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High Middle Ages notes
Setting the Scene/
Monarchs, Nobles and the Church
• During the Middle Ages monarchs struggled to exert royal authority over
nobles and clergy and slowly built the framework for the European nation
states of today
• Feudal monarchs of Europe stood at the head of society but had limited
power
• While they ruled their domains they relied on vassals for military power
• Nobles and the Church often had more power than monarchs. They had
their own courts, collected taxes and had their own armies
• Monarchs strengthened ties with middle class who in turn supported the
kings
Strong Monarchs In England /
Norman Conquest
• In England rulers generally kept their kingdoms united
• In 1066 King Edward died without an heir so a council chose
his brother in law Harold to rule
• But William of Normandy also claimed the English throne.
• They answered this dispute on the battle field
• Duke William raised an army and won support of the pope
• At the Battle of Hastings William defeated Harold on
Christmas Day 1066
• William the Conqueror assumes the crown of England
• Over the next 300 years we have a blending of Norman and
French and Anglo Saxon customs, languages and traditions
John’s Troubles
• Henry’s son John faced three powerful enemies
1. King Philip of France
2. Pope Innocent
3. His own English nobles
• In 1205 John suffered a set back when he lost the war thus
losing vast lands in France
• John battled Pope Innocent over the pope’s rejecting John’s
selection for new archbishop of Canterbury
• The pope responded by excommunication him an placing
England under the interdict
• To same himself and his crown, John accepted England as a
fief of the papacy and paid yearly fees to Rome
The Magna Carta
• Finally John angered his own nobles with oppressive taxes and
other abuses of power
• In 1215 a group of rebellious barons cornered John and forced
him to sign the Magna Carta or Great Charter which included
• protection of their privileges
• recognition of the legal rights of town’s people and the church
• protects every freeman from arbitrary arrest, imprisonment
and other legal actions except by legal judgment of his peers or
law of the land. This was called the” Due Process”
• King would not raise new taxes without the consent of his Great
Council of lords and clergy
The most important parts of Magna Carta:
1. It gave nobles and then later all English citizens rights
2. The monarch must obey the law
Development of Parliament
• In keeping with the Magna Carta, rulers often called on the
Great Council for advice
• During the 1200’s this body evolved into Parliament
• In 1295 Edward I summoned the Parliament to approve money
for wars with France
• He had representatives of the “Common People” to join the
lords and clergy
• Much later the assembly became known as the Model
Parliament because it set the framework for England’s
legislature
• In time Parliament developed a two house legislature with the
House of Lords with the nobles and high clergy and the House
of Commons with knights and townspeople
• Later, English monarchs would summon Parliament for their
own purposes since Parliament had the power of the purse, this
could check or limit the power of the monarch
The Evolution of the
English Government
• 1066 Norman Conquest: William of Normandy defeats
Anglo Saxons (Harold) at Hastings
• 1086 Doomsday Book: William I uses this survey as a basis
for taxation
• 1060-1180’s Common Law: Henry II lays foundation for
English legal system
• 1215 Magna Carta: John signs this document limiting royal
power and extending rights
• 1295 Model Parliament: Edward I summons Parliament,
which includes representatives of common people
Conflict Between Popes and
Emperors Pope Gregory VII
• Pope Gregory VII was one of the greatest and most controversial of the
medieval popes
• Gregory was determined to make the Church independent of secular rulers
• He banned the practice of lay investiture, the creation of bishops by anyone
who is not a member of the clergy with presentation of a ring and staff
symbols of office
• Only the pope had the right to appoint and install bishops in office
The World in 1050
• The Crusades were a series of wars that took part beginning in 1086
with Christians and Muslims battled for control of lands in the Middle
East
• In 1050 Europe was emerging from a period of isolation while other
civilizations were thriving
• Islam gives rise to a brilliant civilization that stretched from Spain to
India with its scholars spreading ideas and goods even further
• In India, there were thriving cities, beautiful temples/palaces being
built and mathematics and a number system that would be passed to
Europeans
• China had a strong central government, culture and advances in
technology with paper, printing, gunpowder and use of coin and
paper money
• West Africa had great empires
• Mayans/Incas built great cities dominated by temples
• The Byzantine empire was prosperous and united until the Seljuk
Turks invaded it in 1071
Byzantine emperor Alexius I asked the Pope Urban II for Christian knights to help him fight the Turks
At the Council of Clermont in 1095 Pope Urban calls for a Crusade to free the Holy Land, allow pigrims to
have safe travels there, to stop the killing of Christians in route and at the holy land. By 1096 thousands of
knights, inspired by preachers, left for the Crusades, few returned
• Motivation of Crusaders:
• Religious zeal
• Hope to win wealth and
land
• Escape troubles at home
• Search for adventure
• Motives of the Pope:
• Increase his power
• Heal the schism or split,
between the east and west
churches
• Hope knights would fight
the Muslims instead of each
other
Added Info on Crusades
• The transformation of medieval society began with a holy war
over the city of Jerusalem
• The Crusades were a series of military expeditions, 9 total, to
recover the Holy Land from the Muslims
• The city of Jerusalem was considered a holy city to three faiths
• Jews: the city was seen as holy because the city was seen as
Zion or God’s own city and site of the ancient temple built by
Solomon
• Christians: city is holy because it was the place where Jesus was
crucified and resurrected
• Muslims: Jerusalem was their third holiest city after Mecca and
Medina. Muhammad ascended to heaven from Jerusalem
Map of the Crusades
Effects of the Crusade on Europe
• The Crusades left a bitter legacy of religious hatred behind them
• Both sides committed atrocities in the name of religion
• In Europe crusaders sometimes turned on the Jews massacring entire
communities
• The Crusades failed to conquer the Holy Land
• They quickened the pace of change in Europe
Economic Expansion
• Prior to crusades Europeans had tasted the luxuries from the Byzantine
Empire
• The Crusades
• Increased Trade
• Introduced fabrics, spices, foods, and perfumes
• Merchants built fleets to carry crusaders then used them for trade
• Further encouraged the growth of a money economy
• Serfdom was undermined
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Increased Power for Monarchs,
The Church and a World View
The Crusades helped increase the power of Monarchs
Rulers won the right to levy or collect taxes to support the crusades
For some rulers, the crusades added to their prestige
Crusades brought papal power to its height
Still had bitter clashes with feudal monarchs
Byzantine resentment against the West hardened because of the Fourth Crusade
Contacts with the Muslim world encouraged curious Europeans to visit far away
places
• In 1271, Marco Polo went to China with his merchant uncle and father and came
back with wonderful stories of China
• Crusaders and travelers expanded European horizons and expanded world view
Reconquista of Spain /Christian Advances
• Muslims had conquered Spain in the 700’s
• The campaign to drive the Muslims out of Spain became known as the
Reconquista or the re-conquest of Spain
• The first success in expelling the Muslims came in 1085 with the recapturing
of the city of Toledo
• For the next 200 years Christians slowly pushed southward until 1300 with
Christians controlled the empire Iberian Peninsula except Granada
• Muslim influence helped shape the art and literature of Christian
Ferdinand and Isabella
• In 1469 Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon married uniting two powerful
kingdoms
• Using their combined forces they captured Granada in 1492 and the Reconquista
was complete
• In an effort to unite their people they joined with the towns people against the
nobles
• While under Muslim rule, Spain enjoyed toleration or policy of allowing people to
worship as they choose but Isabella ended that policy with the support of the
Inquisition, a church court set up to try people accused of heresy
• Isabella launched a brutal crusade against the Jews and Muslims burning those who
refused to convert to Christianity
• More than 150,000 people fled including skilled, educated, people who contributed
to Spain’s economy and culture Creating a ”Brain Drain”
Science, Mathematics, Literature
• Works of science translated from Arabic and Greek also reached Europe
• They studied Hippocrates on medicine and Euclid on geometry
• Science make little real progress in the Middle Ages because most still felt that true knowledge must fit with Church
teachings
• European’s adopted Arabic Numerals
• Latin was the language of scholars and churchmen
• More writings began appearing in the vernacular or the everyday languages of ordinary people like French, German or
Italian
• Medieval literature included epic poems or long narrative poems, about feudal warriors and common people
Romanesque & Gothic Architecture
• With increased prosperity from trade and commerce came a
flurry of building
• There greatest achievements were the large stone Cathedrals
and served as symbols of wealth and religious devotion
• Many buildings were built of stone and reflected Roman
influences
• Churches had thick walls, to support the barrel vaulted roof.
• Few, if any windows resulting in dark and gloomy interiors
• In attempting to allow more light inside architects developed
what became known as Gothic style
• A key feature of this style was Flying Buttresses or stone
supports that stood outside the church, allowing builders to
construct Higher walls and leave space for huge stained glass
windows
• Cities all over Europe competed to build grander, taller
Cathedrals
Notre Dame Cathedral Paris
The Black Death /A Global Epidemic
• In Europe during the mid 1300’s there was
• Widespread corps failures bringing famine and starvation
• The Bubonic Plague or Black Death killing millions
• Wars
• By 1348 the Plague began ravaging Europe, 1 in 3 die
The Bubonic Plague spread by fleas on rats
• In 1200’s armies set off the new epidemic or outbreak of a rapid spreading disease
Rats infested ships, towns, homes, everywhere
• In the 1300’s rats in crowded Chinese cities spread the plague killing about 35 million
• The Story of Mankind: http://www.history.com/shows/mankind-the-story-of-all-of-us/videos/mankind-thestory-of-all-of-us-survivors
Social Upheaval
The plague brought tension and bewilderment
• Responses:
• turn to magic or witchcraft
• wild behavior” I’m going to die anyway”
• felt it was God’s punishment
• persecution/death of Jews
Economic Effects
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The economy plunged because of the plague
Workers and employers died causing production to decline
As the cost of labor soared with inflation or rising prices
Merchants and landowners wanted laws limiting wages to stop raising prices
Landowners converted croplands to sheep raising that required less labor
Villagers forced off land sought work in towns
Guilds limited apprenticeships and refused to accept new members and denied journeymen the chance
to become masters
Restrictions and the plague sparked revolts As the plague
spread so did social unrest
Hundred Years War/Causes
And
English
Victories
• Top Disasters of the Middle Ages!
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1. Famine
2. Plague
3. Upheaval In The Church
4. Hundred Year War (Hundred Years War, between
France and England from 1337-1453
When Edward III of England claimed the French crown in 1337 war erupted again
between these rival powers
Once fighting started economic rivalry and a growing sense of National Pride made it
hard for either side to give up the fight
At first the English won the battles,
English success in battles was in part because of the longbow
Joan of Arc and French Victory
• In 1429 a 17 year old French peasant woman, Joan of Arc told Charles VII, the uncrowned king of France,
that God had sent her to save France
• She persuaded the king to let her lead his army against the English
• She was able to inspire the troops leading them to numerous victories
• She was eventually take captive by the English who tried her for witchcraft. She was convicted and
burned at the stake but was later declared a saint by the Church
• Her execution rallied French troops who saw her as a martyr and with the help of a new weapon called the
Cannon they defeated the English and by 1453 the English held only the port of Calais in northwestern France
Effects
of
Hundred
Years
War
• The Hundred Year War set France and England on different tracks
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In France:
• The Crusades helped kings to expand their power
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In England:
• English rulers turned repeatedly to Parliament for funds which helped that body
win the “ Power of the Purse
• The loss of French lands shattered English dreams of a continental empire but
soon began looking at overseas The Hundred years War brought many changes to
late medieval world
1. The longbow
2. Cannon
3. Monarchs needed large armies
4. There was no longer a need for knights, castles and
feudal vassals