CHAPTER 9
SECTION 1
Transforming the Roman World
OBJECTIVES:
Identify the Germanic Kingdoms that replaced the
Roman Empire
 Analyze the Germanic Society
 Evaluate the Role and Organization of the Church

THE NEW GERMANIC KINGDOMS
By 500 the Western Roman Empire had been
replaced by a number of states ruled by German
kings.
 Visigoths: Italy and Spain from 3rd century.
 Ostrogoths: Italy in the fifth century.
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Both kingdoms maintained the Roman structure of
government.

Roman influence was weaker in Britain.
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When the Roman armies abandoned Britain in the
beginning of the fifth century, the Angles and Saxons,
Germanic tribes from Denmark and northern Germany,
moved in and settled there.
Eventually, these people became the AngloSaxons.
THE KINGDOM OF THE FRANKS
Only one of the German states proved longlasting- the kingdom of the Franks, established by
Clovis.
 Clovis was a strong military leader who around 500
became the first Germanic leader to convert to
Christianity.


By 510, his kingdom stretched from the Pyrenees in
the southwest to German lands in the east.
GERMANIC SOCIETY
Crucial social bonds was the family, especially
extended family.
 German law was very personal. Injury could lead
to a blood feud.
 A new system was developed, based on a fine
called wergild, which means “money for a man”.

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One of the means for determining guilt was the
ordeal, which was based on the ideal of divine
intervention.

All ordeals involved a physical trial of some sort.
THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH

By the fourth century, the church had developed
a system of organization.
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Local communities called parishes were led by priests.
A group of parishes was headed by a bishop, whose
area of authority was known as a bishopric, or
diocese.

Over time, one bishop- the bishop of Rome- began to
claim that he was the leader of what was now the
Roman Catholic Church, and became known as popes.

Western Christians accepted the bishop of Romethe pope- as the head of the church, but were
unsure how much power the pope should hold.


590- 604 Gregory I, also known as Gregory the Great,
strengthened the power of the papacy.
He served as leader of the city and its surrounding
states, giving the papacy a source of political
control.

He was very active in converting Christians, which was
done through the monastic movement.
MONKS AND THEIR MISSIONS

A monk is a man who separates himself from
ordinary society to practice a life of total
dedication to God.

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The practice of living a life as a monk is known as
monasticism.
In the sixth century, Saint Benedict founded a
community of monks for which he wrote a set of
rules.

The Benedictine rule came to be used by other
monastic groups.

Basic principles of Benedictine Rule:
Day was divided into prayer and manual labor.
 Idleness is the enemy of the soul.
 At the very heart of the community was prayer, and
much included private reading and meditation, but all
monks gathered together seven times a day for
commons prayer and the chanting of Psalms (sacred
song).
 Communal life.

CONCLUSION:

What did you learn today?
OBJECTIVES:
Identify Charlemagne
 Explain the Intellectual Renewal
 Evaluate the Role and Organization of the Church

Monasteries were ruled by an abbot, or father who
had complete authority over all the monks.
 Monks were the heroes of the Christian
civilization.

Ideal Christian society, provided social work for
community, schools for the young, hospitals for the
sick, and hospitality for travelers.
 Taught skills to the poor.


Monasteries were the center of learning.

Worked to spread Christianity to all of Europe.
English and Irish monks were especially
enthusiastic about missionaries- people sent out to
carry a religious message.
 By 1050 most western Europeans had become
Catholic.


Although the first monks were men, women, called
nuns, also began to withdraw from the world and serve
in similar fashion.
Nuns lived in convents headed by an abbesses.
 Many abbesses were from noble houses,
particularly in Anglo-Saxon England.


Example Hilda of Northumbria founded Whitby in 657,
where she was responsible for giving learning an
important goal in the life of the monastery. Five future
bishops were educated under her direction.
CHARLEMAGNE AND THE CAROLINGIANS

During the 600 and 700’s, the kings of the Frankish
Kingdom lost their power to the mayors of the
palace.
They were the chief officers of the kings household.
 One mayor, Pepin, assumed the kingship for himself.
 Son of Charles Matrel, the leader who defeated the
Muslims at the Battle of Tours in 732.


Pepin’s son assumed the crown, and he was
powerful and dynamic ruler who became known as
Charles the Great, or Charlemagne.
THE CAROLINGIAN EMPIRE
Charlemagne greatly extended the empire.
 The administration depended on his household
staff and on counts (German nobles) who acted as
the kings chief representatives in local areas.
 Established the missi dominici.

CHARLEMAGNE AS ROMAN EMPEROR
In 800 Charlemagne acquired a new title- emperor
of Rome.
 Took place 300 years after the collapse of the
Western Roman Empire.
 The coronation also symbolized the unity of
Roman, Christian and Germanic elements.
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AN INTELLECTUAL RENEWAL
Charlemagne wanted to promote learning
throughout the empire.
 This is referred to as the Carolingian Renaissance.

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Included renewed interest in Latin and Greek culture
and classical works, namely that of the Greeks and
Romans.
Monasteries played a central role. Scriptoria's
were established for secular and non secular
works.

Most of the ancient Roman works we have today exist
because of the Carolingian monks.
CONCLUSION
I learned that…
 For Example…
 Therefore…
 However…
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GUIDED PRACTICE/ INDEPENDENT PRACTICE
Guided: 9-1 Worksheet
 Independent Practice: Homework
Page 290 1, 2, 4-6
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