Original subtitles

(intense orchestra theme music)

(seagulls chirping)

I'm Christopher Clark, Cambridge Historian.

I was born in Australia.

For Europeans that's practically the other end of the world.

But the European continent and its incredible diversity

always fascinated me.

Even in the far off country where I grew up

I was always aware that so much of our world

has its roots in Europe and modern Europe

is one of the greatest achievements in human history.

I want to share the grand saga of this continent.

And in the process I hope to rediscover

its wonders for myself.

(intense music)

(indistinct yelling)

This doesn't look European at all you might say

but there's also an Oriental Europe

and that's what I'm looking for here in Istanbul.

Istanbul is the only major city in the world

that straddles two continents.

The European and the Asian on which I'm standing here.

And between them, the Bosporus.

One of the world's most strategically sensitive waterways.

The geography is straightforward enough.

But where Europe begins and where it ends

is also a question of religion.

Today it's fashionable to define Europe

is terms of a Western Judeo-Christian tradition.

And yet the origins of this tradition lie outside Europe.

In the Middle East, in Palestine, Syria.

Mesopotamia and Egypt.

And Paul, the most important of

the early Christian missionaries, came

from Tassels in today's Turkey.

And this place too, Constantinople.

Today Istanbul, once shaped the Christian culture of Europe.

I'm in Istanbul in the Hagia Sophia.

The Church of Holy Wisdom that has stood

on this spot for 1,500 years.

Before the construction of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome

this was the largest Christian church in the world

and Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine Empire.

The cultural heart of Europe.

When the Ottomans conquered Constantinople in 1453

the Hagia Sophia became a mosque.

But the 11th century mosaics still remain

as a testimony to the era of Christendom.

Today this building is mainly a museum

although parts of it are once again in use as a mosque.

In this place we can clearly see

how similar these religions actually are

and which sources they draw from.

Nowhere else with the power of the Roman Emperors

and the authority of the Christian Church

has tightly intertwined as in this immense structure.

When the Ottomans conquered Constantinople in 1453

Sultan Mehmed the Second marked the victory

by riding into the church and conducting

the Muslim Friday prayer.

The Hagia Sophia became a mosque

and it remained one until 1935

when it was redesignated as a museum.

But today, things are changing.

The call to prayer of the muezzin.

The ganderings out from the four minarets

and an Imam has recently been appointed.

(footsteps clicking)

Important historical buildings like this one

have always been put to political use

and that instrumentalization continues today.

The central themes of the Mosaic Bible

and the Christian New Testament

can nearly all be traced back to sources

in Mesopotamia, Asia Minor and the Levant.

Moses 10 Commandments for example probably

have their origins in ethical injunctions

he encountered in Egypt.

And the notion that the soul is immortal

and that the Divine Judgment awaits the dead

could also be found in the kingdom of the Pharaohs.

Christianity, that central strand of

the continent's history, was not a European invention.

What gave Christianity the power to

unite Europe over and over again?

Part of the answer can be found in the New Testament.

In the book known as "Apostles".

Having once himself mercilessly persecuted

the Christians, Paul, a Greek Jew from Tassels

becomes a fervent believer in the teachings of Christ.

"Forgiveness and benevolence are the key

to the kingdom of heaven," he preaches.

Just as Jesus revealed.

He presses against the prevailing mentality of the time.

He favors forgiveness over condemnation.

Mercy over revenge.

His message is that God is there for everyone.

Even the poor and downtrodden.

And Paul practices what he preaches.

On his journeys, he leads by example

standing up for the weak.

(crowd yelling)

Paul traveled many thousands of kilometers

on roads like these.

All were often on rough terrain or even by boat.

And in the process he laid the foundations

for a global church, because Paul's Christianity

was an offer to everyone.

Initially to be sure it was above all

the poor and the weak who responded to his call.

But the brothers and the sisters

in the faith stuck together.

Some were even prepared to die for their religion.

An active witness that was not lost

on all of their contemporaries.

What began as a movement of underdogs

is today with 2.3 billion members

the largest faith community in the world.

But the rise of Christianity doesn't begin in Jerusalem.

It starts in York, England.

This is where Constantine the Great

is name "Roman Emperor" in the year 306.

Or rather "Quarter Emperor".

At this point the empire is divided

up between four emperors.

They don't rule from Rome but from

modern day Milan, Trier, Sirmium, and Izmit.

Why is it Constantine of all people

who helps Christianity become an established major religion?

Where is my mother?

Over there, my lord.

[Christopher Clark] "Behind every powerful man

is a strong woman," they used to say.

And in such cases, a mother can be especially influential.

Helena, Constantine's mother, is a fine example.

While Constantine primarily views Christianity

as a means to power, Helena is baptized.

She is a true believer in the superiority

of the Christian God.

It is likely Constantine's mother

who familiarizes the new emperor with the new religion

ushering in a new era for Europe.

She would later be canonized by the Church.

(ethereal music)

And then before a decisive battle

legend has it that Constantine receives a vision.

God tells him that he should go into battle marked

with the sign of Christ.

That it will help him defeat his enemies.

At the time Constantine was anything

but a conventional Christian.

It isn't until many years later just before his death

that he resolved to be baptized.

But Constantine extends his autocratic rule

under the banner of Christianity

and the Christogram becomes his trademark.

His struggle for power is the first religious war.

The first crusade and the beginning of a fateful alliance

between the Church and the State

that will last into Europe's modern era.

At the Battle of the Milvian Bridge

as depicted by Renaissance painter Raphael

Constantine the First defeats his rival Maxentius

to become sole ruler.

He believes that God has granted him this victory

and in gratitude he launches the process

of Christianizing the Roman Empire.

Constantine celebrates his victory over his rivals

with a triumphal procession in the year 312.

Like Caesar, who saw himself as a demigod

Constantine parades towards the Temple of Jupiter

but under a Christian banner.

However unlike his hero, Constantine symbolically

turns around when he's halfway to the temple.

Halt!

(crowd cheering)

Turn around.

But, but my emperor.

Turn around.

Now.

The crowd isn't expecting this and

they boo him as he rides away.

It's a good visual representation

of what would come to be called "The Constantinian Shift".

Christianity is becoming more and more influential

and half a century later, it'll become

the official religion.

But what were the reasons for the success of Christianity?

Well, first there's the fact that the alliance of the Church

with the powerful Roman Imperial State

greatly increased its appeal.

The Church was open to anyone who wanted to join.

This had never been the case with the Jews.

Then there was the Christian belief in deliverance

and salvation in the hereafter.

Death was no longer final.

For those who'd endured a great deal

of suffering in their lives, this was

a powerful and attractive argument.

It seemed that what Jesus had promised them

was something that many heathen gods

they'd worshiped up 'til now simply couldn't offer.

The Christian Church could even forgive sins

in the name of Jesus.

Something that would've seemed very strange

to the Apostle Paul.

According to the old Jewish tradition

the forgiveness of sins was something reserved

to God and the Last Judgment.

The emperor commissions the construction

of the Arch of Constantine in Rome

to mark this major victory.

It's a symbol of his claim to power.

Constantine adorned his claim to power

with Christian symbols, portraying the events

and decisions of his reign as expressions of God's will.

It's an invincible combination.

We can see here the roots of the religiously

sanctioned violence that in later centuries

would scar the history of Europe and its global expansion.

(reflective music)

In the year 324, Constantine the Great turns

his back on Rome forever.

He heads to the Bosphorus to Byzantium

where he constructs his new capital Constantinople

today known as Istanbul.

It becomes the center of Christian culture

outshining even Rome.

Where today the skyline is dominated by minarets

Constantine and his successors built churches.

He wanted the Christ Pantocrator, ruler of the world

to radiate from this city to the rest of Europe

as the mosaics and paintings in the Chora church indicate.

Back then, the actual heart of Christendom

was not in Rome, but in the East of Europe.

But what became of Rome?

That eternal city where everything supposedly began

ravaged by the raids of dramatic tribes

from the Fifth century onwards.

And Rome, the former world metropolis

fell into decline and decay.

Ruins everywhere.

What didn't decline with ancient Rome

was Roman Christianity.

The Germanic tribal leaders accepted and adopted the faith

albeit in the somewhat simplified form.

And so the Germans in Rome became Roman Christians

and thereby heirs to the Roman Imperial heritage.

A profound rupture and at the same time a deep continuity.

In the history of Europe, this is not a contradiction.

And at the other end of the continent

far to the west, it's Ireland of all places.

That emerald isle at the outer edge of Europe

never conquered by the Romans that becomes

one of the most important starting points

for the process of Christianization.

Iris missionaries begin to find their way to other countries

as early as the Sixth century.

But why does it all start in Ireland.

Here in Ireland is where Christianity

and the nature worshiping faith of the Celts meet.

The Book of Kells, a true treasure of the middle ages

is a good example of the way these

two religions crossed paths.

Filled with images of nature, it blends

traditional Celtic motifs with Christian symbols.

It was this distinctive mix, the simplicity

and the credibility of a religion

that had not yet drifted too far from its heathen roots

that gave Irish Christianity its special appeal.

And Irish monasteries were special

in another respect as well.

They were open to young people who wish to study

without necessarily becoming monks or nuns.

And this open traffic between the cloister

and the world beyond was another important feature

of early Irish Christianity.

It all starts in the Fourth century

with a monk named Patrick, the son

of a Roman officer from Brittania.

He is considered the Apostle of Ireland

at the time Ireland is still a land of druids and pagans.

According to legend, Patrick starts a fire

on the Hill of Slane at Easter in the year 433.

The fire is larger and burns longer

than the ones set by his pagan opponents

on the Hill of Tara.

An ancient Celtic ritual site across the valley.

And that is Patrick's strategy in a nutshell.

Ireland's patron Saint wins people over

with simple signs and symbols, feeding

their spiritual hunger and helping

them to become developed Christians.

He explained the Trinity for example

with the help of a clover leaf.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Today the clover leaf is the national symbol of the Irish.

An icon, like Saint Patrick himself.

Monasteries like Clonmacnoise served as an incubator

for this fledgling religious faith in Ireland.

Saint Patrick was clever enough

not to contradict the prevailing social order

or act against the clans in the country.

He imported the Roman alphabet and helped to ensure

that the Celtic traditions were recorded in writing.

In order to understand the expansiveness

of Irish religion, the scope of its influence

across Western Europe, we need to remember

another peculiarity of the Irish monks.

Namely the.

(foreign language)

The Pilgrimage for Christ.

Which was not a journey to a specific sacred location

but a protracted exile of wandering

in which the monks took upon themselves

the risks and privations of early medieval travel

as a kind of penance.

A form of martyrdom.

Far from their beloved country, their language

and their kinship groups, a form of ascetic piety.

Without which the course of the spread

of Christianity in Europe might have been very different.

In the Sixth century, the monks Columbanus

and Gallus gather 10 of their religious brothers

around them in remembrance of the 12 Apostles.

The walking stick, the symbol of Pilgrims

becomes their trademark.

They set out to convert their European neighbors

on the continent.

For them, all of life is a pilgrimage.

The Irish monks bring Christianity

to Gallia, modern day Switzerland.

To Italy.

To Galicia.

And later to places as far off as Iceland.

Monasteries are established throughout the continent

creating a tight knit Christian network.

Columbanus is responsible for the establishment

of over 300 monasteries in the Frankish Empire alone.

The missionary is memorialized in Luxeuil

in the Vosges region of France.

When Columbinus and Gallus encounter pagan ritual sites

their radical side rears its head.

They invoke the Old Testament which reads

"You must tear down their pagan altars

and shatter their sacred pillars."

There is much for us to do here, Gallus.

In the name of God.

Our Holy Father.

(grunts)

(crashing)

(panting)

(bell chiming)

The missionary efforts of the Irish monks

have a lasting effect.

In fact, Columbanus and Gallus were the ones

who brought church bells to the continent

which still call the faithful to worship today.

Welcome.

And growing numbers of pagans to convert to Christianity.

During the migration period and the various invasions

of the Roman Empire, many state structures collapsed.

The only force that was still capable of creating

and maintaining a certain degree of order was Christianity.

It wasn't just a matter of belief.

The Church became an organizing force

in the life of the people.

Steadily expanding its power and its moral authority.

Between the Sixth and the 10th centuries

this melding of Roman and Germanic elements

created something entirely new.

Monasteries now become the nucleus

of Christian culture in Europe.

Gallus settles near Lake Constance

in modern day Switzerland.

The city of St. Gallen is named after him.

Here hundreds of years later, a monastery

is constructed over his grave.

Today, it's a UNESCO World Heritage site.

And the monastery shape more than just people's faith.

Their libraries are the new centers of knowledge in Europe.

The ancient wisdom of the Greeks and Romans

is also preserved here, although the prevailing mindset

of the era would label its authors "pagans".

The old works are carried over into a new age.

It was like a salvage operation for World Cultural Heritage.

Respect for the traditions and knowledge

of previous generations would become

a defining characteristic of European culture.

This is how monasteries and churches become

the focal points of European civilization

in the Middle Ages, and because they're

at the center of cities and villages on the continent

they also shape the landscape.

They may come in different shapes and sizes

but church spires are always the defining feature of Europe.

Even today the influence of Christianity

can be felt throughout Europe, including here in Reims.

(bell chiming)

Over the centuries, so many creations

from music and literature to the incredible architecture

of the churches, were inspired by a desire to praise God.

Reims, with its famous cathedral

could be called the birth place of a Christian Europe.

This is where Clovis, King of the Franks

and founder of Merovingian Dynasty

was baptized as a reward for defeating

the Tribe of the Alemanni.

Legend has it that during the decisive battle

he cried out, "Jesus Christ, if You give me victory

over these enemies I will believe

in You and will be baptized in Your Name."

Very much like Emperor Constantine in ancient Rome.

Another case of the powerful falling back

on religion for support.

Clovis allied himself with the influential

Roman Catholic Church, a decisive step

that enabled the Frankish rulers over time

to merge with their Gallo-Roman subjects.

(intense music)

This solemn baptism on Christmas day in the year 500

left a lasting impression on the people of the day.

3,000 warriors decided to be baptized alongside Clovis

prefiguring the eventual conversion

of the entire Frankish people to the Christian faith.

Clovis's conversion laid the spiritual foundations

for Charlemagne's immense empire.

And for a Christian Europe.

Naturally, Clovis's successors also expand

their power as they spread the Christian religion.

Charlemagne is particularly ruthless.

He ignores the Christian method show brotherly love

deciding to focus instead on conversion by the sword.

Thousands die as a result.

The Saxons suffer most for their resistance to Charlemagne

who uses extreme violence to bring them to heel.

They are forced to convert to Christianity.

But for the first time since the fall of the Roman Empire

broad swathes of Western Europe are unified

and even share the same faith.

The Frankish Empire will later become France, Germany

and the Benelux countries.

The core countries of the modern day European Union.

EU officials seem to have learned

a thing or two from Charlemagne.

The emperor enacted Europe's first agricultural regulations

which dictated the medicinal and cropped plants

that could be found in his empire

as well as the standards of quality

those plants had to meet.

These regulations were strictly enforced

the empire's markets.

There were also standardized units

of weight and a standard currency.

The denarius, or Charlemagne penny.

How much for all?

Just one denarius.

The denarius is used as currency in France

and beyond, even in England.

Your padden-economic and monitor union of sorts.

1,200 years before the introduction of the euro.

It's no wonder that Charlemagne is celebrated

as the Father of Europe today.

His capitol Aachen is considered the Rome of the North.

Art and culture reach a new peak under Charlemagne

earning this era the name "Carolingian Renaissance".

Charlemagne brings scholars from

all over Europe to his court.

And his court's school becomes the heart

of education on the continent, bringing forth

new ideas and poetry, theology, and historiography.

A collective memory is born.

Charlemagne makes the ancient world

accessible to the Germanic peoples.

The writing system also develops during this period.

The Carolingian minuscule forms the basis

for the times new Roman font we still use today.

Charlemagne's power politics with all

the associated crusades and conquests

help the Frankish Empire become a global power.

The likes of which haven't been seen

since the fall of Western Rome.

Aachen, with its magnificent imperial palace

was Charlemagne's main place of residence

but the emperor was always on the move

keeping a firm grip on the far flung

territories of his empire.

Whenever he was home he enjoyed

the local culture and luxuries including the hot springs.

He specifically built his imperial palace

across from a Roman bath.

The foundation and scale of today's Aachen city hall

are identical to the former royal residence.

This is where all the royal feasts

and coronations were held.

The octagonal Aachen Cathedral

is another famous Carolingian landmark.

The architects of the age clearly drew

on Byzantine art in their designs.

The focal point is the marble throne.

The ruler who sits here has nothing

above him but the heavens.

And below him are his people.

But Charlemagne wants to be more

than just King of the Franks.

He has bigger plans.

He hopes to secure lasting power for the Frankish people.

In autumn of the year 800, he crosses the Alps to Rome

with a large procession in tow.

His destination is Old Saint Peter's Basilica

which once stood where the dome of the Cathedral

rises above the city today.

The Pope would crown him Emperor here on Christmas day.

A spectacle of historic proportions.

Charlemagne wears the crimson robes

of the ancient Roman Emperors.

A ruler of a Germanic Tribe takes up

the mantle of the Roman rulers

and becomes the founder of the Western

European medieval empire.

The emperor swears an oath to restore the Roman Empire

and to protect the holy Roman Church.

In the centuries to come, the holy Roman Emperors

will continue to be crowned here.

But the Franks are not the only ones spreading

their faith at Swordpoint across Europe.

The Christian West was on the rise in the middle ages

but so was the Islamic West.

In April 711, the Muslim Wars of North Africa

land on the southern tip of Spain.

Within seven years, they've conquered almost

the entire Iberian Peninsula.

The invaders crossed the Pyrenees

and advanced deep into France reaching as far as Tours.

The Franks call on the Europeans

to fight back and stop the invaders.

Charles Martel, an experienced strategist

serves as the military leader of

the Franks, Lombards, and Aachentanians.

(foreboding music)

The Arab warriors are feared.

In recent decades, they have conquered

the Middle Eastern North Africa

but Charles Martel's men have sworn

to hold the line at all costs.

They repel the invaders and the battle

is later exhorted as a fight for Europe itself.

On the Iberian Peninsula, the Moors hold their ground

and establish the Islamic Empire of Al Andalus

which would shape the southwest of Europe

for early 800 years.

As the capital city, Quaterbore begins to expand.

By the end of the millennium, this home

of the Caliphs is the most important metropolis

in the Western World.

A mega city with half a million residents.

The mass the Moors construct on the ruins

of a Roman temple and a Christian church

is the largest house of worship in the world at the time.

Today, it's a Christian cathedral once again.

That's Europe for you.

Always this back and forth.

Does Islam belong in Europe?

Well it's certainly part of the European continent.

And at times it's been a deeply important

part of that history.

Islamic medieval Spain became the conduit

between Western Europe and the great academies

of the Middle East.

In centers of learning like Baghdad

Muslim scholars were pushing back

the horizons of knowledge.

It's not just that scholars in

the Arabic tradition translated

and analyzed important works from ancient Greek

and thereby preserved them for the West.

Muslim scientists also engaged in experimental research.

Even citing passages in the Koran

that called upon the faithful to observe nature

as a divine sign and to obtain knowledge.

(reflective music)

An Islamic Renaissance began.

Biology, zoology, geography, optometry, medicine.

Astronomy and mathematics all boomed.

And this new knowledge was also taught

in the Muslim universities of Spain

which were attended by Jewish and Catholic students

including the man who would later become

Pope Sylvester the Second.

And this is how the expertise of the Arab world

came to the European continent.

For nearly a millennium, Islam was

a culturally decisive force in Europe.

The Alhambra in Granada is an eloquent

expression of that fact.

The Caliphs open-minded cosmopolitan attitude

attracts scholars from all over Europe and the Middle East.

And as a result, something incredible happens here

in the south of the continent.

Muslim, Jewish, and Christian scholars

launch what one might call a "joint research project".

Jewish scholars help to translate

the ancient writings collected and translated by the Arabs

including works by Aristotle into Latin

making them accessible to Christian Europe

and preserving them for generations to come.

Even back then it was clear that cooperation

between the Arabic and Hebraic cultures

could be extremely productive.

It seems that we still have something to learn

from the Golden Age of Isla de Luz.

So Europe definitely benefited from Muslim rule

over the Iberian Peninsula.

Of the European zest for research through experimentation

likely had its roots in this era.

But then it all came to a very sudden end.

(creaking)

The Alhambra Granada was the last basting

of the Moors in Spain.

In 1492, the last of the Amyas to rule

in this magnificent fortress was obliged

to surrender the key to the Queen of Spain.

Isabella of Castile.

(upbeat music)

The Moors were promised freedom of religion

by the ruling Spaniards, but there's tolerance

were soon replaced by religious zealotry.

The first crusade had sown the spirit of conquest

and persecution throughout Europe.

Pope Urban the Second fired the starting shot

from Clermont in the French Auvergne.

When he convened a center against immorality

and faithlessness and called on the faithful

to arm themselves and travel to Jerusalem.

It had become increasingly difficult to access

the holy sites there.

(foreign language)

"It is God's will," Pope Urban declared

and thousands followed his call.

Nobles, knights, and peasants alike.

All of them were driven by the Pope's promise

of heavenly rewards and the forgiveness of sins.

The slaughter began before the crusaders

had even left Europe.

Among the first victims of the crusades

were the Jews in cities such as Mainz and Speyer

where Jewish life, culture and faith

were an integral part of urban life.

Their neighborhoods and shops helped shape

the face of those cities.

They worked as traders and artisans.

In a sense, the period before the crusades

had been a Golden Age of relatively peaceful coexistence

between Jews and Christians in Western Europe.

The local rulers protected the individual Jewish communities

which had their own administrative structures.

The synagogue was the focal point of community life.

Synagogues were centers of spiritual life and tradition.

But now during the Crusades, the Jews were targeted

as the enemies of Christ, the infidels of Europe.

Horrifying pogroms were the result.

Thousands of Jews were murdered or committed suicide.

It was a prefiguration of the antisemitism

of centuries to come and it casts

a long shadow of the European history.

In fact, the primary mission of the Crusaders

was to remove the other so-called "infidels"

who controlled the territory that housed Christ's tomb.

In June 1099 after three years

the Christian armies finally reached their destination.

Jerusalem.

This city was home to some of the most important

Christian holy places.

In recent years it has been alternatively dominated

by various opposing forces under whose rule

non Muslims have often suffered.

The Crusaders wanted to reclaim Jerusalem for Christianity.

And what followed was a bloody siege with heavy losses.

The Christian Crusaders were responsible

for the gruesome murders of thousands of Muslims and Jews.

They then constructed churches on the ruins

of the destroyed mosques and synagogues.

Sadly the first crusade is only the beginning.

The Europeans would pillage and plunder

the Holy Land four more times.

Jerusalem remains a bone of contention

among the three monotheistic world faiths today.

For centuries the Crusades would strain

the relationship between East and West

and between Muslims and Christians.

And then, the pendulum swings in the other direction.

In 1453, Constantinople falls to its enemies.

The Ottomens strike at the heart

of Christianity in the East.

(wind blowing)

The city is plundered.

The conquerors advanced all the way to the Hagia Sophia

where many residents have sought refuge.

There is another bloodbath.

(intense music)

But the fall of Constantinople doesn't

mean the end of Christianity in the east of Europe.

The faith had long sense made its way northward

where it found its new center.

I'm on my way to the Kiev Monastery

of Caves founded in 1051.

It's a place rich in symbolism.

The patriarch of Moscow regularly holds church services here

and I'm attending one today.

The piety of the Eastern Orthodox Church

is characterized by fixed rituals.

The mass, liturgy, and sacraments cannot be changed.

These believers rejected the Pope and still do so today.

For them, church is of the place

where God resides, but nothing more.

There is no organ, just voices raised in song.

Kiev was the first center of Russian Christianity.

It was known as the "Jerusalem of the East".

Only in the 14th century did Moscow begin to emerge

as the religious capital of Orthodox Christendom.

Since the era of Emperor Constantine

Byzantium had been the second Rome.

After the conquest of Constantinople

by the Ottomens in the 15th Century

Moscow was hailed as the third.

(foreign language)

"The Third Rome".

Signified not just religious authority

but also imperial power.

The Russian rulers called themselves "czars".

Caesars or emperors.

And in this tradition, they were also defenders

of the Christian faith.

They ruled over the Eastern Church

which defined itself in opposition

to the Catholic Church of the West.

Both churches continued to vie for supremacy

and the alienation between them

has never entirely been overcome.

This can also be felt in Ukraine which lies

on the crossroads between Eastern and Central Europe.

Orthodoxy dominates in the East of the country

that several million Western Ukrainians

view Rome as the center of their faith.

And here again as so often in the history of Europe

we're confronted with the question, "Is Christianity

a unifying bond or a divisive force?"

And what about Western Christianity?

In the 14th century there are two Popes.

One in Rome and one in Auvergne in Southern France.

At one point there are actually three.

They're all fighting over the Holy See.

They seem more interested in wealth and power

than in the salvation of the faithful.

Critics increasingly begin to question

the medieval order of Western Europe

which is dominated by the Emperor and the Pope.

Many of the faithful abandon the church altogether

in an era of starvation, plague, and the discord.

A peopled church focused only on itself

provides little stability or hope for the people.

A new movement begins here in Prague primarily led

by priests and theology professor Jan Hus

who becomes a prominent critic of the old Church.

Hus is the rector at the renowned Child's University

and a highly respected figure.

He blasts the clergy in his lectures

and sermons, gradually attracting larger

and larger crowds of interested followers.

He rejects Latin, opting instead to deliver his message

in the language of the people.

And they're hearing him loud and clear.

Now I tell you, our church needs no Pope.

Not at all.

Nowhere does the Bible mention him.

Our Lord Jesus Christ would lead

our faith much better through you.

Jan Hus repeatedly denounces the practices

of the Papal Church, which he feels

are capitalizing on people's fear of hellfire and damnation.

The Church promises you salvation

for buying letters of indulgence.

But all they want is to fill their coffers.

(crowd cheering)

Yes, he's right!

Here.

Here is one of them.

He's got a coffer right in his hands.

There is no longer a distinction

between church leaders and secular rulers

whose argues just as English the allergen

John Wakeley had done before him.

Jan Hus's ideas light a spark that burns

like a wildfire across Europe.

Only God can forgive sins.

Hus's critics burned his books in retaliation.

The emperor summons the agitated de Constance.

A formal council is called to resolve

the system of the Church and silence the heretic.

After weeks of interrogation and torture

Jan Hus is subjected to the same fate as his writings.

He's burned at the stake.

But his ideas live on.

St. Peter's Basilica.

This colossal structure built in the 16th century

is the power of the Papal Church rendered into stone.

But just as they're putting the finishing touches

to St. Peters, the reformation broke out

in Western and Central Europe.

The power of the Pope's was shaken.

The reformation never quite reached Rome

but it did divide the European continent.

Martin Luther coined a revolutionary term.

"The Priesthood of all believers."

The Printing Press facilitated

the spread of ideas of an industrial scale

whether a formed religion gained ground

the monopoly of the Old Church over

the interpretation of sacred text was lost.

Luther burns the document containing

the Pope's official threat of excommunication.

He is already drawn up and distributed 95 thesis

directed mainly against the practice of selling indulgences.

This is the spark that unites the reformation.

Support for Luther among the people is growing.

They see him as a champion for their cause.

Luther takes a strong stance against

an ecclesiastical system that seems

to be commercializing the forgiveness of sins.

Just like Jan Hus 100 years before him.

He says, "Even councils of Bishops can make mistakes."

And this is when the split with

the Catholic Church comes about.

Luther is summoned to the dieter Vams

where he is told her must renounce his thesis.

He's chosen a difficult path for himself

and everyone involved.

(suspensful music)

In his writings he questioned the authority of the Church.

And thus destroyed the unity of Christendom.

Luther stands his ground

invoking God's protection.

God help me.

Amen.

Luther is placed under imperial ban

and declared an outlaw in the empire

but he's granted safe passage.

Soldiers escort him back to Wartburg Castle

where the reformer would be extremely productive

in the months to come.

Luther's thesis are now reprinted thousands of times over.

The reformers refuse to be silenced.

Luther translates the New Testament

into German for the people.

A broad segment of the European populous is on his side.

They can now read the Bible themselves

or have it read to them.

"As Jesus sat near the temple treasury

He watched the people as they dropped in their money."

"Many rich men dropped in a lot of money."

"Then a poor widow came along and dropped in

two little cup of coins worth about a penny."

One of Luther's early followers

is French pastor John Calvin.

Persecution of Protestants soon begins

in his home country, and he flees to Switzerland.

Like Luther, he believes that the written word of the Bible

is the only thing that matters.

He never studied theology but he continues

to refine Luther's ideas in his own way.

Calvin is stricter than Luther.

He places particular emphasis on values

such as thrift and discipline.

The protest against the Papal Church

divides the continent even across national borders.

In the Christian West, unity is a thing of the past.

During the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre in 1572

Parisian Protestants are slaughtered on the King's orders.

The massacre is a prelude to a wave

of murders throughout the country.

More than 10,000 people lose their lives.

The Catholic Kings of France enforce

the primacy of their religion with violence.

(vulture crowing)

It was the most gruesome conflict

the continent had experienced up to that point

and it began in 1618.

The 30 Years War divided the countries of Europe

into fiercely opposed camps.

It's no longer about religion and

it hasn't been for some time.

It's about power across all denominations.

Adherence to the various Christian faiths

fight for control of Europe in the name of God.

Christians against Christians.

It's one of the greatest tragedies

the continent has ever seen, surpassed only

by the two World Wars of the 20th century.

(explosion)

This seminal catastrophe of European history

a struggle over religion and power

claimed six million lives.

For three decades Central Europe is a battlefield.

Only then do cooler heads prevail.

History is made in Westphalia.

Around 1645 the representatives of the waring parties

make their way to the cities of Osnabruck and Munster

to seek a solution to the stalemate.

Now it's the diplomats turn.

Nearly all the great powers of Europe are represented here.

It's the first Pan-European peace conference in history.

A year long experiment with an uncertain outcome.

No one wants to be short changed

and everyone wants to come away looking good.

But reaching a compromise proves difficult.

It's a skill they still need to learn.

Finally in May 1648, delegates from Spain

and the Netherlands finally make a breakthrough

after three years of negotiations.

At Munster City hall, they are the first

to sign the Treaty of Westphalia.

The other European powers follow suit in the months to come.

"Should the madding world not betake itself to peace?"

"A weighty punishment shall it face," cries

an angel on this flier from 1646.

He's addressing the invoice of the negotiations

surrounding the peace of Westphalia.

The angel was expressing the people's most fervent wish.

They wanted peace.

But how did the delegates, who traveled

from all over Europe to Munster, manage to achieve it?

Over there in the Austrian State archives

behind the Hofburg Imperial Palace is

the original Treaty of Westphalia.

As so often in European history

numerous compromises were acquired

to bring about this peaceful resolution.

And here it is.

The birth certificate of modern diplomacy.

A major war was brought to an end.

Not by the victory of one of the antagonists.

But through negotiation.

And here you can see the Peace Treaty.

And at the end of it, the seals

and the signatures of the representatives

of the signatory powers.

France here.

Here the negotiator, the Chief negotiator

for the Keiser Vohemar.

Brandenburg, Saxony, Bamberg, the city of Frankfurt.

All of Central Europe is represented here.

Deadly enemies became partners in

a community of equal nations.

It was the beginning of international law

as we still know it today nearly 370 years later.

The Peace of Westphalia also marks

another important departure, at least in Western Europe.

In the years that followed, Europeans would continue

to wage wars against one another

but they gradually came to accept

that it was best to keep religion and politics separate.

(intense music)

(footsteps)