Transcript Medieval Times PP

Periodization
Early Middle Ages 500 – 1000
High Middle Ages 1000 – 1250
Late Middle Ages 1250 - 1500
Europe in the 6th Century
The Roots of Early Medieval Culture
 The Classical heritage f
Rome (and Greece)
 The Roman Catholic
Church
 The culture and customs
of the Germanic tribes
The Roots of Early Medieval Culture
 The fall of the western Roman Empire led to governmental
and economic decentralization, and cultural decline
 Central governments disappear
 Small kingdoms are established based on family
loyalty, personal ties and local customs
 Economic activity/commerce is disrupted
 Urban centers are abandoned. Population shifts to
countryside
Learning declines; loss of Classical Greek and Roman
culture (Latin). Local languages replace
 This accelerates and deepens following Carolingian rule
Early Medieval Culture
 Gaul (France)
 Clovis converts to
Christianity(496) and
conquers much of Gaul.
Merovingian dynasty
Germanic tribes follow.
Why?
 Fears of Muslims and
missionary work
The Medieval Catholic Church
 Filled the power vacuum left from the collapse of the
classical world, preserved learning and provided stability
 Monasticism
 Saint Benedict – Benedictine Rule of poverty,
chastity, and obedience
 Provided schools for the children of the upper class.
inns, hospitals, refuge in times of war.
 Libraries & scriptoria to copy books and illuminate
manuscripts. Well-educated and preserved knowledge
 Monks = Missionaries to the barbarians.
 Sister Scholastica and convents for women
The Medieval Catholic Church
 Pope Gregory extends power
of the Catholic Church
 Claims most of Europe for
Christendom, regardless of
Church control
 Exerts/extends extensive
secular control
A Medieval Monastery
The Scriptorium
Illuminated Manuscripts
 Text supplemented with
decorated initials, borders
(marginalia) and miniature
illustrations (gold and silver)
Earliest surviving
manuscripts are from the
period AD 400 to 600 and were
primarily produced in Ireland,
Constantinople and Italy

The Carolingians, 751-987
 Charles “the Hammer”
Martel, 700. A Frank
major domo, defeats the
Muslims at Battle of Tours.
Key figure
 Son Pepin the Short
appointed King
 His son Charlemagne
rules for forty seven years
Charlemagne: 742 to 814
Charlemagne defeats Muslims
and Germanic tribes
 Extends control over area
larger than Byzantine Empire
and converts conquered to
Christianity
 Establishes his palace and
center of learning at Aachen.
Becomes center of culture and
learning
 Made “Holy Roman Emperor”
by Pope Leo III
Charlemagne’s Empire
Pope Crowned Charlemagne
Holy Roman Emperor: Dec. 25, 800
Carolingian Miniscule
http://medievalwriting.50megs.com/scripts/history5.htm
Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle)
 Possible Reconstruction of
Charlemagne’s Palace at Aachen
Aachen 1
 Cathedral and Palatine
Chapel at Aachen
castles
Aachen 2
The Carolingian Renaissance
The Carolingians, 751-987
 Charlemagne
limits the power of
nobility, extends
empire and fosters
learning
 Son Louis the
Pious and grandsons
fail. Divide empire
Charlemagne’s Empire Collapses:
Treaty of Verdun, 843
 The treaty reflects
adherence to the old
Frankish custom of
divisible inheritance
amongst a rulers sons,
rather than primogeniture,
inheritance by the eldest
son, which would later be
adopted by Frankish
kingdoms
The Rise of Feudalism 850-950
 End of Carolingian Rule
 External attacks by Vikings, Magyarss, and Muslims
leads to Insecurity and uncertainty and to new, ever more
decentralized economic and governmental systems
 Social and governmental system referred to by historians
as Feudalism
 Seigneurialism, or Manorialism, better describes the
economic arrangements within this system
Feudalism
A political, economic, and social system based on
loyalty and military service
The Rise of Feudalism
 A social system based
on rights and obligations
 Key concepts of lord,
vassal and fief
 Based on Homage and
oath of fealty. The lord
and vassal entered a
contract in which the
vassal promised to fight
for the lord at his
command
The Medieval Manor
Life on the Medieval Manor
Serfs at work
Carcassonne: A Medieval Castle
Parts of a Medieval Castle
The Road to Knighthood
KNIGHT
SQUIRE
PAGE
Medieval Seige
PBS Medieval Seige
Chivalry A Code of Honor
and Behavior
The Power of the Medieval Church
 The Catholic Church was
the leading unifying or
centralizing force in Medieval
Europe
 It owned or controlled about
1/3 of the land in Western
Europe and clergy played a
large role in the feudal/
manorial system
 Nevertheless huge conflicts
occurred between secular leaders
and The Church
Church Concepts & Conflicts
Sacraments
Canon Law
Excommunication and interdict
Tithe
Holy Roman Empire and Emperor (Otto, et. al.)
Lay investiture (banned 1075 - conflicts between
Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII)
Concordat of Worms 1122
Simony
Wordly lives
Heresy