Transcript The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages
Mr. Stowinsky
World History
Section 1 – Charlemagne Unites
Germanic Kingdoms
Invasions of Western Europe
Invaders and Germanic tribes invaded the
Western Roman Empire
 Trade was disrupted
 Cities became abandoned as people
moved to the countryside
 Decline of learning – Invaders couldn’t
read or write
 Loss of a common language

Germanic Kingdoms Emerge
Small kingdoms replaced Roman
provinces
 Government

Tribes only listened to leaders they knew
 Unwritten rules and traditions
 Smaller, local

Clovis – ruled a group of people called the
Franks in modern-day France
 Converted to Christianity
 The Franks were then backed by the
Church in Rome

Germans Adopt Christianity






The Franks and Church converted many
Germanic tribes to Christianity
Fear of Muslim invasion converted others by the
coastlines
Monasteries and convents – religious
communities that trained monks and nuns
Monasteries were the best educated
communities in Middle Age Europe
Pope Gregory I gave the Pope secular power
Secular – worldly, or nonreligious
An Empire Evolves/
Charlemagne Becomes Emperor




Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer) defeated
Muslim invaders at the Battle of Tours, keeping
Islam out of Western Europe
Martel’s grandson, Charlemagne, expanded the
Frankish Empire and converted all conquered
people to Christianity
Charlemagne was crowned emperor by the
Pope
After his death, the Treaty of Verdun broke his
kingdom broke into three, leading to a new
system- feudalism
Section 2
Feudalism in Europe
Vikings – invaders from Scandinavia,
modern-day Denmark, Norway, and
Sweden
 Sailed from Scandinavia and raided
settlements
 Explored overseas and upriver
 Magyars also attacked Europe from the
east, and Muslims attacked from North
Africa

Feudalism
Based on land and obligations
 Lord – landowner


Granted land called a fief
Vassal – received the land
 Knights – mounted horsemen who
pledged to defend their lords’ lands in
exchange for fiefs
 Serfs – Peasants who could not lawfully
the place where they were born

Manors
Manor – the lord’s estate
 Lords provided serfs with housing,
farmland, and protection
 Serfs tended the lord’s lands, cared for his
animals, and performed maintenance
 Manors were usually a few square miles,
peasants almost never left the manor

Manor Life
Peasants paid taxes on nearly everything,
even marriage, needed the lord’s
permission to get married
 Peasants lived in crowded cottages
 Constant work
 Average lifespan was 35

Section 3
The Age of Chivalry

Saddles and stirrups developed in Europe
Saddles kept knights seated on a horse
 Stirrups let knights use heavy weapons while
riding without being knocked off the horse


Knights’ main purpose was to protect the
lords’ lands
Knighthood and the Code of
Chivalry
Chivalry – a code of behavior that stressed
courage, loyalty, and devotion
 Knights were supposed to also protect
women, the weak, and the poor
 Training started at age 7

7 years old – page
 14 years old – squire
 21 years old - knight

Tournaments – mock battles for practice
and showing off skill
 Knighthood was often violent and bloody
 Castles were built all over Europe at this
time
 Crossbows and longbows could pierce
armor

Women’s Role in Feudal Society
The Church considered women inferior to
men
 Most worked the fields and maintained
their homes
 Noblewomen could inherit land from their
husbands
