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The Foundations of Early
Modern Europe
(1,000 years of European History in one hour)
Thesis
To counter the chaos after the fall of Rome,
Europe created a society based around
religion, order and hierarchy that dominated
for nearly 1,000 years. When that social
structure began to collapse, the beliefs and
assumptions behind its institutions fell apart,
destroying the power structure of European
society and opening the continent to a flood
of new ideas. As Europe began to reform and
rebuild itself, it created a new society that
would form the essence of the Modern
Western World.
Part I: To counter the chaos that
resulted from the fall of the
Roman Empire, Europe created a
society based around religion,
order and hierarchy that
dominated for nearly 1,000
years.
The Greatest Extent of the
Roman Empire – 14 CE
The Effects of Rome’s Fall in 476 AD

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one of the oddest phenomena in history:
Progress went backwards in Western Europe
Level of technology and knowledge decreases
Trade disruption
 Decline of cities: population shifts out to
regressive, agrarian society
 Decline of arts and learning
 Loss of a common language (Latin)
 All this leads to a major, disunifying void

Rise of Christianity

Christianity fills the void left by the fall of the Roman
Empire—It becomes the unifying force in Europe.

Split between Christians in Eastern Europe
(Orthodox—centered in Constantinople) and Western
Europe (Catholic—centered in Rome)

Christianity was popular among the poor because it
promised eternal salvation (if you were “good”) in
return for enduring their short, nasty lives on Earth
(…and life for the poor of Europe did suck)

As Christianity spreads, the Church becomes more
powerful and develops a hierarchy (Pope, cardinals,
bishops, etc…) and becomes very interested in
protecting its power and wealth.
The Spread of Christianity
Vikings ravage Europe

Seafaring warriors from Scandinavia
◦ Around 800-1000 Europe generally warms up
◦ Leads to more food in Northern areas = more people
◦ Scandinavia gets too crowded and warrior culture leads
to looking for new places to conquer

Viking attacks occur all over Europe—smash-andgrab jobs
◦ Incredibly quick and brutal
◦ Not just on coast (Viking long boats could sail in 3 feet
of water)

Eventually the King of France gives the Vikings
some land to stop attacking him and they settle
down in an area of France called Normandy
◦ Beginning of Feudal system
The Vikings
Viking Raids
Spread of Feudalism

A System built on rights and obligations  led to
lords gave protection to serfs in return for food and
work
◦ Status determined a person’s prestige and power
◦ Class was inherited – very little chance of moving up – and
much easier to go down than up
Spreads throughout Western continent and then
moves to England with Norman Conquest of 1066
 Manors & serfs

◦ Consisted of the lord’s manor house, a church, market, workshops and
serfs houses – usually a few square miles
◦ The lord provided serfs with housing, farmland and protection from
bandits and other knights  gave up freedom for protection
◦ All peasants (free or not) owed the lord and church certain duties ,i.e.
demesne and tithe
◦ Manors are generally self sufficient but produce very little surplus until the
three-field system and heavy wheeled plow
Feudalism
What feudalism is supposed to look like
What feudalism really looked like
Manor Life
Medieval Life

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Short and generally nasty
Justice as harsh and painful (execution and torture)
War was commonplace – knights and castle were most common

Religion was all-consuming
symbols of it
◦ Church intertwined with state
◦ Cathedrals everywhere
◦ Most education and knowledge controlled by the church

Vast majority of people lived off the land; almost never
traveled more than 25 miles from home; generally illiterate;
¼ of babies dies before they reached one year, if you were
lucky to live to 21, you might live to age 60
Executions-very common, often a
form of public entertainment

By one reliable
estimate the
proportion of people
executed annually in
England during the
Middle Ages was as
great at the proportion
killed by the Aztecs in
human sacrifices.
High Middle Ages– exit slip
Give three specific pieces of evidence
that support part I of thesis
Parliament, Magna Carta, &
Common Law

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Normans (from France) conquer England in
1066, and bring feudalism to England
In order to strengthen their power, later kings
set up a common system of courts, laws, etc.
◦ Becomes the basis for common law & judicial
precedent

As later kings try and revoke these laws, two
checks are put in place to stop this:
◦ Magna Carta – signed in 1215 by King John, basis for
Anglo-American civil liberties
◦ Parliament – legislative branch of English
government made up of two houses
 Originally used as a way for the king to levy taxes
Feudalism begins to fall apart (parts of it
will exist for a long time, though)
 Here are some major causes of its
collapse…

Part II: When that social
structure began to collapse, the
beliefs and assumptions behind
its institutions fell apart,
destroying the power structure
of European society and opening
the continent to a flood of new
ideas
Hundred Years War 1337-1453
France vs England
Begins as a dispute over succession rights to the
French throne
 Two main phases: England wins, then England
loses
 Ends with French kicking English out of continent
 Importance:

◦ Key changes in warfare, like the longbow, means the
eventual end of knights
◦ Strengthens French monarchy and weakens English
nobles—king becomes more important
◦ Nationalism in England and France begins—associated
with the monarch (king)
The Catholic Church is very, very,
very corrupt

As the one thing that ties Europe together,
Catholic Church is everywhere
◦ Controlled birth, death, marriage, salvation,
education, etc.
◦ Functioned like a massive multi-national
corporation with its own state and army and the
pope as its chief executive officer
◦ Church officials from the pope on down break
their vows – celibacy, poverty, and abuse power
◦ The practice of simony, the selling of church
positions, was widespread
1200-1400 AD:
Catholic Church Corruption

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Many village priests married
and had children-this was
against Church rules
Bishops sold positions in
the Church for money—a
practice called simony
Church started to sell
indulgences—get out
Purgatory cards. Church
getting rich off the poor!
Various groups revolt
against the corruption of
the church.
Poem Criticizing the Avignon Papacy
by Raimon de Cornet (14th century
troubadour)
I see the pope his sacred trust betray,
For while the rich his grace can gain alway,
His favors from the poor are aye withholden.
He strives to gather wealth as best he may,
Forcing Christ's people blindly to obey,
So that he may repose in garmets golden.
The vilest traffickers in souls are all
His chapmen, and for gold a prebend's stall
He'll sell them, or an abbacy or miter.
And to us he sends clowns and tramps who crawl
Vending his pardon briefs from cot to hall-Letters and pardons worthy of the writer,
Which leaves our pokes, if not our souls, the lighter.
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Retribution—the end of the
world=Black Plague (Black Death)
. 1347-1354
Causes nasty sores and swelling called bubos
Becomes a pandemic (universal disease)
Comes from Asia via rats then fleas
Spread over Europe over 4 years around 1347, starting in Italy and
moving north and west.
Kills 1/3 of Europe’s population – the equivalent of more than 100
million people in the US today – and comes back periodically
Impact of the plague:
◦ City and town populations fall
◦ Trade decreases so prices go up
◦ Serfs leave manor looking for more money, which the nobles resist,
causing bloody revolts.
◦ Jews are scapegoated and often killed
◦ Church loses prestige when it can’t do anything to stop the spread
Black Plague– exit slip
What part of European society was
destroyed by
1. Hundred Years War
2. Corruption of the Church
3 Black Plague
Part III: As Europe began to
reform and rebuild itself it
created a new society that
would form the essence of the
Modern Western World.
Essential Questions
How did the Renaissance differ from
the Middle Ages?
 How does it form the basis of much of
modern Western thought?

Renaissance 1300-1600

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Marked by study
of classics and move
from god-centric to
people-centric view
of things.
New focus on the
individual
Central featurehumanism—
focused on human
potential and
achievements
Celebrated life on
earth in the
present
Renaissance 1300-1600
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Word literally means “rebirth” (in French)
What was reborn was a Classical (Greek &
Roman) ideas—art, architecture, philosophy,
literature, finance, views of the world, etc. These
had been suppressed by the Church (WHY??)
Began in Italy—mainly Florence—in 14th century,
and moved to the rest of Italy—like Venice—in
15th century, as it spread through Southern
Europe
Then spread to Northern Europe, through
Holland and Flanders and onto England and
Denmark and Sweden.
Mainly affected wealthy/educated people
Renaissance Humanism finds many
avenues of expression
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Painting and sculpture-more realistic, less focused on
religious subjects, perspective, individuality of subjects,
celebrated the human body
Literature-writing in the vernacular, the native language, not
Latin; portrayed individuality in their characters
Science – started to explore anatomy and engineering
(Leonardo da Vinci)
Politics—concerned with how politics really works here on
earth not with abstract Christian ideology (Niccolò
Machiavelli)
Everyday life—was to be enjoyed for its own sake, here
and now on earth, people should not deny themselves. The
individual and his aspirations (goals or ambitions) are
important.
Why Italy? Location. Location. Location
First European nation affected by the plague = first
country to return to health and city life
 Church structure particularly weakened by plague =
more secular approach, more concern for the arts
 Commercial Revolution. Wealthy due to trade from
the Crusades = more exchange of people and ideas
particularly from Islamic and Byzantine lands
 Loose confederation of states = much easier to
change one or two parts, like Venice or Florence
than a whole country, like England
 Had most of the classics buried in their land =
easier to find through excavation and searching in
the depths of churches

Florence (Firenze)
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Renaissance began with birth of
Francesco Petrarch in 1304 in
Florence
Florence controlled by large
families, ruled kind of like early
mafia
Also somewhat resembles
democracy—selected citizens
vote on certain things (but are
bribed)
Rash of famous Florentines:
Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, the
Medici family, Brunelleschi,
Michelangelo, Leonardo,
Donatello, Machiavelli
Venezia(Venice)
Duomo
F. Brunelleschi