After the collapse of the Roman Empire,
Western Europe enters a steady decline:
 politically
 socially
 economically
 waves of invaders
 almost no trade
 learning declined  superstition rises
** Isolated from advanced culture of the East
Greco-Roman, Germanic and Christian
traditions blend
 Goths, Vandals, Saxons and Franks –
invaded territory of former Roman Empire

› Farmers, herders, small communities, no
codified law
400  700 C.E.
Western Europe
turned into
small kingdoms

Franks – King Clovis – 486 conquers Gaul
› Coverts to Christianity
› Blends Roman and Frankish customs
› Created a bond with the Christian church of
Rome
Gaul

Islam appears in Arabia Peninsula 622
› Muslim armies begin to seek expansion as far
as Spain
When Muslim armies cross into France…
• Charles Martel organizes Frankish
warriors
• Battle of Tours 732, Christian warriors win
Muslims
retreat
except for
control of
Spain
 Charlemagne – grandson of Martel
› Unifies Western Europe (“Charles the Great”)
 46 year reign
› Fought Muslims in Spain, Saxons in the North,
Avars and Slavs in the East, Lombards in Italy

Pope Leo III, 799, asks Charlemagne for help
with rebellious nobles in Rome
› Charlemagne sends a delegation & arrests the
rebels
› 800 on Christmas Day  Pope crowns
Charlemagne Emperor of the Romans
› Unites European Christian world  Christendom

Outrages eastern emperor & sets the stage
for power struggles between future popes
and Germanic peoples
Charlemagne  a great leader
Tries to spread Christianity
 Appoints ruling nobles

 Missi dominici – officials to check on local
areas
 Grievances, justice decisions … ORDER!
Promotes education
 Creates schools
 Officials keep proper records

 Aachen – scholars worked at Palace school
 Charlemagne
dies 814
• Louis I takes throne (son)
• 843 – grandsons splits empire into
three regions  Treaty of Verdun
New waves of invasion
› Muslims gain control of Sicily
› Magyars overtook Hungary
› plunder France, Germany & Italy
 50 years later, pushed back
into Hungary
› Vikings – from Scandinavia
 Independent farmers with land owning
chieftains  Excellent sailors
VIKINGS!!
VIKINGS

700s  invade Europe  loot & burn villages

Trade across the Mediterranean

1000  set up a colony in North America

Mixed with European populations
Created major trade
routes between
Europe &
Mediterranean lands

Due to disorder and chaos caused by
invading Vikings, Muslims and Magyars,
Monarchs (Kings & Emperors) were too weak
to maintain law & order
› They needed help!
FEUDALISM
was developed
A political system where
powerful local lords divided
their property to lessor lords
or vassals
The vassals pledged
loyalty to their lord
Feudal
Hierarchy
Serf
Knight
Vassal
Peasant
Pope/Church
Monarch
Nobles
Farmers
Craftsmen
Merchant
Feudalism
an exchange of land for loyalty
 Lords granted a fief to the vassal via a feudal
contract

› A fief could be a few acres to hundreds of square
miles
› Peasants worked the land as well as any building
or towns on it
The lord promised to protect
the vassal
The vassal devoted 40 days
per year to military service as
well as payments and advice
All aristocrats had a place in this hierarchy
 They had vassals and those vassals had vassals
 Could become complicated when vassals held fiefs
from more than one lord
Medieval nobles – warfare was a way of life
› Rivalries were common
› Nobles begin training in boyhood
› At 7-years-old, sent away to Lord’s castle
› Learned to ride, fight, maintain armor & weapons
› When finished training
 became a knight
› Mock battles called tournaments
 practice for actual warfare

By 1100s, nobles had built huge castles
with high walls, drawbridges and moats
› Mighty fortress where the knights lived too
 Peasants would retreat behind the walls in
time of conflict
Noblewomen
› Took over the manor during times of war
› Supervised vassals, managed household,
› No inheritance rights, although they may receive it
as part of a dowry
› Widow’s retained their land
› Sometimes went to war
› Prepared for marriage by friends and family
Eleanor of Aquitaine
one of the few politically active
women (we know of!)
Born in 1121 (d. 1204)
Inherited Aquitaine
(wealthy area of France)
Queen of France (1137-1152)
Queen of England (1152-1204)
Brilliant intellectual,
shrewd politician &
stunningly beautiful
Chivalry
 code of conduct adopted by Knights
Only applied to nobility  not peasantry
 Bravery, Loyalty, Honor, Fair in Combat
 Strict rules of etiquette and codes of
conduct towards women

Epic Poem Song of Roland (1100 C.E.)
recites the Knight’s Code of Chivalry:
To fear God and maintain His Church
To serve the liege lord in valour and faith
To protect the weak and defenceless
To give succour to widows and orphans
To refrain from the wanton giving of offence
To live by honour and for glory
To despise pecuniary reward
To fight for the welfare of all
To obey those placed in authority
To guard the honour of fellow knights
To eschew unfairness, meanness and deceit
To keep faith
At all times to speak the truth
To persevere to the end in any enterprise begun
To respect the honour of women
Never to refuse a challenge from an equal
Never to turn the back upon a foe
The Manor
 The heart of medieval economy

Lord’s estate and attached community
› Usually included one or more villages
› Commoners worked on the manor
› Most were serfs – bound to the land – not slaves,
but had to ask the Lord permission to leave
Map of Manor
http://dgh.wikispaces.com/file/view/wh06msc09hcu011ap.jp
g/76599259/wh06msc09hcu011ap.jpg

Peasants worked part time for the Lord and
was granted a small piece of land
› In the fields, building infrastructure
› Must ask permission to marry & pay fees to the Lord
› In return, the Lord provided protection, housing,
food and land
THE MANOR
a self-sufficient world
 peasants produced all that was needed:

› Life was harsh – sun up to sun down
› Children and women worked the fields
› Hunger was common
› Simple diet of vegetables and bread
› Harsh punishment for bad behavior
› Celebrations revolved around marriage and
religion
THE CHURCH

Early Middle Ages (500-1100)  converting
people to Christianity was the goal
• 597 – Pope Gregory sends
St. Augustine to covert the
Anglo-Saxons in England
• missionaries from Britain
converted the Germanic
tribes
• By late middle ages,
anyone not Christian was
viewed as suspicious
› Rituals & faith  part of everyday life
› Priests celebrated mass & administered the
sacraments
 Participation in sacraments leads to salvation &
ever-lasting life
› They preached the Bible and teachings of the
Church  only truth
› Guided people on moral issues &
assisted the sick and needy
› Some priests ran schools
Church was Religious & Social Center
› Daily life revolved around Christian calendar
› Important events (marriage, baptism, funerals) all
held within the church
› Members paid a tithe equal to 1/10 (or 10%) of
their income
› Some of this money was sent to Rome
› Many churches had relics which people made
pilgrimages to see
Church Hierarchy
Elect the
Pope
Supervise
Priests
Regular
folk

Bishops (who managed village priests)
had larger churches called cathedrals

Over time, cathedrals continued to get
larger and more ornate

Gothic cathedrals of the Late/High
Middle (1200s to 1600s) mark the height
of grandeur

Church doctrine taught men and women
were equal before God
› HOWEVER … on earth women were
viewed as weak & needed the guidance
of men
Church’s ideal woman
 Mary, the mother of Jesus.
 Punished women more
harshly than men for sins

Monastic Life


followed the Benedictine Rule
Saint Benedict created these rules in 530.
› Monks and nuns took three vows:
 Obedience to abbot or abbess who
headed the monastery or convent
 Poverty
 Chastity (purity, i.e. no sex)



Required to work in the fields
developed better agriculture
techniques & crops
Helped economy advance

Monks and Nuns looked after sick and
needy  some of the earliest hospitals
› Set up schools for children
› Became missionaries
› Helped Christians on pilgrimage
› Monasteries and Convents had libraries and
facilitated learning among the monks
Women escaped constraints of life by entering
the convents
 12th Century: Abbess Hildegard wrote religious
music and books
 became a Saint in 2012


As time went on
rights were withdrawn &
women could
no longer
preach the Gospel

“Too much learning”
& expected women to
accept church authority
controls not only spiritual, but secular
worlds
 Papal supremacy claimed authority over
all secular rulers
 Pope headed an army of churchmen who
supervised church activities by
geographical area
 Church and secular officials worked
closely together


Canon Law (religious teachings) governed
many aspect of life:
› Wills & marriages

Church even had their own courts

One could be excommunicated for severe
sins  condemned to hell for eternity

Nobles who opposed the Church could face
an interdict
 ban entire kingdom from receiving the
sacraments

Main goal of the church was to end the
warfare among rival nobles

It declared periods of peace = Truce of God
 demanded fighting stop between
Friday and Sunday and religious
holidays
›As the church grew in wealth and power,
discipline weakened
›Pious Christians left wealth to
monasteries and convents
›Monks and nuns begin to ignore vow of
poverty
›Clergy lived in luxury
›Married priests spent more time on
family matters than religious duties
› Early 900’s, Abbot Berno set out to
reform his monastery in Cluny (France)
› Revive the Benedictine Rule
 Refused interference of nobles or
bishops
 Placed himself under direct protection
of the Pope
 Many other monasteries and convents
followed his lead
 1073
Gregory VII, former monk,
became Pope
› Limits secular interference
› Outlawed marriage for priests
› Prohibited simony – selling of church
offices
Friars
monks who did not live in monasteries

Begin preaching to the poor
 Saint Francis of Assisi – gave up comfortable life,
devotes his life to teaching the Gospels
and leading by example
 Saint Dominic – Spanish priest
founded the Dominican order
 Women become involved
and join the friars
Jews in the Early Middle Ages
Jewish communities existed in all areas of Europe
› In Spain they flourished … Muslims were tolerant
of both Jewish and Christian religions
› After 1000,Christianity became dominant and
prejudice against Jews increased
 Christians blamed famine and illness on the Jews
 The Church began forbidding Jews to own land or
practice most occupations
 Popes still relied upon Jews in medicine and finance
 In response to the heightened persecution, Jews
migrated to Eastern Europe and thrived due to their
acceptance.
Economic Recovery Sparks Change
By 1000, new agriculture techniques had
been adopted
 An agricultural revolution transforms Europe

› Iron plows were being used by 800
› Horses were used over oxen due to a newly
developed harness
› Crop rotation
By
1100:
 feudal warfare had declined
 foreign invasions had declined
 People felt safer to travel
*** Trade began to increase!
Merchant caravans were formed
 Regular trade routes
were followed & business
relationships were
established


In Constantinople Asian silks,
spices & gold were
bought and sent to Venice

Europeans traded furs, honey, cloth, tin
› 1200, Germans formed the Hanseatic League
which dominated trade in Northern Europe for
150 years
 Built lighthouses, took action against robbers and
pirates

Along trade routes cities from 10,000 to
100,000 began to emerge
› Charters  document stating the rights and
privileges of the citizens of the town.
› Merchants paid fees to the King
› Runaway Serfs could become free after living in
the town for one year and one day
Commercial Revolution
› As trade revived, the use of money increased
Banking houses began to offer credit which
was then used as capital
 Groups of merchants joined together to form
partnerships

› This increased capital and reduced risk
 Insurance for business was developed for lost or
destroyed shipments

They adopt Muslim business practices
› Letters of credit or bills of exchange

The use of money undermined serfdom
› Many peasants began selling farm goods
 They then paid rent to Lord, rather than in Labor
 Now considered tenant farmers

Jews become money lenders because:
› the Christian church forbade charging interest
› Jews were not permitted to own land
› Jews were not permitted to practice occupations

Guilds are formed with the middle class
› Organized by occupation
 Become involved in passing laws and levying taxes
 Guilds set quality standards, labor hours, set prices,
provided social services
 Operated schools and hospitals
 Women had guilds as well

Artisans had their own standards
and many times were at odds
with the merchants
Becoming a guild member
› Age 7 or 8 become an apprentice
› Usually seven years learning a trade
› No pay, but room and board
› Become journeymen  salaried worker
› Few became guild masters
 Some accused the master of keeping their
wages low so as not to be able to compete
Towns and Cities
› High protective walls
› As cities grew they moved outside the walls
› Houses added second and third stories
› Streets were narrow & tall buildings blocked light
 Fire was always a threat
During the day the marketplace would be
full with people trying to sell their produce
and wheat
At night, the streets
were dead
 No sanitation
People threw
their waste into
the streets.
Perfect breeding
ground
for disease!