Germanic and Medieval Europe

1
Germanic and Medieval Europe

• Chris Anderson
• Randolph-Henry High School

2
Germanic Rule

• By AD 500the Roman Empire had been destroyed by
  Germanic invasions
• Many things happened after the Germanic peoples
  took power

• Trade decreased
• Cities, bridges, and roads fell into disrepair
• Law order vanished
• Education almost disappeared
• Money was no longer used
• Life did not extend beyond the village

3
Germanic Rule

• Western Europe had become a very backward place
• The period when the Germanic tribes first took
  over the west is called
• The Dark Ages
• Middle Ages
• Medieval Period
• The era contained elements of Germanic, Roman,
  and Christian cultures

4
Merovingian Rulers

• AD 400sthe Franks emerged as the most powerful
  Germanic group
• The Franks settled in Gaulmodern day France and
  Western Germany
• The early Frankish rulers were called Merovingian
  Kings
• The Merovingian Kings held power until the 700s

5
Merovingian Rulers

• A.) Clovis
• 481Clovis became leader of the Franks
• 496Clovis converted to Christianity to please
  his wife
• The conversion identified him with Rome and his
  people
• He was very strong because of his military
• Upon his death, his kingdom was divided among his
  sons

6
Clovis
7
Merovingian Rulers

• B.) Charles Martel
• 714Charles Martel became Mayor of the Palacethe
  leading government official under the king
• 732Martel defended France from Muslim invasion
  at the Battle of Tours

8
Charles Martel
9
Merovingian Rulers

• C.) Pepin the Short
• Pepin was Charles Martels son
• 741Pepin became Mayor of the Palace
• Pepin wanted to be king, but he had no royal
  blood
• He used his influence with the Frankish bishops
  and the Pope to bring about dynastic change

10
Merovingian Rulers

• The Pope made Pepin king of the FranksKing Pepin
  I
• Pepin agreed to defend the Catholic Church
  against its enemies
• 754Pepin helped to drive the Lombards out of
  Rome

• Pepin received a lot of Lombard land near Rome
• Pepin gave the land to the Pope
• The land became the Papal States

11
Merovingian Rulers

• D.) Charlemagne
• 768Charlemagne became king of the Franks
• Charlemagne was Pepins son
• Charlemagne has also been called
• Charles the Great
• Carolus Magnus
• His dynasty has been called the Carolingian
  Dynasty

12
Charlemagne
13
Merovingian Rulers

• Charlemagne
• He increased the size of the empire
• The kingdom came to include
• Germany
• France
• Northern Spain
• Most of Italy

14
Merovingian Rulers

• Charlemagne
• He knew he needed to restore literacy to his
  kingdom
• He made his royal court into a center of learning
• By 800, Charlemagnes empire included all of
  civilized Western Europe

15
(No Transcript)
16
Merovingian Rulers

• Charlemagne
• 800Charlemagne traveled to Rome to defend the
  Pope against upset Roman nobles
• Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Emperor of
  the Romans on Christmas Day
• Charlemagne wanted the title but was unsure of
  the Popes crowning of himwould seem like the
  Pope had power over him
• His crowning helped to better the relationship
  between the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor

17
Merovingian Rulers

• Charlemagne
• Charlemagne used counts to help rule his vast
  empire
• The counts solved the local problems and helped
  to get soldiers for Charlemagnes army

18
Merovingian Rulers

• Charlemagne
• Charlemagne personally held his empire together
• 814Charlemagne dies leaving his son in
  powerLouis the Pius
• Louis was very weak
• After Louis death, he left the kingdom to his 3
  sons

19
Merovingian Rulers

• Charlemagne
• Louis 3 sons constantly fought over control in
  the kingdom
• 843the 3 brothers agreed to divide the empire in
  the Treaty of Verdun
• Charles the BaldWestern Part (France)
• Louis the GermanEastern Part (Germany)
• LothairHoly Roman Empire (N. Italy and S.
  Germany)

20

• By the end of the 800s, Charlemagnes empire lay
  in ruins
• The nobles had gained lots of power
• Feuds occurred between the nobles and kings
• Muslims took over Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica
• Slavs took central Europe
• Magyars invaded
• Vikings invaded

21

• Vikings
• Traveled in long, deck less shipsusually with
  only 1 sail
• Known for surprise attacks and quick retreats
• Motto if they could not steal it, they would
  burn it
• All of Europe was afraid of the Vikings
• They were after money and adventure
• They showed little or no mercy on their victims
• They explored and settled new lands

22
Early Medieval Europe

• Feudalism dominated early Medieval Europe
• Feudalism was a highly decentralized form of
  government stressing mutual alliances between
  monarchs and nobles in which land is given away
  in exchange for loyalty and military service
• Feudalism started in France and moved to other
  parts of Europe in the 1000s

23

• In Feudalism, land was given to warriors as
  payment
• Everything on the land was also given to the
  warriors
• The peasants that lived on the land
• Any animals--domesticated and wild
• Any buildings on the land

24

• Feudalism was developed by Charles Martel while
  he was fighting the Muslims
• Martel noticed the Muslims had an improved
  saddlethe Muslim saddle had stirrups, European
  saddles did not
• Martel wanted to add the new saddle to his
  military and create a true cavalry
• He had no money to pay the new soldiers, so he
  gave them land instead
• The soldiers then could use the products from the
  land to get a weapon, a horse, and a saddle with
  stirrups
• Trade farm productsfoodfor the materials they
  needed
• They could trade animals or hunting privileges
  for the things they needed

25
(No Transcript)
26
Early Medieval Europe

• Feudalism involved 2 people
• The Lord gave the land away
• The Vassal received the land
• The land that is given away is called a fief
• The vassal had to provide certain services to the
  lord in exchange for the land

27
Early Medieval Europe

• 1.) Provide a certain number of knights
• Most important duty
• The vassal would give away his land as payment to
  knights
• Thus the vassal could become a lord
• 2.) Serve on the lords court
• 3.) Provide food and housing if the lord ever
  visited

28
Early Medieval Europe

• 4.) Give to the lord if his son became a
  knight or his eldest daughter became married
• 5.) Pay the lords ransom if he were ever
  captured

29
Early Medieval Europe

• Most of the obligations were never carried out
• Most vassals would raised knights not to give to
  the lord, but to fight the lord to get more land
• Feudalism lack of centralization led to lots of
  war between the lords and vassals
• The Catholic Churchunsuccessfullytried to limit
  the number of wars with many laws

30

• The Catholic Church tried to limit the number of
  wars by passing laws
• 1.) Peace of God made it illegal for anyone to
  fight in Churches
• 2.) Truce of God outlawed battles on holidays
  and weekends
• 3.) Other Laws other laws only allowed
  fighting to occur on 80 days of the year
• The Church could not enforce these laws thus,
  the battles and warfare continued

31

• At the top of the Feudal system was the King
• At the bottom was the Knight
• Peasant were not part of the Feudal system
  because they owned nothing

32
Early Medieval Europe

• Castles
• Lords were only powerful if they could protect
  themselves
• They built castle for defense
• Castles were a complex of different buildings

33

• Inside the walls was a main building that was
  used for storage and housing troops, the lord,
  and his family
• Castles had their own wells
• Castles had their own Churches, stables, and
  storage buildings
• Some had water filled moats to protect the
  castles from attack

34
(No Transcript)
35
(No Transcript)
36
Early Medieval Europe

• The Nobility
• The nobility included
• Kings
• Lords
• Knights
• ladies
• Nobles had easy lives when compared to the
  peasants
• Their castles were cold, dark, damp, and dreary
  places

37
Early Medieval Europe

• The Nobility
• Nobles had lots of power in their lands
• Collect taxes and rent
• Administer justice
• Female nobles had very few rights
• Forced into fixed marriages
• Could marry at age 12
• Main dutyto have and raise kids

38
Early Medieval Europe

• The Nobility
• Noblemen participated in tournaments to keep
  their skills sharp
• Noblemen also enjoyed hunting, falconry, and
  archery

39
(No Transcript)
40
Early Medieval Europe

• The Knight
• Knights came from the noble classes
• 1.) _at_ age 7, training began
• The boy was a page and learned skills
• 2.) _at_ 15 the boy became a squire
• Assists a knight in battle
• 3.) _at_ 21 the boy became a knight

41
Early Medieval Europe

• The Knight
• Knights followed a code called chivalry
• Had to be brave
• Fight fairly
• Keep promises
• Defend the Church
• Treat noblewomen with respect

42
Early Medieval Europe

• The Manorial System
• The nobles were wealthy because of the work the
  peasants were doing
• The peasants lived on and worked the nobles
  lands
• Manorial Systeman agricultural system that
  provided both the lord and peasant with food,
  shelter, and protection

43
Early Medieval Europe

• The Manorial System
• Manors were the lands and buildings that were
  farmed and used by both the lord and the peasants
• Lords house
• Pastures and fields
• Forests
• Peasant village

44
Early Medieval Europe

• The Manorial System
• The manors peasants agreed to provide services
  to the lord in return for the lords protection
• The peasants farmed the land to produce food for
  themselves and the lord
• The peasants served as the tool
  producersblacksmiths, carpenters, millers, etc.

45
Early Medieval Europe

• The Manorial System
• The manors had to be self-sufficientmaking
  everything the manor needed
• Most peasants never left the manor
• Some peasants were serfssimilar to slaves, but
  they could not be bought or sold

46
Early Medieval Europe

• Agricultural Advances
• 2 new agricultural improvements occurred in the
  Middle Ages that led to more food production
• 1.) New Plow
• Heavier
• Made deeper cuts in the soil
• 2.) Three Field System
• Crop rotation

47
Early Medieval Europe

• Peasant Life
• Peasants lived very hard lives
• Life expectancy40
• Disease and hunger were rampant
• Housing was small1 room with a dirt floor
• Rarely at meat
• Enjoyed holidayslots of entertainment and food

48
Medieval Church

• During the Medieval period, the Catholic Church
  proved to be very powerful
• The Catholic Church became the center of life for
  nearly all Western Europeans
• The primary job of the Church was spiritual
• The Church became involved in politics and social
  issues

49
Medieval Church

• The Pope became the most powerful figure in
  Europe
• Nearly all of Europe fell under the Popes
  control
• All the people were Catholic, giving the Pope
  control over peasants, nobles, and kings
• The Church taught that all people were sinners

50
Medieval Church

• The only way to reach salvation was by gaining
  the Grace of God
• To gain Gods grace, one had to participate in
  the sacraments

• Sacraments
• Baptism
• Penance
• Eucharist
• Confirmation
• Matrimony
• Anointing of the sick
• Holy Orders

51
Medieval Church

• Most Europeans were very religious even though
  they truly did not understand Christianity
• The Mass was said in Latina language that only
  the clergy understood
• Many of the priests were uneducated
• Most people learned about Christianity by looking
  at religious paintings, statues, and stained glass

52
(No Transcript)
53

• Church Organization
• Pope
• Archbishop
• Bishop
• Parish Priest

54
Medieval Church

• There were 2 types of Catholic Clergy
• 1.) Secular Clergy
• Pope, Bishops, Priests
• 2.) Regular Clergy
• Monks and nuns

55
Medieval Church

• 520St. Benedict created a monastery in Italy
• He issued very strict rules for monks to follow
• Monks could never marry
• Monks could not own property
• Monks had to be obedient

56
St. Benedict
57
Medieval Church

• Monastic Life
• Monks were very simple people
• Clothing was simplea long, loose robe made from
  dark, coarse material
• Ate 1 to 2 meals a day
• Most monks had to take vows of silence
• Lived in monasteries

58
Medieval Church

• Monastic Life
• Women also participated in a life devoted to
  religion
• These women were nuns
• Nuns lived in convents
• Nuns are known for their gown and veil

59
(No Transcript)
60
Medieval Church

• Monastic Life
• Monks and nuns lived isolated from the rest of
  the people
• Yet, they played a large part in the peoples
  lives
• The monks preserved classical Roman and Greek
  texts by hand copying the works

61
Medieval Church

• Monastic Life
• Monasteries and convents provided schools for the
  young
• They were hospitals for the sick
• They were hotels for the travelers
• Monks and nuns taught the people new skills in
  carpentry, farming, and weaving

62
Medieval Church

• Power of the Church
• The Catholic Church was powerful both spiritually
  and politically
• The rich gave to the Church
• Most bishops and abbots came from the wealthy
  families
• The Church was becoming very corrupt from the
  and power it had
• Church leader cared less about salvation and more
  about

63
Medieval Church

• Church Reform
• People began to call for reform because the
  Church was becoming too secular
• Monasteries led the reform
• A College of Cardinals would choose the popes
• 1073the Pope (Pope Gregory VII) outlawed the
  Practice of Lay Investiturewhen secular rulers
  appointed Church officials

64
Medieval Church

• Church Reform
• 1215 Pope Innocent III tried to reform the
  clergy
• He condemned drunkenness, feasting, hawking, and
  dancing among the clergy
• Innocent III issued Church laws to stop
  heresythe denial of the Churchs teachings
• Heretics could be killed or excommunicated

65
Medieval Church

• Church Reform
• Innocent also started the Inquisitiona Church
  court designed to find, arrest, judge, and
  sentence heretics
• The Inquisition punished heretics in several ways

• 1.)imprisonment
• 2.)excommunication
• 3.)taking of property
• 4.)execution

66
Medieval Church

• Church Reform
• Friarswandering preachersalso attempted to make
  reforms in the Church
• There were two groups of friars
• 1.) Franciscans
• Founded by Francis of Assisi in 1210
• Followed the simple life of Jesus
• Had a respect for nature
• 2.) Dominicans
• Founded by the Spanish priest Dominic in 1215
• Lived a life of poverty and service

67
Rise of European Monarchies
68

• During the early medieval period, kings were
  rulers only in name--they had very little power
• in the 1100s, many monarchs in Europe began
  building powerful states with powerful
  governments

69
Medieval England

• England was repeatedly invaded by Germanic tribes
  from the 400s until the 1000s
• Angles, Saxons, and Jutes
• Danes, Vikings
• one king was able to help England defend itself
  from Viking invasion in the 800s--King Alfred
  the Great (871-899)

70

• Alfred was an active learner, founding schools
  and hiring translators to translate books
• Alfred also commissioned a history of England to
  be created--Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

71
King Alfred
72

• The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was continuously
  updated for 250 years
• England did not fare so well after Alfreds
  death--his successors were very weak
• 1066 England will be invaded and change hands
  after King Edward dies
• after Edwards death, three (3) persons in Europe
  lay claim to the English throne

73
Norman Invasion

• William, Duke of Normandy was one man who claimed
  to be the next king of England
• he was a cousin to King Edward and a vassal to
  the king of France
• William assembled a large force of men (6,000)
  and set sail for England
• Harold Godwinson was another claiming the throne

74
Norman Invasion

• Harold and William fought over the throne at the
  Battle of Hastings in 1066
• William wins the battle and the throne
• he becomes King William I of England
• he will also be called William the Conqueror

75

• Although king of England, William still wants to
  keep the loyalty of his Norman vassals back in
  France
• to keep their loyalty, he gives them land that
  once belong to Anglo-Saxon churches and nobles
• William also sets up a new system of tax
  collection

76

• to get an accurate estimate of how much tax he
  could collect, he commissioned a census to count
  every person, farm, town, farm animal, etc. in
  England--a 1st for Europe--Doomsday Book
• 1066 The Year of Conquest Making of England
  6th Edition

77
William the Conqueror
78

• William will start a new dynasty of rulers in
  England
• Henry I (1100-1135) Williams grandson
• Henry I greatly increases the power of the
  monarch
• he created a system of royal courts--he was known
  as the Lion of Justice
• Henry II (1154-1189) he was the grandson of
  Henry I
• he will continue to improve on the judicial system

79

• Henry II establishes common law--law that applied
  to everyone
• he set up a grand jury to meet with judges
• this grand jury gave names to judges of suspected
  criminals
• he also created a petit jury used to find the
  guilt or innocence of a person who was on trial
• he will restructure Englands military
• he will improve Englands tax system

80

• Henry ran into problems with the Catholic Church
  in England
• Henry had appointed one of his friends-Thomas
  Beckett--as archbishop of Canterbury
• Henry does this as a way to get a powerful friend
  into the Church
• Eventually, Henry II will order his friend to be
  murdered
• Beckett does not back Henry when Henry tries to
  keep others from taking the throne--thus Beckett
  is murdered

81

• The rulers that followed Henry were not as strong
  as he
• his sons--Richard I and John
• John looses English land to the French
• John does many things that anger the
  people--raising taxes
• 1215--the angry English force John to sign the
  Magna Carta
• the Magna Carta was a charter that placed limits
  on the kings power

82

• What the Magna Carta did
• 1.) the king could not raise taxes without the
  consent of the Great Council
• 2.) outlawed imprisonment without a fair trial
  by ones peers

83

• Another important facet of English government
  will arise in the late 1100 and early
  1200s--Parliament
• the rise of Parliament was hinged on the rising
  middle class in England
• this middle class made their money from business,
  not farming
• the king of England--Henry III--added knights and
  townspeople to the Great Council, eventually
  called Parliament
• Parliament soon included members from the clergy,
  nobles, and townspeople--making Parliament almost
  a direct representation of the English people

84

• In the 15th century (1400s) Parliament will have
  been divided into two houses or chambers
• 1.) House of Lords
• -constructed of nobles and clergy
• 2.) House of Commons
• -constructed of knights and
  townspeople

85
Henry II
John
Richard I
86
France

• France will also develop a very strong monarchy
  during the Medieval Period
• Frances government, however, will not be like
  the representative government that had been
  created in England

87

• French lands will break up during the time
  period before the 1000s
• each of these lands was ruled by different lords
  who were independent of each other
• 987 Hugh Capet will seize the throne of France

88

• the dynasty created by Capet would last for 300
  yearsCapetian Dynasty
• this dynasty greatly strengthened the French
  monarchy by slowly making the French lords come
  under the kings control

89
Hugh Capet
90

• 1100s As the French monarchs became more
  power, the number of French towns increase
• 1108 King Louis VI becomes king
• he will use the French townspeople to help
  strengthen the royal government
• he gave townspeople and members of the clergy
  high positions in his court

91

• Louis VI also gave towns the right to govern
  themselves--making the towns no longer under
  feudal obligations
• the townspeople were now loyal to the king, not
  the feudal lords

92

• 1180 Phillip II (1180-1223) becomes king of
  France
• he doubles the size of France
• he does this through marriage and by retaking
  land from England
• he will also take land away from feudal lords
• he appoints local officials who are loyal to the
  king
• both of the above greatly weaken the power of the
  feudal lords

93
Philip II
94

• 1226 Louis IX becomes king of France
• he will pass certain laws that further weaken the
  feudal lords
• royal courts had power over the feudal courts
• only the king had the right to mint coins
• he banned private wars and certain weapons
• Louis IX was also very religious
• he was made a saint in 1297
• he was a very moral and chivalrous king

95

• Phillip IV (aka. Phillip the Fair) also
  strengthened the power of the French king
• he gained even more territory for France by
  defeating both Flanders and England
• he began taxing the clergy
• he created the Estates-General--composed of
  nobles, clergy, and townspeople
• French kings will have almost absolute power in
  France

96
Holy Roman Empire

• France and England were becoming very strong
  states during the Middle Ages
• the HRE (modern day Germany), however, still
  stayed very weak
• the HRE was heavily entangled in the politics of
  the Pope and Italy

97

• In the 1000 and 1100, German kings posed real
  threats to the Popes power
• King Otto I will try to take over parts of Italy
• 961 Otto is able to take over Lombardy, a
  province in Italy
• 962 Pope John XII will ask Otto for help in
  fighting the Romans who were against the pope
• in return for Ottos help, Pope Johan made Otto
  Emperor of the Romans--Holy Roman Emperor

98

• With this new title, Otto and his followers had
  certain powers
• they could approve of disapprove the election of
  popes
• the problem with this new power was that the HRE
  could depose popes while the pope had the right
  to depose kings--a struggle over who had real
  power will develop between the HRE and popes

99

• Holy Roman Emperors had troubles developing a
  strong German state because the powerful German
  princes would not relinquish their power
• many civil wars break out in the HRE
• these wars weaken the power of the Emperors in
  the HRE

100

• 1073 a major dispute occurred between the HRE
  and the pope
• Henry IV was HRE and the pope was Pope Gregory
  VII
• Pope Gregory outlaws lay investiture--the process
  of lay kings appointing the clergy
• Gregory wanted to free the Church from secular
  control
• Henry IV refused to follow the pope because he
  needed to have power over the bishops to keep
  power over the feudal lords
• upon this, Pope Gregory excommunicated and
  deposed Henry
• Gregory also tries to get the German nobles to
  select another ruler

101

• Henry will give in to the Pope and traveled to
  Rome to repent (1077)
• the struggle between the HRE and the pope will
  continue until the early 1100s
• 1122 the HRE and pope reach a compromise in
  the city of Worms, Germany
• this meeting stated that the HRE was allowed to
  name bishops and give bishops land
• the pope, however, had the power to refuse to
  approve unworthy candidates for bishop ship