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The Middle Ages
WHAP/Napp
“After the collapse of the western Roman Empire in 476 C.E., various Germanic
tribal leaders tried but failed to re-create the Roman model. Several Germanic
kingdoms were established, two of whose leaders employed the title of Roman
emperor; the most notable attempt at empire occurred under Charlemagne, around
800, but ended in division into smaller units. Internal weakness, including the lack
of an educated elite and outside invasions inhibited political stability. In this
situation, local military leaders began to form personal bonds in the interests of
mutual defense. Lords would grant lands and protection to lesser warriors, or
vassals, who would pledge military support in return; all parties could afford the
horses and armor necessary for battle in this period. This network of mutuality and
loyalty was feudalism, and it permitted the construction of regional groupings that
gradually reduced endemic warfare and raiding. Kings in places such as France
operated as large feudal lords, seeking to use ties with vassals to enforce larger
loyalties, even though they did not monopolize military force. Gradually this system
permitted the formation of larger kingdoms; by 1100, kings of France and England
ruled loosely over a substantial number of regional vassals, who in turn (as lords)
commanded the service of lesser vassals, Alongside these feudal monarchies, the
Catholic Church developed its own bureaucracy in the interest of regulating local
church activities and collecting funds for support.
The next result of these various patterns was the emergence of more complex
political units, which were, however, constrained by a number of factors. In
principle and often in fact, kings were limited in the religious area by the powers of
the church. Feudalism provided opportunities for political expansion, but it
inhibited the growth of large central states; among other things, lords were
supposed to ask vassals for advice before undertaking major initiatives. European
king did develop the beginnings of their own bureaucracy in the final centuries of
the post-classical period, with some limited specialization of functions (finance,
justice, military). But vassals often forced kings to create new institutions – called
parliaments – to represent them and other powerful interests. Parliaments focused
on their claim to approve any new taxes as a means of restraining arbitrary
behavior by kings. With many different government units crisscrossing Western
Europe, feudalism also provided a strong military orientation to the emerging
states, with frequent wars and enduring rivalries.” ~ Experiencing World History
1- What factors prevented political stability in the early medieval period?
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2- What did Western Europeans do in order to create security and some
measure of stability?
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3- Explain the reciprocal relationships of feudalism.
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4- What did some Germanic leaders attempt to do (Think Charlemagne)?
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5- What patterns emerged in Western Europe as a result of feudalism?
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Notes:
I. Collapse of the Western Roman Empire
A. Internal decay in combination with external pressures
1. Sheer size of the empire, expense of maintaining it, corrupt leaders
2. On borders, Rome faced external pressuresGermanic invaders
a) Visigoths sacked Rome in 410 CE
b) By 476 CE, the Roman emperor had been deposed
c) West collapsed/East survived as Byzantine Empire
II. Comparison to fall of Gupta and Han
A. Romans, Gupta, Han faced invasions by or conflict with nomadic invaders
B. Romans, Gupta, and Han also experienced difficulties regarding taxation
III. After the Fall of Rome
A. Most of Germanic tribes converted to Christianity relatively quickly, though
politically continued to act independently
B. The Medieval Church
1. Provided sense of unityonly Christian Church in western Europe
2. Yet frequent fighting among Germanic tribes in early Medieval period
IV. Franks Most significant of early kingdoms
A. Germanic tribe-united under leadership of King Clovis in late fifth century
1. Clovis converted to Roman Catholicism and established capital in Paris
2. After he died, his empire was divided among his sons
3. Yet empire helped western Europe solidify under common culture
a) Easier to unify against Muslim invasions
b) Charles Martel led the revolt against advancing Muslim armies
1) In 732, defeated them at Battle of Tours, not far from Paris
2) Martel then founded Carolingian Dynasty
3) Son, Pepin, chose to have succession certified by pope
B. Charlemagne (“Charles the Great”)
1. Pepin’s son, Charles (747-814 CE), revitalized concept of empire
2. Was crowned by the Pope in 800 and became known as Charlemagne
V. The Holy Roman Empire
A. Empire Charlemagne builtcalled Holy Roman Empire upon
coronation of Otto the Great in 962
B. However, had little in common with the original Roman Empire
C. Size of the Holy Roman Empire, in comparison to its namesake, was
relatively smallNorthern Italy, Germany, Belgium, and France
D. Under Charlemagne, a strong focus on arts/education but religious
emphasis  centered in monasteries and under direction of church
VI. Feudalism
A. At topking,had power over an entire territory
B. Beneath him were the nobles, who in exchange for military service and
loyalty to king were granted power over sections of kingdom
1. Nobles divided lands to lesser lords called vassals
C. Below the vassals were peasants, who worked the land
D. For this system to work, everyone had to fulfill obligations to others
E. Estates that were granted to the vassals were called fiefs, and these later
became known as manorsself-sufficient
F. As manorial life evolved, an increasing number of peasants became tied to
the land literally  needed protection which lord provided  became serfs
G. Advances in agriculture Three-field system with rotation of three fields:
one for fall harvest, one for spring harvest, and one fallow to replenish
H. Most lords followed code of chivalry, honor systemFeudal system was
male-dominatedLand equaled power and males inherited land
I. When a lord died under the feudal systemland and title passed down via
primogeniture to eldest son
1. Women could inherit a fief, but they could not rule it
2. But religious opportunitiesNuns
J. The Vikings
1. developed highly maneuverable multi-oared boats around 800
2. They raided well beyond their bordersfrom Scandinavia
a) limited resources and population pressures led to their periodic raiding of
lands and monasterieseven raided as far as Constantinople
Complete the Graphic Organizer Below:
Reasons for fall of Rome:
Features of Early Middle Ages:
Medieval Church:
Medieval Western Europe
Feudalism:
Women:
Vikings:
Germanic Tribes:
Questions:
 Why did the Western Roman Empire collapse?
 Discuss similarities between Roman, Han, and Gupta.
 Discuss the class hierarchy of the medieval period.
 Discuss the status of women during the medieval period.
 What impact did the Vikings have on the medieval period?
1. Which group was most likely to
4. Which of the following regions of
be literate in the period of
Western Europe remained most
European history often called the
insulated from the general trend
Dark Ages?
toward disorder following the fall
(A) Aristocrats
of the Roman Empire?
(B) Peasants
(A) France
(C) Monks
(B) England
(D) Knights
(C) Germany
(E) Monarchs
(D) Spain
(E) Italy
2. Which of the following terms
matches this definition:
5. Which best characterizes the
“agricultural laborer tied to an
impact of the Magna Carta?
estate with rights including
(A) The principle of limited
military protection, heritable
monarchy and representative
ownership of a plot of land, and
bodies was established.
owing obligations to share crop
(B) More accurate maps were
yields each season with his or her
produced.
lord.”
(C) Universal manhood suffrage
(A) Peasant
became the norm in feudal
(B) Slave
societies.
(C) Proletarian
(D) Parliamentary rule replaced
(D) Serf
monarchy across the West.
(E) Plebeian
(E) Increasingly, females came to
wield political power.
3. Which of the following possessed
the greatest unified
6. By which route would medieval
organizational capacity across
women have been most likely to
the largest land area in Western
find an alternative path in life
Europe in the centuries
outside of marriage?
immediately following the fall of
(A) Practicing witchcraft
the Roman Empire?
(B) Joining a crusade
(A) Holy Roman Empire
(C) Becoming a nun
(B) Islamic caliphates
(D) Entering banking
(C) Catholic church
(E) Joining the priesthood
(D) Carolingian monarchy
(E) Mongol Empire
Thesis: Think Change over Time: Western Europe in the medieval period
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