Transcript the Middle Ages

The Rise of Europe
Chapter 8
The
Middle
Ages
An Introduction
Why do they call it the Middle Ages?
Main Ideas of the Middle
Ages:
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Feudalism
Christianity/ Crusades
Chivalry
Plague
War
Vocabulary
 Any
thing from the Middle Ages is
considered to be Medieval.
Examples:
Medieval Castle
Medieval Knight
The Early Middle Ages
By A.D. 500, the Roman Empire had fallen
apart. Historians call the 1000 years
following the fall of Rome the Middle Ages.
These years are in the middle between the
fall of Rome and the rebirth of classical
learning in Europe in the 1500s.
During the Middle Ages, the eastern part of
the old Roman Empire grew strong as the
Byzantine Empire, but the western part
broke into many parts and fell into decay.
The Early Middle Ages
The fall of Rome brought important changes
to Western Europe. Germanic tribes slowly
moved south and took over Roman lands.
For 500 years there had been one Roman
Empire. Now hundreds of little kingdoms
took its place. These kingdoms had no
system for collecting taxes and rulers had no
money for a government
Also called the “Dark Ages”
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Why?
Not much emphasis on
Thought
 Government
 Art
 Philosophy
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The Early Middle Ages
From about 500 to 1000, the region was
a frontier land (underdeveloped area
on the outskirts of a civilization with
vast natural resources).
The Early Middle Ages
Between 400 and 700 A.D., Germanic tribes
carved western Europe into small kingdoms,
the most successful of which was that of
the Franks.
In 481 A.D., a warrior named Clovis
united the Franks and became their
king. He made Paris his capital. He was the
first Germanic king to become a Roman
Catholic.
The Early Middle Ages
While Germanic peoples conquered
western Europe, Muslims conquered
North Africa and Spain, but were
defeated in France at the Battle of
Tours.
-European Christians viewed Muslims
with fear, but gained knowledge from
them.
The Early Middle Ages
In 800 A.D., one Frank king became strong
enough to unite all of Western Europe. His
name was Charlemagne.
Ruled from 768 to 814/ Expanded the Frankish
kingdom into Carolingian empire = covered
much of western & central Europe
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Reunites most
of the western
empire
He defeated the
other Germanic
tribes and united
them into one
kingdom,
Spreads
Christianity
The pope Leo
III crowned him
“Emperor of the
Romans.”
The Early Middle Ages
Charlemagne tried to create a united
Christian Europe and to revive Latin
learning. He also established a school at
Aachen (Germany), where the scholar
Alcuin set up a Latin-type curriculum
in which students studied grammar,
rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry,
music, and astronomy.
The Early Middle Ages
Charlemagne appointed powerful
nobles to rule local regions. He gave
them the land so they could offer
support and supply soldiers for his
armies. To keep control of these
rulers, he sent out officials to check
on roads, listen to grievances, and see
that justice was done.
Charlemagne’s Empire
But then, his kids screw it up…
Charlemagne’s Empire
But then, his kids screw it up…
The Early Middle Ages
His rule brought law and order back to
Western Europe, but less than 30 years
after his death in 814, his empire broke
apart and civil war began. In 843, his
grandsons drew up the Treaty of
Verdun, which split the empire into three
regions.
The Early Middle Ages
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Muslims invaded southern France
Magyars settled on the plains of Hungary
Vikings (Norsemen of Scandinavia) attacked the
empire
Vikings were superb warriors & shipbuilders/ famed
dragon ships carrying about 50 men could go shallow
rivers to attack inland
9th century, Vikings settled in Europe
911, Frankish king gave Vikings land of Normandy
Europe under attack!
Magyars
from the East
And the
biggest threat
came from the
North, the
Vikings
Muslims
from the
South
The Early Middle Ages
One of the invaders that attacked
Charlemagne’s empire was the
Vikings, which came from northern
Europe. They were sailors who built
excellent ships. Viking explorers
traveled to Russia, all across Europe
and to America. They were not just
destructive raiders, but also traders
and explorers
The Early Middle Ages
Around the year 1000,
a Viking named Leif
Eriksson landed on
and island northeast
coast of North
America. He called it
Vinland… today
Newfoundland!
Statue of Leif Eriksson in Duluth, Minnesota
The Early Middle Ages
After the Romans left Britain in the
fifth century, different Germanic
tribes invaded the island (Angles,
Saxons, and Jutes).
Assignment!
-There’s 4 sections for Middle Ages Notes.
Start on 1 sheet of paper and turn in when
you’re done with all 4 sections.
 Pg 185: #1, 4, 5, 7.
Feudalism: Military
Service for Land
Feudalism
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Knights = heavily armored warriors
Frankish army initially set up foot soldiers in mail
Early Middle Ages (500-1000) wealth was based on
owning land/very little trade
Nobles gave a piece of land to vassals in exchange for
fighting = fief
Feudalism and the Manor Economy
a code of conduct called chivalry: the
knight promised to defend the church, to
be loyal to the lord, protect the weak,
and be polite to women.
Troubadours, or wandering poets,
adopted the view of chivalry and their
love songs praised the perfection, beauty
and wit of women.
Assignment!
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Pg 190 #1-5
The Medieval Church
Missionaries were sent to spread their faith
among Germanic tribes. Women also
spread the faith by marrying pagan kings
and bringing them into the Church.
Role of the Church
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Christianity became main religion of Roman empire
by 4th century
Pope
Patriarch
Archdiocese/Archbishop
Bishop/Diocese
Priest/Parish
Roman Catholic Church
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Pope claim was based on the belief that Jesus gave
Peter the keys to Heaven
Peter was considered to be the chief apostle & the
first bishop of Rome
Bishops who succeeded Peter were called popes
Western Christians accepted the pope as the church’s
leader, but could not agree on the pope’s powers
The Medieval Church
In manor villages, the priests of the parish was
the only contact people had with the Church.
The priests celebrated the mass and
administer the sacraments (the sacred rites
of the Church). Christians believed that faith
in Christ and participation in the sacraments
would lead them to salvation.
The church was a social center.
The Medieval Church
To support the parish, the Church required
Christians to pay a tithe, or tax equal to a
1/10th of their income. The Church
taught that men and women were equal
before God, but on Earth, women were
viewed as “daughters of Eve,” weak and
easily lead into sin. At the same time, the
Church offered a view of the ideal
woman, as modest and pure as Mary, the
mother of Jesus.
The Medieval Church
About 530, a monk named Benedict organized
the monastery in southern Italy. He drew up a
set of rules to regulate monastic life for
monks and nuns
Role of Church
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Monks meditated & read privately/ They prayed
together seven times a day
All aspects of Benedict life was communal
Abbot (father) ruled each Benedictine monastery
Monks spread Christianity throughout Europe/Irish
& English monks were enthusiastic missionaries
The Medieval Church
Monasteries and convents also performed a vital role
in preserving the writings. Monks and nuns copied
by hand books from the past to make more copies.
Over time, the largest monasteries and convents
became centers of learning, and the monks and nuns
kept learning.
Abbey of Monte Cassino,
originally built by Saint Benedict,
shown here as rebuilt after
World War II.
The Medieval Church
Women could not become priests, however,
many did enter convents. In the later Middle
Ages, the Church put more restrictions on
nuns: it withdrew rights that nuns had once
enjoyed, such as preaching the Gospel, and
placed most independent convents under
the control of Church officials.
Role of Church
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Nuns = women who withdrew from the world to
dedicate themselves to God
Nuns lived in convents headed abbesses
Abess Hilda founded a monastery in Whitby in 657
where she educated five future bishops
The Medieval Church
The Church not only controlled the spiritual life of
Christians, but became the most powerful force in
medieval Europe.
High clergy, such as bishops and archbishops, were
usually nobles and they had their own territories.
The pope itself held vast lands in central Italy, later
called Papal States. Because churchmen were often
the only educated people, feudal rulers appointed
them to high government positions.
The Medieval Church
The medieval Church developed its own body of laws,
known as canon law
It applied to religious teachings, the clergy, marriages,
and morals. Anyone who disobeyed Church law faced
a range of penalties, including excommunication,
which meant people could not receive the sacraments
or a Christian burial. A noble who opposed the
Church could face the interdict, an order excluding
an entire town, region or kingdom from receiving
most sacraments.
The Medieval Church
Jewish communities existed across Europe. In their
homes, the Jews preserved the oral and written laws
that were central to their faith.
In the late 1000s, Christians persecuted Jews and
accused them of being responsible for the death of
Jesus. In bad times, antisemitism, or prejudice against
Jews, worsened: Christians blamed Jews for things
they could not understand, such as illness or famine.
The Jews moved to Eastern Europe were rulers
welcomed the newcomers’ skills and knowledge.
Assignment!
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Pg 196# 3-6
Economic Expansion and Change
By 1000, Europe’s economic recovery was well
underway. Farming changed because of five
inventions: the three-field system, the harness for
horses and horseshoe, iron plows, the
waterwheel, and the windmill. Under the three-field
system , a lord left one third of his fields unplanted
each year, allowing the soil to rest. Then the field
produced more food when the serfs planted it a year
later. In 300 years, the population of Europe
doubled.
The Change from
Manor Life to the
Growth of Towns
Causes of the growth of towns
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The use of horses
instead of oxen.
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Oxen are big and slow.
Horses plow much faster.
People could plow twice
as much.
RESULTS……
More Food!!!
The Three Field System
In two of the
fields the farmer
would plant his
crops.
In the last field
the farmer would
leave it FALLOW
What is the Result?????
More Food!!!!
What is the final result?
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Because of horses and the 3-field system, there was
more food, MORE FOOD MEANS……
 People become HEALTHIER=
 People LIVE LONGER=
 MORE BABIES=
 INCREASED POPULATION=
 NEED MORE PLACES TO LIVE=
THE GROWTH OF TOWNS
Economic Expansion and Change
Europe’s growing population needed goods that were
not available on the manor: peasants needed iron
for farm tools, wealthy nobles wanted fine wool,
furs, and spices from Asia. As foreign invasions
and feudal warfare declined, traders crisscrossed
Europe to meet the growing demand for goods.
Traders and their customers did business at local
trade fairs; however, they closed in the fall and the
merchants waited during the winter months near a
castle. With time these became the first real
medieval cities
Economic Expansion and Change
To protect their interests, the merchants who set up a
new town would ask the local lord, or king, for a
charter (a written document set out the rights and
privileges of the town). In return, merchants paid
the lord a large sum of money.
As trade revived, merchants had to borrow money to
buy goods. The need for capital, or money for
investment, spurred the growth of banking houses.
Rise of Fairs
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Since people no longer
lived on a self-sufficient
manor, they needed a
place to buy and sell
their stuff.
Most fairs took place
outside of the town and
the peasants got tired of
always carrying their
stuff..
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This was too much
work so pretty
soon the peasants
would just stay at
the fair and not go
back to the manor.
Growth of Towns
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What is it like to live
in a town?
Exciting
 Crowded
 Dirty
 Noisy
 Garbage everywhere
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busy, no bathrooms, no
fresh air…….
But, this is where they want to
live!!!!!
Dirty, smelly, anima ls in the
streets, fires ………
Rise of Guilds
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A guild is almost like today’s
UNIONS.
They are groups of people with the
same job.
They controlled what the product
was supposed to look like and how
much they could charge
Members cooperated to protect their
own economic interests.
They provided social services,
operating schools and hospitals, and
looking after the widows and
orphans of their members.
Economic Expansion and Change
To become a guild member meant many
years of hard work. At the age of 7 or 8, a
child could become an apprentice, or
trainee, to a guild master. Most apprentices
worked for guild members as journeymen,
or salaried workers.
Women worked in dozens of crafts and
could inherit the workshops of their
fathers or husbands, even become guild
Economic Expansion and Change
To meet the needs of the changing economy, Europeans
developed new ways of doing business:
 Many merchants joined together in an organization
known as a partnership, where a group of merchants
pooled their funds to finance a large-scale venture.
 Merchants developed a system of insurance to help
reduce business risks.
 A merchant deposited money with a banker in his
home city. The banker issued a bill of exchange,
which the merchant exchanged for cash in a distant
city.
Economic Expansion and Change
These new ways reshaped medieval society.
Feudalism ended. By 1300, most peasants
were either tenant farmers, who paid rent for
their land, or hired farm laborers, who paid
with rent with their labor.
A new middle class formed between the
nobles and peasants. The clergy and nobles
despised the new middle class because they
saw them as immoral for making money from
usury (lending money at interest)
Assignment! After you finish, turn in
all 4 sections of Middle Ages Notes
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Pg 201 #3-6