The Early Middle Ages

Chapter 15, Section 1, page 512

The Geography of Europe – page 512

• Europe is a continent.– a peninsula made up of

smaller peninsulas– most of Europe lies within 300

miles of the sea– rivers – Rhine, Danube,

Vistula, Volga, Seine, etc.– mountains – Alps,

Carpathians, etc.– mountains and rivers –

encouraged trade, provided safety, and separated cultures

The Germanic Kingdoms – page 514• When last we were in Europe…– Western Roman Empire was collapsing

• 476 A.D. – last Western emperor was deposed• Germanic tribes had spread throughout the old territory of the

Empire– Byzantine Empire was thriving – Christianity was well established

• What does this mean?– population shifts to rural areas– unifying factors of the empire start to diminish– decline of literacy

The Germanic Kingdoms – page 514

Who Were the Franks? – page 514

• c. A.D. 400 – the Franks settled modern day France

• Clovis – Frankish king who became a Catholic– conversions– death and division of land– breakdown in royal duties

• “mayors of the palace”

Who Were the Franks? – page 515

• Charles Martel – famous mayor of the palace who wanted to reunite Europe– A.D. 732 – defeated the

Muslims at the Battle of Tours

• Pepin the Short – became king of the Franks (with help); defended the pope against the Lombards (Papal States)

Who Was Charlemagne? – page 515

• Charlemagne – Charles the Great– defended pope, again– defeated the Saxons in

Germany and converted them

– regained parts of Spain from the Muslims

– Christmas Day, A.D. 800 – Pope Leo III crowned him Roman Emperor• Hmmm?

Who Was Charlemagne? – page 515

Who Was Charlemagne? – page 516

• Aachen – capital of Charlemagne’s empire• leadership style– man of the people?– set up courts– sent out “the lord’s messengers”– strong belief in education (perhaps because of his

own shortcomings)• focus on religion, music, literature, arithmetic, Latin

Who Was Charlemagne? – page 518

• Charlemagne’s impact– united a large portion of

Europe– defended Christianity and

the Church– spread Christianity– supported education

• empire disintegrated after his death → son Louis → to grandsons Charles, Lothair, and Louis

Europe Is Invaded – page 518

Europe after the Treaty of Verdun, 843 A.D.

Europe Is Invaded – page 518

• A.D. 800s and 900s were not good times…– Magyars– Muslims– Vikings

• Vikings, a.k.a. Norsemen (“north men”)– Scandinavia– top-notch sailors courtesy

of their longboats– feared raiders

Europe Is Invaded – page 518

• Vikings– Why raid?

• geography - fjords – steep sided valleys that are inlets of the sea

• part of the culture – “Valhalla”

– known for their ferocity and violence

– Normandy

Europe Is Invaded – page 518

The Holy Roman Empire – page 519

• eastern Frankish kingdom divided into tiny states• Henry I (the Fowler)• Otto I - German king the pope declared emperor

of the Holy Roman Empire in A.D. 962– most emperors were weak– outcome: Germany and Italy remained divided into small

kingdoms until the 1800s

The Rise of the Catholic Church – page 519

• Pope Gregory I (the Great) – sent missionaries throughout Europe to convert people to Catholicism– conversion of Ethelbert, ruler of Kent (Britain)– by A.D. 1050 most of the people in Western Europe had

converted to Catholicism– monasteries filled essential roles• later became money-makers = involvement in the politics of

the area

Why Is Gregory VII Important? – page 520☼

☼

Why Is Gregory VII Important? – page 520

• Concordat of Worms – pope named bishops; only kings could give them government positions– limited the power of the emperor– concordat – agreement between the pope and the

ruler of a country– struggle of popes and kings– interdicts

Feudalism

Chapter 15, Section 2, page 523

What Is Feudalism? – page 523

• feudalism – political and social system in which landowning nobles governed and protected the people in return for services (particularly military service)

• vassal – a noble who served a lord of a higher rank

• fief – land granted to a vassal

What Was the Manorial System? – page 524• manorial system – basic economic arrangement during the

Middle Ages that rested on a set of rights and obligations between a lord and his serfs– manor – lord’s estate– lords provided housing, farmland, protection, and other services– serfs (peasant laborers bound by law to the lands of a noble)

provided labor (cared for livestock, tended crops, etc.) and other duties, and paid for services• couldn’t marry without permission of lord

What Was the Manorial System? – page 524

How Did Farming Improve? – page 526

• farming improvements– wheeled plow– horse collar– water and wind power– crop rotation

Life in Feudal Europe – page 526

• knights – mounted horsemen who pledged to defend their lord’s lands in exchange for a fief– Why?

• changes in technology made mounted combat effective

• expense – Process – page (7) → squire (14) → knight (21)– knights follow code of chivalry (guide for

knights good behavior)– manors run by women in their husband’s absence

How Did Nobles Live? – page 526

• the castle– not one design

fits all– types: motte and

bailey, concentric, etc.

– not built for comfort

– formidable structure

What Was Peasant Life Like? – page 527

• In a word, harsh.– hard work and lots of it– living conditions: dirty,

cramped, little privacy– life expectancy around 35

years– diet was meager– women pulled double duty– Church was central:

Christian feast days – as bad as we think?

Trade and Cities – page 528

• A surplus of goods and safer travel allowed trade to resume by 1100; which led to bigger cities; for example:– Venice – Italian city that was a major trading center– Flanders – the center of trade in Northern Europe

• trade fairs established• bartering gives way to coinage again

Crafts and Guilds – page 530• guild – organization of individuals in the same

business or occupation working to improve the economic and social conditions of its members– protected and taught trades like tanning, carpentry, masonry,

etc.– set standards and prices– decided who could join a trade– guaranteed quality work– apprentice (around 10 years of age), journeyman (by 17 or 18),

master (produce a masterpiece and be accepted by the guild)

What Was City Life Like? – page 530

• dirty, smelly, polluted, cramped, crowded, noisy, fire-prone

Kingdoms and Crusades

Chapter 15, Section 3, page 535

England in the Middle Ages – page 535

• Alfred the Great – united the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and drove away Vikings

• William the Conqueror – Duke of Normandy; claimed English throne and won it after the Battle of Hastings– French language– merger of customs

Henry II and the Common Law – page 537

• Henry II (r. 1154 – 1189)– circuit judges– established common law – law

that is the same throughout the kingdom

– established the jury system• grand jury – decides if a person

can be accused of crime• trial jury – decides if the person

is guilty or innocent

What Was the Magna Carta? – page 537

• Magna Carta (A.D. 1215)– “Great Charter”– King John vs. the nobles– limits on the right of the king to collect taxes– trials by peers for freemen– statement of rights and duties of king and vassals– summary: established the idea that people have rights

and that the power of the government should be limited

• Edward I and the English Parliament

The Kingdom of France – page 538

• Hugh Capet and the Capetian dynasty• Philip II – strengthened king’s position• Philip IV – met with the first Estates-General –

France’s first parliament– first estate – clergy– second estate – nobles– third estate – everyone else

Eastern Europe and Russia – page 539

• the Rus – Slavic name for Viking rulers• Kiev – center of the Kievian Rus• trouble with the Mongols• Ivan III takes title of czar

The Crusades – page 541• 1071 – Muslim Turks take control of Asia minor;

Byzantines defeated• 1095 – Pope Urban II calls for a crusade (holy war) to

drive out the Muslims and reclaim the Holy Land• First Crusade – drove Muslims from Jerusalem• Second Crusade – utter failure• Third Crusade – Fredrick Barbarossa, Philip II,

Richard I vs. Saladin• Fourth Crusade – wrong reasons• others

The Crusades – page 541

The Crusades – page 541

• summary: – Crusades = Catholics vs.

Muslim Turks– effects: increased trade,

helped to breakdown feudalism, reduced power of nobles/increased power of kings, weakened power of pope, weakened Byzantine Empire, damaged Christian/Muslim relations

The Church and Society

Chapter 15, Section 4, page 544

Religion and Society – page 545

• growth of monasteries means growth of the Church’s power base– A.D. 900s witnessed 157 new monasteries, 326 in the

11th century, 702 in the 12th century– In England, by the 1200s, nearly one of every 50 adult

males was a monk.

• new religious orders: Cluniac order, Cistercian order• Hildegard of Bingen – headed a convent in

Germany and composed Church music

Religion and Society – page 546

• friars – monks who go out into the world to preach

• Francis of Assisi – founder of the first order of friars who helped the poor and served as missionaries– Franciscan monks

• Dominic de Guzmán – founded Dominican order who defended the Church’s teachings

The Role of Religion – page 546

• Church is important– recorded births, deaths– conducted weddings– ran schools– mass – Catholic worship service– sacraments

• Baptism, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, Anointing of the Sick

– saints– relics

What Was the Inquisition? – page 547

• Church tried to put an end to heresy – religious beliefs that conflict with Church teachings

• friars try• 1233 – pope established the Inquisition, a church

court, to root out heretics• methods of the Inquisition

How Were Jews Treated? – page 547

• anti-Semitism – hatred of Jews– Why? • refused to accept Christianity• careers• scapegoats

– manifestations – mobs, special clothing, restrictions on clothing, murder

– effects – Jewish expulsion

Medieval Culture – page 549

• Architecture– Romanesque style – rectangular, long, rounded roofs,

huge pillars and thick walls– Gothic style – ribbed vaults and pointed arches

instead of rounded barrel vaults, flying buttresses, stained glass

The First Universities – page 550

• grammar, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy

• doctor’s degree in law, medicine, and theology – the study of religion and God

• Thomas Aquinas – scholasticism’s greatest champion, combined teachings of Aristotle with those of the Church– Summa Theologica– “natural law”