Chapter 7                            Section 1                     Notes

 

Essential Question:  How did the invasion by the Germanic groups change Europe?

Terms and Names

Middle Ages – Period of European history from 500 to 1500

Franks – Germanic people who held power in the Roman province

Monastery – Religious community of people devoting their lives to worship and prayer

Secular – Concerned with worldly things

Carolingian Dynasty  - Dynasty of Frankish rulers, lasting from 751 to 987

Charlemagne – Powerful Frankish ruler who built a huge empire

Invasions of Western Europe

How did invasions by Germanic groups change Europe?

     The slow decline of the Roman Empire marked the beginning of a new era in history.  This period is called the Middle Ages.  It lasted from around 500 to 1500.

     By the end of the fifth century, various Germanic groups invaded the Roman Empire in the west.  These invasions led to a series of changes.  Trade was halted.  Moving goods from place to place became unsafe.  Cities were no longer centers of trade and government.  Many people then fled to the countryside.  They returned to rural ways of life.  People also became less educated.

     As Germanic groups settled in different areas, they began to blend Latin with phrases of their own language.  Many kinds of dialects developed.  Europe no longer had a single language understood by all.

1.  Name three effects of the Germanic invasions.

a.

b.

c.

Germanic Kingdoms Emerge

Who were these Germanic peoples?

     As Rome’s power faded, a new kind of government appeared.  Warring Germanic groups carved out kingdoms.  The borders of these kingdoms changed often because of warfare.  There was no central rule.  Family ties and loyalty to a local leader bound Germanic peoples together.  Europe was in chaos. The church, however, provided a sense of order.

     The Franks, a Germanic people, established a large kingdom.  It was located in the Roman province of Gaul.  In 496, Clovis, the king of the Franks, and his warriors became Christian.  From then on, the pope in Rome supported Clovis.

2. What new kind of government arose during Rome’s decline?

Germans Adopt Christianity

How did Christianity spread?

     Other Frankish rulers helped spread Christianity.  The church also tried to convert people.  It set up religious communities called monasteries.  There Christian men called monks devoted their lives to God.  Nuns were women who led this religious way of life.  Monasteries became centers of learning.  Their libraries preserved some writings of Ancient Rome.

     The church grew in importance when Gregory I became pope in 590.  He made the pope the guardian of the spiritual lives of all Christians.  He also made the pope a worldly, or secular, power in governing part of Italy.  Gregory used Church wealth to raise armies and fixed roads.  He took part in making peace treaties with invaders.  His influence in politics grew.

3. What role did monasteries play during this period?

An Empire Evolves 

How did the Carolingian Dynasty arise?

     The kingdom of the Franks covered much of modern France.  By the 700s, the most powerful official was the mayor of the palace.  He made laws and controlled the army.

     In 719, Charles Martel became mayor of the palace.  He expanded the lands controlled by the Franks.  He also won a battle in 732.  He defeated a Muslim force moving north from Spain.  This victory ended the Muslim threat to Europe and made Charles Martel Christian hero.

     His son, Pepin, was crowned king.  Pepin began the reign of the Frankish rulers called the Carolingian Dynasty.  One of Pepin’s son, Charlemagne, became king of the whole Frankish in 771.

4. Who were Charles Martel and Pepin?

Charlemagne Becomes did Emperor

What did Charlemagne achieve?

     Charlemagne had great military skill.  He made his kingdom larger than any other known since ancient Rome.  By 800, he held most of modern Italy, all of modern France, and parts of modern Spain and Germany.  Pope Leo III crowned him emperor.  This event marked the joining of Germanic power, the church, and the heritage of the Roman Empire.

     Charlemagne cut the power of nobles in his empire and increased his own.  He traveled throughout the land visiting the people and judging cases.  He brought well-read men to his court and revived learning.  However, Charlemagne’s empire fell apart soon after his death.

     5.  What was important about Charlemagne’s being crowed as emperor?

WC Chapter 7/2 Notes

Feudalism in Europe

Terms and Names

Lord- landowner

Fief- Land granted by a lord to a vassal

Vassal- Person receiving a fief from a lord

Knight- Warrior on horseback who promised to defend his lord’s land in exchange for a fief

Serf- Peasant who could not lawfully leave the place where he or she was born

Manor- Lord’s estate

Tithe- Church tax; usually one-tenth of a peasant’s family income

Invaders Attack Western Europe

Who invaded Western Europe?

     Between 800 and 1000, new invasions threatened Europe.  From the north came the most feared fighters of all.  They were the Vikings, or Norsemen.

     The Vikings, raided villages and monasteries,  By around the year 1000, though, the Vikings had settled down in many parts of Europe.  They adopted Christianity and stopped raiding to become traders and farmers.

     The Magyars were Turkish nomads.  They attacked from the east and reached as far as Italy and western France.  They sold local people as slaves.  The Muslims struck from the south.  They attacked areas along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coast.

     The attacks by Vikings, Muslims, and Magyars made life in western Europe difficult.  People suffered and feared for their futures.  With no strong central government, they went to local leaders for protection.

1.  Why did the people need to turn to local leaders for help?

A New Social Order: Feudalism

How did feudalism affect society?

     Europe’s feudal system arose around the ninth and tenth centuries.  Feudalism was based on agreement between a lord, landowner, and a vassal, a person who received land from a lord.  In exchange for land, or a fief, a vassal promised to help his lord in battle.

     Under feudalism, society in western Europe was divided into three groups.  Those who fought were the nobles and knights.  Those who prayed were officials of the Church.

Those who worked were the peasants.  Peasants were by far the largest group.  Most peasants were serfs, who were not free to move about as they wished.  They were tied to the land of their lord.

2. What were the three main groups of feudal society?

Manors: The Economic Side of Feudalism

What was life like on a manor?

     The lord’s land was called the manor.  Manors became the centers of economic life.  The lord gave peasants some land, a home, and protection from raiders.  The lord controlled much of their lives.  The peasants worked the land to grow food, giving part of each year’s crop to the lord.  They paid taxes on their grain.  Peasants also paid a tax, called a tithe, to the Church.

     Peasants lived in small villages of 15 to 30 families.  They produced almost everything they needed.  Peasants rarely traveled from their homes.

     Life on the manor was often harsh,  Peasants’ cottages had just one or two rooms with only straw mats for sleeping.  They had poor diests.  Peasants endured these conditions.  They believed that God had set their place in society.

     3.  What was the job of the peasants on the manor?

Chapter 7 Section3 Notes

The Age of Chivalry

Terms and Names

Chivalry -code of behavior for knights, stressing ideals such as courage, loyalty, and devotion

Tournaments –Staged battles for entertaining audiences and training knights

Troubadours – Poets-musicians at the castles and courts of Europe

Knights:  Warriors on Horseback

What was the role of knights?

     Nobles were constantly at war with one another.  They raised private armies.  The armies included knights, soldiers who fought on horseback.  These knights became the most important warriors during the Middle Ages.

     By the 11^th century, nobles used their armies of mounted knights to fight for control of land.  When nobles won battles, they gave some of their new land to knights.  The knights could use the wealth from this land to pay for weapons, armor, and horses.  Knights devoted much of their time to improving their skill at fighting.

1.     What was the main duty of knights?

Knighthood and the Code of Chivalry

What was required of a knight?

     By the 1100’s, a new code of conduct for knights arose.  This code of chivalry required that knights fight bravely for three masters: their lord, God, and their chosen lady.  Knights were also required to protect the weak and the poor. While the code set high standards, most knights failed to meet all of the standards.  The son of a noble began training to become a knight at an early age.  At around the age of seven, his parents sent him off to the castle of another lord.  There he would learn good manners.  At around the age of 14, he would become a servant of a knight.  Then at age 21, he would finally become a knight himself.

     Knights gained experience by fighting in staged combats called tournaments.  These fights were fierce, but real battles, especially those fought at castles, were far more violent.  To protect their lands and homes, nobles built stone castles.

2.     Give two examples of training for knighthood.

The Literature of Chivalry

What was the literature of chivalry about?

     The literature about knights did not reflect real life.  Many stories glorified castle life.  Others centered on the code of chivalry.  Songs and poems were often about a knights loyalty to the woman he loved. 
Some long poems called epics, told the story of legendary kings such as King Arthur and Charlemagne.

     Troubadours were poet-musicians at the castles and courts of Europe.  They wrote and sang about the joys and sorrows of romantic love.  Many troubadours traveled to the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine.  She was the rich, powerful ruler of a land in southern France.

3.     Who were the troubadour’s songs about?

Women’s Role in Feudal Society

What were the roles of women?

     Most women in feudal society had little power.  The church taught that they were inferior.  However, they played important roles in the lives of both noble and peasant families.  Noblewoman could sometimes rule the land when their husbands were away from home.  It usually passed from father to son.  In reality, most noblewomen, young and old, were limited to activities in the home or in convents.

     The vast majority of women during the Middle Ages were poor peasants.  They held no power.  They worked in the fields and took care of their families.  Poor women struggled to survive – just as they had for centuries.

4.  How were noble and poor women alike?

Chapter 7   Section 4    Notes

The Power of the Church

Terms and Names

Clergy – Religious officials

Sacraments – Important religious ceremonies

Canon Law – Law of the church

Holy Roman Empire – Kingdom originally made up of what is now Germany and Italy

Lay investiture – Appointment of religious officials by kings or nobles

The Far-Reaching Authority of the Church

Essential Question:  How did the Church control most aspects of life?

     With the central governments of Europe weak, the church became the most important force in unifying European society.  An early pope believed that God had made two areas of influence in the world – religious and political.  The emperor and other rulers were in charge of political affairs.  Over the years, though, the difference was not so clear.  Popes often tried to influence the actions of rulers, who clashed with them in struggles for power.

     The church established its own organization.  It consisted of different ranks of clergy, or church officials.  At the bottom were the priests who led services at local churches.  Above them were the bishops, who oversaw all the priests in a large area.  At the top was the pope.  He was the head of the Church.

     The Middle Ages was an Age of Faith.  People were bound together by their belief in God and the teachings of the Church.  Though their lives were hard, Christians during this time of hoped for salvation- eternal life in heaven.  One path for achieving this goal was through the sacraments.  These were important religious ceremonies.

     The law of the Church, called canon law, was a set of standards that applied to all Christians during the Middle Ages.  These standards guided such things as marriage and religious practices.  The Church also set up courts.  People who broke canon law were put on trial.

     Two punishments were especially harsh.  If the Church excommunicated someone that person was out of the church forever.  The person was denied the chance for eternal life in heaven.  Popes often used this power to threaten rulers.  The other punishment was interdiction.  When a ruler disobeyed the pope, the church leader could place the land under interdiction.  That meant that no sacred acts by the church could take place there.  The people of the area deeply feared this.  They might then be doomed to eternal suffering in hell.

1.     What powerful punishments could the Church hand down?

     The Church and the Holy Roman Empire; The Emperor Clashes with the pope.

How did conflict develop between the pope and the holy Roman Emperor?

          Otto I was the strongest ruler in medieval Germany.  He set up an alliance with the church.  In 962, the pope crowned him emperor of what became the Holy Roman Empire.

     The Holy Roman Empire was the strongest kingdom that arose from Charlemagne’s fallen empire.  It was mainly made up of what is now Germany and Italy.  One of Otto’s successors was Henry IV.  He and Pope Gregory VII became caught in conflict.

    For a long time, rulers

 Had the power to name the bishops who led the Church in their lands.  This power was known as lay investiture.  In 1075, Pope Gregory VII banned this practice.  Henry IV was angry.  He persuaded his bishops to say that this pope had no real authority.  Gregory then excommunicated Henry.  Henry’s nobles supported Gregory.  So Henry begged the pope for forgiveness.  The pope forgave him.

     The larger issue of lay investiture was left open until 1122.  Then an agreement stated that only the pope could name bishops.  However, the emperor had the right to turn down any appointment he did not like.

2.    Why did Henry IV beg Pope Gregory VII for forgiveness?

Disorder in the Empire

Who was Frederick I?

          In the late 100’s, a strong German king came to power.  His name was Frederick I.  He repeatedly invaded cities of Italy but lost an important battle in 1176.  He then made peace with the Pope.

     When Frederick died in 1190, his empire fell apart.   It was broken up into feudal states.  These German states did not unify during the Middle Ages.

3.  What happened to the Holy Roman Empire after Frederick I’s death?