The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages: 500 – 1500

The Medieval Period

Rise of the Middle Ages

Decline of the Roman Empire

Western Europe

Feudalism

Think of a chess set

Feudalism

Based on mutual obligation

Military protection

Provide knights in times of war

service

Fiefs – land grants

Fiefs – land grants

protection

FeudalismManors

The lords estate –

The lord provided the serfs with housing, farmland and protection

Serfs tended the lands, cared for the animals, maintained the estate

FeudalismManors

Peasants rarely traveled more than 25 miles from the manor

Was home to 15 – 30 families

Self-Sufficient community

Peasants heavily taxed, including a tithe – a church tax of 1/10 their income

Early Middle Ages

450 - 1050

Roman Empire Vs. Germanic TribesRome

• Unified by loyalty to public government and written law

• Orderly government

• All peoples followed the same rules

Germanic

• Family ties and personal loyalty

• People lived in small communities governed by unwritten rules and traditions

• Ruled by a Chief who led a band or warriors loyal only to him – not some emperor they’d never seen

End of DemocracyRoman empire overran by Germanic groups with repeated

invasions and constant warfare

• Breakdown of trade: money became scarce.

• Cities abandoned – no longer center of economy or administration

• Population became rural.

• Decline of literacy – priests and other church officials were the few that were literate.

• Breakup of unified empire

• End of Democracy

European Empire EvolvesAfter the decline of the Roman Empire small kingdoms

sprang up all over Europe.

The largest and the strongest was controlled by the Franks

• Lead by Clovis – first Christian king

• Greatest king was Charlemagne

• most powerful king in Western Europe

• encouraged learning

His father, Pippin, left Charlemagne his Frankish empire when he died in 768 AD. The Franks were already very powerful when Pippin died, but Charlemagne made them more powerful still.

Charlemagne organized a centralized system of governors (counts) throughout his kingdom, sending out men he knew to keep order all over his kingdom, and then sending out other men to check up on the counts.

Charlemagne also greatly expanded the size of his kingdom. He conquered France down to the Pyrenees mountains, and even into northern Spain . He crossed the Rhine river and conquered Germany , Switzerland and Austria , even into modern Hungary. To the north, he conquered Belgium . And in 774 AD Charlemagne also conquered the Lombards in northern Italy

Rise of Charlemagne

On Christmas Day, 800, Pope Leo III repaid Charlemagne for defeating the Lombards. As Charlemagne rose from prayer, Leo placed a crown on his head and proclaimed him "Augustus," emperor of the "Holy Roman Empire." The coronation united Christendom under Charlemagne's rule, but it troubled him. If the Pope had the power to crown Charlemagne king, did the Pope also have the right to remove the crown? When Charlemagne named his son as his successor, he presided over the ceremony himself and did not invite the Pope. What did this indirectly tell the Pope about

Charlemagne’s feelings for him?

Charlemagne on the Rise

High Middle Ages

1050 - 1300

A violent society

Noble’s constantly fought each other

Defend estates

Seize new territories

Increase wealth

Kept Europe fragmented

Glorification of warriors

The Age of Chivalry

The mounted Knights were the most important part of an Army

Professional solders – main obligation was to serve in battle

Rewarded with land

Devoted lives to war

The Age of Chivalry

Chivalry – a complex set of ideals, demanded that a knight fight bravely in defense of three masters

1. His feudal lord

2. His Heavenly Lord

3. His Lady

Meant to protect the weak and the poor

The Age of Chivalry

Sons of nobles began training at an early age for knighthood

Page – at 7 they were sent to another lord to be trained

Squire – at 14 they act as a servant to a knight

Knight- at 21 they become a knight and gain experience in local wars and tournaments

The Age of Chivalry

Tournaments – mock battles that combined recreation and combat training

Fierce and bloody competitions

The Great SchismDivision of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox

Church1054 and 1378

“Great Divide” “Western-Eastern Schism” “Great Separation”

ReasonsCharlemagne not inviting pope to the “party”

Meant he had ultimate power over the churchCaused Tension (1054 – Eastern and Western

Churches)Death of Gregory XI and the mob

Started getting along againFrench people and priests were not happyElected their own pope

Reasons (cont’d)People Involved

Pope Urban VI – ItalyPope Clement VII – FranceOther Random pope for the rest

Council of Constance 1414 – 1418Outcomes

Kicked them all out a picked someone new

The Great Schism (cont’d)

The Crusades (1097 – 1272)Causes:

European ExpansionismAgricultural advances increase food supply

· More people = need of more land to grow more food

Roman-Byzantine Rivalry· Help Great Schism

· Capture land back to obligate the Byzantines

· Reclaim the Holy Land· Bored Soldiers or Knights

Europe 1000-1100

Project Questions to Answer 1. Relate the outcome of the Crusade to

something that is happening today. (ie: 1 of the Crusades had a 3 against 1 battle. There are many countries helping us in Afghanistan right now)

2. What were the 2 sides of the battle trying to win?

3. How did this Crusade affect the lives of the people fighting?

4. How did this Crusade affect the relationship between the people of the Roman Catholic Church and the Byzantine Orthodox Church?

5. How did this Crusade affect the relationship between the people of the Roman Catholic Church and the Muslims?

Major Events of Crusades· Crusade I 1097-1098

· Achieves all major objectives in Holy Land· Turkish threat blunted, though not

eliminated· Area not strategic to Muslims, could have

been held indefinitely with a little skill. · Initial gains lost through diplomatic

bungling.· Crusaders attempt to destabilize neighbors

Major Events of Crusades

· Crusade II, 1147-1148· Military failure, discredits Crusaders as

military threat

· Crusade III, 1189-1191· Well-known in literature (Robin Hood)· Involved Richard I of England, Phillip II of

France, Frederick I of Holy Roman Empire· Saladin on Muslim side.

Major Events of Crusades

Crusade IV, 1199-1204· Western-Greek relations always strained,

mutual contempt. · Crusaders sack Constantinople, 1204 · Chance to heal Great Schism utterly lost. · In 1453, when attacked by Turks,

Byzantines preferred surrender to asking Rome for aid.

Major Events of CrusadesV Crusade 1218-1219

Capture Damietta, swap for JerusalemMuslims agreeCrusaders try to conquer Egypt, are routed

VI Crusade 1229Frederick II of Germany did little fighting

and a lot of negotiation Treaty gave the Crusaders Jerusalem and

all the other holy cities and a truce of ten years

He was widely condemned for conducting the Crusade by negotiating rather than fighting.

Major Events of CrusadesCrusade VII 1248-1254

Led by Louis IX of FranceNearly an exact repeat of the Fifth

CrusadeCrusade VIII 1270

Led by Louis IX of FranceLouis’ brother, Charles of Anjou, king of

Sicily, had strategic plans of his own and diverted the expedition to Tunisia, where Louis died.

The last Crusader cities on the mainland of Palestine fell in 1291

One small island stronghold lasted until 1303.

The Crusades (1097 – 1272)

· Died out – Causes for the end· Lack of interest, rising European prosperity · Repeated military defeats

· Effects· Fatal weakening of Byzantine Empire · Stimulated trade

· Weakening of Nobles but rise of middle class

· Banking· Literature – Fiction Novels

Magna CartaRichard I and John “Softsword”

Lords revolted against John Forced Him to sign the document

Stated he no longer had ultimate power

King had to follow the laws

Late Middle Ages

1290 - 1527

b. The Hundred Years War• Fought between the French and English for the French throne

• Gun powder and heavy artillery

b. The Papal Schism • 3 popes

• Loss of respectability due to political involvements

c. The Fall of the Byzantine Empire • Turks begin assault on Western boarders

5 Major Developments of the Late Middle Ages

e) Black Death • The Bubonic Plague

• killed 1/3 – ½ of European population

d) Famines • Climate became colder and rainier

• Harvests shrank• Population doubled• Move back to towns

Castles and Keeps