leo the Third, yes. Pope Leo the Third. Oh, well, sorry. Okay, so I I'll I'll explain, okay? But the Pope is considered the leader of the church in Rome. So, he's a bishop, okay? We call him Pope because historically, Rome was the most powerful of the churches.

18:06Okay? So, so so so I'll explain who the Pope is later on, okay? So, but does that make sense? Good. Any more questions before I continue? Because right now, what I'll do is explain how the Catholic Church became so powerful in Europe. So, so like you mentioned that the um the kings of like within the kingdoms of the Frankish uh kingdoms, like they were elected by other kings. Mhm. So, these kings were not like siblings or related? Okay, that's a good question, okay? So, um Who are Who are these kings? Well, most of these kings are actually uh hereditary, okay? Their fathers were kings, their grandfathers were kings. And often related to each other, okay? But they were in control of a certain fiefdom. Right? And you couldn't really conquer them because they had castles. And they had And they were like in mountains. And they were a very aggressive people. So, you couldn't really conquer them. So, you needed to um get them to to agree to make you king. And so, the way they did that was by having these elections, where the kings got together, they're called prince electors, and they pick the the king. And this is also true for the Catholic Church, where different bishops would get together, and they would elect the Pope, okay? But But I'll explain this later on, okay? Does that make sense? All right. Okay. All right. So, um let's go over the history of the Catholic Church and explain understand why it became so powerful in Europe after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Okay. First, I want to present to you the official history of the Catholic Church as presented by the Catholic Church. So, um there was a man named Jesus who was actually a god.

20:08We we didn't know he was a god, but he was a god who came down from heaven in order to sacrifice himself in order to free us of our sins to in order to redeem us, okay? Now, Jesus had disciples. There are there are 12 major ones, but there were others. And after his death, Jesus reappeared before them and told them to spread the gospel, the good news that he has freed humanity of their sins and that he will return to create a heaven on earth, okay? So, that's the good news, the gospel. So, these disciples, they're illiterate peasants. They go all around the world and they set up churches in the honor of Jesus, okay? The these are the first fathers of the church. And these people are called bishops, okay? So, the bishop is the head of the church in a certain area. And the tradition is that the very first bishop of all the major churches and there were like five um were disciples of Jesus. That's where their authority and legitimacy comes from, from Jesus himself. Um as the movement is spreading, Rome sees them as a threat because Rome are pagans and Christianity is an anti-pagan religion. So, um there's a lot of persecution going on, but the Christians are armored by their faith and their love of Jesus and the miracle that is god. So, they eventually triumph and convert all of Rome into Christianity. Now, Christianity is the official religion of Rome and now they have the power to spread the message to all people around the world, but especially

22:09the barbarians of Europe and convert them. Okay? So, that's the official history of the church. And there are lots and lots of issues with this story. I mean, the first uh issue, the major issue is how is it that a peasant religion was able to conquer the Roman Empire? Um there were certainly other belief systems that were much more compelling than the Christian faith. There's a Greek system, the philosophy of Plato. Um paganism paganism itself has many traditions and as I keep on explaining to you in this class, culture is persistent. People do not want to change their cultures. So, it's a complete mystery how Christianity was able to spread and conquer Europe. And the explanation if you talk to Christians, especially the Catholic Church, is it's a miracle, guys. It's the power of faith, okay? That's the explanation. That's it. Um Okay? So, there are lots of issues with this official story. So, I want to give you my understanding of the history. I talked about this last semester and I want to review it, okay? And apply to the context of the Roman Empire. All right. What's important for us to understand is during the time of the Roman Empire the Romans had major conflicts with the provincials, especially the Jews, okay? Romans and Jews did not get along. In fact, they were often in conflict with each other. The Romans were pagan and the Jews were monotheistic people who only worship Yahweh.

24:09And they refused to worship the Roman Emperor, which was demanded of them by the Romans. Sometimes the Romans were tolerant and said, "Well, we'll make a special exception for you Jews." But sometimes they were extremely violent, okay? And this led to a series of wars uh in Judea between the Jews and the Romans. These were terrible, terrible wars that killed millions of people, okay? Three major wars were fought. Another problem is that the Jews were spread all around the Roman Empire. So, this is not a problem isolated to one poor province called Judea. This was a problem throughout the Roman Empire, okay? So, um historians estimate that Jews accounted for about 10% of the population of the Roman Empire. That's a lot of people. In certain cities like Alexandria, um it was a third of the population. And there were a couple of riots in Alex- in Alexandria by the Jews against Roman rule. Also, the Jews were at as a whole a pretty cosmopolitan people who were well-educated uh and who were very well-established, who looked down upon the Romans. The Jews had respect for the Greeks because the Greeks had a very uh superior culture. Jews and Persians got along really well because Persians are extremely tolerant people, but Jews really didn't like Romans. And the Romans really didn't like the Jews either, okay? There's there's stories of how after the wars um between the Romans and the Jews, Jews were enslaved and sent to Rome. And the Romans released the Jews in slavery because they didn't like Jews, okay? And Jews became traders and set settled um in other parts of of the empire. Okay? So, the Romans and the Jews didn't get along. And so, there's this constant conflict going on. But there are certain Jews like Paul of

26:10Tarsus. He was a Roman citizen. He was very well-established within the empire. And he got along very well with the Romans. He really much wanted to be part of the Roman Empire. And these wars were badly affecting him and his and his family and and their friends, okay? So, there were a certain segment of the of the Jewish diaspora who were very much wanted to assimilate into um Roman into the Roman Empire. But their religion, okay? Their religion which believed that eventually a Messiah who is a prince from the house of David, born of the house of David, he will return and he will lead the Jews to ultimate victory against the Romans. That's what the Jews believed as part of their religion. And so, this presented a problem for Paul of Tarsus and other Jews who wanted to assimilate. Okay? When Jesus died, he became like a rock star within the Jewish community. And it the fact that he died, the way that the fact that he was crucified, which is a which is a horrible way to die, um it basically captured the imagination of many Jews. And after his death, there were a lot of people who started to flock to uh they were very curious about him. Um so, they flocked to uh his disciples. And so, um his brother James led his movement called the poor of Jerusalem. Later on, they'd be called the Ebionites, okay? And these are the people who will influence the Islamic religion. But there were other groups who started around Jesus around the idea of Jesus as well. Basically, Jesus was a growing popularity um in the Jewish world after his death.

28:11And in Jesus, Paul saw an opportunity to resolve this conflict between Romans and Jews. Remember, the problem for Jews is their religion believed that a Messiah would return who would lead them to victory against the Romans. And this is a problem uh because Paul knew that if the Jews united against the Romans, the Romans would probably win, okay? So, Jesus is a solution because Jesus is a prophet of peace, right? Jesus was a prophet who preached the importance of peace, mercy, and forgiveness. Forgive the Romans for destroying our temple. Forgive the Romans for persecuting us. Show mercy because what mattered is not what happens here, what happen what matters is what happens in heaven. All right? So, Paul of Tarsus, backed by the Roman state, started this religion as a way for Jews to practice their faith without incurring the wrath of the Roman Empire, without being a threat to the Roman Empire, okay? Does that make sense to you guys? Now, over time as the conflict between the Romans and Jews became worse and worse, the Christian movement spread, okay? And eventually, to gain legitimacy, they won the patronage of Roman uh patriarchs, okay? So, uh you had a certain segment of elite Jews and a certain segment of elite Romans who came together in the Christian church uh, to build an alliance. Okay? Does that make sense? So, in other words, um, the Catholic church, the beginning of Catholic church, it was basically basically an elite social club for Jews and Romans to get together and to work together.

30:12Okay? Does that make sense? Now, what's important for us to understand is there are other Christian factions during this time, but because the Catholic church, the beginning the portal Catholic church, it's backed by the Roman state, and because of its organization and its wealth, it was able to ultimately win out over the other Christian sects. Okay? Does that make sense? All right. Now, over time, what the Romans recognize is, "Wow, the Christian church is great at solving the Jewish problem. And then they recognize that, oh, wouldn't be good for solving all our problems? Okay? Because because eventually, um, the Jews cease to be the major problem, and these barbarian barbarian coming in from the steps and from the north are the major problem. And there's just too many of them. Okay? So, remember you have all these um, barbarians coming in. What's important to remember about these barbarians is this is not an invasion, okay? An invasion. Often, historians will use the word barbarian invasion. They're not invaders. They're migrants. It's a migration, guys. What's the difference? Well, if it's if it's an invasion, these people are looking to conquer the Roman Empire and instill upon the empire their world view, their culture, their religion. If it's a migration, these people are looking for better economic opportunities. And therefore, they are willing to conform to your world view, to your religion. All right? So, think about the United States, where on the southern border, there are millions of people every year who are trying to get into the United States. They're not there to conquer the United States. They're there to migrate to the United States and seek a better life. And they

32:14know that if they are to succeed in the United States, they must assimilate. Okay? And the best way to assimilate in the United States, of course, is to go to university. Right? Because once you're part of of the university, you're now part of the social elite. Okay? That's the best thing to do. But a lot of people don't have the wealth, the education to go to university. So, what what they often do is join the church, okay? The church. Um, if you look at these hundred thousands, these millions of Chinese students who have gone to the United States, the group that has assimilated the best are Chinese Christians, right? These are, um, Chinese who are either practicing Christians or they convert to Christianity when they go to the United States. Because when they when they're Christians, there's an immediate social community for them that welcomes them and supports them. Okay? Does that make sense, guys? All right? So, um, this is the United States, but this was true during the late Roman Empire as well. Okay? The you have all these barbarians, they're called barbarians, and they're coming in, and they're trying to assimilate. And the Roman Empire needs to assimilate them as well. And what they discovered is the best way to do that is through the Catholic church. Right? Because remember, these pay these these barbarians, they're pagans. They worship war, they worship violence. They're problem in the long term. But they convert to Christianity, which is a religion that preaches peace, mercy, forgiveness, kindness. Right? Then

34:15they're bad then they're then they're easier to manage. And what happens is that, um, a lot do convert. Okay? Now, some of you may say, "Well, this sounds very cynical." Right? These people are changing their religion, and they're doing so for their own material benefit. Okay? What's important for us to understand is that if you look at any religion, if you go to any church, you will find that the people who most believe in this religion, who are the most fanatical about this religion, are new converts. Does that make sense? If you're born into this religion, if your parents are Christians, you take it for granted. Okay? And you are often dubious and skeptical because children like to rebel against their parents. But if you convert to Christianity, if you do so out of out of your own choice, well, then you are fully committed now, okay? And this is because of a psychological principle called the sunk cost fallacy. To turn to a new religion means to give up your community, your traditions, your history, your sense of identity. And because because of all this, you are stuck with this new religion, whether or not you truly believe it or not. And I And because of that, because of the sunk cost fallacy, uh, because you have you have lost so much in the process, you are now fully committed to the religion. You are so fanatical that you not only convert, but you want to convert others as well. Okay? Does that make sense? So, so with the barbarian invasions, the Catholic church experiences tremendous growth

36:16because now they are letting in lots of converts who are fanatical about the new religion. All right? The church is also a mechanism of social mobility, um, for the barbarians because uh, Roman society, it's very, uh, parochial. Uh, it's very close-minded. It doesn't like it doesn't it doesn't like doesn't like foreigners, okay? But traditionally in human history, the church and the military were the two major mechanisms of social mobility. If you're an outsider and you want to rise in society, you either join the church or you join the military. And this And this has been true for, uh, in Europe for hundreds of years. Okay? The last thing about the church that's very important is, um, in trying to co-opt new people, it recognizes that it must first co-opt the elite. Okay? Now, but barbarians do not they do not have or most barbarians do not have a concept of a hereditary elite. Their leaders are often people who are elected for the moment. Okay? So, it's possible to to switch leaders if the leaders aren't performing a good job. What the church does is in exchange for joining the the the church, the church can make these leaders, who are again only temporary, into a hereditary elite. Meaning their advantages in social status will pass on to their children, which is an extremely, um, appealing, um, deal for these barbarian leaders, okay? Does that make sense? All right? So, as the barbarians keep on migrating to Rome, the Catholic church is the main mechanism that absorbs them, okay? Also the military as well. So, it's the military and the church of the Roman

38:17Empire that mainly absorbs them. And this And because of this idea, the church is a mechanism which allows you to join the Roman Empire, the church acquires tremendous legitimacy and prestige and status. Okay? Does that make sense for you guys? All right? All right. But in this system, okay? Local churches have local autonomy. Because you're trying to let in local elites, okay? If you let in local elites, you have to give them autonomy. And, um, towards the end of the, uh, Roman Empire, there are five major churches that rule collectively. Uh, the major church is in Rome, okay? Again, the leaders, um, of these churches are called bishops. There's Rome, there's Constantinople, there is, um, Antioch, there's Alexandria, and these are the four major population centers of the Roman Empire, and then of course, there is Jerusalem. And Jerusalem is is part of this five because of its uh prestige, right? This is where Jesus uh died. And this is the This is where the uh Jewish and Christian religions were born, okay? So, um for most of of this history, these are the five major churches. And for most of this history, they're independent of each other. There are other churches in other places as well that are also extremely independent of each other. Meaning they were allowed to, within the Christian framework, develop their own doctrine and practices.

40:19Okay? But, it was understood the uh primary church was Rome because Rome was the center, the capital of the Roman Empire. And because of this, the bishop here is called the Pope in order to distinguish him from the other bishops. Okay, does that make sense? All right. The problem with this system is that the capital in 330 switches from Rome over to Constantinople. And over time, the Constantinople church, because it is now the capital, it wants to assert its authority over the other churches. Mainly through the idea of orthodoxy, right? Orthodoxy or doctrine. Remember, for most of this history, each local church is free to um create its own ideology within the Christian framework. Mainly because um no one's in a position to enforce doctrine on others. Now, Constantinople, want because it's a capital of the empire, it wants to impose orthodoxy on others. And this is what leads to the idea of the Nicene Creed. Remember, the Nicene Creed is the idea of the Holy Trinity. And at this time, when the Nicene Creed is first formulated, um most people, most churches, do not buy into the Nicene Creed. They don't do They do not buy into the Holy Trinity. But, Constantinople sees the power of the Catholic Church as a source of its legitimacy. Therefore, it will, over the decades, embark on military expeditions to enforce the Nicene Creed on all dissenters. Eventually, the Nicene Creed will triumph over other doctrine. Okay? So, uh the Catholic Church is able to build legitimacy and power by

42:22imposing orthodoxy. But, over time, as we know, the Byzantine Byzantine Empire will decline in power and prestige, mainly because the Byzantine Empire the military is not as strong as it used to be. And at this point, the Constantinople church is declining, other churches, especially in Rome, they want now to assert their local autonomy. Okay? So, this created a major controversy called an iconoclasm iconoclasm. Iconoclasm just means that Constantinople believes that God should not be celebrated in images. You cannot paint God. You cannot uh paint Jesus. Okay? And the church in Rome, the Pope, saw this as an opportunity to push back because this was actually a very unpopular decree. And this created a major conflict between Rome and Constantinople. And what this iconoclasm debate shows us is that Rome wants to maintain its independence. Not only does Rome want to maintain its independence, it wants to regain its lost authority. Okay? And that's why when Charlemagne comes along, the church sees Charlemagne as the perfect opportunity to reassert its dominance. It's it's uh dominance over the idea of legitimacy, okay? Right? And so, they work together to create the idea of the Holy Roman Empire as a competitor to the Byzantine Empire and and as a mechanism in order to ensure the legitimacy and the prestige of the Catholic Church in Rome against that of its competing churches, mainly

44:23in Constantinople, but also in places like Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. All right. And this will eventually climax in something called the Great Schism. The Great Schism. We'll study this later on. The idea of the Great Schism, which happens around 1000, all right, is that that these two churches, Rome and Constantinople, permanently break off. They refuse to acknowledge each other. Before, they would have meetings and they would share doctrine, but now they absolutely refuse to talk to each other, okay? And Rome will become the basis of the Catholic Church. Catholic means universal, which still is still around today and it which is believed by about 1 billion people, okay? Constantinople becomes the basis of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, which is um believed by about 230 million people, mainly in Eastern Europe, okay? So, if you're Western Europe, you're Catholic. If Sorry, if you're East Eastern Europe, you're Orthodox. If you're Western Europe, you're Catholic. Okay, does that make sense, guys? And at first, look, there's only one major doctrinal doctrinal difference between Rome and Constantinople. Rome asserts that the Pope is the first among equals. Okay? So, the Pope it has the ultimate authority. The Pope is the true representative of God on Earth. Everyone else is lesser than the Pope. Whereas, uh the Orthodox Church asserts that all the churches are equal to each other. There's no higher authority. Okay? But, later on, because the um the church in Rome will experience the Protestant Reformation, um then their doctrine will radically um diverge over time.

46:24Okay? Does that make sense? All right. Any questions about this? Okay. So, let's summarize, okay? Let's go back to the year 800 when Charlemagne, he's in St. Peter's Basilica, and he's being crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Leo the Third. Why does this happen, okay? And let's look at at it from the perspective of Charlemagne as well as Pope Leo the Third. All right. So, for Charlemagne, it's pure The three major reasons are legitimacy, unity, and differentiation. And this has been true for kings throughout human history, okay? Why did King David sponsor the writing of the Bible? For these three reasons. Why did Augustus Caesar sponsor the writing of the Aeneid? For these three reasons, okay? Legitimacy. I'm the rightful king because God said so. Unity. We're We're all part of the community of God. Okay? And that's what differentiates differentiates. We are Christians and everyone else is pagan or infidel or heretic. Differentiation. We are not the Byzantine Empire, okay? So, Charlemagne is trying to create legitimacy, unity, and differentiation with the Holy Roman Empire. Okay? So, Pope Leo, why does he um sponsor Charlemagne? Why is he crowning

48:25Charlemagne the Holy Roman Emperor? Well, um he's trying to assert his authority, right? He's trying to establish the fact that the Pope is the true representative of God on on Earth. Okay? Second is he's trying to um protect himself. So, you guys don't know this, but in this world, there's no central power. And the Pope is elected by other bishops. But, in this process, you'll always have a faction who refuses to accept the authority of the Pope. And this will lead to civil conflict. So, before Pope Leo uh made Charlemagne emperor, he was also almost assassinated by his enemies. Right? So, by making um uh Charlemagne the Holy Roman Emperor, he's actually appealing to Charlemagne for military protection against his enemies. Okay? So, there's a lot of um politics within the Catholic Church, which still persists to uh today. Okay? And of course, um differentiation, okay? Or competition. Sorry, competition. The idea is that the Catholic Church is in constant compet- The Catholic Church in Rome is in constant conflict with that in Byzantine. Both the Byzantine Empire um and the Catholic Church in Rome are trying to assert that they are the legitimate heirs to the Roman Empire. Okay? And obviously Byzantine has a better case than Rome. And that's why Pope Leo feels compelled to create the idea of the Holy Roman uh Empire.

50:25All right? What I want to show you also that the idea of the Holy Roman Empire comes from Augustine. Okay? One thing that you will learn in this class that's very different from other um class- his- history class you will take is the power of ideas. You're taught usually that it's economics or power or kings that move history. You're taught in this class, and this is very important, it's it's ideas that move history. Okay? And let let let me show you how. Okay, Augustine wrote a book called City of God, which is what we read last semester or parts of it last semester. We discussed it. Okay? What is City of God? Well, Augustine, he's basically um a high leader of the church. He's Bishop of Hippo, okay? Which is in northern Africa. And he has a problem because in year 410, Rome is sacked. Okay? This is only a few couple a couple of decades after Christianity is made the official religion of the Roman Empire. Now Rome is sacked by the Goths by by barbarians who are pagans. And so what a lot of people start to believe is that the pagan gods are um enacting revenge vengeance against Rome for disavowing them. In other words, the Christian God is a false god. The pagan gods are the true gods. And this is local event where Rome is sacked. Um it's so traumatizing that people start to believe this. So Augustine feels compelled to write the City of God to explain the sack and why Christianity is a true faith. In the City of God, Augustine says there are two there are two cities. There's a

52:25city of man of empire called Rome. Rome is a place where people pursue power. Where kings try to uh outdo each other. And then there's Jerusalem. Okay? Jerusalem. Which is the city of God. And and this is metaphorical. Rome is temporal. It is in time. It is of Earth. But Jerusalem is heaven itself. And in heaven, it's a spiritual place where people practice their faith, their devotion to God. And that is what we should be pursuing. Okay? So Rome is trying to create the end of history, meaning that it is trying to create an eternal peace, right? What is called the Pax Romana. The emperors are trying to be the ultimate emperor of humanity. But Jerusalem means out of history. You are taking yourself out of human affairs because the human affairs don't really matter. What matters is spiritual faith. Because only spiritual faith will will give you salvation and redemption. And that's what matters. Okay? So our mission is to create Jerusalem. And that's what the Catholic Church does. The Catholic Church is the City of God. It's the new Jerusalem. It's what allows humanity to step out of history and to celebrate God on Earth. Okay? And the City of God, in other words, becomes the basis of the Holy Roman Empire. In other words, Charlemagne and Leo work together work together to create the Holy Roman Empire in order to achieve Augustine's vision

54:26of heaven on Earth. The City of God was it's an intellectual blueprint for the Holy Roman Empire. Okay? Does that make sense, guys? In fact, what's really interesting is Charlemagne, who apparently was illiterate. I'm not completely sure, but apparently he was illiterate. Every day, he had the City of God read to him. That's how much he loved City of God. And he basically made City of God the official text of the Holy Roman Empire. Okay? Does that make sense? And that's the power of ideas. Charlemagne in the City of God had already created the intellectual framework for the Holy Roman Empire that 400 years later Leo and Charlemagne could take in order to build the Holy Roman Empire. Without the City of God, they could not have imagined the Holy Roman Empire. Okay? Does that make sense, guys? That's the power of ideas. You need someone to imagine the idea before you can actually implement it on Earth. All right. So let me conclude by going back to Voltaire's quotation that we looked at at the beginning of class. The Holy Roman Empire was in no way holy, Roman, or an empire. And as I promised you, um I will show you that this is true, okay? So let's look at this. Holy Roman Empire. The idea of holy is that the Catholic Church is really the power in charge. But that's just pageantry. That's a fiction, okay? The entire Holy Roman Empire, it's a useful fiction. Okay?

56:26So the king and the pope uh are benefit from pretending the Catholic Church is in charge in order to confer legitimacy onto the king. Okay? And the king and the pope benefit from displaying um an alliance to the people of Europe, okay? To create a sense of unity. But this fiction depends on the pope and the emperor getting along. And after Charlemagne, what we'll see is they don't get along. Because the pope insists on having power over the emperor. The emperor insists on having power over the pope. But not only that, remember the pope and the emperor are all elected by local lords, okay? So the pope is in is elected by the bishops of Western Europe. The emperor is elected by the prince electors. And these people are also extremely ambitious. They want to be the pope. They want to be the emperor, okay? So with the idea with the idea of the Holy Roman Empire, there's still conflict going on. There's still wars and competition going on that will last for centuries and carry us into um basically 20th century. But it all goes underground. They all hide it. They pretend that Europe is at peace when really um it's at war. Okay? And some of the most atrocious gruesome stories will come from this this medieval period. It's a Game of Thrones situation, okay? So it's not holy. The church pre- Everyone pretends the church is in charge, but it's not really. Okay? Roman. So the authority of the Catholic Church comes from the fact that it is the

58:26direct descendant of the Roman Empire. In fact, the Catholic Church uh goes out of its way to appear like the Roman Empire. Um Latin is the language that the Catholic Church uses for bureaucracy. And a lot of um their practices their cultural practices are like the Roman. Okay? Um remember that in the Roman Empire, it's the Senate that confers legitimacy onto the emperor. And in this world, it's the Catholic Church that confers legitimacy onto the emperor. So the um Roman Catholic Church is trying to present itself as a continuation of the Roman Senate. But as we discussed um in previous classes, what matters is the culture. And as I explained to you, the culture of the Romans died with the empire. And it's the the death of this culture started in year 212 when Roman citizenship was given to everyone within the empire, okay? So the Roman Empire died a long time ago. The Catholic Church is not Roman. Native empire. Okay? So, the Byzantines were an empire because they had an imperial bureaucracy and its own military that can enforce its will on the provinces. The Holy Roman Empire was never truly an empire in the sense that the emperor's will was absolute. He needed uh the support of his allies. And there were many times throughout this history when the emperor tried to enforce his will on the prince electors of Germany, and so they rebelled against him. Because they need to protect his autonomy. And this idea that what matters um the real powers is uh in these princes in the local areas, this is what will give rise to the idea of feudalism uh in Europe. Okay? Before

60:28um the kings decide to assert their authority over everyone. Okay? All right. So, the Holy Roman Empire was a useful fiction for its time in order to um present the idea of legitimacy and unity um across a divided uh Europe at war with each other. Right? Okay. So, next class we will do the Vikings. All right? But before we end, any questions? You mentioned that the emperor's will is not um absolute. Yes. But instead the powers in in the local princes. Yes. So, did the princes like cuz they have power rebelled against the emperor? Separate? They made the empire collapse or something? Um Okay. That's a really good question. Okay, what what's the relationship of the prince electors to the emperor? Okay. Um So, this is a really interesting question. Okay? So, let's think about this. If you are prince elector, you are a local prince um in Europe. Okay? How do you benefit from the Holy Roman Empire? Well, you benefit because the Holy Roman Empire confers legitimacy to you as well. Does that make sense? Right? Because if you're a local prince, you also have people who want your throne. You also need to keep your people united. And the Catholic Church, the religion of Catholicism, was an important mechanism for you to assert authority over your people

62:30and to keep you safe from your enemies. In many ways, the Catholic Church, it's trying to be the freelance imperial bureaucracy of Europe, right? There's no emperor. The emperor has no power. So, the Catholic Church is trying to be the imperial bureaucracy where it's trying to create the culture, the meta-reality of all Europeans. Okay? And it does that through its local churches, right? The priests. Because if you think about it, um the people are interacting with the local priests, not with bureaucrats. Right? So, through the priest, you can collect information on the people, like how much money they're making so you can tax them better. And you you can better control their thoughts, okay? So, everyone's benefiting from this relationship. But it's a delicate balance because the local princes, even even though they're benefiting from this relationship, they still demand autonomy. Right? And the Catholic Church and the emperor, they want to assert their central authority over the local areas. So, so it's a delicate balance. Right? Okay. Great question, though. Does Does that make sense to you, Echo? Yeah. All right, great. Any more questions? Okay, great. So, um next class we will do the Vikings, which will be a lot of fun.