Transcript Events Leading up to the Renaissance

Events Leading up to the
Renaissance
Ms. Stiles & Mr. Tota
River Dell High School
World Civilizations
Introduction
• After the fall of the Roman Empire,
Europe was divided into small kingdoms
with their own kings
• Think about what Europe looks like
today-is it the same as the above
description?
Social & Economic Systems
• The Feudal System:
• Small kingdoms could easily be attacked by Vikings, Magyars,
or Muslims
– Kings couldn’t protect their land & the land of the nobles that served
them at the same time
• Nobles built castles (like forts) made of wood to protect
themselves & hired knights (highly skilled soldiers who fought on
horseback) for protection
• Knights had a lot of equipment:
– Horses, armor, weapons (all VERY expensive)
• Were paid by nobles with land (called fiefs)
Fiefs
• If you GAVE out fiefs, you were called a LORD
• If you were GIVEN fiefs, you were called a
VASSAL
• Both lords & vassals had responsibilities to each
other
– Lords often made vassals swear oaths of fealty
(loyalty)
Responsibilities
• LORDS:
– Treat vassals fairly
– Not be too
demanding on their
time & money
– Protect knights who
are attacked by
enemies
– Act as judge to settle
knights disputes
• VASSALS:
– Financial obligations
– Help pay ransom if
lord is kidnapped
– Give money to lord
on special occasions
(ex: when lord’s
oldest son is
knighted)
This was a very CONFUSING
system
•
•
•
•
People could be lords & vassals at the same time
No one really knew who owed what to whom
Knights could subdivide their fiefs
– Added more people into the vassal/lord situation
Knights could have fiefs from other lords
– No rules against accepting land from more than one lord
– Could choose who to fight for if their lords fought against each other
• Knights were expected to be loyal to both
their lords & their king (everyone had to be
loyal to the king)
– Even though some knights were more
powerful than the king
• Rules applied only to specific places & times
– Rules in France wouldn’t apply to rules in
England & vice versa
Social & Economic Systems
• The Manorial System: Lords, Peasants,
Serfs
• Manors owned by lords, but the lords
couldn’t farm all the land by themselves
– Peasants did the farming & lived at
the manors in exchange for a small
plot of land & protection
Monarchy
• Eventually, through battle, smaller
kingdoms united under powerful rulers
called Monarchs
England
• 1066: William the Conqueror became the strongest of any
Anglo-Saxon kings when he defeated the heir to the English
throne & declared all of England his personal property
• Divided the land up among the Norman soldiers who helped him
take the crown
– Created a new nobility
– Their loyalty went straight to the king, not lords
• Kept records of who lived where, who grew what, who owned
what land, etc.
– Called the Doomsday Book (basis for English tax system)
The Magna Carta
•
•
After 200 years of kings with the power that William the Conqueror established the nobility created a document that
outlined their rights & limited the power of the king
Magna Carta: forced King John to sign it
–
Wanted to show the king that even he wasn’t above the law
– Led to the creation of Parliament
– King needed the nobility & the clergy to
establish laws & levy taxes
– Parliament was made up of groups &
clergy that the king went to for advice &
approval
– Still the governing body in the United
Kingdom
France & the Holy Roman
Empire
• FRANCE:
•
•
Charlemagne's death divided
the Holy Roman Empire in 2
parts East & West
West: France
– United by the
Carpets by 1300’s
– Unified country, not
small kingdoms
• HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
• Germany: divided into small
kingdoms
• Each had their own ruler
– Called a Duke
The Church
• The Pope = head of Catholic Church
• Feudalism & Manorialism helped spread
Christianity through Europe
• Clergy officiated major life events (baptisms,
marriages, death) & education (clergy usually were
the only people who were literate)
• Local clergy & bishops held most of the power in
the church until Pope Leo IX
Pope Leo IX
• Didn’t like that bishops & clergy had more power than the pope
• Kings didn’t like him because he took power away from the
clergy
– Clergy & bishops could work together with kings (or be paid off by
kings leading to corruption)
• Leo excommunicated the bishop of Constantinople for rejecting
Leo’s authority as pope
• Divided the Christian church into 2 parts
– Those who followed Leo = Roman Catholic Church
– Those who followed the bishop = Orthodox Church
Papal Powers
• Churches are courts for moral matters
(oversaw them like a judge would)
• Ruled territories (like a king)
– Needed armies to protect them
– Would hire armies to fight for their causes
• Crusades started & funded by popes
The Crusades
• Religious wars against the Muslims to take the
Holy Land from them
• Holy Land was important to Christians, Jews, &
Muslims
• There were at least 9 crusades; none of which
accomplished the goals of Christians
– Muslims & Jews kept control of the Holy Land
Changes brought by Crusades
•
Economic:
– Enhanced existing trade routes around Europe & Asia
– Spices, textiles, etc. brought back to Europe by Crusaders
•
Social:
– Brought knowledge of Muslim culture to Europe (both a good & bad thing)
– Good: Helped some of those who fought to understand & tolerate cultural
difference
– Bad: Increased intolerance; brought the belief that all non-Christians were the
enemy
– Persecution of Muslims & Jews flourished
– Christians seen as invaders of the Holy Land by Jews & Muslims who lived there
•
Political:
– Lots of knights & nobles died leaving their land unclaimed
– Kings took that land
– More land = more power
The Black Death
• Plague that infested Europe, Asia, & Northern
Africa from 1347-1351
• Possibly 2 diseases
– 1. Bubonic plague spread by fleas on rats
– 2. Pneumonic plague spread by person to person
contact
• People saw it as God’s punishment for sins
• Many turned to witchcraft for cures
• Jews were blamed, persecuted, & massacred
because of the plague
The Black Death
• CAUSES:
– Fleas on rats that were
aboard ships that traveled
all over Asia, Europe, &
Africa
– Fleas bit people & spread
the disease
– Merchants traveled all
over & infected people as
they went
– Lack of hygiene helped it
spread faster
• SYMPTOMS:
– Large black
splotches all over
body
– Severe headaches
– Fever
– Vomiting
Consequences
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•
•
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Doctors & clergy who attended sick people often spread &
contracted the disease then died themselves
Over 25 million people in Europe died (approx. 1/3 of population)
China’s population dropped from 125 million in the late 1200’s to 90
million in the late 1300’s (also lost approx. 1/3 of population)
End of the manorial system
– Few workers that were left demanded higher wages but lords refused
to pay
•
Some peasants moved to cities to work in manufacturing
Leads to the Renaissance
• How could all of this lead to the
Renaissance?