Byzantium and the Slavs - Church History - Book

Author: Dimitri Obolensky Published: 1994 Size: 9x6 Pages: 323  Paperback Among the most notable events that have shaped the history of Europe is the influence exerted by Byzantium on the cultural life of Eastern Europe. At different times in their history the peoples who lived in that region--Bulgarians, Albanians, Serbs, Romanians, Ukrainians, and Russians--experienced the lasting impact of Byzantine culture. Through the relations established by these people with Byzantium during the Middle Ages, their ruling and educated classes were led to adopt many features of Byzantine civilization--notably its religion and law, its literature and art--with the result that they were able to share in, and eventually to contribute to, a common cultural tradition. This Byzantine heritage, some of which has survived to the present day, was a significant enough component of their medieval tradition to justify the view that they formed a single international community, termed the Byzantine Commonwea