Download The Early Middle Ages and The High Middle Ages

The Early Middle Ages
• *Germanic
invaders carved up
Western Europe
into small
kingdoms
• 481, Clovis King of
the
Franks....converted
to Christianity
• *Islam moved into
Europe through
Spain.
– Were stopped
by Charles
Martel in 732
Forests, rich farm land, minerals, large
rivers and surrounded by ocean
8.2
Feudalism Model
Peasant Life
• *Peasants made up the
majority of medieval
society
– They lived and worked on
the lord’s estate, or manor
– Most peasants on the manor
were serfs
– Were bound to the land
– In theory they were
guaranteed food, housing
and land
• *Dailey life
– Everyone worked
– Simple diet of black bread
and some vegetables
– Ave life span was 35 yrs
– Believed in elves, fairies,
love potions and magic
charms
• Priests tried to
Christianize them
Feudalism and the Manor
Economy
• *Feudalism
– A system of rule based on mutual
obligations between lords, vassals and serfs
– Gave a strict order to medieval society
• *Knights adopted a code of conduct
called ‘Chivalry’
– Which required them to be brave, loyal,
and true to their word
– In warfare to fight fairly and be generous
to their enemies
– Applied to nobles only
Is Chivalry Dead?
Age of Charlemagne
• *In the 800s, Charlemagne
reunited much of Europe.
– He revived learning
– Extended Christian civilization
into northern Europe
– Further blended German, Roman,
and Christian traditions
– Set up a strong efficient
government (model)
• After Charlemagne died, his
heirs battled for power
– In 843, they split the empire into
three regions.
8.3
The Medieval Church
*After the fall of Rome, the Christian Church split into
eastern and western churches. The western church, became
known as the Roman Catholic Church
• The most powerful secular force in
medieval Europe
– *The pope claimed authority over all men
– Taught all men were sinners and doomed
unless saved through Sacraments
– Taught that men and women were equal before
God
– But on Earth women were inferior to men
– *Had it’s own law and courts (Canon Law)
– Could excommunicate violators
– Nobles and Kings could be interdicted
The Church
The Center of Daily Life
• *Monasteries and
convents performed a vital
cultural function by
preserving the learning of
the ancient world.
• Benedictine rule 530AD
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Oath of poverty
Vows of chastity
Obedience to the abbot
Hard work was of spiritual
value
• *As the Church became
stronger and wealthier, it
also became corrupt
– Clergy tended to be worldly
and lived in luxury
– Monks and nuns ignored
their vows
8.4
*Agricultural Revolution
• Iron plows with horses
• Windmills to make flour
• The three field system
– One in grain, one in legumes
and one fallow
• *Results
– More food the population
grew, doubling between 1000
and 1300
• Merchants set up
routes with armed
caravans
• *Trade fairs help
create new towns
– Artisans made goods
for the traders
– Cities slowly grew
– The most prosperous in
No. Italy and Flanders
European Trade
Revives
• *Charters
– From the king or lord
– Townspeople could control
their own affairs
– Anyone living the town for
one year and a day...was
free
• *Put new ideas into
circulation and greatly
expanded the middle class
Commercial and Social Changes
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•
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*Commercial Changes
Money reappeared
The need for capital
created banking houses
Partnerships developed
Insurance underwriting
began
Bill of exchange
Denier (Penny in
English, Pfennig in
German, Denaro in
Italian)
*Social changes
• Most lords needed money
to buy goods
• Many serfs began to sell
goods to the towns
– Paying their lords in cash
instead of trade
• *By 1300, most serfs were
now tenant farmers or
hired laborers
Medieval Towns
• *Grew in a haphazard
manner
– Jumble of narrow streets
and tall buildings
– No street lighting
– Noisy during the day
deserted at night
– Had no garbage or sewer
systems
• Wastes went into the
streets
• *Towns were filthy,
smelly, noisy and crowded
*Effects of Trade
• Put new ideas and products into circulation
• Reintroduced money
• Revised social structure
– Kings had more power
– Growing middle class
– Serfs changed to free peasants
• Sets the stage for the Renaissance
9.1
The High Middle Ages
1050-1450 AD
*Strong monarchs in England and France used various
means to centralize power
•
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•
Set up system of royal justice
Created a gov’t bureaucracy
Tax systems
Standing armies
Worked with the new middle
class
In England, new political
traditions evolved
• *Common law
– Henry II sent out traveling
justices to enforce royal law
– Their decisions became the
basis
– *The jury system
• The justices formed
groups of men to
determine which cases
should be heard (grand
jury)
• Evolved into jury by peers
Parliament
• In 1215, King John of
England signed the
*Magna Carta
– It stated that nobles
had certain rights
– The king would not
raise new taxes without
first consulting the
lords and clergy
• Called the Great
Council
• The council evolved
into a Parliament from
the French word parler
– In 1295, Edward I
added common people
to the council
– *Parliament became
bicameral
• House of Lords
• House of Commons
Modern Liberties
Founded in the Magna Carta
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Taxation only with representation
-no unusual taxes accept by agreement of people’s
representatives
Right to trial
-trial to be proven guilty by peers
Limits to royal power
English subjects had certain liberties
power was shared between the king and the people’s
representatives in the Great Council
Parliament developed into a 2 house body
– House of Lords -nobles and clergy
– House of Commons -knights and middle class
The Holy Roman
Empire and the
Church
Holy Roman Emperors....
heirs to Rome
• Tried to rule Germany and
parts of eastern Europe
– Real ruler was the vassals
and the church
• Clashed repeatedly with
popes
– *Who would control
appointments to high
church offices...investiture
Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV
• Pope excommunicated the
emperor.…1076
– Repentant sinner
– Henry took revenge, forced
pope into exile
• *Concordat of Worms
– Church to do investiture
– Emperor to give fiefs
Church Supremacy
• Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II
– Preoccupied with power
struggles with the Church
– Was forced to give in to
demands of the German
nobles
– The nobles’ increasing
independence made it
impossible to unify
Germany’s many feudal
states.
• *Pope Innocent III .…1198
– Led the Church to the height of
power and prestige
– Keep strict control over the
clergy
– Claiming supremacy over all
other rulers
– Led a crusade against the
Albigensians in so. France
Byzantine Empire to 1000
How did the development of the Byzantine Empire
differ from the development of western Europe?
• The Byzantine Empire
– was the direct descendant of Roman imperial rule and tradition.
– centralized control whereas western European institutions were
decentralized.
• The Byzantine emperors
– exercised caesaropapism, which combined supreme secular and
religious power in one person Foreign threats
– Byzantium was directly threatened by foreign invaders, especially
the Iranian Sasanid Empire (4th to 7th century) and ultimately by
Muslim expansion.
• The Byzantine Empire shrank steadily until Constantinople
itself was captured by the Ottomans in 1453.
9.3
The Crusades
1095 to 1204
• Western Europeans were
unaware of advanced
civilizations in Asia,
Africa, and the Americas.
• Byzantine Empire
– Seljuks extended their
power over Palestine and
attacked Christian pilgrims
– Alexius I sent and urgent
plea for help to Urban II
• Urged on by Pope Urban
• 1000”s joined the
Crusades
– *Why did they go?
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Religious reasons
Win wealth and land
Escape troubles at home
For adventure
Seven Crusades
• *The Reconquista
– Spain expelled the
Muslims from their
land
– Created a unified state
under King Ferdinand
and Queen
Isabella...1492
• 1st brought Jerusalem under
crusaders control 1095-1099
• 2nd a failure 1147-49
• 3rd King Richard 1188-1192
• *4th Looted Constantinople
1202-1204
• 5th 1217-1221
• 6th 1228-1239
• 7th 1248-1250
The five crosses symbolize
the five wounds of the
crucified Jesus.
*Effects of the
Crusades
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Left a bitter legacy of religious hatred
Helped quicken the changes in Europe
The Krak des Chevaliers,
Increased levels of trade
the largest Crusader
fortress ever built
Papal power reached its greatest height
Hardened Byzantine resentment against the West
Increased the power of W. Europe’s monarchs
Encouraged the growth of a money economy
Brought Europe into contact with other
civilizations
Europeans rediscovered the
writings of the ancient Greeks
• Setting off a revolution in the world of ideas
• Forcing Christian scholars to resolve the conflict
between logic and faith
– Use reason to discover basic truths OR accept truths on
faith
– *Scholasticism.....faith and reason led to God ruling
over and orderly universe
• Science made little progress....most thought true
knowledge must fit with church teachings