Download From the Ashes of Empire

THE MAKING OF EUROPE AND
THE WORLD OF THE BYZANTINE
EMPIRE
Chapter 12
The Transformation Of The Roman World

Define: Power
vacuum
 Who steps in to fill the
power vacuum left by
the collapse of the
Western Roman
Empire?
The Transformation Of The Roman World
The New Germanic Kingdoms
 Ostrogoths
in Italy and Visigoths in
Spain


Why are the outward forms of Roman
Government maintained?
Who maintains them? What happens to the
lines separating German and Roman?
 Britain.

What tribes fill the power vacuum on the
island?
The Transformation Of The Roman World
The Kingdoms of the Franks

Only German state that proved to be long
lasting.


Reached prominence under Clovis (500)



Predecessor of what ultimately morphed into France
Merovingian dynasty
What convinces Clovis to accept the new God?
A number of German kings converted to (Arian)
Christianity, but Clovis was one of the first to
convert to mainstream Christianity (eventually:
Catholicism)

Significance?
The Transformation Of The Roman World
Clovis and the Pope


The Roman church was still based in Rome.
Was a split in Europe between the Roman Catholic
Church and the Arian church



Why does the Roman church need the support of
powerful political leaders?
Why does the Roman Church have political power?


Major dispute was the nature of Jesus.
Pope’s relation to Eastern Emperor?
Emperor in Constantinople named Clovis a Consul.

How does this benefit Clovis, the Eastern Emperor, and the
Pope?
The Transformation Of The Roman World
The Transformation Of The Roman World
The Society of the Germanic Peoples
 As
German and Roman culture fused,
Germanic traditions became dominant.
 Social unit of Germanic culture?

Males dominant.
 How


does justice change?
blood feuds and wergeld.
trial by Compurgation and Ordeal
The Transformation Of The Roman World
The Organization of the Church
 By
the 4th Century the basic structure of
church governance established.
 Bishops joined together under an
Archbishop.
 Bishops of Rome, Jerusalem, Alexandria
and Antioch held special power.

Why?
Emergence of Pope

Bishop of Rome
began to claim even
more power
 Basis for claim?
 Came to be known as
Popes.
 Effect?
The Transformation Of The Roman World
Emergence of the Pope

Power of the Pope was
strengthened in the sixth century
under Gregory I (Gregory the
Great).
 Converted pagans in Germany
and England; Visigoths from Arian
“heresy”
 How does the monastic
movement strengthen his power?
The Transformation Of The Roman World
The Monks and Their Missions
Why do monks (3rd century) seek to
live a life divorced from the world?
 Originally were hermits, but soon
banded together into monasteries



Purpose?
Basic structure of monasteries and
monastic life was set by Saint
Benedict (480-543)
The Transformation Of The Roman World
Benedictine Rule

Divided each day into a series of activities with
emphasis on prayer and labor.


Abbot: Absolute power.
Each monastery held lands around the monastery
that allowed it to be self-sufficient
• How will this be important after the fall of the Empire?
• Consequences?


Monks took vows of poverty
How do monks…



Benefit society?
Keep learning alive?
Help to spread Christianity?
The Transformation Of The Roman World
Charlemagne



In the mid-700s the Merovingian
dynasty was deposed by Charles
Martel’s son, Pepin
Pepin succeeded by his son,
Charles, also known as Charles the
Great or Charlemagne.
Charlemagne—r. 768-814





Determined and decisive
Intelligent; inquisitive
fierce warrior
Good statesman
Illiterate but a patron of learning
Charlemagne Controlled More Of Europe Than Any Leader
Until Napoleon.
The Transformation Of The Roman World
Charlemagne
 Used

Counts to control local areas.
But how will he control the Counts?
 In
800 Charlemagne was crowned by the
Pope as Roman Emperor. Birth of the
Holy Roman Empire.

How is this important to the Roman Church?
• What does it tell you about relations with the
Byzantines?

How is it important to the Carolingians?
The Transformation Of The Roman World
Carolingian Renaissance
 Charlemagne
tried to revive learning in his
kingdom--Carolingian Renaissance.
 Centered in monasteries where texts were
copied by hand in scriptoria.


Works of early Christianity and Latin classics.
90% of the ancient Roman works that we
have today exist because they were copied by
Carolingian monks.
The World Of Lords And Vassals
Treaty of Verdun
 Why
does the Empire begin to break up
after Charlemagne’s death in 814?
 Kingdoms engaged in almost incessant
fighting

What is the effect of the continuous warfare
between kings?
 What
system will this lead to?
Treaty of
Verdun
Invasions of the Ninth and Tenth
Centuries

In the Ninth and Tenth Centuries Europe was
beset with invasions from outlying people.



Muslims raided southern coast of Europe
Magyars invaded central Europe and settled in
Hungary
Vikings invaded/raided Europe and Russia from
Scandinavia starting in the Eighth Century.
• Colonization, trade, piracy
• Why were they successful invaders?


By mid-9th Century, Norsemen had begun to settle in
Europe.
The Vikings became large-scale, professional pirates.
Vikings
 Viking
onslaught came near to destroying
civilization in West Frankish lands.

How could they be dealt with?
• Charles the Bald
 Impact:




Norwegians settled in Ireland
Danes in northwestern England: Danelaw
911: Vikings settle western Frankish lands:
Normandy.
Long-term effects on the Vikings? Why not
the other way around?
Decline in Economy

Trade had largely disintegrated during the early
Middle Ages (400-1000). Why?



Effect on military power?
Effect on economy?
Effect on diet?
• Wine became a costly luxury,
• Most people ate and drank bread and porridge, beer and
water.

Effect on demographics?

What do people’s lives become centered around?
Impact of Change in Warfare

Arming soldiers became more
expensive due to advanced
technology.


Why is the stirrup a weapon?
What is necessary for a man to be
an effective warrior?


Where do these resources come from?
What becomes the ideal form of
warrior?
Lords and Vassals
 Feudal

“System”
Lords have land. They
grant land to Vassals
• Define: vassal
• Why grant land to a
vassal?
• In exchange for what?

Fief: Land given to
vassal by lord
• Where do vassals get their
power?
Feudal Contract

Obligations of vassals to Lord:

Perform military service (40 days a year)
• Why so little?

Appear at lord’s court when summoned to give advice
• Consequence of refusal?


Obligations of lords to vassals:



Executive and judiciary in own fief
protect him at need
maintenance of the vassal, usually by granting a fief.
Peasants farm the lord/vassal’s land
The Nobility of the Middle Ages
 During
the High Middle Ages (1000-1300)
European society was dominated by men
who loved war.
 Medieval theory: what makes a man a
noble?
 Nobility increasingly build castles.


What makes castles effective?
How does it sustain feudalism?
England in the High Middle Ages
William the Conqueror


England and the Anglo-Saxon kings.
1066: William of Normandy claims the
British throne



Crowned King of England; imports Norman
(French) vassals


Story Time!
Defeats King Harold: Battle of Hastings.
Effect on power of monarchy? Aristocracy?
Anglo-Saxon and Norman institutions merge


Effect on English language?
Repercussions for England/France relationship?
Territory
Held by
William the
Conqueror
Henry II


Henry II:12th Century founder of the
Plantagenet dynasty.
Greatly expanded the power of the English
monarch. Angevin Empire.




How does Henry use marriage to expand his
realm?
How does he use the law to expand his power?
Define: English common law .
Dispute with Archbishop of Canterbury,
Thomas Becket.

Nature of dispute? “Solution?” Why important?
Magna Carta

Early 13th century the nobles
became resentful of King John,
Henry’s son.


Why him and not Henry?
Nobles get the upper hand and
John is forced to sign the Magna
Carta


Specified the feudal rights and
obligations between the king and
vassals.
Significance?
English Parliament
 Edward
I creates the first English
Parliament in 1295.



Why does he need to raise new taxes?
Whom does he call?
Morphs into House of Lords (Barons and
high church officials) and House of
Commons (Knights and important townsfolk).
Parliaments of Edward I granted taxes,
discussed politics, passed laws and handled
judicial business.
The Growth of the French Kingdom

Last Carolingian French king died in 987; West
Frankish nobles chose Hugh Capet as the new
king; establishes the Capetian dynasty.
 King controlled only the lands around Paris.


What good is a weak king?
King Philip II Augustus increased power of
French kings.

How does he increase his power over that of nobles?
How does he keep it?
French Kingdom
Philip IV
 Philip
IV created the French parliament
(Estates-General) in 1302. He asked
representatives of the three estates
(classes) to meet with him.

What are the three estates of man?
 Why
does the French parliament have less
power to oppose the King?

Effect of strong central monarchy on France?
Holy Roman Empire
 Dukes
of the Saxons became kings of the
eastern Frankish kingdom (10th C.)

Intervene in Italian politics; named Emperors
of the Romans by the Pope in 962.
• Dis/advantages to the “Emperors?”
• To Popes?


Stability of “Empire?”
Power of “Emperors?”
• Why can’t they consolidate?
Slavs

Western Slavs (Poland and
Bohemia)



Southern and Eastern Slavs
converted to Orthodox
Christianity by the Byzantines.


Converted by Roman Catholic
missionaries and tried to affiliate
with Western Europe.
Maygars also converted.
Missionaries created Cyrillic
alphabet (Cyrillic), translated the
Bible into Slavonic.
Eastern Slavs (western
Russia) conquered by invading
Vikings called the Rus.
The Development of Russia

Early 10th Century--Viking leader Oleg settled in
Kiev.



Vladimir married the sister of the Byzantine
emperor.



Geographic center of this civilization?
Vikings gradually assimilated in the Slavic population.
Political effects?
Religious effects?
Kievan Russia reached its height in the early
11th century. Dominated by nobles called
Boyars.
Russian Czars


Kiev falls to north Russian princes in
1169
13th Century area is dominated by
Mongols.


How do Mongols exert power?
Aleksandr Nevsky


Prince of Novgorod
Defeated a German invading army in 1242.
• Cooperated with Mongols and wins their
favor.


Rewarded with the title of Grand Prince
Dolgorukii line
The World Of The Peasants

The population of Europe doubled from 38 Mil.
to 74 Mil between 1000 and 1300.
 Reasons for population increase?
 The New Agriculture


More agricultural land
Heavy plow and new horse harness.
• Plows and teams of horses were owned in common.


Horseshoe
Water and wind power drive mills.
• Why didn’t this happen for Romans?

Shift to the three field system.
THE WORLD OF THE PEASANTS
The Manorial System

Lords and vassals depended on the labor of the
peasants
 Manors—agricultural estate operated by a lord
and worked by peasants.
 Increasingly free peasants were forced into
serfdom.


Serfs were bound to the land and required to provide
labor services, pay rents, and be subject to the lord’s
jurisdiction.
By the 9th century, 60 percent of peasants were serfs.
Manor (3-field) System
THE WORLD OF THE PEASANTS
Obligations of Serfs and Lords
 Serf’s





obligations:
Work the lord’s land (1/3 to a 1/2 of land on the
manor)
Build barns, dig ditches and otherwise
contribute to manor
Who owns the land? How is rent collected?
Pay the lord for the use of the manor’s common
lands and services
Lord’s legal rights over serfs?
THE WORLD OF THE PEASANTS
Daily Life of the Peasantry

Peasant life was simple, stark and full of
hard work.



Small huts made of wood with thatched roofs
Peasant women. Major cause of death?
Diet: heavy bread made of multiple whole
grains.



Supplemented with vegetables grown in home
gardens and dairy products.
Drank copious amounts of beer. Three gallons a
day.
Why beer?
Trade and Cities
The Revival of Trade

End of the 10th century, merchants and traders
re-emerge in Europe. Northern Italy took the
lead.




Why is Italy well-placed for this?
Major trading partner?
Flanders in present-day Belgium was leading trading
center of North Atlantic. Partners?
Money economy emerged. Gold and silver.


New trading and banking houses developed.
Impact of trade on demographics?
The Growth of Cities

During the early middle ages cities had
dwindled, especially north of the Alps.

11th and 12th centuries the old Roman cities begin to
come alive. New towns as well.
• Relation of cities to surrounding lands?

Townspeople purchase charters from the
nobility.



Advantage for townspeople?
For nobility?
Cities provided for welfare of its citizens



provided some fire protection—fires were common
Warehouse of food for “bad times”
set standards of weights and measures.
The Growth of Cities

European cities were relatively small, especially
in the north.



Pollution common; human waste.
Cities became centers for manufacturing.


London was only 30,000 in 1200. Italian cities were
larger, but still only 100,000.
Shoes, cloth, metalwork, leather goods.
12th Century, artisans organize Guilds



Advantages and effects of guilds?
Responsibilities?
Apprentices. Journeymen. Masterpieces.
CHRISTIANITY AND MEDIEVAL CIVILIZATION
The Papal Monarchy
After 5th C. the Pope was
supreme in the Western
church.
 Effect of control of the Papal
States?
 What if the Pope had NOT
controlled Papal States?
 What was the effect of Church
officials being involved in the
Feudal system as lords and
vassals?


Spirituality was in many cases
an afterthought
CHRISTIANITY AND MEDIEVAL CIVILIZATION
Reform of the Papacy
 11th
C.: the church wanted to be free from
interference of lords in the their
appointment of church officials.


Define: Lay investiture.
Gregory VII (1073-1085)
• Claimed that he was god’s vicar on earth and
possessed authority over all of Christendom,
including rulers.
• Sought to get rid of all lay investitures.
• Consequence to rulers of opposing the Pope?
CHRISTIANITY AND MEDIEVAL CIVILIZATION
Investiture Controversy

Gregory soon in conflict with Holy
Roman Emperor Henry IV.

Why does Henry believe he needs lay
investiture?

Investiture Controversy.
 Concordat of Worms.

Nature of compromise?
CHRISTIANITY AND MEDIEVAL CIVILIZATION
The Church Supreme

Pope reached the height of power
under Innocent III (1198-1216)

Define: Spiritual power vs. temporal
power.
• Which is greater?
• Who does he use it against?

Method of exerting power?

Define: Interdict.
CHRISTIANITY AND MEDIEVAL CIVILIZATION
New Religious Orders

Second half of the 11th century a new wave of
religious enthusiasm swept through Europe.
 Cistercian Order (founded in 1098).



Stricter than the Benedictine.
Helped to develop a more activist spiritual model.
Franciscan Order



founded by Francis of Assisi in 13th century.
Believed that church officials should help people
experience a more personal religious experience.
They lived among the people, preaching and serving
them.
CHRISTIANITY AND MEDIEVAL CIVILIZATION
New Religious Orders




Dominicans
Founded in Spain by Dominic
de Guzman in 13th century.
Active in defending church
from heresy.
Took the lead in the Inquisition
(The Holy Office).

Those who did not confess to
heresy were tortured and were
turned over to the state for
execution if they still did not
recant.
Popular Religion in the High Middle Ages
 Saints


believed to intercede with God.
Veneration of Saints
Mary to a certain extent deified in the 12th
and 13th Centuries.
 Relics—objects
thought to have been
used by or once part of saints.
 Churches would covet these items. Why?
THE CULTURAL WORLD
The Rise of Universities

First Universities in High Middle Ages.




Students formed Guild to protect themselves.
Regulated:




Bologna: Roman Law.
University of Paris
Oxford in London
fees to teacher
cost of books, lodging
recourse against teachers who didn’t show up.
By the end of the Middle Ages, over 80
universities
THE CULTURAL WORLD
The Rise of Universities
 Traditional



liberal arts curriculum:
Trivium: logic, grammar, rhetoric,
Quadrivium: arithmetic, geometry, music and
astronomy.
Tests: oral examinations given to graduate.
• Bachelor’s degree.
• Master’s degree.

Doctoral Study: Law, Medicine or Theology
• Theology most prestigious field.
• Advisors to kings and princes increasingly sent or
required to get law degree.
The Development of Scholasticism
(11th C.)
 Attempt


to reconcile faith and reason.
Do faith and empirical reason conflict?
Heart of Aquinas teachings:
• God gave man reason and therefore he must have
intended man to use it.
• Implication for study of natural sciences?
 St.


Thomas Aquinas
Prompted by the rediscovery of the works of
Greeks and Romans via the Muslims.
Importance of Aristotle’s works
The Eastern Roman Empire
 The

Reign of Justinian (525-565)
What does Justinian attempt? Effects?
 Justinian’s



Code
Systematized Roman law in an
understandable organized code.
Foundation for the law of Byzantium until its
fall in the 15th century.
Basis of University Law degrees.
Byzantine Empire under Justinian
From Eastern Roman to Byzantine
Empire
 Rise
of Islam created a powerful new
enemy to its west.


636 lost Syria and Palestine.
679 lost lower Danube valley.
 8th
C. the Eastern Roman Empire held
only the eastern Balkans and Asia Minor.


No longer a Mediterranean state
Now referred to as the Byzantine empire.
Byzantine World-View
 A Greek


Greek became the language of the empire
Orthodox church.
 Emperor


and Christian state.
was head of the church.
Emperor was considered to have been
chosen by God.
Differences from Western church and
implications?
Macedonian Emperors
 Byzantine
Empire recovered and
expanded over the next 200 years under
Macedonian emperors (867-1081).

Retakes Bulgaria, Crete, Cyprus and Syria.
 By
1025 the Empire was the largest it had
been since the beginning of the seventh
century.
 How do Macedonian Emperors foster
economic prosperity?
Schism
 Split
between Orthodox and Catholic
Church.


Orthodox church unwilling to accept Pope’s
claims to be head of all Christians.
1054: Pope and Orthodox Patriarch
excommunicated each other.
Crusades
Causes
 Council
of Clermont in southern
France—1095


Pope challenged Christians to in a holy war to
recover the Holy Land; Promised remission of
sins
Offer was taken up with enthusiasm,
especially by French Knights. Why?
First Crusade
 First
Crusade dominated by French
knights.
• Why knights joined?
• Why kings encouraged knights to go?
• Why merchants were happy?


.
Capture Antioch in 1098.
Capture Jerusalem in June 1099 after a 5week siege and a bloody massacre of
civilians.

Crusaders organize
four Latin Crusader
states—Kingdom of
Jerusalem, County of
Tripoli, Principality of
Antioch, County of
Edessa
Second and Third Crusades
 Second


Cause?
St. Bernard of Clairvaux.
 Third

Crusade
Crusade
Richard I Lionheart of England; Philip II of
France and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick
Barbarossa
• Richard eventually negotiated free access to
Jerusalem for Christian pilgrims.
Fourth Crusade

Initiated by Pope Innocent III after death of
Saladin.
 On the way to the Crusades they divert to
Byzantium. Why?


Crusaders capture Constantinople and proclaim the
Empire of Constantinople in 1204.
Byzantine army recaptures in 1261, but Empire
is reduced to Constantinople, surrounding lands
and part of Asia Minor.
 Constantinople finally falls to the Ottoman Turks
in 1453.
Consequences of Crusades
 Effect


Crusaders could not hold land
United Arabs under Saladin
 Effect



on Arabia
on Europe
Political effect of the loss of so many young
nobles?
Economic effect on the continent?
Effect on relations with non-Christians (esp.
Jews)?