1. Emerging Europe & Middle Ages 400-1300
  2. Germanic Kingdoms: After the Barbarian tribes invaded the Roman Empire, many of the Germanic peoples like the Visigoths & Ostrogoths occupied Italy and Spain & by 500AD most of the Western Roman Empire had been replaced by a number of Germanic States ruled by Germanic Kings.
  3. The kingdom of the Franks (Frankish Kingdoms) Only one German state on the European continent proved long lasting- the Kingdom of the Franks.
  4. The FrankishKingdom was established by Clovis. (around 500AD Clovis became the 1st Germanic ruler to convert to Christianity.)
  5. Clovis gained support from the Catholic church for his conversion. By 510AD Clovis had established a powerful new Frankish kingdom that stretched from the Pyrenees in SW to Modern day France and western Germany.
  6. After Clovis died his kingdom was split among his sons.
  7. Benedict & Monastic Life
  • Benedict was a monk that established a set of strict rules for the daily life of a monk within the monastery.
  • These rules became known as the Benedictine rule. It set a standard for monastic life throughout Europe.
  • It divided each day into a series of activities, with a primary emphasis on prayer and manual labor.
  • Mayor of the Palace & the Carolingian Dynasty.
  • The job of Mayor of the Palace was the daily running of the kingdom for the king. He was in charge of the army, so he became extremely powerful over the years.
  • Charles Martel was the 1st mentioned MOP. He is known for defeating the Muslims at the battle of Tours in 732AD.
  • When Charles died his son Pepin the Short took over as MOP. Pepin approached the Pope and offered his help in defeating the Lombards in return for the kingship. In 768AD Pepin’s son Charlemagne assumed the thrown. He ruled from 768-814AD and he greatly expanded the territory of the Franks and created what came to be know as the Carolingian Empire.
  • At Its height Charlemagne’s empire covered much of Western & Central Europe. Not until Napoleon Bonaparte would an empire reach its size in Europe.
  • Charlemagne strengthened his royal power by limiting the power of nobles, strengthening his government by sending out royal agents & setting up schools to encourage learning.
  1. Invaders: Vikings, Muslims, & Magyars.
  • The Muslims began to invade southern France, the Magyars invaded into western Europe, and the Vikings began to invade parts of Europe in the 800’s.
  • The Vikings were from Scandinavia (they were also known as the Northmen or Norsemen). They were expert sailors, navigators, explorers, craftsmen, and Warriors. They could attack with stealth and speed using their longboats. Some of these ships could carry up to 300 warriors.
  • Viking Exploration: 1) Eric the Red established a Viking settlement on Iceland. 2) Leif Ericsonestablished a settlement on Greenland & later tried to set up trade with the Natives of North America (at New Foundland), but lasting settlements never took hold in the Americas.
  • The reasons for the Viking decline were: 1) A warming climate allowed for more of them to take up farming, 2) Many Vikings became Christians and gave up their warrior ways. 3) Europeans found ways to quickly respond to their attacks.
  • The Development of Feudalism (Feudalism is the political, social & economic system during the middle ages based on mutual obligations between lord and vassal & the obtaining and holding of land.
  • Feudalism began in Europe between 800-900AD & thrived for 400 yrs.
  • At the heart of the system was the idea of vassalage. In Germanic society when a warrior swore an oath of loyalty to a leader (lord). He would promise to fight for him & in return he would receive a fief (a piece of land from the lord.
  • Feudalism came to be characterized by a set of unwritten rules known as the feudal contract. The agreement between lord and Vassal (the mj. Obligation of 40 days of military service a year in return for land).

G. Knights

  • Many who fought for a lord were knights (heavily armored cavalry) & experts at warfare.
  • The knight pledged his loyalty to: 1) His heavenly Lord (God), 2) His earthly lord (the Vassal above him), 3) His chosen lady.
  • The knight lived by a code of conduct known as Chivalry.
  • The knights when not in battle would practice their skills in tournaments. Some of the events included hand to hand combat & jousting on horseback.

H. The Magna Carta: Recognizing the English Monarchy’s expanding power, many nobles rebelled against King John.

  • In 1215AD at Runnymede, John was forced to agree to a document of rights called the Magna Carta or great charter which recognized the longstanding feudal idea of mutual rights & obligations between lord and vassal.
  • The Magna Carta gave written recognition to the above fact and was used in later yrs to strengthen the idea that a monarch’s power was limited and not absolute.
  1. Justinian’s Reign
  2. Justinian became the emperor of the eastern Roman empire in 527. He wanted to restore the full Roman Empire. In 522 he almost had, but only 3 yrs after his death in 565, the Lombards had conquered much of Italy. Then other areas were lost.
  3. Justinian’s most important contribution was his codification of Roman Law in “The Body of Civil Law”. It was the basis of imperial law until the eastern Roman Empire ended in 1453. It also became the basis for much of the legal systems of Europe.
  4. He also rebuilt Constantinople in 532 & then built the Hagia Sophia (Church of Holy Wisdom in 537.
  1. The Crusades: The Crusades were military expeditions funded by the Catholic Church to regain the Holy lands from Muslim control.
  2. From the 11th-13th centuries, European Christians tried to capture the Holy lands (including the city of Jerusalem) from the Muslims.
  3. They started with Urban II urging Christians to take up arms in a Holy War.
  4. The 1st Crusade had an army of 7000 cavalry & 10,000 infantry. They reached Jerusalem in 1099. They were able to take the city and massacred 1000’s of inhabitants.
  5. In the 1140’s the Muslims struck back. One of the Latin Crusader states that were formed at the end of the 1st Crusade was attacked and fell to Muslim control. In an attempt to regain it King Louis VII of France and Emperor Conrad III of Germany launched the second Crusade. It failed…
  6. In 1187, Jerusalemfeels to the Muslims under the leadership of Saladin. Three Christian rulers agreed to lead the 3rd Crusade (or King’s Crusade). Emperor Fredrick Barbarossa of Germany, Richard I (Rich. The Lionhearted) of England, & Philip II Augustus of France. It too failed to recapture Jerusalem; nevertheless, Saladin agreed to allow Christian pilgrims access to the city.
  7. After Saladin died in 1193, Pope Innocent III started the 4th Crusade. The Venetian leaders (Italian) of the 4th Crusade used this opportunity to weaken their biggest commercial competitor, the Byzantine Empire. In 1204 they sacked Constantinople. But the Byzantines recaptured it in 1261.
  • As a final attempt at the Crusades, there were two “children’s crusades”. But both never reached the Holy lands.
  • Effects of the Crusades: 1 they benefited some Italian cities economically, 2) widespread attacks on Jewish people began to take place, 3)Politically they eventually helped to break down Feudalism & led to strong nation-states.

II. Europe in the Middle Ages

  1. New Agriculture/The Manorial System
  2. Early in the middle ages Europe had a rather small population. Between 1000-1300 the pop. Doubled from 38 million to 74 million people. The reasons for this increase are simple: 1) Conditions in Europe were more settled after the invasions of the early middle ages had stopped. Increased peace and stability also led to a dramatic expansion in food production after 1000. 2) Production increased due to a change in climate allowing for better growing conditions. 3) In addition more land was being used for farming. 4) Improved equipment and labor saving devices. 5) A switch from the two field to the three field system of crop rotation. All of these factors equate to larger harvests, which means more food, which in turn means a larger population.
  3. The Manor was an agricultural estate run by the lord & worked by peasants. Although free peasants continued to exist, increasing numbers of free peasants became serfs. Serfs had to provide labor services, pay rents, and be subject to the lord’s control. A serfs services included working the lord’s land 1/3-1/2 of all land that was being used for farming on the manor. The rest was used by the peasants to grow food for themselves. Other services included digging ditches and building barns.
  4. Serfs could not even leave the manor without the lord’s permission.

The lord’s duty was to protect the peasants.

  1. The revival of trade.
  • Medieval Europe was basically an agricultural society in which most people lived in small villages. During the 11th and 12th centuries a revival of trade began and a growth of towns and cities. The revival of trade was gradual, but by the end of the 10th century people were gaining the skills and products for trade.
  • Industry and Guilds began to emerge as trade increased. From the 11th century on, craftsmen began to organize into guilds, or business associations. By the 13th century there were guilds for almost every craft & many for specialized groups of merchants. The guilds would 1) set standards for the quality of the product, 2) specified the method of production, 3) fixed the price at which a product could be sold. 4)They even established the number of people could enter into a specific trade.
  1. Lay Investiture
  • By the 11th century church leaders realized the need to be free from the interference of lords in the appointment of church officials. Pope Gregory VII decided to fight the practice. When an individual became a church official he was given a ring and a staff as a symbol of the authority he was given. Secular, or lay, officials began granting this investiture. Pope Gregory VII saw the need to stop this practice. Church would regain its sole right to appoint clergy and run its own affairs. Gregory believed that the Pope’s authority extended over all rulers.
  • Pope Gregory VII found himself in conflict with King Henry IV, the German King, over his views & investiture. The German Kings had appointed high ranking Church officials for years and made them vassals, to fight the power of nobles. Pope Gregory finally issued a decree forbidding lay investiture.
  • The struggle between King and Pope became known as the Investiture Controversy. In 1122 a new German king and a new pope reached an agreement called the Concordat of Worms. Church officials first elected the German bishop. The new bishop then paid homage to the king as his lord, and the king invested him with the symbols of his spiritual office.
  1. The Inquisition
  • The Inquisition was an attempt by the church to hunt down & put on trial heretics.
  • Many were tortured and killed during the Inquisition. (beginning in the 1200’s).
  1. Scholasticism
  • Theology was the most highly regarded subject at Medieval universities. The philosophical and theological system known as scholasticism became very important in the 12th century.
  • Aristotle’s works were re-introduced in the 12th century. Thomas Aquinas made the most important attempt to reconcile Aristotle with Christianity, or to reconcile the knowledge through scripture with the knowledge gained through reason and experience.
  • Aquinas is best known for his Summa Theologica: This masterpiece was organized by the logical method of investigation used by scholasticism.
  1. The Black Death/Bubonic Plague
  • During the 1300’s a disastrous plague hit the shores of Europe. The Black Death (Bubonic Plague) was a bacteria in fleas that were brought to Europe on rats that traveled on ships of trade.
  • Between 1347-1351, it ravaged most of Europe. It is believed that as many as 38 million died in those 4 yrs. 38 million of a total pop. of 75 million. Italy was hit the hardest losing 50-60 percent of its people.
  • The results were: Trade declined, shortage of workers made price of labor increase, less of a demand for food resulted in lower prices for goods, many serfs were released from their obligations, decline of church power.
  1. The Great Schism
  • A period in time when there was 2 Popes (one Italian & one French). It lasted from 1378-1417 & divided Europe spiritually and politically.
  • At the Council of Trent in 1417, a new Pope acceptable to all parties was elected, ending the Schism.
  1. 100 Years War
  • In the 13th century, England still had a small possession in France, the Dutchy of Gascony. King Philip VI of France tried to take it back, and King Edward III of England declared war on France in 1337.
  • The war began in an explosion of knightly enthusiasm. However, the war was a turning point in the history of warfare because peasant foot soldiers won the important battles.
  • The longbow became a deadly instrument for the English. It took the place of the crossbow due to its range and speed in which one could reload and fire another arrow.
  • The 1st major battle was won by the English at Crecy in 1346. At the battle of Agincourt in 1415, 1500 French knight died on the battlefield. Giving the English control of Northern France.
  • In 1412 a French woman named Joan of Arc led the French to a victory a Orleans. She was later captured in 1430 and burned as a heretic by the English.
  • Finally in 1453 the French won the war and the 100 yrs war came to an end. Many look at the end of the 100 yrs war as an end of the Middle ages.