Middle Ages in Europe PDF

# Unit 01: Middle Ages in Europe ## Middle Ages in Europe (500 AD to 1500 AD) The gradual decline of the Roman Empire ushered in the Middle Ages which is also called Medieval period in European history. The Middle ages spanned from about 500 AD to 1500 AD. After the fall of Greek civilization, Ro...

# Unit 01: Middle Ages in Europe ## Middle Ages in Europe (500 AD to 1500 AD) The gradual decline of the Roman Empire ushered in the Middle Ages which is also called Medieval period in European history. The Middle ages spanned from about 500 AD to 1500 AD. After the fall of Greek civilization, Roman Empire became the undisputed superpower of the Mediterranean by virtue of its strong military, technological advancement and widespread infrastructure. The Roman Empire has left an indelible mark on the world. Some historians argue that the Roman Empire never fully ended because the Eastern half of the Roman Empire sustained in the form of the Byzantine Empire. In this unit you will learn about the fall of the powerful Roman Empire, continuity of Byzantium Empire and the rise of European feudalism and Mongols. ## Unit 2: Muslim Spread ## Unit 3: Muslim (Seljuc, Aj Safavid, Ottoman, and Crusades) ## Unit 4: Muslim South Delhi ### Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius reigned from 161 CE to 180 CE and is best known as the last capable ruler of the Roman Empire. He always respected the Law. Despite numerous internal and external challenges, he managed to survive and preserved the Roman Empire. ### The Decline of the Roman Empire After the death of the emperor Marcus Aurelius in 180 AD, disorder shook the Roman Empire. Resultantly, the empire dissolved into many minor kingdoms in Western Europe. In the fifth century, Germanic invaders overran the western half of the Roman Empire. Repeated invasions and continuous warfare caused many changes in the economic conditions, governance and the culture of Romans. Here are some of the most significant causes that may help you understand how the Roman Empire declined and eventually fell apart. - After the era of some capable rulers, for a couple of centuries, the Roman Empire was ruled by inefficient rulers. Especially after the death of Marcus Aurelius, his successors could not rule such a vast empire effectively. - Barbarians infringed and settled themselves on the outskirts of the Roman Empire. With the passage of time, their power and influence increased. At last the Roman Empire crumbled to them in 476 AD. - The Roman Empire was vast in size. In 285 CE, Emperor Diocletian decided to divide it into two parts: the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Roman Empire. In contrast to the Eastern Roman Empire, the government in the West was corrupt causing poverty and unemployment throughout the empire. - Famines and plagues hit the Roman Empire. The problem was worsened by the high taxes. It resulted in starvation, deaths and violence. **Facts to Know:** Inform the students that the decline and fall of the Roman Empire is divided into two parts: the first half covers approximately 300 years until the end of the empire in the West and the second half constricts nearly 1,000 years. **Facts to Know:** **Germanic Tribes**: The Germanic people were nomadic tribes who lived in northern Europe. They had a powerful military. The Romans referred to them collectively as Germans because most of them spoke a language based on common Germanic, even though they represented a wide variety of nationalities and cultures. **Barbarian**: Barbarian was the term used by the Romans to describe people who lived outside of the empire. Goaths, Visigoths, Vandals, Huns, and other tribes resided in the empire. These Barbarian tribes arrived in Rome from Central Asia and settled themselves. ### Effects of the Fall of the Roman Empire Many historians see the fall of the Western Roman Empire as the end of the ancient world and the beginning of the Middle Ages. When the infrastructure was destroyed due to invasion, the quality of governance and people's lives declined as well. What followed was the Dark Ages which impacted the whole of the Western Europe greatly. Some of the important impacts are as under: - With the collapse of Romans rule in 476 AD, the centralized structure of the empire vanished. As a result, a number of tribal cheifdoms emerged. The collapse of centralized authority led to the rise of feudal states in Europe. - The barbarian invasions destroyed entire socio-economic infrastructure. However, the Church as an entity survived and provided some order and security during this time of political instability. Ultimately, the Pope rose to become the most powerful religious and political figure in Western Europe. - Although, Western Roman Empire collapsed and fragmented into hundreds of chiefdoms and kingdoms, the Eastern Roman Empire grew into the Byzantium Empire with Orthodox Christianity as the official religion. - Trade was disrupted because merchants were attacked from both land and sea routes. Their businesses were doomed. The breakdown of trade devastated Europe's economic hubs. Money was increasingly scarce. - Advancement in learning slowed down. Only priests, church officials, and a few others could read Greek works, literature and science and philosophy. Medieval age is generally known for the decline in literacy and learning. - Latin languages were no longer understood because Germanic-speaking people mixed with the Roman population. French, Spanish, and other Roman based languages emerged from Latin. The continued disintegration of a once unified empire was reflected in the creation of numerous languages. The society was fragmented and disunited until the 700 AD, when Kings, lords and nobles established some order in the land through the system of feudalism. **Facts to Know:** There are approximately 2.3 billion Christians worldwide with approximately 1.3 billion of them being Roman Catholics. ### Feudalism Feudalism is a political and economic system based on land ownership and personal loyalty. It was the need of the day to bring the politically fractured society back together. Almost everyone lived in a small town or village. Feudalism helped in the creation of order in Western Europe. Feudalism arose in Western Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. The rise of European feudalism was the direct outcome of political disorder and continued warfare. **Note for Teachers** Ask students to watch a documentary on fall of Roman Empire and share their findings in the class. ### Effects of Feudalism on Medieval Europe The feudal system was founded on the principle of rights and obligations in order to govern the kingdom effectively. Social classes were well defined. The system looked like a pyramid in which the king, church, lords, and peasants were associated to each other according to their role, power and prestige in the society. The King and the Pope both enjoyed supreme positions. The most powerful vassals, wealthy landowners or nobles and bishops came next. Knights were mounted horsemen who promised to defend the lands of their masters in exchange for fiefs. Landless peasants worked in the fields. Although the Roman Church was one of the main unifying features in Medieval times, however due to the lack of knowledge about the laws of nature, many people were led to irrational beliefs. European Feudalism had three main characteristics: - **Political**: The King commanded absolute power based on God's will. The Catholic Church held considerable power in government affairs. - **Economic**: People had specific jobs that they had to do for their entire lives. - **Social**: The feudal pyramid was a social structure of a hierarchical nature. Some individuals were more important than others. **Diagram:** (Insert a diagram of a feudal pyramid here) ### Manors: The Economic Side of Feudalism During the Middle Ages, the manor system was the primary economic structure. The manor was the name given to the lord's estate. Under the manor system, a lord and his serfs had a set of rights and responsibilities. The landlord provided the serfs with houses, farmland, and protection from bandits. Serfs helped to maintain the estate by administering the lands, caring for his animals and other jobs. They owed the lord specific duties, including working at least a couple of days and giving their lords a portion of their grain. Peasants paid heavy price for the privilege of living on the lord's land. ### Analyzing Primary Sources - ***i. Daily Life of a Noblewoman*** She gets up at 7a.m., and her chaplain is waiting to say morning prayers... and when she has dressed... she has breakfast, then she goes to the chapel, for another service, then has dinner. . . . After dinner, she discusses business then has a short sleep. Then ... she goes to the chapel for evening service, and has supper. After supper, she relaxes with her women attendants. . . . After that, she goes to her private room, and says nighttime prayers. By 8 p.m. she is in bed. Daily routine of cicely, duchess of York, quoted in Women in Medieval Times by Fiona Macdonald - ***ii. Daily Life of a Peasant Woman*** I get up early... milk our cows and turn them into the field. ... Then I make butter.... Afterward I make cheese. . . . Then the children need looking after.... I give the chickens food... and look after the young geese.... I bake . . . I twist rope. I tease out wool, and card it, and spin it on a wheel. . . . I organize food for the cattle and for ourselves.... I look after all the household. From a ballad first written down in about 1500, quoted in women in medieval times by Fiona Macdonald 1. **Drawing Conclusion**: What seem to be the major concerns in the noblewoman's life? How do you compare with those of the peasant woman? 2. **Making Inferences**: What qualities would you associate with the peasant woman and the life she lived? **Note for Teachers**: Inform the students that Manorialism describes relationship between Lords and peasants whereas feudalism describes relationship between King and nobles. ### The Role of Warrior in Feudal Society By the 11th century, Western Europe had become a battleground of feuding nobility seeking for dominance. Feudal lords raised private armies of knights or Cavalry to defend their lands. The code of chivalry, a complicated set of beliefs, required a knight to battle bravely in defence of his master. The weak and poor were likewise safeguarded by the gallant knight. ### Significance of Feudalism Feudalism functioned as a hierarchical system. It greatly helped Western Europe for the following reasons: - Feudalism protected the society of Western Europe from the violence and warfare that erupted after the fall of Rome, as well as from powerful invaders. - Feudalism facilitated the restoration of trade. Roads and bridges were repaired. The knights maintained the rule of law and made it safe to travel on roads. - Feudalism prohibited a single person organization from gaining power. The power was distributed among many individuals and groups. This was probably the precursor to European concepts of limited power for the government, constitutions, and civil rights. ### Limitations of Feudalism European feudalism did not always work well in practice because: - Feudalism provided local unity and security but was unable to unite larger regions or countries in Europe. - In the absence of a strong central government, it was easy to subjugate the poor through force and violence in feudal system. - Feudalism did not treat people equally or allow them to progress in their own society. A person born a serf or lord was expected to remain a serf or lord for the rest of his or her life. **Note for Teachers**: Ask the students to examine the image of a knight carefully and try to figure out how knights fought on the battlefield. ### The Beginning of the Roman Catholic Church The history of the Catholic Church begins with the teachings of Jesus Christ. The Christian Church in Roman cities developed and organized into a hierarchy. The priests and clergy obeyed the Church. The Rome's priest became the most important bishop or Pope as Church's religious and political leader. Pope's office was called the Papacy. Below him were the various ranks of the clergy as shown in the picture below; **Diagram**: (Insert a pyramid diagram of the Catholic Church hierarchy here) **Do You Know?** Catholic means "universal." Historically, it refers to the Roman Catholic Church. **Note for Teachers** Discuss with the students that during the Middle Ages, only the wealthy lords, ladies and warriors were literate and kept diaries of their lives which historians used to learn about the life and culture of the Roman Empire. Guide the students that they will pretend to be lords, ladies, and warriors and write about their lives in their diaries/journals on any of the following topics: - attacks on their castle - a hunting expedition - an entertainment occasion - daily life in a castle ### Role of the Roman Catholic Church in the Life of Ordinary People During the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church grew in wealth and influence. According to the doctrine of Roman Catholic Church, the Pope held absolute and unlimited power over the entire Church. At the same time, the Roman Catholic Church provided stability and leadership on which people could rely. For instance, the King Charlemagne of France was the most powerful monarch of the Holy Roman Empire. In 800 AD, he was crowned as Frankish emperor by Pope Leo III. In the following years, the Pope's dominance compelled numerous monarchs to work with the Church. The Church exerted significant influence and control over ordinary people. Holidays were observed to commemorate saints or religious events. Church leaders were in charge of schools, hospitals and tax collection. Priests registered births, married people, and officiated at funerals ### The Byzantine Empire (330 AD to 1453 AD) The Byzantine Empire also called the Eastern Roman Empire, existed from 330 AD to 1453 AD. The Byzantine Empire was the continuation of the Roman Empire in its eastern provinces during the Middle Ages. **Map**: (Insert a map of the Byzantine Empire here) **Hagia Sophia**: Was Built in 537 AD. It is the former Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal cathedral, later, an Ottoman imperial mosque and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. **Note for Teachers**: Ask the students to study the hierarchy carefully and discuss why was the hierarchy, shown in the pyramid, important in the Roman Catholic society? Eastern Europe and Russia were introduced to Greco-Roman culture, Greek language, and Eastern Orthodox Christianity by the Byzantine civilization. The Hagia Sophia was the Orthodox Patriarch's seat in Constantinople, which is now Istanbul. ### Justinian Code Justinian Code is one of the most notable achievements of Byzantine Empire. During the reign of Emperor Justinian 1 (527 AD 565 AD) the ancient Roman laws were collected and organised to form the Justinian Code. The Justinian Code brought uniformity to the majority of the laws that comprise the modern world's justice system. **Diagram**: (Insert a diagram depicting the Justinian Code here) ### Economy and Trade The Byzantine Empire had a strong agricultural and trade-based economy. Constantinople was regarded as the trade centre because it controlled the major trade routes connecting Europe and Asia. Direct commercial contacts were maintained in Constantinople with merchants from Central Asia, Russia, Scandinavia, Northern Europe, and the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea. Even after the conquest of Arab lands, the Empire traded with Persia, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, except when at war with them. **Note for Teachers**: Ask the students to study the visual details of Hagia Sofia. What does it tell us about the architecture of Byzantium Empire? ### The Decline of the Byzantine Empire According to historians, no single event brought the Byzantine Empire to an end. Natural disasters and powerful enemies such as the Arabs, Seljuk Turks, and Ottoman Turks all contributed to the empire's demise. Most importantly, the Byzantine Empire's incessant civil wars destroyed a highly efficient military system, a sizable population, trade network, and economy. While the empire was declining, civil wars hastened its demise. With the fall of Constantinople, the Russian Empire became the centre of Eastern European society and Orthodox Christianity. **Facts to Know:** **Fall of Constantinople 1453**: Fall of Constantinople in 1453 is considered to be the end of Byzantine Empire. This was the year when Ottoman Sultan Mehmet Fatih conquered the ancient city of constantinople. The city was renamed as Islambul which became Istanbul in the later years. You may get more information about this city through different sources. ### The Dark Ages and Impacts on Europe The term "Dark Ages" 500 AD-1000 AD is frequently used interchangeably with "Middle Ages." It refers to the time between the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Renaissance. The Dark Ages were also characterized by frequent warfare between Barbarians and Mongols. ### Significant Impacts of Dark Ages on Europe Despite the fact that there was little scientific and cultural progress during this time period, some significant impacts were well known such as: - Catholic Christianity flourished in Western Europe during this time period. - The Roman Empire gradually disintegrated into many smaller political entities or empires. Feudalism remained the dominant political system in Western Europe. - The most wealthy and powerful members of society created cathedrals, churches, sculpture, painting, textiles, manuscripts, jewellery, and ritual items. - The Byzantine Empire remained a powerful political entity in the East. ### The Rise of Mongol Empire As Europe lived through the Middle Ages, the world witnessed the rise of the Mongols in Asia. Indeed, the Mongol conquests between the early-13th and mid-14th centuries dominated world history. The Mongols were a nomadic warring people from Central Asia. The Mongol era is best known for its overwhelming military power. Genghis Khan had conquered much of Central Asia by 1127 AD. As they moved south and took control of Persia, the Genghis Khan's successors made various conquests. In 1258, his grandson Halako Khan attacked Baghdad and destroyed the Abbassid Caliphate; you can read more about this in the Islamic history chapters. The Mongols divided the regions into four groups known as khanates in 1260. This facilitated them to efficiently govern the vast territory of the empire. Until 1294, the Mongols ruled the world's largest unified empire. ### Impacts of Mongols Invasions on Europe After establishing their rule, the Mongols allowed the people to retain their local institutions and cultures. The Catholic Christian church of Western Europe maintained control of their territory. The Mongol network greatly facilitated travel and communication between Asia and Europe. During the Mongol era, travellers such as Marco Polo brought back information about China and provided access to Chinese technologies such as coal for energy, money, printing and explosive powder, astronomy, medicine, and mathematics. Also, sea explorers for instance, Christopher Columbus discovered India's riches. The tax system was established by the Mongols. Banking and insurance practices spread from Eurasia to Europe, resulting in economic stability in these parts of the world. However, the faster inter-regional contact during the Mongol period created a serious problem. During this time, the Black Death or Plague began in China and quickly spread to the Middle East and Europe. The plague killed one-quarter to one-third of the population of Western Europe and the Middle East. **Do You Know?** In the late 13th century, Marco Polo, a young Venetian explorer, embarked on a grand adventure to China. He met and served in the army of the Great Khan, Kublai Khan. During his years under Kublai's patronage, Marco Polo introduced the Great Khan to European civilization, and the Great Khan, in turn, introduced Marco Polo to Chinese civilization. **Diagram**: (Insert a diagram depicting Marco Polo here) ### According to historical records, Mongol or Khan dynasty ended in 1368. The Mongol empire ceased to expand and began to decline after the death of Kublai Khan. The succession issue, internal disputes, lack of leadership, and widespread corruption contributed to the downfall of Mongol Empire. In the end, the Khanates were defeated by external enemies and disintegrated. Nonetheless, the Mongol Empire, particularly in terms of technology exchange, has continued to have an impact on the world. **Diagram**: (Insert a diagram depicting the Yuan Dynasty here) **Facts to Remember** - Mumluk dynasty of Egypt defeated Mongols in the battle of Ain Jalut in 1260. Mongols could not advance further in the Muslim world. - Mumluks were militarily very powerful to the extent that they defeated numerous crusaders. **Note for Teachers**: Encourage the students to learn more about the decline of Mongol Empire. Students may prepare their findings in the class by sharing the reasons and possible steps which could have saved the Empire from such decline. ### What I Have Learned - After the emperor Marcus Aurelius in 180 AD, the Roman empire started showing the signs of weakness. - The fall of Rome divided the whole Europe. The Western Roman Empire was split into hundreds of Kingdoms largely by the barbarians. The constant warfare of barbarians resulted in the loss of military power. - During the dark ages, Christianity flourished in Europe. - In feudalism, king owned all of the land in the kingdom. - The Byzantine Empire was the continuation of the Roman Empire. - The Mongols were fierce warring nomadic people from Central Asia. - In 1096, European armies gathered in the Byzantine capital of Constantinople and from there they planned to attack Palestine. ### Questions and Activities 1. **Choose the best option:** - Marcus Aurelius reigned from: - 130 to 150 AD - 161 to 180 AD - 375 to 538 AD - Middle ages in Europe refers to: - Renaissance - Feudalism - Dark ages - Barbarians were mainly: - Germanic tribes - Mongols - French - The economy of Byzantine was based on: - mining - War - Trade & Agriculture - The Mongols developed: - Communication network - Domestic laws - Both of the above 2. **Define the following:** - Feudal system - Barbarians - Orthodox church 3. **Answer the following questions in 3-4 lines.** - Describe the reasons which resulted in the rise of feudalism in Middle ages. - Compare the hierarchy of responsibilities between the knights and peasants in feudal system. - How was the Byzantine Empire linked with other parts of the world? - Differentiate between the authority and power of the Pope and the King. - What was Justinian Code? In your opinion, why did Justinian feel the necessity for a unified legal Code? 4. **Answer the following questions in detail.** - Explain the positive and negative impacts of dark ages on Europe. Provide a judgement with your own understanding. - What were the main characteristics of the feudal system? - Analyse the effects of the fall of Roman Empire. - Evaluate the impacts of Mongol invasion on Europe. - Why were the Knights so important for the feudal kingdoms? ### Connect to Today **Forming and Supporting Opinions**: Write an essay on the following topic: Society and Social Structure of Pakistan ### Critical Thinking (Group Work) **Analysing**: How fair was the feudal system? How would you feel if you were a Noble or a Peasant?