Download The Rise of Europe

The Rise of Europe
Chapter 8
The
Middle
Ages
An Introduction
Why do they call it the Middle Ages?
Main Ideas of the Middle
Ages:
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Feudalism
Christianity/ Crusades
Chivalry
Plague
War
Vocabulary
 Any
thing from the Middle Ages is
considered to be Medieval.
Examples:
Medieval Castle
Medieval Knight
The Early Middle Ages
By A.D. 500, the Roman Empire had fallen
apart. Historians call the 1000 years
following the fall of Rome the Middle Ages.
These years are in the middle between the
fall of Rome and the rebirth of learning in
Europe in the 1500s.
During the Middle Ages, the eastern part of
the old Roman Empire grew strong as the
Byzantine Empire, but the western part
broke into many parts and fell into decay.
The Early Middle Ages
The fall of Rome brought important changes
to Western Europe. Germanic tribes slowly
moved south and took over Roman lands.
People did not obey Roman laws any longer.
Roman soldiers could not keep order.
For 500 years there had been one Roman
Empire. Now hundreds of little kingdoms
took its place. These kingdoms had no
system for collecting taxes and rulers had no
money for a government
Also called the “Dark Ages”
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Why?
Not much emphasis on
Thought
 Government
 Art
 Philosophy
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The Early Middle Ages
From about 500 to 1000, the region was
a frontier land (underdeveloped area
on the outskirts of a civilization with
vast natural resources). Dense forests
flourished in the north. Beneath
the earth’s surface lay mineral
resources, and the seas and rivers
provided fish, energy, and trade
routes.
The Early Middle Ages
Between 400 and 700 A.D., Germanic tribes
carved western Europe into small kingdoms,
the most successful of which was that of
the Franks. They began a civilization that
later developed into the modern countries
of France, Germany, and Italy. In 481 A.D.,
a warrior named Clovis united the
Franks and became their king. He made
Paris his capital. He was the first
Germanic king to become a Roman
The Early Middle Ages
While Germanic peoples conquered
western Europe, Muslims from the
Middle East won victories in the area
around the Mediterranean Sea. They
conquered North Africa and Spain but
were defeated in France at the Battle
of Tours. European Christians viewed
Muslims with hostility and fear, but
gained knowledge from them.
The Early Middle Ages
In 800 A.D., one Frank king became strong
enough to unite all of Western Europe. His
name was Charlemagne, or Charles the Great.
One of history’s great kings/curious, driven,
intelligent, strong warrior, devout Christian/
was illiterate, but strongly supported learning
Ruled from 768 to 814/ Expanded the Frankish
kingdom into Carolingian empire = covered
much of western & central Europe
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Reunites most
of the western
empire
He defeated the
other Germanic
tribes and united
them into one
kingdom,
Spreads
Christianity
The pope Leo
III crowned him
“Emperor of the
Romans.”
The Early Middle Ages
Charlemagne tried to create a united
Christian Europe and to revive Latin
learning. He also established a school at
Aachen (Germany), where the scholar
Alcuin set up a Latin-type curriculum
in which students studied grammar,
rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry,
music, and astronomy.
The Early Middle Ages
Charlemagne appointed powerful
nobles to rule local regions. He gave
them the land so they could offer
support and supply soldiers for his
armies. To keep control of these
rulers, he sent out officials called
missi dominici to check on roads,
listen to grievances, and see that
justice was done.
Charlemagne’s Empire
But then, his kids screw it up…
Charlemagne’s Empire
But then, his kids screw it up…
The Early Middle Ages
His rule brought law and order back to
Western Europe, but less than 30 years
after his death in 814, his empire broke
apart and civil war began. New invaders
threatened his kingdom. In 843, his
grandsons drew up the Treaty of
Verdun, which split the empire into three
regions: Lothair in Italy, Louis the
German in Bavaria, and Charles the Bald
in Aquitaine.
The Early Middle Ages
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Muslims invaded southern France
Magyars settled on the plains of Hungary
Vikings (Norsemen of Scandinavia) attacked the
empire
Vikings were superb warriors & shipbuilders/ famed
dragon ships carrying about 50 men could go shallow
rivers to attack inland
9th century, Vikings settled in Europe
911, Frankish king gave Vikings land of Normandy
No strong, centralized rule
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Is this a good thing?
Why would you want a ruler anyway?
What does a government provide for you?
Here’s a hint…
Europe under attack!
Magyars
from the East
And the
biggest threat
came from the
North, the
Vikings
Muslims
from the
South
The Early Middle Ages
One of the invaders that attacked
Charlemagne’s empire was the
Vikings, which came from northern
Europe. They were sailors who built
excellent ships. Viking explorers
traveled to Russia, all across Europe
and to America. They were not just
destructive raiders, but also traders
and explorers
The Early Middle Ages
Around the year 1000,
a Viking named Leif
Eriksson landed on
and island northeast
coast of North
America. He called it
Vinland… today
Newfoundland!
Statue of Leif Eriksson in Duluth, Minnesota
The Early Middle Ages
After the Romans left Britain in the
fifth century, different Germanic
tribes invaded the island (Angles,
Saxons, and Jutes). They destroyed
and invaded. In 1016 A.D., a Viking
named Canute became the ruler of
England. In 1042 A.D., Edward the
Confessor, an Anglo-Saxon, became
king.
Feudalism and the Manor Economy
After the fall of the Roman Empire, a new
political and military system arose based on
the holding of land. It was called feudalism
and it evolved in response to invasions
by Vikings, Muslims, and Magyars.
Under the feudal system, the king (lord)
owned all the land, he gave it to nobles
(lord), who could then give the land to other
people (vassals) and ask for their loyalty.
The land given to the vassal was called fief
and peasants farmed it.
Feudalism
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Invaders posed a threat to the safety of the people
due to decentralized government
People began to turn landed aristocrats or nobles for
protection/ led to feudalism
Feudalism arose between 800-900/ similar system in
Japan- Samurai
Vassalage = center of feudalism/ came from
Germanic society where warriors swore oath to their
leader
Vassal = man who served a lord militarily
Feudalism: Military
Service for Land
Feudalism
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Knights = heavily armored warriors
Male = armor made of metal links or plates
Frankish army initially set up foot soldiers in mail
Heavily armored knights dominated warfare for over
500 years
Knights had great prestige & formed much of
European aristocracy
Early Middle Ages (500-1000) wealth was based on
owning land/very little trade
Nobles gave a piece of land to vassals in exchange for
fighting = fief
Feudalism
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Vassals had political authority in their fief/in charge
of keeping order
Feudalism became complicated = kings had vassals
who had vassals
Feudal contract = unwritten rules that characterized
feudalism/relationship between king & vassal/knights
for about 40-60 days a year
Vassals were to advise the lord, financial obligations to
the lord, knighting of his eldest son,
Lord supported the vassal with land grant &
protection in military & court
Feudalism and the Manor Economy
To protect the fief, each vassal needed his
own soldiers, but sometimes money was
scarce so the vassal would offer land,
dividing it into smaller and smaller pieces.
Only the son of a noble could become a
knight. At the age of seven, a boy was
sent away to learn to fight and ride.
Feudalism and the Manor Economy
During the long winter nights, the lord and
his guests drank and sang. They also held
tournaments, contests between knights.
A lord would invite knights from the
surrounding area to enter contests of
fighting skill. Two knights in armor
would ride toward each at full speed and
try to knock the other off his horse. The
tournaments were as dangerous as real
battles.
Feudalism and the Manor Economy
Noblewomen played active roles in the
warrior-society. While the husbands or
fathers were off fighting, the “ladies of the
manors” took over their duties. They
supervised vassals, managed the household,
and perform necessary agricultural and
medical tasks. The daughters of the nobles
were sent to friends for training: they were
expected to know how to weave and spin
and how to supervise servants.
Feudalism and the Manor Economy
Once a lord knighted a squire in a special
ceremony, the knight would adopt a code
of conduct called chivalry: the knight
promised to defend the church, to be
loyal to the lord, protect the weak, and
be polite to women. Chivalry placed
women in a pedestal. Troubadours, or
wandering poets, adopted the view of
chivalry and their love songs praised the
perfection, beauty and wit of women.
Feudalism and the Manor Economy
The whole feudal system was based on the
control of land. A manor was that part of the
fief that peasants farmed to support a lord’s
family. A manor was self-sufficient because the
people who lived on it grew, raised, or made
nearly everything that they needed. The
majority of the people who lived during the
Middle Ages were peasants; a few were free,
but most were serfs (they were not slaves, but
bound to the land), no one could buy or sell
them
Feudalism and the Manor Economy
Men, women, and children serfs worked
on the manor farms from early in the
morning until late at night. They did the
farmwork, cut wood, and built fences.
The men planted with his wife along
next to him. Children helped plant
seeds, weeded, and took care of pigs or
sheep. At night, the family and any
animals slept together in their one room
hut.
The Medieval Church
During the early Middle Ages, the Church’s
most important achievement to
Christianize the diverse peoples of
Western Europe. Missionaries were sent to
spread their faith among Germanic tribes.
Women also spread the faith by marrying
pagan kings and bringing the into the
Church. Clothilde, the wife of Clovis (king
of the Franks), persuaded him to accept
Christianity.
Role of the Church
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Christianity became main religion of Roman empire
by 4th century
Roman church developed a system of organization
Priests was head of parishes – local communities
Bishop was head of diocese - a group of parishes
or bishopric
Archbishop – head of groups of diocese
Bishop of Rome became known as Pope – the
head of what is now known as the Roman Catholic
Church
Pope
Patriarch
Archdiocese/Archbishop
Bishop/Diocese
Priest/Parish
Roman Catholic Church
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Pope claim was based on the belief that Jesus gave
Peter the keys to Heaven
Peter was considered to be the chief apostle & the
first bishop of Rome
Bishops who succeeded Peter were called popes =
Latin word for “papa” – father
Western Christians accepted the pope as the church’s
leader, but could not agree on the pope’s powers
Gregory I strengthened power by taking political
control of Rome & surrounding territories
The Medieval Church
In manor villages, the priests of the parish was
the only contact people had with the Church.
The priests celebrated the mass and
administer the sacraments (the sacred rites
of the Church). Christians believed that faith
in Christ and participation in the sacraments
would lead them to salvation.
The church was a social center. Peasants
gossiped or danced. Later on, priests ran
schools.
The Medieval Church
To support the parish, the Church required
Christians to pay a tithe, or tax equal to a
tenth of their income. The Church taught
that men and women were equal before
God, but on Earth, women were viewed as
“daughters of Eve,” weak and easily lead
into sin. At the same time, the Church
offered a view of the ideal woman, as
modest and pure as Mary, the mother of
Jesus.
The Medieval Church
About 530, a monk named Benedict organized
the monastery of Monte Casino in southern
Italy. He drew up a set of rules to regulate
monastic life: monks lived in monasteries and
nuns lived in convents. Under the
Benedictine Rule, monks and nuns took
three vows: obedience to the abbot who
headed the monastery or convent, poverty,
and chastity or purity. Each day was divided
into periods of worship, work, and study.
Role of Church
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Monks meditated & read privately/ They prayed
together seven times a day
All aspects of Benedict life was communal
Abbot (father) ruled each Benedictine monastery
Monks spread Christianity throughout Europe/Irish
& English monks were enthusiastic missionaries
The Medieval Church
Monasteries and convents also performed a vital role
in preserving the writings. Monks and nuns copied
by hand books from the past to make more copies.
Over time, the largest monasteries and convents
became centers of learning, and the monks and nuns
kept learning.
Abbey of Monte Cassino,
originally built by Saint Benedict,
shown here as rebuilt after
World War II.
The Medieval Church
Women could not become priests, however,
many did enter convents. In the later Middle
Ages, the Church put more restrictions on
nuns: it withdrew rights that nuns had once
enjoyed, such as preaching the Gospel, and
placed most independent convents under
the control of Church officials. Although
women’s role within the Church was limited,
they made valuable contributions to their
faith.
Role of Church
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Nuns = women who withdrew from the world to
dedicate themselves to God
Nuns lived in convents headed abbesses
Abess Hilda founded a monastery in Whitby in 657
where she educated five future bishops
The Medieval Church
The Church not only controlled the spiritual life of
Christians, but gradually became the most powerful
secular, or worldly, force in medieval Europe. The
pope was the spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic
Church… medieval popes eventually claimed papal
supremacy. High clergy, such as bishops and
archbishops, were usually nobles and they had their
own territories. The pope itself held vast lands in
central Italy, later called Papal States. Because
churchmen were often the only educated people,
feudal rulers appointed them to high government
positions.
The Medieval Church
The medieval Church developed its own body of laws,
known as canon law, which is a fully developed legal
system, with all the necessary elements: courts,
lawyers, judges, a fully articulated legal code and
principles of legal interpretation. It applied to
religious teachings, the clergy, marriages, and morals.
Anyone who disobeyed Church law faced a range of
penalties, including excommunication, which meant
people could not receive the sacraments or a Christian
burial. A noble who opposed the Church could face
the interdict, an order excluding an entire town,
region or kingdom from receiving most sacraments.
The Medieval Church
With all the success the medieval Church achieved
came many problems: monks and nuns ignored their
vows of poverty, the clergy lived in luxury, priests
could marry and spent more time on family matters
than on Church duties. These trouble times called
for reform in the Church.
In the early 900s, Abbot Berno of Cluny set out to end
abuses: he revived the Benedictine Rule, he declared
that the nobles could not longer interfere in
monastery affairs, and he filled the monastery of
Cluny with men devoted to religious pursuits
The Medieval Church
Jewish communities existed across Europe. In their
homes, the Jews preserved the oral and written laws
that were central to their faith. Jews in Spain were
known as Sephardim. Jewish farmers migrated to
Western Europe and became known as Ashkenazim.
In the late 1000s, Christians persecuted Jews and
accused them of being responsible for the death of
Jesus. In bad times, antisemitism, or prejudice against
Jews, worsened: Christians blamed Jews for things
they could not understand, such as illness or famine.
The Jews moved to Eastern Europe were rulers
welcomed the newcomers’ skills and knowledge.
Economic Expansion and Change
By 1000, Europe’s economic recovery was well
underway. Farming changed because of five
inventions: the three-field system, the harness for
horses and horseshoe, iron plows, the
waterwheel, and the windmill. Under the three-field
system , a lord left one third of his fields unplanted
each year, allowing the soil to rest. Then the field
produced more food when the serfs planted it a year
later. In 300 years, the population of Europe
doubled.
The Change from
Manor Life to the
Growth of Towns
Causes of the growth of towns
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The use of horses
instead of oxen.
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Oxen are big and slow.
Horses plow much faster.
People could plow twice
as much.
RESULTS……
More Food!!!
The Three Field System
In two of the
fields the farmer
would plant his
crops.
In the last field
the farmer would
leave it FALLOW
What is the Result?????
More Food!!!!
What is the final result?
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Because of horses and the 3-field system, there was
more food, MORE FOOD MEANS……
 People become HEALTHIER=
 People LIVE LONGER=
 MORE BABIES=
 INCREASED POPULATION=
 NEED MORE PLACES TO LIVE=
THE GROWTH OF TOWNS
Economic Expansion and Change
Europe’s growing population needed goods that were
not available on the manor: peasants needed iron
for farm tools, wealthy nobles wanted fine wool,
furs, and spices from Asia. As foreign invasions
and feudal warfare declined, traders crisscrossed
Europe to meet the growing demand for goods.
Traders and their customers did business at local
trade fairs; however, they closed in the fall and the
merchants waited during the winter months near a
castle. With time these became the first real
medieval cities
Economic Expansion and Change
To protect their interests, the merchants who set up a
new town would ask the local lord, or king, for a
charter (a written document set out the rights and
privileges of the town). In return, merchants paid
the lord a large sum of money.
As trade revived, merchants had to borrow money to
buy goods. The need for capital, or money for
investment, spurred the growth of banking houses.
Rise of Fairs
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Since people no longer
lived on a self-sufficient
manor, they needed a
place to buy and sell
their stuff.
Most fairs took place
outside of the town and
the peasants got tired of
always carrying their
stuff..
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This was too much
work so pretty
soon the peasants
would just stay at
the fair and not go
back to the manor.
Growth of Towns
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What is it like to live
in a town?
Exciting
 Crowded
 Dirty
 Noisy
 Garbage everywhere
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busy, no bathrooms, no
fresh air…….
But, this is where they want
Dirty, smelly, animals
in the
to live!!!!!
streets, fires ………
Rise of Guilds
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A guild is almost like today’s
UNIONS.
They are groups of people with the
same job.
They controlled what the product
was supposed to look like and how
much they could charge for the
product. It was like quality control
for medieval time.
Members cooperated to protect their
own economic interests. Only
members could work in any trade.
They provided social services,
operating schools and hospitals, and
looking after the widows and
orphans of their members.
Economic Expansion and Change
To become a guild member meant many
years of hard work. At the age of 7 or 8, a
child could become an apprentice, or
trainee, to a guild master. Most apprentices
worked for guild members as journeymen,
or salaried workers.
Women worked in dozens of crafts and
could inherit the workshops of their
fathers or husbands, even become guild
Economic Expansion and Change
To meet the needs of the changing economy, Europeans
developed new ways of doing business:
 Many merchants joined together in an organization
known as a partnership, where a group of merchants
pooled their funds to finance a large-scale venture.
 Merchants developed a system of insurance to help
reduce business risks.
 A merchant deposited money with a banker in his
home city. The banker issued a bill of exchange,
which the merchant exchanged for cash in a distant
city.
Economic Expansion and Change
These new ways reshaped medieval society.
Feudalism ended. By 1300, most peasants
were either tenant farmers, who paid rent for
their land, or hired farm laborers, who paid
with rent with their labor.
A new middle class formed between the
nobles and peasants. The clergy and nobles
despised the new middle class because they
saw them as immoral for making money from
usury (lending money at interest)
ACTIVITIES