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BRITAIN IN EUROPE
Part I
All Scripture references
are to the Anglicised New International Version (NIV-UK) unless stated
otherwise
And it came to pass in
those days, that there went out a decree from
Caesar Augustus that all
the world should be taxed.
Luke 2: 1
(King James Version)
THE
LINE OF Hadrian’s Wall runs from the river
Solway in the west to the river Tyne in the east. For over eighty miles of
moors and hill country the frontier rises and falls with the terrain, a stone
boundary that once separated Roman civilisation in the south from the northern
wilderness. Large sections of the wall survive today, supported in places by
mile-castles and the remains of garrison buildings. It is an impressive work of
engineering. The wall is made of several layers of large and rough-cut stone
blocks, while the connecting temples and domestic buildings are adorned with
carvings and inscriptions. The wall cuts through a deserted landscape that was
once alive with traders and soldiers.
Fragments
of handwriting on wooden tablets have been discovered at the fort of
Vindolanda, one mile south of the wall. They give us a sketch of Roman life in
Britain. Some are personal notes, typical of everyday exchanges that can be
found in any age of human history. Among the fragments are requests for
groceries, invitations for social occasions, as well as military and legal
reports. The tablets are about the size of a postcard and are written in ink.[fn1] Silver and
bronze coins have also been found at Roman sites along the wall.
A
Single Currency
The Roman
coins recovered from the Northumberland mud were the same as those used around
the Mediterranean coast – a single currency bearing a likeness of the Emperor.
The Syrian auxiliary patrolling the Caledonian border could spend his wages in
the taverns of northern Britain or in the markets of Palmyra two thousand miles
to the south-east. The coins, Vindolanda tablets and archaeological remains of
foreign wood and plant residues are proof of Britain’s foreign trade.
After the
conquest the Romans divided Britain into four districts with each district
under a separate administration. The Imperial staff of each district collected
taxes from their province and used the revenues to fund central and local government.
This broad style of Roman government gave Britons privileges that were not
possible when they lived as separate tribes with a hereditary leadership. Roman
law granted rights to all citizens of the Empire.
The
Rule of Law
The
Apostle Paul, himself a free-born citizen of Rome (Acts 22: 28), demonstrated
the strength of Rome’s rule of law when he appealed to Caesar after an
unsatisfactory hearing with Festus the governor of Judea (Acts 25: 10-12) :-
Paul answered: ‘I am now standing before Caesar’s court,
where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you
yourself know very well. If, however, I am guilty of
doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges
brought against me by these Jews are not true, no-one has the right to hand me
over to them. I appeal to Caesar!’ After Festus had
conferred with his council, he declared: ‘You have appealed to Caesar. To
Caesar you will go!’
That
Paul’s appeal had been allowed by Festus demonstrates how the Empire eased
assimilation of the vanquished nations by offering citizenship and access to
the courts. Lex in latin can mean the law and it can also mean a
covenant or contract, something that binds. Just as St. Paul could claim his
rights with confidence, so Britons also could appeal to Rome.
In return
for subjection to the Imperial law, British frontiers were guarded by Rome’s
Legions. When Hadrian’s wall was completed between A.D. 122 and 130, Britain
for the first time was a part of Europe – culturally, politically and
militarily.
The
sacking of Rome in 410 by the Visigothic army under Alaric I, heralded the
Empire’s collapse. It was the first of several upheavals as the northern tribes
of the Huns, Vandals and Goths moved south. These barbarian armies overran the civil
and military powers and cut off the provinces from the centre of authority,
effectively scattering the Empire’s officers and servants. Outlaws roamed
freely and robbed the towns and supply routes. The western half of the Empire,
fragmented and isolated, was left to defend itself.
The
New Jerusalem
The
former glory and majesty of Rome inspired subsequent rulers of nations to
recreate its golden age – that of a united Europe under one government. The
church also had an interest in a return to order, on the principle that civil
society is conducive to holy living. ‘Seek peace and pursue it’ is St. Peter’s
advice (1 Peter 3: 11). Others looked for the fulfilment of Jesus’ promise to
return and establish His Kingdom on earth – the new Jerusalem: -
Look, he is coming with the
clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the
peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.
(Revelation 1: 7).
But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a
new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. (2 Peter 3: 13).
Alive
with hope, the Gospel spread throughout the ruins of the Empire. Earnest
Christian men travelled across the European continent, founding churches and
monasteries. In the early Middle Ages (before A.D. 1000) the characters of
Columban, Virgilius and Fursa shone out for their missionary zeal. Catholic
missionaries Augustine and Boniface promulgated a Christian faith centred in
Roman practice and doctrine across Europe. Thus the peoples of Europe learned a
common faith before there was any effective common government.
A New
Roman Power
Situated
in the capital of the old Empire and associated strongly with Sts Paul and
Peter, the church in Rome had an advantage over those who opposed her. For
practical reasons, civil rulers desired unity of faith among their subjects,
and invoked the authority of the church at Rome to settle disputes. Popularity
and tradition thus elevated the influence of Rome.
Two
separate but allied motives united the interests of the Roman church and the
leaders of the largely Christian nations. The church coveted civil authority to
enforce its ecclesiastical decrees and defend its mission; monarchs sought
Divine endorsement of their right to rule. Kings and bishops ambitious for a
new civil order supported each other in their common desire to establish stable
and popular government.
Christendom
Emerges
Historians
mark the coronation of Charlemagne as the pivotal event in the development of
Christendom.[fn2] He united the peoples of Neustria and Austrasia – Frankish
kingdoms – into a single realm stretching from the Atlantic to the river Danube
and from the North Sea to the Mediterranean. Charlemagne fought fifty-three
campaigns defending and advancing the kingdom of the Franks. He demonstrated
his support for the Roman church by confirming in a charter the Papal
territories. Pope Leo III recognised and rewarded such fealty in A.D. 800 when,
in the basilica of St. Peter, Leo bestowed on Charlemagne the title of Emperor.
The
Emperor was the ‘defender of the faith’, and thus the highest legal authority,
the maker and maintainer of the social order in which kingdoms came and went.
From this perspective the Emperor was God’s executive agent in temporal
affairs. Charlemagne died fourteen years after his coronation; within a century
the kingdom of the Franks disintegrated. The Imperial office remained, and a
succession of popes continued to appoint Emperors for another one thousand
years.
To Be Continued
________________
NOTES
Citations to Web pages are correct as of the
dates retrieved, but sites may expire or be moved.
^[fn1] The history and research surrounding the Vindolanda
Tablets are available over the internet. The Centre for the Study of Ancient
Documents and the Academic Computing Development Team at Oxford University have
collaborated to present the tablets on a website. It is supported by the Andrew
W. Mellon Foundation.
< http://vindolanda.csad.ox.ac.uk/exhibition/setting.shtml > (retrieved 24 September 2011).
^[fn2] James Viscount Bryce, The Holy Roman Empire (London:
MacMillan and Co. Ltd., 1928), p. 50.
_______________
Article copyright July 2011 by
ukbiblestudents.co.uk
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Map is of Central Europe 980. Area in yellow
denotes the Holy Roman Empire.
This map is
from the Atlas to Freeman’s Historical Geography, edited by J.B. Bury,
Longmans Green and Co. Third Edition 1903. It is in the public domain and you
may download it or print it for any use.
See <historymedren.about.com/library/atlas/blatcendex.htm>
