Download The Spread of Christianity

Foundation of Feudal Europe
• Hard-won political order: based on highlydecentralized but flexible system that
vested political, military, & judicial authority
in local & regional rulers
• Long, slow process of economic recovery
– manorial system followed by increased
trade, industry, commerce, &
reurbanization
• Cultural unity – the Church – papacy &
monastic movement
The Quest for Political Order
The Germanic Successor States, c. 500 CE
• Last Roman emperor deposed by
Germanic Odoacer, 476 CE
• Administrative apparatus still in place, but
cities lose population
• Germanic successor states:
– Spain: Visigoths
– Italy: Ostrogoths
– Gaul: Burgundians, Franks
– Britian: Angles, Saxons
Successor States to the Roman Empire c. 500
The Frankish Empire
• In the territory known as Gaul, and what is
currently the country of France, the Franks
emerged as the dominant tribe in the area.
• In the late 400’s, Clovis was the first king
of the Franks to unite all the Frankish
tribes under one ruler. His conversion to
Christianity gained him a great ally in the
Roman Catholic Church.
The Franks
• Heavy influence on European
development
• Strong agricultural base
• Shifts center of economic gravity to
Europe
• Firm alliance with western Christian
church
Essential Question
What is the significance of Clovis’s
conversion to Christianity?
Clovis (ruled 481-511)
• Major Frankish leader
• Destroyed last vestiges of
Roman rule in Gaul
• Dominated other Germanic
peoples
• Franks establish
themselves as preeminent
Germanic people
Clovis’ Conversion to
Christianity
• Paganism, Arian
Christianity popular
among Franks
• Clovis and army chooses
Roman Catholicism
• Influence of wife Clotilda
• Political implications:
– Alliance with western
church
The Carolingians
• Charles “The Hammer” Martel begins
Carolingian dynasty
• Defeats Spanish Muslims at Battle of
Tours (732)
– Halts Islamic advance into western Europe
Charles de Steuben's Bataille de Poitiers en Octobre 732
depicts a triumphant Charles Martel (mounted) facing
‘Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi (right) at the Battle of Tours.
The Carolingian Empire
Essential Questions
What were the contributions of
Charlemagne’s reign?
Why did it ultimately fail to last very long?
Charlemagne (r. 768-814)
• Grandson of Charles
Martel
• Centralized imperial rule
• Functional illiterate, but
sponsored extensive
scholarship
• Major military
achievements
Charlemagne’s Empire
Charlemagne’s Administration
•
•
•
•
Capital at Aachen, Germany
Yet constant travel throughout empire
Spread Christianity
Set Up Education System
– Increased Scriptoriums
– Alcuin, the leading scholar and educator under
Charlemagne introduced the 7 liberal arts
• Begins Romanesque Architecture
• Expansion of Territory
• Imperial officials: missi dominici (“envoys of the
lord ruler)
– Continued yearly circuit travel
Romanesque church in
Normandy
Romanesque
church in
Poland
Charlemagne as Emperor
• Hesitated to challenge Byzantines by
taking title “emperor”
– Yet ruled in fact
• Pope Leo III crowns him as emperor in
800
– Planned in advance?
– Challenge to Byzantium
Pope Crowned Charlemagne
Holy Roman Emperor: Dec. 25, 800
The Carolingian Renaissance
Carolingian Miniscule
Louis the Pious (r. 814-840)
• Son of Charlemagne
• Lost control of courts,
local authorities
• Civil war erupts between
three sons
• Empire divided in 843
Charlemagne crowns Louis the
Pious
Charlemagne’s Empire Collapses:
Treaty of Verdun, 843
Invasions
• South: Muslims
• East: Magyars
• North: Vikings
– Norse expansion begins c. 800 CE
– Driven by population pressure, hostility to
spread of Christianity
– Superior seafaring technology
– Sailed to eastern Canada, northeastern US
The dissolution of the Carolingian Empire (843 CE – divided
amongst Charlemagne’s grandchildren) and the
invasions of early medieval Europe in the ninth and tenth
centuries
Essential Questions
Who were the Vikings?
What were the motivations behind their
behavior?
What were their accomplishments?
How did they disrupt European society?
The Vikings
• From village of Vik, Norway (hence
“Viking”)
• Boats with shallow drafts, capable of river
travel as well as open seas
• Attacked villages, cities from 9th century
– Constantinople sacked three times
• Carolingians had no navy, dependent on
local defenses
England
• Viking invasions force
consolidation of Angles,
Saxons and other
Germanic peoples under
King Alfred (r. 871-899)
• Built navy
• Fortified cities against
attack
Germany and France
• King Otto of Saxony (r. 936-973) defeats
Magyars, 955
• Proclaimed emperor by Pope in 962
• Establishment of Holy Roman Empire
• France endures heavy Viking settlement
• Loss of local autonomy
Essential Questions?
What were the obligations of lords toward
their retainers and the retainers toward their
lords?
Why was this arrangement often unstable?
Early Medieval Society
• Concept of Feudalism
– Lords and vassals
– Increasingly inadequate model for describing
complex society
• Ad hoc arrangements in absence of strong
central authorities
Feudalism
A political, economic, and social
system based on loyalty and
military service.
Organizing in a Decentralized
Society
• Local nobles take over administration from
weak central government
• Nominal allegiances, esp. to Carolingian
kings
• But increasing independence
Lords and Retainers
• Formation of small private armies
• Incentives: land grants, income from mills,
cash payments
• Formation of hereditary class of military
retainers
• Development of other functions
– Justice, social welfare
Potential for Instability
• Complex interrelationship of lord-retainer
relations
• Rebellion always a possibility
• Nevertheless, viable large states
developed (Germany, France, England)
Essential Question
What role did the serfs play in early
medieval Europe?
What was life like on the manor?
Origins of Serfdom
• Slaves, free peasants in both Roman and
Germanic societies
• Heavy intermarriage
• Appeals to lords, special relationships
• Mid-7th century: recognition of serf class
– Midway between slave and free peasant
Serfs’ Rights and Obligations
• Right to pass on land to heirs
• Obligation to provide labor, payments in
kind to lord
• Unable to move from land
• Fees charged for marrying serfs of another
lord
Manors
• Large, diverse estates
• Lord provides governance, police, justice
services
• Serfs provide labor, income
The Medieval Manor
Life on the Medieval Manor
Serfs at work
Women in the Middle Ages
• Noblewomen were responsible for the
entire running of an estate while her
husband was in battle.
• All women had very limited inheritance
rights, as all possessions went to the
oldest son.
• In the Middle Ages, the Church portrayed
women as weak and easily tempted into
sin. Yet, women were also portrayed as
modest and pure in spirit.
• Learning was generally discouraged for
women.
Essential Questions
What was the significance of the invention of
the heavy plow for the European economy?
Although trade constricted in the early
middle ages, where and how was it still
going on?
The Economy of Early Medieval
Europe
• Agricultural center moves north from
Mediterranean
• 8th century iron-tipped plow introduced in
Europe
• Draft animals bred
• Water mill technology
• Agricultural output insufficient to support
growth of cities
• Strong Mediterranean trade despite
Muslim domination of sea
Norse Merchant Mariners
• Commerce or plunder as convenient
• Link with the Islamic world for trade
Population Growth of Europe,
200-1000 CE
40
35
30
25
20
Millions
15
10
5
0
200
400
600
800
900
1000
The Formation of Christian
Europe
• Clovis’ conversion forms strong alliance
with Roman Christianity
• Church supplies Clovis with class of
literate information workers:
– Scribes
– secretaries
The Franks and the Church
• Protectors of the Papacy
• Charlemagne destroys Lombards, who
threatened Pope, Rome
• Spreads Christianity in northern areas
• Support of scholarship, scribal activity
The Spread of Christianity
• Charlemagne fights pagan Saxons (772804)
– Saxons later adopt Christianity
• Scandinavia, other pockets of paganism
until c. 1000 CE
Essential Questions
What was the role of the pope in the early
middle ages?
How did his role evolve over this period of
time?
Pope Gregory I (590-604 CE)
• “Gregory the Great”
• Asserted papal primacy
• Prominent theologian
– Sacrament of penance
• Major missionary activity, especially in
England
Essential Questions
How did monasticism develop in early
medieval Europe?
What was the significance of the
monasteries to the European society and
economy?
Monasticism
• Egyptian origins, 2nd-3rd centuries
• Monastic lifestyle expands 4th century
• Large variety of monastic rules
– Range from extremely ascetic to very lax
St. Benedict (480-547)
• Established consistent rule for
monasteries
– Poverty
– Chastity
– Obedience
• St. Scholastica (482-543)
– Sister of St. Benedict
– Adapts Benedictine Rule for convents
A late 15th-century Scriptorium
by of Jean Miélot
In the strictest
definition of
illuminated
manuscript, only
manuscripts with gold
Pope Gregory I, by
or silver would be
Francisco de Zurbarán
considered
illuminated.
St. Benedict by Fra
Angelico, c. 1437-1446
Monasticism and Society
• Accumulation of large landholdings, serfs
• Social welfare projects
– Esp. labor contributions
• Expansion of literacy
• Inns, orphanages, hospitals
The Power of the Medieval Church
 The church controlled about 1/3 of the
land in Western Europe.
 Tithe  1/10 tax on your assets given to
the church.
 Threat of excommunication and an
inderdict gave the church tremendous
control over European peasants and
nobles.
 The selling of indulgences, canon law and
simony also fortified the church’s
power, but led many to recognize
these acts as corrupt.
Church Secular Influence & Pope Innocent III
• The Church claimed authority over
all secular rulers, many of whom did
not recognize this authority, often
resulting in power struggles
between monarchs and popes.
• When King John of England
challenged Pope Innocent III over
the appointment of an archbishop,
he was excommunicated in 1209.
Magna Carta, 1215
 King John I
 “Great Charter”
 Monarchs were not
above the law.
 Kings had to
consult a council of
advisors.
 Kings could not tax
arbitrarily.
The Medieval Church
• Everyday Life
– Christians attend
village churches
– Priests run village
churches
– All Christians pay
tithe
• Power of the
Church
– Pope leads
– Canon Law
– Excommunication/
interdict
• Reform
-Church wealth &
influence
- Some clergy
corrupted
- Reformers
• Nuns & Monks
-Set up housing,
hospitals, schools
- Missionaries
Preservation of
learning