1 / 18

The Early Middle Ages: ‘The Dark Ages’

The Early Middle Ages: ‘The Dark Ages’. The Fall of the Roman Empire in the West, 476CE. Early Middle Ages – The Dark Ages begin. Sewage system no longer / Back to wells Stones taken from old structures to use to build new small ‘primitive’ homes

chip
Download Presentation

The Early Middle Ages: ‘The Dark Ages’

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Early Middle Ages: ‘The Dark Ages’

  2. The Fall of the Roman Empire in the West, 476CE

  3. Early Middle Ages – The Dark Ages begin.... Sewage system no longer / Back to wells Stones taken from old structures to use to build new small ‘primitive’ homes Colosseum used for landfill and/or storing animals

  4. Clovis I, (480-511) baptized at/near Cathedral Rheims, France

  5. Clovis and the law • Trial by Oath – A person needs to receive affirmation from character witnesses by an Oath – people were fearful of God’s wrath esp. if they lied under oath • Trial by Ordeal – Must prove your innocence! - If the person lives through the ordeal, then they are innocent – suspect would always be punished under this ordeal • Trial by Combat – Two people battled it out; the loser was the guilty party because God’s justice would always be with the righteous – some lords hired a ‘champion’ to act on their behalf • What do all three have in common? • Do any of these resemble current practices in trials?

  6. Merovingian Kingdom (‘The long-haired kings’)

  7. Merovingian achievements, 448 - 751 • United most of Gaul • Converted to Christianity and legitimized the power of the Church in the West • Clovis won a decisive battle in 496 and then became a Christian • He was deemed as the Novus Constantinus • Charles, the Hammer, Martel (686 – 741): won the battle of Tours which ‘saved’ Europe from Muslim expansion – Carolingian Empire began with him

  8. Carolingian Dynasty • Karling/Kerling means ‘descendents of Charles’ • Pepin the Short – 1st Carolingian king (son of Charles Martel )– gave central Italy to the Church • Charles, the Great – Charlemagne was his son that inherited Gaul • Defeated Lombard King and absorbed northern Italy, then Saxons and Bavaria, and finally engaged Spain but to no avail • His soldier, Roland, became his rear guard and while him and his men died / Charlemagne and other Franks escaped

  9. Charlemagne • Around 6 feet tall with a powerful build • Ambitious, aggressive and ruthless • Patron of scholars and literature • 800, crowned by Pope Leo II as Emperor of the Romans – HRE, Holy Roman Emperor

  10. Justinian, Byzantium (529 – 565) • Code of Justinian – Body of Civil Laws : collection of past laws from the Roman empire and new ones • An example: ‘innocent until proven guilty’ • Put down Nika Riots with help of Theodora • United Roman Empire once again

  11. The Byzantine Empire

  12. The Black Death (542, 7th, 8th, 14 - 17th centuries) • New: Scientists in 1984, have discussed possibly hemorraghic fever similar to Ebola virus • OId: Infected flea in rats from Asia • Buboes: pus and blood seeping out / skin damaged underneath • 3 types: Bubonic; Pneumonic (attack on the lungs); Septicaemic (type of blood poisoning)

  13. Illustration from 1411 • Most victims died within four to seven days after infection • Pneumonic: Spit up slimy sputum (mucus) with blood; transmitted through infected droplets of saliva • Septicaemic: high fevers, skin turning shades of purple; direct contact with fleas

  14. Danse Macabre (Dance of Death, 1493) – Universality of Death

  15. Religious Consequence of the Plague By 15th century, the Church lost much of its power People began to turn to the secular governments for support and protection This really set the stage for Martin Luther to be protected in 1517 from the Church Reformation – Major challenge to Catholicism

  16. The Age of the Vikings • The Gokstad Ship Burial • Constructed in about 890; found with the body of a large man in his 40s • Great Heathen Army – from Denmark defeated by Alfred the Great in 9th century • Thor (god of thunder) – most beloved god; red beard and flowing hair

  17. Map of Viking invasions

  18. Feudalism • Relationship between those ranked in chain of association (kings, nobles, lords, peasants) • Based on notion of mutual obligation from serf to noble • Fief – land given by a lord to vassal for military service and oath of loyalty • Serfs – common peasants who worked for the lord • Tithe – tax that serfs paid to Church • Corvee- condition of unpaid labour by serfs (ditches, roads, manors)

More Related