Download Middle Ages

Middle Ages
Roberts
What is feudalism?
● Political and social system that developed
during the Middle Ages when royal
governments were no longer able to defend
their subjects; nobles offered protection and
land in return for service
○ How can we define this in a more simple definition?
What is feudalism?
● It was brought about due to invaders posing
a threat to the safety of the people.
● Example of Feudal System:
What is feudalism?
● Here is one for you to copy:
What is feudalism?
● A Knight's Tale is a great
example of feudalism
○ The jousters were actually real
knights, not just fake titled
knights
What is feudalism?
● Lords would gain protection of them and
their family by vassal
○ What's a vassal?
■ A man who served a Lord in a military capacity
● A Feudal Contract would be "signed" to
determine the relationship between a lord
and his vassal
○ i.e. You give me land, I protect you.
What is feudalism?
"The man should put his hands together as a sign of humility, and place them
between the two hands of his lord as a token that he vows everything to him
and promises faith to him; and faith with him. Then the man should say: 'Sir, I
enter your homage and faith and become your man by mouth and hands, and I
swear and promise to keep faith and loyalty to you against all others."
-Western Civilization: To 1715 by Jackson J. Spielvogel
What is feudalism?
● After the Early Middle Ages, population
jumped -> due to a more settled and
peaceful way of life.
○ Geography changed causing more land to become
available for farming
○ Technology changed with addition of iron
■ Creating: hoes, axes and scythes
What is feudalism?
● The Carruca was crucial in farming
○ A heavy, wheeled plow with an iron plowshare
○ easily turned over heavy clay soils
○ Since it was heavy, six or seven oxen were required
to pull it --> until the horse collar and horseshoe
were created
What is feudalism?
● Farming went from a two-field crop rotation
to a three-field crop rotation.
What is feudalism?
● Due to feudalism,
manors were
created
○ A manor is an
agricultural estate
that a lord ran and
peasants worked
Medieval Life
● Through trade,
Italian towns
started to
flourish
● Banking started
● Capitalism started
Medieval Life
● Due to the large increase in trade, cities and
towns became important centers for
manufacturing a wide range of goods
○ i.e. cloth, metal work, shoes, leather goods, etc.
● Guilds became of major importance
○ A guild is a business association
● Controlled quality of the product
and the prices
Medieval Life
● Order of membership in guilds:
○ Apprentice - not paid, but received room and board
○ Journeymen - worked for wages with other masters
○ Master Craftsman - final work (masterpiece) was
judged by other master craftspeople of the guild to
decide if journeyman was qualified to join the guild
Medieval Church
● Christianity is supreme religion
● Pope = head of the Christian church
● The church provided leadership when no
gov't was provided
○ Became vassals - Lords who chose these bishops
were often worldly figures and cared little about
spiritual duties
Medieval Church
● There were conflicts between the Church and
the feudal system
○ Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV (king of Germany)
butted heads on this
○ The issue was over "lay investiture"
■ kings chose clergy members
○ If rulers would not accept this change of
government, the pope would remove them
Medieval Church
● Pope Innocent III increased Church's role in
secular affairs
● Many popes would believe monarchs were
subject to their authority
● King Philip of France had a French pope
elected, Pope Boniface VIII --> ruled from
Avignon
● Two popes at once (one French,
one Italian)
Medieval Church
● New Religious Groups
○ Franciscans - Saint Francis of Assisi
■ abandoned material goods
■ preached poverty and love
○ Dominicans - Dominick de Guzman
■ defend church teachings from heresy
■ need effective priests
Medieval Church
● Inquisition - or Holy Office - created
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to deal with heretics
First, go to Church Court
Second, try and receive a confession
Third, if torture must be done, so be it
And finally, execution
The Black Death
● Also known as Bubonic Plague
● Lasted between 1348-50, and killing between
75 million to 200 million people
The Black Death
● Believed to have started in China, traveled
along the Silk Road, carrying themselves on
fleas on black rats, who then jump on ship
and travel through Europe
The Black Death
● Symptoms
○ Buboes ------->
○ Septicemic Form ------->
The Black Death
● Became a quick obsession with death in art
The Black Death
● They tried many things to stop the Black
Death from spreading, such as:
○ Having Doctor's wear protective robes
○ Leeches
○ Flagellanti - self-inflicted penance for
our sins
○ Pograms against the Jews
■ Organized Riot or Attack against a
Jew
The Late Middle Ages
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Beginning of Universities
First University - Bologna, Italy
First University in northern Europe - Paris
In the late 1300s, Oxford was created dued
to teachers and students leaving Paris
The Late Middle Ages
● Students studied liberal arts (grammar,
rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music,
and astronomy)
● Testing was after four to six years, done
orally
● Theology was one of the most popular
doctor's degree, along with law and medicine
The Late Middle Ages
● Scholasticism - study of theology strongly
influenced by a philosophical and theological
system
○ reconcile faith and reason
○ Chief task - to harmonize Christian teachings with
works of Greek philosophers i.e. Aristotle
The Late Middle Ages
● Saint Thomas Aquinas
○ Summa Theologica - closest attempt at reconciling
Aristotle with the doctrines of Christianity
● Vernacular Literature
○ Latin helped bring everyone in Europe together
○ New languages being used (English, Spanish,
French, and German)
The Late Middle Ages
● Hundred Years War (1337-1453)
○ England vs. France (over the Gascony territory in
France)
○ English is outnumbered but wins most of the initial
battles
○ Turning point: Joan of Arc (English
claimed to be a heretic and burned her)
The Late Middle Ages
● War left England and France exhausted and
broke
● France: King Louis XI used direct annual
tax, or tallie, to build a treasury
● England: War of Roses - two families fought
over monarchy
The Late Middle Ages
● Spain: Strong monarchy
○ Ferdinand and Isabella - removed all Jews and
Muslims
● Eastern Europe (Holy Roman Empire):
Hapsburg family