The State Idea in Byzantium and Western Europe until the Age of Crusades
In this essay I try to deal with the differences between the idea of state the two Christianities developed after Rome fall, the notion of the political ruling of the world, the different development the two Christianities had known through the passing of time, the distinct progress, the nationality, the power symbols, and the role had by the two churches. Byzantium had a strong and well outlined state order and church hierarchy. The emperor was the defensor pacis in the community. In Western Europe the feudal system is ruling the relations between different partners. The senior and the liege have both commitments and rights. The vassal has a clearer independence because he can every moment riot against his senior. There were big and concrete differences between the two Christian worlds. The Byzantine political order and hierarchy are something completely new for the feudal western world. The state idea had been lost there, once Rome had fallen, in 476. That’s one of the main reasons which led to the later confrontation between the two Christianities in the age of the crusades.
Keywords: basileus, Christianities, state, nationality, pax romana, aristocracy, feudal system.
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