Download The Middle Ages

 Focus:
 The gradual decline of the Roman Empire ushered in
an era of European history called the Middle Ages, or
the medieval period.
• Do Now:
What does the graph
tells us about the
population in Roman
cities after the fall
of Rome in 476 AD?
The Early Middle Ages
Impact of the Fall of Rome
 500-1500 AD
 Divided into 3 periods
 Early Middle Ages (500-1000 )
 High Middle Ages (1000-1300)
 Late Middle Ages (1300-1500)
 500-1000 AD
 Fall of Rome led
to changes in
government,
economics, and
culture of
western Europe
 The Dark Ages
• Disruption of
trade
– invasions
– Roads were
unsafe to travel
– Business and
trade collapsed
– Money became
scarce
• Cities abandoned as centers of
government power
–Law and order collapsed
 Population shifts
 People left cities to farm
in countryside
 People become self-
sufficient
 They must be able to make
and do everything for
themselves.
 Decline of learning and
knowledge
 Roman learning declined rapidly as
people left cities
 Few people could read or write
 Except for priests and
Catholic church officials
 Most Germanic tribes did
not have written language or
know how to read
 Knowledge of Greek literature,
science, and philosophy almost
disappeared
• Loss of a common
language
– Latin language had
united the Roman
Empire
– Mixing of Germanic
people into empire lead
to changes in Latin
• Different dialects
developed
• Led to the formation of
the romance languages
• Roman Empire
replaced by small
kingdoms
throughout Europe