Transcript first ten slides

Medieval Europe
Essential Questions
• How did the Germanic kingdoms that took over the Western Roman
Empire differ from the society the Romans had organized in
that region?
• What is feudalism, and how did medieval feudalism differ from
political rule by a central authority or state, such as the one that ruled
the Roman Empire?
• What factors help to explain the rise and spread of feudalism in
Europe in the Middle Ages?
• Why was the Catholic Church able to play a unique role in unifying
the societies of medieval Europe?
• In what ways was medieval Europe influenced and shaped by its
interactions with the Muslim societies to its south?
• What factors caused the crises and troubles of the late Middle Ages?
Defining the Medieval Period
Classical Civilization
(Beginning of European civilization → Roman Empire)
Medieval Europe
(Fall of Rome → before the Renaissance)
Modern Times
(Renaissance → today)
This time period has also been called the
“Middle Ages” and the “Dark Ages.”
Medieval Europe: Stages
Early Medieval Europe
(c. 500–1000)
High Medieval Europe
(c. 1000–1300)
Late Medieval Europe
(c. 1300–1500)
The Fall of the Roman Empire
• Beginning
of the
Middle Ages
• Invasions
from
all sides
• End of the
Roman
emperors
The Barbarian Invasions
• From Asia:
Huns and
Magyars
• From the
Germanic
north:
Saxons,
Angles,
and Goths
Europe in 814
Rise of the Germanic Peoples
Invasion of the Goths into the Roman Empire,
a 19th-century painting
• Ostrogoths:
Italian peninsula
• Visigoths: modernday Spain
• Angles and Saxons:
modern-day Britain
• Franks:
central Europe
Clovis (466–511)
• Established a
Frankish kingdom in
central Europe
• Conquered many
competing tribes
and regional Roman
political leaders
• Converted to Christianity
Charlemagne (742–814)
• Powerful leader,
strong Christian
• Founded the
Carolingian Empire
• Crowned by Pope
Leo III as the first Holy
Roman Emperor