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The Middle Ages
The Roman Empire
Post-Roman Empire
Europe Post-Roman Empire – IN THE EAST
 Byzantine Empire (330 AD – 1453 AD)
 Considered themselves as a continuation of Rome
 Focused control in the eastern Mediterranean

Emphasis on trade – great wealth – What was their trade advantage?
 Justinian I (527 – 565 AD)
 Created Justinian Code
Set of thousands of laws built upon the Roman tradition
 Influenced much of modern law today
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Merit based government – What does this mean?

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People were promoted based upon skill – Why is this better?
Wife – Theodora

Influential in bringing fairness to women and non-Orthodox
Christians
Europe Post-Roman Empire – IN THE EAST
 Rift in the Church

Many in Eastern Europe remained literate and practiced Orthodox
Christianity

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Orthodox – “officially accepted” based upon Gospels, other writings
Many in Western Europe were illiterate and varied in their practice
of Christianity
Conflict arises over use of icons
Icons – holy pictures of Jesus and the saints
 Many in the East thought icons went against the 10 commandments
 Commandment against “false idols” - click here
 Why might many people have liked to use icons?

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Conflict grows and results in split in Christian Church in 1054 into
Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic
 Constantinople falls to the Muslim Ottomans in 1453
Europe Post-Roman Empire – IN THE WEST
 The Middle Ages
Usually measured from around 500 – 1500 AD - 1000 years
 a.k.a. Medieval Period
 Germanic invasions lead to:
 Disruption of Trade
 Economic collapse – Why is trade important to the economy?
 Downfall of Cities
 Cultural/Political collapse
 No more central government
or military protection
 Population shifts
 Urban to Rural – Why?

Europe Post-Roman Empire – IN THE WEST
 Germanic invasions lead to: (cont’d)
Germans had no written language
 Loss of scholarship, literacy
 Latin was no longer a common language
 Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantines) preferred Greek
 As people went rural, dialects formed – What is a dialect?
 French, Spanish, Italian, Romanian developed
 Germanic Kingdoms
 Much smaller, decentralized
 Franks, Goths, Vandals, etc.
 Franks adopt Christianity under Clovis – Why?
 Rise of the influence of the Church
 With no central power, the Church steps up into the power void
 The Church begins to become more political – Is this good? Bad?

Middle Ages - Carolingians
 Monastaries
Centers of learning and culture
 Monks remained literate, copied books by hand
 Franks build a kingdom
 With help from a Christian Church growing in power and
influence – What is the benefit of the Church as an ally?
 Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer)
 Expands Frankish (Carolingian) Empire
 Holds off Muslim invaders – Importance?
 Military Genius
 Father of the Middle Ages

Middle Ages - Carolingians
 Charlemagne
 Charles
Martel’s grandson
 Expanded empire to be largest in Europe at the
time
 During his reign, united most of Western Europe
for the first time since the Romans
 Pope Leo III crowned him “Roman Emperor”
 The
story says that the Pope did this as a surprise as
Charlemagne knelt to pray – What is the implication?
 Final
strong ruler before feudalism
Carolingian Empire
Leading Toward Feudalism
 Treaty of Verdun
 Charlemagne’s
grandsons split up the empire,
leaving no central authority in Western Europe
 A weaker Europe becomes more susceptible to
invasion – Who could invade?
 Vikings – From the north
 Scandinavian warrior explorers, skilled sailors
 First Europeans to sail to North America
Leif Erikson – set up settlement in Newfoundland
Stayed for around 10 years
Leading Toward Feudalism
 Magyars – From the East
Nomadic Hungarians
 Possible descendants of Huns
 Skilled horsemen
 Muslims – From the South (Africa and Middle East)
 Growing empire
 Jihad – What does Jihad mean?


“Inner struggle”

alternate interpretation as “outward struggle against non-believers”
 Invading Vikings, Magyars, and Muslims
 What would life be like in this environment?
 Created constant danger for Europeans
 Far flung kings could not provide protection for a widespread people
– What could people do?
 People looked for local protection - FEUDALISM
Leading Toward Feudalism
Feudalism - Structure
 Feudalism existed as a way of protecting economic
interests
 King grants land to a Noble as a sort of treaty


Noble becomes Lord of the land
Land grants were called fiefs
 Lord could keep all of the land or grant portions of his
land (fiefs) to Vassals and/or Knights as a second
agreement

Knights were military men
 Manors, self sufficient farm villages, were lived on and
worked on by servant peasants called serfs

For the right to farm the land, the serfs must give back much of what
they grow
Feudalism
Life as a Feudal Serf
 Responsibilities  Rights/Freedoms
 Restrictions
 Farming crops
 Housing
 Can’t leave
 Raising animals
 Protection
 Can’t marry
 Grain tax
 Food
 Marriage tax
 …………………
without
permission
 Simple diet
 Small living
space
 Harsh
penalties for
breaking rules
 Church tax
 Tithe – 1/10
of income
 Obey the Lord’s
rules
Knighthood
 Around age 7 – Page
 Castle servant, trained in fighting
 Around age 14 – Squire
 A knight’s apprentice
 Around age 21 – Knight
 Full-fledged
 Chivalry
 Loyalty to:
Feudal lord
 Heavenly lord
 Chosen Lady

Art Inspired By Knighthood
 Epic Poems
 Ex:
Beowulf
The
Song of Roland
The Legend of King Arthur (various)
 Love Poems and Songs
 Born out of a knight’s devotion to his lady
 Troubadours – traveling poet-musicians
The Age of Chivalry
 The Middle Ages were an era of constant fighting
between nobles over land and wealth
 Knights fought for nobles in exchange for land
 Military advancements:

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Saddles
Stirrups
Battering Ram
Mangonel
Trebuchet
Siege Tower
The Church
 All of Western Europe was Christian… leading to a
huge growth in the power of the Church
 Canon Law – Church law covering religious practices
 Structure of the Church:
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Pope – Head of the Church
Bishops – Regional leaders
Priests – Local authority
What can happen when
someone has a lot of power?
The Church
 Germanic peoples united to create the Holy Roman Empire in 962
 Otto I defeats the invading Magyars and unites central Europe
 162 years after Charlemagne, Otto I is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by
the Pope – Why title it Holy Roman Empire when it’s a bunch of Germans?
 Not much of an empire
 Lasted in some form until 1806
 The two main powers in the Middle Ages were the Church and
the Empire – Why doesn’t the empire get rid of the Church?
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The Emperor was the head of government power
The Pope was the head of religious power
Often the two would clash
 The Emperor could attempt to appoint regional bishops and
priests, infringing on Church power
 The Pope could excommunicate the Emperor, affecting the
people of his reign
The Crusades
 Armed pilgrimages of Christian Europeans

To attack the holy land, Muslims, other non-Christians… eventually,
whatever they want
 First Crusade began in 1095

Christians gained control of the holy lands, only to lose them back to
the Muslims shortly thereafter
 Different Crusades continued through the 1400’s

At least 9 different crusades of varying size and success
 The Crusades were probably just as much about power,
influence, and wealth as they were about religion


Although those participating DEFINITELY thought they were doing
God’s will – as did the Muslim defenders
Who was right?
Development of England
 Magna Carta - 1215
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English nobles revolted against King John’s rule
Weakened the throne
Guaranteed certain basic rights:
No taxation without representation
 Trial by jury
 Protection under law – Sound familiar?
 Why would the King sign this?
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 Parliament is formed in 1295 by King Edward
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Legislative body to speak for the people
Called citizens, knights, bishops, and lords to serve – True representation?
Called any time a new tax was needed
House of Lords, House of Commons
Development of France
 Estates-General is formed by King Philip IV in 1302
 Created to gather support in a dispute with the Catholic Church
 Primary role was to advise the King
 Why does this make sense for the king?
 Made up of: --Guesses???-First Estate – Church leaders – Why were they the first estate?
 Second Estate – Nobility
 Third Estate – Commoners, mostly merchants
 Why is the Third Estate a big deal?

 Want to see some drama?
Commercial Revolution
 Growth in agriculture and craftsmanship led to a
growth in trade
 Markets and Fairs – more travel
 International Trade

Especially regional sea trade – Where?
 Rise of a wealthy merchant class
 Between Nobles and Peasants
 Credit, Checks, Borrowing
 All became common
 Transition from the manor back
into the town/city
A Weakened Church
 Council of Constance
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New Pope elected, others forced to resign
The Church loses a lot of momentum
Where will people turn?
 John Wycliffe – thinker/reformer

Jesus is the authority, not the Pope
 Jan Hus – thinker/reformer

The Bible is the authority, not the Pope
 The Church had no answer for…
Tell me about the Black Death –
At least 5 sentences.
THE BLACK
DEATH
Bubonic Plague
 Came to Europe from Asia through Italian merchant ships
 Entered Europe in 1347, had spread throughout by 1351 – How?
 Caused by bacteria – Yersinia Pestis – spread by fleas – How?
 One Third of European population died
 This was the first, and most devastating, of many outbreaks of
the plague
 Seen by many as the end of the world, or as God’s punishment

Why?
How did this lead to the weakening of the Church?
 Symptoms:
 Swollen lymph glands (buboes) in neck, armpit, and groin regions
 Blackening of flesh due to gangrene
 Fever
 Vomiting blood
 Death within 2-7 days
Transmission
Why did it
spread so
fast?
Yersinia Pestis
Carried in the
bloodstream of rodents
in central Asia
Often
transmitted
through fleas
Buboes
The “Black” Death
The Modern Plague
Hundred Years’ War
 War between England and France over control of the
French throne
 1337 – 1453
 Rise of the Longbow
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Up to 200 yard range
 Fall of the Age of Chivalry
 Knights/Cavalry not as important
 France eventually wins
 Rise of nationalism
Why did Feudalism end?
 Here are some reasons…
 Weakening of the Church
 Commercial Revolution and rise of the merchant class

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The Black Death
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Created a middle class, disrupting the structure of loyalties
With fewer people to farm, etc… people could demand higher
wages
Hundred Years War and rise of Nationalism

Power consolidated with the central Kings, rather than regional
Nobles