Early Middle Ages In Europe

1
Early Middle Ages In Europe

• 500-1000 CE

2
Early Middle Ages

• Learning and Civilization Declined, but it was a
  great time for Germanic Kings and Warriors
• New society had three roots
• Classical heritage from Rome
• Beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church
• Customs of German tribes

3
More Middle Ages

• By 600, Priests were almost the only literate
  Europeans
• Changes in citizenship
• German tribes took over Roman lands
• Family ties and personal loyalty bound society
  together (beginnings of Feudalism) a contract
  between serfs (produce food), nobility
  (protection)
• People belonged to a family and followed one
  leader (like a TRIBE or CLAN)
• They felt no obligation to obey a king who was a
  stranger

4
Even more Middle Ages

• Christianity won new followers
• Roman Catholic Church was the strongest
  civilizing force in W. Europe
• In the 300s and 400s Christian missionaries
  spread beliefs to German Celtic groups
• Clovis, leader of N. Gaul, converted to
  Christianity won more German tribes over

5
Monastic Life

• Benedictine rule
• Monasteries communities of Christian men or
  women
• Lived according to rules of poverty, chastity,
  obedience
• Benedict was a monk who wrote a book of rules for
  monastic life
• Monasteries operated schools, maintained
  libraries, and copied books (manuscripts)
• leading scholarly centers of the day
• Also Dominicans, Franciscans, etc

6
Christianity Rules

• Pope Gregory the Great
• Made the papacy an office of political
  spiritual power
• Foresaw a churchly kingdom, ruled by a pope
  this idea became a central part of the Middle
  Ages
• Charles Martel The Hammer
• Led the Franks and defeated a Muslim army in
  Spain at Battle of Tours in 732

7
Charlemagne

• King of the Franks (768-814)
• Forced people to become Christian
• Conquered with his armies by 800, had lands in
  Italy, France, Germany, and N. Spain (larger than
  Byzantine Empire)
• First to unite W. Europe since the Romans
• His court became a center of learning the
  Carolingian revival
• Crowned emperor by Pope Holy Roman Empire

8
The Vikings

• Culture
• From Scandinavia
• pagans, worshiped warlike gods (Thor, etc.)
• names like Eric Bloodaxe
• Were traders, farmers, and explorers
• Last great raiders of W. Europe
• Raided European settlements from Ireland to
  Russia, 800-1000 CE
• Had kingdoms in Ireland and much of England
  stopped there by Alfred the Great in 886
• Settled down in many areas such as French
  Normandy (Northmen or Norsemen Normans)
• Settled Iceland explored Greenland (Eric the
  Red) and Newfoundland in N. America (Leif
  Ericson)
• Adopted Christianity, decline after AD 1000

9
Feudalism

• A highly decentralized form of government that
  stressed mutual protection between monarchs
  nobles.
• Fief (land) for oath of fealty (loyalty)
  military service
• Oath of fealty makes one a vassal
• Serfs grow food for protection
• Most of Europe was using this system

10
Manorialism

• Fief-estates with peasants, became manors
• Manors were self sufficient
• Three field system of crop rotation
• Moldboard plow
• Lords took oath of loyalty in exchange for power
  over Manor
• Knights provided protection for Manor King

11
Knights

• Code of Chivalry
• be brave in battle
• fight fairly
• keep promises
• defend the church
• treat women of noble birth in a courteous manner

Knight swearing Fealty