Download The Rise of Medieval Europe

The Rise of Medieval Europe
The Dark Ages
Background
 By 500 CE most did not live beyond their village; the Roman
world was destroyed
 The Dark Ages – a time of backwards life
 a.k.a. the Middle Ages
 Combined elements of classical and Germanic culture with
Christian beliefs
Rulers
 Merovingian Rulers
 Clovis – first Catholic Germanic ruler
 Charles Martel – most powerful mayor of the palace
 Pepin the Short – anointed by Pope Stephen II;
politics/religion bound together
 Charlemagne: (Pepin’s son)
 Doubled the size of the Empire; improved education
 Crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III
 Creation of the Holy Roman Empire
Collapse of Charlemagne’s Empire
 No strong ruler to secede Charlemagne
 Treaty of Verdun
 Charles the Bald took the West
 Louis the German took the East
 Lothair took the Holy Roman Empire
 Invasions by outsiders (Vikings)
 Surprise attacks
 Isolated and weakened western Europe
Medieval Life (Feudalism)
 Feudal Relationships
 Began with Charles Martel
 Fiefs were granted to military service
 Lords were able to acquire more power
 Homage – mutual service is agreed on:
 Military service
 Court service
 Provide traveling accommodations for the lord
 Provide funds for weddings and ransoms
Feudal Pyramid
King
Lords:
(Nobles and Clergy)
Vassals and Knights
Pesantry
Noble Life
 Castles were built for protection
 Lords:
 Collect rent and settle disputes
 Ladies:
 Few rights
 Raised children, take care of household duties
 Knights:
 Began training at 7 as a page
 Became a squire at 15
 Was knighted after he proved himself in battle
The Manorial System
 Feudalism: relationship between nobles
 Manorialism: relationship between nobles and peasants
 Work on a Manor:
 Services provided: farming, payment of goods
 Everything was produced on the manor
 Agricultural Improvements:
 Heavier plow
 Three-field system (crop rotation)
 No one questioned their place in the hierarchy
Medieval Church
 Religious Role: Taught that all were sinners and
dependent on God’s grace through rituals
 Eucharist: “Holy Communion”
 Limited knowledge of rituals due to lack of education
 Church Organization: set up in a hierarchy
 Secular Clergy – Pope, bishops, priests
 Regular Clergy – monks and nuns
 Benedict’s Rule - monastic rules for daily life:
 Could not own goods, couldn’t marry, must obey rules
Medieval Church: Monastic Life
 Monasteries were headed by an abbot
 Simple clothes, plain meals, vow of silence
 Convents were headed by an abbess
 Simple clothing, abundant prayer, spinning/weaving
 Influence of Monasteries:
 Scribes copied books, provided social services
 Missionary efforts – spread Christian beliefs
 By the A.D. mid-1000s, most of W. Europe had accepted
Christianity
Medieval Church: Power and Reform
 Acquiring Power
 Helped govern W. Europe
 Had its own laws with its own punishments
 The church was able to gain feudal ties
 Reform
 By the mid-900s leaders wanted reform
 1059: declared that political leaders couldn’t choose the pope
 The pope would be chosen by a gathering of cardinals (high church
officials)
Medieval Church cont.
 Fighting Heresy: 1215 – Pope Innocent III condemned all
feasting, dancing, drunkenness
 Strict rules for stopping heresy
 The Inquisition: court used to seek out heretics
 Many were convicted w/o sufficient evidence
 Unrepentant were punished harshly (cleanse the soul)
 Friars: wandering preachers (early 1200s)
 Followed monastic rules, were not isolated
 Franciscans: sought to live a simple life
 Dominicans: well educated; persuasive preachers
Rise of European Monarchy: England
 Early Invasions
 Saxons, Jutes, and Angles after 400s
 Alfred the Great united the Anglo-Saxons (A.D. 886)
 Power struggles
 Anglo-Saxons: began with Alfred the Great
 Wanted to revive education
 Weak rulers after Alfred
 The Normans: led by William, Duke of Normandy
 Invaded England 1066; defeated Harold Godwinson
 William kept tight control of the govt.
 Anglo-Saxon land was given to Norman vassals
 Royal Power – strong rulers after William
 Henry I – created a royal treasury
 Henry II – set up a system of common law; tried to try clergy in
common courts
 The Magna Carta
 John lost some English land to France
 1215: nobles forced John to sign the Charter limiting his power
 Parliament – middle class wanted representation
 Model Parliament (1295): clergy, nobles, burgesses
 Parliament (1400): House of Lords; House of Commons
 More people were represented
Rise of European Monarchy: France
 Centralized Government not Representative
 Hugh Capet seized power in 987; 300 yr. dynasty
 Established the principle of inherent throne
 1100s the number and size of towns increased
 Some towns were given the right of self-government
 French Monarchs
 Philip II – strengthened the monarchy; increased land
 Louis IX – royal courts gained dominance; considered the ideal
for chivalry and high moral character
 Philip IV – increased territory through trade/war
Rise of European Monarchy: H.R.E.
 Germanic rulers remained weak and powerless
 Disputes with the Pope continued to weaken them
 Kings claimed the right to elect popes
 Popes claimed the right to anoint and depose kings
 Henry IV (1073): the Pope deposed Henry; was later pardoned b/c he
begged for forgiveness for three days
Medieval Europe
Its Height
at
Background Information
 Early Middle Ages:
 Decentralized government
 FeudalWarfare
 Cultural Isolation
 Famine, Bad living conditions, sparse trade
 High Middle Ages:
 Improvement in conditions
 Church gained more power
The Crusades
 Background
 Jerusalem was the holy city for the Jews, Muslims, and
Christians
 600 fell to Arabs; 1000 fell to Seljuk Turks
 Endangered Constantinople and Europe
 First Crusade
 Pope Urban II calls for a volunteer army
 Sought riches in the Middle East
 1099: recaptured Jerusalem
 Second Crusade:
 1140s: Turks conquered Palestine
 Pope Eugenius IV called for a crusade
 Louis VII & Conrad III led the armies
 Third Crusade (the Crusade of the Kings):
 1187: Saladin captured Jerusalem
 Barbarossa, Philip Augustus, Richard I led armies
 Richard was forced to fight alone (signed a truce)
 Effects of the Crusades
 Did not gain control of Palestine
 Helped speed up changes in Western Europe
 Less Impact on Muslims
Economic and Cultural Revival
 Expansion and Trade:
 Italian towns (Venice, Pisa, Genoa – control Med. trade)
 Flanders (northern European trade center)
 Annual Trade Fairs (Champagne, France)
 Banking:
 Barter System: trade w/o exchanging money
 Money Economy: led to the growth of banking
 Money changers determined the currency value
 Kings, Nobles, Clergy became dependant on banks
Growth of Towns (Burgs)
 Characteristics:
 Stone walls, wooden buildings, lack of sanitation
 Guilds:
 Merchant: maintain a monopoly on local business
 Craft: specific craft regulations; prohibited competition
 Rise of Middle Class
 middle class profited from a money economy
 Leading bankers/merchants became royal advisors
 Town Government
 Towns people wanted their own govt.
 Communes: Italian towns
 Charters: granted to townspeople (independent govt.)
Education
 Clergy controlled education (Early Middle Ages)
 Educated officials were needed
 Universities: founded @ 1150
 Southern (Bologna, Italy): studied law and medicine
 Northern (Paris, Cambridge, Oxford): theology
 Studied Roman Law, Aristotle, Muslim writings
 Scholasticism: combination of reason and faith
 Thomas Aquinas – reason was God’s gift
 Literature: most was written in common vernacular
 Beowulf: Anglo-Saxon epic
 Art: Romanesque and Gothic
Strengthening European Monarchies
 Nationalism: proud of heritage and country
 Hundred Years Wars: (England and France)
 Both claimed to control Normandy
 English able to defeat the French at Crecy (1346); Agincourt
(1415) b/c of better weapons
 Joan of Arc: claimed that God had told her to save France; supported
by Charles VII; battle of Orleans
 Effects of the War
 England: lost control of Normandy; led to bitterness
 France: physical destruction; sense of unity
 Both gained a strong central government
 France: 1400s: became dominant European power
 Louis XI: strengthened the bureaucracy
 United French lands; kept nobles under control
 England: Parliament gained power during the war
 War of the Roses (1455):York vs. Lancaster
 Edward IV defeated the House of Lancaster
 Henry Tudor defeated Richard III; began dynasty
 Spain: 1400s leading European power
 Began fighting in the Reconquista against Muslims
 1469: Ferdinand and Isabella were married
 United Aragon and Castille
 Ended religious toleration (100% Roman Catholic)
 Spanish Inquisition: est. to maintain “Purity of Blood”
 Seek out and punish those “suspected” of heresy
 Fear of the Inquisition strengthened the monarchy
 Holy Roman Empire: German, Italian, Slavic land
 An assembly of princes elected the Emperor
 The Hapsburgs were the dominant family in the 1400s
 Able to control the princes
 Maximilian I was elected in 1493
 Charles V became King of Spain and H.R.E.
The Troubled Church
 Babylonian Captivity
 1300s: the papacy came under French control
 1305: Clement V was elected Pope
 Moved the court to Avignon, France
 “popes were neglecting spiritual duties”
 The Great Schism: period of multiple popes
 Three different popes claimed spiritual authority
 All three were deposed and Martin V was elected
Calls For Reform
 John Wycliffe
 Criticized church corruption
 Claimed that the Bible was the sole authority
 Began translating the Bible into English vernacular
 Followers were known as Lollards
 Was persuaded to moderate his views
 Jan Hus
 Had writings that were condemned by the church
 1415: the Council at Constance had him killed
 Hussites stood up against the Church
 Hus’ ideas influenced other reformers