Ch.8 - Section 1. Early Medieval History

• European society in the Middle Ages consisted of three classes: the clergy, the nobility, and the peasants.
• The roles of these classes were: clergy to pray, nobility to fight, and peasants to work.
• The classes represented the church, the feudal system, and the manor, respectively.

Early Medieval History

• Western Europe faced invasions, social unrest, and political disorder.
• Germanic tribes established small kingdoms with weak central governments.
• The Franks became the most powerful Germanic group and established kingdoms in Gaul.
• A new empire arose from the Frankish kingdoms, reuniting much of western Europe.

Clovis and the Franks

• In 481, Clovis became the head of a Frankish tribe in northern Gaul.
• Clovis united Frankish tribes into one kingdom and became "King of the Franks".
• Clovis pushed the Visigoths out of southern Gaul, encompassing most of present-day France.
• Clovis converted to Christianity and gained the support of the Roman Catholic Church.
• The alliance between Frankish rulers and the Church of Rome lasted for centuries.
• Conversions were often made for convenience or coercion.

The Origin of Names

• People in Bible times had one name; a second was added to avoid confusion.
• Second names described appearance or character ("the Pious," "the Fat," "the Red.")
• Some names described occupation (Cook, Miller, Tailor, Carpenter, Smith, Clark).
• Other names described place of residence (Stone, Hill, Wood, Ford).
• Many took their father’s name as their second name (Johnson, O’Henry, MacGregor).

The Mayors of the Palace

• Clovis died in 511, and the kingdom was divided among his four sons.
• The Merovingian House, named after Merovech, reigned over the Franks.
• The Merovingian family was plagued by quarrels due to dividing the kingdom among sons.
• By the seventh century, the Merovingian kings lost prestige and became known as the "do-nothing kings."
• The mayor of the palace became the real power behind the throne.
• Pepin II reunited Frankish territories, but the Merovingians remained as puppets.
• Charles Martel, Pepin II's son, stopped the Muslims at the Battle of Tours in 732 and earned the title "the Hammer".
• Pepin the Short asked the pope to decide who should be king.
• The pope declared that the one who wielded power should be king.
• Pepin deposed the Merovingian king in 752 and seized the throne.
• The pope anointed Pepin as "by the grace of God king of the Franks".
• The Carolingian House, named after Charlemagne, officially ruled the Franks.
• Pepin defeated the Lombards to protect the pope and gave their lands to the pope.
• The "Donation of Pepin" lands became the Papal States.

The Empire of Charlemagne

• After Pepin died in 768, Carloman and Charles ruled as co-rulers.
• Charles became the sole ruler and was known as Charlemagne or "Charles the Great.“

Charlemagne's Character

• Charlemagne was large, strong, and tall.
• He beheaded thousands of prisoners in cold blood.
• His personal life was marred by sin, and he often married, divorced, and remarried.

Charlemagne's Conquests

• The Frankish kingdom reached its peak under Charlemagne (768-814).
• Charlemagne rescued Rome from the Lombards and took the title "King of the Lombards".
• He conquered the Saxons after thirty years of struggle.
• He defeated the Avars and drove Spanish Muslims back across the Pyrenees.
• Charlemagne created an empire over most of western Europe.
• He laid the foundation for the modern European nations of France, Germany, and Italy.
• Charlemagne divided his empire into hundreds of administrative districts, or counties.
• Counts supervised these districts, administering justice, maintaining peace, and raising an army.
• Charlemagne created the office of missi dominici (king's envoys) to investigate local conditions.
• Chosen officials were of proven ability and character, and could not serve in districts where they held property for more than one year.

Charlemagne's Crowning

• On Christmas Day, 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Roman emperor.
• The assembly cried, "To Charles Augustus, crowned by God, the great and pacific emperor of the Romans, life and victory."
• Charlemagne's crowning revived the idea of a restored Roman Empire.
• It also raised the question of whose authority is supreme: the state’s or the church’s.
• Popes later insisted their authority superseded that of kings.

Historical Perspective on Charlemagne's Crowning

• Drawings often depict Charlemagne kneeling before the pope to suggest submission.
• Historically Pope Leo III owed his life and restoration to Charlemagne.
• His crowning of Charlemagne was a symbolic gesture since he had no real power.

A Revival of Learning

• Charlemagne promoted education throughout his empire.
• His court at Aachen became the leading center of learning.
• Alcuin from York, England, taught at the palace school and trained the king’s children.
• Charlemagne studied rhetoric, dialectics, astronomy, and calculation.
• He also tried to write but was not successful as he started too late in life.
• Charlemagne encouraged the church to establish schools to improve clergy literacy.
• He set forth what has been called the charter of education for the Middle Ages.
• Charlemagne's reforms renewed interest in the Bible and the works of classical writers.
• The Carolingian scholars worked to preserve copies of the Bible.
• Monasteries became centers for studying, copying, and preserving ancient manuscripts.
• Monks made handwritten copies of earlier works and developed the Carolingian minuscule handwriting style.
• Manuscripts were "illuminated" with colorful illustrations.

Disintegration of Charlemagne's Empire

• Charlemagne’s empire deteriorated rapidly after his death.
• Within a century, the Carolingian Empire collapsed due to civil war and foreign invaders.

Problems from Within

• When Charlemagne died in 814, his empire passed to Louis the Pious.
• Louis’s sons fought over the inheritance of the empire.
• In the Treaty of Verdun (843), the empire was split among Charles the Bald, Louis the German, and Lothair.
• Modern states of France, Germany, and Italy correspond to these divisions.
• Political fragmentation characterized the last days of the empire.
• Successors to Charlemagne’s grandsons were weak and incompetent rulers.

Problems from Without

• During the ninth and tenth centuries, the Carolingian Empire faced foreign invaders.
• Muslim raiders from North Africa raided the Mediterranean coast of Europe.
• The Magyars invaded the Danube region of southeastern Europe.
• The Vikings, or Norsemen, raided from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
• Vikings terrorized Europe, plundering villages, destroying homes and crops, and ransacking churches and monasteries.