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CHAPTER 13
Beginning of Medieval Europe (9, 12d, 12a)
ROMAN EMPIRE – DESTROYED BY INVASIONS
OF GERMANIC PEOPLES
Disruption of Trade
 Downfall of Cities
 Population Shifts
 Decline of Learning
 Loss of common language

FOUNDATIONS OF EARLY MEDIEVAL SOCIETY
Classical heritage of Rome
 Christian beliefs = Unified Europe
 Customs of Germanic tribes

INFLUENCE OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
Roman authority declined, while church authority
grew
 Monasteries preserved Greco-Roman Cultural
achievements
 Missionaries carried Christianity and Latin
alphabet to Germanic tribes
 Pope anointed Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor
– 800AD
 Parish Priests served religious and social needs of
the people

FEUDAL SOCIETY (POLITICAL ORGANIZATION)
Europe in Chaos! We need PROTECTION!
 Fief – piece of land given from lord to his vassal,
called a manor
 Vassals – people who serve their lord
 Serfs – a.k.a. peasants, people who work on fiefs
Money goes up;
 Feudal obligations
Protection goes down.

Vassal – pay taxes to lord,
military service
 Lord – protect his vassal

MANORIAL SYSTEM (ECONOMY)
Rigid Class structure
 Self-sufficient manors

AGE OF CHARLEMAGNE
Franks, Gallic tribe, emerge as a force in
Western Europe
 Pope crowned the Emperor of the Holy Roman
Empire = Power of the Church established in
political life
 Roman Cultural
was revived

AFTER CHARLEMAGNE
Son, Louis, was not
a strong king
 Louis had three sons

 Lothair
 Charles
the Bald
 Louis the German
They fought each other
 Eventually divided Charlemagne's kingdom into
three halves at the Treaty of Verdun


Video Europe after the Fall of Rome
SECTION 2 – FEUDALISM IN EUROPE

New Invasions Trouble Europe

Vikings

Causes



Overpopulation
Lack of land at home
Desire for free stuff
Used Long Boats to raid around Europe
 Terrorized villages along coast
 Also explored



Leif Ericson even reached
North America around 1000 A.D.
Magyars and Muslims
Contributed to chaos
 Grabbed people to sell as slaves


Video – Vikings Warriors
SECTION 3 – THE AGE OF CHIVALRY

Horseback – Two inventions
 Saddle
 Stirrups

Knights
 Served
their lords in return
for fiefs of land
 Time spent in training for battle
CHIVALRY

Knightly code of conduct
 Respect
for Ladies
 Reverence to God
 Loyalty to sworn lord
 Glory in battle and tournaments
CHIVALRY CONT.
Knights must maintain character standards or
be punished
 Knights competed in tournaments to show off
their skillz
 Warfare was terrible p.329

KNIGHTLY LITERATURE

Epic Poetry in Medieval times
 Idealize
chivalry and Knighthood
 Praised heroic deeds and adventures
 King
Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
 Charlemagne's battles
 Song of Rolan p. 330
 Troubadours
 Sang
epic songs with a lute (simple guitar)
 Themes of Love and Loyalty
To lord
 To lady
