1.6 Developments in Europe

Byzantine Empire and Orthodox Christianity

The Byzantine Empire, centered at Constantinople, preserved Roman law and Greek culture while developing Eastern Orthodox Christianity, distinct from the Roman Catholic Church. Emperor Justinian codified law (Justinian Code) and built the Hagia Sophia. Byzantine missionaries spread Orthodoxy and the Cyrillic alphabet to Kievan Rus, linking Eastern Europe culturally and religiously to Byzantium.

Feudalism and Manorialism

After Rome's fall, Western Europe lacked centralized authority, so feudalism developed: a hierarchical system where monarchs granted land (fiefs) to nobles/lords in exchange for military service, and knights served lords. Manorialism organized economic life — serfs worked land owned by lords in exchange for protection, creating a decentralized, agriculturally based social and economic order across medieval Europe.

The Catholic Church's Power

The Roman Catholic Church was the dominant unifying institution in Western Europe, wielding political, economic, and cultural power. The Pope could crown or excommunicate rulers. The Church ran education, promoted Crusades (religious wars to reclaim the Holy Land, also spurring trade/cultural exchange), and later faced challenges from a growing merchant class and centralizing monarchies by 1450.

Key terms

Byzantine Empire

Eastern continuation of the Roman Empire centered at Constantinople; preserved Roman law and developed Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

Justinian Code

A codification of Roman law under Emperor Justinian, influencing later legal systems.

Feudalism

Political/military system where monarchs granted land (fiefs) to nobles/knights in exchange for military service.

Manorialism

Economic system where serfs worked a lord's land in exchange for protection and small plots of land to farm.

Crusades

Religious wars sponsored by the Catholic Church to reclaim the Holy Land, increasing trade and cultural contact with the Islamic world.

Try an AP-style question

Feudalism in medieval Europe was based on…

1. exchanging land for military service
2. elected parliaments
3. trade guilds governing states
4. a centralized bureaucracy