Transcript CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 9
Europe and the Byzantine Empire
The New Germanic Kingdoms
(1)The Kingdom of Franks- proved to be
the long lasting powerful kingdom of the
German states.
 Was founded by Clovis, a strong military
leader who converted everyone to
Christianity. This merger won him support
from the Roman Catholic Church.
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Carolingian Empire
(2) The Carolingian Empire- led by Charles
the Great or “ Charlemagne”. He was a
fierce warrior, strong statesman, and
strong Christian.
 Under his tenure, The Frankish kingdoms
expanded and covered much of western
and central Europe.
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Charlemagne as Roman Emperor
As his power grew, so too did his prestige
as the most powerful Christian ruler.
 Was crowned” Emperor of the Romans”
 This symbolized the joining of Roman,
Christian, and Germanic elements. A
germanic king had been crowned emperor
of the Romans by the pope. ( a new
civilization has emerged)
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Charlemagne
Carolingian Renaissance
Charlemagne had a strong desire to promote
learning in his kingdom.
 This revival involved renewed interest in Latin
culture and classical works from the
Greeks/Romans.
 The monasteries played a major role in this
revival. Monks learned how to read/write during
this time. Works of the Bible were copied and
spread out throughout the empire.
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Feudalism
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Structure
Vocabulary words
Feudalism- a new political and social order.
 Feudal contract- set of unwritten rules that
were followed between the lord and
vassal.
 Fief- piece of land that was granted to a
vassal.
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Nobility and Chivalry
In the Middle Ages, society was dominated by
men whose chief concern was warfare.
 Chivalry- was a code of ethics that knights were
supposed to uphold.
 Chivalry also implied that knights should fight
only for glory and not for material rewards.
 Tournaments- contests that were held where
knights could demonstrate their fighting skills.
(jousting) (see video)
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Nobility
The nobles were the kings, dukes, counts,
barons, and bishops that had large land estates.
 They forms the aristocracy, or nobility that
consisted of people who held political, economic,
and social powers.
 Great lords and ordinary knights came to form a
common group within the aristocracy. They all
were warriors and shared the knighthood and
chivalry.
 However, there were also social divisions among
them based on extremes of wealth and
landholdings.
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The Norman Conquest
In 1066, an army of heavily armed knights
under William of Normandy landed on the
coast of England and defeated King
Harold. After the victory, William was
crowned the new king of England.
 William made all nobles swear an oath of
loyalty to him as sole ruler of England.
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Henry II
Ruled after William, and Henry increased
the number of criminal cases tried in the
kings court.
 Henry helped to expand the king’s power
by putting in place “common laws”.( laws
that were common to the whole kingdom)
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The Magna Carta
Was also known as the “Great Charter”
(was a document of rights)
 The Magna Carta established that the
relationship between king and vassals was
based on mutual rights/obligations.
 Was used later to strengthen the idea that
a monarch’s power was limited, not
absolute. ( pg. 318)
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The Reign of Justinian
Became emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire
and was determined to reestablish the Roman
Empire in the Mediterranean world.
 His most important contribution was his
codification of Roman law.
 He created The Body of Civil Law ( also known
as the Justinian Code)
 This stands as one of the great accomplishments
of the Middle Ages.
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Copy chart from page 323 ( The Body of Civil
Law)
The Byzantine Empire
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Justinian’s accomplishments had been great,
but his conquests left the Eastern Roman
Empire with serious problems:
Too much territory to protect
An empty treasury
A decline in the population caused by disease
Renewed threats to its frontiers
***The rise of Islam- which unified Arab
groups and created a new powerful force that
swept through Eastern Roman Empire.***
The Byzantine Empire
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Was created from the division of the Roman
Empire.
Greek was the official language.
Had great impact of Russia and Russian culture
for years to come.
The main body of water that the Byzantine
Empire used/relied on was the Mediterranean
Sea.
***The biggest contribution to history from the
Byzantine Empire is how they preserved both
Greek/Roman culture.***
Constantinople
Became a thriving city due to its location along
the Black and Mediterranean Seas. ( was
located on a peninsula)
 Constantinople also set up a flourishing trading
partnership between Asia and Eastern Europe.
 Until the 20th century, Constantinople was known
as Europe’s greatest center of commerce.
 The city was dominated by huge churches and
complexes that included: bridges, roads, public
baths, law courts, schools, and underground
water reservoirs.
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The Crusades
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Also known as the “Holy Wars”
Most of the fighting took place in the Middle East.
Impact of the Crusades:
Increase of power and prestige of kings
Revival of trade and learning
Decline of feudalism
Cultural interaction( cultural diffusion) ( large armies)
Gave work to the knights ( they needed to contribute to society)
Led to an increase of trade between Middle East and Europe.
Again, Mediterranean Sea was the main body of water used
during these wars. ( ships)