Barbarian Tribes

1. Barbarian Tribes WHO LET THE DOGS OUT??

2. By the late 300’s, uncivilized people began to migrate into the Roman Empire • Long migration= great changes • Middle Ages (Latin “Medieval”)= lie between ancient and modern times • 500-1500 C.E. • Began when the Roman gov’t hired German mercenaries to fight, and paid them w/land along the northern border.

3. Germanic Tribes • Angles and Saxons and Jutes (Oh, my!) • Vikings • Franks • Burgundians • Bavarians • Lombards • Goths: Ostrogoths (east), Visigoths (west) • Vandals

4. Barbarian Migrations

6. Background • Neolithic lifestyle (while Mediterranean area was more advanced) Why? • Simple life: nomads with no $, cities, trade • Farming left to women • Hunting, fighting left to men • Wedge formation used in battle • Bravest, best armed men in front • Contempt for cowards

7. Germanic Religion • Showed love of war, animal sacrifices in sacred groves • Valkryies: spirits who fly the souls of dead warriors to Val Halla • Val Halla: Hall of the Slain, happy hunting ground, days for fighting, nights for drinking • Odin: God of the Dead, giver of Victory, suffered on a tree for the Runes, gave mead to men • Thor: Odin’s son, thunderbolts for weapons

8. Days of the Week • Named for Germanic Gods • Sun • Moon • Tiu: son of Woden and Frigg (fertility goddess) • Woden: another name for Odin • Thor • Frigg • Saturn: Roman agriculture god

9. Germanic Writings • Runes: magical inscriptions, another of Odin’s gifts to mankind • Beowulf: most famous epic hero story, valuable insights into the Germanic lifestyle

10. Germanic Government • All fighting men had a say in decisions • This assembly was called the “Mall”. • Wergelds: laws formed by tradition • Judges of crimes were the Elders. • Punishments were harsh: right hand or bow fingers were severed. • Families sought revenge= clan feuds • Wolfshed: “outside the law” (anyone could murder him w/o punishment)

11. Angles and Saxons and Jutes • Invaded Roman-held Britain in waves from Scandinavia and Denmark • Set up farming communities • Eventually intermarried, thus “Anglo-Saxons” • Britain became Angleland

13. Vikings (Danes, Northmen, Norsemen) • Origin: Scandinavia • Warrior/farming society, worshipped Odin, warriors= “beserker” • Viking technologies: boat building, jewelry making, carving • Attacked coastal areas of Angleland, Europe, and Russia, sailed up rivers to loot and pillage • Sent exploration boats to Greenland. • Discovered the New World in 1003 C.E. • Were defeated in Italy.

14. Lost Wax Method

16. Franks • Established the greatest barbarian state • Slowly migrated, intermarried as they progressed • Were heathens (no religion) so religious conflict was kept to a minimum. • Brave warriors, sturdy farmers • Expanded rapidly under Clovis

17. Clovis, the 1st Merovingian • Clovis was descended from Meroveg, a famous Frankish war hero • Was brutal, cruel, w/o conscience, but was an excellent military leader, treated conquered people w/consideration • Conquered other Frankish tribes and united them • Christmas Day, 496 CE: Clovis along with 3,000 of his men, converted to Christianity to honor his vow to his wife • Became a champion of the Catholic Church

18. Conquered the Burgundians • Killed the Visigoth king • Ruled all of Gaul, so is considered the “Founder of the French Nation” • Died in 511 CE. Divided kingdom among his sons, according to Frankish tradition.

19. Later Merovingians • Preoccupied by pleasure and luxury, the Do-Nothing Kings left the business of ruling to the Mayor of the Palace. • 700 CE : Pepin II, Mayor of the Palace succeeded in making the position hereditary, so was king in all but the title. • Son of Pepin: Charles Martel became Mayor • 732 CE : Moors (Moslems) from Spain invaded France, but were defeated by Charles Martel at the battles of Tours and Poitiers. Became a hero and a champion of the Catholic Church.

20. Pepin III (The Short) • Son of Charles Martel • Wanted title of “King”, so wrote to the Pope Stephan, asking for support • Pope replied “He who wields the power, wields the title”. • 751 CE : Assembly of Frankish lords deposed the Do-Nothing Merovingian king and elected Pepin III as King of the Franks.

21. “I’ll scratch your back if…” • 754 CE : Pope Stephan travels to Frankish Kingdom and crowns Pepin III as “King by the Grace of God”. • Sets a “Precedent”- a standard for future actions. Later popes claimed the power to install and depose kings. • Pope asks for help to conquer the Lombards, who were threatening his rule on the Italian peninsula.

22. Gift of Pepin • Pepin and army marched on the Lombards, confiscated their territory around Rome, and gave it to the Pope. “Gift of Pepin”= became the “Papal States”, to be ruled by the Popes for centuries, and greatly expanded • Was there an agreement between Pepin and Stephan? Good question, but it paved the way for the greatest of Frankish kings…. Charlemagne

23. Charlemagne • Charles the Great, Karl de Grosse, Carolus Magnus= “Carolingian” dynasty • 6’8”, strong, handsome, dignified, intelligent, religious, little formal education • Ruled Franks for 46 years: 768-814 CE. • Defeated Lombards, Saxons, Avars, Moors • Fought 54 wars, all on the pretext of converting pagans to Christianity • “Song of Roland” epic story of Archbishop Roland, a loyal, but reckless, vassal of Charlemagne

24. It’s a deal? • 799 CE: Pope Leo III (the Rake) fled Rome in disgrace, turned to Charlemagne for aid. Charlemagne reinstated the Pope. • Christmas Day, 800 CE: While Charlemagne knelt praying the Pope “spontaneously” crowned him “Emperor of the Romans” • This title implied he was the successor to the emperors of Rome, with claims to the old Roman Empire. • Caused a split between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. Pope and Patriarchs excommunicated each other. • Rift not closed until 1965 CE.

25. Charlemagne’s Government • He organized land holdings into regions governed by “Counts”, who raised armies and enforced laws • Capital @ Aix-la-Chapelle, but he traveled constantly to check on the counts • “Missi Dominici” : King’s messengers heard info/complaints from nobles AND common people.

26. Charlemagne’s Gov’t Continued • “Sworn Inquest”: people were bound by oath to tell what they knew of local crimes • No direct taxes on land or people, since Charlemagne met gov’t expenses with income from his own estates • Wealthy donated cavalry and weapons. • Freemen served 3 months annually in army.

27. Education Under Charlemagne • Established “Palace School” at court, for children of nobility • Hired learned men from abroad to teach • Bishops were ordered to collect libraries and organize schools for lower class children w/ability

28. Division and Fall of the Frankish Empire • Empire was united only because of Charlemagne’s energy • 814 CE : son Louis the Pious inherited • 843 CE : Treaty of Verdun divided the empire among Louis’s 3 incompetent sons, whofought instead of uniting (Louis, Charles, Lothair) • Other barbarian tribes attacked (Vikings, Slavs, Moslems, and the Magyars, who were so much like the Huns that they earned the name “Hungarians”)

30. Burgundians • Settled in southern France • Excelled at vineyards and wine-making

31. Lombards • Migrated from the east • Settled in the Po River Valley • Famous leader Alboin made his wife drink a wedding toast to him from a cup made from her father’s skull. In revenge, she had him killed. The Lombards vowed to have many leaders instead of one, and called them “Dukes”. • Eventually elected a duke as king.

32. Ostrogoths • Were captured by the Huns and forced into slavery. Regained freedom when Attila died. • Famous king: Theodoric the Great, ruled Italy as sole ruler, but with 2 governments…one for the Ostrogoths, one for the Romans. • Repaired aqua ducts, encouraged Latin learning • He tried to preserve Roman culture, tolerate various religions, help barbarians and Romans co-exist peacefully.

33. Visigoths • Famous leader: Alaric, had been an imperial commander to Rome • Attacked Rome in August, 410 CE • Army occupied Rome for 3 days • Grain shipments to Rome were halted. St. Jerome reported cannabalism. • Visigoths retreated to settle in Africa, but Alaric died suddenly. • Legend of his tomb in the bedrock beneath the Busento River.

34. Vandals • Headquarters were @ Carthage, on the north coast of Africa • Built ships to raid Rome in 455 CE • Famous leader: Gaiseric sacked Rome even worse than the Visigoths. They killed the last King of the Romans, a 14 year old boy named Romulus. This began the final slide of Roman power. • Destroyed for sheer enjoyment, thus the term “vandalism”.

35. Essay Questions • 1) Gregory of Tours recorded that Clovis said “…for I have invoked my own gods, but, as I see, they have withdrawn from aiding me.” What is the significance of this story? What role did Clovis play in the rise of Europe? • 2) The Capitulary de Villis issued by Charlemagne in 807 ordered that “the weapons, which are carried against the enemy, shall be well cared for, so as to keep them in good condition.” Why would Charlemagne make this stipulation? How were armies organized in medieval Europe? What were the limitations of political organization in the middle ages?

36. 3) Examine the role played by Charlemagne in the establishment of a powerful Europe. What were his main inspirations? What were his policies? • 4) How did the Viking invasions influence the rise of Europe? Besides being powerful warriors, what were the main achievements of the Vikings? • 5) Discuss the significance of Clovis’s conversion to Christianity? What were the political, intellectual, and religious implications of this conversion?

37. 6) Discuss the importance of the Franks. How did they build an empire? What role did the other Germanic tribes play after the fall of Rome? • 7) What impact did the barbarian invasions as a whole, have on the political, social, economic, and religious aspects of Europe?