Name:_______________________________
Civilization / Era:
MEDIEVAL EUROPE
Time Period:
600 CE – 1200 CE
Related Key Concepts
Date:_______________________________
Political Characteristics
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3.1. Expansion & Intensification of Communication
and Exchange Networks
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3.2. Continuity & Innovation of State Forms and
their Interactions
3.3 Increased Economic Productive Capacity and Its
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Consequences
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Most Important Thing to Remember:
Secular vs. Church
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Lord & Vassal
Technological Characteristics (Cultural)
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Viking shipbuilding – durable, oared
ships able to navigate stormy North
Atlantic & attack inland settlements
up rivers
Cathedral organs
Technological diffusion seen as
catalyst for pop. growth (doubled
between 1000 CE – 1200 CE)
Deep-cut plows in use
Horse harnesses, horse collars,
horseshoes speed up efficiency for
use of horse in agriculture
(though oxen still in use)
Germanic political order based on family
traditions replaces Roman imperial rule
711 CE – Arabs/Berbers conquer Spain
732 CE – Battle of Tours –
Charles (“the Hammer”) Martel stops
Muslims in France
793 CE – 1st of many Viking raids
throughout northern Europe
(English coast plundered)
Rise of Carolingian family due to
military effectiveness as protectors of
Frankish kings, kings themselves, and
later emperors
Reign of Charlemagne (768 CE–814 CE)
843 CE – Treaty of Verdun divides
Charlemagne’s empire between 3 sons
962 CE – Pope crowns 1st Holy Roman
Emperor, demonstrating tense
alliance/power play between popes and
kings.
Holy Roman Empire came to represent
secular authority in protecting Christian
interests, though mostly headed by
German princes w/ little power outside
central Europe
Achievements (Cultural)
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Many cities lose population,
becoming villages
Roads fall into disuse & disrepair
Thatched huts become norm as
marble structures fall apart
Communication dwindles as life
focuses on meager, local subsistence
800’s CE – 900’s CE – Vikings settle
Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland
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Interaction with Environment
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Growth of local Germanic traditions
supersedes Latin culture emanating
from Rome, including art, literature
Bayeux Tapestry – example of
women’s cloth-making artistry
(Depicts accounts of William the
Conqueror’s assault on England)
Religious Characteristics (Cultural)
Economic Characteristics
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Trade threatened by Viking raids for booty &
slaves across much of N. Europe
Barter economy replaces use of coins
Minimal Mediterranean trade continues, but
most of Europe turns to meager local resources
Manors – self-sufficient farming estates
became primary centers for agricultural
production
(Fields, gardens, grazing lands, fish ponds,
mill, church, workshops, villages, ditch/moat,
stockades/stone castle for protection)
1000 CE – 1200 CE – Growing food surplus
-Leads to pop. growth (doubling), return of
trade in cities, money-based economy, &
support for craftspeople/artisans
-Growth of independent trade cities in Italy &
Flanders ruled by merchant communes
(helped spark trade/technology diffusion)
-Cities build new city walls to protect &
accommodate growing pop.
-Serfs granted freedom when settling in cities
Control in west dominated by papacy in Rome.
Pope reigned over council of cardinals
(bishops)
Canons – laws created for clergy and laymen
Church provided unity in fractured society as it
dealt with:
(regional disagreements over church policies,
shortages of educated clergy, lingering
polytheism/paganism, poor communication, lax
enforcement of prohibitions, nepotism, simony)
Monasticism – movement of groups of
monks/nuns to live secluded lives in separated
communities dedicated to lives of piety, prayer,
& vows
(Recognized as the “Rule of Benedict”,
differentiating “regular” clergy from “secular”
clergy who live in society)
Monasteries – preserved separation of church
& state in politics/economics, preserved
literacy/learning, copied ancient manuscripts
Monks served as missionaries to Germanic &
Scandinavian lands, tended orphans, travelers,
& widows, and maintained agriculture
Abbey of Cluny – extensively reforms monastic
discipline & increases size of church
Cistercian order – emphasized asceticism &
poverty (Influence on later medieval church)
Social Characteristics
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Dependency of weak people on strong local
lords possessing castles for protection
dominates Europe in era of fear & insecurity
Nobility – power based on land & control over:
Serfs – agricultural workers tied to a manor,
working its fields, usually owing debt/service
Slavery not important, as peasants became serfs
to lords in exchange for protection
Some groups of free peasants regionally
(Bordeaux, Saxony, etc)
Early medieval society: Men picked up arms at
call of local lord, then shared in booty gained
from raiding (Germanic traditions)
Later medieval society: Men settle down more
to focus on agriculture, though restless
horsemen maintain warrior lifestyle
Land-holding inseparable with the mounted
knight, as such men were in constant demand
(Cavalry the mainstay of Carolingian army)
Feudal oaths and obligations between lords and
vassals differed regionally
Name:_______________________________
Civilization / Era:
MEDIEVAL EUROPE
Date:_______________________________
Political Characteristics (cont.)

Time Period:
600 CE – 1200 CE
Related Key Concepts
3.1. Expansion & Intensification of Communication
and Exchange Networks
3.2. Continuity & Innovation of State Forms and
their Interactions

3.3 Increased Economic Productive Capacity and Its
Consequences
Most Important Thing to Remember:

Secular vs. Church

Lord & Vassal
1073 CE – Investiture Controversy
-Ongoing dispute over bishops’ loyalty as
vassals owing military service to kings vs.
jurisdiction of church land and authority
-Antagonized by Pope Gregory VII, who
excommunicated Holy Roman Emperor
Henry IV for defiance on issue
-Henry IV restored after 3 day barefoot
snow walk as penance to pope
-Gregory calls for Henry IV to be deposed
in 1078 CE, leading to Henry ousting
Gregory from Rome
1122 CE – Concordat of Worms –
Tensions between pope and kings reduced
as H.R.E. Henry V compromises rights to
bishops’ appointments to Pope Calixtus II,
who allows emperor to invest lay powers
on bishops after papal appointment
1154 CE – Henry II of England institutes
reforms strengthening crown at expense of
nobility
1170 CE – Knights of Henry II murder
Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas a
Becket in cathedral over dispute on trying
clerics in church vs. king’s courts.
-Becket declared a saint by pope
-Canterbury becomes pilgrimage site
-Henry II loses respect to public & church
Economic Characteristics
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Venice – Dominant sea power in Adriatic Sea
(Competed with Pisa/Genoa in west Italy)
Mediterranean cities traded with Muslims in N.
Africa/Middle East & gained Silk Road goods
Flanders – Dominated N. European trade in
North Sea region (Ghent/Bruges/Ypres)
Engaged in fishing & wool trade
Silver Carolingian coinage returned to heavy
use in later medieval period, followed by gold
coinage thereafter
Social Characteristics (cont.)
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Knights – main military feature of era
-Armor/horse required funding, mostly
from revenues gained from landholdings
or rewards provided by kings/lords
Noblewomen:
-Entangled in web or marriage alliances
-Rights of land entitled to man
-Women guarded closely for their value in
marrying off
-Women had no political voice
-Often maintained manors/estates while
husband was away at war
Common women:
-Worked alongside men in fields
-Some were artisans (sewing, weaving,
spinning cloth)