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Europe in the 6c
Regional States
• Germanic invaders
toppled Rome’s authority
in the late 5th Century
A.D. but no clear
successor to centralized
authority emerged
– The Franks
temporarily revived the
empire; the high point
of which was the reign
of Charlemagne from
768-814.
Charlemagne
Political-Military Relationship
• A close relationship between political
and military authorities developed
– As a result, political authorities and
military specialists merged into a
hereditary noble class which lived off the
surplus agricultural production that it
extracted from the cultivators
– Only by tapping into this surplus could
the lords and their retainers secure the
material resources necessary to
maintain their control over military,
political, and legal affairs
Periodization
Early Middle Ages: 500 – 1000
High Middle Ages: 1000 – 1250
Late Middle Ages: 1250 - 1500
Medieval Society
Early Middle Ages (450-1050)
• The country was not governed by the king
but by individual lords who administered
their own estates, dispensed their own
justice, minted their own money, levied
taxes and tolls, and demanded military
service from vassals
• Usually the lords could field greater armies
than the king
– In theory the king was the chief feudal lord, but
in reality the individual lords were supreme in
their own territory
• Many kings were little more than figurehead
rulers
Three Estates of Medieval
Society
• Those who pray
– The clergy of the
Roman Catholic
Church
• Those who fight
– Nobles
• Those who work
– Peasants
• The result was a
society marked by
political, social, and
economic inequality
How was order maintained in the
Early Middle Ages?
• In the absence of a strong centralized
authority, local political and military elites
worked out various ad hoc ways to
organize and protect their territories
– Lords and retainees
– Manors
– Serfs
“Feudalism”
• There really was no “feudal system” if that implies a neat
hierarchy of lords and vassals who collectively took
charge of political and military affairs
• Because the feudal hierarchy arose as a makeshift for
defense against invaders, it always had a provisional, ad
hoc, and flexible character
– There was no “system”
• However, medieval European society was characterized
by:
– Fragmentation of political power
– Public power in private hands
– Armed forces secured through private contracts
Feudalism
A political, economic, and social
system based on loyalty and
military service.
The Road to Knighthood
KNIGHT
SQUIRE
PAGE
Retainers
• The nobles maintained their armies by
offering grants, usually land, to armed
retainers
• In exchange for the grants, the retainers
pledged their loyalty and military service to
their lords
– The retainers gained increased rights over
their land, to include the prerogative to pass
on their rights to the heirs
Manors
• Manors were large estates
consisting of fields, meadows,
forests, agricultural tools,
domestic animals, and serfs
• The lord of the manor and his
deputies provided government,
administration, police services,
and justice for the manor
• Many lords had the authority to
execute serfs for serious
misconduct
• In the absence of thriving cities
in rural areas, manors became
largely self-sufficient
communities
The Medieval Manor
Life on the Medieval Manor
Serfs at work
Serfs
• Free peasants sought
protection from a lord and
pledged their labor and
obedience in exchange for
security and land to cultivate
• Beginning in the mid 17th
Century, this category
became recognized as serfs–
neither fully slave nor fully
free
– Not chattel slaves subject to
sale by their master
– But still owed obligations to the
lords whose lands they
cultivated
Serfs’ Obligations
• Had the right to work certain lands and to pass
those lands on to their heirs
• In exchange they had to perform labor services
and pay rents in kind (a portion of the harvest,
chickens, eggs, etc)
• Male serfs typically worked three days a week
for their lords with extra services during planting
and harvesting times
• Women serfs churned butter, spun thread, and
sewed clothes for their lords and their families
Serfs’ Obligations
• Since the lord
provided the land, the
serfs had little
opportunity to move
and had to get the
lord’s permission to
do so
– Even had to pay fees
to marry someone who
worked for a different
lord
Chivalry: A Code of Honor and Behavior
Chivalry
• Church officials
originally proposed a
chivalric code to curb
fighting within
Christendom
• By the 12th Century,
the ritual by which a
young man became
a knight commonly
included the
candidate placing his
sword upon an altar
and pledging his
service to God
Chivalry
• With chivalry, warriors were
encouraged to adopt higher
ethical standards and refined
manners and become cultivated
leaders of society
• The chivalric code called for a
noble to devote himself to the
causes of order, piety, and the
Christian faith rather than
seeking wealth and power
The Medieval Catholic Church
 Filled the power vacuum left from the
collapse of the classical world.
 Monasticism:
 St. Benedict – Benedictine Rule of
poverty, chastity, and obedience.
 Provided schools for the children of
the upper class.
 Inns, hospitals, refuge in times of war.
 Libraries & scriptoria to copy books
and illuminate manuscripts.
 Monks  missionaries to the
barbarians. [St. Patrick, St. Boniface]
Chivalry
Ideals associated with knighthood
•
French word chevalier which means
“knight”
Honor is the foundational and guiding
principle
Three basic areas
1. Relation to countrymen and fellow
Christians
•
mercy, courage, valor, fairness,
protection of the weak and poor, servanthood to lord
•
warrior chivalry - chief duty is to his lord
2. Relation to God
•
being faithful to the church, being the
champion of good against evil, being
generous and obeying God above all
3. Relation to women
•
idea that the knight is to serve a lady
•
general gentleness and graciousness to
Chivalric Codes
• Thou shalt believe all that the Church teaches,
and shalt observe all its directions.
• Thou shalt defend the Church.
• Thou shalt respect all weaknesses, and shalt
constitute thyself the defender of them.
• Thou shalt love the country in which thou wast
born.
• Thou shalt not recoil before thine enemy.
• Thou shalt make war against the Infidel without
cessation, and without mercy.
• Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy feudal
duties, if they be not contrary to the laws of
God.
• Thou shalt never lie, and shall remain faithful to
thy pledged word.
• Thou shalt be generous, and give largess to
everyone.
• Thou shalt be everywhere and always the
champion of the Right and the Good against
Injustice and Evil.
Courtly Love
System of attitudes, myths and etiquette
Governed the real and idealized behavior of
knights and their ladies
System of admiration and courtship
Idea that a noble man would dedicate his life
to the love of a lady
Such a love could not exist within marriage
Standards of etiquette and custom varied
• Chaste or Platonic admiration
• Intention of consummation expressed
Non-Christian tradition
• Alternative to the love of God and the
Church
• Condemed by Church as heretical
Spawned Romance literary genre
Courtly love most commonly expressed in the
compositions of the troubadours, and
poets
Courtly Love
Andreas Capellanus 12th century author
• The Art of Courtly Love
Stages of Courtly Love
• Attraction to the lady, usually via eyes/glance
• Worship of the lady from afar
• Declaration of passionate devotion
• Virtuous rejection by the lady
• Renewed wooing with oaths of virtue & eternal
fealty
• Moans of approaching death from unsatisfied
desire (and other physical manifestations of
lovesickness)
• Heroic deeds of valor which win the lady's
heart
• Consummation of the secret love
• Endless adventures and subterfuges avoiding
detection
Arthurian Romance
Gained great popularity in the 12th century
• Appears as the ideal of kingship both in war and
peace
• Cultural icon of a idealized British past
Arthur gathered the Knights of the Round Table
(Lancelot, Gawain, Galahad) at his court at
Camelot
• Arthur's knights engaged in fabulous quests ad
advnetures, such as the quest for the Holy Grail
Geoffrey of Monmouth - first major popularization of
Arthurian legend in History of the Kings of Britain
• Also wrote The Prophecies of Merlin & Life of
Merlin
Chrétien de Troyes, French poet -12th century
• love story of Lancelot for Guinevere
Historical Arthur
• Romano-British leader fighting against the invading
Anglo-Saxons - 5th century and early 6th century
• Celtic sagas and poetry tell of a warrior named
The Power of the Medieval Church
 Bishops and abbots played a large part in
the feudal system.
 The church controlled about 1/3 of the
land in Western Europe.
 Tried to curb feudal warfare  only 40
days a year for combat.
 Curb heresies  crusades; Inquisition
 Tithe  1/10 tax on your assets given to
the church.
 Peter’s Pence  1 penny per person
[paid by the peasants].
A Medieval Monk’s Day
A Medieval Monastery: The Scriptorium
Illuminated Manuscripts
Romanesque Architectural Style
 Rounded Arches.
 Barrel vaults.
 Thick walls.
 Darker, simplistic interiors.
 Small windows, usually at the top of the wall.
Charlemagne: 742 to 814
• King of the
Franks
and Emperor
of the
Holy Roman
Empire
742 - 814
Charlemagne’s Empire
Let my armies be the
rocks and the trees and
the birds in the sky.
—Charlemagne
By the Sword and the Cross

Charlemagne (Charles the
Great) was born on April
2, 742, in Northern
Europe. "By the sword
and the cross," he became
master of Western
Europe. Through his
enlightened leadership the
roots of learning and
order were restored to
Medieval Europe
Europe in Turmoil

In 768, when Charlemagne was 26, he and his brother
Carloman inherited the kingdom of the Franks. In 771
Carloman died, and Charlemagne became sole ruler of
the kingdom.



At that time the Franks were falling back into barbarian
ways, neglecting their education and religion.
The Saxons of northern Europe
were still pagans.
In the south, the Roman Catholic
church was asserting its power to
recover land confiscated by the
Lombard kingdom of Italy.
Europe was in turmoil.
Charlemagne Brings Order to Europe

Charlemagne was determined to strengthen
his realm and to bring order to Europe. In
772 he launched a 30-year military campaign
to accomplish this objective. By 800
Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of
Western Europe.



His vast realm encompassed what are now France,
Switzerland, Belgium, and The Netherlands.
It included half of present-day Italy and Germany,
and parts of Austria and Spain.
By establishing a central government over
Western Europe, Charlemagne restored much
of the unity of the old Roman Empire and
paved the way for the development of
modern Europe.
Charlemagne’s Coronation

On Christmas Day in 800, while
Charlemagne knelt in prayer in
Saint Peter's in Rome, Pope Leo
III placed a golden crown on the
bowed head of the king.
Charlemagne is said to have been
surprised by the coronation,
declaring that he would not have
come into the church had he
known the pope's plan. However,
some historians say the pope
would not have dared to act
without Charlemagne's
knowledge.
Carolinian Renaissance

Charlemagne learned to read Latin
and some Greek but apparently did
not master writing. At meals,
instead of having jesters perform,
he listened to visiting scholars read
from learned works.



Charlemagne believed that government
should be for the benefit of the
governed.
He was a tireless reformer who tried to
improve his people's lives.
He set up money standards to
encourage commerce, urged better
farming methods and worked to spread
education and Christianity.
Charlemagne’s Empire Collapses:
Treaty of Verdun, 843
Regional States
• After Charlemagne, his
successor Carolingians had no
effective means of defending
against Magyars, Muslims,
Vikings, and other invaders
• In response, European nobles
sought to protect their lands
and maintain order in their own
territories
• Political authority in early
medieval Europe thus
devolved into competing local
and regional jurisdictions with
a decentralized political order
– “Feudalism”
Viking long ship
The Carolingian Renaissance
Carolingian Miniscule
The Rise of European Monarchies:
England
Carcassonne: A Medieval Castle
Parts of a Medieval Castle
Castles