Transcript The Middle Ages & the Church Powerpoint

The Early Middle Ages (500 -1000 )
• Known as the "Dark Ages"
1. Culture and learning almost disappeared in
Europe.
2. Few organized governments existed.
3. Plagued by barbaric invasions.
• Germanic tribes
• Hunted rather than farmed.
• Many were seafaring (i.e. Vikings)
• They worshipped the forces of nature.
• Paid little attention to art, science, and literature
The Age of Charlemagne
• The Age of Charlemagne is known as the,
"Light in the Dark Ages."
• King of the Franks
• Governed his kingdom from a castle in
Aachen.
• Crowned Roman Emperor in 800 A.D. by
Pope Leo III.
• Created a huge empire by defeating the
Lombards and Saxons.
• Incorporated their territories into his
empire.
• Managed his lands efficiently and kept his
nobles loyal.
• Charlemagne was very interested in
education.
• Constructed schools
Charlemagne’s Death
His successors could not maintain the kingdom.
Treaty of Verdun, (843 A.D.)
Treaty of Verdun, 843
• Split Charlemagne's kingdom into three regions.
• Charles the Bald - West Frankish Kingdom (Modern-day
France)
• Louis the German - East Frankish Kingdom (Modernday Germany and central Europe)
• Lothar I - Kingdom of Italy (Northern Italy)
• Subdivided after Lothar I’s death in 855 A.D. between
Lothar II, Charles the Young, and Louis II.
• Division made the kingdoms weaker and they
became rivals.
Feudalism
• The growth of Feudalism
(900A.D. to 1400's)
• System of holding land in
exchange for military
service.
• Feudal kings and lords gave
lands (Fiefs) to lesser nobles
(Vassals).
• An unwritten contract or
understanding.
• Often, they continued to
subdivide their lands (fiefs)
further.
• Developed because
organized government fell
apart in Europe.
Advantages of Feudalism
• Provided stability, security, and government
after the collapse of the
Roman Empire.
• Offered protection against barbarian
invasions.
• Everyone had certain rights and duties.
Disadvantages of Feudalism
• Undemocratic principle
• Some people were born to rule and others to
serve.
• Period was marked by poverty, illiteracy,
and numerous diseases.
• Warfare became frequent between the
vassals.
• Much land and property was destroyed.
• Peasants suffered the most
Feudal Life
• The manor, or estate of the lord, was the center of
medieval life.
• Consisted of the lord's castle, fields where crops were
grown, and the village where the peasants lived.
• Agriculture was the most important industry.
• Peasants worked both their land and their lord's land.
• Farming methods and tools were crude and inefficient.
• Three-field system was popular
- 2/3 of the fields were used for farming each season.
- The other 1/3 was left alone, to fallow, to regain its
fertility
Life of a peasant
• Life was very hard.
• Peasants were bound to the land, often sold with the
land.
• Needed their lord's permission to marry or to travel
outside of the manor.
• Worked from sunrise to sunset.
• Little time for entertainment or merrymaking.
• Self-sufficient: Grew their own food and made their
own clothing.
• Plagued by crop failures and numerous diseases.
• Very few could read.
Church in the Middle Ages
• Roman Catholic Church
• The Church was the most
powerful institution in
Medieval Europe.
• People had unquestionable
faith in the church.
• Represented an escape from
the turmoil of their everyday
lives.
• Sanctuary (safe place)
• Entire lives were guided by
the Catholic Church.
• If you didn't belong, you
were considered an outcast.
The Power of the Church in 1500
It Owned Land:
• The Church owned many large areas of farmland. People who grew
crops on this land had to give one tenth of everything they grew to
the
Church - this was called the Tithe.
It Controlled People’s Beliefs:
• told people that when they died, their souls lived on either in
• Heaven or in Hell.
• Hell, they said, was a place of great pain and suffering.
• The people were understandably frightened of going there. So, the
Church gave them hope. It said that after you die your soul goes
first to
• a place called Purgatory, where it would stay until any sins had been
burnt away.
It Was Rich:
• People wanted to be in purgatory for the shortest possible
time.
• The Church said that you could shorten your stay in purgatory
if you did several things
-Attend Church and live a good life
-Go on a pilgrimage
-Buy a special pardon, known as Indulgences.
• The Church made a lot of money this way, as people tried to
buy their way to heaven.
• The Church also made money through the Tithes.
It Was Not Controlled by the King
• The Roman Catholic church was led by the
Pope (the King could not tell anyone from the
Church what to do)
• Even if a churchman committed a crime, they
could not be tried by a normal court, but by
fellow churchmen, who were often very
lenient
How the Catholic Church enforced its
authority
• Excommunication- cut
off an individual from
Church services.
• Considered a severe
form of punishment.
• Interdiction- cut off an
entire nation or region
from Church services.