250 word summary

Circling the Mediterranean

· "Mediterranean" derives from a Latin word meaning, "in the middle of the lands" (Norton 801). The Mediterranean Sea facilitated trade between Europe, North Africa, and also the Near and Middle East (Norton 801)

(Mediterranean Sea via Google Maps (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.) 

· There were more interaction between "Europe" and "the Islamic world" during the Middle Ages than earlier scholars thought and more diversity within Europe and the Islamic world too (Norton 801)

· Consider Augustine's travels as an example of the kinds of cultural exchange that was possible. Augustine was born in Thagaste (modern day Souk-Ahras, Algeria), but traveled to Carthage (a city in Tunisia), Rome, Milan, back to Thagaste, and finally settled in Hippo (modern day Annaba, Algeria). See the map below for a visual of what it would take to make Augustine's journey today. Now think about how much traveling it entailed in the 300s/400s CE! 

(Directions from Algeria to Italy, and back to Algeria (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. via Google Maps) 

Christianity and Platonism

· European Christianity during the Middle Ages was strongly influenced by Greco-Roman philosophy and literature, but also by Persian influences and "Arabic translations of ancient Greek philosophy and science" like Plato, Aristotle, and Ptolemy (Norton 802) 

· What is Platonism?

· Thought exercise: review the four Platonic ideas in the above video and consider which parts of Augustine's Confessionsshow influence from Plato's philosophy

· For example, Plato believes that beauty tell us important things about qualities we are missing our lives. Beauty can also inspire us to lead better lives. In the following passage, Augustine writes about God as "perfect beauty." Can you think of what God's perfection should inspire in us, at least according to St Augustine? 

This life we live here below has its own attractiveness, grounded in the measure of beauty it has and its harmony with the beauty of all lesser things. The bond of human friendship is admirable, holding many souls as one. Yet in the enjoyment of all such things we commit sin if through immoderate inclination to them--for though they are good, they are the lowest order of good--things higher and better are forgotten, even You, O Lord our God, and Your Truth and Your Law. These lower things have their delights but not such as my God has, for He made them all: and in Him doth the righteous delight, and He is the joy of the upright of heart. (Norton 840)

· It was not until around 300 CE that a single Christian doctrine began to emerge, mostly in the form of 1) the Vulgate Bible and 2) Augustine's writings (Norton 803) 

· 1) The Vulgate (meaning: "common speech") Bible is a Latin-language version of the Bible written by Eusebius Hieronymus (St. Jerome) in the late 300s CE. St. Jerome translated the Old Testament from the original Hebrew into Latin. 

· Why important? a) It collected together various Christian doctrines that, until then, existed as separate documents and b) St. Jerome's version of the Bible was used by the Roman Catholic Church starting in the 500s CE, and was then "officially adopted" in the 1500s. 

· 2) Augustine's Confessions represents Christian theology that internalizes Greek and Roman philosophy and literature; he references Seneca, Cicero, Plato, and Virgil, for example (Norton 803)