Download European Middle Ages

European Middle Ages
Pgs. 317-335
Germanic Kingdoms Unite Under Charlemagne
Section 1
Pgs 317-321
Invasions Trigger Changes in Western Europe
• Germanic invasions lead to disorder in western Europe
– Disruption of trade, Downfall of Cities Population shifts
• Learning declines in western Europe as a result of invasions
– Only priest & church officials were literate
• New languages develop out of Germanic invasions
– Different dialects developed.
– Romance languages evolved from Latin
– Language break up mirrored the break up of a unified empire
Germanic Kingdoms Emerge
• Germanic kingdoms replace Roman provinces and orderly
government declines
– Borders change due to war
– During this time of political chaos
• Clovis, a Frankish leader, creates a united kingdom and spread
Christianity
– The church supports his military campaigns
Germanic Peoples Adopt Christianity
• Christianity spreads in Europe through politics and missionaries
– Politics, Missionaries and religious travelers help spread Christianity
• Monasteries in western Europe become centers of learning
– Built in rural areas
– Benedict wrote rule book for Monk & nuns
– Monasteries became Europe’s best-educated communities
• Under Pope Gregory I, the Church becomes a political as well as a
spiritual power
– He used secular affairs and spread the idea of kingdom
A European Empire Evolves
• Charles Martel expands Frankish rule through conquest
– Powerful mayor extends rule to France
– Halted Muslim invasion
• Pepin, Martel’s son becomes king and forms an alliance between Frankish
Kings & the pope
– He fought the Lombards, pope made him king and He ruled the Carolingian
Dynasty
• Charlemagne, Pepin’s son inherits a strengthened kingdom
– Pepin died in 768
Charlemagne Takes Center Stage
• Charlemagne’s conquests reunite western Europe into an empire and
spread Christianity
• Charlemagne establishes a centralized government
– He sent out agents to see that counts govern their land justly, he visited every part
of his kingdom, and managed his estates
• Charlemagne supports learning and culture
– Opened a palace school and ordered monasteries to open schools to train future
monks
• Charlemange’s heirs divide his empire and central authority breaks down.
– Grandsons divided empire by fighting each other
Feudalism in Europe
Section 2
Pgs 322-326
New Invasion Trouble Western Europe
• Vikings are skillful seafarers & vicious invaders
– From a wooded region called Scandinavia
– Vikings are Germanic people
• Central government weaken, strengthening local leaders
– Central authorities couldn’t protect
– Leaders who could fight invaders attracted followers and gained political power
Manors: The Economic Side of Feudalism
• A Lord gives serfs land, shelter, and protection in exchange for
work
• On a manor, peasants produce almost everything needed for
daily life
• Peasants pay high taxes and live a harsh life under the manor
system
Feudalism Structures Society
• The feudal system is based on the exchange of land for protection &
services
– In exchange for military and other services, a lord (landowner) granted land to a
vassal
• Feudal society is made up of a king, nobles, clergy, knights, and peasants
– Nobles may be a vassal to different lords
• Social class is inherited and determines a person’s prestige and power
– Three groups fought (nobles & knight), prayed (men& women of the church), those
who worked (peasants)
The Age of Chivalry
Section 3
Pgs. 327-331
Warriors on Horseback
• Leather saddles and stirrups help mounted warriors win battles
• Private armies of knights fight for nobles in exchange for land
Knighthood and Chivalry
• Knights must maintain standards of character and behavior or be punished
– Fought for the lord, lady, land and poor
– Punishment was armor stripped off, shield was cracked, spurs was cut off and
sword was broken over his head
• Young nobles in training to be knights take part in mock battles called
tournaments
• Medieval warfare is bloody and brutal
The Literature of Chivalry
• Epic poems idealize chivalry and knighthood
• Popular songs and poems about a knight’s undying love present
artificial images of women
– Used to entertain his chosen lady
The Shifting Role of Women
• Most medieval women are poor and powerless. They labor
endlessly
• Although noblewomen control some matters, they begin to lose
real power
The Church Wields Power
Section 3
Pgs. 332-335
The Scope of the Church Authority
• Church structure is made up of different rank of religious officials
– Pope-headed the church
– Bishops- supervised priest
• Shared religious beliefs are a unifying force in a society defined by class
structure
• Everyone, including kings, follows the Church’s system of justice
– All people were subject to canon law
– Court were also established by the church
– Excomunication- banishment from the church
The Church and the Holy Roman Empire
• King Otto I of Germany forms an alliance with the Church and invades
Italy
– Wanted to limit nobles power and form alliance with church
– Used power to defeat unruly German princes
– Pope crowned him emperor
• Italian nobles resent German rule, and popes fear Germany’s rising power
– Created the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Emperor clashes with the pope
• The pope and the emperor struggle over who should appoint clergy
– Resentment focus was the lay investiture a ceremony in which kings and nobles
appointed church officials
• The church and the empire reach a compromise, but central authority in
Germany declines
– Reached at the Concordat of Worms, church alone could grant a bishops his ring
and staff and the emperor had could veto the appointment of the bishop
Renewed Church Conflicts Under Frederick I
• King Frederick I of Germany angers the Church by invading the
rich cities of Italy
– Wasn’t focused on building power of Germany
• Italian merchants back by the Church defeat Frederick and
central power dissolves
– Frederick drowned in 1190
German States Remain Separate
• Power struggles with the Church and within the empire keep
feudal states fragmented
– Kings attempted to revive Charlemagne’s empire
– Led to wars between Italian cities and the pope