Download Middle Ages

Middle Ages
The Beginnings (476-700)
• Western Roman Empire Collapsed
• Western Europe became tribal kingdoms
–
–
–
–
Individual laws and customs
Decline
Cities died out
Learning declined EXCEPT in the Roman Catholic
Church
• Monasteries & Convents were built
• Christianity spread
• Church & politics combined when King Gregory I
became the pope
The Early Middle Ages (700-1000)
• The Frank Dynasty was established
• Charles the Great (Charlemagne) expanded the
kingdom
– Most of western Europe was united
– Origination of the Holy Roman Empire
– His death caused his heirs to split the empire
• Feudalism Began
– Lords gave out land to be worked in exchange for
military service
– Land workers were called vassals
– Some Lords had vassals living in other countries
– Violent times
The High Middle Ages (1000-1300)
• Period of prosperity
• Feudalism dominated Europe
• William of Normandy invaded England
– Trade resumed
– Towns sprang up
– Occupations became diversified
• Skilled works and merchants created groups called guilds
• Trade fairs expanded trade on goods and ideas
• Universities were founded
• Church bound Europeans together
– Great cathedrals were built
– Pilgrimages and journeys to holy sites
– Pope Urban II called for a holy war
• Remove Muslim control from Jerusalem
• Effort failed but expanded learning
The Late Middle Ages (1300-1500)
• Growth of banking, trade, & commerce
– Need for strong central government
• Support for monarchy
– Cities developed
• No feudalism restrictions
• Spread of fires & disease in crowded conditions
– Black Death (1347-1352)
• Monarch & Church Conflicts
• France & England Conflicts due to land control
– Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453)
• Joan of Arc rallied French
• England gave up land claims
• Spain Royalty
– Spain expelled Muslims in 1492
– Financed Columbus’ voyage across the Atlantic Ocean
Classes
• Ruling Class: Kings, lords, ladies, and families
– Hereditary Nobility
– Code of Chivalry: loyalty to God, king, & lady
• Clergy
–
–
–
–
Hierarchy which had the pope at the top
Had control over land & were powerful feudal lords
Monasteries & convents focus on study & prayer
Friars traveled and preached
• Serfs
– Peasants bound to the land where they were born
– Completed land labor for lords’ protection & housing
• Merchants & Artisans
– Outside the feudalism structure
– Developed guilds (unions of sorts)
– Apprenticeships to learn trades
• Women
–
–
–
–
–
Inherited property
Defended manor in husbands absence
Some went into battle
Had authoritative positions in convents and abbeys
Most were poor, powerless and spent their lives in the home having and
raising children
Art & Culture
• Religion
– The center of cultural life of western Europe
– Writers & artists use their art for it
– Scholars studied it
– Religion & art was used as a teaching tool
• Most could not read
• Taught the truth of their faith
• Literature
– Scholarly literature was in Latin – educated language
– Celtic & Germanic cultures had oral traditions
– Monks wrote down oral “literature” & copied the bible
• Universities
– Lords and ladies, typically, did not learn to read or write
– Clergy were the scholars as monasteries & cathedrals were
schools
– Universities did develop for study and taught in Latin
• Architecture
– Glorified God
– Cathedrals of Romanesque style than Gothic
• Tall vaulted ceilings, stain glass windows, paintings,
sculptures, & woodcarvings
Influences Today
• Medieval Festivals still celebrated
–
–
–
–
Clothing
Jousting
Food
Games
• Dating and Courtship rituals of “Courtly Love”
– Gifts
– Sacrifices
– Proving worthiness
• Traditions in England still remain
– Royal Crest (Coat of Arms)
– Monarchy