Middle Ages: 500-1500

Between the Roman Empire and the Early Modern Period.

500-800: Dark Ages: little cultural or scientific advancement.

1050 - 1450: High Middle Ages: social institutions matured; era of greater creativity.

The culture of Western Europe was a blend of classical (Greco-Roman), Christian, and Germanic elements.

Feudalism

Political System Through interdependence

and mutual responsibilities, feudalism provided people with protection and stability.

A lord gave each of his vassals a parcel of land called a fief in exchange for military service and payments called relief.

A vassal protected the inhabitants of his fief, collected revenue (taxes), and dispensed justice

Manor System

A great fief was subdivided into hundreds of smaller estates called manors, which were the basic social and economic units of the Middle Ages.

Most were about 1,000 acres and supported 200-300 people.

Peasants were not allowed to leave the manor.

The lord could not evict them from the land.

They were required to do any labor the lord demanded.

They also had to work a plot of land for the church, God’s acre.

The lord of the manor traditionally took half the produce.

Roman Catholic Church

With both spiritual and secular power, the church dominated life and was the primary institution of medieval society.

The church was believed to be the only way to salvation and possessed great influence.

Secular clergy were the parish priests.

Regular clergy lived in monasteries and kept literacy alive.

It was a time of Church corruption. Vows of poverty and chastity

were ignored. Nobles often sold the offices of

Bishops and Archbishops.

Crusades: Causes Goal: to liberate the Holy

Land of Jerusalem from the Muslims

1071: Seljuk Turks took over Palestine and were allegedly torturing Christians.

1095: Byzantine Emperor asked Pope for help.

Between 1096 and 1270, there were multiple crusades, but only the 1st Crusade in 1099 was successful.

Crusades: Appeal The crusades appealed

to people’s desire for wealth, honor, sense of adventure, freedom from serfdom, freedom from debts, and hope for spiritual salvation.

Encouraged by Venetian merchants, the 4th Crusade attacked and looted Constantinople.

The Crusades failed in their chief goal - the conquest of the Holy Land.

Political Outcome briefly increased the

power and prestige of the pope

increased the power of monarchs who levied taxes to support the Crusades

increased trade between east and west

rise of towns

Economic Outcome encouraged the

growth of a money economy in Western Europe

selling goods for a profit became acceptable

Italian merchants and shipbuilders got rich by maintaining supply lines and transportation to the Holy Land

Social & Cultural Outcome contact with other

civilizations opened minds to new ideas

sparked an interest in exploration

increased persecution of Jews

thousands were slaughtered & much property was destroyed

Weapons

High Middle Ages 1050-1350

Agricultural Revolution• iron plows• horse harness• windmill to grind grain

Expanding Production• peasants cleared forests,

drained swamps, reclaimed waste land

Led to population increase

Towns grew up around castles and monasteries to provide them with goods and services. 

Trade Revives

• people began to desire more than what was produced on the manor

• peasants wanted iron for tools

• nobles wanted fine wool, furs, and spices from Asia

• regular trade routes were set up• traders formed

merchant caravans for safety

• local goods (honey, furs, fine cloth, tin, lead) were exchanged for imported goods (Chinese silks, Byzantine gold jewelry, Asian spices)

• Constantinople to Venice to Flanders to England

Trade Fairs

located near navigable rivers and where trade routes met

people from nearby villages, towns, and castles attended

entertainment included jugglers, acrobats, and dancing bears

New Towns

merchants would wait out the winter near a castle or bishop’s palace

artisans came to live eventually populations reached 10,000 most prosperous cities were in northern

Italy and Flanders – which were centers of the wool trade and prosperous textile industries

charter - merchants would ask the local lord for a written document that set out the rights and privileges of the town

in return the merchants paid the lord a large sum of money, a yearly fee, or both

charters usually allowed townspeople to choose their own leaders and control their own affairs

most had a clause declaring any serf who lived in the town a year and a day to be free

Commercial Revolution

money reappeared merchants borrowed from

moneylenders to buy goods clergy felt the practice of usury

(lending money at interest) was immoral

capital – money for investment new business practices

partnerships – merchants pooled their funds to finance a large-scale ventures

insurance was created to compensate for lost or destroyed merchandise

bills of exchange used – deposit money in a bank in one city and cash in the paper in another city

Social Changes

use of money undermined serfdom lords needed money to buy

goods peasants sold produce to

townspeople and paid the lord’s rent with money rather than labor

by 1000 – middle class of merchants, traders, and artisans emerged between nobles and peasants

nobles resented middle class for being a disruptive influence

by 1300 – few serfs were left in Western Europe

Guilds associations of merchants and

artisans dominated life in medieval towns by

passing laws, levying taxes, and deciding how to spend funds

guilds limited membership, monopolized labor, made rules to ensure quality, regulated hours of labor, regulated prices, provided social services

apprentice (trainee) began around age 7, spent 7 years learning the trade, and only received bed and board

most became journeymen (salaried workers), a few became guildmasters

in some cities a third of all guildmembers were women

City Life cities were surrounded by walls

for protection narrow streets and tall houses larger cities had a great cathedral

or a splendid guild house hawkers sold stuff during the day unlit streets were deserted at

night no garbage or sewage collection

people yelled “gardy loo” as they flung their waste out a window into the street

filthy, smelly, noisy, crowded facilitated the spread of disease wooded buildings were a fire

hazard

Major Changes

return of a money economy

trade brought new products, ideas, and technology

middle class changed the social structure

monarchs increased their power

increased contact with other cultures

Learning & Literature 1100s - first

universities evolved out of cathedral schools

Literature began to be written in the vernacular (everyday language of the people) rather than in Latin only.

Scholasticism was developed by Christian scholars to resolve the conflict between faith and reason.

Medieval Art Theme was

religion. illuminated

manuscripts great cathedrals

Painting

Tapestry

Bayeux Tapestry

Romanesque: 1000 - 1150

thick walls, rounded arches and domed roofs

narrow slits for windows

simple, solid, dark, gloomy fortress

flat, masculine, and simply adorned

Gothic: 1150 - 1300

tall, light, and airy

flying buttresses large stained

glass windows complex, lacy,

richly embroidered, feminine

Flying Buttresses

Rose Window

Science Despite the lack of

scientific observation and experimentation and the unquestioned authority of the Catholic Church, some scientific progress was made.

1200s - Roger Bacon : founder of experimental science

Medicine was still poor - illness was the work of the devil

Cures = herbal folk medicine, prayer, and pilgrimages to holy shrines

1200s - Rise of Towns

The growth of towns and a middle class weakened the position of the nobility.

Increased trade created a money economy, which replaced the barter economy.

Monarchs were able to hire soldiers for standing armies to protect the people, and they no longer relied on vassals for support.

Strong monarchs undermined feudal nobility.

1300s - Challenging Century

social unrest = peasant revolts

bad weather & crop failures early in the century = hunger and starvation

divisions in the Church

Babylonian Captivity: 1309 – 1378 = 2 Popes

heresies : Wycliffe and Hus

Hundred Years’ War ~ 1337-1453

military conflict ~ England v. France

New weapons such as the longbow and cannons made armored knights obsolete and castles indefensible.

Many nobles died during the war.

Black Plague illness and death

- killed 1/3 of the population

Economic Transformation

growth of banking and capitalism

decline of feudal and manorial systems

weakening of the guild system

emergence of the domestic system - merchants hired laborers who were paid for piecework

1400s - Time of Change

Strong national monarchies arose in England, France, and Spain to form centralized governments.

Most serfs were emancipated.

Flourishing in the arts and literature = the Renaissance.

Inquisition - court established by the Catholic Church in the 1200s to locate and try heretics - actively persecuted Jews, Muslims, and alleged witches.