Section
1
Objectives
•
Describe Western Europe after the collapse
of the western Roman Empire.
•
Describe how Germanic tribes carved Europe
into small kingdoms.
•
Explain how Charlemagne briefly reunited much
of Western Europe and what happened to his
empire after his death.
The Early Middle Ages
Section
1
Terms and People
•
Clovis – a warrior king of the Franks who
established a kingdom in Western Europe after the
fall of the Roman empire
•
medieval – the culture of the Middle Ages
•
Franks – a Germanic tribe that conquered presentday France and neighboring lands in the 400s
•
Charles Martel – a Frankish leader who rallied
warriors to push Muslims out of France
•
battle of Tours – a battle in which Christians
stopped the Muslim advance into Western Europe
The Early Middle Ages
Section
1
Terms and People (continued)
•
Charlemagne – the grandson of Charles Martel;
he briefly united Western Europe when he built
an empire stretching across France and Germany
•
Magyars – nomadic people who overran
Eastern Europe and parts of Western Europe
after A.D. 900
•
Vikings – farmers and expert sailors from
Scandinavia who raided European river towns
starting in the late 700s
The Early Middle Ages
Section
1
How did Germanic tribes divide
Western Europe into small kingdoms?
When the unifying force of the Roman empire
disappeared from Western Europe, Germanic
kingdoms replaced it.
Greco-Roman, Germanic, and Christian
traditions blended during the Middle Ages.
The Early Middle Ages
Section
1
The period between ancient times and modern times
during A.D. 500–1500 was called the Middle Ages.
After winning a battle in 496,
King Clovis established a
Christian kingdom in Western
Europe.
It was one of many kingdoms
that developed when Roman
authority collapsed.
The Early Middle Ages
Section
1
Europe declined
during the early
Middle Ages, for
several reasons.
1. The unifying force
of the Roman
empire was gone.
2. The region was
invaded repeatedly.
3. Trade and classical
learning decreased.
The Early Middle Ages
Section
1
Many Germanic tribes conquered parts of the
Roman empire.
After converting
to Christianity,
Clovis earned the
support of his
subjects in Gaul
and the pope in
Rome.
At the same time,
Muslims were
creating a new
civilization and
empire in the
Mediterranean
region.
The Early Middle Ages
Section
1
Muslim armies
overran Christian
lands and crossed
into France.
Charles Martel led
Frankish warriors in
the battle of Tours
to push them back.
The Early Middle Ages
Section
1
Charlemagne, Martel’s grandson, briefly
united Western Europe.
•
He fought Muslims, aided the pope in Rome, and
was crowned Emperor of the Romans.
•
Charlemagne was a skilled leader who revived
Latin learning and brought scholars to his court.
The Early Middle Ages
Section
1
When Pope
Leo crowned
Charlemagne
Emperor of
the Romans,
the idea
of a united
Christian
empire was
revived.
Charlemagne
spread
Christianity
to conquered
people
throughout
his kingdom
and set
up a strong,
efficient
government.
The Early Middle Ages
However, the
pope’s action
angered the
emperor in
Constantinople
and deepened
the split between
east and west.
Section
1
After Charlemagne died, his empire was split up.
His heirs faced waves of invasions.
The Early Middle Ages
Section
1
Invaders included
the nomadic people
called the Magyars,
who overran
Eastern Europe
around 900.
The Early Middle Ages
•
They went on to
plunder parts of
Western Europe.
•
After 50 years, the
Magyars were
pushed back to
Hungary.
Section
1
Charlemagne’s
empire broke
apart even more
when the Vikings
began attacking
European coastal
and river towns.
•
These Scandinavian
people were expert
sailors.
•
They opened trade
routes linking
northern Europe to
the Mediterranean.
The Early Middle Ages