Section 1: Transforming the Roman World
Big Questions:
1. What was life like in the Roman Empire? What legacy did it leave?
2. How did Rome’s interactions with the Barbarians lead to Medieval European
kingdoms?
3. Where did the Merovingian kings get their support? How did they change
European culture?
4. How did the Medieval and Modern Catholic Church develop out of the Roman
Empire?
5. Who was Charlemagne? How did he affect history?
I.
Gothic Kingdoms
i. Moved into old Roman provinces and set up their kingdoms
ii. Merged into existing social and political structures
iii. Map on p. 303
iv. Connection to the eastern empire broke down and left strongmen in
power, became medieval kings
a. The Franks
i. The center of gravity moved from the Mediterranean north to Gaul
and the Low Countries over time.
ii. Gaul was taken by the Franks, precursor to modern France
iii. Founded by Clovis, who conquered the Frankish tribes and
converted to Christianity
iv. Clovis started the Merovingian dynasty, said to be descended
from Jesus in The Da Vinci Code
v. Catholic church supported him and his reign, wanted him to
succeed, Gregory of Tours praises his wars as Crusades for the
faith
vi. Forced conversions were common with defeated enemies
b. Gothic Society
i. Gothic and Roman culture mixed over time to form a new culture
in the European kingdoms
ii. Gothic culture was centered on the extended family
iii. Gothic law was based on familial relationships, not the state (like
Roman law)
iv. Wergild, money paid by wrongdoer, was instituted to prevent
blood-feuds
v. Trial by Ordeal was also a common way to demonstrate guilt or
innocence
1. Red hot iron
2. Floating
3. Cross: The accuser and accused stood on either side of a
cross and stretched out their hands horizontally. The one to
first lower his arms lost.
Discussion:
 Why was Trial by Ordeal believed in?

II.
What does this tell you about their society?
The Christian Church
a. Western (Roman) Church
i. Organization
ii. Primacy of the Pope, name comes from il papa “father”, took
control as the supreme bishop based on descent from St. Peter
(keys to the kingdom)
iii. Gregory I “the Great” consolidated power and created the
political and religious papacy as we know it
b. Eastern (Orthodox) Church
i. The more powerful branch
ii. 4 of the 5 Great Patriarchs (Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem,
Antioch, Alexandria) came from here
iii. Did not recognize the Pope’s authority
iv. More philosophical and cutting edge, the west looked to the east
for guidance for a long time
c. Monks and Monasteries
i. Monks are men (women are nuns) who devote their lives to God
and remove themselves from society, became heroes of the
Christian community, took over from martyrs
ii. Eastern Monks went out into the desert alone to commune with
God, lived in caves, on top of mountains or in isolated huts
iii. Anchorites lived in cities, usually next to a church in a sealed
chamber with a window where people could give them food and
talk to them
iv. Hermit monks came to be known as miracle workers and people
came to them for advice and guidance
v. St. Benedict wrote a rule for monasteries in the 6th C. organized
them, monasteries led by abbots
vi. Monasteries became centers of learning, monks copied the works
of ancient authors to practice Latin and kept that knowledge alive,
also produced histories and prayer books on their own, also
provided hospitals, schools and products to the countryside
Discussion:
 Why were monks so admired?
 Why did people believe that leaving the world was a way to find God?
Section 1: Transforming the Roman World
Big Questions:
1. What was life like in the Roman Empire? What legacy did it leave?
2. How did Rome’s interactions with the Barbarians lead to Medieval European
kingdoms?
3. Where did the Merovingian kings get their support? How did they change
European culture?
4. How did the Medieval and Modern Catholic Church develop out of the Roman
Empire?
5. Who was Charlemagne? How did he affect history?
III.
Gothic Kingdoms
i. Moved into old ____________________ and set up their kingdoms
ii. Merged into existing ____________________________ structures
iii. Map on p. 303
iv. Connection to the ____________________________broke down
and left strongmen in power, became _______________________
c. The Franks
i. The ____________________________moved from the
____________________________ north to
____________________________ and the Low Countries over
time.
ii. ____________________________ was taken by the Franks,
precursor to modern France
iii. Founded by ____________________________, who conquered
the Frankish tribes and converted to Christianity
iv. Clovis started the ____________________________ dynasty, said
to be descended from Jesus in The Da Vinci Code
v. ____________________________supported him and his reign,
wanted him to succeed, Gregory of Tours praises his wars as
Crusades for the faith
vi. ____________________________were common with defeated
enemies
d. Gothic Society
i. Gothic and Roman culture mixed over time to form a new culture
in the European kingdoms
ii. Gothic culture was centered on the _________________________
iii. ____________________________was based on familial
relationships, not the state (like Roman law)
iv. ____________________________, money paid by wrongdoer,
was instituted to prevent blood-feuds
v. ____________________________was also a common way to
demonstrate guilt or innocence
1. Red hot iron
2. Floating
3. Cross: The accuser and accused stood on either side of a
cross and stretched out their hands horizontally. The one to
first lower his arms lost.
Discussion:
 Why was Trial by Ordeal believed in?
 What does this tell you about their society?
IV.
The Christian Church
a. Western (Roman) Church
i. Organization
ii. Primacy of the ____________________________, name comes
from il papa “father”, took control as the supreme bishop based on
descent from St. Peter
iii. ____________________________ “the Great” consolidated
power and created the political and religious papacy as we know it
b. Eastern (Orthodox) Church
i. The more powerful branch
ii. 4 of the 5 ____________________________ came from here
iii. Did not recognize the ____________________________
iv. More ____________________________and cutting edge, the west
looked to the east for guidance for a long time
c. Monks and Monasteries
i. ____________________________ are men (women are nuns) who
devote their lives to God and remove themselves from society,
became ____________________________of the Christian
community
ii. ____________________________went out into the desert alone to
commune with God
iii. ____________________________ lived in cities, usually next to a
church in a sealed chamber with a window where people could
give them food and talk to them
iv. ____________________________came to be known as miracle
workers and people came to them for advice and guidance
v. ____________________________wrote a rule for monasteries in
the 6th C. organized them, monasteries led by abbots
vi. ____________________________ became centers of learning,
monks copied the works of ancient authors to practice Latin and
kept that knowledge alive
Discussion:
 Why were monks so admired?
 Why did people believe that leaving the world was a way to find God?