The Rise of Western Europe

Dark and Middle Ages

Dark Ages

• Period of time from about 500CE to 1000CE in Western Europe where most knowledge was forgotten.

• No central governments– Roman government

collapsed– ruled by barbarian kings.

• Education declined– Barbarians were illiterate (Germanic tribes that

conquered Rome) – People worried about protection more than

accomplishments of Rome• Trade disappeared

– People made only what they needed– Travel was dangerous

• The Age of Charlemagne Charlemagne helped fight the Dark Ages

by: (768- 814)• Helping to stop barbarian attacks

– His grandfather, Charles Martel stopped a Muslim attack on France

– Conquered the Avars, Saxon and Lombard tribes– Spread Christianity to barbarian people

• Creating a strong central government– He appointed loyal lords to help him rule– Made an ally of the pope and was crowned Holy Roman

Emperor• Promoting education– Made sure all government officials read– Built schools at his palace in Aachen– Hired the scholar Alcuin to preserve learning

• Charlemagne’s Golden Age ends after his death because– his grandsons fought over his kingdom and split it up– New barbarian attacks make life hard again

• Norsemen• Magyars• Muslims

Medieval Life

• Medieval/ Middle Ages- period of time between Ancient and Modern times.

• Due to many invasions by Vikings, Muslims and Magyars, kings and emperors were too weak to maintain law and order– People needed to defend their homes and lands– In response to the basic need for protection, a new

system, called feudalism, evolved– Feudalism- system of government where local lords

rule small pieces of land and provide protection in exchange for work.

Title Definition Duties

Peasants SerfFarmers who were bound to

work a piece of land.

Farm the land

Pay taxes and labor to the

lord

Nobles

Knight

Most vassals were knights.

They had to fight to protect

their fief

Fight for the lord

Follow the code of chivalry

Vassal

Landowner who owed

allegiance to the person that

gave him his fief. (Lord)

Protect his serfs

Serve in the army of the lord

Maintain loyalty to the lord

Lord Local leader the owned a fief.Protect his vassals

Maintain order in his land

• Manor- a village and surrounding farms owned by a lord.– Small self-sufficient world– A typical manor included a few dozen one-room huts

clustered close together in a village– Nearby was a water mill, tiny church and manor house– The fields surrounding the village were divided into tiny

strips, each family had strips of land in different fields• Half the land was left fallow, or unplanted, each year to allow

the soil to regain fertility

• Fief- piece of land.

• Medieval Life

Nobles Peasants

MenRan estate

Defended fiefFarmers or laborers

WomenCould run estate when husband was

awayRaising children, maintaining the

household

Children

Boys educated for future rolesGirls learned manners and running a

household

Worked with parents for training in future jobs

Diet Variety of meat, fish, vegetablesMostly bread and some vegetables

maybe meat on occasion

Housing

Drafty castles or manor houses, very unclean. Moat was sewage and hay was put down to cover garbage on

the floor.

Small, usually one room shared with all of the family and animals

•Medieval Church– Aside from lords and kings, the

most powerful organization was the Catholic Church• Special Powers• Wealth & Power• Education & Charity• Problems

•Special Powers

– Sacraments- every Christian had

to receive these at church or

face going to hell

– Excommunication- sacraments

could be withheld

• vassals did not have to obey

excommunicated lords

• Interdict- an area could be

excommunicated

– Canon law- special church law

(church officials could only be

tried by the church)

•Wealth & Power

– Held most land in

– Collected tithes

– Pope had authority over

lords and kings

– united by Christianity

•Education & Charity

– Wanted people to read and

write for the bible

– Most literate people were in

the Church

– Supported hospitals, schools

and poorhouses

– Monasteries

• copied books to preserve

learning

• allowed women and poor to

read

•Problems

– Simony- selling of positions

in the church

–Married Priests (ended 1073)

– Nepotism

– Too much wealth & power

led to corruption

– Conflict over who could

appoint church leaders,

kings or Church

Economic Expansion & Change

– Agricultural Revolution• Europe’s economy recovered• Began in the countryside, peasants adapted new farming

technologies, made fields more productive

– New Technologies• By 800, peasants were using iron plows that carved deep in the

heavy soil of Northern Europe– Previously used wooden plows

• New harnesses allowed peasants to use horses rather than oxen to pull plows

– Expanding Production• Feudal lords pushed peasants to clear forests, drain swamps and

reclaim wasteland for farming and grazing• Peasants adapted the three field system

– Planted grain on one field, a second with legumes (peas and beans, restored vitality) and left the third fallow

• With more food available the population grew

• Commercial Revolution – Europe’s growing population

needed goods that were not available on the manor• Peasants needed iron for

farming tools• Wealthy nobles wanted furs

and spices from Asia

– Foreign invasions & feudal warfare declined• Traders re-appeared to meet

the demands for goods

• New Trade Routes– Traders formed

merchant companies that traveled armed caravans for safety• Set up regular

trade routes and exchanged local goods for those from remote markets

• Trade Fairs– Traders and customers

met at local trade fairs• Took place near navigable

rivers or where trade routes met• People from surrounding

villages, towns & castles flocked to the fairs• Peasants traded farm good

& animals • Expensive goods bought by

nobles

• New Towns – Fairs closed in Autumn when the weather made roads impassible– Some merchants waited out the winter months near a castle or in

a town with a bishop’s palace– These tiny settlements attracted artisan’s who made goods for

merchants

– Slowly these small centers of trade turned into medieval cities• Most prosperous cities were

in Northern Italy

– To protect their interests, merchants who set up a new town would ask their local lord, or if possible the King himself, to set up a charter, or written document that set out the rights & privileges of the town • In return the charter

merchants paid lord or King a sum of money or yearly fee or both

– As trade revived money reappeared• Led to more changes

– Merchants needed more money to buy goods, so they borrowed from moneylenders • In time their need for capital, or

money for investment, started the growth for banking houses

– To meet the needs of the changing economy, Europeans developed new ways of doing business• Merchants joined together in an

organization known as a partnership → a group of merchants pooled their funds to finance a large-scale venture that would have been too costly for any individual trader

– Merchants developed a system of insurance to help reduce business risks

– Europeans adapted their business practices from Middle Eastern Merchants• The Bill of Exchange-

– A merchant deposited money with a banker in his home city

– Banker issued a bill of exchange, which the merchant issued for cash in a different city

– A merchant could thus travel without gold coins, easily stolen

• Social Changes– The use of money, undermined

serfdom– Many peasants began selling farm

products to towns people (merchants) and paid their obligations of rents to the lords, by cash, instead of labor

– New Middle class of merchants emerged

– Nobles and clergy despised the middle class• Nobles felt towns were a disruptive

influence• Clergy thought the profits that

merchants and bankers made from usury, or lending money at interest, was immoral

• Role of Guilds– Merchant guilds, or associations, dominated life in

medieval towns • Passed laws, levied taxes, and decided whether to

spend funds to pave streets with cobblestones, build protective walls for the city, or raise a new town hall

– Artisans came to resent the powerful merchants • Organized craft guilds- Each guild represented workers

in one occupation– Weavers, bakers, brewers, sword makers & goldsmiths – Guild members cooperate to protect their own interests– Only members could be in the guild and they could only work

their specific trade– Regulated hours of work

– Becoming a Member• To become a member one had to

work many years in an apprenticeship, or training • At age 7 or 8, a child was

apprenticed to a guild master• Spent seven years learning the

trade• Only pay received was bed and

board• Few apprentices became guild

masters, often became salaried workers called journeymen

Developing Royal Power in Europe During the High Middle Ages, kings

tried to strengthen their power.• France– Kings in France became strong

monarchs by:• Gaining land

– Changed inheritance to primogeniture– Taking land for lords and foreign nations

– Collecting money• Raised taxes and signed charters to

earn money

– Working with the Church• Influenced who held Church jobs• Launched Crusades to assist the pope

• Holy Roman Empire– Never really amounted to

much because • It wasn’t holy: Emperor worked

with and sometimes fought with the pope• It wasn’t Roman: controlled a

vast territory, covering Germany, Austria and Italy (very little of the old Roman Empire.)• It wasn’t an Empire: Rulers had

very little control of their lords. Princes ruled their small domains.

• England England developed strong kings by:– Collecting taxes

• King William had a tax book called the Domesday Book. His tax records were so thorough that people said it was easier to escape Doomsday than pay taxes.

– Enforcing laws• Circuit judges went around to hear cases for the king• They collected decisions into common law so cases with similar

crimes received the same penalties

– But kings lost power thanks to:• Magna Carta (1215)- a document signed by King John giving

rights to nobles.– Nobles threatened him to sign it or they would revolt– It gave them special rights such as:– The king had to consult a group of privileged men to tax – The king had to respect basic rights like trial and the right to property

Crusades

The Mediterranean World of 1100• Europeans

– made up of Christians headed by the pope– most powerful nations included France,

Britain and Holy Roman Empire• Byzantines

– made up of Orthodox Christians headed by the emperor Alexius

– The Crusades begin when the emperor asks Europeans for help

• Arab Middle East– made up of Muslims headed by local

leaders– the areas of Muslim control were divided

Why did people go?• Religious Reasons:– People believed they were spreading Christianity and

doing God’s work– those that died went straight to heaven

• Personal Reasons:– The pope wanted to unite Christians under him– nobles could get land– prisoners could be released– serfs could be freed

Crusades • Seljuk Turks invade Asia Minor and the Holy Land• Emperor Alexius of Byzantium asks the West to help him

fight Turkish invaders.• Pope Urban II calls for Christians to help retake the Holy

Land and help Byzantium.• French knights lead soldiers in the First Crusade• The First Crusaders retake much of the Holy Land and set up

four kingdoms.• In 1147, a second crusade is called after the city of Edessa is

conquered by Muslims, but achieved little.• In 1187, a third crusade, led by the kings of Europe, is called

after the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin. Little is achieved • In 1204, a fourth crusade is diverted to Constantinople and

fails to even make it to the Holy Land.

• First Crusade 1095- 1099 Who lead this crusade?

– led by French nobles

Why did Europeans go?– To reclaim the Holy Land

Results – the most successful Crusade, the Crusaders

established the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem

• Second Crusade 1147- 1149 Who lead this crusade?

– led by king of France and Holy Roman Emperor

Why did Europeans go?– To help stop renewed Muslim attacks

Results – neither army worked together and the

enterprise was a failure

• Third Crusade 1189- 1192 Who lead this crusade?

– Led by the king of England, the king of France and Holy Roman Emperor

Why did Europeans go?– The Muslim general Saladin had retaken the city of Jerusalem

Results – Only the English king arrived and fought– He could have negotiated, but chose to fight and left defeated

• Fourth Crusade 1202- 1204 Who lead this crusade?

– Knights from France

Why did Europeans go?– To help retake Jerusalem, but decide to attack Constantinople instead

Results – The participants were excommunicated, but the Crusade was a failure– The Eastern and Western Churches were permanently divided– The Crusades lost all of their glory

• The Crusades were a successful failure because:Success Failure

•New weapons- gun powder, crossbow•Medicine- infections, surgery•New trade goods- spices, silk, fruit, sugar, cotton, stained glass•Roman and Greek Learning

lost the Holy Land

– in 1291, the last outpost was lost and the Crusades ended– during this time the papacy held the greatest power– kings increased power over nobles (they were leaders of

Crusades)– feudalism was weakened (serfs that fought gained

freedom)– Trade exploded with new goods from the Mid- East

(spices, cloth, gems, fruit, sugar and cotton,)– Cultural diffusion- new inventions made their way to

Europe (crossbow, gunpowder, stained glass, lost learning and medical techniques)

Learning and Arts

• During the High Middle Ages, improvements in life and contact with different people led to many cultural changes.

• Revival of Learning– Universities- in most major cities,

educational guilds were set up– Greek and Roman books- came from

Constantinople or Muslims Spain– Thomas Aquinas- like many scholars he

tried to make ancient learning fit Christianity

– Arabic numbers, philosophy and medicine

• Literature– writers wrote in the vernacular or local

languages of the common people– Epics came from the heroic stories of

knights– Stories about religion and common people

written in the vernacular • Divine Comedy, Canterbury Tales

• Art and Architecture– Painting was 2D, with limited colors usually

about religion– Religion also dominated architecture

• Romanesque- buildings with thick walls to support small domes

• Gothic- huge buildings with domed ceilings and stained glass windows

– The Church supported art and most artists never received credit for their work

The end of the Middle Ages• Destructive events

brought an end to the Middle Ages by targeting the two most important parts of Medieval Life: feudalism and the Church.

• Black Plague (1347- on) What is it?

– An epidemic that started in Central Asia and traveled to Europe.

Why was it so deadly?– Europeans knew little about medicine– They were dirty and rats spread the

disease– Sometimes cures helped the disease

instead of curing it

What were the effects?– 1/ 3 of Europeans were died– Farmers demanded higher wages

because labor was scarce (affected feudalism)

– Kings took power from nobles that died during the plague

– Some Europeans turned to God for help, but religious and non- religious were affected equally(affected the Church)

• The Great Schism (Babylonian Captivity) (1308- 1378)/ 1378- 1409/ 1409- 1415)

What was it?– A time when multiple popes ruled and created confusion of

who Christians should follow

How did it happen?– For various reasons, three popes were elected– For almost 30 years there were multiple popes– Finally, at the council of Clermont the issue was settled and one

new pope was selected

What’s the problem with this?– When people needed him most, the pope was unavailable

(affected the Church)– Christians were confused and lost faith (affected the Church)– Without popes, local kings gained supreme power

• Hundred Years War (1337- 1453) How did it start?

– It began as a conflict over who would be king of France. (the English king claimed the crown)

What happened?– The English tried to claim land in France and succeeded

in the early parts of the war– The war was interrupted by plague and lack of soldiers– Finally the French won with the help of Joan of Arc

What were the results?– The English were kicked out of France– Joan of Arc was burned– New weapons such as the cannon, gun and longbow

(affected feudalism)• cannon could knock down lord’s castles• cheap armies of peasants with guns replaced knights on

horseback

– England went into a period of reform while the French king gained supreme power

Conclusions on the Middle Ages

• Two phases, Dark Ages/ High Middle Ages• Feudalism and the Church controlled people’s

lives.• Many changes– Learning– Business– Royal power– warfare

• Ended violently Black Plague, Great Schism, Hundred Years’ War