Rise of Western Europe

Medieval Europe

Background• Lasted 500 – 1500• 500 – 100 political decentralization and

backwardness• 1000 – 1300 period of revival – 1200s onward, certain parts of Europe (Italy)

experienced the Renaissance (cultural rebirth)– Concept of Europe as a single civilization joined by a

common heritage and Christian religion took greater shape

• 1300 – 1500 crisis and advancement – social unrest, constant warfare, Black Death– Renaissance began

Reasons for Feudalism and the Manor System

• End of Roman Empire– Declining prosperity led small landowners to sell their

land to owners of large estates• Invasions – Vikings from Scandinavia led to a need for protection

• Political decentralization– No single ruler was strong enough to provide Europe

with a central authority– Monarchs did not have the power, money, or military

strength to govern their lands effectively

Feudalism• Political, social, economic system• Nobles/landlords offered benefices (privileges) to vassals in

exchange for military service in lord’s army or agricultural labor– Often a land grant – fief

• Structured – enjoy the position of a noble with vassals under while also being a vassal to a noble of higher status

• Nobles• Knights

– Owe military service• Serfs

– Give lord part of their crops– Spend a number of days each month working on a lord’s lands or

performing other labor service– Could not be bought and sold– Pass their property rights to their heirs

Similarities to Japan

• Knights were similar to the samurai • Vassals who served in the lord’s military forces• Followed an honor code – chivalry/bushido• In contrast• chivalry was a two-sided contract between the

knight and lord• Bushido applied to both men and women of

the samurai class

Chivalry

• Be virtuous• Christian Warrior• An honorable and polite way of behaving

(especially toward women)• Gallant and distinguished gentlemen

• Often the code was broken

Manorialism

• system of economic and political relations between landlords and serfs

• Most people were serfs, they lived on self-sufficient agriculture estates called manors

• They were agriculture workers who received some protection in return they would have to give part of their goods to remain on the land

• Three field systems improved the production. Only a third of the land was left unplanted each year, in order to regain fertility.

• The moldboard was a plow, it was copied from the Mediterranean models.

Unifying Influence of Christianity

• One thing binding European nations together after the fall of Rome

• 1054 doctrinal differences and geographical distance led to the Great Schism– Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy

• Shaped Medieval society in key ways– Monasteries preserved Greek and Latin manuscripts– Sense that despite national and linguistic differences –

linked by a common faith– Feeling of cultural cohesion

Papacy and Political Power• Hierarchical

– Leader – Pope– Lowest – Priest

• After 1000 the Catholic Church became immensely powerful politically – Governed sizeable territory in central Italy – Papal States– Had the authority and right to determine what was heresy, exclude worshippers

from the Church (excommunication), and issue calls for holy wars (crusades)– Collected tithes from the general population– Controlled education– 1231 Holy Inquisition – hunt out and punish heresy and religious nonconformity

• Christendom– Goal was to unite Europe into a single Christian Community– Governed by the Pope– Kings and emperors subject to his rule

Conflicts Between the Church and State

• Church leaders and monarchs• Growing wealth of the Roman Catholic Church

served as a temptation for priests and monks to set aside their spiritual responsibilities and to concentration on the acquisition of material goods

• Investiture – Lay investiture was a process by which monarchs apointed bishops– Pope Gregory VII (1073 – 1085)– HRE Henry IV – Henry was excommunicated

Early Kingdoms• 500s – 600s– Short-lived kingdoms founded by barbarian chiefs

rose and fell frequently– Internally decentralization kept states weak– As did externally Viking raids and Muslim invasions

• Earliest European nation was the Frankish Kingdom– By the 700s it grew into the Carolingian Empire

Carolingian Empire• Franks

– Rose in prominence in present day France, western Germany, Belgium– Descendants of the Germanic tribe that overran Gaul

• Frankish military leader Charles Martel turned back the Muslim invaders at the Battle of Tours (732)– He established the Carolingian dynasty

• Son Pepin the Short strengthened the Kingdom's ties with the Catholic Church

• Pepin’s son Charlemagne (768-814) defended the territory against Viking, barbarian, and Muslim attacks– Greatly expanded the kingdom becoming the Holy Roman Emperor in

800– Supported education and culture (entrusted to the church)

Other Early Nations

• Late 800s – 900s• Saxon kings united large parts of England• Capetian dynasty came to rule the area

around Paris and gradually gained control over more of France

• Eastern Germanic portion of Charlemagne’s realm formed itself as the Holy Roman EMpire

Vikings• Expert sailors and fierce warriors from Scandinavia• Owing to overcrowding in their homelands large numbers

left (800 – 1100)• One of the few peoples who could navigate in the open

ocean– Colonized Greenland, and Iceland– Around 1000 voyagers led by Leif Erikson reached Canada– Settled in parts of England, Scotland, Ireland– Created long-lasting kingdoms in northwestern France and Sicily

• Established a trade route from Scandinavia to Byzantium through Russia– Created the first Russian state

England and France• Most stable states were England and France• 1066 – Normans (descendants of Vikings settled in

France) led by William the Conqueror invaded England and defeated the Saxon king and established their rule there– Imposed a feudal structure that required all vassals to

owe their allegiance directly to the monarch• Connected to the French throne by blood ties and

feudal obligations there was much competition between England and France over land and political legitimacy until the middle of the 1400s

England

• Norman Conquest – brought French style feudalism to England– Helped create a rich cultural fusion– Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Latin-based

• England became centralized• 1215 – Magna Carta– Imposed on King John by the barons– Guaranteed nobility certain rights and privileges– Later in the 1200s the English nobility won the right to

form a Parliament, which eventually became a representative lawmaking body that governed in conjunction with the king

Summary of Magna Carta• It is also called Great Charter. • King John of England had to sign it because he was defeated by

France. • It was signed on June 15, 1215. • The Magna Carta confirmed feudal rights against monarchical claims. • He agreed to institute new taxes without the lord’s permission and

also to appoint bishops without the churches permission. • The Magna Carta became the basis for English rights. It contains 37

laws. • It also showed that a kings power can be limited by a written grant.

The Magna Carta was also probably used in the constitution and Bill of rights.

• The first Parliament convened in 1265 – saw its division into the House of Lords elected by Urban elites

France

• Capetian kings centralized their nation– Originally they only owned a tiny part of France– England controlled large territories such as Aquitaine

and Brittany while large and economically important regions such as Flanders and Burgundy remained independent

• Beat the English in a number of wars including the Hundred Years’ War

• French monarchs were not limited or obligated to share their power in any legally meaningful way

Hundred Years’ War

• 1337 – 1453• War’s first years coincided with the Black

Death• Until the early1400s the English won a

number of victories• After the 1420s the French King with the Help

of Joan of Arc drove out the English

Holy Roman Empire “Neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire”

• Less centralized• Multicultural monarchy founded in the 900s by an heir of Charlemagne• Theoretical ideal of a state that was large and powerful (Roman) and

brought a variety of peoples into a single Catholic (holy) community– Supposed to work in partnership with the pope– Two clashed more than cooperated

• HRE was large but the emperors powers comparatively weak– Position was not hereditary– Chosen by the empire’s most powerful noble families

• Empire’s population was ethnically diverse– German, Italian, Slavic– Dozens of duchies, kingdoms, principalities

• Long term political effect – delayed the unification of Germany and Italy until the 19th Century

• Key centralizing factor was the rise of the Hapsburg family – Gained permanent control over the imperial throne from 1438 - 1918

Italian States• Even more decentralized

– Not an actual country at this time– Most of Northern Italy was under the HRE– Southern areas passed into the hands of foreigners– French, Spanish, Muslims, Byzantines– Parts of Italy remained free

• Governed by dozens of city-states

• One of the most urbanized parts of Europe• High cultural level helped to make it the birthplace of the Renaissance• Position in the Med. Enabled trade with the Middle East and Egypt and

by extension the Far East, China, and the Indian Ocean– Cities developed strong commercial economies– Chief city-states of medieval and Renaissance Italy were Florence, Milan, and

Venice in the north and Naples in the south– Rome was also important

Spain• 700s – Moors (Muslims) took over Spain• 1031 - People of Spain and Portugal fought the Moors in a long struggle know as the

Reconquista• By the end of 1200 had pushed the Moors into Granada (southernmost part of the country)• For the next 200 years the Moors held out until they were expelled in 1492 by Ferdinand and

Isabella• Spanish territory was liberated gradually

– Each newly freed region remained independent– By the 1400s there were 6 Spanish kingdoms– Rulers of the two biggest kingdoms wed – Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile

• Spain becomes a single country– Intense religious intolerance– Hostile to nonbelievers– Muslims and Jews were persecuted– Forced to convert or leave

• Benefits of the Moors – Islamic culture was more advanced– Advantages in scientific, medical, and technological knowledge– Jewish scholars and professionals– Co’rdoba – greatest centers of learning and science

Portugal

• Independent principality• Began its tradition of exploration during the

1400s

Byzantium• Crossroads between Christian Europe and the Islamic Middle East• Constantinople was a tremendously important trading center

– Linked the Med. Europe with the Middle East and by extension the overland routes such as the silk road and sea lanes that joined the Middle East with China, India, and the East Indies

• Superior to the rest of Europe in terms of economic and cultural advancement

• Long period of political and military decline– Battle of Manzikert (1071) onward– Seljuks then more dangerous Ottoman Turks slowly but increasingly stripped

territory away from Byzantium– 1400s Constantinople was under threat– 1453 Ottomans seized it– Byzantine Empire was destroyed

• Ottoman Empire went on to conquer large parts of southeastern Europe – Clashed for centuries with the HRE

Eastern Europe• Territories on Europe’s eastern and northern fringe tended to be poorly

defined• Stress of invasions from the east• Mongol attacks in the mid-1200s and constant pressure from the Ottomans

– Held back political development of nations– Forced West- Mongols were forced to move west because of weather and agriculture. – Superior Military Technology- nomadic lifestyle, horsemanship – Strengthening Numbers- increased ranks through conquered territories, would

slaughter all people causing bad behavior in the horde. – Diplomacy- dominated Northern trade routes from Europe to Asia, they learned

sciences and philosophies which helped to politically interest conquered people• Hungary, Sweden, Poland – exceptions (stable and sophisticated)• Russia

– Loose confederation of city-states– Governed by constantly feuding princes– Mongol invasions of 1240s placed the Russians under the domination of the Golden

Horde– Mid-1400s Russia became free

Concept and Origin of Crusading

• Power of the medieval pope was the ability to request monarchs to provide troops and money for holy wars

• Fought for a number of reasons– Convert non-believers to Christianity– Crush Christian movements the papacy considered heretical– Resist attacks by foreigners who were not Christians

• Motivating Factors– Genuine religious fervor on the part of both Muslims and Christians– Geopolitical conflict between Europe and the Middle East– The European’s desire to become more involved in the international

trade network stretching from the Med. To China– Personal ambitions of Europeans hoping to gain wealth and land in the

Middle East– Racial and religious prejudice

Crusading Experience• First Crusade (1096-1099)

– Byzantine Empire asked fellow Christians in Europe for military assistance against the Seljuk Turks who had recently captured Jerusalem

– Byzantines exaggerated rumors of Turkish atrocities in the Holy Lands– Pope Urban II responded by summoning the Council of Clermont and calling

on knights of Catholic Europe to retake the Holy Land– 1099 placed Jerusalem under siege– Butchered almost every Muslim and Jew within its walls (killed a number of

native Christians whom they mistook for Muslims)– Key reason for this First Crusade’s success was the lack of unity among

Muslims, Turks, and Arabs• Europeans established four Christian states known as Latin Kingdoms• Served as military and political foothold in the Middle East• Enabled Europeans to become involved in a lucrative commercial

economy • 4th Crusade – merchants of Venice sack Constantinople

Effects of the Crusades• Senseless Violence and Wars- crusaders killed all of Jerusalem even women. • Undermining Church Moral Authority- the murders of the Jews and Muslims,

was used as indictment against the Roman Catholic Church was not moral authority

• Distrust of Christians- Christians kept killing people of other religions, like Jews and Muslims when they were on there way to the middle east, they create ruthless

• Opened Way for Muslim Conquests of Europe- the differences between Roman Catholics and the Byzantine created hatred, led to capturing Constantinople, Ottoman Turks began to come into Europe

• Asian Influence- Crusade's increased Europe’s knowledge of Asia, influence of cosmopolitan in Europe

• Increased Anti-Semitism – loyalty to the rose during throughout all of Europe leaving religious tolerance low, Jewish homes were destroyed

• Greater awareness of the wider world• Crusader ideal – notion of Christian warriors were fighting a holy war on behalf

of a sacred cause – contributed ti the powerful myth of knighthood and chivalry• Increased knowledge of and the desire for economic wealth to be gained

Population Growth, Trade, Commerce• 1000 – 1300 population growth in Europe was considerable

– General warming– Advanced agricultural techniques (3 field system and better plows) caused food

supply to increase• Trade and commerce became a larger part of the European economy

– Political stability made banking, the movement of goods, and the creation of markets safer and more convenient

• Security returned as the Vikings, now Christian ceased their raids and became settled people

• Movement of goods was easier by water than land – trade routes followed rivers and coastlines

• Trade in the Baltic was dominated by the Hanseatic League – group whose influence stretched from England in the west to Russia in the East

• Powerful banking houses were run by the Medicis in Italy and Fuggers in central Europe

• Crusaders– Introduced sugarcane, spices, luxury goods – porcelain, glassware, carpets from the

East– East had little interest in the inferior goods of the West

Urbanization• Majority of the people remained in the countryside working as

peasants and serfs• Increasing number began to move to the cities• Existing cities grew larger and new cities were founded at a great

rate– Italy and Flanders urbanized more quickly– Excellent sites for trade– Attracted artists, writers, scholars

• Specialization of labor– Guild system– Maintained a monopoly on their respective trades– Restricted membership, established prices, set standards of quality

and fair practice, provided pensions• Advantage – immunity to feudal obligations

– Year and a day “city air makes you free”

Social Stress• Increased after 1300• Uprisings across Europe• Peasant Jacquerie of 1358 in France• Wool Carder’s Revolt in Florence in 1378• Wat Tyler’s Rebellion in England in 1381• Causes

– Little Ice Age – general cooling affected harvests and made life in the countryside difficult

– Many peasants were forced into military service especially during the Hundred Years’ War• More wars were being fought, armies growing larger, new gunpowder

weaponry was expensive

– Taxes of common people increased– Persecution of peoples thought to be witches– Catholic Authorities sought to root out witchcraft – 1400s The

Hammer of Witchcraft – aid in spotting and trying of witches

Black Death• Greatest medical disaster in Eurasian History• After killing millions of people in China the

disease spread westward to the Middle East• Reached Europe on a ship landing in Sicily in 1347– 1347-1348 ravaged Europe– 1349-1350 spread to Central Europe and British Isles– 1351 – 1353 spread to Russia and Scandinavia

• Initial bout killed 25 – 30 million people• Roughly 1/3 of Europe’s population

Women in Medieval Europe• As a rule – subservient to men• Women of lower classes cared for the household and assisted with farm work• Women of low birth worked as servants• Joan of Arc• Some had property rights

– Own and inherit property• Received dowries could separate from their husbands although obtaining

divorces and annulments was difficult– Had protection but not equality before the law

• Could become nuns– Majority of nuns were from landed aristocracy (younger sisters whom the dads could

not afford to pay to have married)– Those who preferred intellectual pursuits found safe havens– Hildegard of Bingen (1098 – 1179) mystical writings

• Aristocratic women could exert informal political and cultural influence– Manage husbands estates and finances– Moms of young kings would serve as advisors– Become queens in England, Spain, Russia– Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122 – 1204) married Louis VII of France and Henry II of England

Medieval Culture

• Most important factor shaping medieval culture was the Catholic Church– Administered institutions of learning– Monasteries and universities– Largest employer of artists, architects, musicians

• Art and ideas not in line with the church could be banned• Classical learning and literature preserved from ancient

Greece and Rome– Latin was Europe’s language of learning and culture– Aristotle– Encouraged some mistaken ideas– Geocentric theory

Art, Architecture, Literature• Medieval art was religious in nature

– Icons – religious paintings were largely inspired by Byzantine styles• Gregorian Chant• Great builders of castles

– Many were molded on Byzantine and Middle Eastern Designs– Romanesque v Gothic - http://smarthistory.edublogs.org/2013/03/19/romanesque-

versus-gothic-architecture/• Troubadours and minstrels 1000 – 1100

– Popularized nonreligious music– Favorite songs were about love and legends of King Arthur, Charlemagne’s knight

Roland and El Cid of Spain• Authors

– Dante Alighieri of Italy (1265 – 1321)– Geoffrey Chaucer of England (1340 – 1401)– Christine de Pisan (1364 – 1410)

• Increased use of the vernacular– Stimulated a growth in literacy and made literature available to a wider range of

people

High Middle Ages• Gothic Architecture

– Cathedrals with tall spires and arched windows with stained glass reflected Muslim designs in Western Architectural technology

• Increased urbanization– The size of western Europe cities still could not compare with the number of urban

areas in China• The rise of universities• A decline in the number of serfs on the manor

– Some serfs received wages to work in new agricultural lands while others fled to towns

• The emergence of centralized monarchies– The strengthening of nation states– The Hundred Years’ War increased the power of both France and England – Considered by some historians to be the end of the Medieval Period

• Increase Eurasian trade• The growth of banking• New warfare technology

– Gunpowder and the cannon made castles increasingly obsolete

ESPiRITE

Economic• The postclassical period in western Europe began with the fall of Rome, period called middle

ages.• Three field system- only one third of the land was left unplanted. • Most people created new markets, growing trade • Economy help feed formal culture life • While merchant capitalism gained ground in western Europe economic values dominate • Western agriculture was not yet advanced technology but improved • Largest trade and banking was in Germany • France/low countries were capitalistic • Big merchants invested in ships • Luxury goods and spices from Asia • Mediterranean trade redeveloped, by Italian immigrants • Hanseatic league – Scandinavia grouped together to encourage trade • Trade and banking in the middle ages served as the origin of capitalism in western civilizations• Jacques Coeur was one of Europe’s best merchants, risks new forms of trade served as tax

officials until minting coins, he became finical advisors • Guilds – people in the same business or craft in a single city, stressed security and control,

limited membership, good workmanship • Summas- or highest power • Iron making and textile making

Social

• Vikings from Scandinavia disturbed life from Ireland to Sicily • Clovis a warrior chieftain, he converted to Christianity about 496 CE to gain greater prestige

over local rivals who were still pagan. • Carolingians- took over the monarchy which was based in northern europe, Belgium and

western Germany • Charles Martel or Charles the hammer, was the founder of the Carolingians, responsible for

defeating the Muslims in the battle of tours in 732 • Charlemagne or Charles the great, established empire in France and Germany, helped restore

some church based education • Holy roman emperors- merging Christian and classical claims • Vassals – greater lords protection and aid to lesser lord in return military service or some

goods. • William the conquer- extended the feudal system in his kingdom • Gregory VII (1073-1085) tried to purify the church and free it from inheritance by feudal lords • Bernard of Claivaus- powerful monk, he challenged Avelard • Thomas Aquinas- the Italian-born monk who taught at university of Paris, faith came fist for

him , through reason people could know natural order, moral law, and nature of God

Political• Manorialism was the system of economic and political relations between

landlords and serfs. • Feudalism the key political and military relationships in Western Europe. • Magna Carta – king john was forced to sign, it limited his power• Parliaments – feudal balance-> three estates, church, noble, and urban

leaders. • The practice of appointment or investiture of bishops in Germany• Scholasticism – medieval philosophers approach was called because of its

base in the schools- silly debates such as the one about how many angels could dance on the head of a pin.

• Demonstrated an unusual confidence in logical orderliness of knowledge • Guilds played an important political role

Interaction

• Hundred years war – 14th century, long battle began, France and England-over territories the English king controlled in France, over feudal rights versus the national states

• Crusades• Vikings• Mongols

Religious

• Pope Urban II called for the first crusade in 1095 • The importance of absolute faith in God • Christianity • Rise of cities from saw the formation to develop spirituality

and express the love of God. • Magical rituals involved much dancing and merriment• Pagan festivals • Western painters used religious subjects, like Christ’s birth• Medieval lit. and music reflected strong religious interests• Religion was the center piece of intellectuals , from science to

romantic poetry

Intellectual• Viking intellectual activity declined • With Charlemagne intellectual activity began to slowly recover. • Believed in human reason and natural order • Fascination with logics lead intellectuals to a certain zeal • Peter Abelard- 12th century, in Paris he wrote a treaties called Yes and No, it showed logical

contradictions in a doctrine • Bernard was an intellectual of different sort, he stressed the importance of mystical union with

God • Christianity and Islam relied on the bible or the Quran • Combining rational philosophy and Christian faith was the dominant intellectual theme. In

postclassical west. • Motivated a growing interest in knowledge imported from the classical past and from the Arab

world. -> Arab rationist ibn rushd, western phosphor, theologian• Like philosophy, medieval art and architecture were intended to serve glory to God• Followed roman models, using rectangles or Romanesque • Gothic architects built soaring church spires and tall windows • Philosophy, law or political theory • Latin became the development of lit. in spoken lang. or vernaculars • Beowulf, the song of Roland • Vernacular tongues like Canterbury poets or troubadours

Technological

• Moldboard- a plow that allowed deeper turning in soil

Essay Assignment

Compare and Contrast the economic and political systems of the Byzantine Empire and Western Europe during the post classical Era