Deck 14: The World of Late Antiquity, 284-Ca600

Question 1

Survey the great Christian writers of Late Antiquity, including the contributions of Saint Jerome, Saint Ambrose, Saint Augustine, and Cassiodorus.

Answer 1

Other figures than those mentioned could be discussed if the students happen to know about them.By necessity the answers will likely concentrate on Saint Augustine.There should be some consideration of the relation between Christian and pagan culture.

Question 2

How does the pontificate of Pope Saint Gregory I, "the Great," illustrate the position of the papacy in the late sixth century? Why do you think he is called "the Great"?

Answer 2

Essays should focus on the measures he took to compensate for the deficiencies of the Roman administration, as well as his holiness and diplomacy.They should also make a comment towards the future, with Gregory's evangelization of Britain.

Question 3

Diocletian's reforms included all of the following except

A)a huge expansion of the imperial bureaucracy.
B)a division of the empire into two administrative halves.
C)an increase in the size of the military by at least 50 percent.
D)a revival of the practices of the Principate.
E)creation of a more military, political, and administrative tetrarchy.

Answer 3

a revival of the practices of the Principate.

Question 4

What is the Dominate

A)The rule of the Tetrarchs
B)The Christian idea of imperial rule
C)A policy of Diocletian to enhance the prestige of the emperor
D)The rule of the Persian kings
E)The papacy

Question 5

Constantine's policies included

A)abolishing the work of Diocletian.
B)stopping inflation.
C)expanding the cooperation of the tetrarchy.
D)expanding the frontiers.
E)founding a new imperial capital.

Question 6

Discuss the process by which both free farmers and slaves tended to become coloni in the late empire.

Question 7

Summarize the main features of the reign of Justinian and Theodora.

Question 8

This era is marked by confrontations between the papacy and the various emperors.How is this shown using Pope Gelasius and Emperor Anastasius?

Question 9

Survey the development of monasticism in the late Roman Empire.How did its eastern and western forms differ?

Question 10

Discuss the effects of Christianity on the status and lives of women in Late Antiquity.

Question 11

The system created by Diocletian and Constantine

A)saved the Roman Empire from the chaos of the third century.
B)resulted in greater control of society by the government.
C)produced an expanded army increasingly barbarian in composition.
D)stood in stark contrast to the troubles of the third century.
E)All of these

Question 12

Which of the following statements about the era following the fall of the Roman Empire is true?

A)The glories of the classical civilization gave way to the gloom of the Dark Ages.
B)The era following the fall of the Roman Empire showed no similarity to the past.
C)Barbaric cultures completely replaced that of the Romans.
D)The period following the decline of the empire was a time of vigor and achievement.
E)Years of catastrophe followed the decline of Rome.

Question 13

Demonstrate how Late Antiquity was a transition from Greco-Roman civilization to the Middle Ages.

Question 14

Summarize the development of the Christian church in Late Antiquity with reference to institutional structure and authority, the development of a scriptural canon, the standardization of doctrines, and the position of the church in society.

Question 15

Summarize the attempts of Diocletian and Constantine to stave off the collapse of the empire.What may have been their most effective policies? Which had negative effects?

Question 16

The reforms of Diocletian

A)were a success in every way.
B)alienated the Roman elite and local leaders.
C)reduced economic distress.
D)were designed to reunite the eastern and western halves of the empire.
E)decreased the prestige of the imperial office.

Question 17

Constantine favored Christianity

A)after his childhood baptism.
B)before turning against it as emperor.
C)before he decided to restore paganism.
D)after seeing a vision and winning the Battle of the Milvian Bridge.
E)because he sought greater public support and less rebellion.

Question 18

What new city was founded as the new capital of the Roman Empire?

A)Byzantium
B)Constantinople
C)Alexandria
D)Ravenna
E)Nicaea

Question 19

Using the examples given in this chapter, discuss the art and architecture of the time, and the role it played in the development of the early Christian church.Use specific examples to illustrate your points.

Question 20

Discuss the loss of Roman control of the West and the rise of Germanic kingdoms.What were some of the characteristics of the main groups mentioned in the chapter, such as the Germans and the Huns? What was unique about the Franks? How were the Romans responsible for the changes that took place?

Question 21

The claims of the papacy were rooted in what

A)Imperial recognition
B)The place of Rome as imperial capital
C)The scriptural career of Peter the Apostle
D)Election
E)Military authority

Question 22

Who was the first famous monastic figure in Christianity?

A)Pachomius
B)Benedict
C)Anthony of Egypt
D)Jerome
E)Gregory the Great

Question 23

What is asceticism

A)A type of monasticism
B)A military practice
C)A process of subjecting the body to the spirit
D)A liturgical practice
E)A Church ceremony

Question 24

Miaphysitism questioned the

A)division of the empire.
B)existence of the Trinity.
C)existence of two distinct natures in Jesus, one human and one divine.
D)validity of traditional Hellenistic science.
E)divinity of the emperor.

Question 25

All of the following were true of Arianism except that it

A)held that Christ was not God.
B)was condemned at the Council of Nicaea.
C)ceased to exist after Nicaea.
D)took hold among the barbarian tribes.
E)preserved monotheism by making Jesus slightly subordinate to the Father.

Question 26

How do eremitic monasticism and cenobitic monasticism differ?

A)The first is practiced by men, the second by women.
B)One favors the life of a hermit, the other life in a community.
C)The first emphasizes hard work, the second contemplation.
D)One was pagan, the other Christian.
E)One revered the emperor, the other did not.

Question 27

All of the following may be attributed to the institutional church except

A)the increasing authority of women.
B)adoption of the administrative geography of the Roman state.
C)espousal of apostolic succession.
D)the increased power of the papacy and the theory of "Petrine Primacy."
E)the earliest Christian communities were urban.

Question 28

All of the following apply to Pope Gregory I "the Great" except

A)descent from an old senatorial family.
B)the founding of Christian monasticism.
C)effective administration of urban services in the city of Rome.
D)a Roman sense of duty and obligation.
E)he was a pope with important political connections.

Question 29

Which of the following statements does not describe Pachomius?

A)He was against the solitary religious life of monasticism.
B)He designed a commune based on the strict regiment of a military camp.
C)The cenobitic monasticism was based on private prayer, group worship, and work.
D)Pachomius created a community that prohibited females.
E)The Pachomian type of community attracted very few converts.

Question 30

The Edict of Milan in 313

A)Divides the empire into two halves
B)Establishes the Tetrarchy
C)Legalizes Christianity
D)Fixes agricultural prices
E)Begins a persecution of Christians

Question 31

Catholic means

A)Apostolic
B)Papal
C)Universal
D)Correct teaching
E)Christian

Question 32

The primary impulse for monasticism was

A)a fervent desire to serve God by ministering to the physical and spiritual needs of the poor and the persecuted.
B)a desire for a life of leisure, comfort, and idleness.
C)the striving for a closer union with God by conquering the desires of the body.
D)a determination to build up the power of the institutional church.
E)to lead religious armies against non-Christian Barbarians.

Question 33

A Bishop's Cathedra indicates what

A)His position in the Church
B)His relation to the pope
C)His authority to teach
D)His possession of political power
E)His priesthood

Question 34

In a famous letter to an emperor, Pope Gelasius held that

A)church and state are separate spheres, and the spiritual authority is higher in nature.
B)the church should be controlled by the state.
C)church and state should be one, controlled by the pope.
D)the emperor had no legitimate power.
E)the church was responsible for both the mortal and immortal souls.

Question 35

What barbarian people were converted to Arian Christianity by the missionary Ulfilas?

A)Vandals
B)Goths
C)Persians
D)Anglo-Saxons
E)Irish

Question 36

The leadership of the Church by 400 was characterized by what

A)The entrance of elites into positions of power
B)A series of weak, corrupt men
C)Democratization
D)Equality among bishops
E)Submission to the state

Question 37

Which was not an issue facing the Roman Empire in the fourth century?

A)an army that was becoming barbarian in composition
B)increasingly despotic emperors
C)Religious turmoil
D)Foreign invasion from the east
E)Massive civil war

Question 38

The chief authority in the local Christian churches was

A)Deacon
B)Priest
C)Bishop
D)Emperor
E)Provincial governor

Question 39

The leader of a monastic community is called

A)Bishop
B)Overseer
C)Archpriest
D)Abbot
E)Hermit

Question 40

Why was the building of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome significant for its time?

A)It symbolized the power and wealth of the Frankish Empire.
B)It was significantly smaller than earlier Roman churches.
C)Interior art work showed the elementary and crude art of the time.
D)The basic design of the church lacked the engineering expertise of the Romans.
E)The building testifies to the profound continuity and change of the Late Antiquity Era.

Question 41

An unusual feature of Roman-Visigoth relations was that

A)some of the Visigoths settled within the empire.
B)the Visigoths served in the Roman army.
C)all the Visigoths were allowed to settle within the empire.
D)there was nothing but hostility on both sides.
E)the Romans made treaties with the Huns to control the Visigoth migrations.

Question 42

Which of the following best describes the time frame in which a definitive list of Old and New Testament books was adopted by the church?

A)From the second century to the middle of the fifth
B)A)D.325 at the Council of Nicaea
C)From Constantine to Pope Gregory I the Great
D)Because of the doctrine of continuing revelation, the list is still growing
E)With the division of the empire into West and East

Question 43

Why did the Roman government perish in the West?

A)Rome's best emperors were interested in the Western part of the empire.
B)Immense Roman resources were used keeping Barbarian tribes out of Roman territory.
C)Romans refused to use non Italian soldiers.
D)Romans had learned to tolerate and live with the many barbarian peoples in their areas.
E)Churchmen refused to tolerate Christian barbarians.

Question 44

In the Germanic kingdoms of the sixth century

A)Latin persisted as the language of administration.
B)the most common local officials were counts, originally direct representatives of the emperor.
C)local administration remained based in cities and towns.
D)Germanic peoples remained loyal to their kings who shared booty with his followers.
E)All of these

Question 45

Sometimes called "the last of the Romans," Boethius

A)was the main proponent of papal supremacy in the sixth century.
B)taught that the soul can rise through philosophy to a knowledge of God.
C)taught that the world was sharply divided between the civilized and holy (Rome)and the backward and pagan (Germanic peoples).
D)was among the last members of the elite to emigrate from Rome to Constantinople.
E)wrote an explanation for the downfall of the empire.

Question 46

All of the following are true of the Huns except that they were

A)a Celtic people from northwest Europe.
B)Asian nomads.
C)led by Attila.
D)in an alliance with the Romans to check the expansion of the Burgundians.
E)ill-fitted to fight on foot, spending a great deal of time on their horses.

Question 47

Relations between barbarians and Romans included all of the following elements except

A)the Roman idea of barbarians as inferior to themselves.
B)invasions by individual groups of barbarians.
C)peaceful commercial and diplomatic contacts.
D)a carefully planned and coordinated invasion of the empire by the barbarians.
E)peaceful encounters outnumbered violent ones.

Question 48

The Christian Church offered women an alternative to the traditional role of their sex by

A)preaching the superiority of virginity and celibacy.
B)offering female saints as role models.
C)promoting a "democracy of sin" in which everyone, male and female, is equally in need of God's forgiveness.
D)requiring both men and women to be faithful in marriage.
E)All of these

Question 49

Which of the following does not actually describe the Ravenna Mosaics?

A)The figures of Justinian and Theodora are placed in prominent areas of the church.
B)Theodora is seen smaller to emphasize that Justinian is the sole leader.
C)Both emperor and empress are seen as the donors of the church by the gifts they hold.
D)Other characters in the mosaic symbolize the honor given to other members of society.
E)Characters in the mosaic beside Theodora and Justinian are seen smaller, emphasizing their lower rank.

Question 50

Justinian's most lasting achievements included

A)the reconquest of the entire western empire.
B)the replacement of Orthodox Christianity with miaphysitism.
C)lasting peace in the Balkans and Mesopotamia.
D)Hagia Sophia and the Justinian Code.
E)sharing power with Theodora.

Question 51

The Frankish king Clovis was popular with Gallo-Romans because he

A)was Arian like them.
B)was a candidate for Roman emperor.
C)had a special relationship with the pope.
D)was Catholic, adopted Roman behavior, and had the same enemies they did.
E)had married a Hun princess and had important contacts with the Attila.

Question 52

What is a major theme of Benedict's Rule?

A)Asceticism
B)Punishment of the body
C)Moderation
D)Submission
E)Laxity

Question 53

What far-reaching event happened to Rome in 410AD?

A)Defeat at the Battle of Adrianople
B)Christianity is made the official religion
C)The Capital is moved to Constantinople
D)Alaric sacks the city, the first time a foreign army had occupied Rome in 800 years
E)Vandals besieged the provinces

Question 54

All of the following are related to the Visigoth's treaty with the Romans except

A)the Visigoths became an ally of the Romans but remained outside of the empire.
B)the Roman Empire was served loyally by the Visigoths.
C)Southern Gaul fell under the control of the Visigoths.
D)the Hun attack on Rome was partially repelled by Visigoths.
E)Gallo-Roman aristocrats respected the treaty and the loyalty of the Visigoths.

Question 55

Late Antiquity saw what trend in the countryside that continued into the Middle Ages?

A)Both slavery and freedom declined, while tenants (coloni)increased.
B)Economic difficulties increased slavery.
C)German custom gradually granted all people freedom.
D)Agriculture was abandoned in favor of herding and commerce.
E)The number of small land owners grew.

Question 56

Which Church writer was not a Bishop?

A)Ambrose
B)Augustine
C)Damasus
D)John Chrysostom
E)Jerome

Question 57

What city came to be known as "New Rome?"

A)Ravenna
B)Milan
C)Alexandria
D)Antioch
E)Constantinople

Question 58

What city does the Ostrogoth Theodoric make his capital?

A)Constantinople
B)Rome
C)Milan
D)Ravenna
E)Alexandria

Question 59

Barbarians supplanted Roman rule in the West

A)slowly and often with Roman permission and assistance.
B)in A.D.476 with the fall of the city of Rome.
C)until the empire was restored by Justinian.
D)only when the Germanic peoples were thoroughly Romanized.
E)as hordes of nomads.

Question 60

Which was the first barbarian group to make a sustained incursion into the West?

A)Visigoths
B)Vandals
C)Irish
D)Saxons
E)Frisians

Question 61

Which was not an achievement of Justinian?

A)The Corpus iuris civilis
B)Hagia Sophia
C)The reconquest of much of the west
D)Tentative treaties with barbarian powers
E)Peaceful relations with the Catholic Church during his reign

Question 62

The most influential Christian thinker after Saint Paul was Augustine of Hippo.

Question 63

The Vulgate Bible was the official Greek bible for the people.

Question 64

Eremitic monasticism allowed for a common life of living in community for the monks.

Question 65

After conquering Italy, Justinian set up Ravenna as his capital city.

Question 66

The Ostrogoths were the "West" Germanic peoples who were ultimately responsible for the sack of Rome in 410 A.D.

Question 67

In 285 Constantine established the old Greek city of Byzantium as his capital and renamed it.

Question 68

The Council of Nicaea was called by Constantine to address the heresy of Arianism.

Question 69

Saint Augustine, the leading Church Father in the West, taught all of the following except

A)the "spoiling of the Egyptians" using Classical learning for Christian purposes.
B)a definitive rejection of the Classical idea of humanity as good and capable of self-improvement.
C)the identification of the City of God with the Christianized Roman Empire.
D)that the validity of the sacraments is not dependent on the worthiness of the priest.
E)the theory that the fall of Rome was the result of the abandonment of the teachings of Christ.

Question 70

The Edict of Milan granted freedom of worship but placed heavy taxation on the Christian churches.

Question 71

In order to encourage the loyalty of his troops Valentinian proposed providing solders with plots of land and seed.

Question 72

The Church of Hagia Sophia (527-532)combined stunning new features of building while combining traditional Roman features.