Key Terms
Charlemagne
Clovis
Vikings
Holy Roman Empire
Serfs
Vassals
Manors
Hanseatic League
Three Estates
Chivalry
Guilds
Reconquista
The Crusades (1-4)
Bubonic Plague
Hagia Sophia
Schism / Big Picture
After the fall of the Roman empire, two very different realms of European Christendom emerged. In the east, the Byzantine empire managed to flourish politically, economically, and socially. In contrast, western Europe's economy underwent a sharp constriction, and early medieval Europe was a world dominated by rural self-sufficiency and political decentralization. The differences in the two societies also manifested in the ritual and doctrinal differences between the two Christian communities that culminated in a schism between the eastern and western churches that exists to the present day.
Learning Objectives
  • Discuss the development of the early Byzantine Empire.
  • Explain the effects of the Muslim conquests on the Byzantine Empire.
  • Explain the rise of the Franks.
  • Explain the factors that contributed to the success of the Vikings in toppling the Carolingian empire.
  • Compare and contrast the economies of Byzantium and Western Europe.
  • Compare and contrast social development in Byzantium and Western Europe.
  • Compare and contrast the ways in which popes and patriarchs exercised their political power.
  • Identify the role of monks, monasteries, and missionaries in Christianity.
  • Discuss the factors that led to the schism between the two worlds of Christendom and the paths followed by the two churches.

Language Objectives
  • Tell the development of the early Byzantine Empire.
  • Explain the effects of the Muslim conquests on the Byzantine Empire.
  • Tell the rise of the Franks.
  • Explain the factors that contributed to the success of the Vikings in toppling the Carolingian empire.
  • State the similarities and differences in Byzantium and Western Europe.
  • State the similarities and differences in social development in Byzantium and Western Europe.
  • State the similarities and differences in the ways popes and patriarchs exercised their political power.
  • Identify the role of monks, monasteries, and missionaries in Christianity.
  • Discuss the factors that led to the schism between the two worlds of Christendom and the paths followed by the two churches.

Essential Understanding

  1. What is the significance of Clovis's conversion to Christianity?
  2. What were the contributions of Charlemagne's reign, and why did it ultimately fail to last very long?
  3. Who were the Vikings? What were the motivations behind their behavior? What were their accomplishments? How did they disrupt European society?
  4. What were the obligations of lords toward their retainers and the retainers toward their lords? Why was this arrangement often unstable?
  5. What role did the serfs play in early medieval Europe? What was life like on the manor?
  6. What was the significance of the invention of the heavy plow for European economy?
  7. Although trade constricted in the early middle ages, where and how was it still going on?
  8. What was the role of the pope in the early middle ages? How did his role evolve over this period of time?
  9. How did monasticism develop in early medieval Europe?
  10. What was the significance of the monasteries to the European society and economy
  11. How did Justinian help develop Constantinople? What is his most enduring legacy?
  12. How did Charlemagne try to restore central rule in Western Europe? Why did he resist the title “Emperor”? What happened to his empire after his death?
  13. How did the Byzantines begin to manufacture silk?
  14. Describe the institution of feudalism
  15. What did the Eastern and Western churches fight over? How did the leaders of the 2 churches deal with this difference in doctrine? What was the eventual outcome of this dispute?