The Early Middle Ages

1. The Early Middle Ages World History SOL WHI.9a,b,c

2. Essential Questions • How and why did the Church grow in importance during the Middle Ages? • How did a feudal society develop in Europe during the Middle Ages? • How did the medieval manor function as a social and economic system? • How did Charlemagne revive the idea of a Roman Empire?

3. Age of Charlemagne • After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 c.e. Western Europe entered what is now called the Middle Ages. This period was once called the Dark Ages because much of the knowledge and sophistication of the Roman Empire was lost or ignored. • During the Middle Ages kingdoms in France, Germany, Spain, and England became the leading powers.

4. Age of Charlemagne • The first major kingdom in Europe after the fall of Rome was the Kingdom of the Franks located in modern day France and extending into Germany. This area was called Gaul by the Romans. • Charles Martel, a Frankish King, defeated a Muslim army at the battle of Tours in 732.

5. Age of Charlemagne • Charlemagne, a grandson of Charles Martel, founded an empire in the 800s that controlled most of Western Europe. • In 800, Pope Leo III, asked Charlemagne for help against rebellious nobles in Rome. Charlemagne marched south and crushed the rebellion. • In gratitude Pope Leo crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Romans. This revived the idea of a united Christian community in Europe.

7. Age of Charlemagne • Charlemagne wanted to make his court at Aachen a second Rome. To do so he set out to revive Latin learning in his empire. • Charlemagne founded a school under the direction of a respected scholar, Alcuin. • Alcuin created a curriculum based on Latin learning that included grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy.

8. Age of Charlemagne • Charlemagne was also a supporter of the church and he ordered many churches built across his empire. • Charlemagne was crowned emperor by the Pope, implying a connection between the Catholic Church and the emperors of the Roman Empire. At the time Byzantium was considered the Eastern Roman Empire and they did not look favorably on the coronation.

9. Cathedral built in Aachen by Charlemagne. It is the oldest church in Northern Europe.

10. Age of Charlemagne • After Charlemagne died in 814, his empire soon fell apart. His heirs battled for power for nearly 30 years until his grandsons split the empire into three parts.

11. Division of Charlemagne’s Empire

12. The Church in the Middle Ages • After the decline of the Roman Empire the major unifying force in Western Europe was the Roman Catholic Church. • During the early Middle Ages the Church sent missionaries to convert the peoples of Northern Europe to include England and Germany. Missionaries also brought the Latin alphabet to Germany and the Germanic languages were written with it. • As secular authority declined church authority grew.

13. Spread of Christianity to 600 c.e.

15. The Church in the Middle Ages • The parish priest was usually the only contact the average person had with the Church. • The priest celebrated mass and administered the sacraments, the sacred rites of the Church. • Priests preached the gospel of Jesus and the teachings of the Church. • The village church was also a social center. After services, villagers gossiped or danced. Some parish priests also ran schools.

16. The Church in the Middle Ages • Villages took pride in their church buildings and decorated them with care. • Prosperous communities replaced wood churches with stone churches. • Some churches housed relics, or the remains of martyrs or other holy figures. • Local people as well as visitors made pilgrimages to pray before the relics. • To support itself the Church required Christians to pay a tithe, or tax equal to a tenth of their income.

17. Monasteries • During the Middle Ages monasteries appeared in Europe. Monasteries are places where monks or nuns devote their life to God. • Daily life in a monastery was broken into periods of study, worship, and work. • In a world without hospitals or schools, monasteries and convents often provided basic services. • Monasteries and convents amassed large amounts of land because when nobles died they would leave money and land to them.

18. Monasteries • Monasteries also preserved the cultural achievements of the Greeks and Romans because monks were literate and they copied the works of ancient authors.

19. Monks made illuminated manuscripts in the Middle Ages. These books had small detailed pictures, elaborate borders, and stylized lettering. Manuscripts are usually religious books such as the bible or prayer books.

20. Reconstruction of a medieval monastery.

21. Feudal Society • In the Middle Ages kings and emperors were too weak to maintain law and order. In response to this basic need for protection, a new system evolved, known as feudalism. • Feudalism was a loosely organized system of rule in which powerful lords divided their landholdings among lesser lords. In exchange, these lesser lords, or vassals, pledged service and loyalty to the greater lord.

22. Feudal Society • Feudal contract - An exchange of a pledge between a greater and lesser lord. A lord granted his vassal a fief, or estate. • Fiefs could range from a few square miles to hundreds of acres. Besides the land the fiefs included the peasants to work the land as well as any towns or buildings on the land.

23. Rigid Class Structure • Everyone had a place in feudal society. Below the monarch were powerful lords, such as dukes and counts, who held the largest fiefs. Each of these lords had vassals, and these vassals had their own vassals. • Vassals held fiefs from more than one lord so feudal relationships grew very complex.

25. Knights • For feudal nobles, fighting was a way of life. At the age of seven, a boy slated to become a knight was sent away to the castle of his father’s lord. There, he learned to ride and fight. • When his training was finished he knelt before an older knight and was “dubbed” by the flat side of a sword. Then he took his place among the other warriors.

26. The Manor • The basic unit of the medieval economy was the manor, or lord’s estate. • Most manors included one or more villages and the surrounding lands. • Peasants, who made up the majority of the population lived and worked on the manor. • Most peasants on manors were serfs, bound to the land. They were not slaves who could be bought and sold but they were not free. They could not leave the manor without the lord’s permission.

27. The Manor • Peasants and their lords were tied together by mutual obligations. • Peasants had to work several days a week farming the lord’s lands. They also repaired his roads, bridges, and fences. • Peasants paid the lord a fee when they married, when they inherited their father’s acres, or when they used the local mill to grind grain.

28. The Manor • The manor was generally self sufficient because peasants produced everything they needed from food and clothing to furniture and tools. • Most peasants never ventured more than a few miles from their villages. • Life for peasants was harsh. They worked long hours and ate simple meals.