Western Europe:
Middle Ages & Christian Europe
Constructing a Hybrid Civilization
-in place of Stearns, Chapter 10-
• Western Europe on margins of world history
for most of postclassical period
• Early Middle Ages = 500-1000
• High Middle Ages = 1000-1300
Early Middle Ages, 500-1000
Political Life, 500-1000
• Roman collapse brought great change
– Combination of Roman heritage &
Germanic culture
• Clovis
– First attempt at order
• Viking menace
Political Life, 500-1000
• Charlemagne
– Most famous Carolingian
– Greater central control, but exception
to most of period
• Feudalism
– Established order through
decentralized hierarchy of obligations
Economic & Social Life, 500-1000
• Manorialism
– Relationship b/t serf & lord
– Life of the serf
• Women w/ considerable freedoms
Culture - Catholicism, 500-1000
• Political influence through hierarchy
– Pope
– Bishops
• Political influence through faith
– Pressure rulers
• Role of monasteries
~QUESTION~
Transitions, 900-1100
• Assimilation of Vikings
• Agricultural improvements
– Moldboard plow
– Horseshoes & collar
– Three-field system
• Cultural exchange
– Crusades
High Middle Ages, 1000-1300
Culture, 1000-1300
• Catholicism
– Crusades
– Scholasticism
• Treatment of Jews
• Art
– Gothic
– Vernacular languages
Politics, 1000-1300
• Growth of central monarch power
– England
• Norman conquest
• Magna Carta
– France & Capetians
– Holy Roman Empire
• Least successful
Economics, 1000-1300
• Mediterranean trade
– Venice & Genoa
• Northern trade
– Hanseatic League
Economics, 1000-1300 – cont.
• Economic growth led to:
– Guilds
– City charters
– Weakening of 3-estates & rise of
merchants
Conclusions