Download The Barbarian Invasions

The Barbarian Invasions
Content Goals and Objectives: What should you be able to do when you complete this section?
Goal 4 – Barbarian Invasions
The student will evaluate the invasions of Europe as a force for change in medieval Europe.
4.01 Trace and evaluate the effects of the Germanic invasions during late antiquity including but not
limited to the invasions of the Goths, Huns, Lombards, and Franks.
4.02 Outline the political achievements and developments of the Merovingians in early medieval Europe.
4.03 Evaluate the political developments and impact of the Carolingian Empire on medieval Europe.
4.04 Detail the Vikings invasions and assess their impact on the cultural and political development of
medieval Europe.
4.05 Evaluate the role of the Islamic threat on the cultural and political developments of medieval Europe.
4.06 Summarize the influence of Magyar invasions on cultural and political developments of medieval
Europe.
4.07 Assess the cultural and political results of the invasions of early medieval Europe.
The Conversion of Rome
By the 4th century CE, a majority of the Romans in the empire had converted to
Christianity. This was very apparent when pagan Emperor Constantine issued the Edict
of Milan in 313 CE which granted official tolerance for the religion. Constantine later
converted to Christianity himself. Once given official tolerance, the Christian religion
became an unstoppable force in the empire and in 395 CE, Emperor Theodosius the Great
adopted Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, putting an end to the
pagan traditions of Rome which had endured for 800 years. Some historians have pointed
to this historical moment, the Roman conversion to Christianity, as the beginning of the
decline of the empire.
Roman Chaos and Decline
In reality the decline of the Roman Empire can never be summarized in one
factor. There are many possible reasons for the decline that led to the fall of the empire
which began around 180 CE. Between 235 and 284 CE there was a great deal of political
upheaval as evidenced by the list of 22 emperors who ruled during that 49 year period
(That is about one emperor per two years!). It was also after the 3rd century CE that
Germanic tribes which had remained outside the borders of the empire pushed for entry
inside Roman territory. The Germanic problem made taxes reach higher and higher rates
as it cost more money to fund and equip a large army to protect the borders. There was
too a decline in trade and small industry and the well of wealth of the empire started to
run dry.
Diocletian and Constantine
Two emperors tried to stop this decline. They were the emperors Diocletian and
Constantine. Diocletian ruled the empire from 285 to 305 CE which was quite long in
comparison to the previous rule of the last 22 emperors. He made his rule over the empire
more efficient by dividing it into four administrative units. Diocletian also worked on
economic reforms to fight the inflation of prices including using price and wage freezes.
His successor, Emperor Constantine, enjoyed a long rule too. He consolidated his rule
over the empire and constructed a new capital city in the eastern Roman Empire named
after himself called Constantinople. Constantine was able to make both economic and
military reforms to help slow the decline of the empire. But only slow the decline of the
empire was all that either Diocletian or Constantine ever did. Their administrative
reforms were only a quick and temporary patch.
The Emperor Diocletian
http://z.about.com/d/ancienthistory/1/0/I/S/2/Diocletian.jpg
The Emperor Constantine
http://www.freefoto.com/images/1051/43/1051_43_5---Constantine-the-Great_web.jpg
This Is End
The fall of the Roman Empire is traditionally believed to have started in the 5th
century. The beginning of the fall was started by the tribes of Huns united under Attila
the Hun. They migrated from the plains of Asia in the east pushing the Germanic tribe,
the Visigoths, into violating Roman territory. By 410, the Visigoths had invaded the
Italian peninsula and sacked Rome. This act sent shockwaves throughout the Roman
world. Later the Germanic tribe called the Vandals (Where the word vandalism
originates.) invaded the Roman Empire from the west and sacked the city of Rome in
455. Finally in 476 a Germanic chieftain deposed the last emperor who ruled of the
remnants of the Western Roman Empire. It is because of this fact that 476 is taken as the
traditional date of the fall of the Roman Empire. But the Eastern portion of the Roman
Empire where the capital city of Constantinople was located continued to exist for
another 1000 years.
Reasons for the Fall
Over the ages historians have speculated over the exact reason for the fall of the
Roman Empire. No true cause for the fall can be certain, but several factors seem to be
possible contributors to the fall. The first possible contributor was the conversion of the
empire to Christianity. Some historians have suggested that this conversion led the
Romans to spend more time thinking about the afterlife rather than the here and now of
the empire. In addition the cohesive power of the Roman state religion was lost. Other
historians have thought that a decline in traditional Roman values associated with the
simple, humble, agrarian lifestyle of the Roman republic was the reason for the fall.
Other factors include successive plagues which weakened the empire, slavery that made
the Romans lazy and unemployed and even lead poisoning from their indoor plumbing.
Finally one factor that has carried a lot of credence with historians is the fact that the
Romans struggled to find a workable political system to control such a vast empire for an
extended period. Regardless if it was one of these factors or if it was all of these factors,
the Roman Empire fell and left a void in Western Europe that needed to be filled. But
even after its fall its legacy to Western Europe lasted.
After Rome
After the fall of Rome in 476 which was hastened by Germanic invading tribes,
there was a political vacuum that had to be filled in Europe. Many Germanic tribes tried
to fill this vacuum including the Lombards, Goths, Visigoths, Vandals, Saxons, Jutes,
Angles, and Franks; but it was the Franks who were the first tribe to get it all together and
to step up and fill the void left by the fall of Rome.
The Merovingians
In the early 400s, the group of Germanic tribes labeled the Franks migrated from
central Europe and settled in the region of France. After some time the Franks emerged as
the strongest and dominated the region for years. The early rulers of the Franks came
from the Merovingian family. King Clovis (481-511) was among those early rulers. He
ruled the Franks during the late 400s. Clovis was able to establish the power of the king
among the Franks. He also converted the Frankish kingdom to Christianity supposedly at
the urging of his wife and because God’s assistance in a particularly important battle. Of
course in reality like the many rulers before him, Clovis saw the cohesive power of
religion and in this case, Christianity. Thus, Clovis was able to establish a strong
kingdom during his lifetime. Unfortunately once he passed away the Merovingian line of
kings became weak and the kingdom of the Franks suffered because of it.
As the Merovingian king fell into decline, the office of the mayor of the palace for
the Merovingian kings became stronger. Charles Martel was an excellent example of a
strong mayor of the palace who defended the kingdom of the Franks while the
Merovingian king stayed at home (Merovingian kings were sometimes called “donothing kings.”). In 732 he led a Frankish army against an invading Muslim army at the
Battle of Tours (A critical point in European and World history!). Martel’s victory
ensured that Christianity would be the religion of Europe. His son, Pepin the Short,
assumed the hereditary and powerful title of mayor of the palace after Charles Martel’s
death. Tired of the “do-nothing” kings, Pepin, after gaining the blessing of the Pope of
Rome, deposed of the last Merovingian king and became king himself. This was the start
of the Carolingian dynasty.
The Carolingians
The Franks were fortunate that the Carolingians gained the throne. Pepin the
Short’s son became one of the greatest leaders of medieval Europe and helped to build
the Frankish Kingdom into an empire.
Charlemagne or Charles the Great became king of the Franks in 771 after the
death of his father. Within a few years, he doubled the borders of the Frankish kingdom
to include modern-day Germany, France, Italy, and northern Spain. Through the charisma
of his rule, the Franks experienced a renaissance or rebirth in culture. Although he was
never able to read himself, Charlemagne encouraged the construction of schools and
hired scholars from across Europe to facilitate learning (The story goes that he slept with
a book under his pillow in the hopes of acquiring the ability to read!). Additionally as any
good Christian ruler, he protected the churches and monasteries of the empire and also
forcibly converted the Germanic tribe called the Saxons to Christianity (He continually
had trouble with them from then on.). In 800 Charlemagne took a Frankish army to the
gates of Rome to the rescue Pope Leo III from an invading Germanic army. The Pope
was so grateful for his actions and probably wanted his continued protection that he
crowned Charlemagne the Holy Roman Emperor. This title, of course, was used to recall
and associate Charlemagne with the great Roman Emperors of the distant past. But
things were not to last. Charlemagne did not prepare well for his death.
The Coronation of Charlemagne
http://pirate.shu.edu/~wisterro/cdi/Coronation_of_Charlemagne2.jpg
In 814 Charlemagne died and left his throne to his son, Louis the Pious who was,
in fact, very pious or religious and wanted to be at the altar more than on the throne. The
Frankish empire weakened with his rule but even more so when he died in 843. When
Louis the Pious passed, he left the Frankish Empire to his three sons. This division had
been spelled out shortly beforehand in the Treaty of Verdun. The empire was divided into
three regions. Charles the Bald (Yes, he was bald.) received the western region which
later turned into France. Louis the German (Yes, he spoke German.) got the eastern
portion which became Germany. Finally, Lothair (No, he didn’t have a nickname.)
acquired the strip of land between the two other brothers called Lorraine. The saying
goes, “United we stand, divided we fall,” and with the division of the Frankish Empire,
the empire’s political and military power weakened under the strain of other competing
kingdoms and a renewed series of invasions of Europe.
Invasions Again?
Beginning in the 9th century there were another series of invasions which
threatened Europe much like the 5th century invasions that threatened Europe of the
Roman Empire. From the north coming from Scandinavia were the Vikings who traveled
across the Baltic Sea in shallow draft longboats to attack many of the regions of Europe.
The Vikings were mainly pirates who were interested in quick strikes and easy fights so
they targeted Christian monasteries and small villages and towns. From the across the
central steppes of Asia and central Europe came the Magyars. These nomadic tribes
terrorized central Europe until they were collectively defeated by the German Holy
Roman Emperor Otto I at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955. And finally the last groups of
invaders of the 9th century were Islamic forces that raided the southern coastline of
Europe on a periodic basis.
The Vikings
http://lib.lbcc.edu/handouts/images/Vikings/vikings3.jpg
These invasions or raids had several effects. First, the raids isolated communities
by discouraging travel. People were generally scared to go far from home. Second, the
invasions weakened the authority of the kings because they appeared unable to stop the
continuous harassment of these invaders. Also trade declined, again, as people were
fearful of their lives when traveling in small numbers or even in large numbers. Finally,
the most lasting impact of these invasions was the development of the political system of
feudalism which lasted in various forms across Europe for hundreds of years.
Let’s Go Serfing
Feudalism was a political system which developed in medieval Europe in reaction
to the 9th century invasions. Although the origins of the system have sometimes been
debated, many historians point to the rule of Charles Martel as its beginning. After one of
Martel’s many military campaigns, he was unable to pay his soldiers for the services
rendered. Rather the handing the armed men an I.O.U which probably would not have
gone over well (Remember they did have swords!), Martel granted the men fiefs or
estates with a number of peasants. From then, here is what developed in simplest form.
Kings gave land to nobles who swore an oath and military support to the king. The
military support eventually developed into a provision for mounted warriors or knights.
Gradually the land and the oath became hereditary while the peasants continued to stay
on the land working in exchange for protection since obviously they could not fight
without training and equipment. This system really caught on during the 9th century
Viking invasions. Remember the Vikings depended on quick strikes. The feudal system
was better equipped at handling these types of incursions because people did not have to
depend on a distant king and his armies to protect them or their lands. They depended on
their local feudal lord whom they saw on a regular basis.
As time progressed a feudal pyramid emerged as follows. The king was located
on the top of the pyramid. Below the king were the lords or vassals who had different
titles like duke, count, or bishop. The lords or vassals hired men-at-arms or knights that
were below them in the feudal pyramid. And finally on the very bottom were the peasants
who gave up many freedoms to have the protection of the lords above them. This
pyramid was held together by the strength of its alliances. These alliances were hereditary
as well as contractual. They were secured by a ceremony known as homage. In that
ceremony vassals pledged to be loyal and perform their duties for their lord.
The Feudal system
http://library.thinkquest.org/10949/images/september.jpg
Working with the feudal system was another system called the manorial system.
Manorialism described the economic ties that existed between the lord of manor and the
peasants that resided there. Generally, peasants remained on the manor because they
could not afford their own land for agricultural production or they needed protection.
Usually these peasants became serfs or people who were bound to the manor and could
not leave the manor without permission. The typical manor included the lord’s house
which was typically a fortified palisade or castle, pastures for livestock, fields for crops,
forested areas, and a village or town for the serfs. The stability of structure of
manorialism helped to increase crop production during the early Middle Ages despite the
9th century invasions. It also helped that a heavier plow was invented that could handle
the thick soil of Europe and the three-field system that prevented the erosion of nutrients
in the fields. But regardless the manorial system added to the agriculture production of
Europe which benefited the whole population.