Chapter 10 Outline – A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe
III. The Postclassical Era
E. A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe
1. Overview
- Middle Ages = Postclassical period in western Europe (from fall of Rome to the 1400s)
 Middle Ages (also called medieval period) a period of gradual recovery over shock of fall of
Rome, and western Europeans’ interactions with other societies increased
- Religiously, Christianity spread, and many abandoned old, polytheistic religions
- Medieval western Europe got involved with rest of world through trade
 Got agricultural tools from Asia, crops from Africa, and learned math and science from
Byzantines and Arabs
 Overall, western Europe took more from trade network than it contributed
2. The Flavor of the Middle Ages: Inferiority and Vitality
- Western Europe, like rest of world, borrowed from existing civilizations, but also had distinctive
features emerge that affected later civilizations (western Europe also referred to as the West)
 West considered backwards (barbarians) compared to Middle East and Asia
- Even after Arab dominance was declining, western Europe always fearful of Arab attacks
 Arab controlled Spain and southern Italy, posing threat to Europe
 Arabs more advanced learning and commerce, yet Christians believed themselves to be better
b/c thought Islam was false religion (Europeans learned from Muslims, but hostile to them)
 Christians also sought trade routes free from Muslim power (avoiding Muslims)
- Once recovered from fall of Rome, western Europe advanced rapidly
 Population grew, economy grew, governments got stronger, and complex art/intellectual life began
 Technological innovation = water-driven mills, improved iron casting for making church bells
 Politically and socially, postclassical Europe more impact on later society than classical Europe
 Intellectual contributions include: universities, Gothic architecture, idea of limited government
3. Stages of Postclassical Development
- Early in postclassical era (up until 900) western Europe had many problems
 Fall of Rome left Italy in bad shape, Spain was controlled by Muslims
 Despite important Catholic cities (Rome being center of growing and powerful Catholic
church), Italy in weakened state until the late 1800s
 Major areas in western Europe during Middle Ages: France, Germany, England, and Low
Countries (Low Countries = Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg)
- Western Europe constantly invaded, making it hard to advance
 Vikings = Scandinavian raiders, invaded western Europe from 700s to 1000s
 Western Europe weak, rulers weak and mostly subsistence farming
 Only literate people was the clergy and those living in monasteries where learning kept alive
a. The Manorial System: Obligations and Allegiances
- Early Middle Ages (up until 900s), governments mostly local (no central governments)
 Manorialism = system of economic and political relations b/t landlords and their peasants
 System began earlier, but got stronger as trade decreased and b/c of lack of strong governments
 Serfs = most peasants (farmers) living on self-sufficient agricultural estates called manors, got
protection from lords in return for part of their goods
 Serf life was difficult as agricultural technology was very low and production was low
 Serfs left half land empty to allow soil to restore nutrients, lowering production
 Moldboard = new plow that could get through heavy soil, increasing production
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Three-field system = only 1/3 of land left unused, so increased production
Serfs had to give share of crops in return for grazing animals on landlord’s land
Had to spend many days repairing castle or working land under landlord’s control
Serfs not slaves: could not be bought and sold, owned their land as long as obligations met
Peasants lived in villages, led to community life of festivals, and political structure through
which could solve disputes
 But life very hard for serfs, especially early in postclassical period
The Church: Political and Spiritual Power
After fall of Rome (400s), Catholic church only strong form of organization in western Europe
 Pope was leader, w/bishops leading regional churches, and priests running local churches
 Pope sponsored missionary activity (ex: converted English and Germans to Christianity, and
sent missionaries to compete with Byzantine missionaries in eastern Europe)
 Clovis = German warrior who converted to Christianity (496) and got control over the Franks
(German tribe living where France is today)
Church created important chain of monasteries during Dark Ages
 Monasteries played big role in medieval society: showed societies spiritual focus, helped
cultivate land for farming, and promoted education and literacy
Charlemagne and His Successors
Carolingians = Ruling family of the Franks from 700s to 900s
 Charles Martel = Carolingian ruler of the Franks, defeated Muslims in Battle of Tours (732),
ending Muslim threat to western Europe
Charlemagne (Charles the Great) = a later Carolingian ruler who established large empire in
France and Germany around year 800 (called Holy Roman Empire)
 Looked like Roman Empire may be revived as intellectual activity began reemerging
 But empire did not survive long after Charlemagne died in 814, and it was split into 3 sections,
so each of his sons could get one (France, Germany, and the Low Countries)
 Charlemagne’s successors in these local kingdoms were weak
After collapse of Charlemagne’s empire, western Europe became a bunch of regional monarchies
with powerful aristocracies
 Culturally, western Europe united through Catholicism, but politically it was very divided
 No single language in western Europe (church = Latin, but people spoke French, English, etc.)
Most powerful of regional kingdoms after fall of Charlemagne = Germany and northern Italy
 Holy Roman emperor = northern Italy and German rulers after fall of Charlemagne, but they
failed to create centralized monarchy in Germany
New Economic and Urban Vigor
By 800s, new developments in western Europe would have major impacts
 New agricultural techniques: moldboard plow, three-field system, horse collars, and stirrups
 Horse collars and stirrups aided to power of the lords, who had strong cavalries
 Nobility defined by land ownership and military power
 Monasteries promoted agricultural techniques, unlike monks in eastern Europe
 By 900s, Viking raids began stopping
 Political stability and improved agriculture led to population growth (from 900s to 1200s)
Population growth led to economic innovation and the growth of towns
 More people meant more markets, trade grew, and towns expanded
 Feudal system weakened as towns grew b/c with more land being farmed, landlords needed
workers, and had to give peasants more freedom to entice them to work (instead charged rent)
 Harsh serfdom still existed, but most serfs got greater freedom (some free peasants emerged)
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 More contact w/other regions led to new crops (like darum wheat from Africa)
 In western Europe, a more commercial, market-based economy, began to exist
Surge in agriculture led to growth of towns
 Towns and cities grew rapidly (especially in Italy and the Low Countries where trade and
manufacturing were soaring), although Asia still had more percent of people living in cities
(only a few European cities had at least 100,000 people, while China had 52
 Literacy spread in urban centers and the use of popular languages (English, French) grew
 Cities led to professional entertainers – created new songs and tricks (such as fire-eating)
 Religious institutions (monasteries) were dedicated to teaching or hospital work in the cities
 Merchant activity and craft production expanded
As cities and the economy grew, cultural activity increased as well
 Church-based schools began emerging in the 800s, training children for a career in the church
 By 1000s, the first universities appeared (trained middle class townspeople in theology,
medicine, and the law
 By 1100s, modern universities emerged in Paris, Germany, and England (Oxford, Cambridge)
Feudal Monarchies and Political Advances
Economy growth led to political changes
 Feudal system had begun in western Europe around 500
 Vassals = military elite, got land from lords in return for military service and loyalty
 Originally feudalism very local – many lords had band of 5-10 vassals, but it could extend over
large areas and even whole kingdoms (such as Charlemagne’s)
 Feudalism hurt development of strong central monarchies, but it did reduce local warfare
Kings used feudalism to build their own power
 France built by feudal lords in Paris expanding to control more land, and king very powerful
(could print money, use professional soldiers, even tax church which caused problems)
While French feudal monarchy was built gradually over time, it grew rapidly in England
 William the Conqueror = invaded England in 1066, extending his feudal system
 Set up central monarchy (a feudal monarchy) with an administrative system (bureaucracy) with
sheriffs used to supervise justice and a new code of laws passed by a royal court
Growth of feudal monarchies similar to that in China (both had extensive bureaucracies)
 To extend power, central monarchies used many tools: allied with the middle classes, taxed
towns and cities, hired professional armies, and hired businessmen to run their bureaucracies
Limited Government
Strong monarchies didn’t develop throughout western Europe (regional states and feudal lords still
ruled much of the area)
 Even the strongest monarchies limited in power b/c church so powerful
Feudal landlords cut into power of monarchies and central rulers
 Magna Carta (1215) = King John was forced to sign it, and it limited monarchy’s rule and
gave feudal lords more rights (example: king couldn’t pass new taxes w/out nobles permission)
 Parliament = legal body representing the privileged 3 estates (not commoners)
 Three estates = the 3 social groups that held the power (church, nobles, urban leaders)
 Parliaments gained right to rule over any new taxes and could advise king on other issues
 Though strongest in England, parliamentary institutions arose throughout western Europe
Feudal limited government not the same as we think of limited government today
 People had rights based on the estate they were born into (no democracy)
 But medieval representative institutions (parliaments) were beginnings of distinct political
tradition, different than Japan’s feudalism which emphasized loyalty, not checks on power
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Despite power of feudal lords, European monarchs able to centralize power by late Middle Ages
 Compared to Asia, these monarchies very weak (and frequent fighting demonstrates this)
 Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) = War b/t England and France, fought over territories
English king owned in France and feudal rights against emerging claims of nation states
g. The West’s Expansionist Impulse
- As the economy of western Europe grew, western Europe began a period of territorial expansion
 Reasons for expansion = population growth and desire to spread Christianity
 Biggest expansion in east central Europe (1000s onward) as German knights expanded east
 In 1000s, Christians in Spain began driving out Muslims (took long time, but in late 1400s
Ferdinand and Isabella married and united Spain as Christian kingdom)
 Vikings expanded into Iceland, Greenland, and even to Hudson Bay in what is today Canada
- But the biggest and most dramatic expansionist movement came from the Crusades
 Urban II = pope who ordered the 1st Crusade in 1095
 Crusaders got control of Jerusalem until driven out by Saladin, and one crusade (4 th Crusade)
even attacked the Byzantines in Constantinople
- Despite brief success, Crusades didn’t show a Western superiority, just an aggressive spirit
 Major lasting result of Crusades was to expose West to new culture from Middle East, which
spurred the West to begin interacting with the wider world
h. Religious Reform and Evolution
- During this time, Catholic church went through periods of decline and renewal
 Church officials often got caught up with trying to gain land and political power
 Many reform movements in Middle Ages aimed at preventing this secularism of the church
and to rid the church of interference from feudal lords
 Gregory VII (pope, 1073-1085) = tried to reform church and free it from feudal interference
and government control
 One reform was priests could not marry (too remain holy)
 Investiture = government appoints bishops, Gregory VII fought Holy Roman Emperor Henry
IV over this and won (popes wanted it known church separate and holier than the state,
beginning Western idea of separation of church and state)
i. The High Middle Ages
- In the postclassical era, Western civilization reached its height in the 1100s and 1200s
 Feudal system was dying as merchant activity and cities grew
4. Western Culture and Christianity in the Postclassical Era
a. Theology: Assimilating Faith and Religion
- Up to the 1000s, the church preserved past classical learning, which showed little creativity, but
helped understand the past (and an emphasis on logic was emphasized, like the work of Aristotle)
- From 1000 onward, series of clerics (clergymen) advanced philosophy and theology
 Main area of focus was reason, and trying to logically prove the existence of God
 Peter Abelard = author of Yes and No showing contradictions in church doctrine and practices
- Early on, many western European intellectuals opposed this movement toward logic and reason to
prove God’s existence, instead emphasizing role of having faith alone with no logical proof
 St. Bernard of Clairvaux = challenged Peter Abelard about logic and said belief in God
should be on faith alone (actually got Abelard thrown out of the universities)
 The debate whether or not to try to prove God’s existence similar to that of Arab’s at that time
 Both religions relied heavily on faith, but intellectuals wanted other approaches too
 There was a big desire for knowledge, which led to growth of universities (where students
could earn law degrees and get jobs in government bureaucracies)
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 Unlike China though, the universities were not tied to one bureaucracy
 Thomas Aquinas = Italian monk who taught at university of Paris, able to combine reason
with faith (must have faith, but through reason we can explain natural order of world
 Scholasticism = medieval philosophical approach using logic to resolve theological problems
- Medieval philosophy didn’t encourage new scientific work (emphasized preserving past learning)
 But by end of 1200s, new science began developing (such as Roger Bacon at Oxford doing
research leading to invention of eyeglasses
b. Popular Religion
- Christian devotion spread amongst ordinary people of Europe, and they were eager to show it
 Fun rituals began, they worshipped saints, and increased respect for Mary (mother of Jesus)
c. Religious Themes in Art and Literature
- Christian art reflected both the popular outlook of the religion and the more formal religion
 Like in Islam and Hinduism, medieval West excelled at religious art (ex: painters used almost
only religious subjects, such as Christ’s birth and suffering, and the saints)
 Later scenes from medieval life added to backgrounds of religious paintings
- Medieval architecture initially like Roman, especially churches (rectangular, or Romanesque style
surmounted by domes)
 Gothic = new architectural style emerging during Middle Ages, featured tall arched windows
 Most gothic architecture seen in churches, but some public buildings and palaces used the style
- Medieval literature and music reflected strong religious interests
 Latin was the scholarly language (law, politics), but growing more and more literature was
being developed in spoken languages like English and French (similar to India after fall of
Guptas: Sanskrit was scholarly language, but spoken languages like Hindi grew)
 Beowulf = first known writing in English; The Song of Roland = first known writing in French
 Soon, writers created adventure stories, comedies, and poetry in these spoken languages
 Canterbury Tales = by Geoffrey Chaucer, shows willingness to poke fun at hypocrisy of many
Christians and an ability to capture some of the tragedies of human life
 The Romance of the Rose = long poem in France used vivid sexual imagery and the poet Villon
wrote in largely secular terms of terror of death
 In 1300smostly in southern France, poets wrote hymns about love b/t man and woman
- Overall, medieval art and intellect had many important themes
 Religion was centerpiece, but other interests emerged (from science to romantic poetry)
 Medieval art and science served as building blocks for later Western thought and art
5. Changing Economic and Social Forms
- Trade began increasing in 900s, and many markets emerged in port cities
 Italians got cloth from Low Countries, and wool traded for wool from England for timber and
furs from Scandinavia
a. New Strains in Rural Life
- Manorialism remained in western Europe
- Nobles (lords) tried enhancing power by raising taxes on serfs, leading to resistance and revolts
 Peasants felt they had right to land free and clear (Christianity stresses equality, same as Islam,
where similar uprisings were taking place)
 The gap b/t landlords and peasants was the major source of social unrest in Europe
- Life of Western peasants improved dramatically during the height of the Middle Ages
 Farming technology not as advanced as places like east Asia, but it was improving
 Landlord controls less tight than in other societies, such as Middle East
b. Growth of Trade and Banking
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As agriculture improved, it led to larger changes in medieval economic life
 A commercial revolution took place in Europe with the growth of trade and banking
 Banking was started by Italian businessmen, and use of money increased, and merchants
began trying to make large profits (upsetting the church that thought profitmaking bad)
- Rising trade took several forms
 Wealthy Europeans wanted luxury goods and spices of Asia (flavor, but also preserving food)
 Mediterranean trade grew, led by Italians trading cloth for luxury goods from the East
 Trade within Europe = timber and grain from north for cloth and metal products from Italy
 At first England exported wool, but later in Middle Ages made manufactured goods
 Hanseatic League = northern German and southern Scandinavian cities united to help trade
- Growth of trade and banking became basis for capitalism in the West (bankers and merchants
invested in business ventures hoping to make a profit)
- Western Europe’s new merchant spirit existed elsewhere in the world as well
 Muslims traders still wealthier and more adventuresome
 Western society not as tolerant of merchants as India or Muslims were, yet in western Europe,
merchants were gaining power b/c central governments were weak
 Merchant class was becoming unusually powerful operating in semi-independent trading cities
- This newfound spirit of capitalism was not yet typical in western European society
 Many people not involved in the market activity (such as lords and peasants)
 Profitmaking was not stressed in cities, but instead group protection was
 Guilds = grouped people in the same business or trade in a single city, stressed security, and
tried to give all members equal opportunities (so one person could monopolize the industry)
 Guilds regulated amount of people in a field so there would be enough work for everyone
 Discouraged new innovations b/c wanted security not profit (here it differed from capitalism)
 Guilds played important role in cities (members had status and a voice in city government)
- Manufacturing improved during Middle Ages
 Western Europe catching up to Asia in ironmaking and textile manufacture
 Europeans led world in clock making
 Manufacturing began developing outside the guilds, as profit-seekers hired workers to make
products they could sell to a larger market
- So by later Middle Ages, western Europe’s economy had many competing groups and interests
 Capitalism was developing, but most businesses were for group welfare and security, not profit
 Cities were growing (if serf could live in city for a year and a day he became free)
c. Limited Sphere for Women
- New complexity of medieval social and economic life had negative impact for women
 In some ways, women in West had higher status than women in Islam – less segregated in
religious ceremony (though couldn’t lead them) and less confined to household
 But women’s voice in the family declined in Middle Ages
 Urban women involved in local commerce, but organizations dominated by men
 Late Middle Ages literature stressed women as men’s assistants (job to take care of household)
6. The Decline of the Medieval Synthesis
- Around 1300, medieval society began to decline
 Hundred Years’ War showed dragged on b/c feudal militaries not that strong, so kings turned
away from nobles, hiring professional militaries (ex: paid archers could beat armored knights)
 France won the war, helped by heroic leadership of Joan of Arc, but its devastation and
movement away from feudal militaries suggested times were changing away from feudalism
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 Agriculture could not keep up with growing population (open land used up and no more new
technology to compensate, resulting in famines)
 Black Death (1348) = 1st of series of plagues in Europe that severely reduced the population
 More social unrest/problems (b/t peasants and landlords, and b/t artisans and their employees)
 But the economy didn’t go into tailspin (manufacture and mining progressed)
 From 1300-1500, Middle Ages began to change as new developments emerged (Western
civilization not in a spiral of decline, but the postclassical version of it was)
a. Signs of Strain
- The decline of medieval times more a sign of change that medieval institutions becoming outdated
 By 1300s, aristocracy (nobles) losing power b/c their military strength came into question due
to the growth of professional armies and new weapons like gunpowder and cannons
 Aristocracy didn’t disappear, but lifestyle became more ceremonial (ex: jousting tournaments),
but these ceremonies seemed silly, a sign medieval values were disappearing
- There were also changes in balance between church and state
 After tax disputes in the early 1300s, French kings had great influence over papacy
 Church was losing power on Western religious life as leaders became more involved in politics
 Religion not declining, but worship became separated somewhat from the church
- Medieval life also breaking down in intellectual and art
 Art turned away from religious figures and toward realistic portraits of nature
 In Italy, new kinds of literature and art took hold that was different than past postclassical work
7. Conclusion: The Postclassical West and Its Heritage: A Balance Sheet
- Term Middle Ages implies dark period b/t glories of Greece and Rome and the return of vigorous
civilization in 1400s (while true, it ignores innovations that started in Europe and nowhere else)
 Western leaders given credit for preserving old documents but little else
 Postclassical Europe backwards in many ways: didn’t trade with the world like Asia did
- Medieval thinkers used traditions of rational logic and made them distinctly Christian
 New forms of art that were more expressive emerged, such as Shakespeare (late 1500s) who
wrote earthy drama, a style begun in postclassical period
 Beginning around 900, economic developments set stage for later European economic growth
such as the greater prestige of merchants, the absence of slavery, and technical innovations
- Idea of separation of church and state began to take root
 Power of monarchs being limited, with groups like nobility and parliaments sharing some
 This system of divided power similar to Africa and more obviously, Japan (only other feudal
society at the time)
 But in comparison, western Europe had more trade contacts than most of sub-Saharan Africa,
and it had more desire to expand than did Japan
 So while western Europe similar to other emerging regions, it was distinctive in its own way
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