The Middle AgesThe Middle AgesA.D. 500A.D. 500

Today’s Aim: To understand the geography of Europe and identify

how new kingdoms emerged.

The Geography of Europe

• The second smallest continent

• Connects with Asia to create world’s largest landmass-called Eurasia

• Ural and Caucasus Mts. Are considered to be the border between Europe and Asia

The Geography of EuropeThe Geography of Europe

• Europe is shaped like a peninsula and has many islands and peninsulas

• It is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea, and the Baltic Sea

The Geography of EuropeThe Geography of Europe

• Climate is temperate, or mild, because of the winds that blow over the ocean

• Good farmland• Relied heavily on trade and fishing• Europe has many long, navigable rivers• The seas and rivers provided safety as well

as opportunities for trade and for different cultures to develop

Who was Charlemagne?Who was Charlemagne?

• Son of Pepin, king of the Franks• Became king after Pepin’s death• Helped the pope against the Lombards (Germanic

group).• Charlemagne also helped the pope against the

Lombards.• Wherever he conquered, spread Christianity• In A.D. 800, Charles's kingdom grew into an empire

and he earned the name Charlemagne or “Charles the Great.”

CharlemagneCharlemagne• On Christmas day in A.D.

800, the pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne and declared him the new Roman emperor

• He made Aachen the capital of his empire

• Supporter of education• Asked a scholar named

Alcuin to start a school in his court and trained children of government officials religion, Latin, music, literature & arithmetic

FeudalismFeudalism

Lords & Ladies

Kings & Queens

Peasants & Serfs

Knights

Under feudalism, each level of society had duties to the groups above and below it.

FeudalismFeudalism

• Feudalism developed in Europe in the Middle Ages. Its was based on landowning, loyalty, and the power of armored knights on horseback.

• Landowning nobles governed and protected the people in return for services, such as fighting in a noble’s army or farming the land.

• By A.D. 1000, the kingdoms of Europe were divided into thousands of feudal territories.

• At the center of each, was a noble’s castle, fortress.

The Role of a Vassal

• Feudalism was based on ties of loyalty and duty among the nobles.

• Nobles were both lords and vassals.• A vassal was a noble who served a lord of higher

rank. In return, the lord protected the vassal.• A vassal showed his loyalty by serving in his

lord’s army.• In return, a lord granted his vassal land and

permission to rule the people who lived on it. This grant to a vassal was known as a fief.

What was the Manorial SystemWhat was the Manorial System

• The lands of the fiefs were called manors• The lords ruled the manor• Peasants worked the land (some were

freemen who paid a noble for the right to farm the land)

• Most peasants were serfs who could not leave the manor, own property, or marry without the lord’s approval.

Stages of KnighthoodStages of KnighthoodPage Ages 7-13

Chivalry

Learn manners & etiquette

Learn how to read and write

Squire Ages 14-20

Learn archery & horsemanship

Help knights with daily chores (care for weapons)

Sleep beside knight

Knight Ages 21 +

Night before must reflect in church

Ceremonial bath Fights to protect manor

Vassals greatest honor

SerfsSerfs

• They were not enslaved• Lords had the right to

protect serfs• Serfs worked long hours• Gained freedom if they

ran away to towns and remained there for over a year.

• Later in the Middle Ages, serfs could buy their freedom.

Improving FarmingImproving Farming

• Wheeled plow with iron blade

• Horse collar to pull plow

• Windmills were used for grinding grain, pumping water, and cutting wood.

• Result- more food = increased population

Increase TradeIncrease Trade• By 1100, feudalism had made Europe safer, and new

technology enabled people to produce more food and goods.

• Nobles repaired bridges , roads, and arrested bandits. As a result, trade resumed in Europe.

• Increased trade led to the growth of towns and cities and the rise of guilds and city governments.

• Trade encouraged manufacturing. People produced cloth, metal work, shoes, and other goods.

• Craftspeople organized guilds, or business groups(set standard for quality in products).

England in the Middle AgesEngland in the Middle Ages

• England developed a system in which the king;s power was shared with Parliament.

• William the Conqueror, First Norman King , had a strong organized rule over England.

• He blended Norman and English cultures.

Too Much Power by the KingsToo Much Power by the Kings• After William the

Conqueror’s rule, Henry II became king and increased his power.

• He used the law courts to increase his power.

• Henry’s son, King John took over after his death.

• King John raised taxes in England and punished enemies without trials.

• Many nobles resented the king’s power.

The Magna CartaThe Magna Carta

• In 1215 a group of lords took action to limit the king’s power.

• They wrote a legal charter, or document, which stated that they had certain rights, such as the right to a fair trial.

• With the support of their knights, the lords forced the king to sign the Magna Carta.

The CrusadesThe Crusades

• During this age of faith, holy wars, known as the Crusades took place.

• Crusaders often passed through Italian port cities on their way to the Holy Land.

• Trade increased• By the end of the

Crusades in 1291, Europe was changing in many ways.

End of the Middle AgesEnd of the Middle Ages• In 1348 a plagues truck

western Europe• A plague is a terrible disease

that spreads quickly.• This plague was caused by a

bacteria spread by rats and fleas.

• This plague was known as the Black Death and wiped out nearly 1/3 of the western European population 2/3 of people in Siena, Italy). Brain pop

The RenaissanceThe Renaissance

• Out of the misery of the Black Death came new ideas that stirred Europe.

• Starting around 1350 enthusiasm of art, literature, and trade increased throughout northern Italy (Florence).

• This was the beginning of a period called the Renaissance, or “rebirth.”

• There was a powerful, new interest in humanism as opposed to interests toward “the next world.”

Lorenzo MediciLorenzo Medici

• One of the wealthiest families in Florence was the Medici family who gained great wealth through banking and trading.

• The most famous member of the family was Lorenzo Medici, later known as “Lorenzo the Magnificent.”

He was a patron, or supporter, of the arts and paid artists to pursue their work in Florence.

PetrarchPetrarch

• Italian humanist who studied classic works of literature from ancient Greece, Rome, & Arabia.

• Became the most celebrated poet in Europe.

• He loved learning and he read every book he could find.

MichelangeloMichelangelo

• Used many classical ideas-such as balance and form-in his paintings, sculptures, and architecture.

Works: The sculpture of The David, scenes of The Last Judgment on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel, influential architect - St. Peter’s Basilica

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni

Leonardo da VinciLeonardo da Vinci

The Renaissance Man• Humanist, painter, sculptor, architect, inventor, scientist,

engineer, musician

• As a child, Leonardo showed great ability in drawing.

• His father took him to the greatest painter in Florence for teaching….Leonardo painted with such skill, that his teacher put down his paintbrushes and never picked them up again.

• Kept hundreds of notebooks with his ideas and always wrote backwards.

• Made plans for a submarine, machine gun, parachute.

• Studied carefully the flight of birds.His close observation helped him to design a flying machine.

Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci, is one of the most famous paintings in the world.

Mona Lisa

Da Vinci drew this portrait of himself.

Nicolaus CopernicusNicolaus Copernicus• Studied books of Greek and Arab astronomy.• Observed the night sky with a simple telescope and

carefully recorded the positions of the stars.• In 1514, Copernicus discovered that Earth orbited

around the sun, once a year.• This discovery contradicted many European leaders and

Church teachings and his teachings were not accepted.• It was not until after Copernicus died that his book, On

the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres was published.

The ReformationThe Reformation• In 1500 the Roman Church had become the most powerful

institution in Europe.• The Pope claimed authority over Europe’s rulers.• The Pope’s power also brought great wealth to the Church.• Like the government of the Roman Empire, the Roman

Church taxed the people of Europe and used some of the money to buy works of art.

• Humanists such as Erasmus began to criticize the Church policy concerning indulgences.

• During the Middle Ages people began to pay to be forgiven by a priest for acting against Christian teachings.

Martin LutherMartin Luther• In Wittenberg, Germany, the

sale of indulgences made a monk, Martin Luther, angry.

• He felt that money should be given to the poor instead of spending it on the building of St. Peter’s, a great cathedral in Rome.

• In 1517 Luther wrote 95 Theses, or statements of protest.

• He placed this list on the Wittenberg Church door.

Martin LutherMartin Luther

• Martin Luther’s 95 Theses started a movement called The Reformation which brought change or reform to the Church in Rome.

Johannes GutenbergJohannes Gutenberg

• In 1448 he built the printing press.

• The printing press made writing easier, cheaper, and faster.

• Printing press helped spread Luther’s criticism of the Roman Church and a translation of the Bible.

ProtestantismProtestantism

• Luther’s followers became known as Protestants.

• Thought convents and monasteries were unnecessary.

• Thought church decorations and services should be simpler.

King Henry VIIIKing Henry VIII

• Brought religious change to England.

• Built a strong monarchy.

• At first he supported the Roman Church, but when the Pope did not grant him a divorce, he stopped supporting the Roman Church and began supporting the Protestant Church.

Queen Elizabeth IQueen Elizabeth I• King Henry VIII ‘s

daughter

• One of the most popular monarchs in England.

• Renaissance arrived in England during her rule.

• Religious conflicts settled/cooled.

• She enjoyed poetry and plays and supported the work of playwright William Shakespeare.

William Shakespeare

Queen ElizabethQueen Elizabeth• During her rule, Spain

wanted to gain control over Atlantic trade routes and wanted England to support Catholicism again.

• Spain sent an armada of 130 warships to attack England.

• After 9 days, England defeated Spain with only 90 ships.

• As a result, England became one of the greatest naval powers in the world.