Download Unit 9: Medieval Europe Part 1 Early Medieval

Unit 9: Medieval Europe Part 1
Name_________________________________________________ Date_______________ Block______
Early Medieval Europe
Fragmentation of Western Rome
•
Western Rome was transformed between 300 and 700 A.D.
•
This period is often called Late Antiquity.
•
During this time, Germanic groups set up independent kingdoms in Western Europe.
•
As Germanic tribes moved into Rome, maritime and overland trade was disrupted.
•
People moved out of cities.
•
Literacy rates declined and there was no longer a common language or law.
Late Antiquity was a transition to the Middle Ages or Medieval Period from 500 to 1500 A.D.
The cultural foundations of early medieval society were:
•
Classical heritage of Rome
•
Christian beliefs
•
Customs of Germanic tribes
The Catholic (Universal) Church
•
The Roman Catholic Church grew in importance after Roman authority declined.
•
The Church became the main unifying force in Western Europe.
•
The Church served the social, political, and religious needs of the people.
•
The Catholic Church took on a secular (non-religious) roll.
•
Pope Gregory I used Church revenues to raise armies, repair roads and care for the poor.
•
During the Middle Ages, the Pope anointed the Emperors and negotiated peace treaties between
European rulers.
Missionaries
•
Christian missionaries carried the message of Christianity and the Latin alphabet to the Germanic
tribes.
•
St. Augustine of Canterbury was sent by Pope Gregory to the pagan Angles and Saxons who had
settled in Britain or England.
•
St Patrick was a missionary to Ireland.
•
The Franks who had moved in to Gaul (France and Switzerland) adopted Christianity when their
king, Clovis, converted.
Monasticism
•
In religious communities called monasteries, monks gave up their possessions and pursued a life
of prayer and devotion to God.
•
Monasteries were centers of education. Monks opened schools, copied books and kept libraries.
•
Convents were religious centers for women who broke from society to live in devotion to God
(nuns).
Power of the Church
•
As the influence of Church spread, parish priests served both religious and social needs of the
people in Medieval Europe.
•
Excommunication (being removed from the Church) was the greatest fear for people in Medieval
Western Europe.
•
The Catholic Church was believed to be the only source of salvation from sin.
•
The power of the Church was pervasive in their daily lives as well.
How and why did the Church grow in importance during the Middle Ages?
The Power of the Franks
•
Charles Martel (The Hammer) was mayor of the palace for the Merovingian king of the Franks.
•
He defeated Muslim raiders from Spain at the Battle of Tours in 732.
•
Became a Christian hero.
•
Charles Martel passed power on to his son Pepin the Short.
•
Pepin fought the Lombards who threatened Rome.
•
In return, the Pope crowned him “king by the grace of God.”
•
He began the Carolingian Dynasty that ruled the Franks until 987.
•
The Franks were the major force in Western Europe.
Age of Charlemagne
•
Charles the Great (Charlemagne) of the Carolingian dynasty inherited kingdom of the Franks and
revived the idea of the Roman Empire in Western Europe.
•
Charlemagne conquered vast territories from opposing Germanic tribes and spread Christianity.
•
Through military power, Frankish kings like Charlemagne brought greater stability to Western
Europe.
Holy Roman Emperor
•
Charlemagne traveled to Rome to fight in support of Pope Leo III.
•
Pope Leo crowned Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day in 800.
Charlemagne’s Revival of the Roman Empire
•
The alliance between Frankish kings and the Church re-established Roman culture in Western
Europe.
•
Most of the territory of Western Europe was included in the new empire governed by
Charlemagne.
•
Churches, roads, and schools were built to unite the Carolingian empire.
•
Roman culture was reinterpreted as the Germanic peoples built their empire.
•
Charlemagne promoted the arts and learning.
•
He built monasteries in the territories he conquered.
A Short Lived Empire
•
When Charlemagne died, he left his kingdom to his son Louis the Pious.
•
Louis was a devout Christian, but could not face the challenges of governing the empire.
•
Louis’ three sons: Lothair, Charles the Bald, and Louis the German fought one another for
control of the Carolingian Empire.
•
The Treaty of Verdun divided the empire into three kingdoms.
How did Charlemagne revive the idea of the Roman Empire?
Invaders Attack Western Europe
•
The Vikings attacked from Scandinavia with lethal speed.
•
Many Vikings settled in Russia.
•
The Magyars attacked on horseback from Central Asia in the east and settled in Eastern Europe
(what is now Hungary).
•
Muslims invaded settlements on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts.
•
Angles and Saxons invaded Britain from continental Europe (Denmark) after the Romans
withdrew.
•
Angles united part of Britain and set up a dynasty in what would come to be called Angle Land or
England.
•
Invasions by Angles, Saxons, Magyars, and Vikings disrupted the social, economic, and political
order of Europe.
•
Invasions disrupted trade, towns declined, and the feudal system was strengthened.
How did invasions by the Angles, Saxons, Magyars, and Vikings influence the development of Europe?
European Feudalism
•
Invasions and the lack of strong rulers or central authority, led to a new social, economic, &
political system during the Middle Ages called Feudalism.
•
Without a Roman or Frankish central authority, people had little protection against invasion.
•
They entered into feudal agreements with land-holding lords who promised them protection.
Feudal Terms
•
Lord: Nobleman who controlled a vast amount of land in exchange for a pledge of loyalty
(usually to the king).
•
Fief: A portion of land granted to a vassal.
•
Vassal: men who received a fief and pledged loyalty and military service to the lord. Knights
were vassals.
•
Serf: peasant who was legally bound to work a certain piece of land. Serfs worked their lord’s
land in exchange for protection and a place to live.
Feudalism
•
Feudalism was a system of mutual obligations where land, loyalty and labor were exchanged.
•
The Feudal system had a rigid class structure.
How did a feudal society develop in Europe during the Middle Ages?
The Manorial System
•
A lord’s estate in feudal Europe was called a manor.
•
The heart of a manor was a fortified house or castle for protection in the event of an attack.
•
Manors were self-sufficient and everything the people needed was either grown or made on site.
•
The lord provided serfs with housing and protection on the manor.
•
Serfs worked the lord’s fields and maintained the estate.
•
High taxes, meager living conditions, and long hours of work made life on the Medieval manors
very harsh for the serfs.
How did the medieval manor function as a social and economic system?
Knights and Chivalry
•
Feudal lords needed warriors to defend their land.
•
Knights became vassals who were obligated to serve in battle.
•
Knights trained to be warriors from an early age.
•
At age 7, a son of a noble would become a page.
•
At 14, he became a squire.
•
At 21, a squire became a knight.
•
They practiced skills for battle at tournaments.
•
Knights supposedly lived according to standards of chivalry which required them to fight bravely
for their lord, their God, and their lady.