Transcript HIS 101 - Garrett College

HIS 101
Western Civilization
European Expansion in the High Middle Ages
900 - 1300
 During this period, there were more takeovers, more
expansion, and new ruling powers
 Example: the Bayeux Tapestry showing the Norman,
William, the Conqueror taking England from Harold
(p. 275). The tapestry is 230 ft. long.
 Crusades were taking place
 Another group of Normans took southern Italy
 Scandinavians took Iceland and Greenland
 Germans moved in on northern Italy
 France expanded its kingdom to the Pyrenees Mountains
 The English took Wales, Scotland, and Ireland
 Population grew from 900 to 1300 in western Europe
 It doubled between 1000 and 1200
 30 million in 1000
 55 to 60 million by 1200
 Larger families: 6-7 children by 1200
 Males lived longer than females
 More land was under cultivation and they used the 3-field
system
 Marshes were drained
 Forests were cut
 No blights affecting crops
 More meat available
 There were innovations in agriculture, transportation,
mining, and manufacturing
 Horses were used instead of oxen; faster
 Plows were improved
 Grew nitrogen-fixing crops like beans and peas
 Used the 3-field system
 Surplus was taken to market
 There were better roads, fewer bandits, and sturdy horse-
drawn wagons
 Mined gravel and rock
 There was specialization of crops and crafts
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Herbs from Toulouse
Wine from Bordeaux and Burgundy
Cattle from Germany
Sheep from England
Salt fish from the Baltic
 Towns grew
 There were guilds
 Main purpose was economic
 Regulated standards of production
 Fixed prices
 Controlled membership
 Craft and trade associations
 Women were excluded from guilds
Economic Attitudes
 Church Attitude: rich could redeem their souls by helping
the poor, by being generous, by not overcharging or taking
advantage
 Commercial View: a fair price was whatever the market
could bear
 12th century, usury was looked down upon
 13th century, usury was defended because the person who
lent money incurred a risk and should be compensated for
that risk
Changes in European Boundaries
 After Charlemagne’s death and that of his son, the
Carolingian Empire was divided amongst Charlemagne’s
grandsons
 By 900, the Carolingian Empire was collapsing
 By 1300, France was stable, and Italy was divided into
regions
 Germany began its rise to power by 911 but was in decline in
the 13th century
Germany
 Last of Carolingian rulers died in 911
 They then chose a leader from amongst the dukes
 3 families led from 919-1250:
 Saxons, 919-1024 – pushed eastward and tried to control
Church; they were the Ottos
 Salians, 1024-1125 – had political problems and expansion
stopped
 Staufers, 1138-1250 -- ended problems with Church and
papacy stopped making political decisions
Then rule went to the Habsburgs who were influential
in German politics until 20th century.
The Coming of Italy
 There are 3 regions:
 North: Germans and Carolingians had limited success trying to
take this area
 Center: Papal States located here
 South: Outsiders lived here; from various other countries
 What was the Communal Movement? page289
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 Explain Podesta. Page 290
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 What is meant by Papal Monarchy? Page 290
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France
 Capetian France
 Carolingians were replaced by the Capetians and the family of
Hugh Capet
 They ruled for 300 years
How did France become so strong?
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Hugh Capet
British Isles and Celts
 Viking and Norman Invasions
 Alfred, r. 871-899, got the English to fight off the Vikings
 His descendants ruled England for 100 years
 The English pushed back the Danelaw, areas where Danes had
lived in eastern and northern England; areas controlled by
Viking settlers
In the late 10th century, King Swein Forkbeard conquered
England.
His son Cnut ruled 1016-1033. Cnut’s sons succeeded him.
When his sons died in 1042, the English called in Edward the
Confessor to rule. He was the son of the last English king.
Edward the Confessor
Edward had taken a vow of
chastity so no heirs.
Edward promised the throne to
William of Normandy.
Most Englishmen preferred
Harold of Wessex.
 Edward died, and Harold was elected by the English to be
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king.
Harold fought off the Norse invasion .
Then William landed in the south.
Harold fought William, but lost to him at the Battle of
Hastings
Bayeux Tapestry recounts battle
The Crusades
 Dramatic expansionist effort directed toward the eastern
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Mediterranean world over a 2 century period
Crusades were viewed at the time as a series of religious wars
against Islam for control of the Holy Land where Christianity
originated.
The Abbasid Caliphate that ruled Islam was breaking up.
There was great rivalry amongst Islamic factions for control.
One of these groups was the Seljuk Turks.
 group from Asia who entered Muslim world in 10th century.
 Expanded their influence through military efforts.
 Seljuk Turks took over Bagdad, the capital of the Abbasids, and made
the Abbasids their puppets.
 This brought about a confrontation with the Fatimids in Byzantium
 Byzantium became a battleground
So we have: 1. unrest in Byzantium
2. Normans taking over Southern Italy & Sicily
3. Seljuk Turks conquering most of Asia Minor
4. Alexius Comnenus (r.1081-1118) of
Byzantium wanted Asia Minor back and asked
the popes and the Princes of the West for help
The West Responded
 Because they had enough money to undertake military
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exploits
There was greater political order that gave them stability
They had a strong military born out of feudalism
Italian cities wanted to advance their commercial interests in
the Mediterranean
There was a longstanding animosity towards Islam
Religious reform movements emphasized that Christians
must serve God in some outward, collective, active way:
pilgrimages to holy places, and holy wars.
Pope Urban II
 He proclaimed the “idea of organizing an armed pilgrimage
of Christian warriors who would achieve a variety of ends for
the good of the true faith.”
 The army would respond to the appeal of Alexius made in
1095, to defend the Byzantine Empire against the Seljuk
Turks.
 By doing this, Urban hoped to reunite the Church
 Urban called on Christian knights to join forces under papal
leadership to attack the Muslims, to save Christianity in the
East, and to liberate the Holy Land.
 By the summer of 1096, 4 major armies moved toward the
East
 There first goal was to secure Constantinople, the capital of
Byzantium
 Then, Alexius got each crusading leader to swear allegiance
to him and turn over any Byzantine lands they conquered to
him.
 Alexius would give them supplies and military support in
return.
 Armies split up paying little attention to Alexius; they looked
for private fortunes.
 One army took Edessa
 Normans took over Antioch
 July 1099, Jerusalem was captured by remaining armies using
very brutal tactics
 Thus ended the first crusade as a success
 Ignoring promises to Alexius and to the pope, crusaders set
up their own kingdoms.
Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem
 In 1100, Baldwin of Flanders was named king
 His royal domain was Edessa, Antioch, Tripoli plus some
outlying areas
 These were given as fiefs to loyal men.
 Its major problem was defense
 Most knights returned to Europe after the fight
 The few who stayed tried to protect themselves by capturing
seaports in Syria and Palestine
 They built a series of castles for defense
 They established 3 crusading orders:
 Knights Templar
 Knights Hospitaler
 Teutonic Knights
But their position there remained weak. These weaknesses
caused Europeans over the next 2 centuries to help defend
the Latin Kingdom.
 The Second Crusade was prompted by the loss of Edessa to
the Turks: troops had been destroyed by the time the
remainder reached the Latin Kingdom; little help could then
be given.
 Saladin was a new and effective Muslim leader .
 By 1187, Saladin had recaptured most Christian holdings
 The pope then called for a new crusade: The Third Crusade
 Henry II of England, Philip II of France, and Frederick
Barbarossa of Germany led armies against Saladin.
 Frederick drowned en route
 Henry II died before he could begin his march
 Henry was replaced by Richard the Lion-Hearted
 Richard and Philip stood together against Saladin – for awhile
 Philip then left early to return to France to snatch up
Richard’s French possessions
 Richard remained and agreed to a truce that gave Jerusalem
to the Muslims and visiting rights to Christians
Richard the Lion-Hearted
Fourth Crusade
 Prompted by Pope Innocent III
 Pope lost control over troops
 Not enough troops were raised
 Deal was made between Venetians & crusading leaders and
Byzantium
 Venetians and Crusaders would back a certain claimant to the
throne if Byzantium gave them trade concessions and money for
troops
 New Byzantine king did not make good on his promises, so
Venetians and crusaders took Constantinople 1204 but lost it
in1261
 There were 3 additional crusades, but the fight had lost its
appeal to Europeans
 The Christian position in former Muslim lands and Jerusalem
was never very strong
 In 1291, the Christians were finally ousted from Syria and
Palestine
Crusades Effects
 They generated interaction between East and West
 Europeans learned about a new way of life, new ideas, and
new products
 Western Europeans extended their commercial power
 The most significant legacy of the Crusades was the image
projected by western Europeans in the East:
 Greed
 Faithlessness
 Crude ways
 Slyness
Europeans wanted land, wealth, power