Chapter 10: A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe
 Middle Ages: gradual recovery from the shock of Rome’s collapse, and
growing interaction with other societies.
 Spread of Christianity in Western Europe
 Culture shaped by contacts with outside world: math, science, and
philosophy.
Two Images
 Western Europeans were seen by Middle Easterners as being less advanced
and polished.
 Thomas Aquinas: Italian churchman at the University of Paris: wanted to
blend rational knowledge with Christian faith, wanted to sum up all
essential understanding about man, God, and nature.
Stages of Postclassical Development
 6-10th centuries: chaotic conditions
 11th -14th centuries: Improvements in trade, agriculture, feudalism,
Crusades
 Rome was the center of the Roman Catholic Church in west, but Italy was
still fragmented
 Frequent invasions prevented stable governments and economic forms
 Vikings from Scandinavia
The Manorial System: Obligations and Allegiances
 Manorialism: system of economic and political relations between landlords
and their peasant laborers.
 Serfs: bound to land, agricultural workers in exchange for protection
 Moldboard: 9th century improved plow (curved iron plate) that worked in
the heavy soil
 Three-Field System: 9th century improvement: cultivate 2 fields at a time
and leave 3rd fallow.
The Church: Political and Spiritual Power
* After fall of Roman Empire, the Catholic church was the only extensive example
of solid organization.
* Similar hiearchies
* Missionaries converted England, northern and eastern Germany, eastern
Europe, and Scandinavia
* Clovis: converted to Christianity in 496CE, gained prestige over other rivals,
came to lead the Franks
* Monasteries also very important during this time: discipline, scribes, cultivation
of land, education, services for poor (ex: Benedictine order)
Charlemagne and His Successors
* 8th century: Carolingian line among the Franks began
* Charles Martel "Charles the Hammer": defeated the Muslims in the battle of
Tours in 732CE: confined the Muslims to Spain
* Charlemagne "Charles the Great": established an empire in France and Germany
around 800CE. Crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope, helped restore some
church-based education in western Europe
* Charlemagne died in 814 and his empire was divided amongst his 3 grandsons:
Charles the Bald, Lothair, and Louis
* Gradual emergence of regional monarchies, strong cultural unity w/ the Catholic
Church
* Rulers in Germany and northern Italy eventually claimed the title Holy Roman
Emperors: merging Christian and classical claims
New Economic and Urban Vigor
* By 900 New agricultural gains: moldboard, three-field system, horse-collar,
stirrups
* During 10th century, Viking attacks began to taper off (partly because of
Christianization and Viking rule of some areas due to "Danegeld", ex: Normandy
(from Norsemen) in France)
* 10th through 13th century: greater regional stability and improved agriculture
led to population growth
* Growing trade: expanding towns
* Some free peasants emerged
* New crops: durum wheat (from North Africa) and alfalfa (from Persia)
* Italy and the Low Countries had significant urban populations
* Literacy increased
* Cathedral schools
* First universities in the 11th century
* University of Paris, Oxford, Cambridge
Feudal Monarchies and Political Advances
* Feudalism: key political and military relationships
* Lord and vassals system with subinfeudation
* France: 10th c. Capetian royal family (Hugh Capet): used feudalism to gain and
maintain power
* Eventually in France the king claimed right to collect taxes from the Church, king
minted money, and employ some professional soldiers, though majority of army
still through feudalism
* England: Duke of Normandy (Viking descent), William the Conqueror, invaded
England in 1066, and extended feudalism there, used sheriffs to supervise justice,
* Domesday Book*
* Feudal monarchy expanded and created a bureaucracies, much like China
Limited Government
* Germany and Italy were split into regional states run by feudal lords and citystates
* Pope directly ruled territory of central Italy
* tension between power of the Pope and power of the monarch
* Also, growth of monarchy cut into the power of aristocrats in the decentralized
feudal system
* 1215: King John forced to sign the Magna Carta: confirmed feudal rights against
monarchical claims
* Parliaments created in 13th century as bodies representing privileged groups
such as the nobles and the church
* 1265: first full English parliament convened: w/ House of Lords and House of
Commons: said monarchs should consult with their vassals, also could rule on
taxation.
* Key three estates: church, nobles, and urban leaders
* Late 14th century: Hundred Years' War between England and France over
territories the English King controlled in France and feudal rights vs. emerging
claims of national states. (went back to Wm. the Conqueror)
The West's Expansionist Impulse
* Population growth and missionary zeal spurred expansionism
* Central Europe 11th c. onward
* "Reconquest" efforts in Spain
* 15th Century: regional Spanish monarchies fused with marriage of Ferdinand
and Isabella: 1492 Reconquista was completed with expulsion of Muslims (Moors)
and Jews from Spain and unification under Roman Catholicism
* 11th century: Vikings pushed into Iceland, Greenland, and Canada
* Crusades: begun by a call by Pope Urban II in 1095
* Crusaders promised full forgiveness for their sins if they died, plus Arab riches,
and excitement
* 1099 Crusaders won Jerusalem, massacred many inhabitants, set up Crusader
states
* 12th century, Saladin won back Jerusalem from the Christians
* 3rd Crusade: death of German emperor and imprisonment of Richard the
Lionheart
* 4th Crusade: Venetians manipulated and turned into attack on Constantinople
* Showed aggressiveness of Western Middle Ages and exposed the WEst to new
cultural and economic influences from the Middle East
Religious Reform and Evolution
* Catholic Church went through periods of decline and renewal
* 13th century reform movements dedicated to poverty: Franciscans and Poor
Clares
* Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085) tried to purify the church and free it from
interference by feudal lords: priests should not marry
* Pope Gregory VII vs. Henry IV (Holy Roman Emperor) over the practice of lay
(state) investiture (appointment) of bishops in Germany, Gregory eventually
excommunicated Henry, Henry made amends by appealing for forgiveness on his
knees in the snow
* Development of Church courts: to hear cases of heresy: Inquisition
The High Middle Ages
* 12 and 13th centuries: increase in population, agriculture, and cities
* New central monarchies and unquestionable authority of the church
Western Culture in the Postclassical Era
* Christian culture as clear unifying element
Theology: Assimilating Faith and Reason
* Aristotle was prized for his clear exposition of rational thought
* Clerics: emphasized absolute faith in God's word, but also that human reason
could move toward an understanding of some aspects of religion and the natural
order as well.
* Peter Abelard, Yes and No, logical contradictions in the established
interpretations of church doctrines
* Bernard of Clairvaux: stressed the importance of a mystical union with God,
believed that reason was dangerous and proud and that God's truth must be
received by faith alone.
* Debates over how to combine the classical Mediterranean philosophical
tradition with revealed religious faith in both Islam and Christianity
* Combining rational philosophy and Christian faith: higher education, interest in
classical knowledge imported from Arab world.
* Thomas Aquinas, monk who taught at University of Paris: believed faith came
first, but expanded scope given to reason.
* Aquinas said through reason alone, humans could know much of the natural
order, of moral law, and of the nature of God, Wrote the Summa Theologica
* Scholasticism: dominant medieval philosophical approach that demonstrated a
confidence in the logical orderliness of knowledge and in human ability to know.
* 13th century: research in optics led to eyeglasses
Popular Religion
* veneration of Mary, the mother of Jesus, expanded during 12th century
* also saints as intermediaries between humanity and God
*still had pagan festivals with dancing and merriment
Religious Themes in Art and Literature
* art mostly of religious themes
* Medieval architecture: Romanesque (rectangular design with domes) vs. Gothic
design (soaring spires, tall arches, flying buttresses)
*important early writings in the vernacular: Beowulf and The Song of Roland
* Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
Changing Economic and Social Forms in the Postclassical Centuries
* commercial ties spread
* Urban merchants gained power
* Fairs set up for exchange, mostly local, but did expand
* Low Countries: Belgium and the Netherlands
New Strains in Rural Life
* Some peasants were able to free themselves from manorialism
* conflicts between peasants and landlords: used Christianity as basis of equality
Growth of Trade and Banking
* Urban growth- specialized manufacturing- promoted greater trade
* Banking introduced from Italy to facilitate the long-distance exchange of money
and goods
* Spices very important
* Hanseatic League: formed by cities in northern Germany and southern
Scandinavia to encourage trade
* Growth of trade and banking as origin of capitalism in Western civilization
* Guilds: groups of people in the same business or trade in a single city. Stressed
security and mutual control, set standards for production as well as pricing,
apprenticeship programs
Limited Sphere for Women
* The Good Wife manual: three things that drive a goodman from home: a leaking
roof, a smoky chimney, and a scolding woman
* Christian emphasis on equality of all souls and women's monastic groups as
alternative to marriage
The Decline of Medieval Synthesis
* After about 1300, strong monarchies consolidated power
* Hundred Years' War between England and France, use of paid armies, and new
technology, French victory after heroic leadership of Joan of Arc
* agriculture could no longer keep pace with population growth
* Black Death: began in Italy in 1348 and quickly spread through the rest of
Europe, loss of up to 1/3 of Europe's population
Signs of Strain
* growth of professional armies and new weaponry such as cannon and
gunpowder made old fighting techniques and castles obsolete
* Chivalry gained ground
* 14th century: papacy relocated from Rome to Avignon, eventually two popes
claimed papacy. Ultimately a single pope was restored in Rome, but conflict
weakened church's position
* Religion not as emphasized in art and literature
The Postclassical West and Its Heritage
* Middle Ages (between Roman Empire and Modern Europe)
* Dynamism: population growth, trade, intellectual activity