Download Middle Ages Renaissance

Middle Ages
 Including Feudalism,
Charlemagne, the role of the
Church, and the Crusades
It all started with the fall of the Roman Empire
Rome is captured in 410 AD
Medieval Europe
Background
The Middle Ages occurred from the fall of the Roman Empire
to the beginning of the modern era.
The Middle Ages were a dark age for Europe. Near
constant invasions and scant resources required that
Europeans develop a new system for living. This system
included all aspects of life, social, political, and economic. It
was called Feudalism.
Feudalism
Feudalism was a social, political, and economic system that
dominated all aspects of medieval life. The economic portion
of feudalism was centered around the lord's estates or manor,
and is called manorialism. A lord's manor would include
peasant villages, a church, farm land, a mill, and the lord's
castle or manor house
Manorialism
 Manors were self sufficient; all economic activity occurred on
the manor. This meant that little to no trade occurred during this
time period. Most of the peasants during the Middle Ages were
serfs. Serfs were given land to farm in exchange for service to
their lord. Service included working in the fields, maintaining
roads and the manor, or military service in during wars. .
 The lords had responsibilities also under this system. In return for
the services and taxes paid by the peasants, they provided land and
protection to them. Lords also had to pay fees and give service to
high lords and the king. Feudalism affected all levels of society
The Feudal System
Kings
Give large land grants to Upper Lords called fiefs
Give Protection
Receives money, military service, and advice
Upper Lords
Give land grants to Lesser Lords
Give Protection
Receives money, military service
Lesser Lords
Give land grants to knights
Receives money, military service
Knights
Give land to peasants/serfs
Receives crops, labor
Peasants/ Serfs
Receives land to farm
Pays with labor, crops
Comparison of Feudalism in Europe and
Japan
Nobility
Warriors
Code of
Conduct
Europe
Japan
King, lord,
lesser lord
Knights
Emperor,
shogun, daimyo
Samurai
Chivalry
Bushido
Both practices developed in response to the need for security and stability
everyone had well-defined social roles
helped preserve law and order
The Age of Charlemagne
In a time of chaos, one ruler arose to
unite most of the western regions
of the fallen Western Roman
Empire. That ruler was Charles,
king
of the Franks, or Charlemagne.
Wanted to recreate the Roman
Empire.
On Christmas Day, 800, Pope Leo III
crowned him Holy Roman
Emperor.
During the middle ages two distinct
Christian churches emerged
 Roman Catholic
Eastern Orthodox
Role of the Church
 Spiritual: Religion was a central part of life for medieval
people from baptism to marriage.
 Secular: In addition to being the social center of the village,
the church had economic power and political power. The
Church was the largest landholder, gained wealth through
tithing and had its own laws and courts which frequently
clashed with King’s authority. Some parish priests ran schools.
 The Roman Catholic Church had a great influence on the
government, art, culture, and scientific theories during the
Middle Ages.
The Crusades
 In the 1050’s the Seljuk Turks invade the
Byzantine empire and conquered Palestine
or the Holy land.
 The Muslims and Jews also considered this
their Holy Land.
 The Pope called for a crusade to free the
Holy Land.
The Crusades
Reasons for the Crusades
 The Pope wanted to increase his power
 Christians believed it was their duty to
recover the Holy Land
 Nobles wanted to gain wealth.
 Adventurers sought travel and excitement
 Serfs hoped to escape feudal oppression
The Black Death
The bubonic plague was a highly infectious disease spread
by the fleas on rats. Rats were common in the cities of
this time.
This particular outbreak first appeared in China In the
early 1300’s with deaths of about 35 million Chinese.
It was a global epidemic that that spread through the
increased trade between counties.
Between 1347 and 1353, the plague killed on person out
of every three in Europe over 25 million.