Download The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages
500 - 1500
AP European History
The Germanic Kingdoms
• Roman empire overran by Germanic groups with
repeated invasions and constant warfare
• Breakdown of trade: money became scarce
• Cities abandoned – no longer center of economy or
administration
• Population became rural
• Decline of literacy – priests and other church officials
were the few that were literate
• Breakup of unified empire – language began to
change. No longer Latin
• End of Democracy
End of Democracy
Rome
• Unified by loyalty to
public government and
written law
• Orderly government
Germanic
• Family ties and personal
loyalty
• People lived in small
communities governed by
unwritten rules and
traditions
• Ruled by a Chief who led
a band or warriors loyal
only to him – not some
emperor they’d never
seen
European Empire Evolves
After the decline of the Roman Empire small kingdoms
sprang up all over Europe
The largest and the strongest was controlled by the
Franks
• Lead by Clovis – first Christian king
• Area that is now France
• Greatest king was Charlemagne
• most powerful king in Western Europe
• Reunited large part of the Western Roman Empire
• encouraged learning
Invasions
• Treaty of Verdun divided the Empire into three
kingdoms
• Magyars – nomadic people from Asia
• Vikings
– Farmers and traders from Scandinavia
– Were both raiders and settlers
– 911 CE – given part of northern France – Normandy to
settle
– Sailed inland and invaded into Russia
– Invasions seriously disrupted Western Europe
• Marked by a lack of central political authority
• Local lords are bound to a king by ties of loyalty
Feudalism Manors
The lord’s estate
• The lord provided
the serfs with
housing, farmland
and protection
• Serfs tended the
lands, cared for
the animals,
maintained the
estate
Feudalism Manors
• Peasants rarely
traveled more
than 25 miles from
the manor
• Was home to 15 –
30 families
• Self-Sufficient
community
• Peasants heavily
taxed, including a
tithe – a church
tax of 1/10 their
income
A violent society
• Noble’s constantly fought each other
– Defend estates
– Seize new territories
– Increase wealth
• Kept Europe fragmented
• Glorification of warriors
The Age of Chivalry
• The mounted Knights were the most
important part of an Army
• Professional solders – main obligation was to
serve in battle
– Rewarded with land
– Devoted lives to war
The Age of Chivalry
• Chivalry – a complex set of ideals, demanded
that a knight fight bravely in defense of three
masters
1. His feudal lord
2. His Heavenly Lord
3. His Lady
• Meant to protect the weak and the poor
• Be loyal, brave, and courteous
The Age of Chivalry
• Sons of nobles began training at an early age
for knighthood
– Page – at 7 they were sent to another lord to be
trained
– Squire – at 14 they act as a servant to a knight
– Knight- at 21 they become a knight and gain
experience in local wars and tournaments
The Age of Chivalry
• Tournaments – mock battles that combined
recreation and combat training
• Fierce and bloody competitions
Power of the Church
While the Roman Empire declined the Church remained
• Missionaries succeeded in spreading Christianity
• Adapted to rural conditions by building monasteries –
religious communities
– Rules established by Benedict
– Became best educated communities
• Missionaries succeeded in spreading Christianity
• Adapted to rural conditions by building monasteries –
religious communities
• Rules established by Benedict
• Became best educated communities
Power of the Church
•Provided a unifying set of spiritual beliefs and
rituals
• Created a system of justice to guide peoples
conduct – Cannon Law – the law of the church
 excommunication – banishment
 interdict – the denial of sacraments important religious ceremonies (baptism, last
rights)
The Clergy
Religious officials had different ranks within the church structure
HIGH MIDDLE AGES
1050-1350
Economic Trends
• Italian merchants engage in Mediterranean trade
• Hanseatic League formed
– 80 large towns & cities in Northern Germany
– Used fishing fleets to trade wool
– Dominated northern European shipping
• Increased trade resulted in the growth of towns
• Craft Guilds began to regulate standards and
prices
Medieval Culture
• Art & Architecture
– Flying buttress
– Romanesque & Gothic architecture
– Stained glass
• Literature
– Use of vernacular language
– Song of Roland, Divine Comedy, Canterbury Tales
• Learning
– Church run university centers
– Rediscovery of classical writings
• Science & Technology
– Roger Bacon & scientific method
– A variety of inventions
Flying Buttress
The Crusades
• 1095 – Pope Urban called for crusade to free the Holy
Land from Muslim control
• 1096 – First Crusade
– 1099: captured Jerusalem
– Set up four feudal estates
• 1189 – 1192 Third Crusade
– 1187 Muslims under Saladin recaptured Jerusalem
– King Richard the Lionhearted signed truce
• Fourth Crusade – sacked Constantinople weakening the
Byzantine Empire
• Muslims slowly regained control of the Holy Land
Results of the Crusades
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ended the isolation of Western Europe
Increased trade and travel
More widespread use of money
Rise of Italian city-states
Hardships for Jewish communities in Europe
Fourth Crusade tarnished the reputation of
the Church
Royal Power in England
• Political power was fragmented during the
Middle Ages
• Increased trade led to a rise in the power of
monarchs
• 1066 – Battle of Hastings
– William the Conqueror – led Norman invasion
– Established a central power in England
• The Magna Carta limited the power of the king
• 1295 – Model Parliament established
Royal Power in France
• French monarchs slowly won land from
English kings
• Set up royal bureaucracies to run government
• Paid officials who then supported the king
Royal Power in Spain
• Spain became a center of Muslim learning
• Prospered under Muslim control
• Spanish knight launched their own crusade
against Muslims – the Reconquista
• 1469 – the marriage of Isabella & Ferdinand
united most of Spain
• Used the Inquisition to end religious toleration
Struggle between Popes and Kings
• German nobles established ties with the
Church
• Gained the authority to appoint bishops – lay
investiture
• Pope Gregory VII worked to reestablish the
authority of the Church over kings1122 –
Concordat at Worms settled issue of lay
investiture
• Popes held power of excommunication
Decline of the Middle Ages
• The Black Death
– Killed 1/3 to ½ the population of Western Europe
• The Papal Schism
– Controversy over rightful Pope
– Resulted in two Popes – one in France, one in Rome
• Famines
–
–
–
–
Climate became colder and rainier
Harvests shrank
Population doubled
People moved to towns
The Hundred Years’ War
1337-1453 (Do the math)
• Efforts of English & French kings to build
centralized power involved them in conflict
• Early in the war the English won many
victories
• English had two new weapons – the longbow
& gunpowder
• 1429 – Joan of Arc inspired French troops to
many victories
• Fueled feelings of nationalism among French
Decline of Feudalism
• Effects of Hundred Years’ War
– Rise in French national pride
– Death of large numbers of nobles
– Kings established efficient governments
– War of the Roses (England) enabled Henry II to
establish the Tudor Dynasty
• Strong government could protect the people
• Changing nature of warfare – arrows &
cannons made knights & armor obsolete