Download Middle Ages w) Prompts

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The Middle Ages
TEXT READING PROMPTS 1
>>Respond to each of the prompts with neat, carefully developed answers.
>>Must include evidence from the reading to support your decisions.
>>Minimum depth is 5-7 complete, detailed sentences each.
“Byzantium: A Christian Empire Under Siege” pp. 284-92
1) What were the socio-economic, political & military effects
of the siege, under which the Byzantine Christian Empire fell?
“Terms of History: Medieval” pg. 286
2) What are the roots of the term ‘Middle Ages’ & to what
extent is that term variable and subjective?
“Western Europe: A Medley of Kingdoms” pp. 299-315
3) What were the roles, projects and powers in early Medieval
European Kingdoms?
4) Discuss the Papacy: its place, power & importance in
Medieval Europe.
TEXT READING PROMPTS 2
>>Respond to each of the prompts with neat, carefully developed answers.
>>Must include evidence from the reading to support your decisions.
>>Minimum depth is 5-7 complete, detailed sentences each.
1) Reach a consensus on four of the most fascinating features
of Medieval Life—and describe what aspects drew your
attention to them.
2) Reach a consensus on four features of Medieval Life that
appear similar to modern day…with obvious variations.
3) Reach a consensus on four features of Medieval Life that
appear quite different to modern day…and discuss the ways
in which they differ.
4) Individually, discuss why/why not you would have found
fulfillment living during those times.
The Middle Ages are referred to as
the "medieval period" (sometimes
spelled "mediaeval" or "mediæval").
The name is from the Latin
medium (middle) and ævum (age).
See more at reference.com
Charlemagne visits Pope Adrian I
Sacre de Charlemagne: Coronation of Charles, 800 C.E.
Charles, Son & Scribe.
This 10th-century
work is actually a
copy of a lost 9thcentury original.
It depicts
Charlemagne meeting
with his illegitimate
son, Pippin the
Hunchback, whom a
conspiracy had sought
to place on the
throne.
Charlemagne at City Hall
This statue of
Charlemagne in armor
stands outside the city
hall of Aachen.
The palace at Aachen
was Charlemagne's
favorite residence, and
his tomb can be found at
the Aachen Cathedral.
By 1050 most kings, dukes and counts were winning
greater control over the vassals, ending the petty
feudal wars.
Kings were starting to consolidate power.
Royal power in England: Foundations laid by William
of Normandy, who is French.
1066 AD: King Edward the Confessor dies without an
heir.
William is his 2nd cousin. Claims throne. Harold
Godwinson, an English nobleman wants throne too.
William invades England and a GREAT BATTLE is
fought in 1066 at Hastings.
Normans win: Norman conquest.
William the Conqueror declares all England his
personal property.
The English lords who had backed Harold lose
their fiefs and William gives their lands to
Norman lords.
He keeps about 20% of land for himself. Thus
making him a very strong king, indeed.
The consequences of the Norman Conquest:
England emerges as the first centralized feudal
kingdom in Europe.
About 200,000 Normans settle in England, thus
bringing the French language and culture to
England.
(25% of English words have French origin—
e.g. “surrender”)
Duke of Normandy is also the King of England
and the vassal of the French king—rivalry
between French and English kings.
8
The Crusades: Causes
European Expansionism

Conversion of Vikings and Magyars removes
pressure on Europe

Agricultural advances increase food supply

Battle of Hastings, 1066

Capture of Toledo from Muslims, 1087

Capture of Sicily from Muslims, 1091
Europe 1000-1100
The Crusades: Causes
Roman-Byzantine Rivalry
 Great Schism, 1064
 Cluniac (Benedictine) Reform causes
church in West to be more attentive to
business and provides impetus to
attempts to reassert control
The Crusades: Causes
Events in Muslim World
 Battle of Manzikert, 1071.
 Byzantines lose Anatolia to Turks.
 Loss foreshadows eventual end of
Byzantine Empire.
 Turks disrupt pilgrim traffic.
Call for a Crusade


Urban II calls for Crusade, 1095
Objectives
 Drive Turks from Anatolia
 Obligate the Byzantines
 Provide occasion for healing Great Schism
on Rome's terms
 Capture Holy Land
Major Events of Crusades

I Crusade 1097-1098





Achieves all major objectives in Holy Land
Turkish threat blunted, though not
eliminated
Area not strategic to Muslims, could have
been held indefinitely with a little skill.
Initial gains lost through diplomatic
bungling.
Crusaders attempt to destabilize neighbors
Major Events of Crusades

II Crusade, 1147-1148


Military failure, discredits Crusaders as military
threat
III Crusade, 1189-1191



Well-known in literature (Robin Hood)
Involved Richard I of England, Phillip II of
France, Frederick I of Holy Roman Empire
Saladin on Muslim side.
Major Events of Crusades
IV Crusade, 1199-1204
 Western-Greek relations always strained,
mutual contempt.
 To finance crusade, Crusaders work for
Venetians
 Crusaders sack Constantinople, 1204
 Chance to heal Great Schism utterly lost.
 In 1453, when attacked by Turks, Byzantines
preferred surrender to asking Rome for aid.
Major Events of Crusades


V Crusade
1218-1219
 Capture Damietta, swap for Jerusalem
 Moslems agree
 Crusaders try to conquer Egypt, are routed
VI Crusade
1229
 Frederick II of Germany did little fighting and a
lot of negotiation
 Treaty gave the Crusaders Jerusalem and all the
other holy cities and a truce of ten years
 He was widely condemned for conducting the
Crusade by negotiating rather than fighting.
Major Events of Crusades


VII Crusade
1248-1254
 Led by Louis IX of France
 Nearly an exact repeat of the Fifth Crusade
VIII Crusade 1270
 Led by Louis IX of France
 Louis’ brother, Charles of Anjou, king of Sicily,
had strategic plans of his own and diverted the
expedition to Tunisia, where Louis died.
 The last Crusader cities on the mainland of
Palestine fell in 1291
 One small island stronghold lasted until 1303.
The Children’s Crusade

1212 AD

20,000 take up the cross

Some sold into slavery

Some make it to Holy Land—die fighting (?)
Crusades died out

Lack of interest, rising European prosperity

Repeated military defeats

Discredited by "crusades" against Christians
(e.g., Albigensians)
Effects of Crusades




Fatal weakening of Byzantine Empire
Vast increase in cultural horizons for many
Europeans.
Stimulated Mediterranean trade.
Need to transfer large sums of money for
troops and supplies led to development of
banking techniques.

Rise of heraldic emblems, coats of arms

Romantic and imaginative literature.
Effects of Crusades

Knowledge introduced to Europe



Heavy stone masonry, construction of
castles and stone churches.

Siege technology, tunneling, sapping.

Muslim minarets adopted as church spires
Weakening of nobility, rise of merchant
classes
Enrichment was primarily from East to West-Europe had little to give in return.
Effects






Undermines Church/Pope’s authority
Tarnishes Church’s Image
Kings become more prosperous /centralized
government
Merchants become wealthier, more important as
trade expands
European Jews persecuted/become money
lenders (usury)
Feudalism on the wane. Increase in trade=cities
on the rise
A Population Explosion

Population from 1000 AD to 1150 AD:

increases 40%

from 30 million to 42 million
The Development of Feudalism
Rome fell in A.D.
476 as a result of
invasion by the
Germanic tribes.
Central government
broke down and
trade was
disrupted.
Cities were
abandoned and
population centers
shifted to rural areas.
Ties of personal
loyalty and family
bound Germanic
peoples together.
The lack of
centralized
government
created the need
for a new social
order.
Christianity remained
a major unifying force
throughout most of
western Europe.
Common needs for
economic selfsufficiency and local
protection led to a
new pattern based on
land ownership.
The manor
became the main
economic unit.
Church leaders
helped to integrate
community life.
The feudal system
developed with a king
at the top and mutual
duties linking local
lords, vassals, and
peasants.
Medieval Society Divided
into Three Segments:
“Those who fight”
“Those who work”
“Those who pray”
FEUDALISM
THOSE WHO FIGHT
Feudalism

Definition:
a political and military system based on the
holding of the land.
The control of land is the key of feudalism.
Feudalism …

Emphasis is on local protection, local control,
local government, and
local self-sufficiency.
Feudalism cont…

At the heart of the feudal system is the
agreement between the lord and the vassal.

This agreement is a personal bond of
Loyalty
The Ceremony
Vassal kneels bareheaded and without his
sword before the lord.
 He places his hands in the hands of the lord.
 In this humble position, he swore to be the
lord’s vassal all the days of his life and to
defend the lord against “all men who may
live or die.”
 The lord raised him up and kissed him.

Ceremony cont…

Investiture: the lord presents to the vassal a rod
or small clod of earth, as a symbolic act,
transferring into the vassal’s hands a piece of land
(a fief)
Investiture cont…


Now, the vassal needs an army to defend the fief,
but has no money only land.
So the fief is often subdivided to make the vassal
a lord to his army of vassals.
Investiture cont…
And so on and so on.
 Until finally, there isn’t enough land to subdivide further.
 The bottom rung of vassals are “just”
knights.

Advantages

Every local lord had an army to defend land
against all enemies.
Feudal Pyramid




A Feudal pyramid. Remember the Roman clientpatron relationship?
Yet rarely organized so clearly.
The ambitious vassal.
SUBINFEUDATION
Duties of the Vassal:
Duties…

Required to fight in the lord’s army when
called, usually about 40 days of combat on
horseback per year.
Duties…

Gear (horse, armor, weapons) a great expense.
Lots of training too. Vassals need enough
land to support system. Constant training for
war.
Duties…

Financial Emergency: vassals grant lord
money (an aid)
Duties…

Aid called for also when:
 1. Lord’s oldest son is knighted.
 2. Lord’s oldest daughter married.
 3. Lord captured in war and held for ransom.
 4. Shelter and food when traveling.
Transition to the High Middle Ages:

1. Heavy plow:

cut deep and turned over more soil.

Richer soil = Better harvests.
Factor Number 2

Horsepower:




vs. Ox-- cheap to feed, but very SLOW.
Horses need better food, but could plow 2X
amount of land.
Harness problem. chest harness, not neck
harness
Clear new fields (cut down forests). More land
in production
Factor Number 3

Three field system:
transition from two field system.
 600 acres
 wheat/rye
 oats, barley, peas, beans, lentils
