Transcript Beginning of the Middle Ages - Alabama School of Fine Arts

Beginning of the Middle Ages
CHAPTER 13
Middle Ages=Medieval Period
• About 500AD-1500AD
• Period between the Classical (Ancient) World
and the Modern World
400sAD (you don’t have to write this)
Germanic Tribes began pouring into the Western
Roman Empire.
The Germanic people were less sophisticated; they
generally had no written language of their own, and
no written laws
The Western Roman government began loosing
control of its provinces.
The last Western Roman Emperor, Romulus
Augustulus, was deposed in 476AD by a
Germanic chief.
The Western Roman Empire collapsed.
Changes that occurred 400AD-600AD
1. The central government (of the Western
Roman Empire) collapsed, and it was replaced
by many small Germanic kingdoms led by
Germanic chiefs (or by no government at all)
CHANGES THAT OCCURRED 400AD600AD
2. Trade and travel became much more difficult
and dangerous, and gradually slowed to a trickle,
The use of money almost disappeared in some
places, and was replaced by barter.
– Roman legions no longer maintained the roads or
stopped bandits
– Roman courts no longer enforced a single set of laws,
or backed a single currency
CHANGES THAT OCCURRED 500AD600AD
3. Towns and cities began to
empty, and many eventually
disappeared because:
– Towns and cities are
supported by trade.
– When trade declined, towns &
cities declined
– People went back to simple
farming
CHANGES THAT OCCURRED 500AD600AD
4. Learning and literacy sharply declined.
• At the height of the Roman Empire, basic literacy was
fairly widespread, and among the upper class there
was a high degree of education
• As people left towns & cities and went back to simple
farming, schools disappeared, and education became
irrelevant
• By 600AD, very few people in Western Europe except
for priests and other clergy could read and write
SUMMARY: Changes between 400AD600AD
• The central government of the Western
Roman Empire was replaced by many small
Germanic kingdoms.
• Trade and travel sharply declined
• Towns and cities dwindled & disappeared.
• Learning & literacy sharply declined.
DARK AGES: about 500AD-1000AD
• Western Europe slid into a Dark Age, when the
level of civilization sharply declined.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
One only strong force for unity was
left: The Roman Catholic Church
In some ways the Roman Catholic
Church took the place of the Roman
Empire.
Christianity had already spread
through much of the Western
Roman Empire before it collapsed.
It continued to spread and became
increasingly important.
Germanic Tribes
 Small communities (no
cities)
 Simple lifestyle
 Unwritten customs (no
written laws)
 Farming, hunting, raiding,
fighting
 Ruled by a King (war leader)
chosen by warriors
 Warriors who swore oaths
of loyalty to the King
 Tribes included Visigoths,
Ostrogoths, Franks,
Lombards, Saxons, Angles
and others.
Franks
• The Germanic tribe that settled in the Roman
province of Gaul, which is now France
• First of the Germanic tribes to establish an
important kingdom
CLOVIS-1st King of the Franks-481AD
• Frankish leader who conquered the
other Franks in the old Roman
province of Gaul (France), and
established himself as its ruler. His
wife was Clotilda.
• First king of the Franks (France)
• Established the Merovingian line of
Kings of the Franks
• Converted to Christianity under the
influence of his Christian wife Clotilda
• This helped unify his kingdom, and
made the Pope his ally.
Charles Martel-732AD
• Over time, the Merovingian
kings became weak and
their assistant (Major
Domo, or Mayor of the
Palace) became the real
ruler
• Charles Martel became
Major Domo-Ruler of the
Palace under Childeric III.
• Led the Franks at the Battle
of Tours, in which they
defeated the invading
Moors (732AD). This
stopped the spread of Islam
into France.
PEPIN (III) the SHORT-751AD
• Son of Charles Martel; became Major Domo or
Mayor of the Palace
• Overthrew the Merovingian King and claimed the
Frankish throne
• Gained the support of the Pope, who anointed him
King of the Franks by the Grace of God
• Helped the Pope in a conflict with the Lombards &
captured the land around Rome, and gave it to the
Pope; this land (“Donation of Pepin”) became known
as the Papal States
CHARLEMAGNE (768-814AD)
• Son of Pepin the Short;
• Became King of the
Franks in 768AD
• Named Charles, but
became known as
Charles the GreatCharlemagne
CHARLEMAGNE’S Empire
• Expanded his lands into a
large empire by defeating
the Saxons in the north,
Moors near the Spanish
border; Lombards in Italy,
Avars and Alemanni in
central Europe.
• Empire became known as
the Carolingian Empire
CHARLEMAGNE CROWNED “ROMAN
EMPEROR”
• When Charlemagne came
to help Pope Leo III put
down a rebellion in
Rome, Pope Leo III
crowned him “Emperor
of the Romans” on
Christmas Day 800AD
(although the Western
Roman Empire was
actually long gone,
Charlemagne was seen as
the successor of Roman
authority)
CHARLEMAGNE-Government
• Divided into regions called “Counties”, each
governed by an official known as a Count
• Special royal agents, called “Missi Domini”,
traveled thoughout the empire, checking up
on the Counts and investigating any
complains.
• Established a capital at the city of Aix la
Chapelle (now called Aachen)
CHARLEMAGNE – Revival of Learning
• Charlemagne valued education.
He himself could read but
probably could not write
• Started a Palace School to
educated his own sons and
other young nobles, with Alcuin
of York brought from England to
head the school
• Brought monks together to
produce a readable Bible. The
monks developed lower case
letter and a script called
Carolingian minuscule.
• Ordered monasteries to open
schools to train future monks &
make copies of old Latin
manuscripts
Einhard’s description of Charlemagne
•
#22. [Charles' Appearance.] Charles was large and strong, and of lofty stature, though not
disproportionately tall (his height is well known to have been seven times the length of his
foot); the upper part of his head was round, his eyes very large and animated, nose a little
long, hair fair, and face laughing and merry. Thus his appearance was always stately and
dignified, whether he was standing or sitting; although his neck was thick and somewhat
short, and his belly rather prominent; but the symmetry of the rest of his body concealed
these defects. His gait was firm, his whole carriage manly, and his voice clear, but not so
strong as his size led one to expect. His health was excellent, except during the four years
preceding his death, when he was subject to frequent fevers; at the last he even limped a
little with one foot. Even in those years he consulted rather his own inclinations than the
advice of physicians, who were almost hateful to him, because they wanted him to give up
roasts, to which he was accustomed, and to eat boiled meat instead. In accordance with the
national custom, he took frequent exercise on horseback and in the chase, accomplishments
in which scarcely any people in the world can equal the Franks. He enjoyed the exhalations
from natural warm springs, and often practised swimming, in which he was such an adept
that none could surpass him; and hence it was that he built his palace at Aixla-Chapelle, and
lived there constantly during his latter years until his death. He used not only to invite his
sons to his bath, but his nobles and friends, and now and then a troop of his retinue or body
guard, so that a hundred or more persons sometimes bathed with him.
AFTER CHARLEMAGNE
• Charlemagne died in 814AD
• Son Louis the Pious ruled
briefly
• Louis’s 3 sons: Charles the
Bald, Lothair and Louis the
German fought each other
for the empire
• The 3 brothers finally signed
the Treaty of Verdun
(843AD), which divided
Charlemagne’s Empire
3 GROUPS ATTACKED & INVADED EUROPE
700AD-1000AD
• Muslims from North
Africa attacked the
Mediterranean coast
• Magyars attacked from
the east, and eventually
settled in what is now
Hungary
• Ferocious Vikings
attacked from the North
VIKINGS (also called NORSEMEN)
• From Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden,
Denmark)
• Worshiped pagan gods (Thor, Odin,
etc)
• Viking burial: placed the dead
person in a boat and burned it.
• Ruled by kings, but assemblies of
landowners made the laws
• Primarily farmers, but gained wealth
by attacking and looting
VIKING BURIAL
Viking Raids: “The Fury of the Northmen”
• 700AD-1000AD-terrorized
Europe!!
• Sailed south along the
coastlines of Europe & into
the rivers of Europe,
including Britain, France,
Germany
• Raided and looted
settlements; took wealth
and slaves.
• Terrifying & savage. Ships
even had terrifying figures
on their prows
• Also went on to discover
Iceland, Greenland, & North
America