The Middle Ages Aka “Medieval times” or the “Medieval Period” or “The Dark Ages” ~AD 500-1500 Both periods experience periods of external contact Best to split into two periods: Early Middle Ages: AD 500-1000 Low literacy Settlement of Germanic tribes around nearby rulers for protection Invasions of the “Northmen” High Middle Ages: AD 1000- 1500 Signs of recovery Growth of towns and cities The “Crusades” Trade w/ eastern hemisphere slowly reestablished via ????. The PLAGUE Class system becomes more complex (add middle class) By AD1500 the Renaissance was under way in Italy & spreading north

The Early Middle Ages; AD500-1000 Political Development Western Europe in chaos after fall of Rome Church provides only stability *Syncretism Semi literate Continued conflict among “barbarian” tribes Tribal chieftains replace earlier Roman governors Roman “rule by law” replaced with informal Governments based on family ties and personal loyalty Law becomes judgment by ordeal (wergild) Germanic people identified with an extended family- not a state or kingdom Warriors bound to chief through loyalty oaths- in return they receive food, shelter, and weapons People eventually settled on estates where the leaders provided protection in exchange for free labor

Feudalism Manorialism A complex system of political and military loyalties that linked lords together . Greater lords provided protection and aid to lesser lords (vassals) who in return provided military service. Manorialism An economic system in which peasants (serfs) were tied to the land to supply agricultural labor for their lords

Economic Development Based on the Manorial System Serfs were legally bound to the land (not slaves) Serfs received protection from the lord (land-lord) Serfs were obliged to provide the lord with a large percentage of their produce and to stay on the land. Manors were self-sufficient. Technological/Agricultural developments “Mold Board” Horse collar Stirrups (more of a military application)

Political Development, continued The FRANKS Organized a series of Germanic kingdoms through conquest and Christianization CAROLINGIANS- Provided needed protection from the VIKINGS Charlemagne (Charles the Great) Crowned the first “Holy Roman Emperor” by the Pope in AD800 (Leo III)

Coronation of Charlemagne

Climate Change and it’s effect "AD. 793. This year came dreadful fore-warnings over the land of the Northumbrians, terrifying the people most woefully: these were immense sheets of light rushing through the air, and whirlwinds, and fiery dragons flying across the firmament. These tremendous tokens were soon followed by a great famine: and not long after, on the sixth day before the ides of January in the same year, the harrowing inroads of heathen men made lamentable havoc in the church of God in Holy-island, by rapine and slaughter. "Entry for the year 793 in the Anglo Saxon chronicle

High Middle Ages 1000AD- 1500AD ~AD1000 Europe had begun to renew contacts w/ other civilizations and was awakening from its years of isolation Many Vikings had been settled and Christianized Normandy Land of the Northmen Kievan Rus Russians

Political Developments Papal Authority trumps secular authority(for a while, anyway) Who gets to appoint Bishops? (0r, trouble ahead) Twisting secular arms Excommunication The Interdict William the Conqueror and England; 1066 & the Battle of Hastings Introduces feudalism to England Separation of power (formalized feudal relationships in England) (Magna Carta; 1215)

THE CRUSADES A series of poorly-led military expeditions to the Holy Land as a response to a request by the Byzantine Emperor in 1095. The request was for military aid in the defense of The Byzantine Empire- the Emperor expected a few hundred professional warriors. What arrived was a mixed crowd of civilians and warriors “taking the cross to Jerusalem” in return for remission of sin promised by the Pope.

The Crusades *1st - 1095-1101 Jerusalem was captured in 1099. 2nd – 1145-47 Christian Armies try unsuccessfully to capture nearby areas. 3rd 1188-92 Salah al Din (Saladin) captures Jerusalem. Allows everyone to live there peacefully. No weapons allowed in the city 4th 1204-05 A successful plot concocted by Venetian merchants to sack Constantinople. ?? The “Children’s Crusade” 1212 5th 1217-19- Captured a city in Egypt but had to flee when the Nile flooded. 6th 1228-29 & 38. Temporary capture of Jerusalem, Nazareth, & Bethlehem 7th 1243. Once on the ground, this lasted about 48 hours. 8th 1270ish- lasted 2 months before Louis IX dies.

The “Black Death” Bubonic, septicemic, & pneumonic plague, hemorrhagic fever (?) First encounter with the West was at the Siege of Kaffa, 1346 Came from Asia, spread over trade routes Indiscriminate, though upper classes could move Church and “Doctors” unable to cure Killed 1/3-2/3 of western Europe’s population Loss of faith in Church Strikes several times in Europe, most notably in 1348 Decline of population causes the feudal/manorial system to slowly collapse.