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Chapter 17
THE FOUNDATIONS OF CHRISTIAN
SOCIETY IN WESTERN EUROPE
Example Question
 Which of the following achievements was not a
part of the early middle ages?
a. a restoration of political order through a feudal
system.
b. economic recovery.
c. the reestablishment of centralized, imperial rule.
d. the creation of an institutional framework for the
Christian church based in Rome.
e. Both c and d are true.
Overview
 Political order restored out of disruption caused
by the fall of the Roman Empire.
 Economic recovery based first on increased
agricultural production within the rural manorial
system.
 During this period Roman Christianity provided
the impetus for cultural continuity and unity in
Western Europe.
 The office of the papacy and the monastic
movement were two powerful institutions that
developed and consolidated a uniquely
European culture.
Germanic successor states
 Germanic kingdoms: Visigoths, Ostrogoths,
Lombards, Burgundians, Angles/Saxons.
 The Franks: center of gravity shifted from Italy
to northern lands.
The Franks
Clovis
Led the Franks and wiped out
the last vestiges of Roman
authority in Gaul
The Franks converted to
Roman Christianity
Alliance with the Roman
church greatly strengthened
the Franks
The Franks
The Carolingians
 Carolingians, an
aristocratic clan,
asserted
authority in the
early eighth
century
 Charles Martel's
son claimed the
throne for
himself, 751
Carolingian Map
The Franks
Charlemagne (reigned 768-814 C.E.)
Grandson of Charles Martel, founder of
Carolingian empire
Control extended to northeast Spain,
Bavaria, north Italy
Charlemagne Map
Charlemagne
Capital city at Aachen (in modern
Germany)
Relied on aristocratic deputies, known as
counts
Used missi dominici to oversee local
authorities
Pope Leo III proclaimed Charlemagne
emperor, 800
Decline of the Carolingian empire
 Charlemagne's only surviving son;
lost control of the counts
 His three sons divided the empire
into three kingdoms, 843
 Muslims raided south, seized
Sicily, parts of northern Italy and
southern France
 Magyars invaded from the east
 Vikings invaded from the north
Vikings- Norsemen
 Most were merchants and migrants
 Mounted raids in many European regions from Russia to
Spain
 Outstanding seafarers; even established a colony in
Canada about 1000
 Fleets could go to interior regions via rivers, attacking
towns and villages
Early medieval society
 After Carolingian empire dissolved,
local nobles built decentralized
states
 Lords and retainers
Lord provided retainer
Retainers owed lord loyalty, obedience,
respect, counsel, and military service
Lord/retainer relationships become
stronger; retainer status became
hereditary
Serfdom
Serfs
 Serfs as an intermediate category emerged
about the mid-seventh century
 Could not move to other lands without
permission
 Serfs had right to work on land and pass it to
heirs
 Manors were a principal form of agricultural
organization
 A manor was a large estate, controlled by the
lord and his deputies (self-sufficient)
Agriculture of early medieval Europe
 Heavy plows
appeared in the sixth
century
 Agricultural
production increased
 Cultivation of new
lands; watermills;
and rotating crops
 Agricultural surplus
not enough to
support large cities
PERSIAN Chart- The Franks
(Carolingian)
Complete a PERSIAN Chart on the
Franks.
Focus your study on the Carolingian
empire.