Western Europe 600 - 1450 C.E. - Yola
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Transcript Western Europe 600 - 1450 C.E. - Yola
Western Europe
600-1450 C.E.
Chapter 10
Western Europe’s Timeline
Charlemagne’s Empire and Successor States
Western Europe towards the End of the Middle Ages
Stages of Postclassical Development
Europe’s Postclassical Era = Middle
(Medieval) Ages 476-1453 CE
Political Fragmentation prevails
Catholic church in Rome remained strong,
but Italy divided politically
Arab Muslims invaded Iberian Peninsula
(Spain)
Core of postclassical West:
France, Low Countries, Germany
Later, England where civilization, in human
organization was new
Scandinavian “Vikings”
Raids from 8th to 10th centuries
Showed Europe’s weakness
Disrupted life from Ireland to Sicily!
Literacy declines except among
churchmen & the hierarchy
Politics, Economics, & Culture
The Manorial System
Created an oppressive system that described economic
and political relations between landlords and their peasant
laborers
Originated: Later Roman Empire Decline
Agricultural economy
Serfs- were agricultural laborers under the jurisdiction
of aristocratic landowners
farm work for protection, justice from landlords
(Not Slaves, Not for Sale)
Reciprocal obligations tied to the land
In-kind labor for produce
800s agricultural innovation gradually improved with a
technological innovation:
Moldboard- better plow, curved metal
plate = deeper turning of the soil
Three Field system of Crop rotation
Added acres to production by leaving only a third of the
land unplanted, plants rotated to strengthen soil.
In the old two-field system half the land was sown to
crop and half left unplanted each season
Religion
The Church: Political and Spiritual Power
Most organized institution in western
Europe
Popes follow Roman organization
Regulated doctrine (heresy)
Regional Appointed bishops
Appointed local priests
Sponsor missionaries
Established chain of monasteries
Benedict of Nursia, founder of Western
Christian monasticism (480-547)
Benedictine rule- help unify western Europe
Spiritual functions Holiness, Network, Pilgrimage centers , Secular
functions, Education, Large estates, Shelter
travelers, & Universities from 13th century
Clovis’s conversion to Christianity in
496, helped him gain power and unified
the Franks (Germanic Tribe in France)
Religion & Political Power
Frankish Carolingian dynasty
Enormous empire in France & Germany
1st to use the imperial title “Holy Roman
Empire”
Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer)
Defeated the Muslims, Battle of Tours, 732
Contained Muslims in Spain
Charles the Great (Charlemagne)
Dec. 25, 800, crowned emperor
(Holy Roman Empire)
Copied Roman central administration
After his 814 death the empire does not survive
his death
843, Treaty of Verdun = Three kingdoms
Europe fragments into regional monarchies
No single language or government could unify
Europe (Latin of the church)
Holy Roman emperors = hollow empire
Ruled Germany, Italy, but couldn’t control local
lords, which would lead later to states
Economics and Culture
New Economic and Urban Vigor after
900
Agricultural Techniques
From contact with Eastern Europe and Asian
raiders into central Europe
Moldboard plow & 3 field system
New horse collar that allowed horses to be
yoked w/out choking
Increased production
Towns grow
Cultural liveliness (People are fed & settled)
Literacy expands (Charlemagne 9th cent)
Surplus wealth – architecture & Medieval Art
Education
Cathedral schools, from 11th century
Italy, universities in medicine (Muslims &
Greek Science), law, (Revival of Roman Law)
Universities, from 12th century
Oxford & Cambridge follow Parisian example
Feudal Monarchies &
Political Advances
Key military & political system in the
Middle Ages was feudalism
Land ownership & military power
Vassals -Military Elite, service for land
Political stability & improved agriculture
promoted population growth & economic innovation & land expansion
10-13 centuries
Some lords emerge more powerful
Provided protection & aid to vassals (lesser lords)
Horse collar & stirrups helped military dominance who used horses for
combat
End of 10th century, Viking raids tapered off regional governments stronger
Some Viking groups Christianized & Assimilated into the culture
Ex. French Normandy
Capetian kings of France
Feudalism developed bureaucracies, states slowly until kingship
Feudalism grows
quickly in England
William the Conqueror
(Viking descent)
1066, Norman conquest of England
Introduced feudal monarchy
abruptly
Centralized government
Sheriffs, standardized law, &
courts
Feudal monarchy unknowingly
copied earlier centralizing
societies like China
Limited Government
Political fragmentation continues throughout West Europe
Monarchs limited by church, nobles, towns
State not suppose to intrude on matters of faith
Carried out orders from the Pope, or Bishops
1215, Magna Carta
King John recognizes supremacy of written law
Representative bodies/ parliaments serve as further
checks on royal authority
Differed from Japanese Feudal system based on
loyalty – Europe developed early checks & Balances
1st parliament England 1265
Kingdom of Catalonia from 1000
3 Estates= Church, Nobles, urban leaders
Monarchs continued to increase in power
Small local conflicts became Large conflicts
Hundred Years’ War 1337-1453 English lands in France
Joan of Arc 1412-1431
Expansionist
Spurred by Population Growth?
Germanic knights
From 11th century onward, into eastern Germany, Poland
Iberia (Spain)
Northern Christian states (forces) begin reconquista
Full Expulsion occurred 1492
Spain united under the marriage of Ferdinand & Isabella
Vikings
Cross Atlantic, Iceland, Greenland, America
Crusades (1095-1291) (Super Power? Nope)
Called by Pope Urban II
Crusaders were promised full forgiveness sins if they
died in battle
Attracted to winning spoils from rich Arab lands
Initial successes (Controlled Jerusalem about 100 years)
Ended in defeat (Esp. by Saladin in 1187)
New contact with Islam, but no contact with N. Africa until
after the start of Exploration (Prince Henry the Navigator)
Exposed to new culture & economics
New possibilities in trade
Religious Reform and Evolution
Gregory VII
Gregorian reform, 11th century
Based in monasteries
Investiture controversy- most significant
conflict between Church and state in
medieval Europe.
Stop the state or, Holy Roman Emperor (Henry IV)
from appointing bishops in Germany
Separation of secular and religious spheres
Reforming monastic orders founded in Assisi
in the 13th century, Mendicants
St. Dominic - Dominicans = Friars
Vow poverty, chastity & obedience in service to a
community
St. France - Franciscans – Poverty/Service
Women’s version- St. Clare’s Order of Saint Clare
Key tensions- Great Schism (Western)
(1378-1417) Two rival popes
College of Cardinals in Rome & Avignon, France
(**Note: Three Popes)
Religious Reform & Evolution
Theology: Assimilating Faith and Reason
Exploration of Greek philosophy assimilated into
Catholic religious tradition:
Aristotle was known as the philosopher during
Charlemagne’s time! (Aristotelian)
Peter Abelard, 12th century
Wrote: “Yes and No” a rational/logical examination
of church doctrine
Bernard of Clairvaux, Monk, opposed to Abelard's
approach, Mysticism (Mystical union vs. rational)
That rational reason was dangerous
Stressed the importance of mystical union with God,
•Roger Bacon- 1220blissful glimpses & Faith
1292
Led to debates in universities (Scholasticism)
• Oxford, scientific
By 13th century, Philosopher-theologians emerged
experiments on
armed with Greek Philosophy & Science, & work
Hellenistic (Galen) and
from Arab Rationalists & work toward understand
Muslim scholars previous
God
work
The greatest of these: Thomas Aquinas, Italian Catholic
Monk who taught at the University of Paris wrote:
• Three hundred years
“Summas”
before Scientific
A careful logic to eliminate all possible objections to
Revolution !
truth as reveled by reason & faith
The High Middle Ages
Popular Religion
Christian devotion among lay people increased
12th Century, Veneration of Mary
Merciful side of Christianity
Intermediaries, worship of saints
Survival of pagan practice/ traditions/festivals continued
and blended with their version of church
Medieval architecture, literature, and art reflected
religious themes
Intended to serve the Glory of God
Artists painted Christ’s life/cross and the saints, techniques
improved slowly
Stained glass windows for churches
Gothic cathedrals rose up around Western Europe
with flying buttresses
At first - Romanesque architecture
11th Century Gothic
Mix of Muslim into Western engineering
Ancient oral sagas, (Vernacular)
English Beowulf & French Song of Roland
Geoffrey Chaucer, secular literature
Canterbury Tales Troubadours
Economic and Social Changes
Economic Activity, Social Structure Development , & Commercial Zone:
Trade revived 10th century
Most regions produced for local consumption esp. agricultural
areas
Italian merchants sought cloth made in the low countries
(present day Belgium/Neth.)
Merchants in many areas traded for wool from England
Timber & Furs from Scandinavia & Baltic Lands
Great ports in France and Low Countries served as a western
exchange
New Strains in Rural Life
Peasants v. landlords
Peasants slowly gained more freedom with agricultural
advances
Peasant-Landlord battles occurred over high rent or taxes
Peasants wanted natural & traditional rights to the land
free and clear
Gap between peasant and landlord was a crucial social inequality
in Europe
Economic and Social
Gains in agricultural growth promoted medieval economic changes esp. in Trade and Banking
Banking was introduced to the west by Italians for long distance exchange of money and
goods
Banks were not only in Italy, but Low Countries, southern Germany & France
Big merchants invested in trading ships and goods carried hoping for large profit
Commerce expands
Europeans developed a need for Asian goods, Silk and spices (preserving meat & medicine)
Italian Merchants ran Mediterranean zone joined with North Sea, Baltic (see last slide)
Money replaces barter
Banking, insurance merge
Urban growth allowed more specialized manufacturing & commercial activities
This promoted still more trade & commercial alliances & early form of capitalism
Best example: Hanseatic League
Northern Germany, southern Scandinavia
Cities working together for mutual economic benefit
Guilds: responsible for the regulation of apprenticeship, guarantee of good workmanship, and
admission to various trades, Grouped people in the same business or trade in a single city,
stressing security, and mutual control:
Craft associations, Protect markets, Ensure standards, & Social role
The Merchants were relatively free, but relatively low status
Social
Limited Sphere for Women
Men placed new limits on the condition
of women
Patriarchal structure took deeper root
Literature arose stressing women’s roles,
tasks, virtues in their sphere
Women generally lost ground, especially her
opinion in the household
Some opportunities as nuns as a alternative
to marriage
Some had more higher status than Islam
Veneration of Mary and other female
religious figures gave women some
cultural prestige
Less segregated in religious services
Cold not lead church.
Counterbalanced with Eve as the source of
human sin
Decline of the Medieval World
Widespread warfare from 1300 to 1500
Hundred Years’ War
The struggle involved several generations of English and French claimants to the
crown and actually occupied a period of more than 100 years.
Weakens feudal order
Kings reduced their reliance on feudal forces in favor of paid armies
Population outstrips agriculture
Could not feed increasing population
Famines
Bubonic Plague (Black Death) from 1348-1352
Signs of Strain
Aristocracy lose military purpose
Professional Armies
Foot soldiers more important
Increasingly ceremonial lifestyle
Church increasingly rigid
Great Schism (West Splits)
Intellectual & Artistic life gradually moved out of church influence
The Postclassical West and Its Heritage
Formative period
Dynamic change- Academic institutions, political ideas, change in
relationships between west and regions around it
At the end of the Middle Ages?
The following issues:
Consequences of the Black Death 1347-1352
The increasing inability of agriculture to keep
pace with population growth
New social disputes, involving both peasants and
landlords and artisans and their employees.
Manufacturing and technology developed more
quickly
Ready for Renaissance, Scientific Revolution,
Exploration, Protestant Reformation, &
Enlightenment?