Defining the Medieval Period

Defining the Medieval Period

The time period has also been called the “Middle Ages” and the “Dark Ages”

Medieval Europe: Stages

The Fall of the Roman Empire

• Beginning of the Middle Ages

• Invasions• End of

the Roman emperors

The Barbarian Invasions

• From Asia: Huns and Magyars

• From the Germanic north: Saxons, Angles, and Goths

Rise of the Germanic Peoples

– Ostrogoths: Italian peninsula

– Visigoths: modern-day Spain

– Angles and Saxons: modern-day Britain

– Franks: central Europe

“Invasion of the Goths into the Roman Empire,” a 19th-century painting

Clovis (466–511)• Established a

Frankish kingdom in central Europe

• Conquered many competing tribes and regional Roman political leaders

• Converted to Christianity

Charlemagne (742–814)

• Powerful leader, strong Christian

• Created the Carolingian Empire

• Crowned by Pope Leo III as the first Holy Roman Emperor

The Vikings• Warrior culture from Scandinavia

• Raided Europe

• Established settlements throughout Europe and even in North America

A Viking longboat

Viking Lenses: To detect the location of the sun in cloudy weather, start fires

Did the Vikings make a telescope?http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/702478.stm

Rock Crystal Lenses from the Viking Harbor Town of Fröjel, Gotland in Sweden.

Penn State University: Medieval Technology and American History

The Cam (or Camshaft)http://www.engr.psu.edu/mtah/photos/photos_saugus.htm

The Cam or Camshaft operation

Animation: http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/hari1/ci335/3c.html

The ClockThe earliest of these is credited to Jacopo de Dondi, who designed an astronomical clock for the cathedral tower in Padua in 1344. Curiously, almost every zodiac sign surrounds the clock face except for the balanced scales of Libra. (As the story goes, it was deliberately left out of the lineup by guild workers who felt they weren't treated fairly in salary negotiations.)

http://www.newyorkcarver.com/inventions4.htm

Eyeglasses (1268)

The Cannon

Feudalism• A political, economic,

and social system in which land was allocated in exchange for services; roles and obligations were clearly defined for all participants

• Grew out of Roman practices of clientage/patronage

• Originally developed as a means of protection and defense

A French vassal receiving a feudal grant from the king

Feudal System Vocabulary• Lord• Vassal• Fief• Manor• Serf

Feudal serfs

The Feudal Power Relationship

Why Crop Rotation?

Modern Crop Rotation

Knights

• Elite military soldiers

• Usually from the noble classes

• Stages of training: page, squire, knight

• Chivalry = code of behavior Statue of a

medieval knight

The Medieval TournamentMeans of practicing military skills

Castles

• Centers of noble life

• Purposes:– Intimidation– Military

defense– Residence

Warwick Castle, England

Aim: How did the Catholic Church become the most powerful and unifying force in Medieval

Europe?

Church at Fulda, Germany

Google images

The Age of Faith

• Why do you think that the Middle Ages in Europe is also known as the Age of Faith?

The Hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church

The Monastic Movement• Became popular in the 5th

century• Arose as a reaction against the

increasing “worldliness” of the Church

• Monasteries: secluded religious communities

• Benedictine monasticism: vows of chastity, poverty, obedience

• Monasteries were centers of scholarship in the early middle agesSt. Benedict

Struggle for Power between Church and Kings

Excerpt of a letter from Pope Innocent III (1198)

“The Creator set up two great lights in the heavens; the greater light to rule the day the lesser light to rule the night. In the same way, the Church has set up two great lights on earth; the greater light, being the Pope, to rule over souls; the lesser light, being the king, to rule over bodies. Just as the moon’s light comes from the sun, does the power of the king come from the Pope. The more closely a king is willing to follow the Pope’s rule, the greater his light will be.”

Q: According to Pope Innocent III, what ought to be the relationship between Church and State?

NYC Curriculum

An Age of Faith and Superstition

Faith in the Roman Catholic Church did not erase superstitions in Medieval Europe. Below were some common superstitions:

• An evil witch could exchange a healthy child for a sickly one (the “changeling” was the substitute)

• Preparing a table with three knives pleased good fairies

• A person could change into the shape of a wolf• The croak of a raven would bring bad luck• Meeting a priest would bring good luck

Patterns of Interaction

England

• 1066: Norman Invasion• William the Conqueror

(1027–1087)– Brought feudalism to

England

• Henry II (1154–1189)– Instituted a single common

law code, unified court system

William the Conqueror

Magna Carta (1215)• Conflict between King John

and the English nobility• Nobles rebelled against

excessive taxation, forced King John to sign the Magna Carta in 1215

• Limited power of the monarch

• Formal recognition that the king was not above the law

A photograph of the Magna Carta

Development of Parliament

• Henry III (1216–1272)• Edward I (1239–1307)• Original parliament

– House of Lords: nobles and church lords

– House of Commons: knights and residents

• Approved taxes, discussed policies, worked with the monarch to make laws

Edward I

Islam in Europe

• Islamic forces took control of Spain in the early 8th century

• Muslim innovations– Agriculture– Architecture– Math and

scienceGreat Mosque of Córdoba

The Reconquista of Spain• Muslims ruled the

Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years

• Reconquista: Struggle between Christians and Muslims to control Spain

• 718–1492• King Ferdinand of

Aragon and Isabella of Castile

Isabella and Ferdinand

The Crusades

• 1095–1291• Goals of the Crusades:

– Convert nonbelievers– Eliminate heretics– Regain control of the Holy Land from the Muslims

Louis IX of France leads crusaders against Damietta(port city), in Egypt

Pope Urban II• 1095: Pope

Urban II’s speech– Promised

spiritual rewards

– Thousands responded to the call for religious warriors Pope Urban

II calling for the Crusades

• 1096: Mostly French knights

• Captured Jerusalem in 1099

• Crusader states• Jerusalem taken by

Muslim forces under Saladin in 1187

The First Crusade (1096–1099)

A depiction of the capture of Jerusalem by crusaders

Other Crusades• Major and minor

crusades took place between the 12th and 14th centuries

• Christians unsuccessful at recapturing the Holy Land

• Popes invoked crusades more often and for non-spiritual purposes

• Legacy of the Crusades:– Increased trade– Religious tensions arose The Crusade on Constantinople

Medieval Trade Routes

http://www2.coloradocollege.edu/Dept/HY/Ashley/HY104/images/MapKeys/medievalmaps.htm

Identify majorCenters of trade:Hamburg, Bruges,Florence,Venice

Hanseatic League

The League regulated taxes and had rules for fair trade among its members

The Guilds

http://medievaleurope.mrdonn.org/guilds.html

Guild Rules• Price Control: The guild decided on the price of each item. All

bakers, for example, changed the same price for a loaf of bread, the price set by the guild.

• Wage Control: All workers had to be paid the same, so that the best workers could not be enticed away with better wages somewhere else.

• Quality Control: Everyone had to satisfy the quality standards set by their respective guild. No one was allowed to sell shoddy goods.

• Advertising Control: No guild member could advertise their wares. The guilds wanted people to think that all wares offered the same quality, no matter what shop sold them.


No Jews were allowed to join guilds!

Climbing the Ladder to Success

Apprentice

Journeyman

Master

• Masters: At the top of the ladder were people called “Masters,” who owned their own shops.

• Journeyman: After he had learned something about his craft, a man could move up to the level of journeyman. He was paid a little money, along with free food and a place to sleep. He could only work under a master. To become a master, a journeyman had to submit a "masterpiece" - to a committee of masters in his guild. If they approved his work, he could become a master himself.

• Apprentice: During the period an apprentice was learning a skill, he received food, a place to sleep, and training, but was not paid.


The Late Middle Ages

• 1300–1500• War• Black Death

Battle of Agincourt, 15th century

The Hundred Years’ War: Battles

• England had early victories

• The French eventually expelled the British from mainland Europe

• English military innovation: the archer

The Battle of Crecy, the first major battle of the Hundred Years’ War

Joan of Arc• Heroine of the

war• Had visions

that told her to free France

• Fought with the army

• Captured, burned at the stake Joan of Arc being burned at the stake

The Plague

Spread of the Plague• Started in China• Reached Europe

in 1347 via a merchant ship on the island of Sicily

• 1347–48: southern Europe

• 1349–50: central Europe and the British Isles

Attempted Medical “Cures”for the Plague

• Doctors wore strange costumes

• Bathing in human urine• Wearing excrement• Placing dead animals in

homes • Wearing leeches• Drinking molten gold

and powdered emeralds • Burning incense to get

rid of the smell of the dead

A costume worn by

doctors to ward off the Plague

Effects of the Plague

• Killed 25–30 million Europeans

• Undermined faith in religion

• Economy• Culture

influenced

Architecture• Many churches

and cathedrals built during the Middle Ages

• Church designs– Romanesque:

cross, nave– Gothic:

ribbed vault, flying buttress, stained glass

Chartres Cathedral in France, a prime example of medieval Gothic architecture

Legacy of the Medieval Era• Transitional period• New kingdoms evolved• The Church became a

dominant force• Modern institutions

originated

Documents

Defining the Medieval Period