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Chapter 17
The Foundations of Christian Society in Western Europe
THE CHAPTER IN PERSPECTIVE
During the early middle ages (500–1000 C.E.) Europe recovered from centuries of
invasion and the collapse of Roman hegemony. Three foundations of European society came out
of the early medieval years. First, while no European state was powerful enough to restore
centralized imperial rule, the age did witness a return to political order. A decentralized, political
structure rose instead. Second, increased agricultural production led to economic recovery and
expanded trade. Third, the Christian church inspired religious leadership and cultural unity in
western Europe.
OVERVIEW
The Quest for Political Order
After the fall of Rome several Germanic tribes established small states, but none of them
came close to extending their authority and centralizing power. Spain fell to the Visigoths while
the Ostrogoths and eventually the Lombards controlled Italy. The Burgundians and Franks
divided up Gaul and the Angles and Saxons moved into England. Of these tribes, the Franks
would have the greatest influence. With the rise of the Franks the center of political power
moved north of the Mediterranean basin. Clovis (481–511), the most powerful Frankish leader,
extended his empire through military conquest. More important, however, was his decision to
convert to Christianity. This decision worked to unite his peoples as well as strengthen his tie to
the popes. Unfortunately, Clovis would be the last effective Frankish king for centuries.
Beginning in the eighth century the Carolingians, named after Charles “the Hammer”
Martel, temporarily restored order. Charles Martel’s grandson, Charlemagne (768–814), would
prove to be the most powerful Carolingian king as well as one of the most influential European
rulers of all time. While primarily known for his military successes in conquering northeastern
Spain, Bavaria, and northern Italy, there are were many aspects to Charlemagne’s personality.
Through the use of the missi dominici he worked to restore political order. Despite, and maybe
because of, his own limited education, Charlemagne tried to bring about educational reform. On
Christmas Day 800 he received an imperial crown from Pope Leo III. Historians still debate
Charlemagne’s role in the crowning. The unified empire barely outlived the reign of
Charlemagne’s son Louis the Pious (814-840). Political power fell to the counts and local
authorities, and the empire fractured.
Invasions by Muslims, Magyars, and Vikings certainly hastened the process of political
fragmentation. Of these invaders the Vikings, who raided Russia, Germany, England, Ireland,
France, Spain, and Constantinople, would prove the most troublesome and influential. Around
the year 1000 they even established a short-lived colony in Newfoundland. After the collapse of
Charlemagne’s empire, regional kingdoms rose to take its place. King Alfred (871–899) unified
England. In the German lands King Otto I of Saxony (936–973) defeated the Magyars and
extended his kingdom into northern Italy. The Holy Roman Empire began when Otto received
an imperial crown from the pope in 962.
Early Medieval Society
In the absence of centralized imperial rule, the decentralized political system rose to
provide some order. Historians once used the term feudalism to refer to the political and social
order of medieval Europe, although many are moving away from it because it oversimplifies a
remarkably complex world. Local authorities such as counts increased their power after the fall
of the Carolingian empire. At the heart of this system was the reciprocal lord-retainer
relationship. As part of the agreement the lord provided the retainer with justice and protection.
The lords granted to the retainers benefices, usually sections of land called fiefs. In return the
retainer owed the lord loyalty, obedience, and military service. From a simple beginning this
system eventually developed into a complex structure, with individuals acting as both lords and
retainers in the evolving pyramid. While the system had the potential for chaos, it also provided
the opportunity for the kingdoms of England and France to develop into powerful states.
The military contingent of the feudal system comprised only a small percentage at the
top. The vast majority of the population lived as serfs on the manors of the nobles. The serfs,
while not chattel slaves, existed as semifree individuals and were legally tied to the manors of the
great nobles. Their obligation to the nobles in labor service and produce made them the
agricultural foundation of the feudal system. Before the reinvigoration of European cities the
manors, mainly self-sufficient, served as the main form of agricultural organization. Innovations
such as a heavier plow, along with watermills and new methods of crop rotation, eventually
allowed for increased agricultural production. This, in turn, sparked increased trade and
urbanization as well as an increase in population. By the year 1000 the European population had
returned to the Roman high in 200 C.E. of 36 million.
The Formation of Christian Europe
Its conversion to Christianity provided Europe with a unifying force as well as an
invaluable connection to the ancient world. Clovis’s conversion to Christianity intricately tied
the Franks to Roman Catholicism as well as papal policies. The northern German kings,
including Charlemagne, viewed themselves as protectors of the papacy. In return for his support
Charlemagne received the imperial crown. Charlemagne used the monasteries and church
officials to further his own educational reforms. The church, in turn, benefited from
Charlemagne’s efforts to spread the faith. A series of strong popes, most notably Gregory I (590–
604), oversaw a strengthening of papal power. The notion of papal supremacy was one of the
foundations of Gregory’s thought. The schism in 1054 between the popes and the patriarchs of
Constantinople is representative of the growing strength and independence of the Roman church.
Christianity also spread through the growing popularity of monasticism. Church leaders such as
St. Benedict (480–547) and St. Scholastica (482–543) instituted rules that strengthened the social
mission of the monasteries. The monasteries served as orphanages, hospitals, and schools as well
as agricultural and scholastic centers.
Chapter 20
Western Europe during the High Middle Ages
THE CHAPTER IN PERSPECTIVE
Europe made great advances in the centuries after the year 1000 C.E. From a chaotic,
bloody, and largely isolated land during the early middle ages, Europe saw the rise of a powerful
political, economic and cultural world during the high middle ages. While the dream of re-
creating Roman unification may have been the ideal, European political leaders never passed
beyond the establishment of regional states. The population rose rapidly as a result of
agricultural advancements. Vibrant economic growth developed hand in hand with the
establishment of long-distance trade and urbanization. Philosophy and theology reflected the
excitement of the age. Maybe the best proof of an expanding and powerful Europe was the
crusades, as the Europeans began to play a much more aggressive role in the world.
OVERVIEW
The Establishment of Regional States
Although Roman unification never returned, the rise of powerful regional states brought
a greater sense of stability to Europe. Otto I of Saxony conquered large sections of Germany,
Poland, and the Czech lands and received an imperial crown from Pope John XII in 962. While
the resulting Holy Roman Empire had the potential to restore unity, its incessant battles with the
papacy left the empire internally divided and externally weak. The church versus state
controversy, highlighted by the investiture contest, reached its peak with the struggle between
Pope Gregory VII (1073–1085) and the Holy Roman emperor Henry IV (1056–1106). Their
confrontation at Canossa marked the high point of the medieval papacy and left the Holy Roman
emperors weakened. Frederick Barbarossa (1152–1190) also saw his power limited when the
popes forced him to withdraw from Lombardy. In the end, the Holy Roman Empire never lived
up to the glories inherent in its name. Similar processes, of lesser or greater success, were also at
work elsewhere. The Capetian monarchy in France may have begun with Hugh Capet in 987, but
it took centuries for the French kings to centralize authority. The process would move quicker in
England, mainly because the Normans transferred existing centralized institutions across the
Channel after William’s conquest in 1066. The Italian states, both secular and ecclesiastical,
remained politically weak and divided even as they began to develop economically. Islamic
control over the Iberian peninsula faded with the rise of Castile, Aragon, and Portugal.
Economic Growth and Social Development
Economic advancement mirrored and in fact outpaced the political development of
Europe during the high middle ages. An increase in agricultural production played a huge role
in this process. The clearing of forests and draining of swamps led to more arable land.
Improved techniques, such as new crops, and technological advances, such as the horseshoe and
horse collar, increased productivity. The result was a marked increase in population. The
European population rose from around 29 million in 800 C.E. to over 79 million in 1300. This
population explosion provided the impetus for a resurgence of towns and trade after the earlier
decline following the fall of Rome. Labor specialization was a natural result of the new
urbanization. Italy, with the rise of Venice, Genoa, Pisa, and Naples, was the chief recipient of
the revival of towns. These Italian city-states also founded colonies in the major ports of the
Mediterranean. The Hanseatic League was a similar trading network that promoted trade in the
North Sea and Baltic Sea. Improved business techniques, such as letters of credit and
partnerships, played as much of a role in this evolution as they did in economic and trading
expansions in other parts of the world.
Europe also transformed socially during these pivotal centuries. The three estates, or
classes, were represented by the old saying about “those who pray, those who fight, and those
who work.” By its very definition, the system was politically, socially, and economically
unequal. Nevertheless, the rise of chivalry did demonstrate a transformation of medieval society
as the nobles were expected to achieve high ethical standards. Women such as Eleanor of
Aquitaine avidly supported troubadours, a concept drawn from the Islamic world, who played
on these courtly values. This social transformation was most noticeable in the cities, which
increasingly won charters of incorporation and thus independence from noble control. Guilds,
which regulated the sale and quality of goods as well as the training of apprentices, expressed the
growing influence of the urban working classes. Women also possessed more freedom in the
cities. The majority of guilds accepted female members.
European Christianity during the High Middle Ages
Not surprisingly, the Christian church and doctrine provided the inspiration for most of
the literature, art, and music of the high middle ages. Growing economic prosperity provided
the means for the rise of the cathedral schools, which ensured a more structured environment for
learning than had been available in the earlier centuries of the middle ages. These cathedral
schools promoted a formal curriculum based on the study of Latin, the liberal arts, and the
writings of the early church fathers. The early universities in Bologna, Paris, Salerno, Rome,
Naples, Seville, Salamanca, Oxford, and Cambridge expanded on these educational
opportunities. At the same time European scholars came into contact with many of the works
and ideas of Aristotle from Byzantine and Islamic sources. Thinkers such as St. Thomas Aquinas
attempted to reconcile Christian beliefs with the intellectual logic and rigor of Aristotle. If God
could be proven rationally, then the Christian did not have to depend on blind faith alone.
The precise logic of St. Thomas Aquinas mattered much less to the average Christian
than did the growing popularity of the observance of the sacraments and devotion to the saints.
The Virgin Mary proved to be the most popular saint during the high middles ages. Relics and
pilgrimages also were popular. The Dominicans of St. Dominic and the Franciscans of St. Francis
rebelled against the materialism of many Christians and instead encouraged spiritualism and
service. Other groups, most notably the Waldensians and Cathars (Albigensians), criticized the
church and operated so far outside the mainstream Catholic world that they were branded
heretics. The Waldensians criticized the immorality of many members of the clergy and
promoted the right of the laity to preach. The Cathars called for an ascetic lifestyle and a
rejection of the Catholic church.
The Medieval Expansion of Europe
For good or bad, maybe the best proof of Europe’s rise was its expansion, in regard to
both exploration and military invasion, into other lands. The Vikings sailed to Iceland,
Greenland, and eventually to Newfoundland. Back home the Scandinavians converted to
Christianity. Through a combination of military might and religious zeal, military-religious
orders such as the Templars, Hospitallers, and Teutonic Knights spread Christianity to the Slavic
peoples of the Baltic region. The expansion also stretched south into the Mediterranean world. In
the eleventh century two brothers, Robert and Roger Guiscard, gained control over southern Italy
and Sicily, respectively. By 1492 the reconquista was complete and the Iberian peninsula was back
under Christian control. The crusades, whether against non-Christian Slavs, Cathar heretics, or
Muslims in Palestine, were part of this expansion. Pope Urban II’s call in 1095 for European
knights to retake the holy land provided the inspiration for the crusades. The only crusade that
reached its goal was the the first crusade, which captured Jerusalem in 1099. The victory proved
fleeting, however, because the Islamic leader Saladin recaptured Jerusalem in 1187. Later
crusades fell far short of their goals, with the disastrous fourth crusade managing only to sack
Constantinople. The political and religious failures of the crusades would be made up for by
increased economic and commercial opportunities resulting from greater contact between the
Europeans and the eastern Mediterranean.