Content

This unit will cover Byzantine history commencing with Constantine's establishment of the city of Constantinople, until the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The unit will consider the evolution of Byzantium from the Roman Empire and the ambition of Justinian to revitalise the empire. It will identify and evaluate internal conflicts within Byzantium and the continuing conflict on its borders with particular focus on the implications of the growth of Islam for Byzantium. It will examine the growing estrangement between East and West including theological misinterpretations and the further mistrust brought about by the western crusades particularly the capture of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade. It will evaluate later developments at reconciliation and the difficulties in implementing the Council of Florence. The unit will also enable students to evaluate the contribution of Byzantium to the emerging Renaissance and the continuing legacy to Orthodoxy.

Unit code: CH9101C

Unit status: Approved (Major revision)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: Church History

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: Catholic Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Demonstrate an appreciation of developments in law, art and architecture in Byzantium during the reign of Justinian.

2.

Identify and evaluate the factors leading to the Iconoclast controversy and its resolution.

3.

Describe and evaluate the development of Islam and the threat it posed to the security of Byzantium.

4.

Critically evaluate the objectives of the Crusades from the perspective of the Western powers and Byzantium.

5.

Analyse the cultural and theological differences between the Church in the East and the Church in the West which contributed to the Great Schism.

6.

Evaluate the contribution of Byzantine missionary activity in Russia and eastern Europe.

7.

Critically evaluate and interpret a representative selection of primary and secondary sources as evidence of the development of Byzantium in Church history.

Unit sequence

30 points in Church History

Pedagogy

Lectures and seminar discussion

Indicative Bibliography

  • Angold, Michael. Church and Society in Byzantium under the Comneni, 1081–1261. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
  • Bauer, Susan W. The History of the Medieval World: From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade. New York: W. W. Norton, 2010.
  • Chadwick, Henry. East and West: The Making of a Rift in the Church: From Apostolic Times until the Council of Florence. Oxford History of the Christian Church. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
  • Cormack, Robin, and Maria Vassiliki, eds. Byzantium, 330–1453. London: Royal Academy of Arts Publications, 2008.
  • Herrin, Judith. Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008.
  • Meyendorff, John. Rome, Constantinople, Moscow: Historical and Theological Studies. Crestwood: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1996.
  • Nichols, Aidan. Rome and the Eastern Churches: A Study in Schism. 2nd ed. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010.
  • Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades. Oxford Illustrated Histories. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
  • Treadgold, Warren T. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1997.
  • Whittow, Mark. The Making of Byzantium: 600–1025. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

5,000-word essay

5000 60.0
Tutorial Paper/Seminar Paper

Tutorial Paper (1,000 words)

1000 20.0
Tutorial Paper/Seminar Paper

Tutorial Paper (1,000 words)

1000 20.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 6 Aug, 2018

Unit record last updated: 2021-06-07 08:43:49 +1000