The Middle Ages (500 to 1000 AD)

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The Middle Ages (500 to 1000
AD)
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Early Medieval Period
? Medieval means middle brutal era of trial by
ordeal (people believed that God would protect
the innocent) sometimes called the Dark Ages
because learning and civilization declined.
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Barbarian Invasions
1. Germanic Celtic people attacked Europe
Angles Saxons attacked Brittania Picts
attacked from Ireland Scots attacked
from Scotland.
2. The Roman Civilization changed as cities
were left to decay because of the corruption
population moved to rural areas for
protection literacy declined Romance
languages increased (French, Italian, Spanish)
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Changes In Government and the Church
1. Emphasis moved from the individual citizen to
a family unit followed a chief (lord) for
leadership.
2. The Roman Catholic Church sent out
missionaries and helped to unify and help the
people of the countryside.
3. Monasteries/Nunneries- communities where
religious men and women gave up all private
possessions and devoted their lives to worship
and prayer. Abbot served as the head of the
monastery.
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Benedictine Rule
?Standards set by a monk named Benedict his
sister Scholastica transferred the standards to
convents a. Lifetime residence b. Prayer 8
times a day c. Manual work/labor d. Read
the Bible e. Eat 1-2 times a day- no red
meat.
?Papal Power- pope in Rome became the most
important bishop to the Roman Catholics really
increased power under Gregory I.
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Roman Kingdoms Sprang Up
1. Many lords started gaining more power through
land ownership the Franks created the strongest
kingdom.
2. Clovis and his successors are known as the
Merovingian dynasty, named after a legendary
ancestor Merovech. Long hair symbol of power.
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Roman Kingdoms Sprang Up
3. Clovis- Franks first Christian king 15
years old when he became king responsible for
gaining most of present-day France.
4. Mayor of the Palace- most powerful person in
the kingdom because he was in charge of the
royal household and estate (commanded the
armies, levied taxes ruled in the kings
name) Charles Martel would take total
control in his own name.
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Roman Kingdoms Sprang Up
5. Pepin the Short- Charles Martel passed his
role as Mayor to his son Pepin. He seized the
throne and became the first king to be anointed
by the pope which gave the king some spiritual
power and the pope gained political power.
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The Carolingian Dynasty
1. Charlemagne- French for Charles the Great
Pepins son ruled the Franks for 46 years.
(768- 814)
2. Led his armies over many groups and kept his
power by using nobles to run the different
estates. Counts were powerful landowners who
ruled a country. Charlemagne used missi
dominici, who were spies for the king.
3. He took a great interest in education when
most kings during this time had no concern for
it.
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The Carolingian Dynasty
4. Pope Leo III called Charlemagne to help him
militarily Pope Leo anointed Charles as
Emperor on Christmas Day in Rome. The
crowning of him as emperor caused a larger
gap to form between eastern and western
Christians.
5. Charlemagne would die at his palace in 814
and his only son, Louis Pious, succeeded him as
king and emperor. He was a very religious man
who made a very poor ruler.
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The Carolingian dynasty
6. Louis would have three sons who would then
fight one another for power Lothair, Charles
the Bald, and Louis the German.
7. The civil war between them ended in 843 when
the brothers signed a pact called the Treaty of
Verdun, this divided the empire into three
kingdoms.
8. Louis the Germans kingdom would become
Germany, Charles the Balds kingdom would
become France, and Lothair would take control
of the land between these two areas.
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Downfall of Carolingian Europe
?The breakup of Charlemagnes empire involved
three groups of invaders 1. The
Arabs attacked from the south. 2. The
Magyars attacked from the east in Asia. 3. The
Vikings attacked from the north.