Transcript Western Europe A comparative Perspective

WESTERN EUROPE AFTER ROME
400 – 1500 C.E.
Middle Ages
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Rome falls in 476 C.E.
Early Middle Ages or Dark Ages – 500-1000
High Middle Ages – 1000-1250
Late Middle Ages – 1250-1500
Political and Social Structures
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Western Rome is now a series of regional kingdoms
instead of one united empire
Many Germanic rulers were influenced by and
embraced Roman culture
Clovis – united Frankish tribes & 1st Catholic ruler
of the Franks
 King
Carolingian Dynasty
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Created by Charles Martel
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Stopped the Muslims at the Battle of Tours in 732
Charlemagne – Grandson of Martel
Ruled from 768-814
 Set up an imperial bureaucracy
 Standardized weights & measures
 Encouraged church-based education
 Used regional administrators
 Blended Roman, Christian, & barbarian cultures
 Christmas Day of 800 he was crowned the “new Roman
emperor” by the Pope
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Empire was divided after death; attempt at unity =
unsuccessful
Vikings
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From village of Vik, Norway (hence “Viking”)
Expansion driven by population pressure, quest for
wealth
Superior seafaring technology
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Boats could travel along rivers & open seas
Attacked villages, cities, monasteries from 9th century
Constantinople sacked 3 times!
Vinland?
Muslims come from the south & Magyars from the east!
A New Political System
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These new kingdoms = created a highly
fragmented and decentralized society
 Europe
full of thousands of independent and isolated
manors (estates)
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Gave rise to a new system in Europe = feudalism =
a political, economic, and social system based on
loyalty and military service
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Power = exercised by monarchs and elite
landowning lords
Lesser lords and knights swore allegiance to greater
lords and kings
 Lesser
lords = vassals = people who entered into a
mutual obligation to a higher lord or monarch
 Gave them: military protection and support
 In return they got: land or fiefs
 Fiefs = estates that came with serfs to work the land
The Manorial System
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Large fiefs or estates were called
manors
Self-sufficient
In return for the lord’s protection,
the peasants provided services for
the lord
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Farming, herding, weapon making,
etc.
Most peasants were serfs =
people who couldn’t leave the
lord’s manor without permission
The Medieval Manor
Roman Catholic Church
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Great Schism in 1054
Authority in all of Europe
Established 1st universities
Power in the feudal system
Rulers gave the Church protection & support
 The Church gave rulers legitimacy
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Monasticism
Supported charities in communities
 Inns, orphanages, & hospitals
 Missionaries spread Christianity in Europe
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Capetian France
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Frankish nobles chose Hugh Capet as their king
after the split of the Carolingian Dynasty
 Held
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little power
Philip IV creates the Estates General
Holy Roman Empire
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Otto I, 936-973
 Created
the Holy Roman Empire (Germany &
surrounding areas)
 Tried to regain unity like Charlemagne
 Received title of emperor from the Pope
 Fail!
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Lay investiture controversy
 How
can select bishops for office
Norman England
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Descendants of Vikings who settled in Normandy
1066 – William the Conqueror invades England
Magna Carta – Required the king to observe
certain rights (i.e. trial by jury, consulted on taxes)
First Parliament in 1265
The Hundred Years’ War
The Crusades
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Seljuk Turks took control of the Holy Land around
1071
A series of 9 “holy wars” led by European Christians
to recapture the Holy Lands
Pope Urban II called the 1st crusade
The Crusades
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Participants = knights,
peasants, middle-class,
nobles, kings, church
authorities  all walks of
life!
Participants received:
Indulgences = removed any
penalties for their confessed
sins
 Immunity from lawsuits
 Cancellation of debts
 Honor and glory
 Younger siblings could gain
land!
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The Crusades: Results
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Relatively unsuccessful
Little lasting impact
Increased power of the
popes
As a result of contact with
the Islamic world, Europeans
gained:
A demand for Asian goods
 Muslim scholarship
 Techniques for producing
sugar on large-scale
plantations
 Black Death!
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25 million die from the plague!
Changes in Agriculture
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Three field system
Windmills & new plows
Horse collar
Stirrups from central Asia
Change in Western Europe
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By the year 1000 = invasions
from outsiders (Vikings,
Muslims, Magyars) had
stopped
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Either stopped or were
absorbed into western
European society
Result = peace and stability
= things took a positive turn in
Western Europe
At the same time = general
climate change  warmer
conditions = better agriculture
Change in Western Europe
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Population of Europe more
than doubled
Increased agriculture
More agriculture = more
trade, especially global
trade!
Major European centers of
trade:
Northern Europe from England
to the Baltic coast
 Italian towns such as Florence,
Genoa, and Venice
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Change in Western Europe
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Medieval Trade Fair
Large European trading
fairs held  merchants
from Northern and
Southern Europe met to
trade products from their
respective areas
Medieval Trade Fairs
Change in Western Europe
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This led to the growth of
banking
 Moneychangers
exchanged one currency
for another
 Also took deposits and
arranged loans
 Set up ways to transfer
money from one place to
another
Change in Western Europe
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Increased population =
increased urbanization
Growth of cities/towns and
different groups within
them
 Merchants
 Bankers
 Artisans
 Lawyers,
scholars
doctors, and
Change in Western Europe
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Guilds = business associations organized by
merchants and artisans in the same line of
work
Created rules concerning foreign trading, pricing
of goods, wages, etc.
Thomas Aquinas
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Helped develop
scholasticism = type of
learning that balances
reason with religious
teachings
Integrated Aristotle’s ideas
into Christian doctrine
Said reason was God’s gift,
given to us to answer
philosophical questions
Rise of European Universities
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Considered “zones of
intellectual autonomy”
Professors and students
could pursue their studies
with some freedom from
political and religious
authorities
Guild of scholars
organized
Major universities in: Paris,
Oxford, Cambridge
Medieval Universities
University of Paris in France
Cambridge in England
Medieval Universities