The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages

• The Middle Ages in Europe spanned from the Fall of the Roman Empire in 476 CE to the Renaissance around the 1400s.
• It is also referred to as the Dark Ages, characterized by slow growth, limited learning, and communities focused on survival.
• "Medieval" is derived from the Latin term for "middle age."
• The fall of Rome resulted in political instability, leading to anarchy and violence.
• Early in the Middle Ages, most people resided on farms, but cities expanded towards the end, around the 1300s.

The Germanic Kingdoms

• Following the collapse of Rome, small kingdoms emerged across Western Europe, each governing its own territory.
• The Franks were the largest Germanic tribe, inhabiting present-day France, and became a dominant force in Medieval Europe.

The Franks

• Clovis, the first significant Frankish king in 418 CE, converted the Franks to Christianity and united them under his rule.
• Charles Martel, known as "The Hammer," became the next influential Frankish leader.
• Charles Martel consolidated control over the Franks, with a victory against the Muslims at Tours in 732.
• Pepin the Short, Charles's son, initiated the Carolingian Dynasty, extending Frankish control to northern parts of Western Europe.
• Pepin the Short's son, Charlemagne, became one of Europe's greatest rulers.

Charlemagne

• Charlemagne was the son of Pepin the Short and grandson of Charles "The Hammer" Martel.
• Charlemagne, named "Charles the Great" in Latin, cemented Catholicism in Western Europe.
• Charlemagne expanded territory by conquering the Lombards in Italy in 774 and the Saxons in the 780s.
• He conquered the Goths in Eastern Europe in the 790s and pushed back Muslims in Spain.
• Charlemagne established his capital in Aachen, Germany.
• In 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, leading to a power struggle due to the Pope's influence.
• Charlemagne's death in 814 led to the Treaty of Verdun, splitting his kingdom into three regions instead of uniting Europe.

The Vikings

• The Vikings were seafaring people from Scandinavia, including Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark.
• Around the 800s, they began to leave their homeland in search of a better, warmer climate.
• Raids throughout northern Europe terrorized residents for years.
• Eventually, the Vikings settled in Northern Europe and became the Normans in France.
• Led by Eric the Red, the Vikings discovered and established a colony in Greenland around 980.
• They were the first Europeans to reach the Americas.
• Viking life centered around Viking halls, which served as places for celebrations, business transactions, and attack planning.
• Viking longships contained important possessions, and important dead were even buried in them.
• They recorded their histories on rune stones.
• Initially polytheistic, the Vikings converted to Christianity between 850 and 1100.
• Major Viking gods included Loki (God of Deception), Thor (God of Thunder), Odin (God of Creation, Death, Royalty), and Tyr (God of War).

Feudalism

• Feudalism was a class-based society that took root in Europe during the Middle Ages.
• The entire society revolved around the exchange of land for military service.
• All the land owned by the king was called the manor.
• The king divided land into smaller parcels called fiefs due to not being able to protect it all.
• The king gave fiefs to Lords (nobles) to manage and protect.
• Lords further divided the land and gave it to Knights for management and protection.
• Knights provided land to peasants for living and farming, who paid rent with their crops.
• Serfs were bound to the soil, couldn't leave, and paid rent with manual labor.
• The entire system was based on loyalty.
• In the event of an invasion, peasants agreed to fight for the knight, who fought for the lord, who swore allegiance to the king.
• Feudalism was most popular in France, England, and Germany.

Knights and Chivalry

• Knights adhered to a code of conduct known as chivalry.
• Knights swore to protect women, children, and the helpless.
• Knights swore to treat the elderly and the unfortunate with care and respect.
• Knights swore to loyalty, and courteous and brave behavior.
• Knights swore to never attack an unarmed enemy.

Agriculture

• The three-field system became popular during the Middle Ages.
• Land was divided into three parts.
• One part was left fallow (unplanted).
• The other two fields had different crops.
• Each year, the field’s use rotated.

The Power of the Church

• At the bottom of the Church hierarchy was the parish priest.
• The parish priest reported to a bishop, who ruled over around 10 parishes within a territory called a diocese.
• The bishop reported to an archbishop, who ruled over about 10 dioceses, containing 100-200 parishes, within a territory called an archdiocese.
• Cardinals chose and advised the Pope.
• The Pope was the most powerful person in the Church.
• People could advance in the Church despite the inability to advance in ordinary life.
• People believed the Pope could take away one’s afterlife, which forced people to follow the Church rules.
• Heresy: denying the teachings of the Catholic Church.

The Crusades

• The First Crusade
  • In 1096, Pope Urban II called for a holy war against the Seljuk Turks, who attacked Christians in the Holy Land.
  • Byzantine Emperor Alexios Comnenos requested assistance from the Pope as the Seljuks advanced into Byzantine lands.
  • 60,000 knights and soldiers gathered at Constantinople to lead the First Crusade.
  • Christians scaled the walls of Jerusalem, entered the city, and launched a bloodbath against Muslims and Jewish people.
• Christians won the First Crusade and established four kingdoms around Jerusalem to protect the city.
• The Second Crusade
  • Launched in 1144 after Muslims conquered Edessa, one of the four kingdoms.
  • Crusaders arrived weak and unable to do much, resulting in failure.
• The Third Crusade
  • Called the "King's Crusade".
  • Four European kings assembled an army of 100,000 in 1189.
  • Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor, drowned in a river.
  • French and Austrian kings turned back.
  • English King Richard I, “the Lionheart,” reclaimed land but failed to capture Jerusalem.
  • Muslim leader Saladin agreed to a peace deal with Richard, allowing Christians to visit Jerusalem peacefully, while the land remained in Muslim hands.
• The Children’s Crusade
  • An attempt in 1212 to retake Jerusalem by children.
  • Thousands of kids set out from Vienna, Austria.
  • They were promised protection by Stephen of Cloyes.
  • Many died crossing the Alps, in the wilderness, or drowned in the Mediterranean Sea.
• Of the nine total Crusades launched, Christians only won the first.

The Growth of Cities and Guilds

• The Crusades broke the feudal system.
• Many peasants who left to fight did not return.
• Cities began to grow as returning Crusaders congregated in areas.
• Trade began to grow again, and people specialized in their trade.
• Merchants and artisans set up shops instead of roaming from manor to manor.
• People could own property, land, and farms.
• Cities were places of filth and disease due to the lack of sanitary systems and high population density.
• Tradesmen living in cities eventually created guilds for their protection.
• Guilds are comparable to modern-day unions.
• A group of people in the same craft/trade set the standards for work and training.
• All the blacksmiths in town set prices for services and set rules for how to train an understudy.
• Education began to resume in cities.
• Books were written in local languages (vernacular).
• Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.
• Sir Thomas Aquinas promoted scholasticism.
• The world can be explored through reason and not just through faith.
• Used texts from Aristotle to prove much can be learned from non-Christians.
• Universities started to pop up throughout Europe.
  • University of Bologna (1158) in Italy.
  • University of Paris (1200) in France.
  • University of Oxford (1248) in England.
  • University of Cambridge (1231) in England.

The Black Death

• The Black Death, a massive epidemic, hit Europe in 1347 through the Bubonic Plague.
• It was called "Black Death" due to the symptoms.
• Symptoms included black, swollen buboes (swollen lymph node), flu-like symptoms, and high fever.
• Once infected, one had about 4-5 days to live.
• The death rate was around 60%.
• It came from China via the Silk Road and trade ships.
• It was carried by infected fleas that traveled on rats.
• Without medical science, people developed their own causes such as that it was a punishment from God for failing to recapture Jerusalem, or that Jewish people poisoned the drinking water.

The Magna Carta

• King John of England was a corrupt king who did little to satisfy his people.
• He constantly raised taxes to pay for wars.
• He took his Lords’ sons hostage because they refused to fight a war across the English Channel.
• He destroyed peasant property to satisfy his desire to hunt.
• Eventually, his Lords fought back, raising armies to defeat King John.
• The Lords forced King John to sign the Magna Carta in 1215.
• This was the first document to limit the power of the king.
• It creates a foundation for the British Parliament.
• King John had to have the consent of a council before taking certain actions.