Chapter 7
Early Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages:
Medieval Times
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Western Europe previously Roman Empire
Germanic tribes controlled much of that
area in Middle Ages
– Goths, Saxons, Franks, and Vandals
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Some of the Roman ideas were still used,
others were replaced with Germanic ideas
Early Middle Ages:
Medieval Times
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Rome collapsed
500 to 1000: Europe
declined/regressed
– politically, socially, economically
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Europe was divided, rural, cut off from
Middle East/China/India (trade &
technological advancement)
Thus it is called Dark Ages
Early Middle Ages:
Medieval Times
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500-1500: Middle Ages, Medieval
civilization
Most people were farmers/herders
Few large cities
Very little written laws/customs
Kings elected by tribal councils
Warriors loyal to kings for weapons/loot
– Much like Caesar’s men were loyal to him
Early Middle Ages:
Franks
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486 King Clovis (Germanic tribe of the
Franks) conquered Gaul (current day
France)
Rule based on Frankish custom
– some Roman influence

Converted to Christianity to earn
support of people
– & to gain pope as ally
Early Middle Ages:
Threat of Islam

Religion of Islam began 600’s, Arabia
– new, large empire
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Took some Christian lands in
Palestine, North Africa, and Spain
– (Previously held by Roman Empire)

Franks stopped the Muslims in France
and they didn’t advance into Western
Europe
Islam

Muhammad born in Mecca, 570 AD
– Shepherd & led caravans
– married a wealthy widow
– honest in business
– good husband and father
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At 40 years old he said he heard the voice of
the angel Gabriel, and the angel said he was
the messenger of God.
He devoted the rest of his life to spreading the
religion. Many didn’t like it and were angry
with him. It later spread across the Middle East
Islam
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Quran: text of Islam
–
–
–
–
God is powerful & compassionate
People are responsible for own actions
Priests don’t mediate between people and God
God sent other prophets, Muhammad was last &
greatest
– Ethical standards like honesty
Islam
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Perform 5 basic duties:
–
–
–
–
–
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declaration of faith
pray 5x daily
charity to poor
fast during Ramadan
make hajji to Mecca if able
Jihad is struggle for God’s service
Early Middle Ages:
Charlemagne
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768 Charlemagne became King of
Franks
– united France, Germany, Italy
– (most of Western Roman Empire)
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“Charles the Great”
Ruled 46 years
Fought many wars
Early Middle Ages:
Charlemagne
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799 Pope asked Charlemagne to help w/ rebellious
nobles
– Charlemagne did
– Pope made him Emperor of Rome
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Many in Eastern Roman Empire were unhappy
– Western and Eastern Europe moves apart
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Charlemagne used missionaries to spread
Christianity
Charlemagne appointed powerful nobles to rule
over local regions
– Courts, roads, farming, etc.
Early Middle Ages:
Charlemagne
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He could not read and write.
He wanted accurate records so he
created local schools & brought in
scholars.
He died in 814.
His son Louis I took throne. Then his
sons battled for power
– Eventually they signed the Treaty of
Verdun & split the empire into 3 parts.
Early Middle Ages: New
Invasions
THREATS TO GERMANIC TRIBES IN EUROPE:
1. The Muslims still a threat to Europe.
2. Magyars settled in Hungary
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– controlled Eastern Europe
– Started taking parts of Western
3. Vikings in Scandinavia
– independent farmers and sailors
– raided other areas
– took parts of England, Ireland, France, and Russia
Early Middle Ages:
Feudalism
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Feudalism was developed as protection from
invaders (Muslims, Magyars, Vikings):
Feudalism: a loosely organized system of
rule where powerful lords divided their land
among lesser lords (vassals)
– Vassals pledged service and loyalty to the greater
lord in exchange for land (fief).
– In a time of war vassals would be called to fight
for the lord.
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40 days of military service was expected.
Decentralized political and economic system
Early Middle Ages:
Feudalism
1. Monarch
2. Aristocrats
– lords, dukes, counts
– largest fiefs
3. Vassals
– less important nobles
– Knights
– Might have sworn loyalty to more than 1 lord
Early Middle Ages:
Feudalism
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Much warfare between rival lords to gain larger fiefs
& wealth. Knights did the fighting.
Knights: trained from boyhood to be warrior
– Had to be a noble
– Age 7, Page, sent to castle of father’s lord to learn to fight,
ride, keep armor and weapons, strict discipline
– Age 15, Squire, assist a knight, learn how to fight/behave
– Public ceremony to dub a knight
– Usually fought on horseback, some on foot
Early Middle Ages:
Feudalism
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Weapons:
– swords, axes, lances, long poles, daggers, spears,
cross bows and long bows
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Mock battles called tournaments, jousting
Chivalry: code of conduct for knights
requiring bravery, loyalty, and honesty
(fighting fairly in battle)
Must protect weak (peasants, women,
children, elderly)
Applied to nobles but not peasants
Early Middle Ages:
Feudalism
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Homes of lords fortified to withstand attack
because of the constant warfare.
– evolved into castles
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By the 1100’s there were large stone castles
with high walls, towers, drawbridges,
moats.
Home for lord & knights and a fortress in
war.
– Peasants were allowed in walls during war.
Early Middle Ages:
Feudalism
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Castles stocked w/ supplies to hold out for
long times during war.
To capture a castle many would lay siege,
or surround it and wait for surrendered.
– No supplies in or out.
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Other strategies to take a castle:
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–
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Fill moat with rocks
Shoot flaming arrows
Catapult to large rocks
Battering rams break down doors
Siege tower, hooks, ladders to climb wall
Early Middle Ages:
Feudalism, WOMEN
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During war did male duties:
– fighting, supervising vassals, agricultural & medical
tasks
– Might go to war if necessary
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Could inherit fiefs if there was no male heir
Most nobility had dowries: land/gifts given in
marriage to entice a male to marry a girl.
Nobility were sent to a family friends for training:
– spin, weave, supervise servants
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Some could read and write
Main job: bear many children & support husband
Early Middle Ages:
Feudalism
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Manors Usually Included:
– a village
– water mill for grinding grain
– a church
– lord’s manor house
– land to farm
– previously used farm land for livestock
fields
– additional land is for the lord’s use only
– peasants to run the manor.
Early Middle Ages:
Feudalism
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Peasants called serfs:
– bound to land
– not slaves, but couldn’t leave manor w/o
permission
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Peasants Duties:
– farm
– repair roads, bridges, fences
– pay taxes w/ grain, honey, eggs, livestock
Early Middle Ages:
Feudalism
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Peasants guaranteed food, housing,
land
Lords had to protect them in war
Usually never went more than a few
miles from the village
No education
Harsh lives, working long hours
– Avg. life exp. 35 years
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Children helped in fields
Early Middle Ages:
Feudalism
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Diet:
– black bread
– veggies like turnips, cabbage, onions
– rarely meat (if caught with it illegally punished
harshly)
– maybe fish if lucky
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Slept inside w/ livestock
Celebrated marriage, births, holiday with
dancing and sports
Medieval Church: Village
Level
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Many converted to Christianity
Villages had a priest
–
–
–
–
–
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Preached in Latin
Guided people morally
Assisted sick/needy
Ran schools
celebrated mass and gave sacraments
Sacraments: scared rites of the church
that would lead them to salvation
– Birth, death, marriage, first communion,
confession, etc.
Medieval Church: Village
Level
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Church center of village
Church was the largest building
– Usually stone
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Christian calendar
– holidays like Christmas and Easter
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Baptism, marriage and death large
ceremonies
Many made pilgrimages (religious journeys)
to religious sites to pray (Jerusalem)
Tithe: paid 1/10 of income to the church
Medieval Church:
Regional Level
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Bishops:
– supervised parish priests
– managed cathedrals (larger churches)
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Cathedrals built in Gothic style
– ornate buttresses
– very grand
– brought pride to community
Medieval Church: Women
vs. Men
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Men and women were seen as equal to
god
Women were seen as weaker & more
easily led to sin
– Ideal woman Mary, modest and pure
– Women usually given stricter punishment
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Men should guide & protect women
– minimum age for marriage
– fine men for beating wives
Medieval Church:
Monasteries & Convents
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Monks lived in monasteries
Nuns lived in convents
Withdrew from world to devote entire
life to spiritual goals
Benedictine Rule used across Europe:
– 1. obedience to abbot or abbess
(monk/nun in charge)
– 2. poverty
– 3. purity
Medieval Church:
Pope
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Leader of religion
Based in Rome
Said to be representative of God on Earth
They claimed Papal supremacy: authority
over kings and emperors
Headed his own army
Supervised church activities
Held land in Italy
Had economic and political power
Medieval Church:
Power Grows
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Developed canon law:
– based on religious teachings
– (affected wills, marriages, and morals)
– if disobeyed could be excommunicated
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Could face interdict:
– exclude whole town or region from sacraments
– usually caused revolts
Medieval Church:
Corruption
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The church and higher officials became
corrupt. Pope and bishops lived richly off
tithe money. They gained much land and
money from dowries of nuns.
Call for reform in the 900’s started w/
Abbot Berno & Pope Gregory VIII.
Medieval Church: Reform
New Rules:
1. Popes in charge of monasteries, not bishops.
2. Priests cannot get married.
3. Church offices cannot be bought & sold.
4. Friars (monks who didn’t live in monasteries)
were allowed to travel and preach to the
poor.
5. Poor women allowed to be nuns even if they
didn’t have a dowry to give the church.
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Economic Recovery:
Farming
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Peasants new, more productive farming
techniques:
– iron plows
– horses
– larger fields
– more land
– crop rotation
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More food = population growth
– 1000-1300 population tripled
Economic Recovery: Trade
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The amount of war between lords decreased.
Less war meant more travel, trade, & luxury
goods from the East.
– Traded in convoys
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Hanseatic League was formed: trading
partners of German towns that lasted for 150
years.
– Increased safety of merchants by protecting against
robbers and pirates, building lighthouses, and
training sailors.
Economic Recovery:
Cities Grow
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Trade helped towns and cities to grow.
Artisans and merchants did better business.
The richest, largest cities were in northern Italy.
– Sets up the Renaissance period.
Towns started creating charters:
– written documents to protect the rights &
privileges town
Pay yearly fee to king
 runaway serfs 1+ year became free
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Many manors were overcrowded, so people moved
to the cities.
Economic Recovery:
Money = Middle Class
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Banking grew because people needed
money to start businesses, buy homes,
expand cities.
Money undermined feudal system
– Serfs paid lords with money, not goods.
– The lords needed people to make stuff for them
so the manor could be self-sufficient.
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Many serfs became tenant farmers
By 1000 AD the Middle Class formed of
traders and artisans. First time to have a
social class between nobles & serfs.
Economic Recovery:
Middle Class Guilds
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Middle class gained economic and political power and
formed guilds.
– Guilds are trade associations like labor unions.
Guilds protected only members
– not a member, couldn’t work
– controlled quality, hours of work & prices
– operated schools and hospitals
– looked after needy orphans and widows
Economic Recovery:
Middle Class Guilds
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Apprentices:
– Trainees, learning
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Journeymen:
– salaried workers
– guild masters kept $ low so couldn’t open
competing shop
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Guild master
– runs own establishment
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Women allowed work in workshop
– sometimes guild masters, silk and wool
Economic Recovery:
Town & City Life
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WHAT DID A CITY LOOK LIKE?
High protective walls
2 & 3 story buildings
Dim lit narrow streets
Church/cathedral largest building
Guild hall 2nd largest
Guild members lived in same neighborhoods
No garbage removal or sewer system
– Trash/waste on street
Chapter 8
High and Late Middle Ages
Royal Power Growing
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Monarchs had limited power
Nobles and church very powerful
1000-1300 monarchs centralized power by
– Creating a justice system
– Organizing bureaucracy
– Collecting taxes
– Building larger armies
– Strengthened ties with townspeople
Royal Power Growing:
England
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Anglo-Saxons controlled Britain.
King Edward died in 1066 with no heir.
William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy in
France claimed the British throne & fought for
it.
– British didn’t want him as English king because
they didn’t want to be ruled by a foreigner.
– He was supported by the Pope
– He became King Christmas Day, 1066.
– He blended French & Anglo-Saxon culture &
language
Royal Power Growing:
England
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William was more powerful than most monarchs
before him.
– Monitored castles being built
– Knights swear allegiance to him before other
nobles
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Knights couldn’t fight against him. Knights always had to fight for
him.
– Took census
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Listed every castle & field in surveys
– Collected taxes
Royal Power Growing:
England
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1154 Henry II
Expanded the law
– traveling justices to enforce laws
– common law legal system based on culture and
court rulings
– Developed jury system
Fought with the church because he wanted clergy
members tried in his courts, not Catholic court.
Royal Power Growing:
England
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King John:
– Refused to recognize an archbishop the Pope
elected.
Pope placed England under interdict (excommunicated
the whole country)
 John agreed and paid yearly fee to Rome

– Lost war to Phillip II in France
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Returned land in France Britain ruled since William the
Conqueror
Royal Power Growing:
England
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1215 Magna Carta:
– nobles had certain rights (later extended to all citizens)
– monarch had to obey all English laws
– Free men given due process of law (must notify a person
before trial) and habeas corpus (can’t be held w/o reason)
– King can’t raise taxes w/o consulting nobles
– Allowed Parliament to be established, 1st legislature
Royal Power Growing:
England
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1295 Edward I allowed common people in
Parliament for 1st time
– 2 house body
– House of Lords & House of Commons
– Limited power of monarchy
Royal Power Growing:
France
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In 987 Hugh Capet, the Count of Paris, was
elected by nobles to be king because he was
weak & had less land than others.
– He gained power and prestige for France.
– He made the French throne hereditary, would last
over 300 years.
– He added land.
– He was supported by the Pope & Church.
– He built a bureaucracy & collected taxes.
– He had the support of the middle class.
Royal Power Growing:
France
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1179 Philip II became king (Philip Augustus)
– He was the 1st king to paid middle class officials
in government jobs.
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Previously held by nobles. Middle class paid high
salaries owed him more loyalty.
– He granted charters for new towns.
– He instituted a new national tax
– He gained land for France.
– He died in 1223, as most powerful ruler in
Europe.
Royal Power Growing:
France
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1226 Louis IX became king.
– He was very religious, persecuted heretics & Jews, led 2
of the Crusades against Muslims in the Middle East, and
was declared a Saint 30 years after his death.
– He had officials sent from Paris to check on local
administrators.
– He outlawed war among nobles, to help the economy.
– He acted as a judge and heard cases himself
– He ended serfdom in France.
Royal Power Growing:
France
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Philip IV
– He gained the people’s support by establishing
the Estates General in1302. It was a
legislative body with representatives from 3
classes of people (clergy, nobles,
townspeople).
– He and other kings consulted Estates General,
but they had no real power.
Holy Roman Empire &
Church

Founded by Duke Otto I of Saxony in 936
– He called himself King of Germany.
– He worked closely with church and appointed bishops to
government jobs.
– In 962 the Pope made him emperor, then argued with the
Pope because they both wanted to appoint officials.
Holy Roman Empire &
Church
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1054 Henry IV became king
– Gregory VII was Pope and banned kings from
appointing church members. Battled ensued
between the two.
In 1076, Gregory excommunicated Henry & followers
 Prompted revolts
 Henry gave in. The Pope forgave him, but then he
tried to attack the Pope. The Pope was in exile for 50
years.
 In 1122 both sides signed Concordat of Worms
stating that the church could elect bishops but
emperors were in charge of giving them land.
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The Crusades
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The Crusades were a series of wars that
started 1096.
Christians fought Muslims for land in
Middle East.
Europe was emerging from isolation, but
other civilizations, like Islam, had been
thriving during the Dark Ages.
The Crusades
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Byzantine emperor (formerly Eastern Roman
Empire) asked Pope Urban II help fight Muslim
Turks. The Pope agreed.
In 1095 the Pope called Europe to fight for the
Holy Land. Many knights, kings, and religious
figures went.
The Pope wanted increase power in Europe & unify
Western & Eastern Europe again.
The Crusades
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First Crusade:
– In 1099 Christians captured Jerusalem from the Muslims,
killing Muslims and Jews.
– This would be the closest they came to achieving the goal of
driving the Muslims out of the “Holy Land.”
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War continued on and off for about 200 years
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Land recaptured divided into 4 small Crusader states
– Muslims constantly attacked and tried to destroy them.
The Crusades
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2nd Crusade
– In 1187 Jerusalem was reclaimed by Muslims.
3rd Crusade
– Re-opened to Christian pilgrimages
4th Crusade:
– Western Europeans fought Eastern Europeans
and looted the Byzantine Empire &
Constantinople.
Muslims retook all crusader states by 1291.
Impact of Crusades
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Christians would continue to attack Jews &
Muslims even after the wars.
Trade increased/expanded causing the money
economy to increase even more.
The monarchs who did well in war had more
power.
Europeans had a better view of the world,
traveled more, and gained new technology and
ideas.
There was a shortage of young men because
many were killed in war. Many returned injured.
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Reconquista
The Reconquista was the effort to drive Muslims
(Spanish Moors) out of Spain, starting 1085 with the
capture of Toledo.
In 1469 Spain & Portugal unified under King Ferdinand
& Queen Isabella and pushed all Moors out.
– They also supported the Spanish Inquisition, when
the Church tried people of heresy if they spoke out
against the Christian religion. Many were put in jail
or killed. Over 150,000 well educated Jews &
Muslims fled. This had a negative impact on the
economy because most were well educated with high
paying jobs.
Learning & Culture
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There was a higher demand for education than
during the Dark Ages.
The Church wanted well educated clergy so in
the 1100’s cathedrals created schools to train
clergy and these evolved into universities.
– Memorization & lecture in Latin only.
– Studied mostly arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music,
grammar, rhetoric, and logic.
– Had to pass a test to show mastery of a subject.
– Offered advanced programs for law, medicine,
theology.
Learning & Culture
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Women were not allowed in universities.
– The few educated women were seen as odd.
– Women could be educated in convents if they were nuns.
Some became writers and scholars.
– Women were seen as less capable of learning.
Learning & Culture
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There was a focus on relearning Greek/Roman ideas, the
Classics.
Greek ideas challenged Christianity because they used
reason over religion. In the Middle Ages the Church had
all the answers.
– They developed scholasticism: the use of reason to
support Christian beliefs.
There were advances in medicine, geometry, math,
science.
People started writing in vernacular, everyday language,
except for academic and church writing, which was still in
Latin.
Crisis 1: Black Death
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The Plague, Bubonic Plague, The Black Death
1347 fleet of ships left Black Sea, sailed to Sicily
Spread by fleas carried by rats
– Rats in ships, homes, stores, etc.
– Fleas got in food, on clothes & bedding

1348 reached Spain and France
– then continued to rest of Europe

Many scared
– God’s punishment
– Witchcraft
– Jew’s fault
Crisis: 2 Economy
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Workers and employers died in the Black
Plague and the Crusades, mostly men.
Survivors demanded higher wages, so the
cost of labor went up. This caused inflation
to occur: everything costs more money but
people are paid same.
Towns and countries passed restrictions to
keep wages down, and the people revolted.
Crisis 3: Church
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Many monks and priests died in the Black Plague.
The Church didn’t have strong leadership anymore.
The Church was moved to France, but many
wanted it back in Rome. It caused a split in the
church as more than 1 person claimed to be pope.
In 1417 all 3 popes were removed from power and
a new compromise Pope Martin V was elected.
The Church returned to Rome.
Crisis 3: Church

John Wycliffe was a professor Oxford University in England.
He wanted to reform the corruption in Church. He said that
Bible was source of truth, not the Church.
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He implied that the Church didn’t always tell people
the truth. He also implied that all people should be
able to read and understand the Bible without Church
officials.
He & his followers translated the Bible into English.
They were persecuted and burned at the stake in
1415 for being heresy.
Crisis 4:
Hundred Years’ War
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The Hundred Years War lasted from 1337 to
1453 on and off between England and France.
English rulers wanted the land France had taken
from them in France, land previously held by
William the Conqueror.
In 1337, Edward III of England claimed French
throne. His mother was a French princess. War
started b/c the French didn’t want a foreign king.
Economic rivalry and national pride made hard to
end war once it started.
Crisis 4:
Hundred Years’ War
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English were winning early because they had the
long bow.
The French made comeback with the help of Joan
of Arc starting in 1429. She was a 17 year old
peasant girl who stated that God told her to save
France. The king allowed her to lead the army.
She inspired the men, and they started winning.
She was captured by the British, tried for
witchcraft, and burned at the stake. She was
later declared a saint.
Crisis 4:
Hundred Years’ War
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The French developed cannons later in the war
that were especially good at war against castles.
The French won and gained a new sense of
national pride. Their monarchy became more
powerful.
England’s Parliament, or legislative body, emerged
stronger than their monarchy. They focused more
on trading as opposed to building an empire after
the war.
Cannons and long bows replaced knights and
armor. Monarchs hired mercenary soldiers to
fight. The feudal system collapsed.