WEEK #11 (October 23th-27th) 
Monday:  Today introduced the Dark ages and the Carolingian Dynasty here 
Tuesday: We completed Cornell Notes on the Carolingians 
Wednesday. Today we worked on a guided reading project with this PPT and this packet 
Thursday: We finished our section on the Carolingian dynasty
Friday: We worked on our essay #2 using our time wisely to research our topics


Week #11 Homework:  Complete a rough draft of your Essay #2 and bring two printed copies to school on Wednesday of next week

Week 11 Notes
  • Fall of the roman empire
    • Western empire declines as eastern flourishes
    • Internal decay
    • External threats
    • Overextended borders
    • Remaining influences
      • Roman tradition
      • Western church
      • Germanic tribes
  • Western Europe in 500 CE
    • Visigoths in Southern Gaul/Northern Spain
    • Vandals in Southern Spain
    • Huns throughout Europe (sacked rome 410)
    • Angles-Saxons in England
    • Franks in Northern Gaul
    • Ostrogoths in italy
    • Also Lombards, Burgundians
  • Development of Christianity in the West
    • As Roman control over Europe declines, the Christian Church fills the void
    • Europe isolated following end of Roman Empire - Church often only authority and most stable institution
    • Church administration centralized with Roman archbishop given “Papal Primacy”
  • Monastic Christianity
    • Monasticism - priests turning away from popular culture to study faith
    • Sought seclusion instead of self-torture
    • Two types -
      • Hermit - complete seclusion
      • Communal - communities of monks - missionary oriented - “cities of God” - ex) Benedictines
  • Divisions of Christendom
    • East and west compete for supremacy of Christianity
    • Eastern church too preoccupied with Islam to use resources to bring west under control
    • Western church allies with Franks against Lombards for protection
      • Franks defend the church
    • Gulf widens between doctrinal views
  • Western vs eastern christianity
    • Western
      • Pope had final say
      • Church competes with political for control
      • Celibate priesthood
      • Unleavened bread
    • Eastern
      • Church councils decide
      • Church accepts political control
      • Priest could marry
      • Leavened bread
  • Ambrose (330-397 CE)
    • Archbishop of Milan
    • During his time, more influential than the Pope
    • Forces late Roman Emperor to do penance for killing civilians - church over state
  • Jerome (347 -420)
    • Translated Bible from Hebrew and Greek to Latin (Latin Vulgate)
    • Travels to Constantinople, Damascus and Jerusalem to find best version of Bible
    • Believed Bible allegorical, not literal
      • Allegorical - stories were not literal; Noah’s arc
    • Classical training good if Christian purpose served
    • No baths for women
  • Augutine (354-439)
    • Bishop of Hippo
    • Said the Bible is revealed obscurely - an education needed to understand
    • Believed in original sin and predestination
    • Author, “On the City of God”
    • Canonized after death
      • Canonized - knighted
  • The Franks
    • Loose group of tribes inhabiting northeastern Europe in 3rd century
    • Clovis, unites group (Merovingian dynasty) to become largest political power in wake of Empire
    • Converts fro alliance with the Church
  • Merovingians
    • Solidify rule by giving control to non-nobles (to create loyalty) with office of Count
    • Counts gain land becoming another type of aristocracy who become resentful
    • Administration left to the “mayor of the palace” - Pepin I takes control of the Franks
      • Establishes Carolingian dynasty
  • Carolingians
    • Pepin I - Pepin II - Charles Martel - Pepin III (the short) - Charlemagne
    • Charles Martel (the hammer) creates large cavalry force using aristocracy - awards control of local area back to nobles giving benefices or fiefs (gifts of land) - beginning of feudalism
      • Used armor and heavy cavalry
      • Did not call himself a king but a pope
    • Defeats the Muslims at the Battle of Tours in 732, effectively ended the Muslim advance into Europe
  • Carolingians and the church
    • Carolingians enlist church to help maintain control - offer conversion opportunities to conquered groups - ex: Anglo-Saxons
    • Pope supports Carolingian takeover of remnants of Merovingian kingdom
    • Reciprocal relationship: Carolingians protects Church from the East/Church legitimizes dynasty
    • Give lands surrounding Rome to the church
  • Charlemagne (742-814 CE)
    • Solidifies relationship with the Church
    • Crowned head of (new) Holy Roman Empire
      • Says catholic church owns
  • Charlemagne
    • Increases Frankish realm - extends domain in name of Christianity
    • Forces Eastern Empire to recognize authority in west - though no takeover
    • Had strong indirect control over church - restored Pope after capture
    • Governs in the Carolingian way - 250 Counts from aristocracy
    • Large-extroverted-practical joker
    • Expected loyalty - taxes collected - justice dispensed
    • Occasionally resorted to divine justice “trial by ordeal”
    • Builds large palace at Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen)
  • Carolingian Renaissance
    • Charlemagne used resources taken from conquered tribes to attract scholars
    • Aix-la-Chapelle became center of learning
    • Preserved Roman writings in easier to read Carolingian script
    • Served as vehicle to train bureaucrats
  • Breakup of Carolingian Dynasty
    • Charlemagne’s son Louis the Pious inherits
    • Without talented leader, empire unmanageable
    • Louis the Pious sons’ demand empire divided
      • Lothar
      • Louis the German
      • Pepin/Charles
    • Kingdoms devolve but Holy Roman Empire remains
  • Feudalism
    • Still echos of it around today
    • System of agriculture that bound workers (serfs) to owners of the land (lords)
    • Vocabulary
      • Serfs - no longer slaves - but you owe a debt for the rest of your life
      • Serf/peasant - farm worker
      • Lord - owner of feudal estate
      • Manor- farm/estate including local shops
      • Fiefdom - estate or domain of a feudal lord
      • Fealty - loyalty sworn to lord
      • Vassal - one who swears loyalty to lord
      • Liege - lord to which one is most loyal
      • Vagabond - escaped serf who roamed
  • Vassalage
    • Web like society rather than chain
    • Hierarchy of vassalage
    • King - duke/baron - serf
    • Knights serve lord of the manor
    • Serfs might be required to fight also
    • Some lords vassals to more than one superior
  • Relationship between lords and vassals
    • When it worked well - it was like a family
    • Made a big part of the political and social structure of the feudal system
    • Vassals had certain duties to perform for the lord
    • All nobles were ultimately vassals of the king
  • What is a knight?
    • Almost all nobles were knights
    • Training began age 7 - page
      • under the guidance of the lady of the manor
    • Became squires at age 15
      • trained by other knight
      • Hooked into armor
    • Those deemed worthy were “dubbed” knights
    • Chivalry - system of rules that dictates knights’ behavior towards others
  • Does chivalry have an effect
    • Did improve the lifestyle of the early feudal lords
    • However… knights only required to act courteously toward those of his own class
    • Those of a lower class were free game
    • Waving and shaking hands were signs of trust and peace
  • Coat of arms - shields
    • System of Identity among medieval knights
    • Meaning belongs to:
      • Colors
      • Symbols
      • Helmet
      • Motto
 
  • Gold = generosity
  • Red = warrior
  • Helmet = protector
  • Cat = liberty and courage
  • Dragon = valor and protection








  • Workers on the manor
    • There were two groups of peasant workers on the manor
    • Freemen - skilled workers who paid rent and could leave the manor whenever they wished. (they usually had a skill needed by others on the manor)
    • Serfs - workers bound to the land by contract with the nobles. (they had no freedom - they were the noble’s property)
  • Characteristics of feudalism
    • Serfs bound to the land - multigenerational
    • Levels of serfdom
      • Free serfs - some right, had some bargaining power (small landowners)
      • Servile serfs - no rights, needed permission for marriage, travel, etc
 
  • Why did feudalism work?
    • Lords needed stable workforce for land
    • Serfs needed a job and protection
    • Periodic waves of invaders threatened safety of the landless - 1000 CE new wave of Vikings, Magyars, and Muslims
    • Crusades were partly an excuse to give the knights something to do
    • Lords traded use of land for share of crops
    • Small landowners trade also with lords
    • Necessary antecedent for Nation-States
  • Manorialism
    • Economic system around a lord’s manor
    • Manor included a village and the land surrounding it
    • Each group in society had their own job and responsibility to fulfill
    • self- sufficient
  • Changes in agriculture
    • Climate improves in Europe - 700 - 1200 CE temperature rises 1 degree centigrade
    • Moldboard plow allows deeper penetration
    • 3 field crop rotation system used
    • Padded collars for horses
    • Harness of water power for mills Water Wheel/Tidal Mill
    • Wheelbarrow developed