Early Middle Ages
Rome had linked distant European territories but
Rome was a Mediterranean power. Germanic people
who ended Rome's rule shifted the focus of European
history to the North.
 Europe is relatively small, it’s the 2nd smallest of the 7
continents. Despite its size Europe's impact on the
modern world has been enormous.
 From 500 to 1000 this region was a frontier landsparsely populated and underdeveloped on the
outskirts of civilization.
This are had great untapped potential.
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Germanic tribes who migrated across Europe were
farmers and herders. Their culture differed greatly
from that of the Romans. They elected kings to lead
them in war. Warrior nobles swore loyalty to the king
in exchange for weapons and loot.
Franks- Between 400-700 Germanic tribes carved
western Europe into small kingdoms. The strongest
kingdom to emerge was the Franks. In 486, Clovis,
king of the Franks, conquered former Roman province
of Gaul. Clovis converted to Christianity, which was
the religion of the people of Gaul. He earned their
support but also gained an ally the Christian Church of
Rome.
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Around 800, Western Europe had a moment of unity when
the grandson of Charles Martel built an empire reaching
across France, Germany and part of Italy. This emperor is
know as Charlemagne.
He loved battle and spent much of his 46 reign fighting
Muslims in Spain, and Saxons in the north, Avars in the east
and Lombard's in Italy. His conquest reunited much of the
old Roman empire.
In 800 Pope Leo 3 called on Charlemagne for help against
rebellious nobles in Rome. For his efforts the pope crowned
Charlemagne as emperor of the Romans. This was
significant to have a Christian pope crown a German king
successor to the Romans. This enraged the King of
Constantinople who saw himself as the sole Roman ruler.
This helped widen the split between east and west.
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Charlemagne tried to exercise control over many lands and
create a united Christian Europe. Working closely with the
church he helped spread Christianity to the conquered
peoples.
Like many other kings Charlemagne appointed nobles to
rule local regions. He gave them land so they could offer
support and supply soldiers for the army
Revival of learning. Education had declined since fall of
Rome. So Charlemagne revived the use of Latin and started
up schooling. Their classes included grammar, rhetoric,
logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy, also work in
the bible and Latin works of history and science.
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After Charlemagne died in 814, his empire soon fell apart.
His heir battled for power for nearly 30 years. Finally in 843
Charlemagne's grandson drew up a treaty that split the
empire into 3 regions.
Charlemagne left a lasting legacy. He extended Christian
civilization into northern Europe and further blended
German, roman, and Christian traditions.
NEW WAVE OF INVASIONS-Despite Christian victories,
Muslim forces still posed a threat to Europe. 896 the
Magyars settled in what is today Hungary. From there they
moved on to plunder parts of Germany , France, and Italy.
Vikings snapped the last threads of Charlemagne's empire.
Vikings burst out of Scandinavia and they looted and
burned communities along the coast and rivers of Europe.