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7.6 Medieval Europe
Role of the Church
and monasteries
after the fall of
Rome
The church continued such
traditions of the empire as
using the Latin language,
and making its center
Rome. Laws under
Christian rulers included
many elements of the
Roman systems of property
ownership and taxation.
Monasteries, or religious
communities formed by
monks, devoted themselves
to preserving the ideas of
ancient Rome and Greece,
as well as church writings.
Development of Feudalism including the role of the
manor and the growth of towns and political order.
Feudalism was a social and political arrangement that was rooted in the
people’s need for protection against invaders and in landowner’s needs for
defense. Small farmers turned to powerful landowners for protection. People
received protection in return for service as soldiers or for turning over title and
ownership of their land to the large landowners. The manor, or home of the
large landowner became the center for feudal life and a place for safety during
battle. It was built for security, not for comfort.
Not all people lived in feudal manors. Peasants seeking
freedom, younger sons of nobles seeking a fortune, scholars
seeking new ideas, and freed serfs left the country manor for
towns. The town was were feudalism began to die. Powered by
trade, the new commercial way of life that developed in the
towns looked beyond the closed world of the manor.
Charlemagne
Charlemagne made his
defeated opponents accept the
Roman church and swear
loyalty to him as their new
ruler.
In 800 Charlemagne marched
into Italy to help Pope Leo III
put down a rebellion there.
Charlemagne also made sure
that religious services were
performed the same way
throughout Europe. He forced
illiterate clergy to become
educated, and tried to rid the
church of corruption.
Magna Carta
In 1215, Parliament forced
King John of England, to
sign a document known as
the Magna Carta. The
Magna Carta acknowledges
the rights of the lords and
prevented the king from
taking those rights away.
By subjecting the king to the
rule of law, the Magna Carta
became the basis for future
reforms. Our own Bill of
Rights and the concept of
“due process of law” grew
out of the Magna Carta.
Religious Crusades and the effect on Muslim/Jewish populations
The crusades were a series of eight wars Europeans fought to win the Holy
Land from the Muslims. These wars, called the crusades, occurred between
1096 and 1270. Four of the eight crusades involved Europeans in major
warfare. Those who fought were called crusaders, because they vowed to “take
up the cross.”
At the same the crusaders set out to fight Muslims in the East, the crusaders
destroyed a number of Jewish towns along the Rhine River. Along the way,
crusaders slaughtered the eastern and western Jewish populations.
Spread of the Black Death
The plague was a disease that swept like wildfire through
Europe beginning in 1347. It was first seen in China in 1331 and
in 15 years spread across Asia to the Black Sea.
People later called it the Black Death, because black spots
formed under the skin from internal bleeding.
By the late 1300’s one fourth to one third of the population of
Europe had died. In some towns, over fifty percent of the people
died.
Importance of the Catholic Church
In medieval Europe, the Church was the sole source of truth
and a center for authority. The Church controlled almost all
areas of thought and teaching, preserving the Latin language
and religious texts. In addition, the Church helped to found the
first universities. This gave the Church great power. Even kings
had to submit to the teachings of the Church and the
judgments of the pope. No one dared to challenge the power
of the Church.