A World Lit Only by Fire Read Online Free Page B
Author: William Manchester
to groves
which had been considered sacred centuries before the birth of Jesus. Pagan holidays still enjoyed wide popularity; therefore
the Church expropriated them. Pentecost supplanted the Floralia, All Souls’ Day replaced a festival for the dead, the feast
of the purification of Isis and the Roman Lupercalia were transformed into the Feast of the Nativity. The Saturnalia, when
even slaves had enjoyed great liberty, became Christmas; the resurrection of Attis, Easter. There was a lot of legerdemain
in this. No one then knew the year Christ was born—it was probably 5 B.C .—let alone the date. Sometime in A.D . 336 Roman Christians first observed his birthday. The Eastern Roman Empire picked January 6 as the day, but later in the
same century December 25 was adopted, apparently at random. The date of his resurrection was also unrecorded. The early Christians,
believing that their lord’s return was imminent, celebrated Easter every Sunday. After three hundred years their descendants
became reconciled to a delay. In an attempt to link Easter with the Passion, it was sheduled on Passover, the Jewish feast
observing the Exodus from Egypt in the thirteenth century B.C . Finally, in A.D . 325, after long and bitter controversy, the First Council of Nicaea settled on the first Sunday after the full moon following
the spring equinox. The decision had no historical validity, but neither did the event, and it comforted those who cherished
traditional holidays.
As mass baptisms swelled its congregations, the Church further indulged the converts by condoning ancient rites, or attempting
to transform them, in the hope—never realized—that they would die out. Fertility rituals and augury were sanctioned; so
was the sacrifice of cattle. After the pagan sacrifice of humans was replaced by Christianity’s symbolic Mass, the ceremonial
performance of the sacraments became of paramount importance. Christian priests, like the pagan priests before them, also
blessed harvests and homes. They even asked omnipotent God to spare communities from fire, plague, and enemy invasions. This
was tempting fate, however, and medieval fate never resisted temptation for long. In time the flames, diseases, and invaders
came anyway, invariably followed by outbreaks of anticlericalism, or even backsliding into such extravagant sects as the flagellants,
who appeared recurrently in the wake of the Black Death. Nevertheless the traffic in holy relics, to which supernatural powers
were attributed, never slackened, and Christian miracle stories continued to attribute pagan qualities to saints.
Neither Jesus nor his disciples had mentioned sainthood. The designation of saints emerged during the second and third centuries
after Christ, with the Roman persecution of Christians. The survivors of the catacombs believed those who had been martyred
had been received directly into heaven and, being there, could intercede for the living. They revered them as saints, but
they never venerated idols of them. All the early Christians had despised idolatry, reserving special scorn for sculptures
representing pagan gods. Typically, Clement of Alexandria ( A.D . 150?–220?), a theologian and teacher, declared that it was sacrilege to adulate that which is created, rather than the creator.
However, as the number of saints grew, so did the medieval yearning to give them identity; worshipers wanted pictures of them,
images of the Madonna, and replicas of Christ on the cross. Statues of Horus, the Egyptian sky god, and Isis, the goddess
of royalty, were rechristened Jesus and Mary. Craftsmen turned out other images and pictures to meet the demands of Christians
who kissed them, prostrated themselves before them, and adorned them with flowers. Incense was introduced in Christian church
services around 500, followed by the burning of candles. Each medieval community, in times of crisis, evoked the supposed
potency of
which had been considered sacred centuries before the birth of Jesus. Pagan holidays still enjoyed wide popularity; therefore
the Church expropriated them. Pentecost supplanted the Floralia, All Souls’ Day replaced a festival for the dead, the feast
of the purification of Isis and the Roman Lupercalia were transformed into the Feast of the Nativity. The Saturnalia, when
even slaves had enjoyed great liberty, became Christmas; the resurrection of Attis, Easter. There was a lot of legerdemain
in this. No one then knew the year Christ was born—it was probably 5 B.C .—let alone the date. Sometime in A.D . 336 Roman Christians first observed his birthday. The Eastern Roman Empire picked January 6 as the day, but later in the
same century December 25 was adopted, apparently at random. The date of his resurrection was also unrecorded. The early Christians,
believing that their lord’s return was imminent, celebrated Easter every Sunday. After three hundred years their descendants
became reconciled to a delay. In an attempt to link Easter with the Passion, it was sheduled on Passover, the Jewish feast
observing the Exodus from Egypt in the thirteenth century B.C . Finally, in A.D . 325, after long and bitter controversy, the First Council of Nicaea settled on the first Sunday after the full moon following
the spring equinox. The decision had no historical validity, but neither did the event, and it comforted those who cherished
traditional holidays.
As mass baptisms swelled its congregations, the Church further indulged the converts by condoning ancient rites, or attempting
to transform them, in the hope—never realized—that they would die out. Fertility rituals and augury were sanctioned; so
was the sacrifice of cattle. After the pagan sacrifice of humans was replaced by Christianity’s symbolic Mass, the ceremonial
performance of the sacraments became of paramount importance. Christian priests, like the pagan priests before them, also
blessed harvests and homes. They even asked omnipotent God to spare communities from fire, plague, and enemy invasions. This
was tempting fate, however, and medieval fate never resisted temptation for long. In time the flames, diseases, and invaders
came anyway, invariably followed by outbreaks of anticlericalism, or even backsliding into such extravagant sects as the flagellants,
who appeared recurrently in the wake of the Black Death. Nevertheless the traffic in holy relics, to which supernatural powers
were attributed, never slackened, and Christian miracle stories continued to attribute pagan qualities to saints.
Neither Jesus nor his disciples had mentioned sainthood. The designation of saints emerged during the second and third centuries
after Christ, with the Roman persecution of Christians. The survivors of the catacombs believed those who had been martyred
had been received directly into heaven and, being there, could intercede for the living. They revered them as saints, but
they never venerated idols of them. All the early Christians had despised idolatry, reserving special scorn for sculptures
representing pagan gods. Typically, Clement of Alexandria ( A.D . 150?–220?), a theologian and teacher, declared that it was sacrilege to adulate that which is created, rather than the creator.
However, as the number of saints grew, so did the medieval yearning to give them identity; worshipers wanted pictures of them,
images of the Madonna, and replicas of Christ on the cross. Statues of Horus, the Egyptian sky god, and Isis, the goddess
of royalty, were rechristened Jesus and Mary. Craftsmen turned out other images and pictures to meet the demands of Christians
who kissed them, prostrated themselves before them, and adorned them with flowers. Incense was introduced in Christian church
services around 500, followed by the burning of candles. Each medieval community, in times of crisis, evoked the supposed
potency of
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