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Empires and Borderlands: The Early Middle Ages, 750-1050

Empires and Borderlands: The Early Middle Ages, 750-1050. The West CHAPTER 8. The Leadership of Charlemagne. Established an empire covering most of western Europe

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Empires and Borderlands: The Early Middle Ages, 750-1050

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  1. Empires and Borderlands: The Early Middle Ages, 750-1050 The West CHAPTER 8

  2. The Leadership of Charlemagne • Established an empire covering most of western Europe • Coronation as Roman emperor, 800: conscious imitation of antiquity; exchanged protection of papacy, in return for divine sanction of rule • Government was personal, rather than institutional

  3. The Carolingian Renaissance • Need for governmental efficiency and propagation of Christianity • Intensification of study of Latin and classical texts • Alcuin of York (ca. 732-804) headed the palace school at Aachen • Europe became the geographical and cultural heart of a new civilization

  4. The Division of Western Europe • Charlemagne’s rule depended on personal ability • Frankish custom dictated equal division of property between sons • 843: Treaty of Verdun divided the Frankish empire • Political fragmentation and vulnerability

  5. The Polytheist Invaders • Magyars - nomadic people from central Asia • Vikings - seaborne raiders from Denmark, Norway and Sweden • Lasting Viking influence, in British Isles and along North Atlantic coast of France • Establishment of centralized monarchies, in Hungary and Scandinavia, as well as conversion to Christianity, ended raids, by eleventh century

  6. Lords and Vassals • Personal, reciprocal relationship between a lord and a vassal formed basis of authority • In exchange for obedience and military service, a vassal received protection and, often, land (a fief) - feudalism • Lordship implied property rights, and political and legal jurisdiction • In theory, a hierarchy of feudal authority descended from the king

  7. Feudal Kingship • Feudal kingship combined the personal authority of lordship with the legal authority of the king • Development of notions of sacred kingship - kings represented God on earth • Separation of the idea of kingship and the kingdom from the mortal person of the king

  8. After the Carolingians: The West European Kingdoms • Saxon (Ottonian) dynasty in East Francia • Otto I (936-973) was crowned emperor in 962 - foundation of the Holy Roman Empire • Capetian dynasty in West Francia • Intertwining of church and monarchy • Norman conquest of England • Linkage of England with French affairs

  9. The Common People • Agricultural Revolution, in eleventh century, led to better nutrition, greater population and more stable community life • Manor system bound serfs to the land, in exchange for protection • Revival of cities, fueled by population increase, led to demands for urban autonomy • Cities began to become important cultural and economic centers again

  10. The Spread of Christianity in the Latin West • Conversion usually began with a monarch or chief • Institution of bishoprics to teach and enforce uniform Christianity • Role of saints as patrons and protectors • Latin language and liturgy helped to forge a common cultural identity in western Europe

  11. The Reform of Christianity in the Latin West • Political pressure and immense wealth of church led to corruption • Drive for reform emerged from monasteries - the Cluniac movement • Reform aimed to enforce clerical celibacy, and to eliminate simony and lay investiture

  12. Byzantium • Economic and cultural revival, under the Macedonian dynasty (867-1056) • New alliances with converted Slavs • Continuing decline in relations with western Europe and the papacy • Decay of the imperial army, due to land seizures by aristocracy - only free landholders could be soldiers

  13. The Borderlands in Eastern Europe • New kingdoms and cultural identities began to emerge ca. 1000 • Bulgaria: Orthodox Christianity and Slavonic liturgy • Kievan Russia: Orthodox Christianity and Slavonic liturgy • Poland: Catholic Christianity and Latin liturgy

  14. The Abbasid Caliphate • Reinforced division between Shi’ite and Sunni Muslims • Acceptance of all Muslims, regardless of ethnicity, fostered a distinct Islamic identity and civilization • Abbasid caliph held military and economic power, but was not responsible for public infrastructure • Arabic translations preserved classical learning lost in Europe

  15. Islamic Civilization in Europe • Settlement of Sicily and Spain, from North Africa • Formed a borderland of intense cultural and commercial interaction - Arabic learning filtered into western Europe • Caliphate of Córdoba - a golden age of literature, science and architecture

  16. Legends of the Borderlands • Song of Roland (ca. 1100) • Digenes Akritas (tenth century) • The Poem of El Cid (twelfth century) • Legends that expressed values of valor and loyalty • The borderlands produced a class of professional warriors who enriched themselves, in the perpetual conflict between Islam and Christendom

  17. An Emerging Unity in the Latin West • Lasting distinction between western and eastern Europe • Emergent cultural and religious unity of western Europe • Decline of Byzantium and fragmentation of Islam into competing caliphates • Emergence, in west, of bonds of vassalage, an improved agricultural economy, and revived cities

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