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The Middle Ages
The Collapse of Trade and Towns
• Warfare disrupted trade.
• Towns and Cities declined – Without the
empire, no need for cities as centers of
administration.
• City dwellers moved back to the countryside,
western Europe became very rural as the
population shifted from urban to rural.
Loss of Literacy
• The “barbarians” who
invaded the Germanic
Kingdom were illiterate
• Learning declined as people
moved out of the cities
• By the 600’s priests and
clergy were the only
Europeans who were
literate
Loss of a Common Language
• Latin declined after the Empire
collapsed.
• Formation of the Romance
Languages – different dialects
of Latin formed (combo of
Latin and languages of the
Germanic tribes)
• By the 800’s – French, Spanish,
Italian and other Romance
languages had evolved
The Concept of Government Changes
• Germanic kingdoms replaced Roman
provinces – borders were constantly
shifting
• Family ties and personal loyalties replaced
public government and public law.
• Made orderly government for large areas
difficult
Alliance Between the Church and the Franks
• Clovis – Frankish king, converted
to Christianity in the 490’s.
• His conversion created an alliance
between the Franks and the
Church that would last for
centuries.
• By 600 – Roman Catholic church
had converted many Germanic
tribes to Christianity.
Europe after the Fall of the Roman Empire
Benedict and the Benedictine Rule
Benedict
• Italian Monk in the 500’s who developed a
strict set of rules for monastic life – called the
BENEDICTINE RULE
• Established a model for religious communities
called monasteries for monks and convents for
nuns
THE BENEDICTINE RULE
Must vow to stay for life
Spend 7 hours a day in manual labor
Two hours daily devoted to reading the Bible
Pray and worship 8 times daily
Meals should be limited with no red meat allowed
Role of Monasteries and Convents
• Stable communities in a time of chaos in Europe
• Well governed because they followed an orderly
written body of rules
• Most educated communities – operated schools,
libraries and copied books
• Monasteries preserved a large part of Rome’s
intellectual heritage with illuminated
manuscripts.
Pope Gregory I
• Became Pope in 590. Expanded the power of the
Pope
• Made the Papacy a political office as well as religious
power.
• Gregory’s palace became the center of Roman
government
• Used church revenues to raise armies, repair roads,
and relieve the poor – Pope acted as mayor of Rome
• Sent missionaries to England to spread Christianity
among the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms
• Ignored political divisions between kingdoms – had a
vision of Christendom – A Christian kingdom ruled by
the Pope.
The Frankish Kingdoms
and Charles (the Hammer) Martel
 Frankish Mayor of the Palace (Major Domo)
 Held the real power of the Frankish
Kingdom
 Commanded Frankish Army
 In 732 Charles the Hammer Martel met and
defeated the Moors (Muslims) in the Battle
of Tours in France.
 This saved Europe from further Muslim
invasion and protected Christianity and the
Church.
Pepin and Establishment of the
Carolingian Dynasty
 Succeeded his father Charles Martel as Mayor
of the Palace.
 He defeated the Lombards who were
threatening Italy and the Church.
 He gave the land of the Lombards to the
Church. This became the Papal States.
 Appointed by the Pope as King of the Franks.
 Pepin established the Carolingian dynasty.
Charlemagne (Charles the Great)
Charlemagne (Charles the Great)
 Succeeded his father Pepin as King.
 Considered the greatest of medieval kings.
 United all Frankish lands under his rule.
 His empire was larger than any since the Roman
Empire.
 Divided his land into counties administered by counts.
Charlemagne’s Empire
Charlemagne (Charles the Great)
 Greatly interested in learning and started
schools to bring literacy back to Europe.
 Crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman
Empire on Christmas Day in 800.
 His son Louis the Pious inherited the
Empire. After he died his kingdom split
among his three sons (Charlemagne’s
grandsons)
 Lothair – Central (Italy, Switzerland)
 Charles the Bald – West (France)
 Louis the German – East (Germany)
 They fought each other and in 843 signed
the Treaty of Verdun dividing the empire.
Division of the Frankish Empire Treaty of Verdun
843
• After the death of the three brothers the Carolingian kings lost power
and central authority broke down.
• A new system of governing and landowning called Feudalism emerged