Middle Ages

Warm-Up 1. Cover Page and Table of Contents Page for the Middle Ages. 2. With the collapse of the Roman Empire, and everything that Romans enjoyed…What do Europeans need for survival?

Directions As you watch the video…be prepared to create a thesis statement to answer this question…. What was the Middle Ages?

Review Working with your people…Create a thesis statement to answer this question…. What was the Middle Ages? Answer this question using a minimum of three to five supporting details to back up the thesis statement.

Overview Today you will introduced to the many topics you will learn about from the Middle Ages. You and the person sitting beside you, will move about the class learning about them. Read the brief captions, as well as, analyzing the many visuals. On your index card, write the following….. Name of Topic…..Example – Pax Romana Date of Topic…….Example – 27 B.C. to 180 A.D. Explanation………Example – Roman Peace, prosperity, and accomplishments which flourish in the modern world: toilets, baths, etc.

Collapse of An Empire As the Roman Empire collapsed in the 5th century (400’s AD), Europeans under Roman authority soon felt the impact. Eventually, there was no central government to maintain roads, public buildings, or water systems. Barbarians took over the territory and set up small kingdoms. Roman roads, once the connections for communication and trade, were no longer safe to travel. Most towns and cities in Western Europe shrank or were totally abandoned. Without trade, people in towns had no work. They drifted to the countryside for housing, food and protection.

Middle Ages The period of history between the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the modern world is called the Middle Ages, or Medieval era – 476 AD – 1450 AD. During this time, many of the advances and inventions of the ancient world were lost. Without a strong central government, many Europeans turned to military leaders called Lords and to the Christian Church (Roman Catholic Church) – led by the Pope - for leadership and support.

Dark Ages Trade and education declined during the early Middle Ages. The population of towns also declined when serfs moved to villages near lords’ castles. Consequently, kings also became weaker as countries were divided into areas controlled by the feudal lords. Wars often broke out between lords who wanted to add new lands to their estates. These conditions spread fear and confusion among the people of Western Europe. This period, sometimes knows as the “Dark Ages”, lasted from 500 A.D. to 1000 A.D.

Charlemagne Among the most famous military leaders was the Frankish King Charlemagne. In the 700s, Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, worked to bring political order to Western Europe (France & Germany). This great warrior not only fought to increase the size of his kingdom, he also worked to improve the life for those who lived there. On Christmas Day in 800 AD, the Pope (leader of the Roman Catholic Church), crowned Charlemagne as the Holy Roman Emperor. During Charlemagne’s rule, education improved, government became stronger, and Christianity spread. Charlemagne died in 814 AD. In 843 AD, Charlemagne’s grandsons divided the Holy Roman Empire into separate kingdoms. Western Europe was once again divided into disorderly kingdoms without a strong political leader.

The Role of Christianity Throughout Western Europe in Medieval times, each community was centered around a church, playing a powerful role in nearly everyone’s personal life. The church offered religious services, established orphanages, and helped care for the poor, sick, and elderly. Most Europeans were baptized, married, and buried by the Catholic Church. They also hosted feasts, festivals, and other celebrations. As communities grew, their members often donated money and labor to build new and larger churches.

Dedicated to God Monks were men who devoted their time to praying and studying in communities called monasteries. They preserved Greek and Roman knowledge by hand-copying illuminated manuscripts. Later, the Church also founded the first universities in Europe, teaching the ancient world and God. Nuns were women who prayed, sewed, taught young girls, cared for the poor, and also copied and decorated books in convents.

Power of the Church If a Lord refused to obey the commands of the Church, the Pope might punish him with excommunication, or being kicked out of the Church. All the churches on his land would be closed, and neither he, his family, nor anyone within his territory could be baptized, married, or buried with the Church’s blessings = going to Hell! The Pope insisted he had the supreme authority over all Christian lands, causing arguments and even wars between kings and the Pope.

The Church Persecutes Jewish communities lived under discrimination and persecution in Europe. They were forbidden to own land. They could only work in certain professions. Christians often blamed Jews when disease or natural disasters struck. However, Jewish communities remained intact and preserved their traditions. Jewish scholars continued to make contributions to learning for all Europeans. Muslim communities in Spain were eventually driven out by the 1490’s. Muslim armies – called Moors – conquered Spain and Portugal in the 700’s AD, and ruled 800 years. Despite fighting, Moors brought new discoveries and also helped preserved the ancient Greek and Roman ideals.

Feudalism During the Middle Ages, almost all the land was owned by powerful nobles – lords, kings, and high church officials. The central government was not very strong. The nobles sometimes even controlled the kings and constantly fought among themselves for land and power. To protect their lands and position, nobles developed a system known as feudalism.

Feudalism Feudalism was a system of political ties in which the nobles, such as kings, gave out land to less powerful nobles, such as knights. In return for the land, the noble, called a vassal, made a vow to provide various services to the lord. The most important was to furnish his lord with knights, foot soldiers, and arms for battle. The parcel of land granted to a vassal by his lord was called a fief (feef). The center of the fief was the manor, which consisted of a large house or castle, surrounding farmland, villages, and a church. A fief might also include several other manors or castles to the fief-owner’s vassals

Manorialism On a manor, common people – peasants - lived and farmed, but they did not own the land they lived on. In exchange for their lord’s protection, the peasants contributed their labor and a certain amount of food they raised. Some peasants, known as serfs, actually belonged to the fief on which they lived. They were not slaves, but they were not free to leave the land without the permission of the lord. This system, in which the lord received food and work in exchange for his protection, is known as manorialism.

Medieval Life Castle Life – The manor houses or castles may have been large, but they were built for defense & protection not comfort. They ere cold, damp, dark and smoky – infested with lice and pests – and most castles did not have indoor plumbing. Peasant Life – Peasants lived outside the castle walls in small dwellings, often on dirt floors, straw roofs as mattresses – and animals inside the homes. They worked 2-3 days for their lord, the rest of the week they farmed their own small plots. Work stopped only for religious festivals.

Late Middle Ages By the 11th century (1000s AD), life began improving. More food was available, raiding was not as prevalent, people moved back into towns or formed new ones, the population increased, and businesses grew. To protect business owners and trades people, a guild was created. Guilds protected workers’ rights, set wages and prices, and settled disputes.

Magna Carta The rulers of Western Europe also struggled for power with members of the nobility. In England, the Barons – or nobles- rebelled against King John of England. In 1215 AD, the nobles forced the English king to sign a document called the Magna Carta, or Great Charter. This document limited the king’s power and gave nobles a larger role in the government. The Magna Carta was the “first” constitution (rules and laws of the land) since the Roman Republic – and later influenced the U.S. Constitution.

Crusades Pope Urban II was fed up with the fighting of the nobles; wanted more power and money. In 1095 AD, he called for Christians to reclaim control of the Holy Land (Middle East) from the Muslims in what became known as …The Crusades – a series of military expeditions in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries – 1095 to 1291. The long distances traveled by the Crusaders opened up trade routes, connecting Western Europeans with people of southwestern Asia and North Africa. It also increased trade, improved maps, brought more spices and goods to the people. Feudalism decreased and forced nobles to increase wages for peasants.

Black Death Re-opening the trade routes of the ancient Romans inadvertently caused great destruction. In 1347, an epidemic of Bubonic Plague hit Europe. This plague, known as the Black Death, started in Asia (origin of the trade routes). Caravans and trading ships carried it to port cities on the Mediterranean Sea. The Plague quickly spread to the rest of Europe by 1349. The Black Death was carried by fleas that infected both rats and humans. Rats did not die from the plague. Instead, they served as hosts, or carriers, for the disease. Historians estimate that this plague killed one out of every three persons in Europe.