Transcript The Middle Ages - Class Notes For Mr. Pantano

CHRISTIANIZATION OF
THE WEST
(400 A.D.-1500 A.D.)
WORKBOOK
PAGES
 Page
154
 Pages 158-159
 Pages 162-163
 Page 164
 Pages 168-169
 Pages 172-173
 Pages 176-177
THE ROMAN EMPIRE IS SPLIT
INTO TWO PIECES

1.
2.
3.


The Roman Empire grew for the following reasons:
Roman roads were well-built
Powerful army
Competent emperors and generals
The Roman Empire covered most of Europe, most of
North Africa, and some of Asia.
This created problems.
MANAGING THE EMPIRE EFFECTIVELY
(WELL) BECAME DIFFICULT


The provinces did not always do what they were told.
Rome seemed very far away to the people in the
provinces.
THE PROVINCES WERE COSTLY TO
MAINTAIN


a)
b)
c)

The empire was expensive to operate.
It spent a lot of money supporting its provinces on the
following:
building new roads, aqueducts, public buildings etc.
supporting the army
expanding its borders
Rome needed to conquer new lands in order to collect
more taxes so that it could refill its bank accounts.
EMPEROR DIOCLETIAN &
PRICE CONTROLS

General Diocletian was chosen by the
army to be the new emperor of Rome.

He placed price controls on goods and
services in order to make them
affordable.

Any shop owner who overcharged a client
for an item or a service could be put to
death!
DIOCLETIAN’S SOLUTION FOR BETTER
MANAGING THE ROMAN EMPIRE:

He decided it would be easier
to manage Rome if it was split
in half.

This created two Roman
empires - the Western &
Eastern Roman Empires.

Each side had an emperor.
The Western
Roman
Empire
• Europe/North
Africa, included the
city of Rome
of
The Eastern • Turkey/parts
Asia, included the
Roman
city of Byzantium.
Empire

Diocletian chose to rule the Eastern Roman Empire.

Before leaving, he moved a great deal of Rome's
money over to the Eastern Roman Empire.
476 AD: FALL OF ROME



Rome was first a monarchy, then a republic, then an
empire – it all lasted for over 1200 years.
Although Rome had some wonderful emperors, it also
suffered from a series of bad, corrupt and crazy
emperors.
There were lots of reasons why Rome fell.
PROBLEMS TOWARDS THE END OF THE
EMPIRE INCLUDED:
1.
Poorly governed
(managed)
2.
Corrupt army due to
dishonest generals and
non-Roman soldiers.
3.
Civil wars broke out
between different political
groups.
4.
Incompetent emperors who
made poor choices for the
empire
5.
Too many slaves put many Romans out of work.
6.
The rich became lazy and showed little interest in
trying to solve Rome’s problems.
7.
The poor were overtaxed & overworked.






Products became to expensive to affordable.
Businesses began to struggle and trade decreased.
Romans began to starve and die of diseases.
Population decrease made managing farms difficult.
The Empire starting shrinking.
The barbarian tribes* began conquering different parts of
the empire.
*Huns, Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Saxons, etc.

Rome tried to solve some of their problems by
splitting the Roman Empire in half, hoping that would
make the empire easier to manage.
DID SPLITTING THE EMPIRE IN HALF
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcuVJU
WORK?
KZvx4

The Western Roman Empire became
weaker.

By 400 AD, the barbarian tribes finally
defeated Rome.

In 476 AD, the Visigoths sacked
(plundered) Rome.

Europe entered the Dark Ages.

The Eastern Roman Empire did well (renamed “ the
Byzantine Empire”).

It would last for another 1000 years.
BARBARIANS

They were tribes of warriors who invaded the Roman
Empire from the Northeast.

They eventually swept across Europe and destroyed the
Roman Empire and formed independent Kingdoms.
http://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?v=wJYVi16vp8k
http://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?v=Plsh2YmfE1g
THE RETURN OF CHRISTIANITY





Most barbarians were
pagans.
They did not believe in
Christ.
Churches were abandoned
wherever they settled.
By 500 AD churches
almost disappeared in
many parts of Europe.
Church leaders in Rome
decided to send out monks
to teach about Christianity.

Barbarians would eventually convert to Christianity.

Churches & monasteries were built all over Europe.

Monks made and kept handwritten copies of holy
books in their monasteries.
THE RISE OF ISLAM



Mohammed began preaching about Allah.
Many people in Arabia became Muslims and mosques
were built everywhere.
It was spread by merchants and soldiers.
CHARLEMAGNE’S EMPIRE (768 AD)
Prince
Charles was crowned king and inherited most of
land we now call France.
Known as “Charlemagne” (means Charles the Great)
His mission was to create a Christian empire.

Wanted to conquer non-Christians
and convert them to Christianity.

He had churches and monasteries
built throughout Europe.

His empire collapsed soon after his
death due to constant invasions from
Vikings and tribes of Magyars.
FEUDALISM

Europeans were divided
into four main classes
and each group had
different jobs to do.

You were born into a
class of people and
generally stayed in that
class for your entire life.

Working hard did not
change your status.
FEUDAL SYSTEM
King
Lords, nobles
and barons
Knights
Peasants (serfs)
THE MANOR

For safety and for defense,
people formed small
communities around a
central lord or master.

The lord’s job was to
defend the people living in
his manor.

The manor included the
castle, the church, the
village, and the
surrounding farm land.

The king awarded land or fiefs to his most important
lords (nobles), barons, and bishops.

A fief a unit of land that included at least one village,
huts for the serfs, the manor house or castle, and areas
set aside to grow, feed, or catch food - the fields, pasture
land, and woods.
PEASANT LIFE

The peasants (serfs) worked
and lived on the land.

In exchange, the lord
protected them.

Heavily taxed

Required to give most of their
crops to their lord.
Superior lords
called
SUZERAINS
2 types of
lords
Inferior lords
called
VASSALS
(knights)
SUZERAIN (SUPERIOR LORDS)

He awarded land (called fief) to his vassal.

The vassal had to find peasants to cultivate the land.

He had to protect his vassal.

He had to administer justice.
VASSALS (INFERIOR LORDS)

A vassal promised loyalty to his suzerain.

He had to fight alongside his suzerain and give him
money (if needed)
He advised the suzerain.
He had to find soldiers to fight alongside his suzerain.


KNIGHTS (LORDS)

They were wealthy lords
who fought on
horseback.

They provided protection.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH



Only church in Europe during the Middle Ages.
Most Europeans were Christian.
Everyone had to live by the Church's laws and pay
heavy taxes to support it.
God
Pope
Cardinals, Bishops,
Archbishops
Monks
Believers (peasants)

It also accepted gifts (ex: land, money) from people who
wanted special favors or wanted to be certain of a place
in heaven.

Such gifts allowed the Church to become very powerful,
and it often used this power to influence kings to do as it
wanted.

Although Europeans were very religious, the mass
was said in Latin, a language most people did not
understand.

It believed in labor (work hard) and in prayer.

It also made it very clear that if you wanted to get to
heaven, you had to participate in the sacraments.

What were the sacraments? They were a simple set
of steps that, if followed, would open the doors to
heaven.

The Church charged people money for some of the
sacraments and demanded donations to feed the
poor and to build new churches.
ENEMIES OF THE CHURCH

People who questioned the
teachings of the Church were
punished.

They were known as heretics.

They were often tortured and
killed by inquisitors.
THE POPE

Head of the Church

They had a great amount of power to influence kings.

He wanted the power of all the rulers in Europe.

He always argued with Holy roman emperors and
kings of France.

The Pope had the power to excommunicate.

This meant that the person could not attend any church
services or receive the sacraments and would go
straight to hell when they died.

At a time when everyone believed in heaven and hell
and all belonged to the Church, this was an awful
punishment.
MONKS

A monk is a man who has chosen to devote his life to
a certain discipline of prayer.

A priest named Benedict built a monastery in Italy. The
rules he established were called Benedictine Rule.

All monks had to take three vows:
1. Vow of poverty
2. Vow of chastity (stay single)
3. Vow of obedience (obeyed the church and the
rules of the monastery)
MEDIEVAL HEALTH

As the populations in Europe increased, hygienic
conditions worsened, leading to health problems.

Medical knowledge was limited (ex: drugs like
antibiotics did not exist) and Europe did not have a
health care system.

There were many myths and superstitions about
health and hygiene (i.e. believed that disease was
spread by bad odors).

It was believed that diseases resulted from sin.
END OF SERFDOM







When faced with the need for quick cash, nobles offered
their serfs a chance to buy their freedom.
Because the serfs had sold goods at the marketplaces,
many were able to buy their freedom.
As the serfs left, the feudal system declined.
The serfs were free, but where could they go?
Some stayed on the land and worked for the nobles for
payment.
Some joined the crusades.
Most new freemen moved to the rapidly growing towns
in search of work.
THE BLACK DEATH

In the 14th century (1347 AD), a horrible disease
struck Asia, Africa, and Europe.

A ship returning from Asia to Italy brought a terrible
plague called the Black Death.





In 6 years nearly 1 in 3 people
living in Europe died.
People were sick everywhere.
Whole villages were wiped out.
It was spread by blood sucking
fleas.
People thought plague was sent
by God to punish them for their
sins.
“Flagellant Brothers” tried to stop
the disease by whipping their
bodies. Since plague was
transmitted through contact with
blood they actually spread the
disease.

At first, people locked their doors trying to protect
themselves. They carried flowers to block out the
smell of the dead and dying.

The skies were filled with ashes as people burned
houses filled with the dead. Villages filled with the
dead were burned down, to contain and kill the
disease. Nothing worked.

Outbreaks of the plague continued for two hundred
years.

The cause of the plague was not discovered until the
20th century (1900's.)

Today, this disease is called the bubonic plague. We
have a vaccine for the plague should an outbreak
ever happen again.

We're lucky! The people in the Middle Ages did not
have vaccines to protect themselves from many
diseases as we do today.