Early Middle Ages

• The Middle Ages occurred around 500-1500 AD
• This era is divided into three sub-periods:

Early Medieval Europe

• Occurred around 500-1000 AD

High Medieval Europe

• Occurred around 1000-1300 AD

Late Medieval Europe

• Occurred around 1300-1500 AD

How did Europe Change after the Fall of Rome?

• Isolation and decline happened due to a stop in trade and travel
• The collapse of businesses led to danger
• Travelers and merchants were often robbed and killed.
• Cities collapsed because they were dangerous and lacked jobs.
• There was no order or government, so people moved to the countryside for safety.

Language and Learning During this Period

• Education declined.
• Security and survival took precedence over education
• Common language was lost (Latin)
• Different dialects developed by the 800s
• These dialects include French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.

Dark Ages

• The Dark Ages occurred approximately 500 AD – 1000 AD
• During this time Europe was divided into small kingdoms
• It was a time of instability and violence
• There were no written laws

Clovis (466-511)

• Clovis established a Frankish kingdom in central Europe
• He conquered many competing tribes and regional Roman political leaders
• Converted to Christianity

Charles Martel

• Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer) stopped the Muslim advance at the Battle of Tours around 732AD

Charlemagne (Charles the Great)

• Was the Holy Roman Emperor
• He aligned himself with the Church to have more power
• He united a kingdom greater than any known since ancient Rome
• Main goal was to create one Christian kingdom

How did Charlemagne unite Europe during the Dark Ages?

• Missionaries were sent out to conquered lands
• Nobles were given land in exchange for loyalty
• Nobles promised to Christianize their lands
• Charlemagne’s wanted to revive learning and create a "second Rome"

Charlemagne’s Legacy

• Stability
• Feudalism was the type of medieval government based on mutual obligations and land for loyalty
• Christianity spread throughout Europe
• Social classes became inherited
• Serfs could not own land or leave without permission from lord
• Serfs were free if they escaped and were not captured for a year and a day

A Typical Manor

• Typically included a lord's house, church, mills for grinding grain, a blacksmith, a wine press, bread oven, peasants' homes and fields

Three Field System

• This system refers to crop rotation

Manorialism

• This was a Medieval economic system
• Manors were isolated from one another
• Each manor was self-sufficient
• Manors were owned by wealthy lords
• Serfs were given plots of land to cultivate

The Medieval Church

• The Church as an Empire, headed by a Pope, became the most powerful force in Western Europe
• It controlled the religious beliefs people and their everyday lives
• The Pope claimed to have authority over secular rulers
• Believed he was God's representative on Earth
• Medieval Christians believed that all sinners could receive Sacraments to save their souls
• Cannon Law was in effect
• Excommunication was practiced
• Interdict was common

Monks and Nuns

• Monks and Nuns lived in monasteries and convents
• They provided social services to communities
• The Benedictine Rule, founded in Italy, was a set of rules for life inside monasteries.
• Monks and nuns took an oath of poverty
• They vow chastity and purity
• Complete obedience to abbot and abbess
• Their duties included prayer, worship and manual labor

The Church and Daily Life

• For peasants, religion was linked to daily life
• Churches were social centers and often served as schools
• They required everyone to pay a tithe (10%)

Why was there conflict between European monarchs and the Church?

• Initially, kings and nobles appointed clergy to top positions
• The grateful clergy would crown kings as "Holy Roman Emperors"
• The church's power was at its peak during the 1200s
• Both Popes believed their power was greater than any rulers
• Pope Gregory VII excommunicated King Henry IV (his most aggressive opponent) for the practice of lay investiture.
• Pope Innocent III launched a brutal crusade against Albigensians, a group of French Christians who wanted to return to more pure & simple ways of the early Church.

The Concordat of Worms

• This was a treaty between monarchs and the Roman Catholic Church
• Stated that the Church had the sole power to elect bishops with spiritual authority
• Allowed the King had the power to invest them with fiefs.

How did European monarchs increase royal power?

• William the Conqueror (1066)
• Vassals swore first allegiance to him, not other lords
• He decided who could build castles
• He ordered the Domesday Book created which was a census, in 1086 for more control.

Henry II

• Henry II used common law
• He implemented a Jury system

Monarch John

• Abused his power
• Was forced to sign the Magna Carta (1215), the beginning of a limited monarchy
• Nobles were given rights
• Monarchs had to obey laws

Edward I

• Set up Parliament
• Parliament was a law making, like the US Congress.

Hugh Capet

• Made monarchy hereditary

Philip II

• Hired middle class officials
• Enacted a national tax
• Stood up armies

Louis IX

• Ended serfdom
• Was religious and anti-Semite, devoted to justice.

Phillip IV

• Formed the Estates General law making body in govt
• Clashed with clergy over taxes
• He threatened to arrest them if they refused to pay

What was the world like in 1050?

• Europe was realizing that the world was bigger than they thought
• Islam was a brilliant civilization during its golden age
• Europeans had some exposure to Islamic culture through Muslim Spain
• India had Wealthy cities/ magnificent temples, palaces
• China had strong Tang and Song dynasties
• Their inventions were desirable worldwide
• Africa had a great trading empire of Ghana which offered gold and salt trade
• The Mayan and Peru Empires flourished in America
• Byzantium was the success of Constantinople as center of world trade, was the "crossroads" of the world

What were the causes and effects of the CRUSADES?

• The Crusades were a series of holy wars between 1095-1270 undertaken by European Christians to recover Jerusalem from Muslim control
• Pope Urban II called a meeting at the Council of Clermont

"The Holy Wars"

• People said "God Wills it!!!!"
• Europeans were motivated by religion, wealth, and adventure

Causes of the Crusades

• Europeans felt threatened by Muslims (Battle of Tours, 732 AD) for many years
• Jerusalem was taken over by Muslims (Seljuk Turks) and banned Christians from entering the city

Effects of the Crusades

• There was 200 years of violence
• Increased hatred and tension
• Failure to capture Holy Land
• Increased trade
• Cultured Diffusion
• Decline of feudalism
• The period of the Crusades proved how strong the Pope was

Why was the Late Middle Ages called a time of decline?

Famine

• There was are black horse famine
• In the 1300s, crop failures led to starvation across Europe

Disease

• There was a white horse disease which was a black death
• The black death was a global epidemic
• It started in Italy and spread North
• Killed 1/3 population

The effects of the Black Death

• Caused Social upheaval
• Anti-Semitism
• Self-blame
• Church had no answers

Economic Results

• Resulted in Labor force dying
• Prices rising
• Economy collapsing
• Church loses influence: people lose faith

War

• There was the red horse war in the Hundred Years' War
• The Hundred Years' War was 1337-1457
• It was between England and France
• Edward claimed French crown
• England won victories
• Joan of Arc led French armies
• She was captured by the English and accused of Witchcraft & burned at the Stake
• France eventually wins

Death

• Pale green horse

Revival of learning and culture during the High Middle Ages

• By the 1100s, the economic, social and political condition was improved
• Improvements in agriculture led to an increase in food supply
• Revival of trade across Europe led to growth of towns
• Prosperity led to revival of learning

Medieval Literature

• Most literature was written in Latin and in the Vernacular
• Dante Alighieri was an Italian poet and wrote “Divine Comedy" about an imaginary journey into hell
• Geoffrey Chaucer wrote "The Canterbury Tales"

Architecture

• The architecture was Gothic style which used stained glass windows to provide Stories from the Bible, like flying buttresses
• Scholasticism used reason to support Christian beliefs