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A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • During the Middle Ages, land was the most important source of wealth and power. • Wealthy aristocrats created estates (called “manors”) which became the center of political, economic, and social life for most Europeans. • A typical manor consisted of arable fields, vineyards, meadows where animals could graze, and woodland, all scattered about the countryside rather than in a compact unit. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • All peasants owed dues or services to their manor’s lord. • Peasant men spent most of their time working in the fields; women were often found at the lord’s house where they wove cloth and sewed garments, or served as cooks or kitchen/domestic help. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Manorialism: Power and prestige of the noble class based on land (the fief), which supported the lord, his family, and his soldiers. • Landed estates were organized as manors; each a self-supporting economic unit; the lord provided the land and protection; the serfs provided the labor. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Gray - Woodlands; the building blocks of the manor; • Green - The 3 Fields; crops were rotated each season on land owned by the Lord and worked by the serfs; • Purple - The Lord's house, land and pond; • Burnt Orange - The villager's homes; • Yellow - Small plots of land serfs could work themselves for their own benefit; • Blue - the stream used by all. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Serfs (peasants) were bound to the land; they could not be bought or sold individually; they were passed onto new owners when the land changed hands (ie through inheritance). A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • A serf's life was difficult and usually short. • A serf usually lived out his entire life without leaving the manor (village) where he was born. • He owed his lord labor on the lord's land; he paid the lord in kind to have his wheat ground, his bread baked, and his grapes pressed. • He owed his lord labor on roads and buildings. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • A serf could not leave the manor without his lord’s permission; and his marriage might be arranged by his lord. • In return, the serf had the right to live on the manor and to farm his strips of land. • A certain degree of security and order governed the serf's existence. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Medieval farming methods were primitive; the yield was low. • By the 9th century, the three-field system was used, with one field planted in the autumn, one in the spring, and one fallow. • In the autumn: winter wheat or rye. • In the spring: oats, beans, or barley. • Third field left fallow. • This replaced the two-field system (which kept ½ the land fallow). A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Cultivated fields were farmed in strips, largely because of the turning radius of the heavy plow (the moldboard). • The moldboard required 2 to 4 oxen to pull so it led to cooperative farming. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Horsepower replaced oxen (widespread by 12th century)– a horse could work for more hours a day and moved 50% faster. • Oats were grown for the horses (oxen can work on grass alone). A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • When the horse collar was developed (8th-9th century), it allowed a horse to pull 4 or 5 times more weight than an ox. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • By the 11th century, iron horseshoes had been developed enabling horses to work in wet fields. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • During the 11th century, an agricultural revolution swept northern Europe: • Four factors allowed it to happen: • 1. the end of the wave of raids (Viking, Muslims, etc) that swept Europe during the 9th and 10th centuries; • 2. the clearing and cultivation of new land and the spread of the three-field rotation system; • 3. technological innovations like the moldboard plow and the horse collar; A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • 4. and the use of wind & water mills for power. • Water mills had been around since Roman times, but rarely used through the 5th century…they gained in popularity during the 8-9th centuries. • Wind mills (12th century) used where land was flat or streams froze in winter. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • The results: a dramatic increase in the supply of food in western Europe leading to a dramatic population growth. • This led to a revival of trade and the rebirth of towns (the medieval urban revolution). • Economic prosperity produced an energy that drove Medieval Europeans to make numerous political, economic, social, and intellectual advances. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • The Medieval Revival of Trade: Two sorts of commercial activity after 1050: 1. Local: surplus grain and products from small industries sold in local markets; and • 2. long distance trade, especially in textiles, wine, and luxury items. • The Mediterranean reopened to Europeans after Italians defeated Muslim raiders; Italian cities, which took a leading role in the revival of commercial activity, traded with the Byzantine Empire. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Europeans wanted silks, spices, and other luxury items from the east; Venice, Genoa, Milan, and Pisa became market centers. • Elsewhere: trade developed between Scandinavian cities and cities along the Atlantic coastline (the Hanseatic League); between England, northern France, and Flanders; and along the rivers linking the Baltic Sea with the Black Sea and Constantinople. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • The impact of such towns and their economic and political activities was: • 1). It introduced a new class, the bourgeoisie, which had no place within the medieval system of lord, church, and peasant; the bourgeoisie were master artisans, merchants, lawyers, and their families. • Their world was governed by market relationships; they believed in bettering their lot in this world through individual initiative. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • The affluent bourgeoisie began to demand a role in government. • 2). Merchant and craft guilds developed (organizations of local artisans and businessmen). • Their purpose was to control, protect, and promote specific economic activities by ensuring a stable market, quality, and prices (the “just price”). A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Guilds also controlled admission to specific crafts by establishing a complex series of steps-apprenticeship, journeyman, and master--through which an aspirant had to go. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Merchants established international trading groups like the 13th-century Hanseatic League which connected London, Bruges, Novgorod, Danzig, and Bergen. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • 3) In cities the bourgeoisie developed concepts of self-government and freedom from the feudal system. • Many cities gained charters either by fighting or by purchase which granted them selfgovernment, individual freedom, an exemption from manorial obligations, urban rather than feudal justice, and commercial privileges. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Serfs often fled their manors, finding refuge in cities. • In cities religious and intellectual life flourished; their wealth made possible the building of great universities and cathedrals of the High Middle Ages. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Results: Trade expansion made necessary the creation of new forms of business organization (partnerships); a money economy; and a money-changing or banking system. • Trade stimulated the development of trade fairs. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Medieval trade revival laid foundations for the development of a modern market economy which eventually evolved into capitalism. • This greater commercial activity also stimulated the growth of towns which in turn stimulated even greater economic growth. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • The Medieval Urban Revolution: Urban life declined significantly after the fall of Rome, as western Europe fragmented, decentralized, and became increasingly rural. • Urban life began to revive during the 11th century. • Why? Increased food supply produced by the Medieval agricultural revolution which led to population growth which led to the revival and expansion of trade. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Where? Towns either revived or were founded where merchants gathered: along communication links like seacoasts, rivers, and roads; near places of security like castles; or where fairs were sponsored, like monasteries. • Some medieval towns (Paris [150,000], London [40,000], or Florence [100,000]) were Roman in origin; others newly built. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Political issues: Barbarian Germans like the first Frankish king Clovis (481-511) sought to create monarchies. • Struggling monarchies fought each other for domination, and began to establish the basis for the nations of modern Europe. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • The Church undertook a major effort to convert barbarians like Clovis (496). A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • The conversions of Clovis (and other barbarian warrior chieftains) caused the Church to assert that their spiritual authority was superior to political authority. • The Church set up monasteries (mostly Benedictine) which helped spread Christian values and create a religious focus, preserve some learning and literacy, and improve land cultivation. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Gregorian chants, named after Pope Gregory I (590-604) also developed. • Believed to be created during the Carolingian period, the chants originally were a combination of Latin and Frankish chants of psalms and prayers. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • The Carolingian Period, ca 714-987 • The Carolingians are important in Frankish (French) history from 714 (Charles Martel) to 987 (the coronation of Hugh Capet). • By 750, institutions & culture of the Germanic/Frankish lands were still taking shape; then there was a revival for about a century (under Charlemagne). A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Under Charles Martel (“Charles the Hammer”), the Franks halted a Muslim advance into France at the Battle of Tours (or Poitiers, 732). A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Charles Martel (with axe) at the Battle of Tours. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Close ties between the Frankish Monarchy and the Church were important because the Church (and Pope) needed a military protector (like the Carolingians) and the Carolingians wanted to use Christianity to justify their claims to the throne and unify the Franks. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Charlemagne was a natural leader and a man of great energy. • He could read and speak Latin, but he couldn’t write it. • He transformed the Frankish kingdom into a great empire and he then presided over a remarkable cultural flowering (the Carolingian Renaissance). A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Charlemagne enjoyed great success as a military leader, as he successfully conquered the Lombards in northern Italy, the Saxons in Germany, the Muslims in northern Spain, not to mention numerous other peoples. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • He was returning from an expedition in Spain in 778 when the Basques ambushed and wiped out his rear guard. • This incident became the subject of the famous epic poem The Song of Roland. • In the poem, however, the ambushers were the Moors, (the Muslims) who ruled Spain. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • By about 800, he had created the largest state in Europe after the fall of Rome. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Within his kingdom, Charlemagne provided good government. • Royal commands were usually issued after consultations with the great nobles and the clergy. • These commands were carried out by missi dominici, royal officials who served as representatives of the king and who prevented abuses by local officials. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Charlemagne was a genuinely religious man who believed that God made kings responsible for the Church. • He encouraged missionary work, converting the Saxons by the sword when necessary. • He enhanced the prestige of the papacy by advocating reform of the Church under papal guidance. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Emperor in Saint Peter's Basilica on Christmas Day, 800; some historians see this coronation as the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire, which, in various forms, will exist until 1806. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Under Charlemagne, there was a remarkable cultural flowering that received royal support. • This is Charlemagne’s Cathedral at his capital city Aachen (Aix-la Chapelle),Germany. • It was built in 786 and when finished, it had the largest dome north of the Alps . A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Charlemagne also improved education and culture by establishing a school at his palace in Aachen. • The Palace School at Aachen attracted the best teachers and students in Europe so Aachen became a great cultural center. • It educated clergymen, strengthening the church, and trained teachers for schools throughout the empire. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • The Scriptoria at Aachen produced books in a new and clear script, Carolingian miniscule, which later became the basis for modern script and typefaces. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Charlemagne’s empire did not survive for long after his death. • The Empire itself was never truly unified; it contained ethnically and linguistically diverse peoples. • It was threatened by enemies on all its frontiers (Muslims to the south; Slavs and Magyars to the east; Vikings and Norsemen to the north). A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Charlemagne's heirs were not outstanding; his son, Louis the Pious, was indecisive, and he divided the empire into thirds, giving each of his sons a kingdom. • He made the eldest grandson, Lothair, emperor and gave him vague authority over the others. • Not unexpectedly, civil war resulted. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Charles the Bald ruled the West Franks [France], Louis the German ruled the East Franks [Germany], and Lothair ruled the central lands. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • To a certain extent, the history of Western Europe from the 10th to the middle of the 20th centuries has been dominated by the struggle between the descendants of these groups over the old Frankish Middle Kingdom. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • By the 10th century, many peasants lived in rural villages and began to develop a sense of community with the church as the focal point for local activity. • Villagers often shared oxen, horses, and they often had a sense of common purpose. • The status of peasants varied from region to region, and some had to work the land on more than one estate, owing service to more than one lord. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Warriors were differentiated by rank (king, duke, count at the top; ordinary knights below), yet all shared a common way of life. • Knights and their lords fought on horseback wearing metal armor and helmets. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • This armament and the adoption of horseshoes and stirrups created a military revolution because they allowed knights to fight better, travel farther, and use heavier weapons than ever before. • Lords, and their vassals, often lived, ate, hunted, and fought together. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • The Rise of National Monarchies, 10501300: two themes dominate the political life of the High Middle Ages: • 1) The successful development of national monarchies in England and France, with medieval England laying the foundations for a parliamentary monarchy and France establishing the basis for absolutism. • 2) The failure to develop strong national monarchies in Germany and Italy. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • The Holy Roman Empire (the Germanies): • The Holy Roman Empire in 1050 was the most centralized and best governed territory in Europe. • By 1300, its central government had lost its power and the Empire had fragmented into a large number of warring states. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Nevertheless, there was no central government and the real power was in the hands of dukes and other nobles who elected their king. • The resulting power vacuum lasted until 1871, when modern Germany was created; and it is this Germany that helped bring about two world wars and was from 1945-1990 a divided country. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • One of the biggest problems the facing the emperor of the HRE (and one of the great struggles of the Middle Ages) was control over the Church. • Believing the well-being of the Church depended on them, German kings claimed the right to appoint bishops, even the pope, and to “invest” them with their office through a special ceremony. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • The result of investiture was a bitter dispute between the Church and the Holy Roman Emperor (it came to a head under Henry IV 1056-1106). A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • The Investiture Controversy reached its peak between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV, the Pope banned investiture and threatened Henry with ex-communication. • Henry tried to depose the Pope, who promptly excommunicated him and released his subjects from any allegiance to the emperor. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Henry's lords rebelled and forced him to make peace. • The Emperor lost the right to appoint bishops while retaining the right to grant them land and secular political power. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • The Church won the Investiture struggle, and in doing so it weakened the Holy Roman Empire. • This resulted in political de-centralization of Germany. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • England, in contrast to the HRE, saw the beginnings of parliamentary government in the 13th century. • In France, absolutism began to take root. • Medieval England: In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy (William the Conqueror), invaded England and defeated the Saxons at the Battle of Hastings. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • The Opening Scene from the Bayeux Tapestry. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • The king coined money, supervised justice, and built castles. • Local government was dependent upon the kings; and the Domesday Book (1086), a land survey, compiled for tax levies. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • William centralized power: all lands (fiefs) were held directly or indirectly from the king; a personal oath of loyalty made each lord the vassal of the king. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Over time, Norman and Anglo-Saxon cultures blended, producing a uniquely English culture. • Henry II (r. 1154-1189) allowed feudal nobles to avoid military service by paying the king. • Henry used the money to hire mercenaries loyal to himself. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • Henry struggled for control of the English church with Thomas a Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury. • Becket was murdered, perhaps on the orders of Henry, and Henry had to back down before the Church. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • But futile efforts to hold on to possessions in France weakened English kings, beginning with the unpopular John I (1190-1216). A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • To fight wars in France, wars which he frequently lost, John needed money, and this weakness gave the great barons the opportunity to force him to sign the Magna Carta (1215). • It asserted that the king was subject to the law of the realm and that he had respect such feudal customs as taxation only with the consent of the great lords. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • The Magna Carta also stated that an accused person had the right to a trial by a jury of his peers. • Originally, the Magna Carta applied only to the lords, but over the years the rights listed were extended to all Englishmen. • In this manner, limits on the power of the English king was established. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • The signing of the Magna Carta (1215). A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • The Magna Carta (1215). A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • The Magna Carta led to the development of English parliamentary government. • Origins were Anglo-Saxon: the king had to consult powerful nobles and officials. (Arthurian legends). • William the Conqueror had consulted a Great Council. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • During the reign of Henry III (son of John r. 1216-1272), nobles rebelled and seized the English crown. • Representatives were called of the gentry (two knights from each shire) and middle classes (two burgesses from each town) to meet with the great lords and clergy of the Great Council. The first parliament was in 1264. • The rebellion was crushed, but the practice of calling this representative body continued. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • The Model Parliament (1295) was enacted, which each county and town sent two representatives to advise the king and to vote on taxes. • In time, Parliament divided into Houses of Lords and Commons, and it used the power of granting taxes to win the right to pass laws. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • In France, the Capetian Dynasty (r. 987-1328) arose after the fall of the Carolingians. • Named after Hugh Capet, the Count of Paris, he was elected king by the most powerful nobles. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • The Capetians set the French monarchy on the path to absolutism (concentration of all power in the hands of the king). • The Capetians were able to conquer most of the land held in France by the English (which was a major problem for the French nobility). A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • English kings claimed the French territories of Normandy, Brittany, Maine, Anjou, Poitou, Aquitaine, and Gascony. • Under the Capetians, John of England was defeated which added large tracts of land to the royal holdings; • They provided effective government and fairly efficient tax collection; A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • They began building Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. • The Capetians also helped found the University of Paris. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe • No parliament developed in France; the Estates General (made up of clergy, nobles, and bourgeoisie) lacked power and it met infrequently. • Since French kings could establish taxes without calling the Estates General, they tended to ignore it. • By the end of the Middle Ages, France had become an absolute monarchy.