Download 1 Medieval Europe 300 - 1500 Medieval Europe • 1. Kingdoms and

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Medieval Europe
300 - 1500
Medieval Europe
• 1. Kingdoms and Christianity – 300 – 1250
• 2. The Early Middle Ages – 800 – 1215
• 3. The High Middle Ages – 1000 – 1500
Kingdoms and Christianity
• 1. The Byzantine Empire
• 2. The Rise of Russia
• 3. Christianity in Western Europe
• Main Idea
• After the fall of Rome, large and small kingdoms appeared in
Europe
• In most of these kingdoms, Christianity had a powerful influence
on people’s lives
The Byzantine Empire
• The Byzantine Empire
• Constantinople – Greek for the “city of Constantine” – capital of the Roman
Empire under Constantine I
• Constantinople was the seat of the Eastern Roman Empire –became know as the
Byzantine Empire
Constantine’s City--Constantinopolis
o Became a much larger, richer city than Rome
o The city’s location on the Bosporus not only put it in a position to control trade,
but it also helped guard it from attack
o The sea on two sides, and huge fortified walls on the other
Barbarian Invasions of the Roman Empire
• After the fall of Rome, the Byzantine Empire did not give up their claim to
western part of the empire
• First task was to retake all the land that a Germanic tribe called the Vandals had
taken
Emperor Justinian [r. 527-564]
o Byzantine Emperor – Justinian
o Main goal –restore the Roman Empire
o In 533, sent General Belisarius to Northern Africa to expel the Vandals
o It took only a year to re-capture Africa
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Justinian’s Code
o Corpus Juris Civilis:
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1. Digest
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2. Code
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3. Institutes
o Justinian initiatives to reform Roman law
o He set up a system that systematically arranged the empire’s laws and legal
documents into a clear system
o Corpus Juris Civilis – four parts – contains existing constitutions from previous
emperor and laws created by Justinian himself – Justinian Code
Justinian’s Empire at its Peak
• By 565, his empire had spread through northern Africa and most of southeastern
Europe, including Italy
• When he died in 565, he left the government nearly bankrupt
• His government could not effectively administer the empire
• As a result, the western provinces fell to migrating tribes
Empress Theodora
• Wife of Justinian and co-ruler of the empire
• Nika Revolt – rebellion against the Justinian empire; resented his reforms
• Belisarius and his troops captured them and assembled them in a stadium called
the Hippodrome
• They were slaughtered by the thousands
• The Revolution that destroyed the city gave the emperor the chance to rebuild the
city with grand new monuments
Church of Hagia Sophia [Holy Wisdom]
• Two institutions were central to their culture:
• The Emperor
• A Priest-King – deputy of Jesus Christ
• Emperor Justinian tried to restore Roman traditions
• Emperor Heraclius eventually replaced old Roman traditions with Greek ones
• (leads to split –Orthodox and Roman Catholic)
• And Christianity
• Mosaics – pictures created with tiny colored tiles of glass, stone, or clay fitted
together and cemented in place
Interior of the Church of Hagia Sophia
• Religion was the force behind architecture
• Hagia Sophia – churches that have round dome over a square foundation
• Mosaic of Christ – glitters with gold
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Religious Conflicts
• 700’s – the use of are in the churches deeply divided the society
• Controversy over icons – paintings or sculptures of sacred figures
• Ironclasts – Christians who objected to worship of idols
The Church Splits
 1054 – final split between the churches
 The church in the east became the Orthodox Church
 The church in the west remained the Roman Catholic Church
o Major differences
o Orthodox – roots in Greek tradition
o Roman Catholicism – roots in Roman Law
o Orthodox recognize the pope authority over bishops
o Roman Catholics recognize pope as ultimate authority over doctrine
Byzantine & Sassanid Empires, 6c
• The Byzantine Empire not only had troubles in the west, but the empire also had
troubles in the east – the Sassanid Empire (Persia)
• Emperor Heraclius, who took over after the death of Justinian, had finally
defeated the Persians
The Empire Declines
• Muslims had been threatening the empire as far back as the reign of Heraclius
• Over time, Islam, pressure from migrating tribes, and internal conflict brought an
end to the Byzantine Empire
• Later Emperors did have some successes in stopping advancing Muslim forces
Istanbul?
• However, a new enemy-the Seljuk Turks – defeated the Byzantine Empire in
eastern Asia Minor
• Constantinople later fell to the Ottoman Turks who renamed it Istanbul
• Served as a buffer zone between Christian West and the Muslim East
Sunset on the “Golden Horn”
The Rise of Russia
• For thousands of years, hunters-gathers managed to live in the sometimes harsh
climate in the lands of what is now the Ukraine and Russia
• Among the peoples who occupied the plains was the Slavs –did not enter
historical record until AD 800’s
The Rus and Kiev
• The history of the Slavs – The Russian Chronicle – 1100’s
• Started along the Dnieper River and were fighting among themselves
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Asked for northern European help –called the Rus –perhaps the Vikings
“Our land is great and rich, but there is no order. Come to rule and reign over
us.”
The Russian Primary Chronicle
A Saint and Three Brothers
• “They thus selected three brothers, with their kinsfolk, who took with them all the
Rus, and migrated.”
• Saint Andrew blessed a cluster of hills, predicting that a great city would rise
• Three brothers, Kiy, Shchek, and Khoriv, leader of the Rolyane tribe, arrived in
the area and created a settlement called Kiev
• Kiev is now know as the Ukraine
Yaroslav the Wise
• Late 900’s – Russ had extended their control beyond Kiev
• Conquered Byzantine Empire and established trade
• Also, defeated the Khazars and freed several Slavs
• Yaroslav the Wise – ruler during the height of the Kievan Rus empire
• Many religious doctrines translated from Greek to Slavic language
Christianity in Russia
• Contact with the Byzantine Empire affected Russia and led to the spread of
Christianity
• Early Slavs practiced a belief system based on nature and had many gods
• 863 – churchman in Constantinople sent two Greek monks to Moravia to convert
the Slavs to Christianity
• Monks –Cyril and Methodius –brothers who spoke Slavian language and used it
to celebrate mass
• Cyrillic alphabet – based mainly on the characters of the Greek alphabet-Slavonic
language written alphabet
Christian Russia
• Within 100 years, Christianity was established and claimed an important convert
• Grand Duke Vladimir I of Kiev was baptized Christian
• 988 – Christianity the official religion of Kievan Russia
Russia Under Attack
• During mid 1000s, Kievan-Russia reached the height of its empire
• However, in the 1200s, the empire was in attack internally and by invaders
• Internal division among the Rus – princes within the state’s border trying to get
more power and land
• The Mongols led by Genghis Khan conquered the empire of Kiev
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Alexander Nevsky, Prince of Novgorod, - prevented the Mongols and the Swedes
from conquering Novgorod
Halo – indicates status of Saint in Russian Orthodox Church
Soldier’s uniform emphasizes Alexander’s importance as a military leader
Saint Alexander Nevsky
• Teutonic Knights wanted to convert Russians from Greek Orthodox to Roman
Catholicism
• 1242-Alexander trapped the Knights onto thinning ice
• The ice cracked and men and horses fell through the ice into the freezing water
• For more than 200 years, Russia will main under control of Asian nomadic
peoples
• Within Russia, Muscovy, east of Kiev, grew in importance and eventually became
the capital of Russia
Christianity in Western Europe
• The spread of Christianity, largely through the work of missionaries and monks,
helped unify western Europe after the collapse of the Roman Empire
• The Medieval Catholic Church filled the power vacuum left from the collapse of
the classical world
New Kingdoms in Europe
• The fall of Rome had different Results in eastern and western Europe
• East – Byzantine Empire
• West – no single empire arose from Rome’s ashes
Anglo Saxon England
• Among Germanic people who established kingdoms in Europe were Angles and
Saxons
• Lived in what is now Germany and migrated to Britain in the 400’s
• Established the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms
• Late 500’s, a group of monks led by Augustine of Canterbury arrived in Kent and
spread Christianity across England
• The Archbishop of Canterbury is still considered the highest religious leader in
England
Alfred the Great
• The Danes who invaded northern England began to march south
• The kingdoms, under Alfred the Great, united and pushed the Danes back north
• Alfred the Great was later recognized as the ruler off all England
• As king, he organized an army, issued a code of laws, and perhaps his greatest
achievement, a system of schools
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In English folk tale, King Alfred was scolded severely for letting a peasant
woman’s cakes burn.
The Franks
• Another Germanic tribe was established in the former Roman province of Gaul –
now France
• Established by the Franks – under Clovis
• Clovis and 3,000 were baptized in 496 and all became Christians
• Under Clovis and his successors, the Franks became one of the major powers in
Western Europe
• Height – in 800’s – under King Charlemagne
Christian European Society
• By 600, Christianity had spread northward into other parts of the continent
• Western Europe becomes a largely Christian society
• Medieval – the period in western European history known as the Middle ages
Spread Christianity
• Missionaries – people who traveled to spread Christianity
• Patrick – traveled from Britain to Ireland in 400’s spreading Christianity
• Christendom – with the help of missionaries Western Europe became known as
Christendom
Strengthening the Papacy
• Throughout the Middle Ages, popes had little authority
• Gregory the Great – changed the papacy and won respect for the papacy and made
the pope one of the most influential figures in Europe
• Monasticism – voluntary separation from society to dedicate one’s life to God
Sharing Beliefs
• As Christianity spread throughout the diverse population of Europe, people
interpreted the faith in different ways
• As a result, scholars who studied religion wrote explanations that set forth the
church’s official positions
• Augustine of Hippo – writer who helped shaped Christian doctrine for centuries
• The City of God – people should pay less attention to the material world than they
do to God’s plan for the world
Monks and Monasteries
• During the Middle Ages, a new form of Monasticism developed, characterized by
monks living in a monastery and abiding by strict codes of rule
• Two main forms of monastic life became common in Europe: Benedictine Rule
and Celtic Rule
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Romanesque Architectural Style
• Rounded Arches.
• Barrel vaults
• Thick walls
• Darker, simplistic interiors
• Small windows, usually at the top of the wall
Benedictines
• Benedictine Monasteries – most common from in Europe during the Middle Ages
• Benedict of Nursia – Italy in the 500’s – created Benedictine Rule – collection of
guidelines for monks
• The first abbot – 529 other hermits like Benedict persuaded him to build a
monastery at Monte Casino in central Italy
• Marked the beginning of Benedictine Rule
• Made several contributions to European society
• St. Benedict – Benedictine Rule of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
• provided schools for the children of the upper class.
• inns, hospitals, refuge in times of war.
• libraries & scriptoria to copy books and illuminate manuscripts.
Celtic Monasteries
• A second major branch of monasticism developed in Ireland
• One distinct difference - Celtic monks were fully separate from the rest of society
• One of the more famous Celtic monasteries – Lindisfarne, a narrow peninsula that
becomes an island at high tide, on the coast of England
• Lindisfarne Gospels – beautifully illustrated manuscript of the Gospels produced
between 715 and 720 – among greatest artistic achievements in Middle Ages
• Spread through France and Germany
Monk’s Daily Life
• Monks spent most of the time in church service, meditation and reading, and at
work
Medieval Church Powers
 bishops and abbots played a large part in the feudal system.
 the church controlled about 1/3 of the land in Western Europe.
 tried to curb feudal warfare  only 40 days a year for combat.
 curb heresies  crusades; Inquisition
 tithe  1/10 tax on your assets given to the church.
 Peter’s Pence  1 penny per person [paid by the peasants].
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Medieval Europe
300 - 1500
Medieval Europe
• 1. Kingdoms and Christianity – 300 – 1250
• 2. The Early Middle Ages – 800 – 1215
• 3. The High Middle Ages – 1000 – 1500
The Early Middle Ages 800 - 1215
• 1. Charlemagne’s Empire
• 2. New Invaders
• 3. The Feudal and Manorial Systems
• 4. The Growth of Monarchies
• 5. Power of the Church
• Main Idea
• At the outset of the early Middle Ages, western Europe was a land without
an empire
• New forms of community took hold
• Christianity spread throughout western Europe
• Strong, new political systems also arose, uniting much of Europe
Charlemagne’s Empire
• With the fall of Rome, Europe had entered into a period of political, social, and
economic decline.
• Small kingdoms competed to control the lands once under Rome’s central
authority
• Among these kingdoms, were the Franks
Building an Empire
• By the 800’s, the Franks ruled much of western and central Europe
• Leaders most influential in the successes of the Franks belonged to one family –
the Carolingians
• The family of Charlemagne
• Grandfather – Charles Martel – served as a political advisor to the king
• His son – Pippin III – the first king of the Carolingians
• He passed to his son Charles – considered one of the most important leaders in
European history
Charlemagne’s Rise to Power
• Pope Leo III, in 774, called on him to defend his Papal States against a group
known as the Lombards
• Charlemagne and the Franks swept into Italy and defeated the raiders
• Charles the Great became king of the Romans
• This medieval manuscript shows Pope Leo III crowning Charlemagne Emperor of
the Romans
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Charlemagne’s Rule
• Charlemagne had tremendous power as emperor (however to large to rule)
• Permanent capital at Aachen (now Germany) Charlemagne’s home palace
• Counts – officials who ruled under him in exchange for large tracts of landoversaw his empire
A New Society
• The Carolingian Renaissance
• Politics – unified Europe for the first time since the fall of Rome
• Education – built schools and preserved ancient writings
• Religion – spread Christianity among conquered people
• Law – developed a written legal code
Charlemagne’s Empire Collapses: Treaty of Verdun, 843
• With Charlemagne’s death in 814, the empire lost its center
• Once again disunity spread throughout Europe
• His grandsons divide the empire into three parts, a western, a middle, and a
eastern kingdom
• to make matters worse – invaders – Vikings!
New Invaders
• The death of Charlemagne marked the ending of peace in Western Europe
• The Vikings, Magyars, and the Muslims all focused on their conquests of Europe
• Perhaps the most fierce were the warriors from Denmark known as the Vikings
• The first attack of the Lindisfarne Monastery marked the beginning of a 200 year
period of raids in northern Europe, a period known as the age of the Vikings
• “The number of ships grow: the endless stream of Vikings never cease to
increase. Everywhere the Christians are victims of massacres, burnings,
plunderings; the Vikings conquer all in their path, and no one resists them.”
• A Monk of Noirmoutier The Viking World
Who are the Vikings?
• The people of Scandinavia, also called Northman, Norsemen (Northern Europe)
• In Viking homelands, society was based on agriculture and the sea
• As Scandinavians population grew, resources became limited so the Vikings
decided to take what they needed from other people
• Thus started the Viking raids
• Erik the Red – conquered Greenland and Iceland 982
• Leif Eriksson – explored North America, but did they reach Minnesota? (1100)
Viking Conquests and Settlements
• First raids were England and northern France
• As time passed they reached Kiev and Constantinople
• Not all were raiders, many were explorers (Iceland, Greenland, Canada)
• Vikings were superb ship builders and sailors (excellent navigators)
• Ships could withstand heavy ocean winds and carried as many as 100 warriors
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The Magyars
• As Vikings terrorized northern and western Europe, the Magyars invaded from
the east
• Magyars- nomads (horsemen) who settled in what is now Hungary
• Military tactic invaded small settlements
• In mid 900’s, King Otto the Great crushed the Magyar raids
Moors, African Muslims in Spain
• In 711, a Muslim Army from northern Africa crossed the straits of Gibraltar and
made conquest of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain/Portugal)
• Ruled the peninsula for more than 700 years
• Cordoba – one of the wealthiest and most culturally advanced cities of the
medieval world
• In 800’s and 900’s, Muslim raids in southern France, Rome Italy, and
Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire, led to a shift in power from Christianity to
Islam
• Feudalism in Europe develops in response of the invasions of the Vikings,
Magyars, and Muslims
• Legend has it that King Rodrigo of Spain married the daughter of one of his
noblemen, Count Julian against the wishes of her father. To avenge what Julian
perceived as his violated honor, he opened secret parleys with the enemy and
invited with the Emir (Governor) Musa ibn Nusayr, the Muslim ruler of North
Africa, who was based in Tunisia to invade Spain.
• The Caliph al-Walid authorized the invasion of Spain (710-711 AD), on condition
that Count Julian recited the Shahada and embraced Islam
The Feudal and Manorial Systems
• William Marshall-Served the first four English kings-the greatest knight
• In Europe, during the Middle Ages, the feudal and manorial systems governed life
and required people to perform certain duties and obligations
• As the Middle Ages progressed, knights began to emerge as key figures in Europe
• What was responsible for this change?
Origins of feudalism
• A political, economic, and social system based on loyalty and military service
• Feudalism originated in part as a result of the foreign invasions of Europe
• For protection nobles built castles to defend their lands
Carcassonne: A Medieval Castle –
• Castles were built on hills because hilltop locations were easier to defend
• Most early castles were made of wood and stone
• Castles were defended by nobles soldiers, known as knights
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Knights and Lords
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Being a knight was expensive, therefore nobles gave knights land for payment of
service
This land was called a fief
Anyone who accepted the land from the lord was called a vassal
This is known as the Feudal System
Feudal Obligations
• Fealty – oath or loyalty between knight and his king
• Feudalism build upon relationship and service
• A knights duty to his lord
– Provide military service
– Remain loyal and faithful
– Give money on special occasions
• A Lord’s duty to his Knights
– Give land
– Protect from attack
– Resolve disputes between knights
Chivalry: A Code of Honor and Behavior
• Generic term for knightly system of the middle ages
• First appeared with military actions against non-Christian states
• Protectors of their religious faith –Christianity
• Chivalry also directed that men should honor, serve, and do nothing to displease
women and maidens
The Medieval Manor
• Feudal system built around large estates called manors
• Owned by wealthy lords or knights
• Serfs – peasant workers who were legally tied to the manor on which they worked
• Manors land occupied by fields for crops and pastures for animals
• Three crop rotating system
Life on the Medieval Manor
 Serfs at work
 Legally tied to the manor
 Serfdom was hereditary
 Lived in small one to two room cottages –floor was packed dirt/roof was straw
(cooking by fire!!!)
The Growth of Monarchs
• The power of the kings grew and the nature of monarchy changed across Europe
in the early middle ages
• 1066 – King Harold saw what we think was Haley’s comet, appear in the sky
• He thought it was a sign that change was coming to England
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Within a year, the Duke William of Normandy invaded England and took the
throne
A Sign from Heaven
William the Conqueror: Battle of Hastings, 1066 (Bayeaux Tapestry
The English Monarchy
• England was one of the first countries in Europe to develop a strong central
monarchy
• Anglo Saxon Rule – Alfred the Great drove out the Vikings
• In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy of France, in the battle of Hastings took the
English throne
• Domesday Book – a book that William used to create a new central tax system for
England
The English in France
• One of William’s descendants, King Henry, married a powerful French duchess,
Eleanor of Aquitaine
• Together, they ruled all of England and most of France
• The kings of England become more powerful than French counterparts
England’s Political System
 Henry I, King William’s son, set up a court system and a department of royal
finances, under an Exchequer who collected taxes
 Henry II, established the principle of common law throughout the kingdom
 Under his court, he established a grand jur and trial by jury.
 1200 – the power of the English kings started to worry a group of nobles
 Noble Revolution under King John, who tried to raise money with a new tax to
help him regain France – led to a Magna Carta
Magna Carta, 1215
 The Magna Carta was a document that contained restrictions on the king’s power
 King must obtain consent from the nobles if he wished to raise taxes
 Also ended king’s ability to arrest and punish people without cause or to take
property without legal procedures
 King is not above the law
 One of the more Important documents in the formation of modern democracies
The Beginnings of the British Parliament
 Great Council:
 middle class merchants, townspeople [burgesses in Eng., bourgeoisie in
Fr., burghers in Ger.] were added at the end of the 13c.
 eventually called Parliament – governing body of England today
 by 1400, two chambers evolved: House of Lords  nobles & clergy and
the House of Commons  knights and burgesses.
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The French Monarchy
• After the death of Charlemagne, England controlled France for quite sometime
• Hugh Capet – Capetian family who managed to expel the English nobles out of
France
• 1300 – controlled most of modern France
Holy Roman Empire
• The eastern part of Charlemagne’s empire became known as Germany
• 936 – Otto the Great – duke of Saxony- gained the throne and conquered parts of
northern Italy
• Just like Charlemagne, Otto was crowned Emperor of the Romans in 962.
• Became known as the Holy Roman Empire because king had God’s support
Spain and Portugal’s Monarchy
• Spain and Portugal the growth of monarchies was coupled with religious struggle
between Christians and Muslims
• Moors of Cordoba controlled Spain for 700 years
• The Reconquista – Christian effort to retake the Iberian Peninsula from the
Muslims
• Leader of the Reconquistas was the king of Castile of Spain who eventually
united with the queen of Aragon of Portugal
• In 1492, once they rid the Moors from Spain, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
ruled one of the strongest countries in all of Europe
The Power of the Church
• Who would have the power to make an emperor wait in the snow, begging for an
audience?
• Emperor Henry IV of the Holy Roman Empire waited three days to meet with
Pope Gregory VII and the Countess Matilda
• Emperor Henry IV wanted to ask the countess to intervene in his conflict with the
pope
Religion in the Middle Ages
• Popes are head of the Roman Catholic Church and throughout the Middle Ages,
they became powerful political figures
• Great level of Piety – person’s level of devotion to his or her religion
• Europeans placed a great importance on faith and their devotions to Christianity
Growth of the Papal Power
• In 1049, the first series of clever and capable popes dedicated to reforming the
papacy came to power
• Leo IX – reformer who became more active in governing the church than any
other pope had been for centuries
• Pontification – papal term in office – under Pope Gregory VII
• Emperor Henry wrote a letter to Pope Gregory claiming that he had no authority
over him or any other ruler
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Gregory excommunicated Henry IV
Henry begged for forgiveness
Led to the pope becoming one of the strongest figures in Europe
Changes in Monasticism
• Early 900’s, a small group of monks, sought to return monasticism to its original
Benedictine Rule
• The Cistercian order was dedicated to leading simple lives. Monks spent part of
each day in prayer and part at work
• Lived like hermits and had no contract with other people
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Medieval Europe
300 - 1500
Medieval Europe
• 1. Kingdoms and Christianity – 300 – 1250
• 2. The Early Middle Ages – 800 – 1215
• 3. The High Middle Ages – 1000 – 1500
The High Middle Ages
• 1. The Crusades
• 2. Trade and Towns
• 3. Art and Culture of the Middle Ages
• 4. Challenges of the Late Middle Ages
• Main Idea
• During the High Middle Ages, many changes took place in Europe
• Growth of trade brought about new business practices and bigger towns
• Religion continued to play a huge role in people’s lives
Launching the Crusades
• During the Middle Ages, European Christians launched a series of religious wars
called the Crusades.
• The goal of the Crusades: to take Jerusalem and the area around it known as the
Holy land, away from the Muslims.
• Jerusalem was holy to Jews because of the Holy Temple, and for Christians, it
was a place where Jesus was crucified and buried.
• 1000’s the city of Jerusalem had fallen to North African Muslims called the
Fatimids
Pope Urban II: Preaching a Crusade
• Turkish Muslims also attacked the Byzantine Empire and threatened the capital,
Constantinople
• The emperor asked Pope Urban II and Western Europe for help.
• Pope Urban II called church leaders to a council in Clermont and stressed to them
the dangers the Byzantine Empire faced.
• He called for Christian warriors, including knights and nobles, to fight the Turkish
Muslims
Setting Out on Crusade – The First Crusades
• The Crusaders left France in 1096 in what is known as the First Crusade.
• All in all, nine organized Crusades set out from Europe between 1096 and 1291.
• They all had different leaders and met with varying degrees of success.
The First Crusades
Two groups – peasants and knights
• Peasants – unskilled in war and unsuccessful
– Crusaders passed Jewish communities and slaughtered in spite of
opposition
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Knights – after three years of traveling, the Crusaders reached Jerusalem and were
able to seize the city
The Second Crusades
• Within a few years, the Muslims regained control of some Christian states.
• Launched in 1147 by King Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine
• The Second Crusade was a failure; they took no land from the Muslims were
forced to return back to Europe
The Third Crusades
• New leader in Muslim world emerged – Saladin the Sultan
• He set out to back all the land that the Christians gained from the First Crusades
• He was successful in regaining control of Jerusalem
• King Richard the Lion-Hearted of England fought Saladin in the Holy Land
• Although he won several battles, he was unsuccessful in pushing back the
Muslims
• In the end, he returned back to England
The Fourth and Later Crusades
• With Jerusalem in the hands of the Muslims, Europeans set out on a fourth
crusade in 1201.
• They decided to attack at Constantinople instead, but the fourth and five other
crusades were unsuccessful.
• In 1291, the Muslims had driven the Christians completely out of the holy land.
Christian Crusades: East and West
• Although, the Crusades did not accomplish their goal, they had long-lasting
effects.
• They changed both Europe and the Holy Land economically, politically, and
socially.
Effects on the Crusades
• Economic -The Crusades enhanced trading as returning Crusaders brought even
more goods, such as spices and textiles, to Europe.
• Political - The Crusades led to the deaths of many knights and nobles. In many
cases, kings took control of the land, gaining more power in Europe.
• Social - Relationships between Christian and Jews and Muslims became
increasingly strained.
Medieval Trade and Town
• Towns and cities grew during the high middle ages as the amount of trade
increased between Europe and other continents
• Large cities, like London, became more common in the High Middle Ages.
• Most of this trade was controlled by merchant from Italy and northern Europe
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Growth of Trade
• The Italians were among the first people in medieval Europe to build a thriving
trade economy.
• While the Italians were dominating trade in the south, another group was actively
trading in Northern Europe
• Hanseatic League – northern German cities that worked together to promote trade
• Trade fairs and markets developed as goods poured into Europe through Italian
and German cities
• Some merchants even allowed their customers to buy on credit, promise of later
payment
Growth of Towns and Cities
• Thriving trade and the increase of money in Europe led to the expansion of towns
and cities
• 1300 – Paris and Rome each had 100,000 residents while London and Florence
had 75,000.
• Medieval Guilds
• Commercial Monopoly:
• Controlled membership
apprentice  journeyman  master craftsman
• Controlled quality of the product [masterpiece].
• Controlled prices
Medieval Guilds: A Goldsmith’s Shop
• Only members of a guild could run a business.
• Here an apprentice works with his master craftsman.
• Most medieval guilds were only open to men, but some accepted female members
as well.
Daily Life in the City
• The cities during the Middle Ages were small and crowded.
• Shops and houses were usually three to four stories high.
• Cities posed several threats of disease, fire, and crime.
• It also provided benefits such as churches, eating halls, and markets.
Art and Culture of the Middle Ages
• During the Middle Ages, great achievements were made in the visual arts,
literature, and thinking and learning.
• Much of it centered around Christianity
Visual Arts
• Striking cathedrals, such as Notre Dame in Paris, are the most striking legacy of
the importance of Christianity in the Middle Ages
• These churches were built in the new Gothic style – taller and brighter than earlier
churches had been – flying buttresses
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Religious texts were often richly decorated with pictures and designs –
illumination.
Tapestries depicting daily life, history, or fantasy also became elaborate wall
hangings in churches.
Literature
• Literature introduced new ideas and practices in the Middle Ages.
• Religious writers created all sorts of works including songs and poems.
• Hildegard of Bingen – nun who was an artist, poet, and composer
• Troubadours – wandering singers who performed epics and romances
• Geoffrey Chaucer – The Canterbury Tales – tale of a group of pilgrims travelling
to the town of Canterbury, England.
Thinking and Learning
• Religious writers of the Middle Ages helped spread new ideas throughout Europe
and gave rise to new ways of thinking and learning.
• Alchemy – early form of Chemistry
• Thinking and learning led to universities and teachers.
Medieval Universities
• The growth of European universities increased the flow of Greece learning into
Europe
• Scientific, philosophical, mathematical texts were translated into Latin
• Universities helped create a new educated class
Oxford University
• Universities in the Middle Ages were products of the growing cities.
• University – “a group of persons associated for a purpose”
• A Master of Arts program took six years; additional eight years for a degree in
theology.
• Most were men, and most came to study at the age of 17
• Most were Christian
Teaching of Thomas Aquinas
• One of the more influential scholars of the age – teacher at University of Paris
• Scholasticism – both reason and faith were necessary for an understanding of
truth
• Summa Theologica – explored philosophy and theology
Challenges of the Late Middle Ages
• In the late Middle Ages, Europeans faced many challenges.
• Religious Crises
• Wars and Conflicts
• And a Deadly Plague
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Religious Crises
• In 1346, King Edward III of England invaded France
• Europe faced challenges to its religious, political, and social order
• Because Christianity was the one element that tied most Europeans together,
religious crises was a great threat to all their society
• Heresy - beliefs that opposed the official teachings of the Church
• Primary method to fight heresy – Inquisitions - legal procedures supervised by
special judges who tried to suspect heretics
Wars and Conflicts
• While Europe faced religious turmoil, political leaders were fighting numerous
wars to gain power for themselves
• Hundred Years War -1328 - no heir to the French throne - except the King of
England, Edward VII (nephew)
• Joan of Arc - 1429 young peasant French girl led several victories, but she was
eventually captured
• War of the Roses - two English families Yorks and the Lancasters - fought for the
throne
• Led to the rise of the Tudor family -Henry VII-related to both families and his rise
to power marked the end of the War of the Roses and began a new era in English
history
Black Death
• While the Hundred Years War was taking place, another crisis struck the people
of Europe
• The Black Death - devastating plague that swept across the continent between
1347 and 1351.
• Bubonic Plague - spread by flees that lived on rats and other rats
• Pneumonic plague - spread through the air from person to person
• Was God punishing Europeans for their sins?
• Effects – major loss of population (1/3rd of Europe) and an end to the manorial
system