Download 13.1 Charlemagne Unites Germanic Kingdoms

13.1 Charlemagne
Unites Germanic
Kingdoms
Many Germanic kingdoms that
succeeded the Roman Empire are
reunited under Charlemagne’s empire.
I. Decline of the Roman Empire
A. Effects of Constant Invasions and Warfare
1. Germanic invaders overrun western Roman Empire
in 400s
2. Fighting disrupts trade and government; people
abandon cities
3. Marks the beginning of the Middle Ages—period
from 500 to 1500
4. The Decline of Learning
a. As cities are abandoned, level of
learning declines
b. Knowledge of Greek language and
culture is almost completely lost
5. Loss of a Common Language
a. Introduction of German language
changes Latin; dialects develop
6. Germanic kingdoms replace Roman
provinces
II. Germanic Kingdoms Emerge
A. Continual wars change borders between
kingdoms
B. The Church provides order and security
C. The Concept of Government Changes
1.
2.
3.
Germans held together by family ties and
loyalty, not government
Small communities are governed by
unwritten rules and traditions
Germanic warriors pledge loyalty to their
chief; live in lord’s hall
4. The German legal system based on a wergild
(fine) and the ordeal
a. the wergild is paid by the wrongdoer to the
victim’s family
b. the fine varied according to social status
c. the ordeal was a system to establish guilt
or innocence through a physical trial.
i. based on the belief in divine
intervention.
D. Clovis Rules the Franks
1.
2.
Franks hold power in Roman province of Gaul
(modern France)
Clovis, leader of the Franks, converts to
Christianity in 496
a. Leads warriors against other Germanic
tribes
b. Unites Franks into one kingdom with the
Church’s help
3. How the Church Spread
a.
Frankish rulers convert Germanic
peoples to Christianity
b. Missionaries travel to convert
Germanic and Celtic groups
III. Monasteries, Convents, and
Manuscripts
A. Church builds monasteries—where monks live
to study and serve God
1. Italian monk, Benedict, writes rules that
govern monastic life
2. Monks establish schools, preserve learning
through libraries
B.
Church also builds convents – where nuns live
to study and serve God
1. Benedict’s sister Scholastica adapts rules
for nuns living in convents
IV. Papal Power Expands Under
Gregory I
A.
In 590, Gregory I, also called Gregory the Great,
becomes pope
1.
Under Gregory, Church becomes secular—a
political power
2.
Pope’s palace becomes center of Roman
government
3.
Uses Church money to raise armies, care for poor,
negotiate treaties
4.
Establishes a Christendom—churchly kingdom
fanning out from Rome
V. Europe’s Kingdoms
A. The Franks control largest and strongest
of Europe’s many kingdoms
B. By 511, Frankish rule extends over what is
now France
1. Most powerful official in kingdom is major
domo—mayor of the palace
a. major domo Charles Martel becomes
more powerful than king
b. defeats Muslims from Spain at Tours in 732;
c.
d.
becomes a Christian hero
Charles Martel’s son, Pepin, begins
Carolingian Dynasty
Pepin leaves his kingdom to his two sons:
one son dies; one son dies, his second son,
Charlemagne (Charles the Great) rules
kingdom
2. Charlemagne Extends Frankish Rule
a. Charlemagne’s armies reunite
western Europe, spread Christianity
b. In 800, Charlemagne travels to
Rome to protect Pope Leo III from
mobs
i. Pope crowns Charlemagne
emperor; gives him title, “Roman
Emperor”
c. Germanic power, Church,
heritage of Roman Empire now joined
together
d. Charlemagne limits nobles’ power by
governing through royal agents
e. Encourages learning and orders
monasteries to open schools
f. Charlemagne dies in 814; his son, Louis
the Pious, rules poorly
i. Louis’s three sons fight for control of
the empire
ii. They divide the empire into three
kingdoms; sign the Treaty of Verdun