A New Civilization Emerges in
Western Europe “Were the Dark Ages Really All
That Dark?”
The Germanic Peoples
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The Western Roman Empire fell to Germanic
invaders in 476 C.E. – historians mark this as the
start of the Middles Ages/Dark Ages – the time
between the Roman Empire and the
Renaissance in Europe.
The early Middle Ages may be called “Dark” in
the sense that the unity the Roman Empire
brought to Europe was destroyed.
Theodoric the Great – the Ostrogoth king tried
to rule Roman by maintaining the Senate, etc. –
but continued invasions destroyed the political
unity that Rome provided.
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The Germanic peoples were people from Eastern Europe
and Eurasia. They had similar languages and cultural
backgrounds. The largest of the invading groups were:
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Franks
Ostrogoths
Lombards
Visigoth
Saxons
Angles
Alemanii
Thuringians
Vandals
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The Germanic peoples invaded and
conquered most of Europe by the 600s.
They mixed with the local populations
over time.
With the removal of Roman political power
and unity – local chieftains assumed
power and began to divide Europe into
many smaller realms – eventually
kingdoms.
The Roman Catholic Church
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When the political entity that was Rome
was destroyed – the Christian Church in
Rome became the only force that provided
any sense of unity in Europe.
As the Germanic invaders became
Christian – the Church gained influence
and the new converts gained legitimacy.
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The Church became the center of daily life in
most areas – as the Church was the source of
most education, health care – really all aspects
of life.
Many men and women entered religious life as
priests, monks, and nuns. In many ways, a life
in the Church provided people with more
education and stability than as lay people.
Monasteries, abbeys and nunneries grew
throughout Europe.
Gregory the Great
Pope Gregory the Great
Supported the monastic
movement and the
Christianization of the
Germans.
This broadened and
strengthened the Church.
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Monks and nuns maintained knowledge of
medicines, botany and other sciences.
Monks copied the Bible as well as
important books. Many thank the Irish
monks for maintaining the knowledge of
the West – as they copied books and
protected them from the Vikings and other
invaders.
St. Benedict
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St. Benedict of Nursia was born to
a wealthy Roman family ca. 480
C.E.
As a priest he established religious
communities for monks.
The early days of Christianity saw
myriad communities of monks,
nuns, hermits, etc. with various
rules and systems of
organizations.
Benedict established “The Rule of
St. Benedict” which gave structure
and guidelines to early Christina
religious orders. He is viewed as
the father of monasticism.
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As medieval society
developed, the Catholic
Church expanded its
bureaucracy – in religious
and secular areas.
New religious orders such
as the Franciscans and
the Order of St. Clare
dramatically changed the
relationship of the Church
with the people of
Europe.
Theology and Reason
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The philosophy of the Hellenistic world did not
disappear after the fall of the western Roman
Empire – but the study and application of those
philosophies was centered in the Byzantine and
Islamic worlds. The Crusades, trade, and other
points of contact led the philosophies of the
Hellenistic and Roman worlds to return to
western Europe through cultural diffusion.
BUT…how would these pre-Christian ideas fit in
a world centered about the Catholic Church?
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Aristotle was praised by
medieval scholars for his sense
of logic.
French writer PETER ABELARD
1079-1142 C.E. in his work Yes
and No used the new
examination of logic to
question commonly held
beliefs in all aspects of life –
including religion.
What happens if people begin
to question???
Ask me about Heloise….
Is Reason Dangerous?
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Many in the Church
believed that reason
would cause people to
question faith and
doctrine.
BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX
– monk – believed that
Abelard was wrong and
that one should use only
faith and not reason in
matters of religion.
St. Thomas Aquinas ca. 1225-1274
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Scholar and monk
Thomas Aquinas calmed
the debate between faith
and reason with his work
Summa Theologica
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St. Thomas Aquinas
stated that faith is above
all, but that God had
organized the world
coherently and that
reason and logic were
tools to understand the
natural order.
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The Book of Kells
Churches and Architecture
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The Church provided people with refuge in
a time of chaos and confusion
Perhaps more than at any other time –
people were concerned with religion –
their church and their own salvation. Life
was short and brutal for most people – the
hope of an afterlife influenced many of
their actions.
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People sought to praise God through building
beautiful churches. Thousands and thousands
of churches and cathedrals were built
throughout Europe. Each church tried to outdo
the others – with architecture, riches and relics.
The early churches of the Middle Ages were built
in a style called ROMANESQUE – based on the
architecture of the Roman Empire. Walls were
thick in order to support high ceilings.
Gothic
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As the Middle Ages went on – architects
developed a keener sense of physics and
began to build churches in the GOTHIC
STYLE.
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High vaulted ceilings
Large stained glass windows
Thinner yet higher walls – flying buttresses
Very ornate exteriors
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Chartres
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Westminster Abbey
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Flying Buttress
Feudalism
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With the fall of the Roman Empire – Europeans
developed a system of political/social connection
known as FEUDALISM.
Feudalism was a system of responsibility
At the top of the feudal system was the LORD of
the land. People below him were his VASSALS.
The land the lord gave out was called a FIEF.
This was a bureaucratic way to control a
kingdom.
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The lord usually lived in the manor house
or castle. Early castles were often built of
wood in the moat and bailey format.
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At the bottom of the feudal system were the
peasants – most of whom were SERFS. They
were not slaves in the normal sense – no one
owned them. Instead, they were bound to the
land – the MANOR. They could not leave the
place where they lived. They had to grow food
or produce products for the lord. In return, the
lord promised military protection.
Knights
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Wealthy young men often became knights – professional
soldiers for their lord. The costly armor and horses
meant that a knight was something a peasant almost
never became.
The knights – in theory – organized their lives around
codes of knightly behavior called the CODE OF
CHIVALRY. In theory – knights protected the weak and
defenseless.
Most soldiers were NOT KNIGHTS. The knights were
fighters but also well educated members of high society.
Most soldiers were from the peasantry and had joined
the lord’s army – often to escape the toil of farming.
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Long Bow
Medieval Economics in Europe
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While agriculture would be the base of European economics for hundreds of
years, the medieval period saw the development of trade and banking –
that would lead to the development of capitalism.
The Crusades demanded huge amounts of money – most of which came
from banking families.
Contact with the Byzantine and Islamic worlds led to a demand for foreign
luxury goods – which required shipping – which required money to establish
businesses – banks.
Inter-continental trade flourished – ex. English wool was traded in the
markets of the Low Lands and sold throughout the continent.
Manufacturers organized into GUILDS – with guilds and guild masters
controlling manufacturing and pricing – journeymen
Cities in the Baltic organized into the HANSEATIC LEAGUE – combining
trading forces in order to achieve a greater combined profit.
The German Peoples in Middle Ages Europe
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Germanic peoples moved into present day
Scandinavia and northern Germany about
750 B.C.E.
They were generally migratory people.
Not nomads, but people who often moved
every few generations in search of better
lands
Some of the Germanic tribes were:
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Ostrogoths
Visigoths
Saxons
Angles
Franks
Vandals
Alemanii
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The Germanic peoples met a powerful force in
the Roman Empire. Despite their desire to move
into Roman lands – the Germanic peoples were
pushed back by the Roman legions.
As the Roman Empire weakened, the Germanic
peoples pushed more and more into Roman
lands.
While the Romans usually brought new peoples
into the Roman Empire, they usually kept the
Germanic peoples outside – sometimes taking
them as slaves.
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By the 400s, the Germanic invaders were
taking advantage of Roman weakness in
order to destroy the Roman Empire in the
West.
After taking control over most of Western
Europe – the Germanic peoples began to
convert to Christianity.
The Franks
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The Germanic peoples who lived in what the
Romans called Gaul were the Franks.
The Franks were ruled in the 400s by the
MERGOVIAN DYNASTY – the best known
Mergovian Frank king was Clovis who built the
great Frank Empire.
By the early 700s, the Mergovian kings had a
title – but the real power lay with their chief
advisor the “mayor of the palace”
The Carolingians
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In 732, Charles Martel defeated the
Muslims at the French town of Tours. This
stopped the Muslim invasion of Europe.
The popes of this time looked to Charles
Martel and his family to save Christendom.
In the 750s, Charles Martel’s son, Pepin,
defeated the Lombards – who were
controlling central Italy.
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Pepin gave the Lombard kingdom that he
conquered to the pope. This was known as the
DONATION OF PEPIN. It strengthened the link
between the Carolingian Franks and the papacy.
The successes of Charles Martel and his son
Pepin led them to assume control over the
Franks – taking it away from the Mergovians
kings. This received the approval of the pope
because of the battles Charles Martel and Pepin
fought in order to help the papacy.
Charlemagne
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Pepin was succeeded by his son Carl (Charles in
English) (Carolus in Latin). He was soon known
as Charles the Great or CHARLEMAGNE.
Charlemagne wanted to build a kingdom larger
and stronger than the kingdom of his father’s.
Charlemagne’s motto was Renovatio imperii
romani – Renewal of the Roman Empire
Creation of the Holy Roman Empire
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Charlemagne established a system of
bureaucracy and hierarchy within his
lands. This allowed the kingdom to run
efficiently and it strengthened his control
over the land and the nobles.
In 800, Pope Leo III crowned
Charlemagne as “Emperor of the Romans”
and established the Holy Roman Empire.
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This was an attempt to bring stability to
Europe in the days after the fall of the
Roman Empire.
The term “Holy” in the H.R.E. comes from
the fact that it was the pope and
Christianity creating the empire – not
merely military force.