Transcript the rise of the middle ages notes 11.8.16

Warm up 11/8/16
copy the following questions into your journals. Answer
them as you watch the “Who are the Vikings” video clip.

Who were the Vikings?

What modern day country did the Vikings
come from?

What kind of weapons did the Vikings
have?
http://www.history.com/topics/exploration/vikings-history/videos/who-were-the-vikings
Frankish Rulers


After the breakup of the
Roman Empire, Europe
was a place of disorder
and change
The years between 400
and 1500 A.D. are known
as the middle ages, or
medieval times in
European history
 Many Germanic tribes
plundered Europe and
established small kingdoms
○ Known as Franks, influenced
new culture
Clovis and the Merovingian’s

In 481, Clovis became
king of the Franks
 Successors were called
Merovingian’s because
they traced their family
back to Merovech
Very good military
leader
 Controlled all of
northern Gaul
 Received support from
the Christian Church
 The area that he
occupied is now called
France

Charlemagne




Inherited the Frankish
throne in 768 and ruled until
814 A.D.
Worked to build a new
Rome
Helped spread Christians
beliefs
Spent much of his life at
war
 Could not defeat the Moors
but pushed them past the
Pyrenees Mountains that
separated Spain from France
○ Created a buffer zone between
the Christian and Muslim
Empire
Cont.

United much of western
Europe for the first time in
400 years
 Regarded as the successors
of the roman emperors
Empire divided into regions
each governed by a count
 Officials called missi
dominici (lord’s
messengers) would travel
through the empire
investigating complaints
and making sure the counts
were ruling justly

Education and Learning
No formal education
 Started a school for his own children
and noble children

 emphasized grammar, rhetoric, logic, math,
music, and astronomy
 Ordered bishops to create libraries

Often forced the people he conquered to
convert to Christianity
Decline of the Frankish Empire

After Charlemagne’s death
in 814 A.D. his empire
declined
 Louis the Pious, his son was
a well educated man, but a
weak and shortsighted ruler
Louis’ sons divided the
empire amongst
themselves
 Instead of uniting together,
these new kingdoms fought
each other
 Invaders posed a great
threat to the splintered
kingdom

The Vikings

Most feared invaders of
western Europe between
800-900 A.D.
 Vikings, also called
Norsemen, were Germanic
peoples from what is now
Norway, Sweden and
Denmark

Their govt was surprisingly
democratic for its time
 Assemblies of land owners
made the laws

Would raid and loot
settlements and bring back
slaves to work the land
Cont.

The Vikings way of
capturing towns and
slaves was considered
cruel and savage by many
Europeans
 Used axes and large dogs
 Often were able to capture
even heavily fortified cities

In time they settled
Ireland, England, Iceland,
and North America
Feudalism
By the 900’s, most Europeans were
governed by small, independent leaders
 This political system is called Feudalism

Feudal System

Powerful Noble grants
lesser noble land
 Grant allows lesser noble
to maintain family
○ Lesser noble promises
loyalty and military
assistance to great lord


The actual grant of the
land is called a fief
The lesser noble who
received the fief is called
a vassal
Cont.
By 1100, it was customary for
the eldest son of a lord to
inherit possession of the
land-this system is called
primogeniture
 Women’s rights very limited

 Might have a fief in her dowry
 When she married her husband
got custody of land
 Regained control if her husband
died
Warfare

Very common in middle
ages
 Many wars grew out of private
conflicts between lords
 Could be large scale and very
destructive

Knights wore armor and
metal helmets.
 Armed with swords, shield,
and lances
 The introduction of gun
powder caused chain mail to
replace the metal plates
 Armor so heavy, knights had
to be lifted onto horses by
cranes
Cont.
Nobles saw war as an opportunity for
glory and wealth
 Peasants saw it as a time of suffering
and death
 Church tried to limit warfare

 Forbade violence against livestock,
equipment, women, clergy, merchants, and
pilgrims
 Forbade fighting on certain holy days
Feudal Justice

A feudal trial was
decided in one of three
ways:
1. Could be a duel between
the accuser and accused
2. Oath taking-accused was
supported by a group of
people who swore they
were telling the truth
3. Trial by ordeal- had to
survive a particular ordeal
Manorial System

Shaped the economy of Europe
 Central authority and organized trade non-existent during
these times

The people who lived on Manors had to be self
sufficient
1. Lord kept about 1/3 of the manor’s land to self
2. Peasants (serfs) farmed the remaining land, gave lord
some of their crop, and pain taxes
3. Ideally, located on a stream for water and power
Nobles’ lifestyle

Castle was a fortified base
 Moat, drawbridge, keep

Marriage was used to
advance a lord’s fortunes
and acquire land
 Children used also to solidify
position

Peasants’ children became
part of the workforce
Knighthood

To become a knight, had to
belong to the noble class
a. At age 7, boy becomes a page
b. As a teenager, page becomes
a squire
c. If squire proved himself worth,
would be knighted in an
elaborate ceremony

Coat of arms-graphic
symbol that represented a
knight’s personal
characteristics
• Passed from one generation to
the next
Chivalry

A code of conduct for
knights to follow
Courageous in battle
Fight fairly
Loyal
Keep his word
Courteous to women and
the less powerful
6. Treat conquered foes
gallantly
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Only required to treat
those of his social class
this way; could be rude to
the less fortunate