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Following the End of Rome
• Europe after Rome:
– Disordered, no centralized government
– Frequent invasions from east, south, & north
– New social order develops
– Frequent bouts of plague, war, & conflict
• Middle Ages a time of transition
– The Roman Catholic Church gains in importance
– Development of the feudal system
– Modern European nations emerge (France, England, Spain, etc.)
• Other Names of Middle Ages:
– Medieval Period
– Dark Ages
The Frankish Empires Emerge • Germanic tribes raid Europe & establish small kingdoms
– Known as the Franks
– Settled in lower Rhine region & Gaul
• Several important dynasties develop: – The Merovingian Dynasty:
• Clovis – King of a Frankish tribe that controlled all of Northern Gaul
– Upon his death, kingdom divided among all his sons
• Pepin II – Reunified the kingdom established by Clovis
• Charles Martel: – Defeated the Spanish Moors
– Halted Muslim invasion of France
– The Carolingian Dynasty: • Pepin the Short (III):
– Became king of the Franks by overthrowing last of the Merovingians
– The Pope validated Pepin’s reign adding legitimacy
– Sent Frankish army into Italy to defeat Lombard invaders, gave land gained around Rome to the Roman Catholic Church, creating the Papal States
• Pepin III’s son was greatest of all Frankish kings
The Reign of Charlemagne • Charlemagne inherits the Frankish throne in 768 & rules for 46
years
• Why Charlemagne was Great: – Created an empire, the Holy Roman Empire, that included both
Germany & France
– Restored order & stability to Europe
– A devout Christian, aided in spreading Catholicism throughout Europe
– Prevented the spread of the Spanish Moors into the rest of Europe
• Life Under Charlemagne: – Government:
• Empire divided into regions, ruled by a Count appointed by Charlemagne
• Capital of empire located in Aix-la-Chapelle (modern Aachen, Germany)
• Government officials had to swear an oath of fealty
• Missi dominici “lords messengers” appointed to travel the empire and hear complaints & conduct trials
– Education & Learning • Established schools for training of young nobles
• Sponsored a rewriting of the bible in the vernacular (common) language
• Established libraries to the accumulation of knowledge
Decline of the Charlemagne’s Empire • Louis the Pious inherits the Empire
– Extremely well educated & very religious
– Spent more time perusing religious interests than ruling empire
– Did not name an heir from his three sons, resulting in conflict
• Treaty of Verdun settles disputes
– Empire divided into three districts for each of the three sons: Lothair, Charles the Bald, & Louis the German
– Constant fighting amongst the three regions
– Kings loose power, noble class gains control
• Invaders pick away at the empire
– Moors (Muslims) take control of Mediterranean areas
– Magyars control eastern areas
– Vikings unleash a reign of terror from the North and west
Feudalism • Large scale government disappears following end of
Charlemagne’s empire
• New political/social system develops, known as feudalism: – A powerful noble grants land to a lesser noble
– Land grant called a fiefdom (fief)
– Person who received the grant called a vassal or lord
– Vassals gave tribute & soldiers to the higher lord
– Vassal further divided the land to lesser nobles
– Fiefdoms were hereditary • Oldest male inherited (primogeniture)
• Any land owned by a woman was given to husband upon marriage
– Peasants & serfs were poorest of the system • Peasants could leave the fief
• Serfs were tied to the land, could not leave without permission of the lord
Diagram of Feudalism King
High Nobles (Dukes & Duchesses)
Lesser Nobles (Marquis, Lords, Earls)
Knights
Merchants & Traders
Peasants
Serfs
Warfare In Feudal Society • Wars & conflicts were common
– Frequently occurred between two or more feudal lords
– Large scale wars broke out between kingdoms
• The Knight:
– Were usually sons of nobles or knights
– Highly skilled
• Training began at a young age, when they were “fostered” to a
knight for training
• Were granted knighthood when they distinguished themselves in
battle
– Known for their armor
• Multiple layers
• Metal plates to protect against arrows & sword strikes
• Carried shield, lance, & broad sword
• Rode warhorses, usually Friesians or Percherons, to carry weight
Chivalry • A code of conduct among nobles
• Dictated the rules knights were to live by: – Be courageous in battle
– Fight fairly
– Be loyal to friends & overlord
– Treat conquered enemies gallantly
– Be courteous to women, children, & the elderly
• Training to Be A Knight: – Page:
• Began at about age 7
• Boy fostered out to a knight
• Served the knight
• Learned manners and the care of weapons
– Squire: • Usually began at about age 13-14
• A knight’s assistant, took care of horse, armor, sword, etc.
• Taught to fight with weapons
• Carried back-up weapons into battle for knight
– In addition to fighting, knights often taught to recite/compose poetry, dance, sing, and play a musical instrument
The Feudal Justice System • Trial by Combat
– Usually a duel between the accusers or representatives of the accusers
– The person who won was innocent/the person who looses or dies was guilty
• Trial by Compurgation (Oath Taking)
– The accusers and the accused bring supporters, known as oath-takers, to testify they are telling the truth
– Which ever side had the most convincing “oath-takers” won
• Trial by Ordeal
– The accused was given a challenge to complete
• If the accused successfully completed the challenge, he was innocent
• If the accused failed to successfully complete the challenge, he was guilty
– The accused was put through something very painful
• If wounds healed cleanly & quickly – innocent
• If wounds healed slowly or were infected - guilty
Daily Life • Peasant Life
– Most were serfs
• Tied to the land, unable to leave w/o lord’s permission
• Could not own land
– Spent their days working in the fields
– Extremely short life expectancy
• Disease
• Starvation & malnutrition
• Frequently killed during wars/conflicts
• Noble Life
– Usually lived in castle or manor house
– Spent most of the time working their lands
– Gave 40 days service to overlord
The Medieval Church • Roman Catholic Church only unifying force
– Had broad political power
– Filled the need for leadership in Europe
– Provided many functions that government would normally have provided
– A leading European landowner & extremely wealthy
• Structure of the Medieval Church: – Parish Priest
• Lowest rank in the church, but most numerous
• Responsible for the religious instruction and spiritual well-being of his parish
• Administered five of the seven sacraments (baptism, communion, marriage, penance, & last rites)
– Bishops • Managed the diocese (group of parishes)
• Offices located in the Cathedral (main church of the diocese)
• Performed the sacraments of confirmation & the taking of holy orders
– Archbishops • Managed several dioceses & their bishops
• Often the leader of the Catholic Church of a kingdom/country
– Curia & Cardinals • Selected the Pope
• Advisors to the Pope
– Pope • Leader of the Roman Catholic Church
Monasticism
• There were two types of clergy: – Secular:
• Lived & worked in the present world among the people
• Made up of the priests, bishops, and the Pope
• Performed the sacraments & taught religious instruction
– Regula (Rules) • Lived in isolation away from the present world
• Made up of Monks (men) & Nuns (women)
• Lived by extremely strict rules
• Reasons for Monasticism: – Believed they had to remove themselves from the temptations of the real world
– Practiced fasting, prayer, & self-denial
– Monastery – a community of monks
– Nunnery – a community of nuns
• Benedictine Monasticism: – Adopted the rules set by Saint Benedict
– All property, labor, & goods produced belonged to the whole monastery
– During Early Middle Ages, most common form of monasticism
• Monastic Influence: – Monks & nuns took care of the neediest & least fortunate of medieval society
– Often took care of the sick in the community & took in orphans
– Often left their monastery to become missionaries (St. Patrick & St. Augustine)
– Became extremely wealthy
Church & Medieval Life • Political Role of Church:
– Had own laws (Canon Law) & courts
– Punishments for breaking Canon Law could include: • Excommunication
– Prohibited a person from receiving sacraments
– Prevented a person from being buried in consecrated (holy) ground
– Cut a person out of medieval society
• Interdict – Made against an entire region
– Closed all churches in area
– Clergy could not perform sacraments
– Used to influence political leaders
– Church did not allow anyone to question teachings or authority of the church • Heresy – to threaten the teachings or authority of the Church
• Heretic – someone who committed heresy
– Had the power to tax/tithe
• Economic & Social Role: – Believed those who labored deserved respect
– Believed family was a sacred institution
– Provided help for the needy
– Established hospitals & schools
Problems of the Medieval Church • Investiture
– A high ranking noble or king could appointed a friend/relative to positions of power in Church
• Simony
– The practice of buying a position in the Church
• Buying of Indulgences
– When a priest asked for a confessioner to give money as a penance
– Sometimes described as “buying forgiveness”
• Inquisition:
– The Church ordered the Dominican Friars (monks) to seek out heresy
– Heretics who confessed were ordered to serve a penance/those who didn’t were imprisoned or executed
– A religious “witch hunt”
Anglo-Saxon England • Two main tribes control England: Angles & Saxons
• Anglo-Saxons formed different kingdoms – Northumbria = modern Scotland
– Mercia = Central England
– Wessex = South England
– Each kingdom was divided into shires, governed by the shire-reve (sheriff)
• Alfred the Great – Frequent attacks by Danes (Vikings)
– Alfred Becomes King of Wessex • Vows to force Danes out of England
• Builds powerful army & navy, war from 876-886
• Danes sue for peace, leave Wessex & settle in Northumbria
• Danes retake England by 1013 – King Canute of Denmark takes throne in 1016, ruled mostly from England
– Sons unable to hold England
• Anglo-Saxons retake England – Edward the Confessor becomes king
– Edward was Anglo-Saxon & Norman French
William the Conqueror • Edward the Confessor dies w/o heir in 1066
– Duke William of Normandy was closest male relative
– Anglo-Saxon nobles refuse to give William throne of England
– Nobles place Harold of Wessex as king
• Battle of Hastings
– William builds army & crosses the English Channel
– William’s & Harold’s army meet in combat in October
– Harold killed in the battle
– William’s army moves through the countryside putting down rebellions
– William crowned king, December 1066
• Changes to a Norman England:
– William introduced Norman culture, language, & law
– Anglo-Saxons clung to old ways
– Mixture of language, culture, & law resulted
A New Feudal Society • William set king up as the supreme authority in feudal society, not nobles
– All feudal lords swore fealty to the king
– Sent royal commissioners to account for every shire’s people, assets, & property • Set up a taxing system based on property values
• Records collected in what is known as the Domesday Book (Doomsday)
• Henry I becomes king – Ruled following William
– Continued to centralize the government • Established the office of the exchequer to handle king’s finances, made tax collecting
more efficient
• Sent traveling judges to try cases, created more uniform justice system
• Henry II becomes king – Created a military under the authority of the king, not the nobility
– Changed the Judicial System • Created judicial circuits
• Replaced trial by combat and trial by ordeal with juries
– Placed Thomas Beckett as Archbishop of Canterbury • Henry & Beckett had been good friends, Henry believed Beckett controllable
• Becket refused to allow his clergy to be tried in Henry’s Courts
• 4 members of Henry’s personal guard assassinated Beckett
– England becomes involved in conflicts w/France • Henry’s wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, brought lands in France as dowry
• French king denied Henry right to these lands
King John & the Magna Carta • King Henry II had three sons: Geoffrey, Richard, & John
– Richard I becomes king, spends most of his time on crusade/dies without an heir
– John becomes king
• Life under King John
– Tries to claim his mother’s lands in France
– Increases taxes to support his wars
– Nobles join together
• Take control of the military
• Threaten to take control of throne unless John signs agreement limiting his power
• John agrees to sign the Magna Carta
• The Magna Carta:
– Protected the rights & liberties of the nobles
– Gave greater power to the Great Council
– John could not take property without paying for it
– Could not deny anyone the right to jury trial
– First written document to limit the power of the monarch
Parliament & Common Law • Creation of Parliament:
– Nobles revolt against Henry III
– Simon de Montfort, gathered both noble & middle class support for rebellion
• Recommended addition of middle class & clergy members to the Great Council
• Become known as Parliament
• Parliament:
– Consists of two chambers
• House of Lords – from the noble class & the Church
• House of Commons – from the knights & burgesses (middle class)
– Had the power to advise the king and authorize taxing
• Common Law:
– Edward I created three different court systems
• Court of the Exchequer: tried tax cases
• Court of Common Pleas: tried cases involving ordinary citizens
• Court of the King’s Bench: tried cases involving nobles & cases that affected the government & king
– All decisions were collected & used as guide in future cases
– Became known as Common Law because it applied equally and to all English people
The Capetian Kings of France • Carolingian dynasty ends, Hugh Capet chosen by nobles
to be king – Hugh was first of the Capetian dynasty
– Ruled the Ile-de-France
– France extremely decentralized, mostly ruled by independent dukes
• Accomplishments of the Capetian Dynasty: – Increased land under royal control
• Kings married to gain control over large duchies
• Took control of lands whose families had died out w/o leaving a clear heir
• Conquered the French lands controlled by England – Phillip II – took control of Normandy, Aquitaine, & Maine from England
– Greatly strengthened the government: • Created the Parliament of Paris, a type of supreme court
• Greatly influenced selection of the Pope
• Created the Estate-General: a legislative assembly with members from the three major social classes