Download Western Europe during Middle Ages

Western Europe during Middle Ages
Directions. Printout and review the Chapter outline & Study Guide prior to reading the Chapter. “People & Terms” are to be
highlighted on the Chapter Outline. Words not appearing in the outline must be added to the outline. Incorporate the information for the Study
questions into the notes you add to the outline.
Introduction. While other parts of the world were experiencing unprecedented prosperity during the postclassical era, Europe’s economy
underwent a sharp constriction with the fall of the Roman Empire. Long-distance trade did not entirely disappear, significant developments
took place in agricultural production, and there were brief periods of government consolidation; nevertheless, early medieval Europe was a
world dominated by rural self-sufficiency and political decentralization. In spite of its seeming “backwardness” compared to other great
empires of the postclassical world, Europe was laying the foundation for the development of the powerful society that would emerge during the
high middle ages. The foundation rested on:
• Hard-won political order, restored out of disruption caused by the fall of the Roman Empire, centuries of destructive invasions, and dramatic
depopulation. This order was based on a highly decentralized but flexible system that vested political, military, and judicial authority in local
and regional rulers.
• A long, slow process of economic recovery based first on increased agricultural production within the rural manorial system to be followed by
gradually increasing trade, industry, and commerce and eventual re-urbanisation of Europe.
• The cultural unity provided by the Roman Catholic church based in Rome. Roman Christianity provided the impetus for cultural continuity
and unity in western Europe. The papacy & monastic movement were powerful institutions that preserved Roman traditions developing a
uniquely European culture.
Europeans during the high middle ages built a vibrant and prosperous society. Rising from the foundations laid during the early middle ages –
lord-retainer relationships, agricultural innovation, and then Roman Catholic Church -- Europe emerged from its long period of relative political
instability and economic and intellectual stagnation. The hallmarks of high medieval European culture included
• Consolidation and expansion of regional states. These powerful states sometimes were organized by local rulers and based on lordretainer relationships, as seen in France. Other times, they were supported or encouraged by the Roman church, like the Holy Roman
Empire.
• Economic revitalization. With renewed agricultural surplus, the population expanded and Europe began to re-urbanise. Cities grew, and
with them grew business, industry, trade, and educational institutions. Long-distance trade networks reappeared, esp. in the Mediterranean
and Baltic and North Sea regions.
• Continued presence of the Roman Catholic Christianity in virtually all aspects of high medieval life. Though both traditional church
institutions and the mass appeal of popular religious practices, church institutions and the mass appeal of popular religious practices, the
church prospered during this period. The Roman church’s influence was felt in education, philosophy, literature, conquest, and travel.
People & Terms
Clovis
Charles Martel
Charlemagne Pope Leo III
Otto I
Pope Gregory I
St. Scholastica St. Benedict
Marco Polo
Otto I
Henry IV
Pope Gregory VII
Pope Urban II Frederick Barbarossa
Thomas Aquinas William of Normandy
Eleanor of Aquitaine Saladin
Pope Innocent
Franks
Manorial system
Retainers
Benefice
Serf
Heavy plow
Monasticism
Vikings
Magyars
Benedict’s Rule
Holy Roman Empire
Investiture
Capetian dynasty
Normans
Hanseatic League
Three estates
Cathedral schools
universities
Pilgrimages
Waldensians
Cathars
Teutonic
reconquista
Crusades
Magna Carta
Study Questions
o Discuss the advantages & disadvantages
of the highly decentralized political system
that developed in Europe during the early
Middle Ages.
o Describe the manorial system. Assess the
Hugh
extentCapet
to which the social, economic, &
Louis
IXrelationships that emerged from
political
the manor system provide stability or
chaos to early medieval society.
o Following the collapse of the Roman
Missi
dominici
Empire,
agricultural production in Europe
suffered a sharp constriction. Explain the
papacy
causes & nature of this constriction. To
which the economy still functioning and
describe the impediments to further
development during this period.
o Troubadours
What was the role of Roman
Guilds Christianity in
early medieval Europe? In what ways did
Christianity shape and help re-structure
European society following the collapse of
the Roman Empire?
o During this period Europe saw the
emergence of a new social class in the
cities. Who were they and what roles did
they play? How were they able to make a
place for themselves in the medieval social
order?
o The medieval period was marked by the
gradual rebirth of economic and political
institutions in Western Europe. Discuss the
early symbiotic relationship between secular
and religious leaders. What accounts for the
change from a cooperative to an adversarial
relationship?
o Consider the northern Italian city-states that
emerged during this period. How did they
become so successful and prosperous? What
roles did they play in the economy, politics,
and religion of Europe?
o The 18th century French philosopher Voltaire
is once quoted as saying, “the Holy Roman
Empire is neither.” What did he mean by this
and to what degree was he correct? What
was the Holy Roman Empire? Explain your
answer with examples.
MEDIEVAL WESTERN EUROPE
I. THE QUEST FOR POLITICAL ORDER
A. Germanic successor states
1. Collapse of W. Roman Empire – decline of territories in outer
regions
2. Germanic kingdoms: Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Lombards,
Burgundians, Angles/Saxons
3. France: decentralized small kingdoms
4. Britain: regional kingdoms -- Angles, Scots, Celts
B. The Re-emergence of Empire in W. Europe
1. Clovis & the Frankish Kingdom
a. Led Franks -- eliminate Roman authority in Gaul
b. Expand east to conquer Germanic peoples
c. Decentralized kingdom centred in N. France (6th c. CE)
d. Regions controlled by DEPUTIES (aka Mayors) in name of
Frankish king
e. Deputies hold real power in Frankish kingdom
f. Charles Martel, Deputy pushes Muslims out of France @
Battle of Tours (732 CE)
2. Clovis's conversion
a. Germanic -- Arian Christianity
b. Franks -- Roman Christianity
c. Alliance w/ Roman church -- strengthened Franks & church
d. Did not force conversion
3. The Carolingians
a. Carolingians, emerge in early 8th century from Deputies
b. Weakness of de-centralised system  Deputy growth in
power
c. Pepin, Charles Martel's son claims the throne 751
4. Charlemagne (reigned 768-814 C.E.)
a. Grandson of Charles Martel
b. Control extended to northeast Spain, Bavaria, north Italy
c. Encouraged spread of education, but barely literate
5. Administration
a. Divided into 3 regions, controlled by Missi
b. missi dominici  oversee local authorities
c. Regions divided into counties governed by aristocratic
deputies, aka., Counts
d. Charlemagne active; keep visible presence t/o empire
e. Forces conversion to Catholicism t/o empire
6. Charlemagne as emperor of the Roman Empire
a. Pope Leo III proclaimed Charlemagne emperor, 800
b. Reflects tension b/t Pope & Byzantine Emperor
c. Upset relations w/ Byzantine emperors – title was Roman
Emperor
d. Maintains rel’ts w/ Byzantine & Abbasid rulers
C. Decline & dissolution of the Carolingian empire
1. Louis the Pious (reigned 814-840)
a. Charlemagne's only surviving son; lost control of the counts
b. His three sons divided the empire into three kingdoms, 843
2. Invasions
a. Muslims raided south, seized Sicily, parts of northern Italy &
southern France
b. Magyars invaded from the east
c. Vikings invaded from the north
3. Norse expansion; Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Baltic States
a. Motives: population pressure, resisting Christian missionaries
b. Most merchants & migrants – traded down to Black Sea
c. Raided regions from Russia to Spain
d. Ships travel interior regions via rivers, attacking towns
e. Pre-eminent mariners -- discovered Iceland, Greenland, N.
America
f. Est. colony in Canada ~ 1000
g. Est. other settlements t/o Europe – France, Germany, etc
h. Assimilate into local cultures
D. The establishment of regional authorities
1. England -- small kingdoms merge into large realm agst
Scandinavian raids
a. King Alfred (r. 871-899) expanded to the north
b. Successors control England ~ mid-tenth century
2. Germany: after Carolingian empire, local lords take control
a. King Otto I (reigned 936-973) – Ottonian Empire
b. Imposes authority in Germany; supports papacy
c. Otto's coronation ( 962) -- Holy Roman Emperor
3. France -- counts & other local authorities local lords
II. EARLY MEDIEVAL SOCIETY
A. Organizing a decentralized state
1. After Carolingian empire dissolved, local nobles built
decentralized states
2. Lords & retainers
a. Lord provided retainer w/ grant of power -- benefice (usually
land, called fief)
b. Retainer -- serve the lord
c. Provide resources to maintain horses & military equipment
d. Retainers owed loyalty, obedience, respect, counsel, &
military service
e. Lord/retainer relations retainer status -- hereditary
3. Potential for instability
a. Multi-tiered network of lord-retainer relationships
b. Sometimes conflicting loyalties led to instability  changing
loyalties
c. Powerful states built on lord-retainer relationships
B. Serfs & Manors
1. Serfs
a. Slaves & peasants – agricultural; frequently intermarried
b. Free peasants often turn themselves & lands over for
protection – response to Viking raids & outlaw banditry
c. Serfdom emerges as social class ~ mid-seventh century
2. Serfs' obligations
a. Labor service & rents in kind
b. Could not move to other lands w/o permission
c. Once obligations fulfilled, serfs had right to work on land
3. Manors -- principal form of agricultural organization
a. large estate, controlled by the lord & his deputies
b. Manors largely self-sufficient communities
C. The economy of early medieval Europe
1. Agriculture production -- repeated invasions
2. Technology --  production &  pop
a. Heavy plows (6th century) -- could turn heavy northern soils
b. common from the eighth century; production increased
c. Cultivation of new lands; watermills; & rotating crops
3. Rural society – agri. surplus can’t support large cities
4. Mediterranean trade -- Italian & Spanish merchants trade w/
Muslims
5. Norse merchant mariners in North & Baltic Seas
a. Followed routes of Vikings
b. Traded actively w/ Byzantine & Abbasid empires
c. Imported Abbasid silver used in European coinage
6. Shifting Population: 36 million in 200; down to 26 million in 600;
back up to 36 million in 1000
III. THE FORMATION OF CHRISTIAN EUROPE
A. The politics of conversion
1. The Franks & the Church
a. Frankish rulers saw themselves as protectors of the papacy
b. Charlemagne forces Christianity on northern lands
2. The spread of Christianity
a. Pagan ways did not disappear immediately
b. By 1000 C.E., Roman Christianity dominant t/o W. Europe
B. The papacy
1. Pope Gregory I (590-604 C.E.)
a. Organized defense of Rome against Lombards' menace
b. Reasserted papal primacy over other bishops
c. Strongly emphasized the penance--confession & atonement
2. Conversion of England--by 800
C. Monasticism
1. Origin
a. Devout Christians practiced asceticism in deserts of Egypt,
(2nd & 3rd c.)
b. Monastic lifestyle popular when Christianity legal (4th c.)
2. Monastic rules
a. St. Benedict (480-547) est. a set of regulations
b. Virtues of Benedictine monks: poverty, chastity, & obedience
3. St. Scholastica (482-543 C.E.)
a. St. Benedict's sister, a nun
b. Adapted the Rule, & provided guidance for religious life of
women
4. The roles of monasteries
a. Became dominant feature in social & cultural life of western
Europe
b. Accumulated large landholdings
c. Organized much of the rural labor force for agricultural
production
d. Provided variety of social services: inns, shelters,
orphanages, hospitals, schools
e. Libraries & scriptoria became centers of learning
IV. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF REGIONAL STATES
A. The Holy Roman Empire
1. Otto I
a. Otto of Saxony rose in northern Germany by the mid-tenth
century
b. Pope John XII proclaimed him emperor in 962
2. Investiture contest
a. Church officials appointed by imperial authorities (kings)
b. Struggle b/t Kings & Pope dating to Justinian
c. Bishops literate; most nobles not
d. Bishops serves as closest advisors & confessors
i. rulers want loyalty of advisors
ii. Pope wants to control religious offices
e. Pope Gregory VII order end to the practice
f. Emperor Henry IV refuses -- excommunicated
3. Frederick Barbarossa
a. Seeks absorb Lombardy in north Italy
b. Pope see as threat to Rome
c. Coalition loyal to Pope forces Barbarossa out of Lomabardy
B. Regional monarchies in France & England
1. Capetian France: Hugh Capet founded dynasty from 987,
lasted three centuries
2. The Normans descendents of Vikings in Normandy, France
a. Duke William of Normandy invaded England in 1066
b. Introduced Norman style of political administration to England
c. Centralized; introduce census to inventory population, land,
resources
d. Saxon nobles lose land and power to Norman lords
e. French comes to dominate English nobility
f. Resentment of Saxons
C. Regional states in Italy & Iberia
1. Popes ruled territory in central Italy
2. Prosperous northern Italian city-states: Florence, Bologna,
Genoa, Milan, Venice  often at odds w/papal authority
3. Normans conquer southern Italy & Sicily
4. Christian & Muslim states in Iberia
a. Muslims conquer ruled most of the peninsula(8th -11th c.)
b. Establish Khaliphate of al-Andaluz
c. Christian kingdoms in North fight to regain the peninsula
(except Granada) by late 13th century
V. ECONOMIC GROWTH AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
D. Growth of the agricultural economy
1. Expansion of arable land
a. Population pressure by the late tenth century
b. Serfs & monks began to clear forests & swamps
c. Lords encouraged such efforts for high taxes
2. Improved agricultural techniques
a. Crop rotation methods
b. Cultivation of beans increased & enriched the land
c. More domestic animals also enriched the land
d. Books & treatises on household economy & agricultural
methods
3. New tools & technology
a. Extensive use of watermills & heavy plows
b. Use of horseshoe & horse collar increased land under
cultivation
4. New food supplies
a. Before 1000, European diet was mostly grains
b. After 1000, more meat, dairy products, fish, vegetables,
legumes
c. Spain, Italy, Mediterranean got new foods through Islamic
world
5. Population growth: from 29 million to 79 million b/t 800 C.E. &
1300 C.E.
E. The revival of towns & trade
1. Urbanization: peasants & serfs flocked to cities & towns
2. Textile production, especially in north Italy & Flanders
3. Mediterranean trade: Italian merchants dominated &
established colonies
4. The Hanseatic League--an association of trading cities
a. Hansa dominated trade of northern Europe
b. Major European rivers linked Hansa to the Mediterranean
5. Improved business techniques
a. Bankers issued letters of credit to merchants
b. Commercial partnerships for limiting risks of commercial
investment
F. Social changes
1. The three estates
a. "Those who pray"--clergy of Roman Catholic church, the
spiritual estate
b. "Those who fight"--feudal nobles, the military estate
c. "Those who work"--mostly peasants & serfs
2. Chivalry
a. Widely recognized code of ethics & behavior for feudal
nobles
b. Church officials directed chivalry toward Christian faith &
piety
3. Troubadours
a. Aristocratic women promoted chivalric values by patronizing
troubadours
b. Troubadours drew inspiration from the love poetry of Muslim
Spain
4. Eleanor of Aquitaine was most celebrated woman of her day
a. Supported troubadours, promoted good manners, refinement,
& romantic love
b. Code of chivalry & romantic poetry softened manners of
rough warriors
5. Independent cities: urban populations increasingly resisted
demands of feudal nobles
6. Guilds
a. Regulated production & sale of goods
b. Established standards of quality for manufactured goods
c. Determined prices & regulated entry of new workers
d. Social significance: friendship, mutual support, built halls
7. Urban women: most guilds admitted women, & women also had
own guilds
VI. EUROPEAN CHRISTIANITY DURING THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES
A. Schools, universities, & scholastic theology
1. Cathedral schools
a. Bishops & archbishops in France & northern Italy organized
schools
b. Cathedral schools had formal curricula, concentrated on
liberal arts
c. Some offered advance instruction in law, medicine, &
theology
2. Universities
a. Student guilds & faculty guilds
b. Large cathedral schools developed into universities
3. The influence of Aristotle
a. Obtained Aristotle's works from Byzantine & Muslim
philosophers
b. Scholasticism: St. Thomas Aquinas harmonized reason w/
Christianity
B. Popular religion
1. Sacraments; the most popular was the Eucharist
2. Devotion to saints for help; Virgin Mary most popular
(cathedrals)
3. Saints' relics were esteemed; pilgrimages (Rome, Compostela,
Jerusalem)
C. Reform movements & popular heresies
1. Dominicans & Franciscans were urban-based mendicant orders
a. Organized movements to champion spiritual over materialistic
values
b. Zealously combated heterodox movements
2. Popular heresy: the movements of Waldensians & Cathars
(Albigensians)
VII. THE MEDIEVAL EXPANSION OF EUROPE
D. Atlantic & Baltic Colonization
1. Vinland
a. Scandinavian seafarers turned to North Atlantic Ocean, 9th &
10th centuries
b. Colonized Iceland & Greenland
c. Leif Ericsson Newfoundland, called Vinland
2. Christianity in Scandinavia: Denmark & Norway (10th century)
3. Crusading orders & Baltic expansion
a. Teutonic Knights t active in the Baltic region
b. Baltic region was absorbed into Christian Europe from the
late thirteenth century
E. The reconquest (for Christianity) of Sicily & Spain
1. Re-conquest of S. Italy & Sicily by Normans (1090 )
2. The reconquista of Spain began in 1060s
a. By 1150, + half of peninsula
b. 13th century, regain most of peninsula except Granada
F. The Crusades
1. Seljuk capture Jerusalem & threaten Byzantine; call for help
2. Pope Urban II calls on Christians to retake the holy land (1095 )
3. Crusaders motivated by various reasons
4. The First crusade
a. French & Norman nobles organized military expedition, 1096
b. Jerusalem fell to the crusaders, 1099; Muslims recapture,
1187
5. Later crusades
a. By the mid-thirteenth century, five major crusades
b. 4th crusade (1202-1204) conquer Constantinople
i. Venice & Genoa refuse to transport Crusaders
c. Fail to take Palestine from the Muslims
6. Consequences of the crusades
a. Crusaders est. states in Palestine & Syria – Levant /Outremer
b. Widespread trade w/ Muslims; demand for luxury goods
c. Muslim ideas filter to Europe: Aristotle, science, astronomy,
numerals, paper
d.  Venice & Genoa – supply ships and goods for crusaders
i. profit from Crusader trade
ii. shipping innovations – Venice major naval & merchant
force in Medit.
iii. conduit b/t N Europe & Silk Road trade
iv.  trade;  $$$ Crusades seen as disruptive &
unprofitable; refuse to transport crusaders for 4th
Crusade
e. Spread in literacy, learning
f.  New ideas seen as challenge to Church teachings