Download Charlemagne

Germanic Kingdoms Unite Under Charlemagne
Pepin of
Heristal
Charles Martel
Pepin the Short and Carloman
Charlemagne and Carloman
Louis the Pious
Lothair and Louis the German and Charles the Bald
 After the fall of the Roman Empire
 500--1500
 Disruption of Trade—invasions made trade business
collapse, money becomes scarce
 Downfall of Cities—cities abandoned as centers of
administration
 Population Shifts—lords and commoners leave cities
and move to suburbs
 Germanic invaders could not read and write
 Use oral history more important
 Greek learning lost
 Language changes—mixture of Germanic and Latin
languages make it hard to understand different
regions—French, Spanish, etc.
 Church survives Fall of Roman Empire
 Germanic people loyal to lord who gives them food
and land
 Not loyal to a emperor or king they had never met
 Leader of the Gauls
 Converts to Christianity after battle against another
Germanic army
 The Church supports Clovis’ military campaigns
 511—Clovis unites Franks into one kingdom
 Clovis and Church make powerful partnership
 Rulers helped Church convert Germanic people
 Missionaries
 Threat of Muslim invasion on coasts
 520—Benedict writes rules for monks and adopted by
sister Scholastica
 731--Venerable Bede—writes history of England
 Become Europe’s best educated communities
 Opened schools, libraries, and copy books
 Expands Papacy to include secular aspects
 Raised armies, made peace treaties
 b/l Italy to England and Spain to Western Germany
was part of a spiritual kingdom
 Spiritual kingdom ruled by the Pope became central
theme in Middle Ages
 Clovis’ decedents
 Charles Martel (major domo) 719—defeats Muslim
army in 732 and becomes Christian hero
 Pepin the Short (son)—anointed king by pope (“king
by the grace of God”) becomes king
 Fights on behalf of the Church
 Pepin dies 768
 Two sons—Carloman and Charlemagne
 Carloman dies 771
 Charlemagne takes over
 6 foot 4 inches
 imposing
 Reunited western Europe for first time since Roman
Empire
 Appointed “Roman Emperor” by Pope Leo III because
Charlemagne put down a mob
 Roman Emperor—joining of Germanic powers, the
Church and heritage of Roman Empire
 Limited authority of nobles
 Sent royal agents to help govern empire
 Made sure landowners ruled fairly
 Traveled around his empire
 Encouraged learning
 Created a palace school
 Ordered monasteries to open schools to train monks
 Louis the Pious (Charlemagne's son)—religious, better
monk than king
 Lothair, Charles the Bald, Louis the German—fight for
control, civil war ends 843
 Treaty of Verdun—divides the kingdom among the
three rulers
 Clovis
 Benedict
 Gregory I
 Charles Martel
 Charlemagne
 Clovis—converted himself and army
 Benedict—wrote rules for monasteries
 Gregory I—expanded Papal powers combined Church
and Government authority
 Charles Martel—defeated Muslim army
 Charlemagne—conquered land and anointed Roman
Emperor
Feudalism in Europe
 From Scandinavia
 Fearless and Mean
 Great sailors
 Probably the first to discover North America (Leif
Eriksson)
 From south
 Disrupted trade
 Plundered towns and villages along the coast
 From East (Hungary)
 Great Horsemen
 Attacked not for control, only to capture people for
slavery
 Widespread disorder
 Europeans in constant danger
 Central Authority powerless
 People looked to local rulers with armies for
protection
 ENTRENCHES FEUDALISM
 Viking leader (Rollo) and King of France (Charles the
Simple)
 French gave Vikings land in France (Normandy)
 Viking pledge loyalty to French
 Based on control of land and mutual obligations
 Those who fought—nobles and knights
 Those who prayed—men and women of the church
 Those who worked—peasants (largest class and mostly
serfs
 These classes were usually inherited
 Lord’s Duties
 Housing
 Farmland
 protection
 Serf’s Duties
 Tend land
 Care for animals
 Maintain estate
 Owed few days
labor and portion
of grain
 Only place peasants






knew
Fields
Streams
forests
Manor house
Church
Workshops
 Raised all food needed
 Made tools
 Leather goods
 Wood
 Paid tax on grain ground at Lord’s mill (only place they
could grind it)
 Paid tax on marriage (only be married with lord’s
consent)
 Paid tithe to village priest (10% of peasant’s income)
 Brought pigs in the house to warm the house
The Age of Chivalry
 Idea taken from Muslims
 Saddles
 Developed in Asian Steppes
 Stirrups developed in India
 Ability to stay on horse and stand up to maneuver
weapons
 Given land in return for fighting for lord
 Knight could afford expensive weapons
 Obligated to about 40 days of service to lord
 Spent rest of time training and hunting
 Complex set of ideals
 Had to fight in defense of three masters
 Earthly feudal lord
 Heavenly Lord
 His chosen lady
 Young knights practiced in tournaments
 Winners demanded large ransoms from defeated
knights
 Castles guarded palaces and important buildings
 Awesome battles
 Boiling water, lead and oil used
 Crossbows
 The Song of Roland—about Charlemagne’s battle a/g
Muslims
 Troubadours—poet-musicians at castles (love songs)
 Eleanor of Aquitaine—later becomes queen of
England—troubadours all come to see her
 Church’s view—women inferior to men
 Women could not receive land but could inherit from
husband
 Fought to defend her castle while husband off fighting
The Church Wields Power
 Recognized 300 years before Charlemagne there would
be conflict between Pope and King
 Solution: King allow Pope to rule in religious matters
and Pope allow King to rule in political matters
Pope
Bishops
Priests
 In a time of war and trouble, Church was the calming
force
 Sense of security
 All people follow same path…nobles and peasants alike
 Excommunication
 Interdict
 Banishment from
 Sacraments could not
church
 Ruler denied
salvation
 Released vassals from
their duty
be preformed in the
king’s lands
 His people would
suffer
 German ruler
 Charlemagne was his hero
 Fought on Pope’s behalf and gained support from the
Church
 Over Lay Investiture
 Henry IV sent a nasty letter to Pope Gregory VII
 Gregory excommunicated Henry IV
 Henry traveled to Canossa to beg for forgiveness
 Gregory made him wait but finally lifted his
excommunication
 Meant to end conflict over Lay Investiture
 Compromise: only pope can appoint and grant
bishops position but emperor could veto the selection
 1152 Frederick elected
 Called “Barbarosa” (red beard)
 Forceful personality and military skills
 Angered the pope because of brutal tactics against
Italian merchants
 Enemies formed the Lombard League to oppose
Frederick
 Lombard League defeated Fredericks knights
 1177 Frederick made peace with pope but defeat had
undermined his authority with German princes who
elected him
 1190 Frederick drowns
 Empire breaks down into many feudal states
 Never unite
 Election of king not as effective as those who take
power…explain
 Opens the door for French and English rulers to assert
power
Magna Carta, 1215
 King John I
 Runnymeade
 “Great Charter”
 monarchs were not
above the law.
 kings had to
consult a council of
advisors.
 kings could not tax
arbitrarily.