Topic: The Culture and Religion of The Byzantine Empire. Between the East and the West.

Target group

5th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

II. Byzantium and the world of Islam. Pupil:

2. locates the Byzantine Empire in time and space and recognizes achievements of Byzantine culture (law, architecture, art).

III. Medieval Europe. Pupil:

3. explains the causes and consequences of the split in the Church in the eleventh century (...).

General aim of education

The students will learn about what Byzantine art and religion were about.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• to indicate the characteristics of the Byzantine art and culture;

• to list the greatest works of Byzantine arts;

• to describe why the dispute between the supporters and opponents of the icons took place;

• to explain why the East‑West Schism of 1054 happened.

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • talk.

• activating

  • discussion.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

1. Students should remember when it was founded and the first centuries of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium). Students can take advantage of the topic in the e‑textbook „Byzantium - Greek Roman Empire”.

Introduction

1. The teacher states the subject of the lesson, explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.

2. The teacher, referring to the homework, asks the students when the Eastern Roman Empire was established and who was its creator. Then he asks students to remind why Byzantium survived and the Empire in the West did not.

Realization

1. The teacher recalls and presents to the students the history of Byzantium from the reign of Justinian I to the great Eastern schism in 1054. He mentions the expansion of the Persians in the 6th and 7th centuries and the inhibition by the Emperor Heraclius I; attacks by Avars and Slavs; the invasion of the Arabs and the siege of Constantinople in 717‑718 and the defeat of their fleet thanks to the Greek fire; imperial crisis; fight against Bulgars and win of Basil The Bulgar slayer; invasions of the Seljuk Turks.

2. The teacher emphasizes that despite the changing fate of Byzantium, the empire after the fall of Rome became a continuator and heir to the antiquity, and for centuries it inspired Western Europeans.

3. Then he asks the students to name examples of ancient art. By recording the proposals of students, the teacher characterizes Byzantine art. Then he asks that students in pairs look for the most characteristic examples of Byzantine art and exchange them (among the examples should be: Hagia Sophia, the church of St. Witalis in Ravenna, numerous mosaics and icons). Students perform Task 1..

4. The teacher explains the students that the Byzantine culture and art focused on the emperor and the Christian religion that were at the center of their interests. The dispute between iconoclasts and icon iconoduli also had a major impact. The teacher explains its cause and characteristics. Students perform Exercise 1 and Exercise 2. The teacher makes sure that the task has been correctly performed and provides feedback..

5. Then he characterizes the figure of the emperor and religion in the Byzantine world: from the beginning, close links, interference and supervision of the ruler, also in matters of faith. The teacher explains why there was a division into the eastern and western church in 1054. The students watch the film - „What was the meaning of the theological disputes between East and West?”.

Summary

1. In summary, the teacher asks students to name the most important information they have learned from this lesson. Then, together with the students, he discusses them again, focusing primarily on their importance and influence on the functioning of the state..

2. Students perform Exercise 3. The teacher makes sure that the task has been correctly performed and provides feedback..

Homework

1. Listen to the abstract recording at home. Pay attention to pronunciation, accent and intonation. Learn to pronounce the words learned during the lesson.

2. Make at home a note from the lesson, for example using the sketchnoting method.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

The Culture and Religion of The Byzantine Empire. Between the East and the West.

The birth of the Germanic states on the territory of the Western Roman Empire disturbed the harmonious development of the Antique culture in that area. It did not, however, put an end to its existence and development. It was still present in the Eastern part of the Empire, where it was kept alive and cultivated by the social elites that took pleasure in drawing from the Antique heritage. It underwent numerous changes though, mainly due to the gradual departure from the use of Latin, first in the official documents, then in the public sphere and in literature. This way, the Byzantine culture became the Greek culture, and the Eastern Roman Empire became the Greek Empire. The Emperor found himself in its heart. The Byzantine art, much like the literature and the architecture, drew from the Antiquity. This, however, did not mean that the old formulas were replicated. Contrary to their Antique peers, the Byzantine artists parted ways with realism, seeking to convey multiple meanings through symbols, gestures and colors. The aim of this was to spread the truths of faith and the Emperor’s expectations of his subjects as widely as possible.

The life of the inhabitants of the Byzantine Empire was strongly associated with their faith. It is no coincidence that the majority of Byzantine literary works had religious themes. This did not mean that there was a lack of secular and scientific literature; however, the view that everything that was important in nature had been discovered by the Greeks and Roman already persisting in the Byzantine culture led to shifting the focus towards the word of God. It was not just the domain of the priests and the temples. The Byzantine Church was, from the very beginning, strongly associated with the Emperor’s authority. It meant that the monarch had a say in its internal matters, such as those pertaining to faith. In the end, the decisions of the Emperors led to the greatest crisis in the history of the Byzantine Church that resulted in the split (schism) of Christianity between the East and the West in 1054.