chapter 12: the rise of medieval europe - granbystudents … · 2008-12-04 · section 2 >...

12C h a p t e r

A.D. 500–1300

The Rise ofMedieval Europe

> Movement Invasions by Vikings,Magyars, and Muslims influencemedieval Europe. Section 1

> Cooperation Nobles, church offi-cials, and peasants develop ties ofloyalty and service to one another.Section 2

> Uniformity The Catholic Churchaffects every aspect of medievallife. Section 3

> Conflict European kings, feudallords, and popes struggle for politi-cal dominance. Section 4

SThetoryteller

It was tournament day. As trumpets flourished, the mar-

shal shouted, “In the name of God and St. Michael, do your bat-

tle!” Knights on horseback thundered toward each other and met

with a deafening clash. Lords and ladies cheered as their favorite

unhorsed his opponents. The victor was awarded a prize from

the lady whose colors he wore.

Such tournaments provided more than just entertainment.

They also trained soldiers for combat. After the fall of Rome,

wars were frequent. A professional warrior class—the knights—

led the new, vigorous, competitive society that would reshape

western Europe.

How did Christianity, the classical heritage, andGermanic practices combine to form a new European civilization? How did this civilization develop and lay the foundation for modern European life?

Historical Significance

292

Chapter Themes

Chapter 12 The Rise of Medieval Europe 293

Monarchies and representativeassemblies arose in medieval Europe.Draw a time line of key events in thedevelopment of these institutions.

Your History Journal

Apparition Before the Chapter of Arles byGiotto di Bondone. San Francesco,Assisi, Italy

Art&History

Chapter Overview

Visit the World History: The Human ExperienceWeb site at worldhistory.ea.glencoe.com andclick on Chapter 12—Chapter Overview to pre-view the chapter.

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/socialstudies/worldhistory/whthetea2003/content.php4/603/1

By A.D. 500, Germanic invasions had allbut destroyed the urban world of theRoman Empire. Trade declined. Cities,

bridges, and roads fell into disrepair and disuse.Law and order vanished, and education almost dis-appeared. Money was no longer used. For mostpeople, life did not extend beyond the tiny villageswhere they were born, lived, and died.

Western Europe was so backward because ofthis decline that the early part of this period wasonce called “the Dark Ages.” Scholars later com-bined the Latin terms medium (middle) and aevum(age) to form the term medieval, recognizing thatthis period was an era of transition between ancientand modern times. Out of this violent medievalperiod, or Middle Ages, a dynamic civilizationarose. It combined elements of classical andGermanic cultures with Christian beliefs.

Merovingian RulersDuring the A.D. 400s the Franks, who settled in

what is now France and western Germany,emerged as the strongest Germanic group. Theirearly rulers, known as Merovingian (MEHR•uh•VIHN•jee•uhn) kings for the ruler Merowig, heldpower until the early A.D. 700s.

ClovisIn A.D. 481 a brutal and wily warrior named

Clovis became king of the Franks. Fifteen yearslater, Clovis became the first Germanic ruler toaccept Catholicism. Clovis’s military victories andhis religious conversion gave his throne stability.

A century later the Frankish kingdom began todecline. Frankish kings had followed the custom ofdividing the kingdom among their heirs. Heirsbecame rivals and fought each other for land. By A.D. 700 political power had passed from kings to government officials known as mayors of the palace.

294 Chapter 12 The Rise of Medieval Europe

> Terms to Definemayor of the palace, count

> People to MeetClovis, Charles Martel, Pepin the Short,Charlemagne, the Vikings

> Places to LocateFrankish Empire, Scandinavia

The men of medieval times, includingCharlemagne, loved hunting. It was a cruel sport,but at least it provided meat for the royal tables.

When Charlemagne satdown to dinner, the maincourse was usually aroast of game from themorning hunt. Duringthe meal, one of the poetsof the royal court mightrise to read aloud apoem—to the dismay ofthe king’s soldiers, whosometimes clapped theirhands over their ears andglared at the poet untilCharlemagne scoldedthem. With dinner, theking enjoyed “the wineof learning.”

—freely adapted fromCharlemagne, RichardWinston, 1968

S e c t i o n 1

Frankish Rulers

SThetoryteller

Charlemagne

Read to Find Out Main Idea Frankish rulers, such asCharlemagne, were exceptional rulers fortheir time.

Charles MartelIn A.D. 714 Charles Martel, or “Charles the

Hammer,” became mayor of the palace. When Muslimforces threatened Europe in A.D. 732, Charles ledthe successful defense of Tours, in France. This vic-tory won him great prestige. As you read inChapter 11, the victory ensured that Christianitywould remain the dominant religion of Europe.

Pepin the ShortIn A.D. 752, with the backing of nobles and

church officials, Pepin the Short, the son of CharlesMartel, became king of the Franks. The popeanointed, or put holy oil on, Pepin, making him adivinely chosen ruler in the eyes of the people.

In return for the Church’s blessing, Pepin wasexpected to help the pope against his enemies. InA.D. 754 Pepin forced the Lombards, a Germanicpeople, to withdraw from Rome. He then gave thepope a large strip of Lombard land in central Italy.In appreciation, the pope cut his political ties to theByzantine Empire and looked to the Franks as hisprotector. As a result, the fortunes of western Europeand Catholicism were bound more closely together.

Charlemagne’s EmpireIn A.D. 768 Pepin’s son, Charlemagne, became

the Frankish king. Charlemagne, or Charles theGreat, was one of Europe’s great monarchs. In Latinhis name is written Carolus Magnus, which gave thename Carolingian to his dynasty. The king cut animposing figure. His biographer, a monk namedEinhard, described him this way:

Charles was large and strong, and of loftystature, though not disproportionally tall … nose a little long, hair fair, andface laughing and merry…. He used towear the national, that is to say, theFrankish, dress—next his skin a linenshirt and linen breeches, and above thesea tunic fringed with silk; white hose fas-tened by bands covered his lower limbsand shoes his feet, and he protected hisshoulders and chest in winter by a close-fitting coat of otter or marten skins. Overall he flung a blue cloak, and he alwayshad a sword girt about him.

Charlemagne nearly doubled the borders of his kingdom to include Germany, France, northernSpain, and most of Italy. His enlarged domainbecame known as the Frankish Empire. For the

first time since the fall of Rome, most westernEuropeans were ruled by one government.

Because few western Europeans could read andwrite, Charlemagne wanted to revive learning. Heset up a palace school at Aachen, his capital, to edu-cate his officials. Alcuin (AL•kwihn), a scholarfrom England, ran the school and developed a pro-gram of study based on the Bible and Latin writ-ings. Under Alcuin’s direction, scholars preservedclassical learning by copying ancient manuscripts.Charlemagne’s school helped provide westernEuropeans with a common set of ideas.

A Christian RealmOne of the ideas that united western Europeans

was the creation of a Christian Roman Empire.Church leaders believed that Charlemagne couldturn this idea into reality. In A.D. 800 Charlemagnecame to Rome to militarily defend Pope Leo IIIagainst the Roman nobles. To show his gratitude,Leo crowned Charlemagne the new Roman emper-or. As protector of the Church and ruler of much ofwestern Europe, Charlemagne wanted the title, buthe had misgivings about receiving it from the pope.By crowning a monarch, the pope seemed to be say-ing that church officials were superior to rulers.

In spite of his concern, Charlemagne acceptedhis duties as emperor and worked to strengthen theempire. Because the central bureaucracy was small,he relied on local officials called counts to assisthim. Each count was carefully instructed in theduties of office. The counts solved local problems,stopped feuds, protected the weak, and raised


Shown here,a decorated

Merovingian buckle.Gregory, bishop of Tours,wrote the best source of thehistory of the Merovingiankings. Why did the politicalpower of these kings fade?

HistoryVisualizing

armies for the emperor. Each year royal messen-gers, the missi dominici, went on inspections inwhich they informed Charlemagne about the per-formance of the counts and other local administra-tors. The emperor also traveled throughout theempire observing the work of his officials firsthand.

Collapse of Charlemagne’s EmpireMore than anything else, Charlemagne’s force-

ful personality held his empire together. His deathin A.D. 814 left a void that his only surviving son,Louis the Pious, could not fill. After Louis’s death,Charlemagne’s three grandsons fought one anotherfor control of the empire.

In A.D. 843 the three brothers agreed in the Treatyof Verdun to divide the Carolingian lands. Charles the Bald took the western part, which covered mostof present-day France. Louis the German acquiredthe eastern portion, which today is Germany.Lothair, who became the Roman emperor, took astrip of land in the middle of the empire stretchingfrom the North Sea southward to Italy.

Invasions Increase DisunityWhile internal feuding weakened the

Carolingian kingdoms, outside invasions nearlydestroyed them. Muslims from North Africa seizedparts of southern Italy and gained control of thewestern Mediterranean. The Slavs marched out ofthe east to invade central Europe. From Asia a newgroup of fierce nomads called Magyars gallopedwest, leaving a trail of destruction. The most threat-ening attacks, however, came from the Vikings,raiders from Scandinavia to the north.

Viking InvasionsIn medieval Scandinavian, to go a-viking means to

fight as a warrior. Viking warriors traveled in long,deckless ships with one sail that were designed toslide swiftly through the water propelled by long oars.These boats were sturdy enough to cross the AtlanticOcean, shallow enough to navigate Europe’s rivers,and light enough to be carried past fortified bridges.The Vikings became known for surprise attacks andspeedy retreats. What they could not steal theyburned. No place in Europe was safe from attack.

Boasting names like Eric Bloodax and HaraldBluetooth, the Vikings sought riches and adventure.In the A.D. 800s they left their overpopulated home-land, which later became the kingdoms of Norway,Denmark, and Sweden. Viking warriors foughtferociously and showed their victims no mercy.

Viking TradeThe Vikings, however, were more than just

raiders. They were also explorers and settlers.Skilled in sailing and trading, they moved along theAtlantic and Mediterranean coasts of Europe. TheNorwegians settled the North Atlantic islands ofGreenland and Iceland, and even reached NorthAmerica. The Danes temporarily held England andestablished the Viking state of Normandy in north-western France. The Swedes settled in present-dayUkraine and Russia.

Viking CultureIn Scandinavia and their new homelands, the

Vikings worshiped many deities. They were proudof their gods and told stories of the gods’ greatdeeds. These stories became written poems calledEddas. The Vikings also made up sagas, or longtales. At first, storytellers recited them at specialfeasts. After A.D. 1100 the Vikings wrote down their sagas. By this time they had converted toChristianity. With their acceptance of the new reli-gion, the Vikings began to write their languageswith Roman letters.


ENGLAND

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Clovis’s kingdomAdded by Martel and PepinAdded by CharlemagneBattle site

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MapMapStudyStudy

Frankish Empire

During the A.D. 400s, the Franks emerged as the strongest of all Germanic peoples.

Location What modern countries did the Frankscontrol?


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London

Paris

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Constantinople

Kiev

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AralSea

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CaspianSea

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10°W 10°E 30°E 50°E 70°E30°W60°N

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Invasions of Europe A.D. 800–1000

Foreign invasions were a constant threat in western Europe at this time. 1. Region What effects did the invasions have on the Carolingian kingdoms? 2. Human/Environment Interaction What characteristic of the Vikings allowed no one in Europe to be safe from their attacks?

MapMapStudyStudy

Main Idea1. Use a chart like the one below

to identify reasons why Frank-ish rulers were exceptional fortheir time.

Recall2. Define mayor of the palace,

count.3. Identify Clovis, Charles Martel,

Pepin the Short, Charlemagne,Treaty of Verdun, the Vikings.

Critical Thinking4. Making Comparisons How

did Charlemagne work to

achieve European unity? Howare European leaders trying toachieve the same goal inEurope today?

Understanding Themes5. Movement Why did the

Vikings, the Magyars, and theSlavs leave their homelands andinvade western Europe?

A New EuropeThe people of western Europe suffered at the

hands of Vikings and other invaders. These raidsisolated communities and severely weakened thecentral authority of monarchs. Trade declined, and

many areas faced economic collapse. As a result ofroyal weakness, nobles and local officials took overthe local defense. Beginning in the A.D. 900s, a newpolitical and social system brought more stability to western Europe.

What Made Frankish Rulers Exceptional?

SECTION 1 ASSESSMENT

1.

2.

With the weakening of central gov-ernment, a new political systemknown as feudalism developed in

western Europe. Feudalism was a highly decentral-ized form of government that stressed alliances ofmutual protection between monarchs and nobles ofvarying degrees of power. The system was based ongiving land to nobles in exchange for loyalty andmilitary aid. With the land came peasants to farm itand many powers usually reserved for govern-ments. Feudalism took hold in northern Francearound A.D. 900 and spread through the rest ofwestern Europe by the A.D. mid-1000s.

Feudal RelationshipsThe tie between military service and land own-

ership that characterized feudalism began in theA.D. 700s. At that time, Charles Martel was fightingthe Muslims. Unlike the Europeans, the Muslimsoldiers used saddles with stirrups that enabledthem to fight on horseback, using a sword or lance.Charles wanted to adopt the stirrup and develop acavalry. However, the cost of keeping such a forcerequired a new type of military system. To supportthe cavalry, Martel began granting warriors fiefs,or estates with peasants. From these fiefs, warriorsgot the income to buy horses and battle equipment.

Frankish kings later enlarged this system bygiving fiefs to counts and local officials. In time,such nobles assumed many of the powers usuallyheld by government: raising armies, dispensingjustice, and in some cases even minting coins. Inreturn, the nobles swore an oath of loyalty andpledged military support to the king.

By the A.D. 900s, such arrangements amongnobles and monarchs emerged as feudalism. Lordswho had been granted fiefs were allowed to passtheir lands on to their heirs. In return, these nobleswere to provide knights, or mounted warriors, forthe royal army.

Medieval law laid down rules for marriage.When a young woman arrived at marriageableage, one of her brothers or male relatives had tofind her a suitable husband. If he did not, shecould register a complaint, and her relative couldbe called to the king’s court and given a year anda day to find her one. The husband had to be suit-ed to her social status and property. If the relativedid not do this, the king would step in and assignthe woman a part of the family inheritance. Thenshe could marry whomever she wished.

—from Women’s Lives in MedievalEurope, A Sourcebook, edited by EmileAmt, 1993

S e c t i o n 2

Medieval Life

SThetoryteller

Medieval tournament

Read to Find Out Main Idea Loyalties were maintainedeven in a divided and often violent Europe.> Terms to Define

feudalism, fief, vassal, homage, tournament, chivalry, manorialism, serf

> People to Meetknights, lords, ladies, peasants

In theory, feudal relationships were like a pyramid. The king was at the top. In the middle werevarious ranks of lords. Each lord was a vassal—anoble who served a lord of the next higher rank. Atthe bottom were the knights. In practice, however, anoble might be both a lord and a vassal, since anoble could pledge his allegiance to more than onelord. In fact, one German warrior, Siboto ofFalkenstein, was vassal to 20 different lords. Ofcourse, conflicts of loyalty arose if one of a vassal’slords went to war with another.

Feudal ObligationsTies between a lord and a vassal were made

official in a solemn ceremony known as homage. Inreturn for a fief, the vassal pledged to perform cer-tain duties. The most important obligation was mil-itary service. The vassal agreed to provide his lordwith a certain number of knights for battle during aperiod of 40 to 60 days each year. In addition, thevassal agreed to serve in the lord’s court, to providefood and lodging when the lord came visiting, andto contribute funds when the lord’s son became aknight or when his oldest daughter married.Vassals also pledged to pay ransom in the event ofthe lord’s capture in battle.

Castles for DefenseBecause of the lack of a strong central govern-

ment, warfare occurred frequently in feudal society.As a result, every noble built a castle, or fortifiedmanor house, for defense against enemies. The firstcastles were wooden buildings with high fences oflogs or mounds of hard-packed earth around them. Bythe A.D. 1100s castles were built of stone, with thickwalls and turrets, or small towers. Each castle wasbuilt on a hill or mound surrounded by a deep moat.Castles had a square tower called a keep. The keep,located in the strongest part of the castle, containedmany rooms, a hall, and a dungeon. Surroundingthe keep was a large open area called a bailey.Within the bailey were various buildings, includingbarracks, storerooms, workshops, and a chapel.

Life of the NobilityLords, ladies, and knights made up the nobility

of the Middle Ages. Although the nobles lived mucheasier lives than the peasants who worked forthem, their lives can hardly be called luxurious orglamorous. Castles were built for security, not com-fort, and were largely cold, dingy, and damp places.

Within his fief, a lord, or nobleman, had almosttotal authority. He collected rents in goods from

peasants and settled disputes between his vassals.Any outside attempt to seize the land or control theinhabitants of his fief was met with violent resistance.

In contrast, a lady, or noblewoman, had few, ifany, rights. A noblewoman could be wed as early asher twelfth birthday to a man her father selected.Her primary duties lay in bringing up children andtaking care of the household. Noblewomen tookpride in their needlework, turning out cloth andfine embroidery. They also learned to make effec-tive medicines from plants and herbs. Some womenshared the supervision of the estate with the lordand took over their husband’s duties while the menwere away at war.

EntertainmentNobles looked forward to tournaments—mock

battles between knights—as a show of military


An illustration from the Trés RichesHeures du Duc de Berry shows peasants

at work outside a castle. Why did feudal lords need castles?

HistoryVisualizing


The medieval castle was both fortress andhome. The first castles, raised in the A.D.900s, were square towers encircled by wood-en ramparts. By the A.D. 1100s, castles had

become mighty stone fortresses. From the towers andwalls archers took aim and soldiers dumped boiling liq-uids on attackers. The castle was surrounded by amoat—a body of water encircling the castle—thatcould be crossed when a drawbridge was let down.

Inside it was crowded, smelly, dirty, and damp.The animals ate and slept with the people, and thesmell of animal and human waste was everywhere.The occupants of the castle had to contend with coldearthen or stone floors, drafty halls, smoky rooms,and windows without glass that let in cold and heatalong with light. Not even the lord and lady had theirown private room. Grand but never comfortable, thecastle’s main purpose was military security. �

Life in the Castle�

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1–Moat; 2–Drawbridge; 3–Guardroom; 4–Latrine; 5–Armory; 6–Soldiers’ quarters; 7–Kitchen garden; 8–Storerooms and servants’ quarters; 9–Kitchen; 10–Great hall; 11–Chapel; 12–Lord and lady’s quarters; 13–Inner ward

PICTURING HISTORY

Harry Bliss

skills. They also loved to hunt, and both men andwomen learned the art of falconry and archery. Adinner featuring several dishes of game and fishand entertainment by minstrels, or singers, mightfollow.

Becoming a KnightA nobleman’s son began training for knight-

hood at age 7. Beginning as a page, or assistant, inthe house of a lord, he learned manners and the useof weapons. At 15, the page became a squire whoassisted a knight and practiced using weapons.Once he proved himself in battle, the squire wasknighted in an elaborate ceremony.

The behavior of knights was governed by acode of chivalry. This code called for knights to bebrave in battle, fight fairly, keep promises, defendthe Church, and treat women of noble birth in acourteous manner. Chivalry eventually became thebasis of good manners in Western society.

The Manorial SystemThe wealth of a feudal lord came from the labor

of the peasants who lived on and worked his land.Since the Roman Empire’s end, many peasants hadworked for large landowners, in part because theycould not afford their own land and in part for pro-tection. By the Middle Ages, European economiclife centered around a system of agricultural pro-duction called manorialism. It provided lords andpeasants with food, shelter, and protection.

Manors, or estates, varied in size from severalhundred to several hundred thousand acres. Eachincluded the lord’s house, pastures for livestock,fields for crops, forest areas, and a peasant village.While feudalism describes the political relation-ships between nobles, manorialism concerns eco-nomic ties between nobles and peasants.

Work on a ManorIn return for protection, the peasants provided

various services for the lord. Chief among thesewere farming the lord’s land and making variouspayments of goods. For example, each time a peas-ant ground grain at the lord’s mill, he was obligat-ed to leave a portion for the lord. Peasants werealso obligated to set aside a number of days eachyear to provide labor such as road or bridge repair.

Warfare and invasions made trade almostimpossible, so the manor had to produce nearlyeverything its residents needed. Most of the peas-ants farmed or herded sheep. A few worked asskilled artisans, for each manor needed a black-smith to make tools, a carpenter for building, a


Identifying a KnightTo identify themselves,knights had individual

designs painted on their shields and tunics. His particular design became known as theknight’s coat of arms. In noble families, coats ofarms were passed down from one generation tothe next. The flags of some modern countries arebased on the system of designs that were devel-oped by the knights.

Student Web Activity 12

Visit the World History: The Human ExperienceWeb site at worldhistory.ea.glencoe.com and click on Chapter 12—Student Web Activities for an activity relating to medieval knights.

An English suit of armor made ofsteel, brass, and leather. What knightly

code became the basis of good manners in Western society?

HistoryVisualizing

http://www.glencoe.com/qe/qe47.php?&st=603&pt=2&bk=18

shoemaker, a miller to grind grain, a vintner tomake wine, and a brewer to make beer. Peasantwomen made candles, sheared sheep, spun wool,and sewed clothing.

Peasants rarely left the manor. Most were serfs,people who were bound to the manor and couldnot leave it without permission. But the serfs werenot slaves—they could not be “sold” off of the landthey lived on.

Increased ProductionThe manorial system normally produced only

enough food to support the peasants and the lord’shousehold. However, a number of improvementsgradually boosted productivity and eased thethreat of famine.

The first improvement was the development ofa new, heavier type of plow. The new plow madedeeper cuts in the ground and had a device called amould-board that pushed the soil sideways. Theheavier plow meant less time in the fields for peas-ant farmers. As a result, farmers developed a bettermethod of planting.

Instead of dividing plots of land into two fields,one of which lay fallow, or unsown, each year,farmers in the A.D. 1000s began to use a three-fieldsystem. One field might be planted with winterwheat, a second with spring wheat and vegetables,and a third left fallow. The next year, different cropswere planted in the fallow field. One of the tworemaining fields was planted, and the other onewas left fallow. This system produced more cropsthan the old system and helped to preserve the soil.

Peasant LifePoverty and hardship characterized peasant

life, and few serfs lived beyond the age of 40.Famine and disease were constant dangers. In timesof war, the peasants were the first and hardest hit.

Invading knights trampled crops and burned villages, causing famine and loss of life. To supportthe war, their lord might require additional pay-ments of crops or labor. A monk of Canterburydescribed an English serf’s account of his day:

I work very hard. I go out at dawn, dri-ving the oxen to the field, and I yokethem to the plough; however hard thewinter I dare not stay home for fear ofmy master; but, having yoked the oxenand made the ploughshare and coulterfast to the plough, every day I have toplough a whole acre or more.

—Aelfric, Colloquy, A.D. 1005

Serfs like this man lived in tiny, one-room hous-es with dirt floors, no chimney, and one or twocrude pieces of furniture. People slept huddledtogether for warmth. Coarse bread, a few vegeta-bles from their gardens, and grain for porridgemade up their usual diet. Meat was a rarity.

In spite of hardships, peasants were able torelax on Sundays and holy days. They enjoyeddancing, singing, and sports such as wrestling andarchery. In addition, there were religious plays,pageants, and shows by minstrels.

Despite the obvious differences between serfsand nobles, the two groups did share a commoninterest in the land. Medieval Europeans believedthat every person was equal in the “eyes of God.”In practice, however, society was viewed as a hier-archy with ranked leaders. Each person—no matterwhat his or her place might be in the hierarchy—had certain duties that were attached to his or herposition in life. In general, people did not questiontheir standing or obligations. Although the manor-ial system seemed to lack freedom and opportunityfor most of the people involved in it, it did create astable and secure way of life during a time that wasgenerally violent and uncertain.


Main Idea1. Use a diagram like the one below

to show the system of loyaltiescreated under feudalism.

Recall2. Define feudalism, fief, vassal,

homage, tournament, chivalry,manorialism, serf.

3. Identify knight, lord, lady,peasant.

Critical Thinking4. Making Comparisons Com-

pare and contrast the feudal

class structure in medievalEurope with the varna system in early India discussed inChapter 8.

Understanding Themes5. Cooperation Diagram the

ways nobles, knights, and peasants cooperated during the medieval period.

System of Loyalties

➔➔

➔➔



During the Middle Ages, the CatholicChurch was the dominant spiritual influ-ence in western Europe. For most peo-

ple, the Church was the center of their lives. A smallnumber of Europeans, however, were Jews, Mus-lims, or non-Catholic Christians.

The Medieval ChurchAlthough the Church’s primary mission was

spiritual, the decline of Rome in the A.D. 400s led theChurch to assume many political and social tasks.During this time, the bishop of Rome, now calledthe pope, became the strongest political leader inwestern Europe. The pope claimed spiritual author-ity over all Christians, basing this claim on the beliefthat Peter the Apostle, Rome’s first bishop, had beenchosen by Jesus to lead the Church.

Religious RoleThe Catholic Church taught that all people

were sinners and dependent on God’s grace, orfavor. The only way to receive grace was by takingpart in the sacraments, or church rituals: baptism,penance, eucharist, confirmation, matrimony,anointing of the sick, and holy orders. One of themost important sacraments was the eucharist, orholy communion, which commemorated Christ’sdeath. People shared in the eucharist at a mass, orworship service. At each mass, the priest blessedwheat wafers and a cup of wine that stood on analtar. According to Catholic teaching, the priestsand the worshippers received Jesus’ invisible pres-ence in the forms of the bread and the wine.

During the Middle Ages, people generally hada limited understanding of church rituals. Masseswere said in Latin, a language few people under-stood. Also, many priests were poorly educated

Alcuin, a Benedictine monk, arose to beginhis day. The day’s work in a monastery dependedon sunlight hours, for candles were expensive andno one in medieval times had access to cheap arti-ficial light. Because it was winter, Alcuin had toget up at 2:30 A.M., and go to bed at 6:30 P.M.

after sunset. Sometimes he wasalready tired by noon! Hisworkday included reading,choir practice, bookbinding,sewing, gardening, and wor-ship services—which were theonly times during the day thathe was permitted to break hisvow of silence and speak.

—from Monastic Life in MedievalEngland, J.C. Dickinson, 1962

S e c t i o n 3

The MedievalChurch

SThetoryteller

Ancient monastery inGlendalough, Ireland

Read to Find Out Main Idea The Catholic Church shapedthe development of medieval Europe.

> Terms to Definesacrament, abbot, abbess, cardinal, lay investiture, heresy, excommunication, friar

> People to MeetBenedict, Gregory I, Gregory VII, Innocent III, Francis of Assisi, Dominic

> Places to LocateMonte Cassino, Cluny

and did not preach effectively. Moreover, few wor-shippers could read or write. What the average per-son learned about the Christian faith came from thestatues, paintings, and later the stained glass win-dows that adorned most medieval churches.

Church OrganizationThe church hierarchy, which was described in

Chapter 6, remained largely the same during theMiddle Ages. The contact most people had with theChurch was through parish priests, who conductedservices and oversaw the spiritual life of the com-munity. Occasionally bishops visited a parish tosupervise the priests.

The pope, bishops, and priests formed what iscalled the secular clergy because they lived in saeculo,a Latin phrase that means “in the world.” Otherclergy, known as regular clergy, lived by a regula, orrule. Regular clergy included monks and nuns wholived apart from society. These Christians played animportant role in strengthening the medievalChurch.

Benedict’s RuleIn A.D. 529 a Roman official named Benedict

founded a monastery at Monte Cassino in Italy. Hismonastery became a model for monks in othercommunities. Benedict drew up a list of rules thatprovided for manual work, meditation, and prayer.According to the Benedictine rule, monks could notown goods, must never marry, and were bound toobey monastic laws. Their life was one of poverty,chastity, and obedience to the directives of anabbot, or monastery head.

Monastic LifeMonks dressed in simple, long robes made of

coarse material and tied at the waist by a cord. Theyate one or two plain meals each day. Most monas-teries had a rule of silence; monks could not con-verse with one another except for a short time eachday. In some monasteries total silence was the rule.During meals, one monk might read passages from

of theof the

Monastic LifeAlthough monasteries were closed religious

communities, they profoundly influenced European cultureduring the Middle Ages.

St. Benedict and hismonks, like all those wholived at the monasteries,ate together in a refectory.

Mont St. Michel presents aview of the beautiful oldmonastery’s lower ramparts.

An illustrated page froma book copied by monksshows the careful, artisticwriting that became themanuscript before printingwas developed.

304

the Bible while the others meditated. Women took part in monastic life by living in a

convent under the direction of an abbess. Knownas nuns, they wore simple clothes and wrapped awhite cloth called a wimple around their face andneck. They alternated prayer with spinning, weav-ing, and embroidering items such as tapestries andbanners. They also taught needlework and themedicinal use of herbs to the daughters of nobles.

Influence of MonasticsAlthough monks and nuns lived apart from

society, they were not completely isolated. Indeed,they played a crucial role in medieval intellectualand social life. Since few people could read orwrite, the regular clergy preserved ancient religiousworks and the classical writings. Scribes laborious-ly copied books by hand, working in a small draftyroom with only a candle or small window for light.Illuminated manuscripts decorated with rich colorsand intricate pictures indicate that, although thetask was tedious, it was lovingly done.

Monasteries and convents provided schools for young people, hospitals for the sick, food for the needy, and guest houses for weary travelers.They taught peasants carpentry and weaving andmade improvements in agriculture that they passedon to others. Some monks and nuns becamemissionaries who spread Christian teachings tonon-Christians.

Missionary EffortsPope Gregory I was so impressed with the

Benedictine Rule that he adopted it to spreadChristianity in Europe. In A.D. 597 he sent monks toEngland, where they converted the Anglo-Saxonsto Catholicism. From England, missionaries carriedChristianity to northern Germany. During the A.D.600s, monasteries in Ireland sent missionariesthroughout the North Atlantic and western Europe.Although the Irish were isolated from the pope inRome, their missionaries won many converts. Bythe A.D. mid-1000s, most western Europeans hadbecome Catholics.

305

REFLECTING ON THE TIMES

1. Where did monks normally have theirmeals?

2. Why do you think all monks dressed alike?

A father who hasbought a place forhis son in amonastery presentsthe youngster to anabbot.

Power of the ChurchThe medieval Catholic Church helped to gov-

ern western Europe. It had its own laws and courtsthat dealt with cases related to the clergy, doctrine,and marriage and morals. Disobedience to churchlaws resulted in severe penalties for a common per-son and ruler alike. For example, a lord or king whoviolated Church law could face an interdict, whichbanned an entire region or country from receivingthe sacraments necessary to salvation.

The Church also had feudal ties that boosted itswealth and political power but often underminedits spiritual vitality. Many high church officialswere nobles and held land from kings in return formilitary service. Because their religious duties pre-vented them from fighting, these church leadersgave some of their land to knights who would fightfor them. The Church also received donations of landand money from nobles wanting to ensure their sal-vation. Nobles, however, began to influence churchpolicies, especially by having relatives appointed tochurch positions. Many of these appointees had lit-tle devotion to their spiritual calling.

Church ReformBy the A.D. 900s, many devout Christians were

calling for reform. The reform movement began inthe monasteries and spread throughout much ofwestern Europe. Most famous was the monastery atCluny in eastern France, whose monks won respectfor leading lives of pious simplicity. The abbots ofCluny sent representatives to other monasteries tohelp them undertake similar reforms.

Other church leaders tried to free the Churchfrom the control of feudal lords. They wanted theChurch, not the state, to be the final authority inWestern society. In A.D. 1059 a church councildeclared that political leaders could no longerchoose the pope. Instead, the pope would be electedby a gathering of cardinals—high church officialsin Rome ranking directly below the pope. In addition,the reformers insisted that the pope, not secularrulers such as lords and kings, should be the one toappoint bishops and other officials to church offices.

In A.D. 1073 the cardinals elected a reform-minded monk named Hildebrand as Pope GregoryVII. Gregory believed that the pope should havecomplete jurisdiction over all church officials. Heespecially criticized the practice of lay investiture,in which secular rulers gave the symbols of office,such as a ring and a staff, to the bishops they hadappointed.

Fighting HeresyInnocent III, one of the most powerful popes,

also tried to reform the Catholic Church. In A.D.1215 he convened a council that condemned drunk-enness, feasting, and dancing among the clergy. Thecouncil also laid down strict rules for stopping thespread of heresy, or the denial of basic churchteachings. Heresy had increased as corruption andscandal had rocked the Church. In the Middle Ages,heresy was regarded as seriously as the crime oftreason is viewed today.

At first, the Catholic Church tried to convertheretics, or those who challenged its teachings.When that failed, however, heretics were threat-ened with excommunication, or expulsion from theChurch. An excommunicated person was notallowed to take part in the sacraments and was alsooutlawed from any contact with Christian society.Since receiving the sacraments was considered tobe essential for salvation, banishment was an espe-cially severe penalty.

Early in the A.D. 1200s, for example, the Churchbecame concerned about a group of heretics inFrance known as Albigensians (AL•buh•JEHN•shuhnz). The Albigensians believed that the


A young boy, having obtained theoffice of bishop, carries sacred

church relics. How did Pope Gregory try to stop the selec-tion of church officials by secular rulers?

HistoryVisualizing

material world was evil and rejected church sacra-ments. To end this heresy, Pope Innocent III sentFrench knights to crush the group.

The InquisitionIn order to seek out and punish people sus-

pected of heresy, the Church set up a court in A.D.1232 known as the Inquisition. Those broughtbefore the court were urged to confess their heresyand to ask forgiveness. Often, however, Inquisitionofficials accused people without sufficient proof;sometimes they even used torture to obtain confes-sions. The Church welcomed back those whorepented, but those who did not repent were pun-ished. Punishment ranged from imprisonment toloss of property and even execution. According tochurch officials, these punishments were needed to save the souls of the heretics.

Friars Inspire ReformOther reformers of the Church during the early

A.D. 1200s were friars, or wandering preachers. Ata time when church leaders were criticized for theirlove of wealth and power, the friars depended ongifts of food and shelter to survive.

The friars followed monastic rules but did notisolate themselves from the rest of the Christiancommunity. Instead, they lived in towns andpreached Christianity. The best-known friars werethe Franciscans and the Dominicans.

Francis of Assisi, the son of a wealthy Italiancloth merchant, founded the Franciscan friarsabout A.D. 1210. Francis and his followers sought tofollow the simple life of Jesus and his disciples.They became known for their cheerful trust in Godand their respect for nature as a divine gift.

A Spanish priest named Dominic organizedthe Dominican friars in A.D. 1215. Like the Fran-ciscans, the Dominicans lived a life of poverty,

simplicity, and service. In addition, they were well-educated and persuasive preachers.

The JewsAs the Church’s power increased in medieval

Europe, the position of the Jews worsened. In theearly Middle Ages, Jews and Christians had livedpeacefully together in most of Europe. Many Jewshad become merchants, artisans, or landowners,and their contributions to society were valued bytheir Christian neighbors.

By the 1000s, however, many Christiansincreasingly saw the Jews as outsiders and a threatto society. They unfairly blamed the Jews forplagues, famines, and other social problems. Suchfalse accusations gave mobs the excuse to attackand kill thousands of Jews.

The most powerful source of anti-Semitism, orhatred of the Jews, came from interpretations ofChristian doctrine. Many church leaders and laityblamed the Jews for Jesus’ death and resented theJews’ refusal to become Christians. With churchapproval, political leaders required Jews in certainareas to wear badges or special clothes that identi-fied them as Jews. Jews were also forced to live inseparate communities that became known as ghet-tos. They also lost the right to own land and topractice certain trades. To earn a living, many Jewsbecame peddlers or money-lenders, jobs despisedby medieval Christians.

Beginning in the late 1200s, rulers in England,France, and certain parts of central Europe evenexpelled their Jewish subjects. Many of theexpelled Jews settled in eastern Europe, especiallyPoland, where they received protection. Over thecenturies, the Jews of eastern Europe developedthriving communities based on their religious traditions.


Main Idea1. Use a diagram like the one

below to show the reformsmade by the Catholic Churchthat affected the developmentof medieval Europe.

Recall2. Define sacrament, abbot,

abbess, cardinal, lay investiture,heresy, excommunication, friar.

3. Identify Benedict, Gregory I,Gregory VII, Innocent III, Francis of Assisi, Dominic.

Critical Thinking4. Synthesizing Information

Imagine that you are a religious,

but superstitious, peasant livingduring the Middle Ages. Inventan explanation for the faminethat has struck your village.

Understanding Themes5. Uniformity How effective

were the actions of theCatholic Church in trying tomake all western Europeansbelieve and practice one faith?

Reforms Development of Medieval Europe


After the decline of Rome, centralauthority in western Europe disap-peared. Except for Charlemagne’s

reign in the late A.D. 700s, kings were rulers inname only, their lands and power gradually lost tonobles. However, in the A.D. 1100s, many Europeanmonarchs began to build strong states.

EnglandAfter the Romans abandoned Britain in the A.D.

400s, the island was invaded by Germanic Angles,Saxons, and Jutes. These groups took over much ofBritain from the native Celts (KEHLTZ) and set upseveral kingdoms. In the late A.D. 800s, the DanishVikings from Scandinavia posed another threat.King Alfred of Wessex, known as Alfred the Great,united the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and defeated theDanes in A.D. 886. His united kingdom eventuallybecame known as “Angleland,” or England.

The Anglo-SaxonsAlfred ruled Anglo-Saxon England from A.D.

871 to A.D. 899. Like Charlemagne, he was interest-ed in the revival of learning. The English kingfounded schools and hired scholars to translatemany books from Latin to Anglo-Saxon. He alsohad the scholars write a history of England, knownas the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

The kings who followed Alfred were weakrulers. When the last Anglo-Saxon king, Edwardthe Confessor, died in A.D. 1066, three rivalsclaimed the throne.

The Norman Conquest One of the claimants to the throne was William,

the Duke of Normandy. A cousin of the late Englishking and vassal of the French king, William had a

The English throne was at stake as the Battle ofHastings approached. William decided to provokeHarold to fight in single combat and called on himto spare the blood of his followers. Under Normanlaw, personal combat decided difficult cases, lookingfor the judgment of God to settle the matter. Haroldrefused because he knew the cause was not personal,but national. It would take a full-scale invasion todecide who would wear the English crown.

—adapted from William the Conqueror,Edward A. Freeman, 1927

S e c t i o n 4

Rise of EuropeanMonarchy

SThetoryteller

William theConqueror

Read to Find Out Main Idea Medieval European monarchsmade great achievements.

> Terms to Definecommon law, grand jury, petit jury,middle class

> People to MeetAlfred the Great, William the Conqueror,Henry II, Thomas à Becket, Eleanor ofAquitaine, Philip Augustus, Henry IV

> Places to LocateEngland, France, Germany

CON

NECTIONS

CO

NNECTIONS

Visit an art museum in your com-munity that has medieval and moderntapestries. Compare and contrast thetapestries of both time periods interms of their themes, techniques, andthe materials used to make them.

feudal stronghold in northwestern France.Gathering a force of several hundred boats andsome 6,000 soldiers, he invaded England in A.D.1066. At the Battle of Hastings, William defeatedHarold Godwinson, the king chosen by the Anglo-Saxon nobles. The victory won William the Englishcrown and the name William the Conqueror.

As king, William kept tight control over thegovernment. He took Anglo-Saxon lands, keptsome of the land for himself, and gave the rest to hisNorman vassals in return for military service. Helater made all landowners swear direct loyalty tohim. William also set up a council of nobles toadvise him and named local officials called sheriffsto collect taxes. To determine taxable wealth, Williamcarried out the first census in western Europe sinceRoman times. Every person, manor, and farm ani-mal became an entry in the Domesday Book.

Royal PowerAlthough William’s court and nobles were

French-speaking, England’s population remainedlargely Anglo-Saxon. Over the next 300 years, how-ever, Norman French and Anglo-Saxon ways blend-

ed to form a new English culture. During this time,William’s successors further strengthened themonarchy. Henry I, William’s son who ruled fromA.D. 1100 to A.D. 1135, created a royal exchequer, ortreasury, to collect taxes and gave royal courtsgreater authority. Henry’s grandson, Henry II, setup a system of common law, using traveling judgesto apply the law equally throughout the land. Ineach community, the judges met with a grand jurythat submitted the names of suspects. A petit jurysoon developed to establish the guilt or innocenceof the accused.

Henry’s plan to try clergy in the royal courtsbrought him into conflict with Thomas à Becket, thearchbishop of Canterbury. In A.D. 1170 four of Henry’sknights, who believed they were acting on the king’scommand, murdered Becket in his cathedral.

At the height of his power, Henry ruled west-ern France as well as England. His wife, Eleanor ofAquitaine, once married to the French king, ownedvast lands in southwestern France. AlthoughHenry’s relations with Eleanor soured, Eleanor continued to influence royal policies through theirsons, Richard I (the Lionhearted) and John.


Tapestries

The Bayeux Tapestry, made betweenA.D. 1073 and A.D. 1083, is a remarkable

example of medieval art. It is awork of embroidery, a band oflinen upon which pictures andpatterns are stitched in coloredwool. Twenty inches high and 230feet long, it probably once deco-rated the walls of an entire room.

The 72 scenes on the tapes-try illustrate William the Con-queror’s invasion of England inA.D. 1066. Probably the work of

William’s wife, Matilda, and the ladies of hercourt, the tapestry tells the story of theinvasion in a series of individual scenes,much as a story is told in a comic booktoday. The images are lively and simple andgive a sense of movement and vitality. The

tapestry even includes words to reveal whatis happening in each scene.

The popularity of tapestries among theEuropean nobility continued into the A.D.800s and then declined. However, sinceWorld War II, interest in this art form hasrevived. Artists today experiment with mate-rials and weaving to create many new kindsof wall tapestry. One of the most famousmodern tapestries, “Christ in Glory,” wasdone in 1962 by the English artist GrahamSutherland and hangs above the high altar inEngland’s new Coventry Cathedral.

Bayeux Tapestry (detail)

The Magna CartaDuring his reign, John lost some English land to

France and became unpopular when he increasedtaxes and punished his enemies without trial.Alarmed at the loss of their feudal rights, a group ofnobles met at Runnymede in A.D. 1215. They forcedJohn to sign the Magna Carta, or Great Charter, oneof the most important documents in the history of representative government.

The Magna Carta placed clear limits on royalpower. The charter prevented the king from collect-ing taxes without the consent of the Great Council. It also assured freemen the right of trial by jury.Article 39 stated:

No freeman shall be taken, or impris-oned, or disseized [dispossessed], or out-lawed, or exiled, or in any way harmed—nor will we go upon or send upon him—save by the lawful judgment of his peers[equals] or by the law of the land.

The nobles intended the Magna Carta to pro-tect their feudal rights. Over time, however, it guar-anteed the rights of all English people.

Rise of ParliamentDuring the reign of John’s son, Henry III, an

increase in population encouraged the growth of towns. A new social class—the middle class—was emerging. The middle class did not fit in themedieval social order of nobles, clergy, and peas-


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Europe A.D. 1160

In the A.D. 1100s Europe was divided into many separate kingdoms that eventually became nations. 1. Region According to the map, what kingdom controlled the most amount of land? 2. Region What kingdoms posed the greatest threat to the Holy Roman Empire?

MapStudy

ants. Its income came from business and trade, notfrom the land. This group played an increasinglyimportant role in government.

Recognizing the towns’ growing power, HenryIII added knights and burgesses, or importanttownspeople, to the Great Council that advised theking. By that time the Great Council was calledParliament, the name by which it is still known.

In A.D. 1295 Henry’s son, Edward I, called intosession the Model Parliament, which included representatives from the clergy, nobility, and burgesses. As England’s government became morerepresentative, Edward encouraged members ofParliament to advise him on business matters, sub-mit petitions to him, and meet frequently.

By A.D. 1400 Parliament had divided into twochambers. Nobles and clergy met as the House ofLords, while knights and burgesses met as theHouse of Commons.

FranceLike England, France developed a strong

monarchy in the Middle Ages. The type of govern-ment that emerged in France, however, differedconsiderably from the increasingly representativegovernment in England.

Beginnings of Central GovernmentAfter Charlemagne’s death, the Frankish lands

disintegrated into separate territories governed byfeudal lords. These lords defended their own landsand were virtually independent rulers.

In A.D. 987 a noble named Hugh Capet seizedthe French throne from the weak Carolingian king.Capet controlled only the city of Paris and a strip ofland between the Seine and Loire Rivers in northernFrance. The Capetian (kuh•PEE•shuhn) dynasty heestablished, however, lasted for more than threecenturies. By the A.D. 1100s Capetian kings hadestablished the principle of the eldest son inheritingthe throne. The Capetians strengthened the powerof the monarchy and brought French feudal lordsunder royal control.

As in England, the number of towns in Franceincreased during the A.D. 1100s. Louis VI, whobecame king in A.D. 1108, used the townspeople to strengthen the royal government at the expenseof the nobles. Louis awarded both the towns-people and the clergy positions on his court ofadvisers and also granted self-government totowns, freeing them from obligations to feudallords. These measures led local officials to be loyalto the monarch rather than to feudal lords.

Strengthening the MonarchyPhilip II, known as Philip Augustus, ruled

France from A.D. 1180 to A.D. 1223. Barely 15 whenhe succeeded to the throne, Philip was determinedto strengthen the monarchy. During his 43-yearreign Philip doubled the area of his domain, acquir-ing some territory through marriage and recaptur-ing French land from England. By appointing localofficials who were loyal to the king and forming asemipermanent royal army, Philip further weak-ened the power of feudal lords.

A Saintly RulerPhilip’s grandson became King Louis IX in A.D.

1226. Louis made royal courts dominant over feu-dal courts and decreed that only the king had theright to mint coins. Bans on private warfare and thebearing of arms further promoted the Frenchmonarch.

A very religious man, Louis was regarded asthe ideal for his chivalry and high moral character.His advice to his son reveals these characteristics:

[Have] a tender pitiful heart for the poor … [and] hold yourself steadfast andloyal toward your subjects and your vas-sals, without turning either to the right orto the left, but always straight, whatevermay happen. And if a poor man have aquarrel with a rich man, sustain the poorrather than the rich, until the truth ismade clear, and when you know thetruth, do justice to them.


Cairo

EGYPT

Founding of Cairo

Egypt, A.D. 968The Fatimids, who claimed to be descendants of Muhammad‘s daughter Fatima, conquered Egypt around A.D. 968. They founded the city of El Qahira, which means “The Victorious.” The name of the city in English is Cairo. The Fatimids made Cairo their capital, and it soon became one of the most important cities in the Arab world. By the late Middle Ages, Cairo had a population of nearly 500,000.

AROUND THE

Signs of a Strong MonarchyLouis IX’s grandson, Philip IV, was so hand-

some he was nicknamed Philip the Fair. The blond,blue-eyed Philip increased France’s territory andtrade by defeating both England and Flanders inwar. To pay for the wars, he raised taxes and taxednew groups, such as the clergy. Although PopeBoniface VIII opposed taxing the clergy, he couldnot force Philip to back down.

Before he died in A.D. 1314, Philip summonedthe Estates-General, an assembly of nobles, clergy,and townspeople. He wanted to use the assemblyto raise taxes on a national level rather than locally.The assembly, however, never became as powerfulas Parliament in England.

The Holy Roman EmpireWhile monarchs in England and France were

building strong central governments, rulers inGermany remained weak and often powerless.Among the major reasons were their disputes withthe pope and with powerful German nobles.

“Emperor of the Romans”During the A.D. 1000s and A.D. 1100s, German

kings posed the biggest threat to the pope’s author-ity. King Otto I, or Otto the Great, of Germany triedto restore Charlemagne’s empire. After defeatingthe Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in A.D. 955,King Otto set his sights on Italy. In A.D. 962 PopeJohn XII sought Otto’s help against Roman nobleswho opposed the pope. In return for the help, thepope crowned Otto Holy Roman emperor.

Problems of the Holy Roman EmpireOtto and his successors claimed the right to

intervene in the election of popes, and Otto himselfappointed and deposed several popes. The pope, as

you have read, claimed the right to anoint anddepose kings. These two conflicting claims led tocenturies of dispute between the Holy Romanemperors and the Roman Catholic popes.

Powerful German lords also prevented the Holy Roman emperors from building a strong,unified state. Numerous wars with the Slavicstates—Poland and Bohemia—and with Hungaryalso weakened the Holy Roman emperor’s power.

Emperor and Pope CollideDuring the rule of Henry IV, a major quarrel

broke out with Pope Gregory VII. In A.D. 1073 thepope condemned lay investiture, hoping to free theChurch from secular control. Since the bishops sup-ported Henry in his struggle with feudal lords, theemperor refused to halt the practice.

The pope promptly proclaimed Henry deposedand urged the German nobles to elect another ruler.Henry gave in. In A.D. 1077 he made his waysouthward in bitter January weather across thesnowy mountains to Canossa, Italy. There hesought forgiveness from the pope. He showed hisrepentance by standing before the gate of the castlebegging for mercy for three days.

Gregory pardoned Henry, but the strugglebetween the Holy Roman emperor and the poperesumed later. Finally, in A.D. 1122, church officialsand representatives of the Holy Roman emperorreached a compromise at the German city ofWorms. This agreement, known as the Concordat ofWorms, allowed the emperor to name bishops andgrant them land. It also gave the pope the right toreject unworthy candidates.

Popes and monarchs would continue to strug-gle over power and territory in the coming years.The increasing strength of Europe’s monarchies notonly threatened the authority of the Church, but italso paved the way for other changes on theEuropean scene.


Main Idea1. Use a chart like the one below

to identify key achievements offour major medieval monarchsin England and France.

Recall2. Define common law, grand

jury, petit jury, middle class.3. Identify Alfred the Great,

William the Conqueror, HenryII, Thomas à Becket, Eleanor ofAquitaine, Magna Carta, PhilipAugustus, Henry IV.

Critical Thinking4. Evaluating Information

Judge the importance of theMagna Carta and the EnglishParliament in the developmentof representative government.

Understanding Themes5. Conflict What caused conflicts

between popes and monarchs?Could they have been avoided?

1.2.3.4.


Monarch/Country

Achievements


Just as you leave home to catch your schoolbus, you hear a news flash that firefightersare battling a blaze near the bus garage.

Your bus arrives 45 minutes late. Though no one told you directly, you know that the fire disrupted the bus schedule.

Learning the SkillIn the situation above, you made an inference.

That is, from the limited facts at hand, youformed a conclusion. You knew that the fire wasnear the garage. From past experience, you knewthat fire trucks often create traffic jams. By com-bining immediate facts and general knowledge,you inferred that the fire trucks delayed your bus.

To make accurate inferences:• Read or listen carefully for stated facts

and ideas.• Then review what you already know

about the same topic or situation.• Use logic and common sense to form a

conclusion about the topic.• If possible, find specific information that

proves or disproves your inference. In theexample above, you could determinewhether your inference was correct byasking the bus driver why she was late.

Practicing the SkillRead the passage about Pepin the Short and

then answer the questions that follow.

Charles’s son, Pepin the Short, succeed-ed his father and became mayor of thepalace in A.D. 741. Pepin … wished tobe named king of the Franks. Since hehad no blood claim to the throne, Pepinused his influence with the Frankishbishops and the pope to bring about achange in dynasties. In a show of sup-port, the pope journeyed to France andanointed King Pepin I with holy oil.

In return for the Church’s blessing,Pepin was to defend the pope against his enemies. In A.D. 754 the new kingforced the Lombards, a Germanic people,to withdraw from Rome. Pepin seized alarge tract of Lombard territory aroundRome and gave it to the pope.

1. What facts are stated about Pepin the Short’sacquisition of the title King of the Franks?

2. What inference can you make about thepope’s power in Europe at this time?

3. What facts are stated about Pepin’s actions onbehalf of the pope?

4. What inference can you make about theLombards’ relations with the pope and theFranks?

Applying the SkillReview the sections on “Monastic Life” and

the “Influence of Monastics” on pages 304–305.Many men and women adoptedthe monastic lifestyle during theMiddle Ages. What inferencescan you make about their moti-vations? Also, do you thinkmotivations were the same formen and women? How mightyou prove or disprove theseinferences?

For More PracticeTurn to the Skill Practice in

the Chapter Assessment onpage 315 for more practice in making inferences.

Making Inferences

Critical ThinkingCritical Thinking

Ancient monastery

The Glencoe SkillbuilderInteractive Workbook, Level 2provides instruction and practice in key social studies skills.

Using Key TermsWrite the key term that completes each sentence. Thenwrite a sentence for each term not chosen.

a. counts h. manorialismb. cardinals i. abbessc. chivalry j. common lawd. fief k. excommunicatione. feudalism l. sacramentsf. friars m. serfsg. heresy n. vassal

1. _______ are formal church rituals, such as baptism, eucharist, confirmation, marriage, anointing of the sick, and holy orders.

2. During the Middle Ages, economic life in Europe centered around a system of agricultur-al production called __________.

3. Peasants in medieval Europe often were _____, people who were bound to the manor.

4. In place of old feudal rules, Henry II ofEngland established a ______ that applied throughout his kingdom.

5. The code of _________ called for knights to bebrave in battle, fight fairly, keep promises, defendthe Church, and treat noblewomen courteously.


Reviewing Facts1. History Use a time line like the one below to

highlight key events in the rise and fall of theFrankish Empire.

2. History List the invading groups that attackedthe Carolingian Empire.

3. History Describe the major characteristics offeudalism and manorialism.

4. History Describe how medieval and ancientRoman life were similar and different.

5. Culture Outline briefly how missionaries car-ried Christianity across Europe.

6. History/Culture Describe the organization ofthe medieval Catholic Church.

7. Culture List the factors that helped maintainreligious uniformity during medieval times.

8. Culture List several services that monasteriesand convents provided for the community inmedieval times.

9. History Explain why historians consider A.D.1066 an important date.

10. Culture Describe the role of Eleanor ofAquitaine in medieval English history.

Critical Thinking1. Apply Until the 1970s, “good manners”

required a man to help a woman with her coat,

The Church had a significant role inmedieval life. Imagine living as a monkor a nun. Write a short diary entrycalled “Today at the Monastery” or“Today at the Convent,” describing thelife of a monk or a nun.

Using Your History Journal

CHAPTER 12 ASSESSMENT

A.D. 400

A.D. 900

Self-Check Quiz

Visit the World History: The Human Experience Web site at worldhistory.ea.glencoe.com and click on Chapter 12—Self-Check Quiz to prepare for the Chapter Test.

Using a Word ProcessorUse the draw programon your word processor, orsoftware, to illustrate the layout of a typicalmedieval manor and surrounding fields. Includethe lord’s manor house, pastures for livestock,fields for crops, forest areas, and a village wherepeasants lived. Use a word processor to create a short story from a peasant’s point of view,describing a typical day on a medieval manor.

Technology Activity

http://www.glencoe.com/qe/qe47.php?&st=603&pt=3&bk=18

and push in her chair. How do these customsrelate to chivalry?

2. Evaluate Every society has to develop ways to deal with ignorance, ill health, hunger, and homelessness. How did feudal society handle these problems compared to the way modern society handles them?

3. Compare How did medieval Europe treat itsJewish population? How have Europe’s Jewsfared in modern times?

Geography in History1. Place Refer to the map below. Where did Leif

Eriksson’s journey lead him?2. Movement What reasons did Vikings have for

leaving Scandinavia and venturing out into theAtlantic?

3. Human/Environment Interaction Why did theVikings sail across the far northern part of theAtlantic rather than through the warmerwaters to the south?

4. Location After leaving Scandinavia, whichlandmasses did the Vikings explore?

2. Cooperation How were lords and peasantsmutually dependent?

3. Uniformity How is uniformity implied in the term regular clergy?

4. Conflict How did the conflict between King John and the nobles, resolved in the MagnaCarta, eventually have positive results for allEnglish people?

1. Common law, developed in England dur-ing the A.D. 1100s, later crossed theAtlantic Ocean and shaped the legal sys-tem of the United States. How does theAmerican legal system today reveal theinfluence of English common law?

2. People often cherish a romantic view ofmedieval life: for example, medieval Europeans lived in elegant castles, wore beautiful clothes, and enjoyed festivals. Is such a view justified by historical evidence?

3. Improvements changed farming in Europearound A.D. 1000. What improvementstoday will increase farm productivity?What far-reaching effects will they have?

Skill PracticeRead the passage about knights. Use stated facts andyour knowledge to answer the questions that follow.

A knight cannot distinguish himself in[war] if he has not trained for it in tour-neys. He must have seen his blood flow,heard his teeth crack under fist blows,felt his opponent’s weight bear downupon him as he lay on the ground and,after being twenty times unhorsed, haverisen twenty times to fight.

1. From this passage, what can you infer about the physical appearance of many Europeanknights?

2. What fact(s) or observations helped you makethis inference?

3. What can you infer about the average length of a knight’s career?


Understanding Themes1. Movement How can the movement of

people both have created and crippledFrankish society?

EasternSettlement

France

Ireland

Iceland

Greenland

Vinland(Newfoundland)

WesternSettlement

England

Labrador

NovaScotia

Scandinavia

Nor

way

Route of Viking settlement

Route of Erik the Red (late 900s)

Route of Leif Eriksson (late 900s)

Viking trading route

40°N

60°N

Arctic Circle

60°W 40°W 20°W 0°

NorwegianSea

NORTHATLANTIC

OCEAN

NorthSea

LabradorSea

Viking Exploration A.D. 1000

CHAPTER 12 ASSESSMENT

chapter 12: the rise of medieval europe - granbystudents … · 2008-12-04 · section 2 >...

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