The Middle Ages

1. The Middle Ages

2. Western Europe in Turmoil • After the “fall”of Rome, the Byzantine Empire remained while the west declined • This time period following the fall of the Western Roman Empire became known as the Middle Ages or Medieval Period • 476 C.E. to 1400’s

3. The Germanic Invasions • Germanic tribes lived just beyond the borders of the Roman Empire • Goths, Vandals, Lombards, Burgundians, Franks • Any person who came from a foreign, non-Roman culture would be considered a “barbarian” • The Huns moved from Central Asia into Europe and forced Germanic tribes westward into the Roman empire

4. The Germanic Tribes Assimilate • With the fall of Rome in the west, Germanic tribes established their own kingdoms in many areas previously in the empire

5. The Fall into the Dark Ages • Constant warfare from the competing tribes plunged western Europe into darkness • Travel became unsafe due to violence • Bridges and roads fell into disrepair • Cities and towns were abandoned • Bandits roamed freely

6. The Fall into the Dark Ages • Life became increasingly rural and unsafe • Wealthy families moved into the safety of fortified homes in the countryside • People gave up their interest in learning

7. Apply it! • How did the fall of the Roman Empire lead to the Dark Ages? • Why is this time period called the “Middle Ages”? • What is one effect of the Germanic tribes moving into different areas of western Europe?

8. The Light and the Hope • Churches and monasteries became the glue that held the fabric of society together • Churches and monasteries kept learning alive • Often the only people who could read and write • Priests, nuns and monks also gave aid and charity to poor and travelers

9. The Rise of the Franks • Clovis, first king of the Franks, united all the Franks into one kingdom • He also converted to Christianity which helped unite the people further • A later ruler, Charles Martel helped unite the Franks further • At the Battle of Tours, Martel stopped the advance of Islam from Spain into France

10. The Rise of the Franks • The son of Martel, Pepin, seized power and became king of the Franks • Frankish kings created a powerful army by granting lands to nobles in exchange for service in the kings army with their knights

11. Charlemagne • Pepin’s son, Charlemagne became king in 768 • Charlemagne expanded the practice of giving land to his nobles in exchange for their loyalty and service • At the same time, his nobles gave land to their knights for similar promises • Peasants gave up their rights to local lords for better security • They offered services “in kind” providing firewood, livestock and crops

12. Charlemagne • Charlemagne (which means Charles the Great) enlarged his kingdom to include France, Germany, Holland, Belgium and Northern Italy • He established a new capital at Aachen which he turned into a center of learning • He used riches from his conquests to attract scholars to his palace school for children of the nobility • In this way, Charlemagne established a revival of learning within his kingdom

13. Charlemagne • The pope crowned Charlemagne “Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire” • This meant that western Europe was now independent from the Byzantine Emperor • This also united western Europe under the pope • A new concept called Christendom • After his death, Charlemagne’s empire was divided up among his sons

14. Apply it! • How did Charlemagne keep the idea of Rome alive in western Europe?

15. Europe Faces New Threats • Just as Charlemagne’s empire was being divided, new threats began to emerge • From North Africa, Muslims attacked Southern Italy • But the greatest threat came from the Vikings • Fierce warrior and sailors from Scandinavia • They sailed south in search of trade, loot and land

16. The Vikings • Between 800-1000, the Vikings launched repeated assaults on the coasts of Western Europe, often committing brutal atrocities • Although spreading fear and destruction, the Vikings also created new trade routes • Their boats (longboats) were easy to maneuver and could sail in both heavy seas or close to land • They also created many new settlements • Danelaw in Northern England • Normandy in France • On the Island of Sicily

17. Apply it! • In what ways did the central authority of Europe collapse? • How did that collapse contribute to the “dark ages” of Western Europe?

18. Feudal Society • To protect themselves from violence and to provide for basic economic needs, people throughout Western Europe adopted the system introduced by the Franks • Kings offered nobles a grant of land, known as a feud or fief, in exchange for loyalty and service • The nobleman, known as the vassal, gave homage (allegiance) to the king • This new order, known as feudalism, helped prople survive the breakdown of central government and order

19. Chivalry • Code of Conduct that regulated relations between noble men and women • Knights were supposed to act chivalrous in their actions • The reality…not so much!

20. Social • Strict class structure based on the control of land and military power • People born as serfs, knights or lords could not change their social position • Local lords (nobles) were given land by their rulers in exchange for military service • These lords had their own small armies of knights • Armed warriors on horseback

21. Political • Nobles typically controlled political life • They built large castles for protection • Their castles were sometimes even as big as the kings’ • Nobles surrounded themselves with armed knights • The king relied on his nobles for his own army and the nobles often fought among themselves or challenged the king’s authority • Civil wars were frequent and the nobles often grabbed land for themselves

22. Apply it! • How was feudalism essential to survival in the Middle Ages? • How did it mirror other hierarchies we’ve already discussed?

23. Economic • During feudalism, most people lived on manors • A manor consisted of the lord’s house and the peasants living in the surrounding territory • This aspect of the feudal system is also sometimes known as a Manorialism • Each manor produced its own food, clothing and shelter • Manors varied in size depended on the lord’s wealth • Each noble had at least one manor, but some nobles had many manors (depending on wealth and power)

24. The Manor

25. Economic • Peasant farmers known as serfs gave their lord part of their harvest in return for use of the land and other services • In exchange, the lord protected the serfs from attacks by outsiders • Each lord had almost complete power over the serfs who lived on his manor • He could pass laws, require labor, and act as a judge • Serfs were bound to the land and had no voice in most manors

26. Farming • Farmers lacked specific knowledge on how to enrich the soil or rotate crops • Each year, only two-thirds of the land was usually cultivated, letting the other third remain fallow (so it could recover its fertility) • This was known as the three-field system

27. The Three-Field System • One field was devoted to winter crops, a second to summer crops and a third lay fallow each year • Bad weather and a poor harvest could lead to famine and death • Farm animals were often small

28. Apply it! • How was the manor “everything” for most peoples during the Middle Ages? • In what ways was the three-field system an innovation? A bad idea?

29. Peasant Life • Peasant farmers produced the food used by medieval society • Most worked long hours to grow just enough to survive • Some peasants were millers, blacksmiths, and tavern owners • Life revolved around the agrarian calendar • Church feasts marked sowing and reaping days

30. Peasant Life • Peasants lived in small towns or nearby farms on their lord’s manor • Typical peasant homes were two room cottages with walls of dried mud and straw • Thatch roof • Earthen floors • Few furnishings (stool, table, chest) • Stacks of straw served as beds for the entire family • Water was drawn from a nearby well or stream • Animals like pigs and sheep often lived inside the house

31. Women in the Middle Ages • The role of women was typically determined by the attitudes of the Catholic Church and the Nobility • Women were supposed to be obedient to men • Women’s inferior status was blamed on Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden

32. Women in the Middle Ages • Women’s life-styles varied according to social status • Noble women spent most of their time in prayer, sewing, embroidery • Few noble women received education • Peasant husbands and wives often had a close partnership • Both worked side by side in the fields • Women ran the home and looked after livestock

33. The Age of Faith • During the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church remained the single most powerful organization in Western Europe

34. The Age of Faith Reasons for the Church’s Power Power and Wealth Many nobles left land to the Church when they died, hoping to gain entry into Heaven. The Church became Europe’s largest landowner. Church wealth also increased through tithes. The Role of Faith People were very religious. They believed the Church represented God and held power to send them to Heaven or Hell. Most felt united by this common faith Center of Learning The Church was the main center of learning. Church officials were usually the only people who could read and write. Rulers often relied on Church officials, since they were the most educated people.

35. Christian Thinkers • Two Christian thinkers had great influence on the Middle ages and lived at the time of the Fall of Rome • St. Augustine • St. Thomas Aquinas

36. St. Augustine • St. Augustine asks why God is letting barbarians destroy the Christian civilization of Rome • He concludes that no earthly city, like Rome, can last forever • Only the “City of God” in Heaven is eternal • Because our understanding is limited, he said we must put our faith in God who will reward us in the afterlife

37. St. Thomas Aquinas Scholasticism • Lived 800 years after St. Augustine • Summarized Christian beliefs • In his book Summa Theologica • Wrote at a time when Muslim and Jewish scholars had just discovered lost works by Aristotle • Some Christian scholars felt such pre-Christian thinkers had no value • Aquinas showed these teachings were compatible with Christianity • God gave Aristotle the power to reason and interpret the world • We should therefore trust reason as well as faith

38. St. Thomas Aquinas • Aquinas believed in the existence of “natural law” • Universal laws independent of any laws passed by government • Based on reason • Do good and avoid evil • If human law conflicts with natural law, it is not a law and we do not have to obey it • Citizens have the right to remove rulers who continually enact unjust laws • He felt the ruler’s power came from the people

39. Apply it! • Why do you think the teachings of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas were important to people of the Middle Ages? • What parallels can you draw between the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas and the American Revolution?

40. The Crusades • The power and influence of the Catholic Church allowed it to carry out “holy war” against Muslims • For hundreds of years, Christian pilgrims had visited Jerusalem • To visit sacred places mentioned in the Bible • In the 11th Century, the Seljuk Turks took control of the “Holy Land” and drove out Christian pilgrims

41. The Crusades

42. The Crusades • Byzantine Emperor in Constantinople asked Pope Urban II for help against thread of Muslim invasion • The Pope called all Christians to unite and fight a holy crusade • A war to recapture the Holy Land from its Muslim rulers • The Church promised salvation to all who participated

43. The Crusades • The word Crusade meant “war of the cross” • The Crusades brought rulers and nobles from all over Europe together to fight for a common cause • Pilgrims, wives, children of many knights accompanied the Crusader army on its long journey to Constantinople and then to the Holy Land

44. The Effects of the Crusades New Ideas and Products Growth of Intolerance Increased Trade

45. Apply it! • How did the crusades lead to both an ideal of unity and promotion of intolerance? • Looking forward, how might the crusades lead directly to the Renaissance?

46. The Later Middle Ages • During the later Middle Ages… • Trade revived • Merchants sold goods at fairs • The Crusades increased in luxury goods from the East • A new merchant class arose • Merchants and craftsmen organized into powerful organizations known as guilds to protect their craft

47. The Later Middle Ages • New inventions, like watermills, windmills , and mechanical clocks, improved life • Cities like Bologna and Paris founded the first universities • Gothic architecture became prevalent

48. English Political Traditions • During the Middle Ages, England developed traditions of liberty and self-government • 1215--Magna Carta • Nobles rebelled against taxes by King John • King John was forced to sign an agreement promising not to take away any free man’s rights • The Magna Carta guaranteed all free men the right to a trial by jury and further forced the king to obtain the council of nobles for new taxes

49. English Political Traditions • Parliament • Later English king summoned nobles and representatives to the towns to grant them new taxes • This led to the origins of Parliament

50. Apply it! • How did these traditions influence later governments in Europe and America?