TRANSFORMING THE
ROMAN WORLD
Ch.9 Sec.1
The New Germanic Kingdoms

Europe after W. Roman Empire
 Germanic
tribes had been steadily moving and settling
in Roman territory
 Ostrogoths
(Italy)
 Visigoths (Spain)
 Angles & Saxons (Britain)
 Franks (France
 Caused
the destruction of the W. Roman govt, leaving
only the Catholic Church as remnants
Kingdom of the Franks

Franks
 Settled
in modern-day France
 Longest lasting Germanic kingdom
 Were pagan at first, became the reason Christianity
didn’t die out in W. Europe
Clovis
Clovis
Established the Frankish
kingdom
•
Converted his people to
Christianity
•
Expanded Frankish rule
to France & E. Germany
•
Kingdom divided
amongst his sons after
death
•
Germanic Society

Germanic Society
 Family
was of utmost importance
 If injustice happened, it became a family vs. family
matter

Wergild
 Means
“money for a man”
 Germanic system of a wrongdoer paying a fine to the
family they had wronged
 Money fines varied according to social class
Germanic Society

Ordeal –
 Way
to determine guilt in a dispute
 Accused would be subject to some physical trial
 Divine intervention would happen to prove innocence
Role of the Church

Christian Church
 Had
become common in most Germanic societies
 Set up a system of church govt across Europe



Bishopric – An area of churches under the authority
of a bishop
Pope – Leader of the Catholic Church (means
father)
Gregory I – First powerful Pope who increased
church authority