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WHI.9
The Middle Ages and Feudalism
The Middle Ages- The Basics
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The Roman Catholic Church (based in Rome)
became more important as the Roman Empire
declined in importance
The church played the role of the government,
taking care of their political, social and religious
needs
The Pope picked emperors to rule people
Missionaries spread Christianity to Germanic tribes
Ends Are New Beginnings
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Middle Ages start with
the fall of the Western
Roman Empire
476 A.D. Rome falls to
German invaders
Western Roman
Empire doesn’t exist
but Roman Catholic
Church still survives
German Invaders
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With the Western
Roman Empire done,
there was no one to
defend people from
invaders
Invaders swept into
towns and people fled
to the countryside
Time period a.k.a. “Dark
Ages” because there
was little learning or
trade
Mini-Kingdoms
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These Germanic
invaders took over lands
and set up kingdoms run
by kings
Kingdom of Franks had
a king, Clovis who took
over what used to be
Roman Gaul (France)
Converted to
Christianity and made
friends with the Pope in
Rome
Angles
Saxons
Germans
Franks
Magyars
Battle of Tours
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Christian vs. Muslim
battle
Charles Martel (Charles
the Hammer) leads
Christian Franks versus
Muslims moving into
France
Martel and Christians
win, Muslims go back to
Spain
Christians think it’s a sign
that God is on their side
Charlemagne
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Charles Martel’s
grandson, Charles I,
eventually becomes King
of the Franks
Built empire through
France, Italy and
Germany
In 799 Pope asks
Charles for help dealing
with a gang of Romans
who were after him
Charlemagne
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Charles goes to Rome,
exiles the gang after the
Pope, puts the Pope
back in charge
Pope thankful to
Charles, on Christmas
Day, 800, crowns
Charles “Emperor of the
Romans” and he’s now
called Charlemagne
Important because now
Rome is controlled by a
Germanic king,
protecting Christianity
Charlemagne’s Legacy
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Charlemagne sent
missionaries through
Europe to spread
Christianity
Those missionaries carried
Christianity and the Latin
alphabet to other
Germanic tribes
Kept fighting off invading
Muslims
Fought off Magyarspeople from Hungryinvaders
Age of Charlemagne
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The Franks (Charlemagne’s
people) became a major
force in Europe, with most of
Western Europe in the
empire
The power of the church
began to seep into political
life- the two were connected
Churches, roads, and schools
were built to unite this
Christian empire
Re-interpretation of Roman
culture
Monastic Life
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Monks spent most of their
day either working the
land, praying or copying
texts. They preserved
Greco-Roman cultural
achievements by copying
the works of Greek and
Roman historians and
poets. In western Europe
most of the classical texts
were Roman. Greek texts
were preserved by the
Byzantine scholars.
Work of Monks
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Illuminated Texts or
Illuminated Manuscripts
Monks add some
illustrations to their
copying
Illuminated Manuscripts
Who’s the Boss?
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Pope: head of the Church, noble
Cardinal: advisor of the pope,
noble (selected from amongst
bishops/archbishops)
Archbishop: head of an archdiocese
= very big dioceses (NYC, D.C., LA)
Bishop: head of a smaller diocese
(Pittsburgh, Richmond)
Diocese/Archdiocese= geographic
area with churches (parishes)
Parish Priest: head of a parish
(locality)
How to Become Pope
Power of the Church
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Catholic church
provides for social and
religious needs of the
people
Priests do sacraments:
marriage, last rites
Provided education
Care for the poor
Kept money flowing
Feudalism: The Basics
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With the end of the Roman Empire, people in
Western Europe had no defense against invasion
In order to stay safe, people entered into feudal
agreements with landowning lords
The deal between the people and landowners was
in exchange for work, the lord would provide
protection
Feudalism
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With no Roman Empire to
provide defense of citizens
people were constantly
getting invaded by
Germanic tribes
No government exists to stop
them
People created system
called Feudalism to protect
themselves from invaders
How Feudalism Works
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An incredibly rigid class
structure: everyone has a
place and a role and it
doesn’t change or vary
Lords= powerful men who are
rich and own a lot of land
Lords give out chunks of their
land to lesser lords called
Vassals
Vassal= Someone who
manages a chunk of land
(fief) for a lord
Fief= land given to a vassal
from a lord
In exchange for the fief and
protection, vassals pledge their
loyalty and military service to
their lord
Deal is called Feudal Contract
The Manor
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Manor was the basic unit of the
feudal system
Manor= the lord’s estate
Usually one or more villages and the
land around it
Serfs are the backbone of The Manor
Serfs= peasants who are tied to the
land but not slaves
Serfs are tied to the land, so if you
get the land, you get the serfs
The Manor is a self-sufficient
structure- everything you need is
there
Serfs
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Serfs work the land several
days a week and do the
manual labor around The
Manor
Serfs had to ask for
permission to leave the estate
or marry
Serfs paid the lord several
times a year
In exchange for this work,
they received protection from
the lord
The Movement of People
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There’s a lot of movement of people around Europe
at this time- migration from one area to another.
Angles and Saxons move from Northern Europe into
the British Isles (England)
Magyars moved from Central Asia into Hungry
Vikings migrated from Scandinavia
All of this movement and invasion meant that manors
were important for safety, and the source of
resources because trade wasn’t safe
Angles and Saxons
Magyars
Magyars settle in
pink area after
coming from central
Asia
Vikings
Vikings come
from
Scandinavia
(Norway and
Sweden)