• Label on the map:
– England
– France
– Spain
– Germany
– Italy
– Greece
– Turkey
– Mediterranean Sea
– Black Sea
– Baltic Sea
– Atlantic Ocean
– Scandinavia
Agenda
1.
2.
3.
4.
Europe After Rome
The Church
Holy Roman Empire
Feudalism
Objectives
Students will be able to…
59. Explain how the fall of Rome and
the authority of the Church
shaped the early Middle Ages.
60. Describe the creation of the Holy
Roman Empire.
61. Analyze the feudal system.
Europe After Rome
Objective #59
The Fall of Rome
• Rome united Europe for the first (and
only) time
• Fall of Rome caused many changes
–Decline of central authority
–Decline of cities
–Decline of learning
• But not in Eastern Europe. Why not?
Decline of Central
Authority
• Why?
–Empire destroyed
–Lots of invasions
–Germanic tribes were loyal to
individual leaders
Decline of Central
Authority
• So what?
–Benefits of empire are lost
• Education
• Security
• Economy
• Trade
Decline of Cities
• Why?
–No jobs
–No food trade
–Centers of people and wealth are
not safe
Decline of Cities
• So what?
–Population shifted to rural areas
–People become dispersed
–“Progress” stalls
Decline of Learning
• Why?
–Germanic tribes have no written
language
–People focus on farming
–People are disconnected
Decline of Learning
• So what?
–Knowledge of Greek lost
–Latin changes
–“Progress” stalls
 The Dark Ages
The Church in the
Middle Ages:
The exception that proves
the rule
Church Power Grows
• People turn away from the secular
• Local priests much closer than
distant kings
• Missionaries convert the Germans
–Teach them writing
Smart Monks
• Monasteries (places where monks live)
preserve learning
–No one else could read
–No one else had time
–Mostly translation, few new advances
–Also translated Arabic works
• Eventually create Europe’s universities
The Manor
• Economic arrangement between lords
and peasants
–Peasants provide labor and a portion
of produce
–Lord provides land, protection, and
resources (like a mill)
• Self-sufficient system
• Rigid class structure
Objective #60
The Holy Roman
Empire
A Frankish Dynasty
• Franks were one of the Germanic tribes
• Clovis converted to Christianity
• Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer)
–Unites the Franks
–Wins an important battle
• Battle of Tours
•
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztoNqerMrd8
Charlemagne
• Charles the Hammer’s grandson
• Expands the Frankish Empire
–Largest empire in Europe since
Rome
–Reunited Western Europe
Coronation
• Charlemagne saves
the pope from a
mob in Rome
• Pope crowns him as
Holy Roman
Emperor
– Powerful political
force (both him, and
the church!)
Charlemagne
• Enforces the law (good at
running his empire)
• Spreads Christianity
• Revived learning
• Builds roads, schools,
churches, etc.
Charlemagne’s Legacy
• Son: Louis the Pious
–“an ineffective ruler”
• Three grandsons
–Fight amongst themselves
–Divide into three kingdoms
–Central authority declines again
–
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djctvp_pC4o
Treaty of Verdun, 843
A Contradiction
• The Holy Roman Empire is not…
–Holy
–Roman
–An Empire
Invaders
Invaders
• Muslims
• Magyars
–Come from central Asia
–Settle in Hungary
• Vikings
–From Scandinavia
–Settle in Russia and England (Angles
and Saxons)
Effects of Invaders
• Strengthen feudalism
–Really need those knights
–Manor walls are helpful
• Disrupts trade
Objective #61
Feudalism
Political Organization
• No strong central government, so no
strong army
• But many invaders, so they need one
• Invent a new type of government:
feudalism
–A social/governmental structure
based on loyalty and land
Feudalism Terms
•
•
•
•
•
Lord
Serf
Fief
Vassal
Manor
Feudalism
The King needs an army
• Here is the king’s land
The King’s Land
Feudalism
• The King, in need of an army, offers
land in exchange for military service
• The King owns the land, but the
knight can use it as he sees fit as long
as he maintains his oath to the king
The King’s Land
Vassal
Vassal
Vassal
Vassal
Feudalism
• The King now has several vassals
who control some of his land, but
also has an army of knights to
defend the entire territory