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Chapter 13
EUROPEAN MIDDLE AGES
500-1200
Section 1 – Germanic Kingdoms Unite
Under Charlemagne
• The gradual decline of the Roman Empire ushered in an era
of European History called the Middle Ages – spanning
from 500 – 1500
Invasions Trigger Changes in Western Europe
• Different Germanic groups over-ran western Europe
ushering in changes in government, economy and Trade
– Disruption of Trade – invasion from land and sea caused
business to collapse and breakdown of trade
– Downfall of cities – With the Collapse of the Roman Empire,
cities became abandoned
– Population Shifts - Nobles retreated to rural areas, city dwellers
fled to the countryside and grew their own food, population of
western Europe became mostly Rural
• The Decline of Learning
– German invaders were illiterate
– Learning among citizens sank sharply
– Only Church officials were literate
– German tribes had a rich oral history with songs a
legends
Loss of a Common Language
– German-speaking people mixed with Roman
population Latin began to change
– Different dialects developed, French and Spanish
evolved from Latin
• Germanic Kingdoms Emerge
– Germanic Kingdoms replaced old Roman provinces,
borders changing constantly
– The Church was the only institution that survived the
fall of the Roman empire, providing order and security
The Concepts of Government Changes
– Family ties and personal loyalty, rather than
citizenship bound the Germanic people
• Governed by unwritten rules and traditions
• Germanic chiefs had warriors who pledged loyalty to him,
they willingly died for a chief the respected, no obligation to
a king or officials sent by the king
• In the province of Gaul, a Germanic people, The Franks held
power, their leader Clovis would bring Christianity to the ppl
• The Franks Under Clovis
– Clovis’s wife urged him to convert to her faith
– Under the stress of battle he appealed to the
Christian God
– The Church in Rome welcomed his conversion and
supported his military campaigns
– He united the Franks under one kingdom
– Clovis’s alliance with the Church marked the
beginning of a special partnership of powerful
forces
Germanic Peoples Adopt Christianity
• Politics played a key role in spreading
Christianity
• By 600, with the help of Frankish rulers, The
Church had converted many Germanic people
• Missionaries risking their lives to advance
their faith
• In southern Europe, attacks by Muslims
caused many to convert as well
• Monasteries and Converts
– Church built religious communities called monasteries
– Monks and nuns ran these monasteries
– 520 – Benedict wrote a book that set practical guidelines for Monks
and Nuns to follow
– Devoted their lived to prayer and good works
Gregory I Expands Papal Power
– 590 Gregory I became Pope, broadened the authority of the papacy
– Papacy became secular,
– He used church revenues to raise armies, repair roads , and help the
poor
– Strengthened the vision of Christendom – the spiritual kingdom
– The idea of a Churchly Kingdom would be a central theme throughout
the middle Ages
A European Empire Evolves
• As the Roman Empire dissolved, small kingdoms sprang up
everywhere
• England split up into seven different kingdoms
• The Franks controlled the largest, All of France
– Clovis’s descendants
• 700 – the Major Domo, or mayor, of the palace ruled
the kingdom
• Charles Martel, mayor in 719, extended the Franks
reign to the north, south and east
– Defeated a Muslim raiding party from Spain at the
Battle of Tours
– Held great significant for Christians, he became a
Christian hero
• After Martel’s death his son Pepin the Short
took power and was anointed Pepin “King by
the grace of God”
• Setting up the Carolingian Dynasty – 751 – 987
• Charlemagne Extends Frankish Rule
– Pepin the Short died in 768
– His two sons took power
– After his older brothers death Charlemagne took
control of the entire kingdom
• Charlemagne Take Center Stage
– Charlemagne build a great empire
– He fought Muslims in Spain and Germanic tribes
– Conquered new lands in the south and east
– He helped spread Christianity
– He reunited western Europe for the first time since the
Roman Empire
– 800 – He traveled to Rome to crush an unruly mob
attacking the Pope
– Pope Leo III crowned him emperor in return
– Claimed the right to confer the title “Roman Emperor”
– Even signaled the joined of Germanic power and the
Church
• Charlemagne’s Government
– Strengthened his power by limiting the authority
of the nobles
– Made sure landowners governed justly
– Regularly visited various parts of his kingdom
Cultural Revival
– Charlemagne great accomplishment was that he
encouraged learning
– Ordered monasteries to open schools to train
future monks and priests
– Monasteries expanded their libraries
Charlemagne's Heirs Are Weak Rulers
• Crowned his son, Louis the Pious, heir to his
kingdom
• Proved an infective leader
• Louis’s sons fought each other and his death
and set off a civil war – Ended with the treaty
of Verdun that divided Charlemagne Empire
into three kingdoms
• Carolingian kings lost power and the lack of
strong leaders lead to a new system of
governing and landholding