WARM UP
USE YOUR NOTES, BOOK, AND ATTACHED
HANDOUT TO COMPLETE THE BOXES ON
THE “SURVIVAL OF THE BYZANTINE
EMPIRE”. YOU MAY WORK WITH A
PARTNER TO HELP COME UP WITH THE
INFORMATION.
THIS WILL BE PLACED IN THE WARM UP SECTION
OF YOUR INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOK. Y0U WILL
HAVE 10 MINUTES OF CLASS TIME. IF YOU DO NOT
FINISH, YOU WILL NEED TO COMPLETE IT ON
YOUR OWN.
THE MIDDLE AGES
(Medieval Period)
From the Dark Ages to the High Middle Ages and the late
Middle Ages
The Big Questions:
• How was Western Europe affected by the
collapse of Rome?
• How did the system of feudalism restore order to
Western Europe?
• How did religious beliefs shape life-styles in this
period?
• What events contributed to the end of the
Middle Ages?
Introduction
• While the Byzantine Empire survived in the east,
important changes were taking place in Western
Europe.
• Historians call this period of history (from the fall
of Rome in 476 A.D. to the 1400s) the Middle
Ages (medieval period) – the period between
ancient and modern times
• Barbarian invasions contributed to the defeat of
the Romans, and after a period of invasions, they
established their own kingdoms in many parts of
the former Roman Empire.
THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE DAY:
• Constant warfare disrupted trade
• Violence made travel unsafe
• Bridges and roads fell into disrepair, and cities and
towns were abandoned
• Bandits roamed freely
• Wealthy families moved to the safety of fortified
homes in the country
• No interest in learning
• Shortages of food and goods grew
• Churches and monasteries became the only places
where people could read and write
THE FRANKISH KINGDOM
• The largest of the Germanic kingdoms
(in what is now France)
• Charles Martel (a powerful nobleman)
• Helped unite the Franks
• In 732, stopped the advance of Islam
at the Battle of Tours (from Spain into France)
• Pepin (son of Charles Martel)
• Became king in 751
• Took control of northern Italy with the support of the
Pope
• Set the precedent by Frankish kings of creating a powerful
army by granting lands to their nobles in exchange for
service in the king’s army with their knights
CHARLEMAGNE (Pepin’s son)
• Became king in 768
• Enlarged his kingdom
• Established a new capital at Aachen,
which became a center of learning
• Constructed a beautiful palace
(modeled after court of Rome)
• Used riches from his conquest to
attract scholars and start a school
for noble children
• Was crowned “Emperor of the Holy Roman
Empire” in 800 (announcing to the world that
Western Europe was separate from the Byzantine
Emperor)
• After Charlemagne’s death, his empire was
divided among his heirs
Charlemagne’s Empire
NEW THREATS TO EUROPE
• New Invasions from the East
• Slavs and Magyars invaded Central Europe
• Muslims from N. Africa invaded S. Italy
• Vikings from Scandinavia were the greatest threat
• Between 800 and 1000, they launched repeated
attacks on Western Europe
• Spread fear and destruction and committed
brutal atrocities
• Created new trade routes and new settlements
(England, Normandy, and Sicily)
Invasions
Vikings
Magyars
and Slavs
Muslims
Feudalism (800-1400)
• The system of government of the Middle Ages
• To protect themselves from violence and to
provide for basic economic needs
• Kings offered nobles a grant of land (fief) in
exchange for loyalty and service
• The nobleman (vassal) gave homage
(allegiance) to the king
• Helped people survive the breakdown of
central government and order
• Characterized by key social, political, and
economic relationships
LEFT SIDE
ACTIVITY
• Draw a feudal
hierarchy chart in your
notebook
Political Roles
• Leading nobles controlled political life
• Built large castles for protection
• Created large armies of knights
• King relied on his nobles for his own army
• Nobles often fought among themselves or
challenged the king
• Civil wars were frequent and nobles grabbed
land for themselves
• Nobles and vassals were responsible for settling
disputes and dispensing justice on their fiefs
Social Roles
• Feudalism provided for a strict class structure based on the
control of land and power
• People were born into a social class and could not change
their position
• Nobles (lords)
• Knights
• Serfs
• Women
•
•
•
•
•
Obedient to men
Had large numbers of children (many died in infancy)
Noble women spent their time in prayer and domestic chores
Few received an education
Peasant women worked closely with their husbands, ran the home,
and looked after livestock
• People lived in extended families (large households)
Economic system - Manorialism
• The Manor
• The Lord’s home and surrounding territory (peasant
homes, village, and farmland)
• Produced its own food, clothing, and shelter (trade was
dangerous)
• Varied in size depending on wealth (some nobles had
many manors)
• Peasants (Serfs)
• Farm laborers gave a portion of their harvest to the lord
in return for the lord’s protection
• Bound to the land and had no voice in most matters
• Worked long hours to produce the food for all members
of society
Manor House
Lord and
Lady
Medieval Knight
Peasant home
Peasants
Manorialism continued…
• The Nobles
• Provided land and protection to the people on his manor
• Passed laws, required labor, and acted as judges
• Had almost complete control of everyone living on his land
• Farming
• No knowledge of how to enrich the soil or rotate crops
• 2/3 of the land was cultivated each year (1/3 remained
fallow or uncultivated). This was the 3 field system
• One field devoted to winter crops
• One to summer crops
• The other was fallow
• Bad weather and poor harvests often led to famine and
death
LEFT SIDE ACTIVITY
Draw a diagram of a typical Medieval Manor
THE CHURCH
• Roman Catholic Church was single most powerful
organization in Western Europe
• People believed the Church represented God and held
the power to send a person to Heaven or Hell.
• Many nobles left land to the Church when they died,
hoping to gain entry into Heaven. (Church was the
largest landowner)
• Church gained additional wealth through tithes
(Church taxes)
• The Church was the main center of learning (Church
officials were usually the only ones who could read or
write). Rulers often relied on Church officials because
they were educated.
Gothic Cathedral
THE CHURCH CONTINUED…
• The head of the Catholic Church was the Pope
in Rome
• Regarded as successor of St. Peter (leader of
Jesus’ apostles)
• Catholics believed the Pope inherited the role
of Peter in running the Church
• Cardinals, Archbishops, and Bishops helped
the Pope run the church
• The Church owned monasteries, abbeys, and
convents that were run much like manors
MEDIEVAL CHRISTIAN THINKERS
• St. Augustine (Lived at the time of the fall of Rome)
• Questioned why God would let barbarians destroy the
Christian civilization of Rome
• Concluded that no earthly city could last forever, only the
“City of God” in Heaven is eternal
• St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
• Showed how pre-Christian works of philosophy were
compatible with Christian teaching
• Said people should trust both faith and reason
• Believed in the existence of “natural law” – laws based on
reason
• Believed that citizens have the right to remove rulers who
continually enact unjust laws (ruler’s power came from God
through the people)
THE CRUSADES (War of the Cross)
• A series of holy wars between Christian Europeans
and Muslims in the Middle East
• In the 11th century, the Seljuk Turks took control of
the Holy Land (Jerusalem) and drove out Christian
pilgrims (for hundreds of years, Christians had
regularly visited there)
• In 1095, Pope Urban II called on all Christians to
unite and fight a holy crusade to recapture the
Holy Land (he was answering a plea from the
Byzantine Emperor)
• Brought rulers and nobles from all over Europe
together to fight a common cause
OUTCOME OF THE CRUSADES
• Brought new goods to Europe,
stimulating a rebirth in trade
• Weakened the Byzantine Empire
(silk, rice, spices, coffee, etc.)
• Contributed to the break down of
feudalism
• Europeans learned about new
technology (zero, weapons, etc.)
• Christian persecution of Jews and
Muslims and Muslim persecution
of Christians
THE LATER MIDDLE AGES
• Growth of towns
• Increased trade led to the growth of towns and cities
• Rise of a new merchant class
• Formation of guilds (powerful associations of merchants and
craftsmen)
• New inventions (mills, mechanical clocks)
• Cities founded Universities
• Gothic architecture (pointed arches, high spires, stained glass,
flying buttresses)
POLITICAL TRADITIONS
• England developed traditions of liberty and limited selfgovernment
• Magna Carta
• Signed by King John in 1215
• Nobles forced him to sign an agreement promising not to
take away any free man’s property or imprison any free
man without following procedures established by law
• It guaranteed all free men right to trial by jury, forced the
king to get consent from a council of nobles before raising
taxes, and limited powers of the king
• Parliament
• Established by the tradition of later English kings
summoning nobles and representatives of towns to grant
them new taxes
KEY EVENTS THAT LED TO THE
END OF THE MIDDLE AGES
• THE GREAT FAMINE (1313-1322)
• Heavy rains and flooding spoiled crops and killed livestock
• Millions of people died
• Many questioned the Church why it was happening
• THE BLACK DEATH (1347-1351)
• Rats with fleas carrying the disease entered Europe from
Asia on trading ships
• About 1/3 of Europe’s population died
• Some blamed Jews, others claimed it was God’s punishment
for sins (Cordoba became a safe haven for Jews in Spain)
• The labor shortage it caused led large numbers of peasants
to escape serfdom (landowners and towns offered them
freedom in exchange for work)
Continued…
• THE HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR (1337-1453)
• Between England and France (king of England claimed the French
throne)
• Strengthened royal power in both countries (kings developed large
standing armies instead of relying on feudal lords)
• Created greater national feelings
• Knights became less important in battle
• New military technology was introduced (long bow, gunpowder,
cannons)
• Joan of Arc became an inspiration and martyr
for the French
• A young peasant girl who rallied the French
troops around the heir to the throne
• Successfully drove the English out of Orleans
and crowned the new French King
• Was captured and burned at the stake by
the English
Continued…
• THE GREAT SCHISM (1378-1417)
• The Pope clashes with secular (non-religious) rulers
• In 1305, a Frenchman was elected Pope and moved
the papacy to Avignon in France (it fell under the
French King’s influence)
• In 1378, an Italian was elected Pope and moved the
papacy back to Rome
• French Cardinals claimed the election was unlawful
and elected a French Pope to keep the papacy in
France
• This schism (split) greatly weakened the church