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Hist 100 World Civilization I Instructor: Dr. Donald R. Shaffer Upper Iowa University Lecture 10 Introduction Before the fall of the Roman Empire in the West, Europe outside the Mediterranean basin was a backwater Western Europe below the Rhine and Danube rivers became part of the Roman Empire, but their conquests never extended above it Two general cultural groups lived in the region at the periphery or outside the northern boundary of the Roman Empire Celts Germans Celts came partially under Roman control, Germans not Lecture 10 Germanic Tribes The western half of the Roman empire fell to invading German tribes during the 4th and 5th centuries CE German origins: linguistic and archeological evidence suggest Germans originated in Scandinavia German life Ancient Germans were tribal Women engaged in agriculture, men hunted and served as warriors Leaders chosen from ablest members of the ruling family Comitatus Germanic law: tried to control violence and private feuds Wergeld Trial by combat Lecture 10 Changes in Life after Rome’s Fall The new order that emerged after the fall of Rome in the West was a mixture of old Roman customs with those of the Germanic tribes Changes in life Decline of urban life Decline of long-distance trade Rome had been an urban-based civilization Germanic tribes interested in the wealth of Roman cities, but not in living there With the decline of Roman cities, centralized authority collapsed Due to lack of security and decline of Roman road network Economy becomes more local and rural Collapse of higher civilization Under the new order most people went uneducated, illiteracy increased Painting depicting the Visigoth’s sack of Rome in 410 CE Lecture 10 New Institutions: Manorialism One of the institutions to survive the collapse of Rome in the west were “manors” or agricultural estates The manor thrived in the new order because it could offer people protection formerly guaranteed by Roman authorities Serfdom To gain the protection of the lord of the manor, however, the price was a loss of freedom Serfs became bound to the estate, and were expected to hand over a portion of the harvest and perform other labor services The rise of manorialism resulted in a general decline in living standards and life expectancy Lecture 10 New Institutions: Feudalism Just as manorialism filled the economic void created by the collapse of Rome, feudalism filled the political void Feudalism created a series of unequal but reciprocal relationships that created a highly decentralized political system In order to guarantee security to his serfs, a lord (or baron) had to employ soldiers (or knights) Benefice: the compensation of a knight for military service Fiefs: for lords with larger land holdings, they might give some leading knights their own estates, known as “fiefs” Lecture 10 New Institutions: Monasticism (1) The highly devout Christianity that emerged in the Middle Ages in Europe was a fertile ground for the rise of monasticism Monasticism was the impulse to isolate oneself from the everyday world and concentrate on spiritual matters The impulse was inherited from Judaism which had had its own monastic communities Example: Essenes Early Christian monasticism had two traditions: hermit communities and ordered monasticism Over time the ordered communities became more dominant because of the excesses of some hermits Qumran: Essene monastic community Simeon Stylites Simeon Stylites Lecture 10 New Institutions: Monasticism (2) St. Benedict of Nursia (480-550) A hermit monk whose piety attracted followers and forced him to establish rules that became the basis for medieval monastic life Monks (and nuns) lived lives of carefully regulated communal prayer, devotional reading, and work Yet they were decently clothed and adequately fed Monasteries became influential institutions of medieval life Bastions of education and literacy Although monks took vows of poverty, because of their hard work and the piety of admirers many monasteries became wealthy They were at the forefront missionary work St. Benedict of Nursia Lecture 10 The Carolingian Empire (1) Gradually between the 5th and 8th centuries CE, a synthesis between the old Roman culture, Christianity, and the Germanic peoples occurred The first significant empire to arise in Western Europe after Rome did so among the Franks A Germanic people that conquered what is today France Merovingians Predecessors of the Carolingians that emerged in the 6th century CE under Clovis Clovis converted to Christianity and won the church’s support against other Germanic tribes Their power waned by 8th century CE Lecture 10 The Carolingian Empire (2) The Carolingians started out as vassals of the Merovingians By the time of Charles Martel (714741) they had supplanted their masters Merovingian kingdom still nominally under Merovingian control, but Carolingians rule as “mayors” Under Pepin the Short (751-768), the Pope anointed Pepin “King of the Franks” in return for protection against the Lombards Under Pepin’s son Charlemagne (768-814), the Carolingian empire reached the peak of its power and influence Charlemagne talented as both a military leader and statesman, a model of medieval kingship Charlemagne Lecture 10 The Carolingian Empire (3) Charlemagne extended the power of the Carolingians Conquered the Saxons in Germany Conquered the Lombards in Italy The Pope in 800 declared Charlemagne “Holy Roman Emperor” Eventually his empire encompassed what is today modern France, western Germany, and northern Italy Fall of the Carolingians The fall began with Louis the Pious, who had three sons, and in Germanic fashion split the empire between them Reinforced a natural division between the west which was speaking an early version of French and the east speaking early German Fate sealed by invasions of Saracens, Magyars, and Vikings Lecture 10 The Crusades (1) Although they had little ultimate impact on the geopolitical map, the Crusades were a turning point in world history The represent the first significant outward thrust of Europe since the fall of Rome in the west Contact with the East also whetted Europe’s appetite for eastern trade goods, laying the basis for more expansion later on Basis of the crusades 11th century Europe an incredibly religious region Crusades prompted by pious religiosity and a desire to capture the holy land from Muslim control Lecture 10 The Crusades (2) First Crusade Launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II In response to an appeal from the Byzantine emperor for help against renewed Muslim invasions Jerusalem conquered in 1099, crusader kingdoms established in modern Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey Muslims eventually extinguished these kingdoms, most within a century of their creation Later Crusades Seven crusades followed the first, none of which was very successful Last launched in 1270 The 4th never even made it to Palestine, instead sacking Constantinople But they did renew Europe’s interest in the world beyond its borders