Europe 600-1450Unit 3 Section 4

Early Medieval Western Europe: 600-1000

• The period from the fall of the Romans until the beginning of the Renaissance is known as the Medieval period, or the Middle Ages, – chiefly because it is bracketed by periods of cultural, economic, and

political ascendancy – the once-great Roman Empire & the Renaissance• The fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th Century, brought drastic

changes to western Europe, which entered a period of economic decline and subsistence living– Local lords and chieftains replaced Roman imperial rule – the laws of the Roman Empire were supplanted by the Germanic

traditions and practices of the tribes in the area– With the absence of centralized imperial authority, safety became the

primary concern, and peasants turned to local lords rather than faraway kings to provide safety• This need for protection was the political and cultural context out of which the feudal

system emerged in the 7th century

Charlemagne• One exception to the weak kings of the early medieval

period was Charlemagne, whose grandfather, Charles Martel, had prevented the Muslims from taking over France (Gaul at the time) at the Battle of Tours in 732– By that time Muslims controlled all of the Iberian peninsula,

having taken over the Visigoth kingdom and pushed the Christians back

– By then, Charlemagne’s family, the Carolingians, and created an empire that included all of Gaul and parts of Germany and Italy

– Charlemagne brought about a brief period of intellectual revival, but with the death of his son Louis the Pious, the Treaty of Verdun split the empire into 3 parts, - one for each of Louis’s sons and this brief period of empire in Medieval Europe came to an end.

http://www.youtube.com/user/historyteachers#p/search/0/cTTaVnZyG2g Charlemagne Song

Collapse of Roman World• While the Roman Empire had focused on urban life,

– exemplified by the city of Rome itself, western European cities declined and in some cases became smaller villages.

• Roman roads also fell into disrepair, as did the great buildings of Rome

• The Roman coin became a thing of the past, and local trade was by barter– Contact with the larger world through long-distance

trade around the Mediterranean severely declined• With less communication with the larger world and

no strong central government, most Europeans relied on their own local resources for both political control and economic survival

Medieval Life & Serfdom• Organization of medieval life thus settled around

the institution of the manor, which became the primary source of local agricultural production in both northern and southern Europe.

• The manor was far more than a single fortified dwelling– Life behind its walls sustained a small community of

people and included a mill, church, workshops and a village where serfs lived• Serfs, both men and women, worked the lands of the manor

in exchange for protection and were under the complete control of the lord of the manor, the noble whose armed men provided for their safety.

• Serfs were tied to the land and could not leave • Most peasants across France, England, and western Germany

in the 10th & 11th centuries were serfs

Feudalism• The rigid system of serfdom did not allow for much personal or

political advancement• However, for the noble class, opportunities for political and

economic advancement centered on warfare to protect lands from distant enemies like the Vikings as well as other competing lords

• This centuries-long traditions of linking land rights to military service was termed feudalism– The feudal society was based on the vassal relationship, in which kings

and lords gave land to vassals in exchange for sworn military allegiance– This vassal relationship looked different from region to region, but by the

11th Century the key person in the medieval military was the knight– Land given to a knight by his lord or king allowed him to afford armor

and horses, and the land, known as a fief, could be passed down through generations

– This allowed knights themselves to become wealthy lords, who could then enter into vassal relationships with other knights

– Knights could also be in a vassal relationship with more than one lord at a time

http://www.youtube.com/user/historyteachers#p/search/0/AtCxl9leYQ4

Role of Women• Noblewomen were also an important part of

this system of land ownership and inheritance and were carefully and strategically married– Marriage became a tool to make military alliances

or gain more lands, and noble children had very little choice in whom to marry

• Likewise, kings used marriage alliances to increase their territorial and political control

• Women could own land, however, and while husbands were away on military service, women could manage the estate

Catholic Church• The other central institution of medieval Europe was

the Catholic Church, the strongest unifying force in medieval Europe– The church created the moral framework for society, a

task it took very seriously– The church also owned and controlled extensive lands

throughout medieval Europe on which it placed its monasteries and converts

– The Catholic Church wrestled with secular lords and kings to be the dominant authority over all matters, ecclesiastical or not

• This tension was not present in the Byzantine Empire; – because as the appointed patriarch of Constantinople, the

emperor had both political and religious supremacy (one Guy – Two Jobs but no competition or battle of Ego)

Pope• The head of the western Church was the

pope, whose authority continued to grow stronger and stronger in the early medieval period

• The pope was based in Rome and controlled territory in Rome and central Italy– He exercised authority over all clergy and,

through his councils of bishops, drew up the rules and doctrines that priests communicated to lay people • Catholics who were not part of the clergy

– He also demanded that secular leadership honor and respect his authority

Investiture Controversy • Needing political allies, the pope crowned the first Holy Roman

Emperor in 962 to serve as the defender of Christendom– The Holy Roman Empire started out as a basic alliance of German princes and

held more symbolic than practical power• The creation of the Holy Roman emperor did little to prevent the

struggle for control between secular authority and the church from climaxing into what is known as the investiture controversy– Kings and lords had grown used to investing, or handing over authority to, the

bishops in their territories• Technically, canon or church law, assigned responsibility for appointing bishops to the

church• But many bishops were also in a vassal relationship to a lord or king• Lords & kings argued that they should be the ones to appoint the bishops in their lands

in order to make sure bishops fulfilled their feudal duties• Exacerbated by the proclamations of Pope Gregory VII in 1073, which declared the Catholic Church

infallible, capable of removing emperors, and solely responsible for appointing bishops, the controversy came to symbolize the general struggle over who had more political control

– The Concordat of Worms finally eased tensions in 1122• The Holy Roman emperor and the Pope agreed that the emperor could invest papally

appointed bishops with their secular responsibilities and rights

Fight for power• The tensions between the church and secular monarchs in

England, Germany, & France boiled down to competing legal systems– Feudal law, based on Germanic traditions, gave all power to the king– Canon law, based on Roman traditions, held that one legal system

should govern all of western Christendom• The Catholic Church would continue to come into conflict with

royal control, – but as the feudal system and the status of knights declined because of

changes in weaponry like the crossbow and firearms, kings began to tighten their control over their territory and the church

• In 1302 Pope Boniface asserted papal supremacy, which the French King Philip challenged by orchestrating the election of a French pope. – The papal seat was moved to Avignon, giving rise to a period of

competing papal claimants, which in turn precipitated the Great Western Schism (1378-1415)

• The papacy was eventually returned to Rome, but these events showed how far monarchs could go in challenging papal authority

Monasticism• One other unique aspect of medieval European

Christian life was monasticism– Monks and nuns separated themselves from daily life

and lived in gender-specific communities focused on a celibate life of devotion, religious work, and simple living• Nuns provided a refuge for women who were widowed or

selected a spiritual life instead of their traditional obligations to marry

• Monks served as missionaries, produced foods on their lands, and made their monasteries resting places for weary pilgrims and other travelers

• Monks were also the essential link between the past and the future– They were the keepers of literacy and learning– In addition to writing their own books on religious matters, monks

conserved the works of the Latin world by painstakingly copying them

Late Medieval Western Europe: 1000-1450

• Important changes occurred in late medieval Europe between 1000 and 1200– Increases in population and agricultural

production allowed for a Food surplus, • This created more opportunities for trade and towns• A surplus of food freed people to focus on other

industries in artistry and construction– These changes resulted from technological

advances in agriculture• A new plow • the use of the horse collar• the use of horses instead of oxen

The Black Death• The most dramatic shift in population – a

reversal – came to medieval Europe in the 14th century because of the bubonic plague– Known as the Black death, it ravaged Europe

from 1347 to 1351, killing one in three Europeans– the plague first hit Mongol armies stationed in

Kaffa, a port on the Black Sea– Italian traders brought the disease from Kaffa to

Italy, and from there it traveled across the continent and to England

• Not until 1500 did Europe’s population rebound to its level before the plague

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Aftermath of the Black Death• The Black death left an impact far more significant

than just demographic change– In many ways, the Black death killed serfdom

• With so many dead, laborers could charge more for their services, and they rebelled against nobles who initially refused to comply

• Demand for the end of serfdom sparked uprisings across Europe– Production rose as free laborers bought land for

themselves or became urban workers and could demand higher wages

– For those still working the land, • technological improvements such as the waterwheel and

windmill – technologies that had long been in use in the Muslim world – increasingly came into use in Western Europe

• These devices improved efficiency by powering a number of the necessary tasks, from the grinding of grain to papermaking

• These technologies were also used for iron production, which brought about the expansion of iron mining

Vikings• In addition to the Muslims, the Scandinavian

Vikings were a formidable presence in medieval Europe– The Vikings, excellent shipbuilders, raided towns

along the coasts of England and France and eventually settled in Normandy• From there they would conquer parts of England and

take Sicily permanently from the Muslims– The Vikings were among the earliest European

explorers, also settling Iceland and Greenland• Around 1000 almost 500 years before Columbus they

made it to the North American continent without the use of maritime technologies such as the compass and established Vinland, on Newfoundland

http://www.youtube.com/user/historyteachers#p/search/0/fIvJ2P0giVc

Changes to Cities• Another important change was a revival of trade,

– propelled by the politically independent cities of Italy and Flanders that were exclusively focused on seaborne trade• These cities sprang up when individuals banded together to demand

freedom from their lord– A lord who allowed this independence was sure to benefit from the economic

prosperity of the city brought to the region– Laws were passed so that serfs who made their way to these cities were guaranteed

their freedom and were able to engage in other forms of industry– These laws would be very important after the Black death

– Walled cities like Pisa, Florence, and Siena had to keep expanding as their population increased

– Other Italian cities that rose to tremendous economic importance were:• Genoa, with its access to the western Mediterranean, • Venice which would become a trading powerhouse on the Adriatic Sea

– Venice engaged in trade with the Muslim courts of North Africa and the Mediterranean» In this way Western Europe was slowly exposed to the wealth of goods traveling

along the silk Road and circulating in the Indian Ocean trading system

• Mongol control of the entire Eurasian landmass further opened trade between Italian ports in the great ports of the East

Trade and Coinage• Two other vibrant centers of sea trade in Europe

were:– The Hanseatic League – a network of trading cities

centered in the Baltic– Flanders network – which include cities around the

North Sea like Ghent and Bruges• They focused on the fishing industry and the growing trade

in wool and other textiles• With the increase in trade came increased

demand for coined money– Most coinage in the ninth and 10th centuries came

from the Muslim world and Byzantium, but with trade reviving in the Mediterranean, gold and silver coinage no longer was a luxury

Society and Scholasticism• As the autonomous trading cities began to flourish, they

offered more opportunities for social mobility and individual opportunity– Most of Europe’s Jews lived in cities, where they experienced periods

of great tolerance, as in Muslim Spain, – but also periods of horrific persecution most often during times of

uncertainty and disaster like the Black Death• Cities also became centers of learning as universities

specializing in fields such as education, law, and theology sprang up across Europe– Universities allow for new questions about the relationship between

reason and faith, a pursuit that came to be known as scholasticism• Scholars like Thomas Aquinas and other pre-Renaissance thinkers tried to

reconcile the Bible with discovered Greek works from philosophers like Aristotle

– Architecture also flourished; the best example of this is the Gothic cathedral, which first appeared in France in the 12th century• By trial and error, European architects mastered the mathematical and

engineering skills required to construct these huge soaring buildings

Setting the Stage for the Renaissance• All of the changes in the late medieval

period set the stage for the Renaissance– A rebirth of classical learning and artistry

stimulated by • urban revival, • a growing merchant class,• renewed economic contact with the Muslim world, • the rise of new scholarship and artistry in the

cities of Europe, – the Renaissance began in Italy and spread to

northern Europe over the coming centuries

The Crusades• Economic revival in Western Europe

occurred alongside of and contributed to the Crusades, – which had a profound effect on Europe as a

whole and on Western Europe in particular• The series of military expeditions,

spanning more than 100 years, began with Pope Urban II’s call in 1095 for Frankish (a broad term synonymous with Western European) princes to take back the holy land from Muslim control

The Crusades• Many elements of European culture contributed

to the Crusades:– In an effort to calm the constant warring

characteristic of the feudal system, • the church had introduced truces – limits to times of

fighting– These truces redirected warring from Christian versus Christian to

Christian versus the enemies of Christendom• To a much smaller degree, land was inherited only by

eldest sons, so younger sons could participate in religious pilgrimage and the proceeds provided an opportunity for younger sons to gain new lands and titles for themselves

– Italian merchants, having reestablished a foothold in Mediterranean trade, encouraged Crusades as a way to gain access to ports under the control of Muslims

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8PPe8snkmA - The Crusade Report with Bob Hale

The Crusades• By the 11th century, Muslim leaders had long been in

control of the holy Land; – territory sacred to Christians included cities like Jerusalem,

Antioch, Alexandria– Christians had been able to make pilgrimages to the cities,

• but as Islamic control continued to expand into Byzantine – and therefore Christian – territory, the calls for Crusade quickened

• Despite the differences between the Latin Church and the Orthodox Church, the Byzantine emperor requested help – (both secular and religious) – in securing the land in the name of Christendom

– Pope Urban II raised the call to fight in 1095 and the first Crusade resulted in the capture of Jerusalem in 1099 and the establishment of four Crusader kingdoms• The following two crusades focused on holding these territories, but in

1187 Muslim armies took back Jerusalem– The fourth Crusade had completely new goals;

• the capture of Constantinople was driven by economic incentives; • it was encouraged by Venetians, who wanted to expand their trading to

ports formally under Byzantine and Muslim control

The Outcome of the Crusades• The crusades failed in their attempts to take the holy land, but

they had a tremendous, long-lasting impact on European life (and Really only European Life)– Exposure to the Muslim world sparked the flow of an enormous amount

of information, ideas, goods, and resources to Europe (which were now in demand among more classes)

– Crusaders brought back discoveries and manufacturing techniques that allowed Europeans to make many of the goods they originally could only import

– Demand for these goods from the Middle East stimulated the markets of late medieval Europe and also expanded trade between the Muslim world, Western Europe, and the Byzantine Empire

• The incredible intellectual contributions of Muslims made their way to Europe in two forms:– 1st the knowledge of the ancient Greeks preserved by Muslims– 2nd scientific and technological understanding, which were enhanced in

the Muslim world• Together they served as the intellectual underpinnings for Western

Europe’s transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance

Byzantine Empire• After the fall of the Roman Empire, the eastern portion continued

as the Byzantine Empire, with Constantinople as its great capital, and the empire would endure until its defeat by the Ottoman Turks in 1453– Geographically centered in Greek and Anatolian areas, the Byzantine

Empire, or Byzantium, used Greek as its language, and the empire maintained and built upon many of the traditions of the Roman Empire in terms of both law and economics• Economically, the Byzantine emperors continued to regulate prices, the trading

of luxury goods, and grain shipments, which may have slowed technological and economic advancements

• Constantinople received the most economic attention to the detriment of other Byzantine cities and countryside, where farm tools and practices lagged in efficiency when compared with those in Western Europe

– Part of Constantinople’s appeal was its ideal location between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, which made it an ideal center for trade and travel, attracting merchants, aristocrats, and journeying pilgrims• For hundreds of years, this port city – one of the five great patriarchal seats of

Europe – would be envied by many– Constantinople’s glory hid the reality that the Byzantine Empire was on

a slow and steady decline

Byzantine Empire• The Byzantine Empire enjoyed many

cultural and artistic achievements, all reflecting the Greek orthodox interpretations of Christianity as opposed to the Latin interpretations used in Western Europe– The empire reached its height under the

Emperor Justinian who ruled from 527 until 565• He commissioned the building of the Hagia Sophia,

the greatest example of Byzantine architecture– Byzantine sacred art had a great influence on

pre-Renaissance painting in Western Europe

Cyrillic & Orthodox Christianity• The Byzantine Empire also had a

tremendous impact on the religious and cultural traditions of Slavic Christians– Followers of two Byzantine missionaries (Cyril

& Methodius) sent in the ninth century to preach to the Slavs in their local language developed the Cyrillic writing system, • which became the written language of the Slavic

and Russian orthodox Christians

Byzantine Social Structure• Socially, the Byzantine Empire gradually moved from an

urban way of life to a more rural one, • although cities, particularly Constantinople, remained important

– Local urban elites holding power up through the seventh century gave way to an increase in the power of rural landowners and imperial court aristocrats• This change could in part be the result of the demographic impact of the

bubonic plague, which hit the Byzantine Empire in the 6th century – much earlier than in Western Europe – as well as the loss of territory to Muslims

• Byzantine women also saw a change in their position, – moving from a freer status in the public arena during the Roman

period to a more secluded existence in the home, marked by wearing the veil in public

– Social interactions with men were limited to family members– Despite this, there are strong examples of women ruling with their

husbands in the 11th century – the increasing seclusion of women in the Byzantine Empire can be

compared with the seclusion of women in the neighboring Muslim empires

The Fall of the Byzantines• The rising strength of the Muslim empire always proved to be a

formidable challenge for the Byzantine Empire, despite the growing importance of the military, which was the basis of the aristocratic class by the 11th century– Arab Muslims quickly took territory away from the Byzantine Empire in the

seventh century– At the same time, the patriarchal cities of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem

came under Muslim control– Other groups, such as the Slavic and Turkic peoples, would also serve as

threats to the borders of the Byzantine Empire– The Seljuk Turks in particular would establish a Turkish Muslim state in the

early 11th century• It became the main enemy of the Crusaders

• The fourth Crusade in 1204 was a mortal blow for the Empire because Western European Crusaders sacked and destroyed much of Constantinople– After 1200, the Byzantine empire declined, largely because of a weak military– For the next 200 years the empire continued to lose territory

• It would limp along until 1453 when Sultan Mehmed II captured Constantinople and ended the Byzantine Empire’s rain of over 1100 years

The Schism• Not only did the Roman Empire split politically into

east and west; the church would eventually as well– A series of doctrinal disputes over issues weakened the

relationship between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church such as:

– the humanity and divinity of Jesus, – the place of icons, – the role of Mary

• At one point the patriarch in Constantinople also challenged the territorial control that the Western Church enjoyed

– These disagreements eventually resulted in schism in 1054, a formal split of Christendom that has endured through the centuries

• This split produced two different cultural expressions of Christianity in the period 600-1450

Kievan Russia• To the north of the Byzantine Empire, a unique society developed

in Russia that also followed the traditions of the Orthodox Church– The word Rus, from which Russia derives, came to refer to

Slavic speaking peoples who were ruled by the Varangians, • Swedish Vikings who sailed down into Russia from the Baltic• Varangian princes lived in cities and focused on trade while the Slavs

worked the lands– Kiev was one of the key cities for trade with the Byzantine Empire

– In 980, Vladimir I made himself grand Prince of Russia• He chose Orthodox Christianity as the religion of the region, married an

Orthodox princess of the Byzantine imperial family, and let in Orthodox missionaries

– Until the arrival of the Mongols in the 13th century, Kievan Russia stood as an independent state that spread Orthodox Christianity to Eastern Slavs and prevented the spread of Latin Christianity from the West

Kievan Russia• Economic prominence in Kiev came from trade,

– which provided the money to pay soldiers, – artisans were valued above peasants

• Churches were built in the Byzantine style, and slowly Christianity obliterated the polytheistic traditions of the Slavs– By the 12th century the church had taken over

some economic roles such as tax collection and had also assumed political responsibilities

• Nonetheless, the large cities of Kiev and Novgorod never matched the population levels or cosmopolitan life found in cities like Constantinople and Baghdad