Europe

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Name

The conception of Europe as a distinct division of the earth, separate fromAsia and Africa, had its origin in ancient times. The sailors of the Aegean Sea applied theSemitic designations Ereb (sunset, west) and Acu (sunrise, east) to the countries lying respectively west and east of the sea; in this way it became customary to call Greece and the territory back of it Europe, whileAsia Minor and the parts beyond were namedAsia. At a later date the mass of land lying to the south of the Mediterranean was set off as a distinct division of the earth with the name of Libya or Africa.

Position, boundaries, and area

Europe is a large peninsula forming the western part of the northern continent of the Eastern Hemisphere. On the north and west it is separated from North America by the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans; on the south by the Mediterranean Sea fromAfrica and WesternAsia. In the east there is no clear natural division from the continental mass ofAsia. Such a dividing line may be drawn along the crest of the Ural and Mugadzhar Mountains, the Emba River, Caspian Sea, and the lowlands of the Manitch River, or through the depression that, starting from the Gulf of Obi, extends through the valleys of the Obi, Irtysh, Tobol, and Emba Rivers. The political boundary extends beyond the Ural Mountains towards the east, and beyond the Ural River to the south and west runs along the range called Obtschei Syrt and the Usen River, and encloses within the eastern boundary of Europe the whole of the Caucasus. The most northern point of Europe is North Cape (71 deg. 12 min. N. lat.) on the Island of Mageroe belonging toNorway; the most western point is Cape da Roca (9 deg. 31 min. west of Greenwich) inPortugal; the most southern is Cape Tarifa (35 deg. 59 min. 53 sec. N.) inSpain; the Continent extends as far to the east as 65 deg. longitude east of Greenwich. Its greatest length from north to south is 2,398 miles, from west to east, 3,455 miles. The statement as to the extent of its area varies, according to the position assigned to its eastern boundary, from 3,672,969 sq. miles to 4,092,660 sq. miles. This measurement includes the polar islands Iceland, Nova Zembla, and Spitzbergen, but not the Canary, Madeira, andAzores Islands.

Geological formation

Three leading tectonic divisions are to be distinguished in the geological formation of Europe. These appeared in the middle Tertiary period. Western Europe, as far south as the Alps, the Pyrenees, and, reaching beyond the Pyrenees, into the Spanish Peninsula, to the east as far as the Baltic and the Vistula River, is formed of debris and sedimentary deposits. This has been produced by the breaking up and overflowing with water of mountain chains that now exist as secondary ranges, as the Scotch Highlands, the central plateau ofFrance, and the mountain chain of CentralGermany. Towards the east is low-lying land that has remained the same from early times. Sweden and Finland form together a great level called the Plain of the Baltic, south-east from which spreads the great Russian plain which is limited by the Ural and Carpathian Mountains, the Crimea, and the Caucasus Mountains. The whole of Southern Europe and a part of Middle Europe is a region of late folded mountain ranges. These begin with the Pyrenees, which have remarkable spurs in the ranges of Provence, inCorsica, andSardinia. The ranges ofAndalusia in SouthernSpain find their continuation in the Atlas range, which bends to the east and reappears in Europe in the mountains of the northern coast ofSicily and the Apennines. The northwestern Apennines pass into the Alpine system. In the east the Alps are divided into three chains; of these the middle one passes into the Hungarian plain; the Carpathian and Balkan ranges unite in a great bend with the northern chain, and the southern one is continued by the Dinaric Alps and the western chains of the Balkan Peninsula as far as Crete and the south-western part ofAsia Minor. Numerous islands belong to the Continent of Europe. The separation of the islands from the mainland arose in two ways. In the north and west, the encroachment of the sea produced bays and peninsulas and formed islands. In the south, the western and eastern basins of the Mediterranean, those of the Adriatic and Aegean Seas, the Sea of Marmora, and the southern part of the Black and Caspian Seas, were formed by folding; and in this way also were formed the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan Peninsulas and the archipelago lying between Greece andAsia Minor. The rivers of Europe belong to three different basins, namely, to the Caspian Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, including the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and the Arctic Ocean. The courses of the rivers of Europe are much shorter than the courses of those ofAsia,Africa, or America. The largest of the European rivers, the Volga (1,978 miles), the Danube (1,771 miles), Dnieper (1,329 miles), Don (1,120 miles), Petchora (1,023 miles), and the Dniester (835 miles), flow into seas that are almost entirely cut off from the ocean, consequently from the world's traffic. They offer, however, little obstruction to navigation, and numerous canals are cut through the main watershed that extends fromGibraltar to the northern Urals. The largest number of lakes is found in the region, formerly covered with glaciers, lying north of 50 deg. N. lat. — Finland, Scandinavia,Scotland, andIreland, and the region of the Alps. Besides this lake region, lakes have also been formed in the Alps by folding, in the Balkan by the breaking in of the surface, and in the Apennine Peninsula by volcanic outbreaks.

Climate, flora, fauna

The climatic conditions of Europe are very favourable. Almost the entire continent, excepting the northern point, belongs to the temperate zone. At the same time it is much warmer than other countries in the same latitude, as, for instance, than eastern North America, because along its western coast flows the Gulf Stream, which leaves the coast ofFlorida with a temperature of 68 deg. Fahr. and raises the normal temperature on thePortuguese andSpanish coast about 7.2 Fahr. deg., of the British coast by 9 to 14.4 Fahr. deg., and of theNorwegian coast, about 14.4 to 18 Fahr. deg. Since there is no chain of mountains traversing Europe from north to south, as is the case with North America, the influence of the Gulf Stream extends far into the interior of the mainland. On the borders of the Arctic Ocean a rigorous climate prevails, summer is short, and during the greater of the year the temperature is below freezing. This northern region has polar vegetation; the rolling plains called tundras are found on the peninsulas of Kanin and Kola and at the mouth of the Petchora. The sub-arctic zone is found south of this in the Scandinavian Peninsula down to 60 deg. N. lat.; here the climate of the coast, influenced by the sea, in milder in winter and cool in summer. The part of Europe properly included in the temperate zone is divided into the following regions: the countries lying on the Atlantic,Great Britain, Brittany, the Channel, and northwesternSpain; this section has moderate temperature and large rainfall; west and middle Europe, with an inland climate, less heavy rainfall (about 19.7 inches), and moderate changes of temperature (27 to 45 Fahr. deg.); in this section the southern part ofFrance forms an exception, as also the depression of the Upper Rhine, and the mountains. Beyond this is the section of Eastern Europe orRussia, with a completely inland climate, the variations of temperature amounting to 45 Fahr. deg., and the rainfall to less than 23.6 inches. Finally comes the section of the Euxine comprising the greatHungarian plain, the plain of the Balkan provinces, and southernRussia; in this division the spring is moist and warm and midsummer, hot and dry. The depression of the Caspian belongs to the dry zone ofAsia.

The forests of Europe flourish in the temperate zone. InNorway they are composed chiefly of pine; the only deciduous tree found in the highest latitudes is the birch (betula odorata); the forests of pines and deciduous trees are found south of 61 deg. N. lat.; this region is further characterized by grass-lands, heaths, and moors. The cultivated land, which in Central and Western Europe is about sixty to seventy per cent, is divided into farm land, cultivated forest land, grass and pasture land. From north to south the succession of grains is as follows: barley, rye and oats, wheat, especially inFrance andHungary, and maize. Potatoes are cultivated on less fruitful soil. In this region native fruits are the apple, pear, and cherry; finer kinds of fruit trees, as the peach, apricot, plum, and of nut trees, the walnut and almond, have been introduced from the south. In this region the grape is also cultivated; its northern limit, extending from the mouth of the Loire, passes toParis and the Rhine nearBonn, then towards the Unstrut and Saale Rivers, and reaches its most northerly point on the Oder below 52 deg. N. lat.; the limit of its cultivation here turns to the south-east until it reaches the Sea of Azov. The region of the Mediterranean, that is the Iberian Peninsula, Provence,Italy to the foot of the Alps, and the Balkan Peninsula south of 42 deg. N. lat., has a subtropical climate. Here flourish trees and bushes which are always green; among those that are cultivated for their products are the citron, orange, fig, almond, mulberry, and pomegranate trees. The fauna of Europe is in accord with the climate and vegetation. In Northern Europe are found the polar bear, polar fox, and reindeer; in the region of forests live the bear, wolf, and lynx, which have, however, almost disappeared; the region of the Mediterranean contains numerous reptiles.

Population, political divisions, and religions

The greater part of the population of Europe belong to the European or Mediterranean race. The main race-groups are the Teutonic, Romanic, and Slavonic. To the Teutonic division belong: theGermans,Dutch,Flemish, English, and Scandinavians; it contains in all 127,800,000souls, or 32.1 per cent of the whole population; included in the Romanic group are: the French, Walloons,Italians, Friulians, natives of the Rhaetian Alps, Maltese,Spaniards,Portuguese, and Rumanians, in all 108,100,000, or 27.1 per cent; included in the Slavonic are: the Russians,Ruthenians, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Wends, Slovenes, Croats,Serbs,Bulgarians, Letts, and Lithuanians, in all 124,600,000, or 31.3 per cent. A smaller number, about 9,500,000souls, or 2.4 per cent is composed of other Aryan races: Celts, Greeks,Albanians, Gypsies,Armenians, etc. There are also about 27,900,000, or some 7 per cent, of non-Aryan races: Basques, Magyars,Finns, the tribes of the Ural region,Turks, Kalmucks, andJews. The total population of Europe amounts to about 420,000,000.

The organization of the present States of Europe may be traced back to theMiddle Ages. Most of the States are limited by natural boundaries within which each has developed its own individual character. The States vary greatly in size and population; most of them are constitutional monarchies, the only republics beingFrance andSwitzerland. The British Isles, united as Great Britain andIreland, have a total area of 121,622 sq. miles and 43,722,000 inhabitants; as a natural consequence of the geographical position of the islands, the nation is largely interested in colonial enterprises. The Scandinavian Peninsula is halved by an uninhabited mountain range, thus permitting the existence of two countries,Norway and Sweden.Norway, lying on the Atlantic, has an area of 123,938 miles and 2,300,000 inhabitants; Sweden, on the Baltic, has an area of 172,973 sq. miles and 5,261,000 inhabitants. The peninsula and islands lying south ofNorway and Sweden form the third Scandinavian state,Denmark, that controls the entrance to the Baltic.Denmark has an area of 14,672 sq. miles and 2,450,000 inhabitants.France, the western part of the continental mass, has an area of 206,950 sq. miles and a population of 39,060,000; it has the advantage, excepting towards the north-east, of having for its boundaries either seas or mountain ranges. Between Western and Central Europe lie the so-called "buffer" States:Belgium with an area of 11,197 sq. miles and 7,075,000 inhabitants; theNetherlands, area 12,741 sq. miles, inhabitants 5,510,000;Switzerland, area 15,830 sq. miles, inhabitants 3,425,000. TheGerman Empire, area 208,880 sq. miles inhabitants 60,605,000, covers the greater part of central Europe.Germany borders upon nearly all the great powers of Europe and has, therefore, developed a large army. The State having the least organic union geographically and ethnographically, and consequently in constant danger of internal disorganization, is theAustro-Hungarian Monarchy. Its area is 261,004 sq. miles, population 49,092,000souls.Russia, area 2,081,079 sq. miles, inhabitants 119,115,000, occupies the lowland of Europe and, in its largest extent, stretches beyond Europe into theAsiatic plain. Southern Europe embraces numerous states with sharply defined boundaries. The Iberian Peninsula is divided betweenPortugal andSpain;Portugal, a country lying on the ocean and having a great maritime past, has an area of 43,363 sq. miles, inhabitants 5,016,000;Spain, area 191,892 sq. miles, inhabitants 18,249,000.Italy belongs completely to the lands of the Mediterranean; its area is 110,811 sq. miles, population 33,604,000. The physical contour of the Balkan Peninsula is so broken up by mountain ranges that it fails to show any one organically large State. Its divisions at the present time are:Bulgaria, 37,066 sq. miles, population 3,744,400; Montenegro, 3,475 sq. miles, population 228,000; Rumania, 50,579 sq. miles, population 6,392,000; Servia, 18,533 sq. miles, population 2,677,000; European Turkey, 65,251 sq. miles, population 6,130,000; Greece, 25,000 sq. miles, population 2,440,000.

By far the greater proportion of the inhabitants of Europe belong to theChristian Faith. One-fourth of the population areProtestants, somewhat over one-fourth belong to theOriental Christian Churches, nearly 45 per cent areCatholics, 41 per cent are non-Christian. In the Romanic States 99 per cent of the population areCatholic; in the Teutonic States 74 per cent areProtestant and less than one per cent non-Christian. In the States of Eastern Europe,Austria-Hungary,Russia, and the Balkan provinces, 57 percent belong to theOriental Churches, 9.2 per cent are non-Christian, 6 per cent areProtestant, and 27 per cent areCatholic. The onlyheathen are the Kalmucks living between the Ural and Caucasus mountains, the Finns of the Volga, and the Samoyedes. About 8,250,000persons or 2.1 per cent of the whole population of Europe areMohammedans inbelief; these are limited to several tribes of the Uralo-Altaicfamily inRussia, and to the former territories of theOttoman Empire; among theMohammedans are a large portion of the Albanians, some of the Serbs inBosnia and Herzegovina, and a part of theBulgarians. TheJews of Europe number 9,000,000 or 2.2 per cent; they are to be found chiefly inRussia, in theAustro-Hungarian Monarchy,Rumania, and Turkey. (The above figures are based on Hettner, op.cit. infra.)

Christianity

European civilization is founded on that of the East; from WesternAsia andEgypt Europe received its food-plants, domestic animals, method of writing, numerals, the beginnings of art andscience, and the higher forms of state organization and religion. The various States of Greece, the European neighbour ofAsia, transmitted these by trade and the foundation of colonies to the countries lying on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean and to SouthernItaly.Rome from its central position imparted them to Western and Northern Europe and united the civilized parts of the continent into a great empire. At the time of its greatest extent imperialRome included, on European soil, the present countries ofItaly,Spain,France,England,Germany west of the Rhine and south of the Danube, the countries bordering on the Danube as far as the Black Sea, and the whole Balkan Peninsula, besides all the islands of the Mediterranean.Christianity, too, came from the East by way ofGreece andRome. The connexion existing between the various Roman provinces and the wide prevalence of the Latin and Greek tongues were most favourable to its spread. When the structure erected by the Caesars fell to pieces, theChristian Faith not only entered into its inheritance but also subdued all those barbarian peoples that had up to then defied the imperial power. The Gospel was brought toRome by colonies of JewishChristians who kept up close relations with Palestine, their mother country.St. Paul broughtChristianity to Greece on his second journey (49-52 A.D.) when he founded, with the aid of Silas, Timothy, and Luke,Christian communities inPhilippi,Thessalonica,Beroea,Athens, andCorinth.St. Paul's great letters and his journeys toItaly, perhaps also toSpain, prepared the way for the close connexion between theRoman andGreek Christians and strengthened them for the work of spreading the Gospel. In fact the firstpersecution underNero in 64 was not able to crush the new movement, and the same istrue of the many other later persecutions.

Towards the end of the first century, under Clement, the head of theChurch at that time, there was a close bond betweenRome andCorinth. It is also to be assumed that in the meantime all the commercial cities on the coasts of the Mediterranean hadChristians in their midst, and that before long the regions adjoining these cities accepted the Gospel. According to tradition theChurch in Gaul was founded by Trophimus, who was sent there bySt. Paul; to Crescentius, a disciple of the Apostles, is ascribed the preaching of the Gospel in Vienne andMainz; and toDionysius the Areopagite, the founding of theChurch ofParis. To Eucharius and Maternus, two disciples ofSt. Paul, are attributed the founding of the Churches ofTrier and Cologne. It iscertain that flourishingdioceses arose inLyons and Vienne during the reign ofMarcus Aurelius (161-80). At the beginning of the third century, according to the testimony ofTertullian (Adv. Judaeos, i), various tribes of Gaul had acceptedChristianity. At about the samedateIrenaeus (Against Heresies) speaks of Churches inGermany, and the newfaith had at that time spread into all the provinces of the Spanish Peninsula. According to theVenerable Bede (Histor. gentis Angl., I, iii), the first missionaries came toEngland during the reign of Pope Eleutherius (177-90). By the opening of the third century the British Church had spread beyond the Roman possessions in Britain and may even have embracedIreland. In the meantime the barbarians living along the northern boundaries of the Roman Empire had begun their migrations and predatory incursions. Along this border lived the tribes of the Teutonicfamily, divided by the Oder into the East Germans and West Germans. The East Germans included theOstrogoths andVisigoths,Burgundians,Vandals, Heruli, Rugii, and Scyrri. The West Germans were divided into the Ingvaeones or Germans on the sea-coast, including the later Frisians and Anglo-Saxons; the Istvaeones or theGermans of the Rhine, including theFranks between the Weser and Rhine; the Hermiones, among whom were the later Thuringians and the upper German tribes of the Alamanni and Bavarians (Bajuvarii). As early as the years 161-80 the Marcomanni, a West German tribe, advanced as far as Aquileia; they were defeated, but introduced northern elements into the population. After this failure the current of the migration divided into two streams: one to the south-east, the migration of the East Germans; one to the south-west, the migration of the West Germans. Of the East Germans, theGoths reached the lower Danube and the Black Sea and divided, according to these respective positions, into theOstrogoths andVisigoths. In 375, on account of the pouring in ofAsiatic hordes through the gateway of the nations between the Urals and the Caspian, theOstrogoths came under the power of the Huns. TheVisigoths, who were also hard pressed, retreated towardsTransylvania and received land somewhat south of this from the EmperorsValens andTheodosius. When, after the death ofTheodosius, the Roman Empire was divided in 395 into the Western and Eastern Empires, ruled respectively by his sons Honorius and Arcadius, theVisigoths under Alaric plundered Thrace and Greece and, with the permission of Arcadius, settled inIllyria. From here they pressed towardItaly and in 410 even enteredRome. They then turned towards South-Eastern Gaul and in 419 founded the first German kingdom on Roman soil, its capital beingToulouse; they also conquered a large part ofSpain. In 507 theVisigoths were forced to give up their possessions in Gaul to theFranks, and in 531 the capital of theVisigothic Kingdom was transferred to Toledo.

The recall from the Rhine of the Roman legions needed for the struggle against Alaric left the way to the southwest open to two other East German peoples, theBurgundians and theVandals. TheBurgundians, who had formerly lived between the Oder and the Vistula, crossed the Rhine in 406 and founded a kingdom having its capital at Worms; in 437 this kingdom was broken up by the Roman governor Aëtius, but another arose in 443 around Geneva and Lyons; this, however, in 532, was absorbed into the Kingdom of theFranks. In 406 theVandals left their home on the northern slope of the mountains called Riesengebirge, and in union with the Alani and Suevi passed through Gaul intoSpain; theVisigoths drove them out ofSpain into the Roman provinces inAfrica, whence for a long time they controlled the Mediterranean and in 455 ravagedRome. In 476 Odoacer, the leader of the mercenaries made up of Heruli, Rugii, and Scyrri, seized the government and called himself King ofItaly. At almost the same time theOstrogoths in Pannonia were again free, as the power of the Huns was broken in the great battle on the Catalaunian Fields near Châlons-sur-Marne in 451.Theodoric, the King of theOstrogoths, conquered Odoacer in 489 and created a kingdom (493-526) that embracedItaly,Sicily, a part of Pannonia, Rhaetia, and the Province; this kingdom went to pieces in 553. TheOstrogoths were followed by the Lombards, a tribe of the lower Elbe, who, passing through Pannonia, reachedItaly in 568 under their King Alboin; it was not until 771 that the Lombards were brought under subjection by theFranks. All these peoples were to disappear in order, by their absorption into the civilization ofRome, to bring about the union ofChristianity, the state religion ofRome since the time ofConstantine the Great, with a more stable power, the united West Germans.

The West Germans, although their migrations were not very extended, had changed their habitations as follows: in the fourth century the Alamanni advanced into Alsace and in the fifth century took entire possession of it, spreading towards the north as far as Coblenz. TheFranks were divided into the Ripuarian and SalianFranks; the former settled on both sides of the middle and lower Rhine, the latter advanced from the Scheldt to the Somme. Towards the end of the third century the Saxons advanced from the Elbe to the Rhine; in the fifth century, with the aid of the Angles, they conquered Britain; the former inhabitants of Britain took refuge inWales andFrance and gave their name to Brittany. The Frisians settled on the coast and islands of Schleswig-Holstein; the Thuringians spread from the lower Elbe to the southern bank of the Main. The Bajuvarii went farthest south. At the time of the birth of Christ they lived in modernBohemia; about 500 their territory extended from the Lech to the Enns and from the Danube to the junction of the Eisack and the Adige. The region occupied by the tribes just named enlarged the scene of European history; all that was now needed was the political and spiritual union of these peoples to make them the leading people of Europe. The political union was brought about by theFranks, the spiritual union byChristianity. In the end these were combined into a form of theocracy which, by a rapid series of victories, conquered not only Southern Europe, but also Middle and Eastern Europe as well.

Just as the fifth century passed into the sixth (481-511)Clovis, King of the SalianFranks, forcibly subdued the most important of the surrounding tribes; he led them to embraceChristianity after his own conversion.Clovis first united what was left of the Roman Empire on the Seine and Loire with his own domain and madeParis his capital. After this he subdued the Alamanni on the Rhine, Mosel, Lower Main, and Neckar; as the champion of the doctrines of RomanChristianity, he conquered the King of theArianVisigoths near Poitiers (507) and seized theVisigothic territory between the Loire and the Garonne. By overthrowing the petty Salian chiefs and the royal family of the RipuarianFranks, he made himself the ruler of all theFrankish tribes. The work was completed by his four sons, who seized the territories of the Thuringians andBurgundians, forced theOstrogoths to give up Provence and Rhaetia, and obtained by treaties sovereignty over the Bajuvarii.

Thus was laid the foundation of theFranco-Christian Empire which opened toChristianity a new missionary field to be won over to the Faith only by properly trained apostles. The training was given in the monastic institutions which, in imitation of the East, had now spread over all of Western Europe. One of the chief factors in the conversion of theheathen was the Order ofSt. Benedict of Nursia, encouraged byGregory the Great. The precursors of theBenedictines wereSt. Patrick (432) and St. Columba (about 550), who convertedIreland andScotland, while the Anglo-Saxons receivedChristianity from theBenedictineAugustine (596), who had been specially sent byRome. At the death ofSt. Patrick there were inIreland severalbishops, numerouspriests and manymonasteries; his own see was Armagh. Columba founded the celebratedmonastery on the Island of Iona, betweenIreland andScotland, which was the centre of the Scotch missions anddioceses. TheAbbot Augustine and his companions erected themetropolitan Sees ofCanterbury (Durovernum), York (Eboracum), and thesee ofLondon; in the course of the seventh century the successors ofAugustine,Mellitus andTheodore of Tarsus, completed his work.

A glorious band of self-sacrificing apostles of the Faith, from Columbanus and Gallus toBoniface, carriedChristianity from the British Isles to the Continent. They founded their work on what scanty remains ofChristianity still existed in the former Roman provinces. In the fifth century Severinus and Valentinus laboured in south-easternGermany. They found the remains of nearly obliterated sees in Lorch, Pettau, Windisch inSwitzerland,Chur, Basle,Strasburg, Avenches inSwitzerland, Martigny, and Geneva, but the Teutonic migrations and the disorders consequent on them had almost destroyed the life of theChurch. About 610 Columbanus crossed the Vosges mountains, where he had founded themonasteries of Annegray and Luxeuil, and came to Lake Constance; here from Bregenz as a centre he preachedChristianity, while his companion St. Gall became the founder of the celebratedmonastery of St. Gall. In the early part of the seventh century themonks Agilus and Eustasius, of themonastery ofLuxeuil, preached the Gospel inBavaria; they were followed by Rupert of Worms and Emmeram of Aquitaine.St. Corbinian laboured as the firstBishop of Freising, and Kilian inWürzburg. Ecclesiastical life on the Rhine was largely developed by Bishops Nicetius ofTrier, Cunibert of Cologne, Dragobodo ofSpeyer, Amandus, Lambert, and Hugo of Maastricht. The Gospel was brought to the Frisians by Wilfrid of York and Willibrord of Northumbria; the latter erected a see atUtrecht. Willibrord's companion, Suidbert, went into the countship of Mark in the region of the Weser,Lippe, and Ruhr Rivers; the brothers Ewald laboured with little success among the Saxons. An organization including all these countries was not established until the appearance of the greatest of the apostles of theGermans,St. Boniface. He entered on his career in the time of theCarlovingian Mayors of the Palace, who were destined to realize the union ofChurch and State in Western Europe.

Repeated divisions of the kingdom, disputes as to succession, civilwars, and the power of the nobles almost brought the greatFrankish kingdom to dissolution. It was saved from utter ruin by Pepin of Heristal, Mayor of the Palace (Major domus), who gradually took control of the government. In 687 Pepin won for himself the position of Mayor of the Palace of Neustria andBurgundy, in addition to that for Austrasia which he already held; in this way he reunited the kingdom. He then undertook the conquest of the tribes which had broken loose from theFrankish rule and encouraged the missions to the West Frisians. His son,Charles Martel, who was not less active, held a position of such power that he was able, in the great battle ofPoitiers, 732, to protectChristian German civilization against the attempt ofIslam to conquer the world. Pepin the Short, the son of Charles, brought about the union ofChurch and State which had so great an influence on the history of the world. Having obtained the title of king in 752, his first task was to defendPope Stephen II, who had appealed to him for aid, from the attacks of the Lombards; this was followed by the so-called "Donation of Pepin," a grant of territory to thepope which was the foundation of the laterStates of the Church. Their mutual engagements fixed not only their own policy but also that of their successors. Like Pepin, his famous son,Charlemagne, lent his support to theHoly See, and all his conquests were undertaken for the good of theChurch andChristianity. By successful campaigns against Aquitaine, the Lombards, Avars, Saxons, and Danes, and by treaties with theSlavic peoples,Charlemagne increased his domain until it extended from the Ebro and the Apennines to the Eider River in Schleswig-Holstein, and from the Atlantic to the Elbe and the Raab. His kingdom became a world-empire and he himself one of the great rulers of history, worthy of reviving the Western Roman Empire. He wascrowned,Christmas Day, 800, by thepope, and the new empire rested essentially on the basis of an alliance with theChurch. Its ideal was theKingdom of God on earth, in which the emperor by Divine appointment isGod's viceroy in order to lead and rule all races as divided into nations, classes, and distinctions of rank according to Divine will.

Pepin the Short had been filled with this lofty conception; consequently extraordinary success attended the missionary labours of theChurch under both rulers. As early as 716, under the rule ofCharles Martel, the Anglo-Saxonmonk Winfrid, better known asBoniface, landed on the Continent; he was to be the reformer and organizer of Germanecclesiastical life. He always laboured in union withRome, and was himself a missionary in Frisia with Willibrord, then, in 722, inHesse and Thuringia, and in 736, inBavaria. Having been made anarchbishop and having received authority fromRome, he founded a number ofmonasteries, e.g., that ofFulda, and theBishoprics ofEichstätt,Würzburg, Buraburg, and Erfurt. By means ofsynods held every five years he brought about the closer union between the old and newdioceses, and placed the newly founded sees inThuringia andHesse, as well as those ofSpeyer, Worms,Cologne,Utrecht, Tongern,Augsburg,Chur,Constance, and Strasburg, underMainz asmetropolitansee, of which he becamearchbishop in 746. In the reign ofCharlemagne the large territories of the Saxons and Avars were added to the lands thus organized, and these new regions also received missionaries andbishops. The result was the founding of the Dioceses ofBremen (787),Paderborn (806), Werden, and Minden in the country of the Engern,Osnabrück and Münster (785) inWestphalia, Halberstadt and Hildesheim (817) in Eastphalia; themetropolitan of all the Saxon sees was Bremen (834). The conversion of the Avars had been attempted by theBavarian Duke Tassilo II; when the East Mark was founded the Avars came under the influence of the sees andmonasteries established in this country; after their subjugation they were placed partly under thejurisdiction of theBishop ofSalzburg and partly under that of thePatriarch ofAquileia.

From these points,Christianity, as formerly in the Roman Empire, extended beyond the boundaries ofCharlemagne's dominions, and new tribes and peoples were evangelized, while, at the same time,Christian civilization was peacefully established within theFrankish Empire. Themonastery ofCorvey on the Weser, and the Sees ofBremen and Hamburg (831) were the mission centres for the northern provinces. Themonk Anschar of Corvey, firstArchbishop ofHamburg, laboured with greatzeal asApostolic legate inDenmark,Sweden, andNorway; his successors were equally active as missionaries andbishops. However it was not until the reign of Canute the Great (1014-35) that the victory ofChristianity inDenmark was assured; in 1104 Lund was made themetropolitan See of Scandinavia; in 1163 Upsala became themetropolitan See of Sweden, and about the middle of the twelfth century Trondhjem was made the same forNorway. Iceland was won forChristianity about the year 1000 and was divided into the two sees of Skalhold and Holum. The inhabitants of the Orkneys, Hebrides, Faroe, and Shetland Islands were converted about the same time as Iceland; they were at first placed under themetropolitan See of Hamburg- Bremen, which had been united in 849, and later under thejurisdiction of themetropolitan See ofNorway.

During the period of the Teutonic migrations theSlavs had come into contact withChristianity and were converted partly byChristian rulers, as in Thrace,Macedonia,Greece andDalmatia, partly through the influence of neighbouringChristian countries, as in Carinthia. In 806 theBishop ofPassau undertook the conversion of Moravia; that of Pannonia was attempted by Archbishop Adalram ofSalzburg (821-36). In both these countries a great missionary work was done by Cyril and Methodius; the latter, Methodius, becameArchbishop ofMoravia and Pannonia. The work of convertingBohemia began in the year 845; the country was at first under the care ofRatisbon; in 973 adiocese was founded inBohemia itself atPrague, which was suffragan toMainz.Poland was brought toChristianity by its ruler Duke Mieczyslaw (963), and in 968 he erected the Bishopric of Posen. In the year 1000 Gnesen was made ametropolitansee, its suffragansees were Kolberg (1065), Breslau (1000), and Cracow (1000). Finally, in the reigns of Heinrich I andOtto I the northernSlavs, living in regions subsequently German, namely the Wends, including those living inPomerania, as well as the Obotrites and Sorbs on the Oder, Vistula, and Elbe, in Lausitz, and Saxony were forciblyChristianized. The new Sees of Havelberg,Brandenburg,Meissen, Zeitz, Merseburg, and Oldenburg (Stargard) served as points from which the work of conversion could be carried on; Magdeburg was the centre of the entire Slavonic mission.

It was during this same period that theGreek Church spread through the eastern part of Europe. In 955 the firstChristian princess ofRussia, Olga, wasbaptized at Constantinople; during the reign of her grandson Vladimir,baptized 989,Christianity became the religion of the country. In 864 the Bulgars, at the command of their prince Bogoris, acceptedChristianity as a people, and from 870 were under theecclesiastical control of Constantinople. Abishop sent from Constantinople introducedChristianity among the Magyars, or Hungarians; the work was completed by German missionaries sent in pursuance of the masterful policy of the Saxon emperors. The firstChristian ruler ofHungary was Stephen (997-1038).

Manysacrifices, however, were stillnecessary in order to keep what had been gained forChristianity and to protect these gains against the threatened dangers ofMohammedanism andheathenism. Thesesacrifices were freely made bymedievalChristian Europe. Under the careful training of their appointed guardians, theCatholic orders, the various nations and their rulers were filled withChristian thoughts and feelings. Although the conception of their respective positions held by the human representatives of the secular and spiritual power inevitably led to friction, especially in the age of the Hohenstaufen emperors, nevertheless all were conscious of their commonduty to protectfaith and civilization against foes both in Europe and outside of it. A convincingproof of this was thecourageous struggle of Europe against the attempted inroads ofIslam, and especially the expeditions of conquest to the Holy Land repeatedly undertaken by the various nations of Europe acting together.Spain, which since 711 had been almost entirely under the control of theArabs, was able in 1212 to drive them as far back asGranada; in 1492Granada also fell. From 878Sicily had been in the hands of theSaracens, but it was freed by thecourageous Normans (1061-91). The so-calledCrusades (1061-1244) continued with interruptions for nearly two hundred years; among those who shared in them weremonks, as Peter of Amiens andSt. Bernard;bishops, asOtto of Freising; rulers of the greatest nations of Western Europe, as the German emperors,Frederick Barbarossa andFrederick II; the French kings, St. Louis and Philip II, and the EnglishRichard the Lion-Hearted. Orders ofknights, as the Order of St. John, were formed to take part in these expeditions. The original aim of theCrusades, the freeing of Palestine from the control of non-Christians, it istrue, was not attained. But the power ofMohammedanism was weakened for a long time to come; the civilization of Western Europe, moreover, gained from the Orient the best the East had to give and thus was greatly aided in its development.

A more lasting success, however, followed the attempts, patterned on theCrusades, to carry onwars of conversion and conquest in those territories of northeastern Europe peopled by tribes that had lapsed from the Faith or that were stillheathen; among suchpagans were the Obotrites,Pomeranians, Wiltzi, Sorbs, Letts, Livonians,Finns, andPrussians. The preparatory work was done in the twelfth century by missionaries of thePremonstratensian andCistercian Orders. They were aided with armed forces by Duke Henry the Lion of Saxony, Albert the Bear of Brandenburg, Boleslaw ofPoland, and St. Erik IX of Sweden. From the beginning of the thirteenth centuryCrusades were undertaken against Livonia, Semgall, a division of the present Courland, and Esthonia;Teutonic Knights conqueredPrussia after a struggle that lasted more than fifty years. In LithuaniaChristianity did not win the victory until 1368. After this only theTurks, in the south-eastern corner of the Continent, were acause of alarm toChristian Europe for centuries. The decline of the power of the Eastern Empire drew theTurks over the Bosporus; in 1365 they had control ofAdrianople; in the course of the fourteenth century the Serbs, Bulgars, Macedonians, and the inhabitants of Thessaly became their subjects. In 1453 theTurks took Constantinople, in 1461 Trebizond, in 1480 evenOtranto in Apulia; after 1547 they owned half ofHungary. It was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that their possessions were reduced to their present boundaries, thus limitingMohammedanism to a small part of the population of Europe.

At the beginning of modern times a great change took place in the boundaries of the European States. The cause was thatecclesiastical movement known as theReformation, which placed in opposition to the unity ofCatholicism in Western Europe the numerous religious associations that together formProtestantism. The apostasy of the various countries and cities, which began soon afterLuther first appeared, was brought about by the most varied causes, described elsewhere, and was facilitated by the violent procedure of the petty princes who had absolute sovereign power over their subjects. The first of the ruling princes to make the change wasAlbert of Brandenburg, Grand Master of theTeutonic Knights (1525); he was followed by the Elector John of Saxony, Philip, Landgrave ofHesse (1527), and at almost the samedate by nearly all the German imperial cities. The movement soon gained the northern countries,Denmark,Sweden,Norway, and the Baltic provinces; these all gave their adherence (1530) to the so-called Augsburg Confession, while the upper German imperial cities,Strasburg,Constance, Lindau, Memmingen, held to the Tetrapolitan Confession of the so-called Reformed Church founded byZwingli and especially strong inSwitzerland. The Reformed Church also found adherents in the Palatinate, and at the beginning of the seventeenth century in Hesse-Cassel and Brandenburg. TheAnglican Church was established in 1549 in Great Britain; in 1559 the French Reformed Church adopted the "Confessio Gallicana"; in 1560 the Scotch Reformed the "Confessio Scottica"; from 1592 theReformation inScotland adopted aPresbyterian form of government. Since 1562 theReformation in theNetherlands has held to the "Confessio Belgica," and the Reformed Church inHungary since 1567, to the "Confessio Hungarica." Soon theCounter-Reformation, called into life by theCouncil of Trent (1545-63) to prevent the loss of the whole of middle Europe, appeared; its success was assured by the aid of theSociety of Jesus. In this way various princes andbishops who were desirous of doing theirduty were enabled to hold their countries to theCatholicChurch, as the Duke of Cleves, the Electors ofMainz andTrier, the Bishops ofAugsburg,Würzburg,Bamberg,Münster,Constance, Basle, the Abbey ofFulda, but especially the Dukes ofBavaria and the Hapsburg dynasty within their Austrian provinces. Soon the hostility between the twoecclesiastical parties grew so bitter that a trifling incident sufficed to bring on a terrible religious conflict, theThirty Years War (1616-48). Two religious confessional leagues confronted each other inGermany: the Catholic League, which was formed in 1609 among theCatholic States of theGerman Empire and had for its leader the vigorous Duke Maximilian ofBavaria, and the Union in which, from 1609, most of theProtestant and cities combined under the leadership of Frederick IV of the Palatinate. Foreign powers —Denmark,Sweden, andFrance — also took part in thewar. The result of theThirty Years' War, confirmed in the Peace ofWestphalia, laid the foundation of confessional relations as they now exist. Neither internal commotions nor seemingly mighty political revolutions, such as the illuminism of theFrench Encyclopedists and the German neo-classicists, the temporary supremacy ofrationalism, and theFrench Revolution, with its consequentwars, greatly changed these relations. The present condition as developed during the course of the nineteenth century and up to the present time is as follows.

Present condition of religion in Europe

Relations of the different states to the religious communions

In theGerman Empire the formation ofreligious denominations and their religious worship are subject to the legislation of the several States. Some States allow complete freedom, asPrussia,Würtemberg,Hesse, and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha; others supervise religious worship, as Baden,Waldeck, and Mecklenburg; others again make the establishment ofreligious denominations depend on the Government, as inBavaria,Saxony,Brunswick,Saxe-Meiningen, and Alsace-Lorraine. TheCatholic and the Evangelical Churches are regarded as privileged and public corporations. InEngland andWales theAnglican is the State Church, its head being the king; the fundamental principles are defined by Parliament. There is a similar arrangement for thePresbyterian State Church inScotland where, however, the organization is somewhat freer. On the other hand theAnglican Church ofIreland is, since 1869, no longer a State Church. The Dissenters, who in 1689 were only conditionally tolerated, have now equalrights. InFrance the Separation Law of 9 December, 1905, brought about the separation ofChurch and State and provided for the formation ofAssociations cultuelles for the exercise of religion. InItaly the Constitution originally declared theRoman Catholic religion the religion of the State, but gradually all privileges have been withdrawn from it; besides theRoman Catholic Church, the EvangelicalWaldensian Church, the NationalGreek Church and the Jewish communities are organized as Churches with separate constitutions. InSpain andPortugal the State religion is theRoman Catholic. InBelgium theCatholic,Protestant, Jewish, andAnglican forms of worship are recognized by the granting of salaries from the State to those havingecclesiastical charges. Outside of these anyreligious community is a private association. TheNetherlands grants equal protection to all confessions. So doesSwitzerland, excepting that in this country a more exacting control is exercised over theRoman Catholic Church. InDenmark theEvangelical Lutheran Church is the State Church, at least inasmuch as itsministers are paid by the State and subject to removal by the State; otherreligious communities have no claim to state support. The case is the same inSweden, where, in addition, the condition is laid down that the king, the members of the Council of State, and foreigners who are appointed teachers at theuniversity, all subscribe to some evangelical confession. lnNorway this ordinance is enforced for the head of the State. InAustria the Churches and religious associations recognized by law are as follows: theRoman Catholic, theUniat Greek, andUniatArmenian Churches, the Evangelical Churches of the Augsburg and Helvetic Confessions, the OrthodoxGreek Church, the Jewishreligious community, the religious association of the Russiansect of the Lipovani and the OrientalArmenian in Bukowina, the OldCatholicreligious community, and the Moravian Brethren (Herrnhuter). The expenses of theRoman Catholic andOrthodox Greek Churches are met from a fund controlled by the State and obtained from the secularization ofChurch property in the reign ofJoseph II. InHungary theRoman Catholic Church was originally the state religion; the State grants in addition free exercise to otherChristian confessions and to the Jewishfaith. Croatia-Slavonia recognizes only theRoman Catholic andUniat Greek Churches, theOrthodox Greek andProtestant Churches, and the Jewishbelief. In Bosnia and Herzegovina the ruling confessions are theOrthodox Greek andRoman Catholic Churches, andMohammedanism. The State Church of the Balkan provinces is theOrthodox Greek. The State Church ofRussia is theOrthodox Greek Russian Church; the otherChristian and non-Christian confessions are tolerated, theJews have only limitedrights.

Organization of the religious communions

The Evangelical Church distinguishes three forms of organization: (a) The episcopal, in which the ruler of the country with the aid of a subordinatehierarchy exercisesecclesiastical authority. This is the form in force inSweden,Norway,Denmark, and Finland. (b) The consistorial organization, in which the ruler is aided by a consistory made up ofecclesiastical and secular members. This form is found in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxony-Altenburg, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sonderhausen, the two principalities ofReuss,Schaumburg-Lippe,Lübeck,Bremen,Alsace-Lorraine, andRussia. (c) The synodal form of organization and similarPresbyterian associations which are based on assemblies of elected representatives and the ordinances passed by these. This form of organization is in existence inAustria-Hungary,Prussia,Bavaria,Saxony,Würtemberg,Baden,Hesse, and other German States, where the consistorial system is not in force. The synodal organization also exists among the non-Anglican Churches in Great Britain, inFrance, among theItalianWaldenses, in theNetherlands,Belgium,Switzerland, andSpain; also in connexion with the episcopal form of church government inSweden and Finland. TheAnglican Church, called inEngland andWales theEstablished Church of England, and inIreland theChurch ofIreland, is episcopal in government; inIreland the episcopal and synodal systems are united. The head of theChurch is the king.England andWales are divided into the two church provinces ofCanterbury and York. TheArchbishop ofCanterbury is thePrimate of AllEngland; under Canterbury are 28 suffragandioceses; York consists of an archdiocese and 9 suffraganbishoprics.Ireland has 2archdioceses: Armagh, which has the primacy of allIreland, and Dublin with 10 suffragans;Scotland has 7dioceses. The organization of the OrientalGreek Church varies in different countries. InRussia the head of theChurch is the Tsar, who appoints the members of the Holy Synod, the highestecclesiastical body. In Turkey the Oecumenical Patriarch is the head; under him are 10 or 12metropolitans. In Rumania anational synod is the highestecclesiastical authority; in Servia ametropolitan with thebishops; inBulgaria the church government is vested in anexarch, aided byarchbishops,bishops, and archpriests. The Holy Synod of Greece consists of fiveprelates orbishops named by the king. In theAustro-Hungarian Monarchy there are 3 provinces of the OrientalGreek Church: the Austrian, or Province of Czernowitz, with the suffragan Dioceses ofZara and Cattaro, the Archdiocese of Karlowitz (Patriarch-Archbishop), with 6 suffragans, and the Archdiocese of Herrmannstadt, with 2 suffragans. Bosnia and Herzegovina have each ametropolitan.

For theecclesiastical organization of European countries, see the respective articles on the various political divisions, alsoE C. Thereligious statistics for the countries of Europe found in the adjoining table are based on Brachelli and von Juraschek, "Die Staaten Europas" (3th ed., Leipzig,Brünn, andVienna, 1907).

Religious statistics for the countries of Europe

The figures below are based on census reports, dates of which are given in parentheses.

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