Chapter 9 Sec. 1: Transforming the Roman World
I.
Make a list of characteristics of the Roman Empire. What was built, created,
thought?
II.
The Kingdom of the Franks
a. Established by Clovis around 500 A.D.
What impact did his conversion have on his political power?
b. By 510, Clovis had established a powerful new Frankish kingdom that
stretched from the Pyrenees in the southwest to German lands in the east –
Modern day France and west Germany
c. Following Clovis’ death his three sons divided the land into three distinct
kingdoms based on Frankish tradition
What problem could arise from this tradition?
III.
Germanic Society
a. Crucial social bond among the Germanic peoples was the family
Why would family be so important in this society?
b. German law centered on the importance of family, while Roman law was
codified and crimes were crimes against the state, requiring a state court to
hear and judge the evidence of the case. German law was personal and
therefore based on blood feuds and revenge for wrongs
What system was developed to avoid bloodshed in this society?
IV.
The Role of the Church
a. Organization of the church – priest led local communities called parishes,
bishops oversaw several parishes called bishopric, archbishops oversaw
several bishopric
b. The Bishop of Rome began to claim he was the leader of the Roman
Catholic Church, later known as Popes
c. Pope Gregory I (Gregory the Great)
What was the significance of Gregory’s political power?
d. Monks and Monasteries
i. A monk is a man who separates himself from ordinary society to
dedicate himself to god (Monasticism)
e. Saint Benedict wrote a set of rules to guide a community of monks he
founded (Benedictine Order)
How did Benedict organize the monastery?
f. Roles of Monks (Christian super heroes)
i. Set a high ideal fro Christian life
ii. Provided a moral example for the Christian community
iii. Provided schools, hospitals, taught carpentry and weaving and
made agricultural improvements
What were the monks providing for society?
g. At first monks were men, however women began to withdraw from the
world and became nuns
h. Convents began to develop and play an important role in European society
How did convents impact the lives of women?
V.
The Carolingian Empire
a. Charles Martel (The Hammer) defeated the Muslim invasion at the battle
of Tours in 732
b. His son Pepin eventually took power from himself and established a new
line of kings (died in 768)
c. His son became the powerful ruler Charlemagne
List Charlemagne’s achievements:
What was significant about Charlemagne becoming Roman
emperor?
d. Carolingian Renaissance
i. Driven by Charlemagne’s desire to intellectual curiosity to learn
about the classical cultures of the Greeks and Romans
ii. Many of these ideas would not have survived the Dark Ages if not
for the interest of Charlemagne
iii. The Gift of the Albino Elephant from the Abbasid Empire