Download Germanic Kingdoms Unite Under Charlemagne

Germanic Kingdoms Unite Under
Charlemagne
Ch. 13 sec. 1
pg. 317
The Middle Ages
• There was a gradual decline of Roman Empire
• This ushered in a new era in European history
called the Middle Ages, or medieval period
• Lasted from 500-1500
• New institutions slowly replaced those of the
fallen Roman Empire
Invasions Start Changes in Western Europe
• By the end of the 400’s Germanic tribes
overran the western half of Roman empire
• Remember the empire was split in 2
Invaders
• Remember Attila the Hun? He was the leader
of one of the Germanic groups who terrorized
the Western part of the Empire
Constant warfare sparked:
• Disruption of trade- businesses collapsed and
breakdown of trade destroyed European cities,
money became scarce
• Downfall of cities- cities were abandoned
• Population shifts- nobles retreated to rural areas,
and Rome left with no strong government, others
fleeing to countryside to grow own food
Decline of Learning
• Germanic invaders couldn’t read or write
• Learning among Romans sank as well as more
families move to rural areas
• Only people like priests and church officials
were literate
• Traditional reading of Roman and Greek
philosophy and science stopped
Language
• Germanic tribes had oral traditions of songs and
legends, but no written language
• As they mixed with the Roman population, Latin
began to change
• It wasn’t understood from region to region
• New dialects, words and phrases began to develop
• By 800s French, Spanish, and other Romance
languages developed
Germanic Kingdoms emerge
• Borders and government change as Germanic
kingdoms replace Roman provinces
The role of the Church
• Church was the only
institution that survived
• During time of political
chaos, Church provided
order and security
Germanic Governing
• Roman society believed in loyalty to the public
government and respect written law
• Germanic society believed in personal loyalty
and family ties rather than citizenship in public
state
• Germanic people lived in small communities
• They were governed by unwritten rules and
traditions
• Germanic chiefs led a band of warriors who pledged
loyalty to their leader
• Would fight to their death for leader
• Was considered a disgrace to outlive their leader
• Had no obligation to obey a king they didn’t know or
pay taxes collected by a city official
• Stress on personal ties made it impossible to
establish an orderly government for large territories
The Franks under Clovis
• In the Roman province of Gaul (now France),
Germanic people called the Franks held power
• Their leader, Clovis, brings Christianity to this
region
Clovis
• Clovis’ wife, Clothilde had begged him to convert
• In battle, Clovis saw the possibility of death for
himself and his soldiers, and prayed to the Christian
God
• Clovis and his men won the battle and were
baptized
• Church welcomed his conversion and supported his
military against other Germanic people
• United Franks under one kingdom and formed a
special partnership with the church
The Baptism of Clovis
Germanic Peoples Adopt Christianity
• Frankish rulers and missionaries spread
Christianity
• To adapt to rural conditions, Churches built
monasteries , or religious communities
• Christian men called monks gave up private
possessions and became servants of God
• Women became nuns and lived in convents
• In 520, Benedict, a monk wrote a strict set of
rules for monasteries
• His twin sister, Scholastica headed a convent
and adopted the same set of rules for women
A Pope in Control
• Gregory I, known as Gregory the Great,
became pope in 590
• He took authority of political affairs as well as
church affairs
• Used church revenues to build an army, repair
roads and feed the poor
• The idea of a churchly kingdom , ruled by a
pope would become a central theme in the
Middle Ages
Kingdoms
• After Roman Empire dissolved, tiny kingdoms
sprang up all over Europe
• England had 7 tiny kingdoms
• Some kingdoms were no larger than
Connecticut
• The area of the State
covers 4845 square
miles
• It is the third smallest
state in the U.S.
• Texas is the second
largest state and covers
268,580 square milesroughly fifty five times
the size of Connecticut
• Under Clovis, the Franks control the largest
and strongest kingdom-former Roman
province Gaul
• By the time Clovis died in 511, he had
extended rule over what is now France
• He strengthened the Merovingian Dynasty,
named after his ancestor
Major Domo
• By 700, official known as the major domo
(mayor of the palace) had become most
powerful person in kingdom
• Officially, he had charge of royal and
household estates
• Unofficially, he commanded armies and made
policies
• You could say mayor of the palace ruled the
kingdom
Charles Martel
• In 719, Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer) was
named mayor of the palace, and had more power
than the king
• Extended Franks power to the north, south and east
• Defeated Muslim raiding party from Spain at the
Battle of Tours
• Victory made him a Christian hero
• A loss would have meant Europe could have become
part of the Muslim Empire
Pepin the Short
• After Charles’ s death, he passed on power
to son Pepin the Short
• Pepin wanted to become king- but it was not in his
blood line
• With Pope’s permission he deposed the last
Merovingian king
• Pope declared him “king by the grace of God” after
fighting on the Church’s behalf
• This began the reign of Frankish rulers called the
Carolingian Dynasty
Carolingian Dynasty
• Pepin the Short died and left a greatly
strengthened kingdom to his two sons,
Carloman and Charles (Charlemagne)
• After Carloman’s death, Charles
(Charlemagne) took control of the kingdom
Charlemagne
• He was 6’4” and an imposing figure
• Built an empire larger as any since the Roman empire
(this was before the Mongols expansion)
• Every summer he would take his army to fight
enemies surrounding his kingdom
• Fought Muslims in Spain and other Germanic tribes
• Spread Christianity while conquering new lands
Roman Emperor
• In 800, Charlemagne traveled to Rome to crush an
unruly mob that attacked the Pope
• Pope Leo was so grateful that he crowned
Charlemagne emperor
• The coronation was historic- a pope had claimed the
right to award the title “Roman Emperor” to a
European king
• Event signaled the joining of Germanic power, the
Church, and the heritage of the Roman Empire
Pope Crowning Charlemagne Emperor
Charlemagne’s Government
• Strengthened royal power by limiting noble
power
• Sent out royal agents to make sure those
ruling their counties did so justly
• Charlemagne would visit every part of his
kingdom regularly
• He judged cases, settled disputes and
rewarded faithful followers
Importance of Learning
• One of Charlemagne’s greatest
accomplishments was his praise of learning
• Surrounded himself with scholars of all
languages
• Opened a palace school for his children and
others
• Ordered monasteries to open schools and
train future monks and priests
• In 814 Charlemagne
died after ruling for
over 40 years
• He had inflammation in
the lungs and chest and
tried to cure himself by
only drinking liquids,
but died 7 days later
• Charlemagne video
Louis the Pious
• Charlemagne crowned his only son Louis the
Pious emperor a year before his death
• Louis would have been a better monk, and is
ineffective as a ruler
• Louis had 3 sons: Lothair, Charles the Bald,
and Lewis the German
• All 3 of Charlemagne’s grandsons fight each
other for control of the empire
• A civil war takes place and ends when the
brothers signed the Treaty of Verdun, dividing
the empire into 3 kingdoms
A Divided Empire
• After the treaty Carolingian kings lost power
• Central authority breaks down
• The lack of strong rulers leads to a new system of
governing and land holding- feudalism
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9AMpIU-JYw
(9:00)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSYUgI28U2Q&f
eature=related (5:00)
Assignment:
• Create a family tree of the Carolingian Dynasty
starting with
Charles Martel
Pepin
Carloman
Charlemagne
Louis the Pious
Lothair
Charles the Bald
Lewis
the German