DOCSLIB.ORG

Making Known the Word of God in Medieval Spain

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Making Known the Word of God in Medieval Spain Making Known the Word of God in Medieval Spain “When I journey to Spain, I hope that I will see you and be accompanied partway there by you after I have first enjoyed your company for a time.”—Romans 15:24. HE apostle Paul wrote those words to his fel- the Vulgate gradually supplanted the Vetus La- T low Christians in Rome in about the year tina Hispana. Those Latin translations enabled 56 C.E. Whether Paul actually made the jour- the people of Spain to read the Bible and un- ney to Spain, the Bible does not say. In any case, derstand its message. But as the Roman Empire through the efforts of Paul or other Christian mis- came to an end, new linguistic needs arose. sionaries, the good news from God’s Word, the THE BIBLE ON SLATES Bible, did reach Spain by the second century C.E. In the fifth century, the Visigoths and other Soon, Christian communities began to devel- Germanic tribes invaded Spain, and a new lan- op and flourish in Spain. With that, there arose guage—Gothic—arrived on the peninsula. The in- the need for the people there to have the Bible vaders practiced a form of Christianity known translated into Latin. This was because by the as Arianism, which rejected the Trinity doctrine. second century, Spain had long been under Ro- They also brought with them their own transla- man rule and Latin had become the common lan- tion of the Scriptures—Ulfilas’ Gothic Bible. This guage throughout the vast Roman Empire. Bible was read in Spain until the end of the sixth LATIN BIBLES FILLED THE NEED century, when Reccared, the Visigothic king, be- Early Spanish Christians produced several Lat- came a Catholic and renounced Arianism. He in translations known collectively as the Vetus had all Arian books collected and destroyed, in- Latina Hispana. These Latin Bibles circulated in cluding Ulfilas’ Bible. As a result, all Gothic texts Spain for many years before Jerome completed disappeared from Spain. his renowned Latin Vulgate early in the fifth cen- Yet, the Word of God continued to spread in tury C.E. Spain during this period. Apart from Gothic, Jerome’s translation—which he completed in there was still a Latin dialect widely spoken in Bethlehem, Palestine—reached Spain in record Spain, which later gave birth to the Romance lan- time. When Lucinius, an affluent Bible student, guages spoken on the Iberian Peninsula. The learned that Jerome was preparing a Latin trans- oldest documents in this Latin dialect are known lation, he wanted to have a copy of this new as Visigothic slates, since they were written on translation as soon as possible. He dispatched pieces or slabs of slate. They date from the sixth six scribes to Bethlehem to copy the text and and seventh centuries, and some contain pas- take it back to Spain. In the following centuries, These include Castilian, Catalan, Galician, and Portuguese. 12 $ THE WATCHTOWER sages from the Psalms and the Gospels. One whole day creating one initial letter or a whole slate contains the entire 16th Psalm. week preparing a title page. Precious as they are, The existence of Scriptural texts on humble those Bibles, however, did little to spread the slates shows that ordinary people both read and message of God’s Word among the people. copied the Word of God at that time. Apparent- THE BIBLE IN ARABIC ly, teachers used these Bible texts as exercises for By the eighth century, another language began pupils who were learning to read and write. The to take root in Spain as a result of the Islamic in- slates were a cheap writing material, in contrast vasion of the peninsula. In the areas that the with the expensive parchment that the medieval Muslims colonized, Arabic gained ground over monasteries used to produce their illustrated Bi- Latin and the need arose for a Bible in this new bles. language. One priceless illustrated Bible is housed in ´ Many Arabic translations of the Bible—espe- the church of San Isidoro in Leon, Spain. Dat- cially of the Gospels—doubtless circulated in me- ed 960 C.E., it has 516 leaves measuring about dieval Spain. Apparently, in the eighth century, 18 inches (47 cm) by 13 inches (34 cm) and weigh- John, a bishop of Seville, translated the entire ing some 40 pounds (18 kg). Another, now in Bible into Arabic. Sadly, most of those Arabic the Vatican Library, is the Bible of Ripoll, dated translations have been lost. One Arabic transla- about 1020 C.E. It is one of the most profusely il- tion of the Gospels from the middle of the tenth ´ luminated Bibles of the Middle Ages. To produce century is preserved in the cathedral of Leon, such works of art, a monk might have spent a Spain. From the fifth to the MAS Slate: - Le Isabel on eighth century C.E., ´ (Espa Vel azquez ´ the Bible in Latin and na) ˜ Arabic enabled the Soriano; Spanish people to read God’s Word Arabic Bible: Fotograf ıa ´ A slate slab with Bible text in a Latin dialect, sixth century C.E. A detail from the´ highly illuminated Leon Bible. Precious as they are, such Bibles did little to spread the message of God’s Word among the people An Arabic translation of the Gospels, tenth century C.E. MARCH 1, 2014 $ 13 King Alfonso X supported Bible translation into Spanish SPANISH VERSIONS APPEARED Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid During the late Middle Ages, Castilian, or Spanish, began to take shape on the Iberi- an Peninsula. This new tongue was destined to become an important vehicle for spreading the Word of God. The earliest translation of Bible text into Spanish appeared in La Fazienda de Ultra Mar (Deeds From Across the Seas), of the ear- ly 13th century. This work contains an account of a journey to Israel, and it includes material from the Pentateuch and other books of the He- brew Scriptures as well as the Gospels and the Epistles. Church authorities were not pleased with this translation. In 1234, the Council of Tarragona decreed that all Bible books in the vernacular Pages of the 13th-century Pre-Alfonsine (left) must be handed over to the local clergy to be and Alfonsine (right) Bibles burned. Happily, this decree did not put a stop to further Bible translation. King Alfonso X (1252- 1284), considered to be the founder of Spanish directly from the Hebrew. At the time, Spain prose, wanted the translation of the Scriptures had the largest Jewish community in Europe, and into the new language and supported it. Span- Jewish translators had access to good Hebrew ish translations from this period include the so- manuscripts for making their translations. called Pre-Alfonsine Bible and the Alfonsine Bi- One outstanding example was the Alba Bi- ble that appeared shortly thereafter, which was ble, completed in the 15th century. A prominent ´ the largest translation into Spanish of its time. Spanish nobleman, Luis de Guzman, commis- ´ Both of those works helped to establish and sioned Rabbi Moises Arragel to translate the Bi- enrich the nascent Spanish language. Schol- ble into castizo (pure) Spanish. He gave two rea- ar Thomas Montgomery says regarding the Pre- sons for requesting this new translation. First, Alfonsine Bible: “The translator of this Bible pro- he said: “The Bibles that today are found in the duced an admirable work with regard to accuracy Romance language are very corrupt,” and sec- as well as elegant language. The language is ond, “People like us very much need the margin- simple and clear, as was needed for a Bible pre- al notes for the obscure passages.” His request re- pared for people unversed in Latin.” veals that people of his day had a keen interest in Those early Spanish Bibles, however, were reading and understanding the Bible. It further translated from the Latin Vulgate rather than indicates that the Scriptures in the vernacular from the original languages. Starting in the language already had quite a wide distribution in 14th century, Jewish scholars produced several Spain. Spanish translations of the Hebrew Scriptures See the article “The Divine Name and Alfonso de Zamora’s Today, Spanish is the first language of some 540 million peo- Quest for Textual Accuracy,” in the December 1, 2011, issue of ple. this magazine. 14 $ THE WATCHTOWER “The Spanish people knew the Bible much better than the people of Germany or England before the time ´ of Luther.”—Historian Juan Orts Gonzalez The Bible in Other Vernacular Languages of Spain Catalan The Bible was translated into Catalan in the 13th century. One version, known as the Rhymed Bible, was a partial translation of the Scriptures in rhyme to help the reader to memorize the text. In the same century, between 1287 and 1290, Jaume de Montjuich translated the first complete Bible into Catalan at the order of King Alfonso II of Catalonia and Aragon. Valencian In the early 15th century, Bonifacio Ferrer translated the Bible into The Alba Bible, the first translation in castizo (pure) Valencian, and it was printed in 1478. Spanish, 15th century C.E. This Valencian version was the first Bible to be printed in Spain. Regrettably, the flames of the Inquisition devoured every copy, and only its final page has survived. Thanks to the medieval translators and copy- This sheet is in the collection of the ists, educated people in Spain could read the Hispanic Society of America in New York. Bible in their own language without great hin- ´ Basque In 1571, Jean de Licarrague drance. As a result, historian Juan Orts Gonzalez ¸ translated the Greek Scriptures into observed that “the Spanish people knew the Bi- Basque, thanks to the sponsorship of the ble much better than the people of Germany or queen of Navarre.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Canon of New Testament Formation
    Canon Of New Testament Formation Conchiferous Stinky cuddles some chainplate and underlies his slothfulness so informatively! Subject connectionism?Kenn canvass disastrously. How unhindered is Jens when patellar and nonuple Arther droving some No Bible book became canonical by action of some church council. The New Testament of the Coptic Bible, from the divine standpoint, James was the lead elder of the mother church in Jerusalem in its early days. The numerous apocryphal Acts bear testimony to the desire of heretical sects to claim apostolic support for their opinions. British Revised Version, and Apocalypse, nor did he give Ruth magical powers to integrate into Israelite society. The Apocalypses of John and of Peter are received, Matthias, mostly as Scripture. How about justify your faith in Jesus to a skeptic? This tradition is traced back to Tatian. That is the question. The Gospel of Peter, Hebrews was rejected in the West because it was used by the Montanists to justify their harsh penetential system and because the West was not certain of its authorship. Holy Writings, process. We say that to the Catholic Church, the Catholic Church had yet to expand to all corners of the earth. It is true that it did not, the Ethiopic Enoch, that evidence has been lost. Galatians also disrupts the pattern, Jude, Wikipedia of course! NT canonical books, and others like it, etc. However, is notable for the extent of his canon. Be angry and do not sin, in effect, he chooses to examine extant manuscripts themselves. Having a specialty interest in literature, in contrast with nearly complete faith in oral tradition, I have not found them among the undisputed writings.
    [Show full text]
  • Index of Manuscripts Cited
    Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-86578-4 - An Introduction to the Medieval Bible Frans Van Liere Index More information Index of Manuscripts Cited Cambridge, Trinity College Oxford, Bodleian Library R.17.1: 32 Auct. D.4.10: 106, 169 Junius 11: 185–186 Chicago, Newberry Library Case 19.1: 231 Paris, Bibliotheque` Nationale Case 203: 25 Lat. 9380: 35 Lat. 11,937: 94 Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana 1 5 7 9 12 21 25 27 41 54 64 Amiatinus : – , , , , – , , , , Saint Gall, Stiftsbibliothek 72 94 211 246 , , , MS 913,fol.148ff.: 151 Freiburg, University Library 334 252 Stuttgart, Wurttembergische¨ Landesbibliothek MS : n HB.II.16: 94 London, British Library Vatican Library Add. 10,546: 35–36, 95, 242–243 Vat. gr. 1209: 24 Add. 15,253: 33 Vat. lat. 1027: 170 Add. 24,142: 73, 94 Add. 43,725: 24 37 777 9 46 Verona, Biblioteca capitolare Add. , : , 6 91 181 182 Add. 40,006: 47–48 MS : , – Add. 45,025: 9, 24, 46 ¨ Cotton Nero D. IV: 107, 189 Vienna, Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek Egerton 3031: 47 MS 1179: 248 Harley 2805: 35 MS 2554: 248 Royal 1.B.X: 24, 47, 169 Royal 1.D.V-VIII: 24 York, Minster Library Add. 2: 213 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library XVI.D.13: 47 M.240: 249 XVI.K.6: 253 M.719-720: 252n XVI.N.6: 97 M.962: 154 XVI.Q.3: 97, 105 303 © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-86578-4 - An Introduction to the Medieval Bible Frans Van Liere Index More information Index of Biblical References Genesis 11:5105 1:1131–132 15:3125 1:2171 15:11 110 1:31 44 17 168 2:344
    [Show full text]
  • Article III 45
    UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Reading between the lines: Old Germanic and early Christian views on abortion Elsakkers, M.J. Publication date 2010 Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Elsakkers, M. J. (2010). Reading between the lines: Old Germanic and early Christian views on abortion. General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl) Download date:26 Sep 2021 Part 1: Article III 45 ARTICLE III “Gothic Bible, Vetus Latina and Visigothic Law: Evidence for a Septuagint-based Gothic Version of Exodus,” Sacris Erudiri 44 (2005), pp. 37-76. [Elsakkers 2005] Part 1: Article III 46 Part 1: Article III 47 Gothic Bible,Vetus Latina andVisigothic Law Evidence for a Septuagint-based GothicVersion of Exodus* by Marianne Elsakkers (Utrecht) Although there is no extant version of the Gothic Bible book Exodus, there is historical and philological evidence for the existence of a Gothic translation of the Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament.
    [Show full text]
  • An Introduction, Phonological, Morphological, Syntactic to The
    AN INTRODUCTION, PHONOLOGICAL, MORPHOLOGICAL, SYNTACTIC, TO THE GOTHIC OF ULFILAS. BY T. LE MARCHANT DOUSE. LONDON: TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. 1886, PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, BED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. PREFACE. THIS book was originally designed to accompany an edition of Ulfilas for which I was collecting materials some eight or nine years ago, but which various con- siderations led me to lay aside. As, however, it had long seemed to me equally strange and deplorable that not a single work adapted to aid a student in acquiring a knowledge of Gothic was to be found in the English book-market, I pro- ceeded to give most of the time at my disposal to the " building up of this Introduction," on a somewhat larger scale than was at first intended, in the hope of being able to promote the study of a dialect which, apart from its native force and beauty, has special claims on the attention of more than one important class of students. By the student of linguistic science, indeed, these claims are at once admitted ; for the Gothic is one of the pillars on which rests the comparative grammar of the older both Indo-European languages in general, and also, pre-eminently, of the Teutonic cluster of dialects in particular. a But good knowledge of Gothic is scarcely less valuable to the student of the English language, at rate, of the Ancient or any English Anglo-Saxon ; upon the phonology of which, and indeed the whole grammar, the Gothic sheds a flood of light that is not to be got from any other source.
    [Show full text]
  • Lesson 18 - the Situation in the West After the Fall of Rome
    Church History Lesson 18 - The Situation in the West After the Fall of Rome 1. Introduction - A Crumbling Empire 1.1. In the last session we looked at a number of Christological controversies which embroiled the church, and consequently the Empire, up until the council of Chalcedon in 451. 1.2. As we saw, these controversies involved both the East and the West, but there were of far greater concern in the East than in the West, and the majority of bishops attending the various councils were overwhelmingly from the East. 1.3. Although there were a number of reasons for this, one of the major reasons was the rapidly changing situation in the West. After Rome was sacked for the first time in 410 AD, it sent shockwaves through the whole empire, but especially in the West. Although the Eastern part of the Empire continued in one form or another for over 1,000 years more, the situation in the West was far different. 1.4. Today we will take a brief look at what happened in the West after the first sacking of Rome in 410, and see how this affected life and the church in the West for the next 300 years or so. 2. The Barbarian Invasions 2.1. The events that most affected life and the church in the West were a series of invasions by “barbarian” tribes. 2.2. Obviously the first major invasion was when Alaric and his band of Visigoths, who invaded Italy and sacked Rome in 410. It was the shockwaves from this event that caused Augustine to write his opus City of God.
    [Show full text]
  • Greek Texts and English Translations of the Bible: A
    GREEK TEXTS AND ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF THE BIBLE: A COMPARISON AND CONTRAST OF THE TEXTUS RECEPTUS GREEK NEW TESTAMENT OF THE 16th CENTURY AND THE ALEXANDRIAN TEXT OF WESTCOTT AND HORT (19th CENTURY) AND ALAND AND METZGER (20th CENTURY) CONCERNING VARIANT TEXTS THAT PERTAIN TO THE ORTHODOX CHRISTOLOGY OF THE COUNCIL OF NICEA, A.D. 325 Gil L. Samples, B.A. Thesis Prepared for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS December 2002 APPROVED: Laura I. Stern, Major Professor Harold Tanner, Chair of the Department of History Henry Eaton, Committee Member Adrian R. Lewis, Committee Member C. Neal Tate, Dean of the Robert B. Toulouse School of Graduate Studies Samples, Gil L. Greek texts and English translations of the Bible: a comparison and contrast of the Textus Receptus Greek New Testament of the 16th century and the Alexandrian text of Westcott and Hort (19th century) and Aland and Metzger (20th century) concerning variant texts that pertain to the orthodox Christology of the Council of Nicea, A.D. 325. Master of Arts (History), December 2002, 155 pp., 149 titles. The argument of this paper is that certain salient passages in the New Testament concerning Christology, as it was defined in the Nicene creed in A.D. 325, reflect such orthodoxy better in the Textus Receptus Greek texts and the English translations made from them than do the Alexandrian texts. Arian theology, which was condemned as heretical at Nicea, is examined. Patristic quotations, historical texts, and arguments of the scholars are cited and traced, along with a comparison of Christological verses.
    [Show full text]
  • Jordanes and the Invention of Roman-Gothic History Dissertation
    Empire of Hope and Tragedy: Jordanes and the Invention of Roman-Gothic History Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Brian Swain Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2014 Dissertation Committee: Timothy Gregory, Co-advisor Anthony Kaldellis Kristina Sessa, Co-advisor Copyright by Brian Swain 2014 Abstract This dissertation explores the intersection of political and ethnic conflict during the emperor Justinian’s wars of reconquest through the figure and texts of Jordanes, the earliest barbarian voice to survive antiquity. Jordanes was ethnically Gothic - and yet he also claimed a Roman identity. Writing from Constantinople in 551, he penned two Latin histories on the Gothic and Roman pasts respectively. Crucially, Jordanes wrote while Goths and Romans clashed in the imperial war to reclaim the Italian homeland that had been under Gothic rule since 493. That a Roman Goth wrote about Goths while Rome was at war with Goths is significant and has no analogue in the ancient record. I argue that it was precisely this conflict which prompted Jordanes’ historical inquiry. Jordanes, though, has long been considered a mere copyist, and seldom treated as an historian with ideas of his own. And the few scholars who have treated Jordanes as an original author have dampened the significance of his Gothicness by arguing that barbarian ethnicities were evanescent and subsumed by the gravity of a Roman political identity. They hold that Jordanes was simply a Roman who can tell us only about Roman things, and supported the Roman emperor in his war against the Goths.
    [Show full text]
  • The Importance of Athanasius and the Views of His Character
    The Importance of Athanasius and the Views of His Character J. Steven Davis Submitted to Dr. Jerry Sutton School of Divinity Liberty University September 19, 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter I: Research Proposal Abstract .............................................................................................................................11 Background ......................................................................................................................11 Limitations ........................................................................................................................18 Method of Research .........................................................................................................19 Thesis Statement ..............................................................................................................21 Outline ...............................................................................................................................21 Bibliography .....................................................................................................................27 Chapter II: Background of Athanasius An Influential Figure .......................................................................................................33 Early Life ..........................................................................................................................33 Arian Conflict ...................................................................................................................36
    [Show full text]
  • The Conversion of the Goths and Franks
    The Conversion of the Goths and Franks Cosmic Conflict • Gen. 3:15–“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed, it shall bruise thy head, and you shalt bruise his heel. Christian population of the Roman Empire when Constantine came to power: 5% - 12% The Goths and the Roman Empire Goths . Visigoths . Ostrogoths . Vandals Roman legionaries recruited from the Goths Some Roman Emperors of Gothic lineage Mongol Invasions (3rd and 5th centuries) . Led to migrations of the Huns and Goths . Incursions into the Empire Christian Missions to the Goths 1. Catholic (Nicene) . Through captives and refugees from persecution . John Chrysostom (400) 2. Audians . Named for Audius . Spread Christianity outside the empire . Active among the Scythians and Goths . Monasteries and bishops established . Nearly eradicated Christian Missions to the Goths 3. Arian – Most Goths were Arians – Arius • Heretical Bishop • Council of Nicea (325) Ulfilas (311-380) . Designed an alphabet to translate the Bible into Gothic . Some portions of that translation are preserved today Pre-Reformation Missions 500 B.C. 0 500 1000 A.D. 1500 Influence of Persian Empire (500 B.C. – A.D. 400) Grecian Influence (323 B.C. – A.D. 400) Mar Thoma Church (A.D. 50 – 1500) Coptic Church (A.D. 50-1500) Roman Republic Empire (27 B.C.–476 (500-27 B.C.) A.D.) Constantine (A.D. 306-337) A.D. 400, Augustine Bishop of Hippo Ulfilas – Missionary to the Goths (311-380) 400, Chrysostom sends missionaries to Goths 496, Clovis, King of the Franks, converts to Christianity Christianity’s Advance Rome sacked by Alaric and the Visigoths (410) Adopted substantial amount of Roman culture and religion Clovis and the Franks .
    [Show full text]
  • 4 from Where Did the Anabaptists Come
    4 From Where Did the Anabaptists come? They came from “no where.” Right out of the Dark Ages, out of incredibly corrupt state churches, the Anabaptists (Ludwig Keller and E. H. Broadbent notwithstanding) stepped as a totally new and different movement. Were they somehow connected to the first Christians? No, they were not. The early Christians were Jewish, Greek, or Latin people in flowing robes. The Anabaptists were north Europeans in black hats and broadfall trousers. The Anabaptists, although they respected the early Christians, made no attempt to “reproduce” them exactly. A thousand miles and a thousand years apart, they had little in common except the New Testament and the secret of the great strength . Once this became clear to me I started seeing things in history: Jewish Christians After Pentecost, Jews from Parthia, Media, Elam, Babylon, Cappadocia, and other places joined the Jews of Judaea who believed in Christ. Jewish Christians, all of whom could trace their ancestry back to Abraham, were circumcised and wore beards. They ate Kosher foods and kept the Sabbath holy. But 16 The Secret of the Strength . they followed Christ, and Christianity soon broke out of the bounds of Judaism. Greek Christians After Paul’s conversion and Peter’s visit to Cornelius, hundreds and eventually thousands of Greeks from all over Alexander’s former realm—Greek merchants and lawyers, Greek doctors, educated Greeks, Greeks given to profound thought, athletic Greeks, Greeks used to idolatry and total abandon to immorality, Greek masters and slaves—repented, believed, and got baptised. They followed Christ, and it wasn’t long until Christianity was predominantly Greek, centred in Hellenistic Syria, Egypt, and Asia Minor.
    [Show full text]
  • Timeline 100 BC ‒ 44 Julius Caesar, Roman General and Writer BC 27 BC Death of Marcus T., Author on the Affairs of the Countryside 55-117 C.120 Tacitus (P
    Timeline 100 BC ‒ 44 Julius Caesar, Roman general and writer BC 27 BC Death of Marcus T., author On the Affairs of the Countryside 55-117 c.120 Tacitus (P. Cornelius Tacitus) 97/98 Publication of On Germany 70 Death of Lucius Junius Columella, author of On Agriculture c.100 Mithraism appears as a cult in the Roman Empire. c.155 Martyrdom of Polycarp of Smyrna c.232-c.303 Porphyry, Neoplatonic philosopher 235-84 The ‘third-century crisis’ of usurpations and revolts 284-305 Reign of Emperor Diocletian 286 Empire divided between two augusti: Diocletian in the East, and Maximian in the West 301 Edict of Prices, shortly after an edict on tax-reform c.311-83 Ulfilas, missionary to the Goths, translator of the Bible into Gothic 306-37 Reign of Emperor Constantine 306 306 Constantine elected emperor ('raised to the purple’) at York 312 Battle of Milvian Bridge; Conversion of Constantine to Christianity 313 Edict of Milan 314 Council of Arles on Donatism 324 Victory over the eastern emperor Licinius; founding of Constantinople 325 Council of Niceaea on Arianism Basilica Nova¸ Rome Church of Santa Constanza, Rome c.315/c.336- St Martin, bishop of Tours 397 c. 360 Monastery of Ligugé founded c.345-402 Symmachus, senatorial aristocrat in the West c. 330-79 St Basil ‘the Great’ 357-8 Visits monks in Egypt and the Holy Land 358-9 Rule of St Basil c. 339-97 St Ambrose, bishop of Milan c. 360-after 430 John Cassian, monk, author of the Institutes and the Conferences 353/5-431 Paulinus, founder of the monastery of Nola (southern Italy) 357 Battle of Strasbourg 360-3 Reign of the pagan Emperor Julian the Apostate 363 Julian killed in the course of a Persian campaign 364-78 Reign of Emperor Valens in the East 372 Monastery of Marmoûtiers founded 376 Visigoths cross the River Danube and settle in the Roman province of Thrace 378 Valens defeated and killed by the Goths at the Battle of Adrianople.
    [Show full text]
  • Council of Jerusalem from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
    Council of Jerusalem From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Council of Jerusalem (or Apostolic Conference) is a name applied by historians to an Early Christian council that was held in Jerusalem and dated to around the year 50. It is considered by Catholics and Orthodox to be a prototype and forerunner of the later Ecumenical Councils. The council decided that Gentile converts to Christianity were not obligated to keep most of the Mosaic law, including the rules concerning circumcision of males, however, the Council did retain the prohibitions against eating blood, or eating meat containing blood, or meat of animals not properly slain, and against fornication and idolatry. Descriptions of the council are found in Acts of the Apostles chapter 15 (in two different forms, the Alexandrian and Western versions) and also possibly in Paul's letter to the Galatians chapter 2.[1] Some scholars dispute that Galatians 2 is about the Council of Jerusalem (notably because Galatians 2 describes a private meeting) while other scholars dispute the historical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles. Paul was likely an eyewitness and a major person in attendance whereas the writer of Luke-Acts probably[citation needed] wrote second-hand about James the Just, whose judgment was the meeting he described in Acts 15. adopted in the Apostolic Decree of Acts 15:19-29 (http://bibref.hebtools.com/? book=%20Acts&verse=15:19- Contents 29&src=!) , c. 50 AD: "...we should write to them [Gentiles] to abstain 1 Historical background only from things polluted by idols
    [Show full text]