o The eastern part of the empire expanded (see Justinian) and
contracted (under Persian and Muslim attack), but it maintained
a political and cultural order until 1453 that was (at least on
the surface) continuous with the ancient empire. Its political
genius was shown not least in its success in diverting to the
west the migrating nations from the north.o In contrast, the western part of the empire collapsed as an
institutional whole under the successive waves of nations
(Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Lombards), so that only a
portion of Italy was held by Byzantium (Ravenna); the city of
Rome exercised no real political power.• The role of the respective patriarchs of Rome and Constantinople
was affected by these shifting historical circumstances.
o The patriarch of Constantinople frequently asserted equality
with Rome but in practice was still responsive to Rome’s
authority in many cases. This was especially true given that
appeal to Rome gave the patriarchs of Constantinople some
small leverage against the control of the Byzantine emperors.
o The bishop of Rome could be harassed by the Byzantine
emperor but, through a series of extraordinarily strong leaders
(such as Gregory the Great), asserted Rome’s religious
independence. Further, the papacy eventually struck up an
alliance with the new Frankish kingdom (which came to be
called the Holy Roman Empire).• Language itself divided rather than united: In the East, Greek
was exclusively used for politics and theology; the Latin that was
studied in the University of Constantinople was “classical Latin.”
In the West, Greek was neither spoken nor easily read; Latin was
a living language undergoing constant change (medieval Latin is
far from “classical”). This change is symbolized by the figures of
Ambrose and Augustine, both doctors of the Western church.