Download Viking Invasions and the Rise of Feudalism

European Middle Ages and
the Rise of Feudalism
QUEST FOR POLITICAL ORDER
AFTER 476 CE
Germanic kingdoms
Western Europe controlled by Germanic groups
Political Culture
Personal loyalty to king, local noble not state
Rise of the Franks
Germanic Peoples who settle in N. France
Clovis
Converts to Christianity
Alliance w/ Church to strengthen the empire
Charlemagne
The Carolingians
Charles Martel
• Stops the Muslim invasion at the Battle of Tours
Charlemagne
• Founder of the Carolingian empire
• Expands empire and Christianity in the West
• Proclaimed Emperor by the Pope
The Breakup of Empire
After Charlemagne, his 3 sons divide the
empire into 3 parts (Treaty of Verdun ).
The Church takes Control
Takes power from the weak governments in
Europe
The Church was also a unifying bond
between the different social classes in
Europe
The Church used fear (Threat of
Excommunication) to force people to follow
Canon Law
The Vikings
The Vikings were great seafarers from
Scandinavia that raided European cities and
towns.
Rivers allowed them to attack inland.
After continuous raiding, the Vikings begin
to settle in the lands they raid because there
is little or no resistance.
NEW REGIONAL STATES
France
Vikings settled in northern France (Pledge Loyalty to Local King)
England
Small Celtic kingdoms merge
Germany and Italy
After Carolingian empire, local lords took control
Spain and Southern Italy
Most of Spain under Calipahte of Cordoba
The Rise of Feudalism
Feudalism
Lords and Vassals
• Lords
 Owned the Land, but needed Defense
 Grants sections of land (Fiefs) to
Vassals (Nobles)
• Vassals
 Owed loyalty, obedience, and respect
to the King
 Provided military help when needed
 Knights received smaller fief for
service
Manoralism
The Manor
The large estate owned by a lord or vassal
• Largely self-sufficient
Serfdom
Bound to the land they worked
Provided Labor in exchange for Protection and
Land to work
SOCIAL CHANGES
The three estates
"Those who pray" – clergy, spiritual estate
"Those who fight" - feudal nobles, military estate
"Those who work" - mostly peasants and serfs
Guilds
Groups of workers come together to establish manufacturing standards and prices
Chivalry
Code of ethics and behavior for feudal nobles and knights
Conflict with the Church
Lay Investiture was the process of Kings
selecting church officials
The Concordat of Worms allowed the
Church to select their own officials
THE CHURCH AND LEARNING
Universities
Most students trained for church, bureaucratic jobs
Scholasticism
St. Thomas Aquinas
• Blended logic and reasoning with Christian Theology
Sought to harmonize
• Greek rationality
• Aristotelian learning
• Christianity
The Crusades
THE CRUSADES
Pope Urban II
Byzantines asked West for help
The first crusade
French, Normans organized a respectable military expedition
Later crusades
By the mid-13th century, launched five major crusades which all failed
4th crusade conquered Constantinople
Spanish Reconquista was the effort to take back Spain from the Muslims
Consequences of the crusades
Facilitated exchange of goods between Muslims, Europe
• Demands for silk, cotton textiles, and spices increased; spread sugar, citrus plants
European borrowed heavily from Muslim intellectual knowledge
• Reacquired lost Greek classics
• Borrowed Muslim science, mathematics, technology, paper skills
• Borrowed Muslim architectural techniques
THE CRUSADES
The Seljuk Turks
Seized much of Byzantine holdings and the Holy Lands
Pope Urban II
Byzantines asked West for help; Pope called for knights to seize Holy Land, 1095
The first crusade
Only successful crusade for Europe
Later crusades
By the mid-13th century, launched five major crusades which all failed
4th crusade conquered Constantinople
The Spanish Reconquista is an effort to drive the Muslims out of Spain
Consequences of the crusades
Increased trade between Muslims, Europe
European borrowed heavily from Muslim intellectual knowledge
• Reacquired Aristotle, lost Greek classics
• Borrowed Muslim science, mathematics, technology, paper skills
• Borrowed Muslim architectural techniques
The End of the Middle Ages
The Magna Carta
In order to limit King John’s power, his
nobles force him to sign. (1215)
The Magna Carta was a social contract
guaranteeing nobles’ rights.
Trouble in the Church
By the end of the Middle Ages, the Church
had lost most of its power over kings.
The Great Schism divided the church in two
The Bubonic Plague
Over a third of Europe’s
population was wiped out by
the Plague.
The Plague was spread via
trade routes throughout
Europe.
Led to lack of available
workers, which caused the
manorial system to crumble.
The Hundred Years War
The Hundred years war was fought between
England and France over French territory.
The war saw an end to medieval knights,
who were replaced by foot soldiers and
archers.
Increased Nationalism throughout Europe
Joan of Arc helped spread French Nationalism
The Middle Ages
The Hundred Years' War 1337
The End of the Middle Ages
The Hundred Years War helped stregnthen
English Parliament, and weakened the
power of Feudal Lords.
This combined with the declining power of
the church and the bubonic plague lead to
an end of feudalism and an end to the
middle ages.
The end of the Hundred Years War in 1453
is usually viewed as the end of the Middle
Ages.