Chapter 8
European Civilization in the Early
Middle Ages, 750 - 1000
The World of the Carolingians
Charlemagne and the Carolingian Empire (768 –
814)
Pepin (751 – 768) / Deposed Last Merovingian
Charlemagne
Expansion of the Carolingian Empire
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Army Gathered Each Spring for Campaign
Carolingians Crush the Lombards in Italy (773)
Disastrous Campaign in Spain (777)
Campaigns against the Saxons
Bavarians, Slavs and Avars
The Carolingian Empire
Governing Charlemagne’s
Empire
Governing the Empire
Income from Royal Estates
Counts as administrators
Missi Dominici
System very inefficient
Help from the Church
Charlemagne as Emperor
Pope Leo III (795 – 816)
Charlemagne crowned emperor in 800
The Carolingian Intellectual
Revival
Carolingian Renaissance
Scriptoria
Carolingian Miniscule
Life in the Carolingian World
The Church, Marriage and
Sexuality
Monogamy
Divorce Prohibited
The Nuclear Family
Christianity and Sexuality
Celibacy
Sexual Activity permitted
only within marriage
Homosexuality
Diet and Health
Bread as the basic staple
Pork, Wild Game, Dairy,
Eggs, Vegetables
Gluttony and Drunkenness
Medical Practices
Herbs and Bleeding
Magic
Disintegration of the Carolingian
Empire
Louis the Pious (814 – 840)
Treaty of Verdun (843)
• Charles the Bald (843 – 877): Western Section
• Louis the German (843 – 876): Eastern Section
• Lothair (840 – 855): Middle Section
Emergence of two different cultures
Conflicts between the three sons of Louis
the Pious
Invasions of the Ninth and Tenth
Centuries
Muslims and Magyars
Muslims attack in Mediterranean
Magyars settled in modern day Hungary
The Vikings
Germanic People from Scandinavia
Warriors and Shipbuilders
Russia
Ireland, England and France
Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland
©2003 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license.
Invasions of the Ninth and Tenth
Centuries
Castle at Les Baux Constructed as a Refuge from
Saracen raids
Eight Century – Provence, France
Replica of a Viking house in Denmark
The Emerging World of Lords
and Vassals
Feudalism
Lords and Vassals
Larger Horses and Stirrup
Exchange of land (fief) for service
Act of Homage
Fragmented authority in the ninth century
Subinfeudation
Responsibilities between Lords and Vassals
The Manorial System
The Manor
Peasants and Serfs
60% of European population had become serfs
by ninth century
Working the demesne (lord’s land) and paying
rents
Lord’s legal rights over the serfs
A Typical Manor
The Zenith of Byzantine
Civilization
Michael III (842 – 867)
Foreign attacks continue
Differences with the West
The Macedonian Dynasty (867 – 1081)
Increased Prosperity
Conversion of the Prince of Kiev, Russia
Military Offensive in the tenth century
Basil II (976 – 1025)
The Slavic Peoples of Central
and Eastern Europe
Conversion to Christianity by German
Missionaries
Poland
Hungary
Conversion to Christianity by Byzantines
Moravia
Bulgars
Eastern Slavs
Encounters with Vikings
The “Rus”
Kiev
Vladimir (c. 980 – 1015)
©2003 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license.
The Migrations of the Slavs
The World of Islam
The Umayyad Dynasty
Abu al-Abbas puts an end to the Umayyads (750)
The Abbasid Dynasty
New Capital in Baghdad
Harun al-Rashed (786 – 809)
Al-Ma’mun (813 – 833)
Spain and the Continuation of the Umayyads
Abd al-Rahman (756)
Fatimid Egypt (973)
Islamic Civilization
Arabic as an international language
Cities
Baghdad
Cairo
Cordova – Population of 100,000
Science and Philosophy
Paper and Books
Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Chemistry and Medicine
Ibn Sina (980 – 1037)
• Medical Encyclopedia
Discussion Questions
How was Charlemagne able to unite and govern his large
empire?
What role did the Church play on family and everyday life
in the Carolingian world?
Why were the invasions of the Ninth and Tenth Centuries
so damaging to Europe?
What is the relationship between feudalism and
manorialism?
What liberties did peasants give up in exchange for land
and protection from their lords?
What impact did the Byzantine world have on the Slavic
people of Central and Eastern Europe and vice versa?
What were the factors that contributed to the flourishing of
Islamic Civilization under the the Abbasids?
Web Links
NetSerf – The Internet Collection of Medieval
Resources
Internet Medieval Sourcebook – The Carolingians
Wharram Percy: A Lost Medieval Village
Corpus of Early Medieval Coin Finds
Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga
Byzantine Studies on the Internet
Baghdad: Metropolis of the Abbasid Caliphate