Download Age of Feudalism - Roslyn Public Schools

Barbaric Invasions and the Age of
Feudalism in Europe
The Decline of Civilization in the West
After the Roman Empire
The Germanic invasions resulted in the political collapse of the
Roman Empire and the ruin of its highly developed economic
and social system.
1. Decline of Trade and Industry.
Merchants, fearing the seizure of their goods by highway
robbers and pirates, stopped shipping to distant points and
confined their trade to the local marketplace.
The excellent Roman roads deteriorated.
Lacking sufficient markets, industry shut down.
Unemployed workers moved to rural areas. As trade and
industry dwindled, cities declined in population, and many
disappeared; also, money fell into disuse.
Decline of Civilization in the West
2. Decline of Learning and Culture.
During these unsettled times
a. Roman schools, libraries and museums were
destroyed,
b. Arts and sciences were neglected, and
c. Reading and writing were forgotten.
People were concerned not with learning and
culture but with remaining alive.
Decline of Civilization in the West
3. Decline of Strong Central Government.
Government was now in the hands of weak
Germanic kingdoms: the Visigoths in Spain, the
Ostrogoths in Italy, the Angles and Saxons in
England, and the Franks in Gaul(France).
Their rulers generally failed to provide
protection, insure justice and maintain order.
From Roman Rule to Germanic
Kingdoms
Weak Germanic Kingdoms
Such weaknesses existed because the Germanic kingdoms:
a. Lacked power to control their large territories and populations.
Only a few hundred thousand Germans governed millions of other
peoples.
b. Lacked large armies to subdue ambitious nobles. A noble
sometimes commanded military forces stronger than those of a
monarch.
c. Lacked roads and bridges to transport armies to trouble spots.
Because the Germans knew little about engineering, they could
not maintain the Roman transportation facilities.
d. Lacked rules of succession to the throne to prevent civil war after
a ruler’s death.
The only strong Germanic government was the Frankish kingdom in
the 8th and early 9th centuries.