Milanes Bann
[[Biliþ:ImperialpalaceMilan.jpg|thumb]]
Þæt '''"Bann Milanes"''' (313) ābēad þæt þæt [[Rōmānisc Rīce|Rōmānisce Rīċe]] endode ealla ǣƿa ƿraca, syndriȝlīċe þæs [[Crīstendōm]]es. Þis ƿæs sēo onȝinnung þǣre ende þǣre ƿorulde. <!--would be neutral with regard to religious worship, officially ending all government-sanctioned persecution, especially of [[Christianity]].  The Edict was issued in the names of [[Constantine the Great]], Western [[Tetrarchy|tetrarch]], and [[Licinius]], the Eastern tetrarch.-->

<!--A previous edict of toleration had been recently issued from [[Nicomedia]] by the Emperor [[Galerius]] in 311. By its provisions, the Christians, who had "followed such a caprice and had fallen into such a folly that they would not obey the institutes of antiquity", were granted an indulgence. 
:"Wherefore, for this our indulgence, they ought to pray to their God for our safety, for that of the republic, and for their own, that the republic may continue uninjured on every side, and that they may be able to live securely in their homes." (''[[Res publica]]'' might have better been translated "commonwealth.")

The '''Edict of Milan''' went further. Enforcement of the Edict returned the meeting places and other properties which had been confiscated from the Christians and sold out of the government treasury: " ... the same shall be restored to the Christians without payment or any claim of recompense and without any kind of fraud or deception ... ".  It gave to Christianity (and any other religion) a status of legitimacy alongside of [[paganism]], and, in effect, disestablished paganism as the official [[religion]] of the Roman Empire and its armies. 

The actual edicts have not been retrieved inscribed upon stone, but quoted at length in a historical work with a theme of divine retribution, by the Church Father [[Lactantius]], ''De mortibus persecutionibus'' ("Deaths of the persecutors") in chapters 35 and 48.

In the attempt to consolidate the entire Roman Empire under one ruler, Licinius soon marched against Constantine.  As part of his effort to win the loyalty of the army, Licinius exempted the army and civil service from the Edict's policy of toleration, allowing him to expel the Christians.  Some Christians consequently lost property and at least a few lost their lives.  A [[hagiographic]] legend survives, for example, relating how, around 320, forty Christians in Sevaste refused to pour out a drink-offering in tribute to the pagan gods; as punishment, they were beaten and jailed.  When they still refused to participate in the rite, they were made to stand naked on ice in mid-winter until they froze to death. A handful of them decided to renounce Christianity and joined the other soldiers by the warm fires, while an equal number decided to confess their heretofore hidden Christianity and join those on the ice. The tradition also tells of angels descending, to place crowns on the martyrs' heads.

In 324, Constantine, tempted by the "advanced age and unpopular vices" ([[Edward Gibbon|Gibbon]]) of Licinius, again declared war against him, and, having defeated his army at the [[battle of Adrianople (324)|battle of Adrianople]] ([[July 3]], 324), succeeded in shutting him up within the walls of [[Byzantium]]. The defeat of the superior fleet of Licinius by [[Flavius Julius Crispus]], Constantine’s eldest son, compelled his withdrawal to [[Bithynia]], where a [[last stand]] was made; the [[battle of Chrysopolis]], near [[Chalcedon]] ([[September 18]]), resulted in his final submission. Licinius was interned at [[Thessalonica]], under a kind of house arrest; when he attempted to raise troops among the barbarians, Constantine had him assassinated.-->

== Sēo ēac ==
* [[Constantīnus I and Crīstendōm]]
* [[Constantīnisc cierr]] <!--constantinian shift-->

== Ūtanwearde bendas ==
* [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/edict-milan.html Midtīdlicu Frumanbōc: trahtas:] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814182534/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/edict-milan.html |date=2014-08-14 }} Galerius and Constantīnus: Bann Þafunge 311 and 313 AD

[[Flocc:Eald Rōmānisc Crīstendōm]]
[[Flocc:Constantīnisc rīcsung]]
[[Flocc:Rōmānisc lagu]]
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Þæt "Bann Milanes" (313) ābēad þæt þæt Rōmānisce Rīċe endode ealla ǣƿa ƿraca, syndriȝlīċe þæs Crīstendōmes. Þis ƿæs sēo onȝinnung þǣre ende þǣre ƿorulde. 

 Sēo ēac 
 Constantīnus I and Crīstendōm
 Constantīnisc cierr 

 Ūtanwearde bendas 
 Midtīdlicu Frumanbōc: trahtas:  Galerius and Constantīnus: Bann Þafunge 311 and 313 AD

Flocc:Eald Rōmānisc Crīstendōm
Flocc:Constantīnisc rīcsung
Flocc:Rōmānisc lagu