Unit 1
The End of the Old and the Beginning of the New (2.5 weeks)
Need – Power point on Renaissance art – Medici DVD – Sister Art DVD – power point on Art and religion – Plague Dr. document. Readings peasant fire and prince.
Objectives:
1. To identify the social classes and class duties under the systems of Feudalism and Manorialism
2. To understand the extraordinary power of the medieval Church
3. To understand the causes and results of the revival of trade and towns
in the High Middle Ages
4. To be able to trace the course of intellectual activity in the 12th century
5. To understand the building of centralized monarchies 1000-1300
6. To understand the issues that led to a decline in medieval institutions in
the 14th century
7. To understand the factors that allowed Italy to “revive” first
8. To understand the characteristics of the new civilization
9. To be able to give appropriate examples of the trends in literature, art, architecture and philosophy
10. To understand the impact of the new thinking on society, family, and the role of women
11. To understand the changes in politics and government that the Renaissance brings
Medieval Review
The structure of Society - Prior to the Black Death or Plaque In Europe there were approximately 75 million people at the start of the 14th century –
Three classifications of people
1. Clergy – A hierarchy in the catholic church –Pope Archbishop bishops cardinals monks nuns down to the peasant priest.
2. Nobles – owned most of the land with status and income coming from this and their military service – intermarried and supported kings (a higher noble) or a noble alliance – they were not expected to work-
Lords had vassals (minor nobles) who were granted large areas of land and peasants as long as they swore loyalty to the Nobel – the use of vassals gave nobles power over a centralized king
3. The peasants 85% of the population – no legal status and loyal to the noble for whom they provided labor for and received protection. At least 20% lived in poverty and 75% of a peasants earning was spent on food
The majority of the people were of the peasant class and tired to the land. Hundreds of kingdoms and principalities existed and where there were kings they were not united nations or kingdoms. Kings held power by uniting with wealthy Lords/Nobles.A king received his power from the church a sacred right thus “by the power of God” Nobles simple paid alliance to the king by so many days of military service –(makes it hard to fight a war)
This lead to the development of the Feudalism or the Feudal system or a complex system that linked the lords together both politically and militarily and loosely tied allegiance to a king. It also lead to the economic system called Manorialism this tied peasants to the lords land as cheap or free labor as well as provided a private army for the lord – an army that could either be used for or against a king or other lords. Loyality to ones lord over a king.
Europe until the 1500’s was a fragmented group of states based on three types of law Civil Law – Cannon Law and Customary law.
Civil law was based on Roman Law which was directed at human affairs these were sanctioned by local rulers giving way to the development of the sovereign state by associating law with a ruler who had the right and ability to enforce law.
Cannon Law was law created by the pope for the Western Church this affirmed the authority of spiritual rulers the pope cardinals bishops
Customary Law this was a codification of established customs which allowed feudalism to take root. Laws based on the customs and ruling of previous generations.
The Church
Since the collapse of the Roman Empire in the 5th century the Church (catholic)
In the 4th century Roman Emperor Constantine moved his capitol from Rome to Constantinople (Map) thus splitting the political power of the empire and causing the western one to eventually collapse – the move inadvertently spilt the forming Christian religion by creating two church heads the Pope in Rome (Roman Catholic Church) and the Patriarchs in Constantinople (Eastern Orthodox Church) In the 400s a Frankish king named Clovis converted to Roman Catholic in an attempt to unite a large part of Europe and thus created and granted a hierarchy of structure to the church as well as granting it religious and political power. (see chart AP euro course book)
PopeBishops
Regional authority / Abbots
Heads of monasteries / Missionaries
Wandering order of monks such as Franciscans Dominicans
Priests
Assigned to local churches
Cardinal and selected the Popes
THIS WAS WHT BOUND TOGETHER MEDIEVAL SOCIETY
The Great Schism
1054 the Roman and Orthodox church split – 1 Pope declared authority over Eastern orthodox 2. the definition of the Holy Trinity. The pope excommunicated the patriarch. By 1500 this divided Europe –the orthodox held power over Russia and most of the Balkans. The front line and clash between the two faiths was eastern central Europe Poland Bohemia and Hungary mostly Catholic.
The Roman Catholic Church was independent of secular rule thus it became its own centralized government. A soon to be threat to the developing “nation states” The Pope ran the church much like a Nobel ran his lands and allegiances through vassals. (Use Chart from Ap euro course book)
Roman Catholic / Eastern OrthodoxSeparation between political and religious leaders / Union between political and religiousleaders
Art conveyed Jesus as suffering for sins of mankind / Jesus as majestic and divine
Priests not marry / Priest marry
Gothic churches / Aches and domes
Non Greek / Greek based
The power of the Church and Nobles prevented the formation of any strong central governments. The political power of the church countered the kings power – the church in a time of religious “fear” held the power to excommunicate individuals and to interdict or excommunicate entire realms preventing people from baptism, marriage, heaven. This controlled kings as well as disloyal nobles. Nobles who liked autonomy supported the church against kings. In order to maintain power. This would eventually lead to the reformation.
The best example of this was the Holy Roman Empire
The further west and the closer to the Atlantic ocean the less this was true – by 1450 England France and Spain were centralizing their governments not by faith but through economic global trade.
England stabilized a monarchy with the Magna Carta - which granted nobles political rights within the realm and gave the church a say. Eventually leading to a constitutional parliament. The first war between feudalism and the rising states was the 100 years war fought over British noble territory in France.
The Ottomans
By the 11th century Western sates were expanding into southern Spain – Poland and the Middle East. In 1095 at the request of Alexius I emperor of Byzantine and supported by Pope Urban II the first of 8 crusades was launched to take back land conquered by the Turks 1095-1270. Only the first crusade was successful for religious purpose – but ultimately the west could not hold Jerusalem (Saladin). Other crusades masked by religion were done for political and economic gain. In 1204 Orthodox Byzantine was declared heresy and crusaders sacked Constantinople. Jews were also seen as heretics and limited in what they could do and where they could live in Europe most were rounded up and put into Ghettos. By 13th century England and France expelled them.
In 1452 Constantinople became Istanbul under the Turks. The Ottoman Turk was accepting of Christians in parts of the empire especially in the Balkans where Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Catholic and Isalam coexisted under Islamic Ottoman rule. (would actually cause the problems of the 20th century in that region). Christian Europe however viewed Islam as a threat. The church called them barbaric and the “scourge of god” despotic and cruel.
By 1400 Islam stretched from Southern Spain and North Africa all the way to India and beyond the islands of South East Asia.
Crusades impact on Europe – It brought European into contact wit the oldest civilizations and the riches of the region (silk spice carpets porcelain perfumes and preserves) Western Europe Spain Portugal England now would turn to the sea and trade. Spawning the age of discovery.
While the vast majority of Western Europe succumbed to Feudalism and Agricultural was the basis of the European economy new plowing techniques and crop rotations gave way to more food and a growing population
– Italy maintained very powerful city states that differed very little for ancient Rome. Genoa Venice Florence In these towns we see the growth of trade – guilds and banking (money would unite Europeans and create nation states) This time also gave rise to the one of the most powerful families of Florence Italy the Medici bankers. The development of towns and guild actually lended to the development of centralized states as kings gained more money from towns as trade increased. A growing merchant rivaled landed nobles. Capitalism is born Towns began to create there own armies and allegiances.
The Black Death/Bubonic Plague
Plaque Doctor document lesson.
Mid 14th century 1347-1350 with outbreaks lasting to the 18th century. Within the 3 years half of Europe’s population died off. Of the approximate 75 million population 38 million died (high number conservative is around 20)
Flea infested rats traveling with the Mongols brought it into the trade rout with Italy a Genoese merchant from Caffa (Crimea) to Sicily. It then followed the trade ships by 1348 it covered Europe and reached England by 1350 it covered Western Russia. It usually took only a month for the plague to wipe out entire towns.
Europe’s reaction to the Black Death
Blame the Jews
Gods Wrath Flagellants
Live for the moment
End of the feudal system
ART of the time frame – (Power point Slides)
With the death of so many- talented peasants became a premium – and for the first time talent and skills were sold to nobles- peasants were now paid and sough after to support nobles and kings. Birth of the guilds.
Nobles were not sold on the idea of peasant rights or demands and peasant revolts occurred throughout Europe forcing kings and nobles to give in to some peasant demands. Nobles sought to cap a developing free market. Wage and mobility control of peasants.
The 100 years war changed warfare as a result of the plague – peasant armies wee now used to win battles rather that noble Knights. And pesant weapons replaced Knights Armor the Long Bow – cross bow – and axe. This was a war of the emerging national states and the old feudal regimes – France regained Western France from English control.
The Holy Roman Empire was weakened by the plague – the Northern Italian states broke free and the German lands splintered into hundreds of Principalities.
Spain maintained a frontline against Islam and the Ottomans but remained un-unified until the marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand uniting Castile and Argon. -----North of the old Byzantine Empire the Slavic people of Kiev began to unite and form what would become the Russian empire the orthodox faith would take root so would most of the Byzantine culture In 1453 Constantinople would cease to exist as the Ottoman Turks would can control of it.
The Art of the Medieval Period was 1 dimensional and broken down into Roman and Byzantine (see Chart in Annotated Mona Lisa) Difference between the two colors and themes
Art of the Churches built
All of this led Italians to the Renaissance
Roughly 1330 – 1530 the city-states of Italy emerged as the intellectual and artistic centers of Europe and would influence all of Western Europe revolutionizing the way in which politics and diplomacy was run – economics was conducted, religion was viewed and art was done. It is the “Rebirth of Civilization” a turn back to the ideas and concepts of ancient Greece and Rome influenced by new inventions and intellectuals. The very basis of European society was about to be challenged.
The renaissance would end and the invasions of the French and the Spanish trying to gain control of the Italian Peninsula.
Italian States
By 1300 there were 23 city states on the Italian Peninsula that consisted of more than 20,000 people – it is in these states that the Renaissance began. The Geographical location of Italy and the fact that Italy had city-states before the black Death as well as the remnants of Rome and roman law– allowed for Northern Italy to continue manufacturing and trade. WOOL textile In Florence alone (Medici home) employed over 30,000 people. Prompting International trade from England to Asia – Tuscany and Lombardy became major Agriculture centers converting swamp lands into farm lands-The people of Italy were well feed and the surplus was used in trade which sponsored commerce and manufacturing. Venice and Genoa became major ship building ports and had several insurance companies.
Banking – as long as interests rates were low the church approved banking (Medici Family Florence they were also the tax collector for the Pope throughout Europe) The Florence Gold Florin became the standard currency of Europe.
With this came the Merchant class, which quickly began to compete for power against the nobles allowing merchants to dominate the oligarchies in the city-states. Machiavelli would later right that “I love my native state more than my soul”