Medieval Europe: Rise of Nation

States

England• Had been part of the

Roman Empire• Population was a mix

of Angles, Saxons, and Vikings who had each invaded the island over the centuries of the early Middle Ages

The Norman Conquest• In 1066, King Edward the

Confessor died with no heir – two rival claims were made to the throne by Harold (Edward’s brother-in-law) and by William of Normandy (Normandy is in France)

• William raised a French army and won the backing of the Pope; at the Battle of Hastings, he defeated Harold and became king

William the Conqueror• William of Normandy

became known as “William the Conqueror” and his victory is known as the “Norman Conquest”

• 1086: William had a census taken which listed every castle and field (along with who owned it) – this census is called the “Domesday Book” and allowed William to accurately tax his people

English Legal Reform• King Henry II in 1150s

wanted to strengthen law enforcement– sent out traveling

justices to enforce law– expanded royal law to all

of England and did away with feudal courts and church courts

– first to use juries to decide trials

Church Opposition• But, Henry got in a fight with

the church over who should try priests accused of crimes– opposed by his good friend

Bishop Thomas Becket– some of Henry’s knights think

that they are doing him a favor and kill Becket

– Horrified at what had happened, Henry backed off and allowed church to try their own officials

King John (Bad King!)• Henry II’s son• Lost a war against King Philip II of

France; Philip took control of Normandy

• Challenged authority of Pope Innocent III ; pope forced John to accept Pope as superior to kings by threatening to excommunicate John (excommunicate = kick him out of the church, condemn to Hell)

• English nobles, angered over high taxes, forced John to sign the Magna Carta

Magna Carta• Protected the privileges of

the nobility, townspeople, and the Church

• Created “due process” – protection from arrest and imprisonment without cause

• Protected people from “taxation without representation” by requiring the king to consult the Great Council before raising taxes

• King must obey his own laws

The Great Council• Now known as Parliament• In 1295, King Edward I had

representatives of the common people join with the nobles and clergy already on the Council

• later evolved into a two-house legislature– the House of Lords (nobles

and clergy)– the House of Commons

(knights and townspeople)• Parliament’s power comes from

its ability to control taxes

France• The Carolingian Dynasty

(founded by Charles “the Hammer” Martel) failed

• Around 987 the Capetian Dynasty, founded by King Hugh Capet took power

• The Capetian kings started off weak – little power and little wealth - but slowly built up both and grew into a strong monarchy over the next 300 years

King Philip II• Seized Normandy from

England’s King John• Built Europe’s first standing

army of professional soldiers• Won the approval of the pope

for crushing heretical groups (heresy is any religious teaching not in line with the official church theology)

• By his death in 1223, he was the most powerful king in Europe

King Louis IX• Deeply religious• Persecuted heretics &

Jews, fought Muslims• Brought justice to

France by centralizing the legal system, sending out royal justices, and freeing French serfs

King Philip IV• Facing mounting debts, Philip

confiscated Jewish property, destroyed the Knights Templar (whom he owed money ) and even tried to tax the church to raise money

• Pope refused to pay taxes• Philip sent troops to arrest the

pope, but pope was mistreated and died from injuries

• Philip appointed a new FRENCH pope and moves the Papal Seat from Rome to Avignon, France

The Holy Roman Empire• The part of

Charlemagne’s empire that is today mostly Germany & Italy

King Otto I• In 936, Otto I became first King of

Germany• For helping the Pope put down

rebellions, Otto was honored with the title “Holy Roman Emperor”– “Holy” = crowned by the Pope– “Roman” = considered to be the

heir of the Roman emperors• Unfortunately, Otto didn’t have a

lot of real power because the feudal lords in Germany were too strong and the church held too much influence

Pope Gregory VII• wanted the Church to have

power independent of kings• stopped allowing kings to

appoint the bishops (church officials) within their own realms; previously, kings could decide who became bishops and often used the position as a reward for their friends

• This made the various European kings angry and resentful

Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV• Challenged Pope

Gregory VII on these issues, but was undermined by German nobles who supported the Church

• Gregory excommunicated Henry, forcing him to apologize and beg for forgiveness

Papal Power• Various European kings and

the Church also clashed over control of Italy. In the end, no one could control Italy and the entire area remained broken up into tiny independent city-states

• Popes remained incredibly powerful until Philip IV of France broke that power by moving the papacy to France and placing it under his control

The Byzantine Empire• After Constantinople was

sacked during the 4th Crusade by Catholic knights, the Empire went into serious decline

• Empire fell to the Muslim Ottoman Turks in 1453; Constantinople renamed Istanbul and made capital of the Ottoman Empire

Kievan Rus• City of Kiev

– Developed as a trading center between Byzantines to the south and the Vikings to the north

– Developed the Cyrillic alphabet

– Prince Vladimir forced his people to convert to Christianity

– City declined in 1100s as trade decreased

The Mongols in Russia• In mid-1200s, Batu

Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, burned Kiev and conquered Russia

• Mongols ruled Russia for 240 years, but actually continued to let the Russian princes govern their city-states

Rise of Moscow• Under Mongol rule, Moscow

became the most powerful city in Russia – both the political capital and the headquarters of the Russian Orthodox branch of Christianity

• In 1380, Moscow led the overthrow of the Mongols, freeing Russia from foreign rule

• Ivan III (or Ivan the Great) united Russia into one nation between 1462 and 1505 and took the title “Czar”

Ivan IV (the Terrible)• Grandson of Ivan III• At the same time much of

Western Europe was getting rid of feudalism, Ivan introduced it to Russia

• Was unstable; killed his own son and grandchild in a fit of madness

• Had secret agents called oprichniki who roamed the countryside, killing the czar’s enemies

• After his death in 1584, Russia fell into chaos