Mayer - World History - Medieval Europe

Medieval Europe50 AD – 1400 AD

What? We will focus on the growth of Europe through the

chaos after the fall of the Roman Empire . When?

50 A.D. – 1400’s A.D. Where?

We will learn about every major region in Europe, with a special focus on the major center of power in this time period, Rome.

Who? We will learn about the barbarian tribes that

destroyed Rome and the modern kingdoms they became, the Vikings invaders that terrorized Europe, and the super-powerful Catholic Church and their influence.

WORD WALL

pope monksknights feudalism

fief clergybishop chivalry

crusade vassal manortithes

monasteriesmissionary

Section 1: The Rise of the Catholic Church

Learning Goal

Students will be able to explain the importance of the Catholic Church in medieval Europe and describe its role in medieval Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire.

The Arrival of Christianity

Christianity was founded in Palestine around 33 AD by followers of the Jewish preacher, Jesus of Nazareth. The apostle Peter founded the first Christian church in Europe in Rome in 49 AD. This becomes known as the Roman Catholic Church and it becomes one of the most powerful Christian churches because of Rome’s size and importance.

The bishop of the Roman Catholic Church becomes the most powerful clergy in Christianity. By 300 AD, the bishop of Rome takes on the title of pope , which declares him as the true leader of all Christians everywhere.

When Christianity becomes the official religion of the Roman Empire in 330 AD, the pope becomes one of the most powerful men in Europe.

After the fall of Rome

After the fall of Rome, most of Europe falls into chaos. Roman government disappears and is replaced by warring tribes of barbarians.

Life in Europe begins to regress. Technology, quality of life, and education revert to Neolithic standards. Travel, trade, and communication almost cease to exist. Fear, superstition, and ignorance become the normal way of life.

Most people are poor, illiterate, and live off the land. There are very few specialized jobs. Life expectancy falls to very low levels and disease, violence, and death become common.

The Rise of the Roman Catholic Church

Throughout this period of danger and instability the Catholic Church becomes the one stable piece of people’s lives. The Roman Catholic Church begins to serve as a replacement for the old Roman Empire.

Provides:

education

laws to govern daily life

food and shelter

unity under one common cause; being Christian.

The local church becomes the center of all life.


Serves as:

Local school

Place of worship

Community bank

Courthouse

Soup kitchen.

So, in medieval Europe the Christian Church not only functions as a church, but also as a form of government. It directs almost every aspect of people’s lives during this period.


Roman Catholic Church also offers hope. Life for most people is very difficult. They preach that the Church is the only way for people to reach salvation.

If people follow the ways of the Church they will be rewarded by a caring and loving god in heaven. This is very popular among the barbarians whose gods were mostly seen as angry and vengeful.

In return for these things people swear their loyalty to the church and convert to Christianity. They also provide the church with a form of taxes called tithes.

Because of the decline in education, 95-98% of the population are illiterate. Only clergy can read and write; gives them influence and power over the people.


They expand this power by sending out missionaries, church followers who live among the people and attempt to convert them to Christianity.

They also establish monasteries, separate church communities run by monks, where peasants may learn reading, writing, and job skills. These become safe havens for many Christians, and thousands of people join the monastery life.

Due to it’s influence and the church’s extensive missionary work, by 1050 AD 90% of Europeans were converted to Christianity.

Summary: Essential Question

What was the role of the Catholic Church in medieval Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire?

The Catholic Church’s role in medieval Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire was ______________________________.


Why was the Catholic Church important in medieval Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire?

The Catholic Church was important in medieval Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire because ______________________________.

Elaboration

Evidence

1.

2.

3.

Learning Scale

4 – I can explain the importance of the Catholic Church in Europe and describe its role in medieval Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire; giving specific examples of the functions it provided.

3 – I can explain the importance of the Catholic Church in Europe and describe its role in medieval Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire.

2 – I can explain the importance of the Catholic Church in Europe but not describe its role in medieval Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire.

1 – I cannot explain the importance of the Catholic Church in Europe or describe its role in medieval Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire.

Section 2: The Franks and the

Re-unification of Europe

Learning Goal

Students will be able to describe the achievements of the Franks and explain how the Catholic Church and the Franks worked together to unify Europe.

The Franks

In the 500-600’s AD dozens of Germanic tribes move into the old Roman lands and set up their own individual kingdoms. They are constantly at war. This makes life in Europe very unstable and dangerous for the average person.

To keep the peace the Roman Catholic Church attempts to convert these tribes to Christianity.

The most powerful of these tribes were the Franks. They controlled most of what is now France and converting them to Christianity was the Church’s number one priority.

496 AD - Clovis, king of the Franks, converts to Christianity. He becomes very close with the pope and they form a mutually beneficial alliance.

The Franks

Benefits to the Franks: Financial support of the Catholic Church Having one religion and God helps unify the Franks’ empire

Benefits to the Catholic Church: As the Franks’ empire expanded so did Christianity Franks forced conquered tribes to convert or face death Created new Christian lands where the church could build

churches and monasteries and further expand their power and wealth.

732 AD - The alliance between the church and the Franks is cemented at the Battle of Tours. Clovis’ great grandson, Charles The Hammer, defeats an army of Muslims in southern France.

Saved Europe from being overrun by the Islamic Caliphate and the Catholic Church from being destroyed.

Charlemagne

With the Catholic Church and the Franks fully allied together, the Franks are able to unite the rest of Europe under Charles the Hammer’s grandson, Charlemagne.

Charlemagne unified all of modern day France, Germany, and Italy. It was the first time most of Europe had been unified in 400 years.

800 AD - Charlemagne is crowned as the Holy Roman Emperor and defender of the Catholic Church.

This title showed the unification of the culture of Europe; it combined Roman land and traditions Germanic people Christian religion and the Roman Catholic Church

Created one unified empire and religion. Established the Catholic Church as the permanently dominant religion in Europe.

Charlemagne

Charlemagne was a wise and thorough ruler. He briefly brings back the quality of life and civilization of the Roman Empire.

Built schools and libraries, encouraged education for children

Created a postal system to improve communication

Created a standard version of Latin to be used for all writing

Created a single system of laws based on Justinian’s code

Hired Christian monks to copy famous Roman and Greek books

However, after his death in 814 AD, his empire is divided among his three sons and they soon go to war against each other. All of Charlemagne’s work is soon undone.


What were the achievements of the Franks?

The achievements of the Franks were ________________________.


How were the Franks and the Catholic Church able to work together to unify Europe and establish a common culture?

The Franks and the Catholic Church were able to work together to unify Europe by ____________________________.

Elaboration

Evidence

1.

2.

3.

Learning Scale4 – I can describe the achievements of the Franks and explain how the Catholic Church and the Franks worked together to unify Europe and establish a common culture; giving specific examples of that common culture.

3 – I can describe the achievements of the Franks and explain how the Catholic Church and the Franks worked together to unify Europe and establish a common culture.

2 – I can describe the achievements of the Franks but not explain how the Catholic Church and the Franks worked together to unify Europe and establish a common culture.

1 – I cannot describe the achievements of the Franks or explain how the Catholic Church and the Franks worked together to unify Europe and establish a common culture.

Section 3: Feudalism and

the Manor System

Learning Goal

Students will be able to explain the reasons for the creation of feudalism in Medieval Europe and how the feudal system worked in Europe.

The Vikings

Even with the success of the Franks and the Catholic Church in unifying Europe the people of Europe soon have a major problem.

Around 800 AD - Groups of young warriors from Scandinavia begin sailing to Europe and attacking along the coast. They appear quickly, loot the area, kidnap slaves, and sail away before any army can respond.

After realizing that kings of Europe were not able to stop their attacks, the Vikings swarm. Average people of this time live in constant fear because the Vikings ships are small enough to allow them to sail up rivers and attack cities away from the coast too.

Feudalism and the Manor System

Kingdoms in Europe have no answer for the Vikings. They cannot respond fast enough to protect towns and monasteries.

To protect themselves, people turn to local leaders, called lords, who can be there quickly to defeat the Vikings. This leads to the creation of feudalism.

In feudalism, people pay taxes and work for local lords who use that money to build defendable castles and hire warriors called knights to defend their land.

In return, the peasants are allowed to live and work on the lord’s land, called a fief. They also sign a feudal contract where the lord and the vassal swear loyalty to one another.

Feudalism and the Manor System

In this system of government, each level of society depends on the level above it and below it. If one level were to fail, all of the other levels depending on it would fail as well.

The more land a lord possessed, the more peasants he could control. The more peasants he controlled, the more taxes and work he received. The more taxes, the more knights he could hire. The more knights he could hire, the more land he could control; and so on and so on…..

This system of local lords and castle, called manors, works well in defeating the Viking invasions. By the year 1000 A.D., most Viking groups had either given up on raiding and moved on or settled down on the land.

The Code of Chivalry

The end of the Viking invasions presents a new problem.

Powerful lords, who control massive manors and dozens of knights have no purpose or direction. They begin terrorizing each other’s people and land. Something is needed to control and calm these bored, warlike knights.

The Catholic Church sets out to stop the destruction of Christian towns and monasteries. They create a code of behavior for the knights and lords of Europe to live by, called the Peace and Truce of God; which later becomes known as chivalry.

The Code of Chivalry

Chivalry creates rules of behavior and honor for the knights to follow and promotes loyalty, bravery, and charity; especially towards the weak and less powerful. It forbid violence against other Christians and the defenseless.

The church enforces chivalry by making knights swear to the code and if they refuse or break the code it is considered a sin against God and the church. They even threaten to expel them from the Church.


Why was feudalism created in medieval Europe?

Feudalism was created in medieval Europe because ____________________________.

Elaboration

Evidence

1.

2.

3.


How did feudalism work in medieval Europe?

Feudalism worked in medieval Europe by ____________________________.

Elaboration

Evidence

1.

2.

3.

Learning Scale

4 – I can explain why the feudal system was created in Europe and how it worked. I can also give you specific details about the differences between European and Japanese feudalism.

3 – I can explain why the feudal system was created in Europe and how it worked.

2 –I can explain why the feudal system was created in Europe but not how it worked.

1 – I can’t explain why the feudal system was created in Europe or how it worked.

Section 4: The Crusades

Learning Goal

Students will be able to explain the reasons for the Crusades and why the Crusades failed.

The Crusades

Chivalry helps tame the knights and lords of Europe, but there are still wars over land and power. The church is desperately looking for a new direction for their aggression.

An opportunity arrives in 1095 when the Byzantine Empire asks the pope for help in fighting the Islamic caliphate.

Pope Urban II uses this to unite the Christian knights of Europe behind one common cause. He announces the creation of a Christian army to reconquer the Holy Land from Islam.

He declares that it is God’s will that European knights retake the Holy Land and anyone who fights will be granted eternal salvation by the Church.

The Crusades

Thousands of knights, lords, and peasants answer the call. They dressed themselves in crosses and set out for the Holy Land to liberate Jerusalem.

The Crusade soon became a massacre. The Crusaders made their way to the Holy Land by looting and killing across Europe to cover the cost of such a massive operation.

Upon reaching the Holy Land the Crusaders succeed in capturing Jerusalem and they set up miniature Christian kingdoms in the Middle East. However, the Crusaders were so brutal to the Muslim population that they united the entire Muslim world against them and the caliphate retakes the holy land.

The Crusades

The success of the 1st Crusade encourages Christians in Europe that they can do it again. Over the next 200 years there were over a dozen more Crusades; most to the Holy Land.

The 2nd Crusade was led by two kings who refused to cooperate. They refused to aid each other against the Muslim army and were destroyed.

The 3rd Crusade was slightly more successful. Recapture a few cities but ran out of money and had to give up.

The 4th Crusade was by far the worst disaster. The Crusaders ran out of money and actually attack and loot the Byzantine capital of Constantinople.

The 5th-12th Crusades are failures as well. Some of them never even get to the Holy Land; some get there but never fight a single Muslims before they leave. One ends with the Crusaders being captured and sold as slaves in North Africa.

The Crusades

Crusades were also sent against Muslims in Spain and North Africa and pagan tribes in France and Germany.

All of these Crusades to the Holy Land end in failure. The Crusaders cannot get along and stay unified long enough to hold on to the Holy Land.

By 1291, all of the cities captured in the first Crusade are back in Muslim hands and Crusading is abandoned.


Why did the Crusades happen?

The Crusades happened because _________________________________________________.

Elaboration

Evidence

1.

2.

3.


Why did the Crusades fail?

The Crusades failed because _________________________________________________.

Elaboration

Evidence

1.

2.

3.

Section 5: The creation of

Modern Europe

Learning Goal

Students will be able to explain how the Crusades led to the creation of modern European countries. Students will also be able to identify which modern European countries were created during this time period and describe the events that led to each one’s creation.

Creation of Modern Europe

After the Crusades have killed off thousands knights and feudal lords, there is very little use for feudalism. Peasants no longer need daily protection and are able to break away from the local lords and survive on their own.

Smaller lords lose their workforce and taxes and are forced to give up their lands to larger, more powerful lords.

These larger, more powerful lords consolidate the land and create larger kingdoms; which would become the first modern countries of Europe.

England

England

• 1066 AD – Former Vikings, called the Normans, invade England from Northern France. They conquer the Anglo-Saxon tribe that ruled it.

• Their leader, William the Conqueror, brutally oppresses the Anglo-Saxons and confiscates their lands and manors. After several hundred years of this treatment, the Anglo-Saxons revolt against William’s great, great grandson, King John. They force him to sign the Magna Carta in 1205.

• The Magna Carta is a ground breaking document in English and World History. It is the first ever Bill of Rights, where a ruler is forced to acknowledge the rights of his citizens and restrictions on his own power. This leads to the creation of England as a limited monarchy and eventually one of the first democratic countries.

France

France

987 AD - The king of the Western Frankia dies with no sons. One of his vassals, Hugh Capet, grabs power and creates a small kingdom around the city of Paris.

Over the next several hundred years, the Capetians absorb more land around Paris. In 1204 AD they attack the Normans and force them out of Northern France. This begins hundreds of years of hatred and war between France and England.

Both sides invade and capture land in England and France back and forth. The modern countries borders would not be finalized until the middle of the 1600’s.

Russia

Russia

800 AD - Vikings called the Rus invade and settle the area of modern day Russia. Made their capital at the city of Kiev.

Early 1200’s AD - Rus are conquered by the Mongols. As the Mongol empire weakens in the 1400’s, Ivan Vasilevich, prince of the city of Moscow, unites most of the Rus cities and gains independence from the Mongols.

Ivan’s son, Ivan IV, is able to officially unite the remaining Russian cities. He establishes a new capital in the city of Moscow and declares himself czar (emperor), creating what would become the Russian Empire.

Spain

Spain Spain is divided during the medieval age.

Southern half - ruled by Muslims from North Africa who invaded in the 700’s

Northern half - ruled by two Christian kingdoms called Castille and Aragon.

Christians and Muslims fight for hundreds of years for control of Spain in a series of wars called the Reconquista.

1469 AD -King Ferdinand of Castille marries Queen Isabella of Aragon; unites the Christian kingdoms in Spain.

1492 AD – Last Muslim army is forced out of the city of Granada; Ferdinand and Isabella create a united, Christian kingdom of Spain.

Germany & Italy

Germany & Italy

After 814 AD Germany and Italy are part of the Holy Roman Empire, the remaining pieces of Charlemagne’s empire.

When his sons declare war on each other after his death, the Empire breaks into dozens of smaller kingdoms; each ruled by a different lord. These local lords remain in power because no one emperor is ever strong enough to bring them under control.

Because of this both Italy and Germany stay divided into many small kingdoms and neither becomes unified nation until the late 1800’s AD.


How did the Crusades lead to the creation of modern European countries?

The Crusdaes led to the creation of modern European countries by ___________________________________.

Elaboration

Evidence

1.

2.

3.


What modern countries were created in this time period?

The countries that were created during this time period were ___________________________________________.


What events led to the creation of each of these countries?

The events that led to the creation of _______________ were ___________________________________________.

Learning Scale

4 – I can recall all of the Crusades and why they happened; as well as how the modern nations of Europe formed from the Crusades.

3 – I can recall all of the Crusades and why they happened; but I do not know how the modern nations of Europe formed from the Crusades.

2 – I can recall all of the Crusades but not why they happened. I also do not know how the modern nations of Europe formed from the Crusades.

1 – I can’t recall any of the Crusades or why they happened; or how the modern nations of Europe formed from the Crusades.

Documents

Mayer - World History - Medieval Europe