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Post Classical Europe Part I:
The West (Medieval Times) 600-1450
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In this packet you will learn about…
o Medieval Europe
 The rise of the Franks
 The Vikings
Political:
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The Byzantine empire survived as the dominant power in the eastern
Mediterranean region
From about 500 to 1000, it was politically divided, rural, and largely cut off
form advanced civilizations in the Middle East. Invaders swept across the
region, trade slowed to a trickle, towns emptied and classical learning
virtually ceased. For those reasons, this is called the Dark Ages.
Decentralized society with local variation. Isolated landed estates or manors
emerged. Power – political, social, and economic – was exercised by a warrior
elite of landowning lords.
Catholic church filled the void of the empire’s collapse.
Germanic invaders mostly passed through the eastern Roman empire, but
they mostly settled down in the western regions. Throughout Roman Europe
and north Africa, Germanic invaders disrupted Roman authority, deposed
Roman officials, and imposed new states of their own making.. After two
centuries of fighting, it looked as though one group of Germanic invaders, the
Franks, might reestablish imperial authority in Roman Europe. They might
have been like the Sui/Tang dynasty but internal chaos made this am
impossibility.
Political authority in Western Europe devolved to local and regional
jurisdictions, whose leaders fashioned a decentralized political order.
Western Europe became a society of competing regional states.
Feudalism: characterizes the political and social order of medieval Europe.
Some historians see this concept of feudalism as a simplification for a
complex social order.
o Local nobles mobilized small private armies composed of armed
retainers. The dominated local regions.
Beginning in the late tenth century, German princes formed the Holy Roman
Empire, which they viewed as a Christian revival of the earlier Roman
Empire. Meanwhile, independent monarchies emerged in France and
England, and other authorities ruled in the various regions of Italy and Spain.
Conquest:
 The Muslims had conquered much of Spain in the early Middle Ages around
the 8th century
 The reconquest of Spain- known as the Reconquista.
 The process of Reconquista began in the 1060s from Christians in the north.
France reinforced their Christians south of them in Spain.
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By 1150 they had recaptured and established authority over half of the
peninsula. The Reconquista ended when the last Muslim settlement was
ousted in 1492—hence new interests in world exploration opened up! (more
on this topic to come…)
Crusades:
 Crusades refers to Holy Wars
 “take up the cross” as a symbol of faith
 Generally refers to the effort to recapture Palestine, the land of Christian
origins, and the holy city of Jerusalem from Muslim authorities.
 Pope Urban II launched the crusades in 1095
 In 1099 Jerusalem fell to the crusaders
 Muslim leader recaptured Jerusalem in 1187. Crusaders maintained several
of their enclaves that they took over for another century but Saladin’s
victories sealed the fate of Christian forces in the eastern Mediterranean.
 Crusaders ravaged Constantinople (the Byzantine capital)
o Major social, economic impact of Crusades
 Exposed to Muslim philosophers and theologians, and
European merchants traded eagerly with their Muslim
counterparts. Large-scale exchange of ideas, technologies, and
trade goods that profoundly influenced European
development.
 Arabs had adopted Chinese paper production- and Europeans
learned from the Arabs.
 Arabic numerals
 Crusaders also learned to appreciate products like spices,
granulated sugar, coffee, and dates as well as trade goods like
silk, cotton textiles, carpets, and tapestries.
 DEMAND FOR NEW COMMODITIES INCREASED
 Although the crusades largely failed militarily, the encouraged
the reintegration of western Europe into the larger economy of
the eastern hemisphere.
The Rise of Germanic Kingdoms:
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The Germanic trips that conquered parts of the Roman Empire included the
Goths, Vandals, Saxons, and Franks. They were mostly farmers and herders,
so they had no cities or written laws. They lived in small communities
governed by unwritten customs. Kings were elected by tribal councils,
warriors swore loyalty the king in exchange for weapons and a share in the
plunder taken from conquered people.
The Franks Extend Their Power:
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One of these kingdoms was that of the Franks.
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In 486, Clovis, king of the Franks, conquered the former Roman province of
Gaul, which later became the Kingdom of France.
He ruled his new lands according to Frankish custom but preserved much of
the Roman legacy.
Clovis took an important step when he converted to Christianity, the religion
of his subjects in Gaul. Not only did her earn their support, but he also gained
a powerful ally in the pope, leader of the Christian Church in Rome.
A Muslim Empire Threatens Europe:
 As the Franks and other Germanic peoples carved up Europe, a new
power was emerging across the Mediterranean. The religion of Islam
began in Arabia in the 600s. From there, Muslims, or believers in
Islam, created a new civilization and built a huge and expanding
empire.
 Leaders of the Church and of the Christian kingdoms became alarmed
when Muslim armies overran Christian lands form Palestine to North
Africa to present-day Spain. When the Muslim army crossed in to
France, Charles Martel rallied Frankish warriors. At the Battle of
Tours in 732, Christian warriors triumphed. To them, the victory was
a sign that God was on their side. Muslims advanced no farther into
Western Europe, although they continued to rule most of what is now
Spain. This nearby Muslim presence remained a source of anxiety to
many European Christian leaders. In time, however, medieval
Europeans would trade with Muslims, whose learning in many areas
exceeded their own.
THE AGE OF CHARLEMAGNE:
‘By the sword and the cross,’ Charlemagne became master of Western Europe.
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In 768, the grandson of Charles Martel became king of the Franks. HE briefly
united Western Europe when he built an empire reaching across what is now
France, Germany, and part of Italy. Also names Charles, became known as
Charlemagne, or Charles the Great.
Charlemagne spent much of his 46 year reign fighting Muslims in Spain,
Saxons in the North, Avars and Slavs in the east, and Lombards in Italy. His
conquests reunited much of the old Western Roman Empire.
In 799, Pope Leo III asked Charlemagne for help against rebellious nobles in
Rome. Charlemagne obliged.
On Christmas Day in the year 800, the pope showed his gratitude by placing
a crown on Charlemagne’s head and proclaiming him Emperor of the
Romans.
This public alliance between the pope and the ruler of a confederation of
Germanic tribes now reflected the reality of political power in the west. And it
launched the concept of the new Holy Roman Empire which will later play an
important role in the Middle Ages.
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The ceremony would have enormous significance. A Christian pope had
crowned a Germanic king successor to the Roman emperors. In doing so,
Pope Leo III revived the ideal of a united Christian community, which came to
be called Christendom. At the same time, he also sowed the seeds for
desperate power struggles between future popes and Germanic emperors.
The pope’s action also outraged the emperor of the eastern Roman Empire in
Constantinople. While the Western Roman Empire had been collapsing, the
eastern empire had continued to flourish. The eastern emperor saw himself
as the sole Roman ruler. In the long run, the crowning of Charlemagne
deepened the split between the eastern and western Christina worlds.
Charlemagne strove to create a united Christian Europe. Working closely
with the Church, he helped spread Christianity to the conquered peoples on
the fringes of his empire. Missionaries converted many Saxons and Slavs.
Holy Roman Empire:
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The empire Charlemagne built would come to be called the Holy Roman
Empire upon the coronation of Otto the Great in 962.
It’s important to point out that this empire had little in common with the
original Roman Empire, other than the fact that power was once again
centralized and Rome began to think of itself again as a world center.
The size of the holy Roman Empire, in comparison to its namesake, was
relatively small. It included northern Italy, Germany, Belgium, and France.
Nevertheless, it marked the beginning of western European ambitions in
terms of EMPIRE-BUILDING. The collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806
would be succeeded by the empire of Austria.
Under Charlemagne, a strong
focus was placed on the arts
and education, but not
surprisingly with a much more
religious bent—much of this
effort centered on the
monasteries under the
direction of the church. And
though Charlemagne was very
powerful, his rule was not
absolute. Society was
structured around Feudalism.
Because Charlemagne did not
levy taxes, he failed to build a
strong and united empire.
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The Vikings:
 Beginning in the late 8th century three groups of invaders pillaged the
Frankish realm in search of wealth stored in towns and monasteries.
 From the south came the Muslims. From the east came the Magyars,
descendants of nomadic peoples who settled in Hungary. From the north
came the Vikings, the most feared of all the invaders. Charlemagne saw these
invasions.
 Vikings were Nordic peoples of Scandinavia. One cause of expansion was
probably population growth fueled bay increased agricultural production in
Scandinavia.
 The main cause was the quest for wealth through
trading and raiding in European lands to the
south of Scandinavia.
 Utilized advanced shipbuilding techniques and
seafaring skills. Boats were called long ships.
o Shallow draft boats, enabled Vikings to
make their way up the many rivers of
Europe, offering interior access to Europe
o Began attacking monasteries in the 790s
o In 844 more than 150 Viking ships sailed
up the Garonne River in France,
plundering settlements along the way.
(Launched armadas of 800-900 ships!)
Economic:
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Byzantine was an economic powerhouse
Western Christendom by contrast, experienced both a decline of agricultural
production and a weakening of cities as repeated invasions disrupted
economic and social as well as political affairs.
Trade: trade did not disappear from western Europe. Local markets and fairs
offered opportunities for small scale exchange and itinerant peddlers
shopped their wares form one settlement to the next. Maritime trade
flourished in the Mediterranean despite Muslim conquests in the region.
Christian merchants from Italy and Spain regularly traded across religious
boundary lines with Muslims.
o Maritime trade flourished in the north in the North and Baltic Seas.
Norse seafarers traded from Russia to Ireland. Carried cargo of fish
and furs from Scandinavia, honey from Poland, wheat from England,
wine from France…
A rural society: Cities once offered greatness in the west but they largely
disappeared in the wake of Germanic invasions and the collapse of the
Western Roman empire in the late fifth century.
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Borrowed extensively from other cultures: Technological borrowing seen in
gunpowder, which came from China. Adapted the lateen sail from Arabs, and
magnetic compass from China
Agricultural surplus of Western Europe was sufficient to sustain local
political elites but not substantial to support large urban populations. Towns
survived but they served more as economic hubs of surrounding regions
than as vibrant centers.
Urbanization
 Trade picked up after 1300. Major areas of trade were England /Italians
towns like Venice, Genoa, and Venice. Urbanization grows. Towns gave rise
to and attracted new groups of people like merchants, bankers, artisans, and
university trained professionals.
 With abundant supplies of food, European society was able to support large
numbers of urban residents- artisans, crafts workers, merchants, and
professionals.
 Paris, London were founded
 The growth of towns and cities brought about increasing specialization of
labor, which in turn resulted in a dramatic expansion of manufacturing and
trade. Manufacturing of wool textiles. Trade in wool products helped to fuel
economic development throughout Europe.
Social:
 Literacy crumbled
 Roman style slavery emerged into serfdom – bound to their master’s estates
as peasant laborers
 Women serfs were to weave and make clothing / male serfs labored in the
fields. The serf family received a small farm and protection
 Barbarian groups like Goths, Visigoths, Franks, Lombards, Angles, Saxons
emerged as dominant peoples of Western Europe. Center of the West was
north and not south
 Political and military elites obliged local peasants to provide labor services
and payments of rents in kind, such as a portion of the harvest, a chicken, or a
dozen eggs.
 Male peasants typically worked three days a week for their lords while
providing additional labor in the harvesting season. Women peasants
churned butter, made beer, spun thread, wove cloth.
 By the 8th/9th century population was growing. By 800 both Byzantium and
the West combined included 29 million people. By 900 there were 32 million.
 By 1000 both Byzantium and Western Europe built productive agricultural
economies that sustained sizable and increasing populations.
 A warming trend reached its peak in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
Enhanced agricultural production. This is the High Middle Ages. Signs of
expansion and growth were widely evident. Population of Europe grew from
35 million in 1000 to 80 million in 1340
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o More people meant more land under cultivation. Marshes were
drained, land was reclaimed from the sea in the Netherlands, the
forest cover of Europe had been reduced to 20 percent of the land
area.
Education:
 During the high middle ages, economic development sharply increased the
wealth of Europe and mad e more resources available for education. An
increasingly complex society created a demand for educated individuals who
could deal with complicated political, legal, and theological issues
 School and universities grew in the High Middle Ages. Attracted scholars
from all over Europe.
Chivalry:
 An informal but widely recognized code of
ethics and behavior considered appropriate
for nobles. Church officials originally
promoted the chivalric code in an effort to
curb fighting within Christendom. By the
12th century the ritual by which a young
man became initiated into the nobility as a
knight commonly called for the candidate
to place his sword on the church altar and
pledge his service to God. Devoted self to
order, piety, and faith.
Guilds:
 Merchants and workers in all the arts, crafts, and trades organized guilds that
regulated the production and sale of goods within their jurisdictions. By the
thirteenth century the guilds had come to control much of the urban
economy of medieval Europe.
 They established standards of equality for manufactured goods
 Had social and economic significance.
 Guild members regularly socialized with one another
Women:
 The growth of medieval towns and cities offered fresh opportunities for
women and men
 In the patriarchal society of medieval Europe, few routes to public authority
were open to women. In larger towns and cities women worked alongside
men as butchers, brewers, bakers, candle makers,
fishmongers, shoemaker etc. Also highly involved in textile
industry.
 Most guilds admitted women into their ranks, and some
guilds had female membership exclusive.
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The veneration of Mary the Virgin Mother came during the High Middle Ages.
o During the 12th and 13th centuries, Europeans dedicated hundreds of
churches and cathedrals to the Virgin, among them is Notre Dame in
Paris (pictured)
Black Death:
 No one knows exactly why,
but in the late 1320s or
early 1330s, bubonic plague
broke out in China's Gobi
desert. Spread by fleainfested rats, it didn't take
long for the disease to reach
Europe. In October of 1347,
a Genoese ship fleet
returning from the Black
Sea -- a key trade link with
China -- landed in Messina,
Sicily. Most of those on
board were already dead,
and the ships were ordered
out of harbor. But it was too
late. The town was soon
overcome with pestilence,
and from there, the disease
quickly spread north along trade routes -- through Italy and across the
European continent. By the following spring, it had reached as far north as
England, and within five years, it had killed 25 million people -- one-third of
the European population
o http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/previous_seasons/case_plague/
Religion:
 When the Western Roman Empire collapsed, the papacy survived and
claimed continuing spiritual authority over all the lands formerly embraced
by the Roman empire. AT first the popes cooperated closely with the
Byzantine emperors, who seemed to be the natural heirs of the emperors of
Rome. Beginning the late sixth century, the powers acted more
independently and devoted their efforts to strengthening the west.
 The most divisive ecclesiastical policy implemented by the Byzantine
emperors was iconoclasm. Byzantium had a long tradition of icons-paintings
of Jesus, saints and other figure—many of which were splendid works of art.
Emperor Leo III became convinced that the veneration of images was sinful.
He embarked on a policy of iconoclasm in 726. Iconoclasm is destroying
religious images and prohibiting their use in churches. This sparked protests
in the empire, especially in the west.
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Monasteries: Like Buddhist monasteries in Asia, Christian monasteries
provided a variety of social services that enabled them to build close
relations with the local communities. Monks and nuns offered spiritual
counsel to local laity, and they organized relief efforts by supplying food and
medical aid. They were orphanages and inns for travelers. Hey were agents
that spread Xty.
Saints: popular religion took the form of devotion to the saints. According to
the church teachings, saints were human beings who had led such exemplary
lives that God held them in special esteem. They were able to intervene on
behalf of individuals living in the world. People invoked the help of saints.
Continuities and Changes from previous Unit
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600bce-600ce
Roman Empire –
entire
Mediterranean
From polytheism
to Christianity as
religion of the
empire Theodosius
380 AD
Established trade
with the east via
Silk Roads
Great architectural
achievements
Slavery
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Continuity
Christianity
Rival States
Agricultural
production
remains
important
Fear of invading
“barbarians”
(although the
groups
change—
introducing
Muslims in the
South, Vikings in
the North)
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600cd-1450
Feudalism
Decentralization
Growth of states in
Europe Holy Roman
Empire, France,
England etc.
Decline in literacy
Serfdom
Guilds
Change within the
time period is
population growth
due to agricultural
production. Increases
the growth of towns
as centers of trade.
Crusades
Role of the Pope and
the Church is a
change.
Growth of monastic
life.
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SOCIAL
POLITICAL
ECONOMIC
ENVIRONMENTAL
Vocabulary
Feudalism
Reconquista
Pope Urban II
Saladin
Crusades
Definition
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Clovis
Battle of Tours
CHARLEMAGNE
Holy Roman
Empire
Christendom
Otto the Great
Vikings
Long Ships
High Middle
Ages
Chivalry
Guilds
Black Death
Iconoclasm