Name: Sarah MacDonald
Date: May 2, 2012
Humanities
6-C
Fill-in-the-Blank Essay on the Fall of Rome and
Law, Empire, Government, and Society in the Middle Ages
LAW EXPERTISE—ONLY FILL IN THE BOLD FACE SECTION
After the end of the Pax Romana, enemies of Rome began to
invade the empire. According to the map on page 247 of Our
World, the invading tribes included Angles & Saxons, Franks,
Burgundians, Huns, Slavs, Vandals, Visigoths, and p. 247. Rome
hired foreign people to guard its borders, but the army was too
weak to stop them. These invading tribes destroyed cities and
farms and stole from travelers . In response, Roman cities in the
western part of the empire built thick walls with gates. Another
consequence of these invasions was that the Roman government
could not collect taxes needed to run the empire.
To better govern Rome, Emperor Diocletian divided up the
empire into 2 parts: an eastern half and a western half.
Diocletian himself took the eastern, wealthy half. Diocletian saw
Christians as a threat to his power and to the Empire of Rome, so
he started persecuting them by arresting, injuring, and executing
them. After Diocletian retired in 305 A.D., he was replaced by
Emperor Constantine. When Constantine became emperor, he
ended the persecution [yes, p. 244] of Christians and made
Christianity one of Rome’s official religions. Soon, Constantine
realized that he would never be able to reunite the Roman Empire,
so he abandoned the capital city of Rome. In the year 330 A.D.
Constantine moved the capital to a city named Byzantium, which
he renamed Constantinople after himself. This city was partly in
Europe and partly in Asia, was also on the major trade routes, and
was easy to defend because it was built on a peninsula.
Constantine saw himself as a protector of Christians: he gave
Christians freedom of worship, he gave Christian leaders land and
money, and he built many Christian Churches.
From 376 A.D. to p. 250 A.D., Germanic invaders swept
through the western part of the Roman Empire. By the year 476
A.D. the last Roman emperor was removed from power. After the
Roman Empire fell, the eastern half became known as the
Byzantine Empire. One the greatest leader of this empire was
Justinian, who ruled from 527 to 565 A.D. Among his significant
accomplishments was the Justinian Code. This preserved Roman
laws and Roman traditions. This code dealt with marriage,
property rights, slavery, crime, and women’s rights. Many of the
laws and principles of the Justinian Code are the foundation for the
laws of Western Europe and the United States.
After the fall of the eastern part of the Roman Empire, the
tribe known as the Franks established themselves in Gaul, or
France, as it is known today. The Franks conquered the southwest
part of what is now France, and lands in Italy and Germany.
Charles the Great, or Charles Martel helped to restore order and
stability to central Europe. In 800, the pope declared Charlemagne
emperor for having spread Roman Empire throughout Europe.
When Charlemagne died in 814, his son Louis inherited it, but
after his death, the Frankish kingdom was again thrown into
disorder. Vikings plundered villages and Churches throughout
Europe.
Another tribal group from the north, called the Normans,
settled in present-day England. In the year 911 A.D.,
Charlemagne’s grandson gave the Viking (another tribe from the
north, or Norman) chief Rollo land in the north around the mouth
of the Seine River. These Normans adopted the Christianity
religion, the French language, and many Frankish customs. In
1066, William, Duke of p. 343 defeated Harold, the Saxon p. 343
of England and made himself king. Because of this victory, he is
known as William the p. 343. He established a strong government
in England.
Around 800 A.D. a system of government called
Feudalism was created. To control their lands, kings divided
them into fiefs, which are land a king or other powerful
landowner would give to nobles. These nobles are also called
vassals. Vassals swear an oath of fealty to their king. They
promise to be loyal to the king, to fight for him in war, and to
help keep the peace. Knights lived by a Code of Conduct. (The
word “chivalry” comes from the French word “chevalier,”
which means horseman. Since the knights rode on horses,
“chevals in French, each knight was a “chevalier.”) Knights
had to know music and poetry and have good manners. Each
knight was supposed to be a good Christian and defend the
Church. Eleanor of Aquitaine spread the ideas of chivalry
among French knights.
Below the vassals on the social pyramid in the Middle Ages
were p. 344. Serfs were p. 344 who worked the land. Serfs were
not p. 344, but they were not permitted to p. 344 the manor
without the permission of their p. 344. The serfs had to pay taxes
in the form of p. 344 and by p. 344 the land for their lord. Life
was very hard on the serfs, and many p. 344 at an early age. Serfs
lived in villages around the fortified house that belonged to their
owners. This village was called the p. 344.
A major change in the government came about in the
year 1215 when King John of England was forced by his
vassals to sign the Magna Carta. It stated that the king could
not violate the rights of Free men and women by setting unfair
taxes or taking their goods or the labor. Both the Magna Carta
and Bill of Rights were the property of citizens. Both say that
people cannot be put in jail unless they are tried by members
of the court according to the law.