Beginnings of European History

ROMAN EMPIRE

• Octavian became Augustus (“revered one”), first Roman emperor

Caesar Augustus

• strong government• unifying law code

that could be updated and interpreted

• good trade and transportation (roads for army)• could become citizen

by enlisting in the army

Strengths of Empire

• a few rich people and many poor people• slaves were

unnecessary due to cheap labor, but showed status

• boys were taught in schools• Roman emperor was

the head of the religion• gladiators were

entertainment

Roman Society

• Aqueducts• Galen’s medical

knowledge• Ptolemy’s theory of

astronomy (geocentric)

Technologies

CHRISTIANITY

Christianity• A religion whose followers believe Jesus Christ to be the Savior of

the world.

Spread of Christianity

Spread of Christianity

Constantine• The first Roman Emperor to

become Christian.• Issued the Edict of Milan in 313• Founded a new capital at

Constantinople

Doctrine of Petrine Succession• Early Christian doctrine that the apostle Peter was the

appointed successor of the Christian church• Used to justify Papal power (the power of the Pope)• Avoided caesaropapism- when a leader is the head of state

and the head of the church

Spread of Christianity

Great Schism (1054)• Split between East and West• West= Roman Catholic

East= Eastern Orthodox

Spread of Christianity

FALL OF ROME

• Roman emperor that split the empire into east and west• drove out barbarians• tried to impose wage

and price controls

Diocletian

• money loses its value while prices continue to rise• countries unstable

because their international standing decreases (they can get less stuff)

Inflation

• Germanic invaders (called barbarians)• lack of expansion

(no additional flow of money)• political and military

weakness• social change

(apathy toward the government)

Decline of Rome

Byzantine Empire• Became the richest part of the old Roman Empire• Trade limited to the Arabic World (Middle East and North

Africa)• Cut off ties with the west • Famous emperor: Justinian I• Greek in culture and language

ISLAM

Islam• A religion whose followers adhere to the teachings of the prophet

Mohammed.• Mohammed was visited by an angel (Gabriel) who restored the

teachings of God to Earth.• Born in Mecca, he was driven out because of his teachings.• Later, he was invited back.• Translated into heaven in Jerusalem

Five Pillars of Islam• The Creed (faith in

Allah)• Pray five times a day• Fast during the

month of Ramadan• Almsgiving• Pilgrimage to Mecca

Islamic Division• After Mohammed

died, there was controversy over who should take his place.• Those who favor his

son-in-law Ali= Shia• Those who favor

election= Sunnite

Spread of Islam• Spread rapidly

throughout the Middle East and North Africa.• Invaded Spain

• Moors at Tours 732

Middle Ages

• Governments became more local• “mini Ice-Age” caused a decline in food production• People were not as healthy

• Some learning was lost

What was Europe like?

• A time between the Classical Period (Greece and Rome) and the Modern World (RenaissanceNow)

Middle Ages

• Franks came in contact with the Roman Empire in the 200s• 481- Clovis became king of a Frankish tribe• He conquered other tribes in northern Gaul• Converted to Christianity• Controlled southwestern Gaul• Started the Merovingian kings

Rise of the Frankish Empire

Charlemagne• Son of Pepin III• Rule 768-814• Defeated many in war:• Lombards (Italy)• Saxons (northern Germany)• Avars (central Europe)• Spain in the Pyrenees

• 800- crowned “Emperor of the Romans” by Pope Leo III

Carolingian Renaissance• Emphasis on reading,

writing, and education• Developed schools

based on the Roman model• Alcuin of York taught

Charlemagne’s children

• Written Bible• Caroline miniscule

• Bishops told to create libraries

Charlemagne’s Reforms• Split up his empire

into areas controlled by counts• Missi Dominici “the

Lord’s messengers”• Ensured support of

Charlemagne• Heard complaints• Determined

effectiveness of laws

Decline of the Frankish Empire• Charlemagne gave his

empire to his son, Louis the Pious

• 840- Louis divided the empire among his sons: Lothair, Charles the Bald, and Louis the German

• 843- Treaty of Verdun• Split up Charlemagne’s

empire

• 870- Middle Kingdom split between the remaining two kingdoms

• Empire weakened by invasion• Muslims• Slavs• Magyars

Vikings• 800-900 AD-

fearsome invaders• From Scandinavia• Worshipped pagan

gods• Raid and loot towns

for slaves to work their farms• Good at warfare and

siege techniques

Magyars• Hungarian tribes• 7 tribes came together • Pope sent a crown to St. Stephen to crown him as their king• Thereafter, Hungarians came under the realm of Latin

Christiandom

FEUDALISM

• A powerful noble had lots of land, more than he could use• He granted this land (called a fief) to a lesser noble to use• This created a contract between the two• The lesser noble promised loyalty while the powerful noble

promised protection• Land was inherited from father to eldest son (primogeniture)• Women could have land in their dowry, but it became their

husband’s land when they got married

How it worked

• Lord= grants land/expects loyalty• Vassal= accepts land/protection• Knights= trained soldiers that work for vassals (nobility)• Peasants (Serfs)= people who live on the land and farm the

land

The people

Manors • Self-sufficient villages where peasants worked the land for a noble• Noble kept 1/3 of the

land for private use (domain)• Peasants had other

2/3 to work for their sustenance• Peasants also had to

work on the noble’s land to pay for use of their land

Nobles• Did not live in luxury• Often lived in a keep

or a castle (later on)• Castles had thick

walls for defense and small windows without glass

• Marriage was a way to advance one’s fortunes• Men depended on

their wife and children for help

Peasants• Worked the land• Did not get vacations

or holidays• Could not hunt on

the Lord’s land• Peasants had a poor

diet (rarely ate meat)• Victims of warfare

CHURCH

Hierarchy

• Some people wanted to escape from the world and devote their life to God

• Initially, monks and nuns lived alone and apart from the world• Eventually they built monasteries (for monks) and convents

(for nuns)• Monasticism was the way of life in monasteries and convents

Monasticism

• Saint Benedict- became a hermit• Well-known for his holiness• Established a monastery at Monte Cassino in central Italy• The standards he set for monks was known as Benedictine Rule

and was later adopted by other monasteries and convents• Saint Patrick• Brought Christianity to Ireland in 432

• Saint Augustine• Led a group of monks to England• Archbishop of Canterbury (center of Christian church in England)

Saints

• Canon law- Church’s law code• Interdict- form of punishment where all churches in a region

were closed and sacraments forbidden• Heretics- those who opposed the church• Threat to the church, heretics punished severely

• Tithe- One tenth of a person’s income to be paid to the Church

Church and Politics

• Encouraged equality and dignity for all• Divorce was never allowed • Took care of poor and needy• Sometimes even established hospitals

Society and Economics

• Church gained great wealth and influence• Simony- people could buy church offices• Inquisition- search for heretics• Especially popular in Spain• Often involved torture of accused heretics

Problems

ENGLISH MONARCHY

• 1066- Duke William of Normandy claimed the English throne after Edward’s death

• He crossed the English Channel and defeated a rival for the throne at the battle of Hastings

• Resulted in the mixing of French and Anglo-Saxon culture• William rule from 1066-1087

Norman Conquest

• William brought feudalism to England and had the nobles swear loyalty to him

• He also stopped the nobility from uniting by scattering their fiefs throughout England

• 1100-1135- Henry I, sent traveling judges throughout England• 1154-1189- Henry II, allowed nobles to pay a fee instead of

serving in the army, also advocated trial by jury• He married Eleanor of Aquitaine which gave him feudal lands in

France

After the Conquest

• Son of Henry II• Wanted English nobles to

pay more taxes to support wars in France

• Nobles banded together to oppose this

• Forced King John to sign the Magna Carta

King John

• Latin for “Great Charter”• Protected the liberties of the nobles• Established rights for ordinary people• King John could not raise taxes without consent of the Great

Council• It made sure that the king obeyed the law like everyone else.

Magna Carta

• 1260s- revolt against Henry III threatened the monarchy• 1265- Simon de Montfort combined the nobles and the middle

class against the king• This combination led to the English Parliament• House of Lords- nobles and clergy• House of Commons- knights and burgesses

Parliament

• 1272-1307- Edward I ruled England• Common law is based on precedence, how similar situations

were handled in the past• Divided the courts into three parts:• Court of Common Pleas- ordinary citizens• Court of the Exchequer- financial accounts and tax cases• Court of the King’s Bench- king or government

Common Law

FRENCH MONARCHY

• 987- Carolingian kings died out• 987- Nobles chose Hugh Capet to be king• Started the Capetian line that ruled for 300 years• Capetians wanted more land, especially land owned by the

English in France• 1180-1223- Philip II took large land holdings away from the

English• 1285-1314- Philip IV (“the Fair”) started taxing the clergy

Capetian Kings

• Despite centralizing measures, still very feudal in France• Nobles had most of the power• King was stronger than clergy in France• Dispute with Boniface the VII

• Estates General- representative body made of the three major social classes in France (peasants, clergy, nobility)

Central Government

• 1328- Charles IV (last Capetain) died, Valois came to power

After the Capetains

HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE

What does it look like?

• 814- Italy fell into disorder after Charlemagne’s death• 900- Italy was held by the Byzantine Empire, the Church, and

Arab Muslims• 936- German lords elect Otto I as king• 951- He attacked northern Italy• 962-He became the new “Holy Roman Emperor”

• 1054-1056- Henry III, height of imperial power• 1056- Henry IV came to power

Rulers

CONFLICTS WITH THE CHURCH

• Henry IV clashed with Pope Gregory VII• Lay investiture- nobles appointed bishops• Gregory VII excommunicated Henry IV and told the nobles to

elect another emperor• 1077- Henry pleaded for the pope’s mercy• 1122- Concordat of Worms solved the controversy of lay

investiture• Only the pope could appoint bishops• Emperor could give bishops fiefs

Henry IV

CRUSADES

• 1000s- Seljug Turks took control of Palestine• Turks threatened Constantinople and the king asked the pope

for help• 1095- Pope Urban II called a meeting and urged European

nobles to send knights to regain the Holy Land• People went because:• Promise of salvation• Hope to gain land or wealth• Opportunities for trade

Why?

• 1096-1099- French and Italian lords sent several armies to the Holy Land

• Captured Antioch and eventually Jerusalem• The Crusaders slaughtered Jerusalem’s Muslim and Jewish

inhabitants

First Crusade

• Second Crusade- 1147-1149- Turks had taken back some cities gained in the First Crusade• Turks held, Crusaders lost

• Third Crusade- Saladin (Turk) gained control of Jerusalem• 1189-1192- Frederick Barbarossa, King Philip II of France, and

King Richard I of England went to capture the Holy Land• King Richard I secured a truce with Saladin that allowed Christians

to enter Jerusalem freely

Other Major Crusades

• 1212- young people from across Europe decided to march to the Holy Land

• By the time they reached the Mediterranean coast, they were disorganized and hungry

• Several thousand boarded ships in France that sold them into slavery

Children’s Crusade

• New weapons and warfare• The crossbow• Catapults

• Political change• Some lords sold land to go on the

Crusades• Fewer lords=more power with fewer

people• Better trade with the Middle East and

beyond

Results

TOWNS

• Established through a Town Charter- a document indicating the rights of townspeople

• Rights (called corporate liberties) included:• Freedom• A year and a day rule

• Exemption• Townspeople did not have to work on the manor

• Town justice• Towns had their own courts

• Commercial privileges• Townspeople could sell goods freely in the town market

Rights of Townspeople

• A group of people with the same occupation that had the sole right to trade in a given area (monopoly)

• Protected against competition from outsiders• Took care of members of the guild and their families

• Craft guilds set standards for wages, hours, and working conditions

• Controlled training of workers

Guilds

• Serfs ran away to towns to improve their lives• some also went to find work after being forced to leave the

manor• Towns were in easily defensible places

• Towns were not very clean• Diseases spread rapidly

Life and Death

• Mainly for nobles and clergy• Schools were monasteries and churches• Universitas- “association of people”, basically a guild for

education• University of Paris- theology• University at Oxford- theology• University of Bologna- civil law and church law• University of Salerno- medicine

Education

• Mainly church architecture• 1000-1150= Romanesque• Heavy, domed roofs• Few windows• Little light

• 1100-1300= Gothic• Tall spires• Flying buttresses• High, thin walls• Lots of light• Stained-glass windows

Architecture

Romanesque

Gothic

BLACK DEATH

• A.k.a. “Bubonic Plague” or the “Black Plague”

• 1347- plague came from Asia and spread along trade routes• Black rats on ships carried the disease• Fleas bit rats and then bit humans

• High mortality rate• About 25 million people died between 1347-1351• 1/3 the population of Europe

Black Death

• People lost faith in God• Church lost power and importance• Workers became more valuable and asked for higher wages• Peasant uprisings• Change in relations between the upper and lower class

Results of the Black Death

HUNDRED YEARS WAR

• English king Edward III held lands in France• He was a vassal of the French king

• 1328- French Capetian king died• Edward III claimed the throne• French elected Philip VI to be king• War broke out

Why?

• Battle of Agincourt (1415)• English used the longbow to cut

down French knights• Orleans• Siege led by Joan of Arc

• Weapons• Cannons• Gunpowder• Longbows

Battles and Weapons

• A peasant girl that helped France unite to defeat the English• French royal family was at war• House of Burgundy sided with the British• House of Orleans tried to unite France

• Joan of Arc helped secure the throne for Charles VII of Orleans• After her capture and trial, she was burned at the stake for

unwomanly conduct

Joan of Arc

• French won the war, but France was deeply hurt• Kings in France and England gained more power over nobles• English kings had power limited further by the law

Results

• 1455- a war between the English houses of Lancaster (red rose) and York (white rose)

• 1485- Henry Tudor of the House of Lancaster defeated King Richard III of York

• He became Henry VII

War of the Roses

DECLINE OF CHURCH’S POWER

• Philip IV of France tried to tax the clergy• Pope Boniface VIII decreed this illegal• Philip IV had the pope arrested.

• After Boniface died, Philip IV had a French pope elected• 1309- Clement V moved church headquarters to Avignon,

France• 1377- Pope Gregory XI returned the papacy to Rome

Babylonian Captivity

• 1377- Pope Gregory XI returned the papacy to Rome• 1378- cardinals elected an Italian pope and then later a French

pope• Italian pope stayed in Rome• French pope moved to Avignon

• Council of Constance 1414-1417- ended the Great Schism• Elected a new Italian pope• Removed French and Italian popes• A third pope resigned

Great Schism

• John Wycliffe- 1300s• Authority of Bible should be greater than the authority of popes• Individuals should be able to read and interpret scripture• English translation of Bible

• Jan Hus• Czech religious reformer• Attacked the practices of worldly church clergy• Believed people should have a direct relationship with their God

Reformers