Rise of Christian Kingdoms — Overview
500 to 1000 A.D.

Christian Kingdoms of the Early Middle Ages

There are two parts to the story of the conversion of Europe to Christianity. The first is the story of the Monks and Monasteries that preserved and passed on the culture, liturgy, and traditions of Christianity, and played a great role in the spread of the faith throughout Europe. The monasteries produced thousands of saints and their contribution to Catholic Civilization are discussed in the Catholic Culture program.

The other important bulwark of Christendom was a network of Catholic kingdoms and principalities that arose on the ruins of the Roman Empire. Beginning in areas former under Roman dominion, they spread from the Mediterranean to the farthest reaches of northern and eastern Europe. The Christion kingdoms of Europe that were established between 500 and 1000 A.D. were very diverse. They arose from tribes with independent governments, dissimilar languages, diverse economies and climates, and unique customs. Yet all adopted the Christian faith and worship, and submitted to the laws of the Church.

The Catholic Church was the great unifying principle of Medieval Europe. Instead of warring tribes and anarchy, an alliance of independent Christian kingdoms arose throughout Europe during the early Middle Ages, first in formerly Roman territories, and then throughout central Europe, eastern Europe, and Scandinavia. The Christian kingdoms of Europe were independently governed, but unified in law, custom, and morals by their common religion. Adherence to the laws of the Church, especially regarding marriage was essential for making alliances and recognizing of the legitimacy of hereditary rule. Respect for Christian morality and feudal obligations helped safeguard the rights and security of the peasant classes. In these and many other ways Christian laws, customs, and loyalties were essential in providing a measure of stability, peace, and common culture to the diverse nations of Europe.

By 500 A.D. (left) Germanic tribes had established Arian kingdoms in formerly Roman provinces.

By 1000 A.D. (right), Catholicism had spread throughout Europe and Christian kingdoms were established from the Iberian Peninsula to the far east.

Conversion of European Kingdoms

The conversion of the peoples of Europe to Christianity took hundreds of years, and the story of each nation is unique. Each country has a different history, with special saints and national heroes that were responsible for bringing the tribe or region into the family of Christian kingdoms.

Below is a list of some of most important heroes of the faith involved in the conversion of Western Europe to Christianity. Some are monks and missionaries. Others are kings or bishops, and others are queens who implored their spouses to enter the Church. Most are saints, but not of the most important characters in the conversion of Europe have been canonized. In the table below, Christian heroes are indicated in red, while the tribe, nation, or region they influenced is in dark green.

Critical conversions during Middle Ages

The conversion of Europe to Catholicism was not a simple process of converting the native peoples. In addition to the pagan Germanic, Celtic, and Slavic tribes that already existed in Europe during the late Roman era, invasions and migrations from all sides disturbed the indigenous population. After the fall of the Roman Empire, therefore, the conversion of Europe to Christianity occurred in three phases.

CONVERSION OF GERMANTIC BARBARIAN KINGDOMS

[400-500]   Migration of Goths, Franks, and Vandals into Western Roman Empire. Arian Goths migrated to Spain and Italy and become Catholics. Franks migrate to Gaul and found the Kingdom of the Franks, and the Vandals were driven out of Africa.

[500-600]   Migration of Anglo-Saxons into Britain, and Lombards into Italy. All of Britain converted by early 700s. Lombards forcibly converted by Charlemagne in late 700s.

RISE AND FALL OF THE FRANKISH EMPIRE

[500-843]   Rise of the Frankish Kingdom in Europe, first under the Merovingian kings and then the Carolingians. The Frankish king was a strong ally of the Roman pope and responsible for bringing central Italy under the control of the Papacy. The 'Carolingian Renaissance' during the reign of Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious saw the Frankish empire's greatest growth and cultural influence.

MOHAMMEDAN, NORSE, AND MAGYAR INVASIONS OF EUROPE

[600-750]   Mohammedan conquest of Syria, North Africa, and Spain. Enormous portions of Christian Syria and Africa lost permanently to Islam. Spain recovered for Christendom in 13th century.

[800-1000]   Norseman and Danish attacks on coastal regions and Rise of the Normans. Danes of Britain eventually Christianize. Norsemen Christianize and become Dukes of Normandy and Kings of England. Norway and Sweden become Christian in early 1000s. Normans become kings of Britain, Sicily, and Crusader States.

[900-970]   Magyars migrate to Central Europe and invade German territory. German tribes unite against the Magyars and drive them back to Hungary. Magyars convert in about 1000 A.D.

By the after several centuries of conflict and relative chaos, several new powers began to arise in Europe. These included 1) the Kingdom of France, under the house of Hugh Capet, 2) The Holy Roman Empire, founded by Otto the Great and his descendants, and 3) The kingdom of England, established by the Norman Duke, William the Conqueror. At the same time, the Christian kingdoms of Spain began to repel the Moors, the chaotic kingdoms of Southern Italy settled down under Norman rule, and Europe prepared to come to the aid of Eastern Christendom in the Holy lands. This was the beginning of the 'High Middle Ages'.

Important Events in Conversion of Europe

Conversion of Germanic Tribes

The Roman Empire was composed of a diverse group of peoples, but the central government imposed common laws, a common language, and to a great extent, a common culture on its population for hundreds of years. By the 5th century A.D. the the population was partially Christianized, but entirely Romanized and accustomed to imperial government. The Germanic, Slavic, Bulgarian, Gaelic, and Nordic tribes outside of Roman territory, however, maintained their independent way of life and during the 4th and 5th centuries, when they began to migrate into Roman territory, they adopted many Roman customs, but were not entirely assimilated.

By the beginning of the fifth century, Roman government began to break down. The Germanic 'barbarians' who arose to form independent kingdoms on the ruins of the empire were generally the very soldiers who had been hired by the Roman government to guard the borders. In most cases they did not battle the Romans for control of territory, but instead just stepped into leadership roles when the central government withered away.

The main obstacle to the conversion of the first wave of German tribes to Catholic Christianity was the Arian heresy, but by mid the 7th century, much of the former Roman Empire was once again, Catholic Christian. The story of the conversion of the Franks, Visigoths, and Anglo-Saxons to Christianity was dealt with in a previous unit Late Roman Period.

Growth of the Frankish Empire — Merovingians and Carolingians

The first Christian kingdoms arose in Europe shortly after the fall of the Western Empire in about 450 A.D. and they continued to expand and multiply for over five hundred years. The most important of the Christian kingdoms in Europe during this period, was also one of the earliest. The Franks were a German tribe, residing along the lower Rhine valley, on the border of the Roman Empire. They eventually became Foederati, or foreign soldiers in the Roman Legions. As the Roman Empire collapsed, the Franks took over the government of northern Gaul, and under Clovis, defeated the last Roman governor in Gaul. From the time Clovis converted to Catholic Christianity, for over 200 years, the Merovingian kings who descended from him were stalwart defenders of the Christian faith and the Papacy. During this time the Merovingian Franks increased their territory to the point they ruled almost all of Gaul and much of Germany as well.

By the 700s the Frankish kingdom was being governed by Charles Martel, the palace minister rather than the Merovingian king. When the Moors crossed the Pyrenees and invaded Gaul, Martel decisively defeated them at the Battle of Tours, and a generation later, his son Pepin the Short, was crowned king of the Franks and became the first of the Carolingian kings. When Pepin's son Charlemagne came to the throne he began a campaign of conquest and by the end of his 45 year reign, much of northern Italy, northern Spain, and German central Europe were added to the Frankish dominions. Charlemagne was supportive of the Rome and encouraged the building of Churches, monasteries, and schools throughout his realm. The combined reigns of Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious, lasting from about 768 to 840, saw a great rebirth in Christian civilization known as the "Carolingian Renaissance", and was the high water mark of the Frankish empire.

Rise of the Holy Roman Emperor

The ninth and tenth centuries were turbulent ones. The Frankish empire began to collapse at the death of Louis the pious, when his three sons divided his kingdom between them and then began warring with each other. The German speaking Eastern Frankish kingdom, only recently converted to Christianity and unaccustomed to unified rule, quickly descended into near anarchy. The disorder spread to Italy, where local princes, wealthy merchant cities, papal states, former Lombard kings, and Byzantine governors vied for control.

Just when it seemed nothing could unite the petty Christian princes of East Franconia, the triple threat of Viking raids along the coasts, Moslem raids on Italy and Sicily, and Magyar invasions into the German heartland, provided the necessary impetus for uniting behind a strong leader. Although Charlemagne was crowned the first Holy Roman Emperor in 800 A.D., once the Frankish empire broke up the office of the king of Eastern Franks, which was elective rather than hereditary, had little authority. The petty German princes had no motivation to elect or submit to a strong king until an existential threat from the outside presented itself.

By the early 900s, the German princes recognized the necessity of a strong leader, and bypassed the hereditary Frankish prince for Henry the Fowler, a highly respected Duke of Saxony. Henry put down rebellions, made a truce with the Magyars, subdued Slavic and Viking invaders, and left a strong, united Germany to his son Otto I (the Great). Otto continued the work of his father in unifying Germany and strengthening the Church in his realm. After decisively defeating the Magyars, Otto led an army across the Alps and claimed the kingship of Italy, and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 962.

The Holy Roman emperors that followed Otto the Great varied in influence. Since the title of King of Germany (a.k.a king of the Eastern Franks), was elective rather than hereditary, there were considerable politics involved. The Germans princes had a tendency to usurp the Church's right to self-government by seeking to appoint bishops, for political reasons, and the Papacy had an unhealthy dependence on imperial power. These problems came to a head in the 11th century with the Investiture controversy and the reforms of Pope Gregory VII. But though the direct power of the Holy Roman emperors waxed and waned over time, the position remained one of influence from the era of Otto the Great in the 900s to the Napoleonic Wars in the early 1800s.

Moslem, Norse and Magyar Invasions of Europe

The waves of Arabs, Vikings, Danes, Slavs, Magyars and Turks invaders that swept over Europe in the 700s were a more serious threat to Christendom than the Germans tribes of the late Roman era had been. For four centuries many regions of Christian Europe suffered invasions and attacks by marauders on their coasts and borders. And unlike the earlier Germanic migrations, which were gradual and involved partially Romanized peoples, the assaults of the Moslems, Vikings, and Magyars against Christian Europe were violent incursions by hostile pagans.

But instead of being destroyed or over run, the Christian kingdoms of Europe resisted centuries of barbarian assaults and successfully converted tens of thousands of hostile pagans to the Christian faith.

• The Teutonic invaders from the Rhine became the Catholics kings of the of France;
• The pagan Saxons became English kings and Holy Roman Emperors;
• The Vikings raiders became Dukes of Normandy, princes of Italy, and Crusader kings; and
• The ferocious Magyars of Hungary became Christians in the 11th century and for the next 600 years provided a bulwark between Christian Europe and the Ottoman Turks.

Of all the invaders who attacked Europe during the early middle ages, only the Mohammedans failed to Christianize, and they were held back at the Pyrenees and at long last driven from Europe. A timeline of the major attacks by pagan invaders on Christian Europe during the medieval period is as follows: