Section 1 The Early Middle Ages Chapter 15 Medieval Europe Section 1 The Early Middle Ages

I. The Geography of Europe (pgs. 513-514) After the fall of the Roman Empire in A.D. 476, Western Europe was divided into many kingdoms. Now that Rome no longer united people, Europe’s geography began to play a more important role in shaping events.

Europe is a continent, but it is also a peninsula (body of land with water on three sides) made up of many smaller peninsulas. As a result, most of Europe lies within 300 miles of an ocean or sea. The seas and rivers provided safety as well as encouraging trade and fishing.

Scandinavian Peninsula Northern Peninsulas Scandinavian Peninsula Jutland Peninsula

Southern Peninsulas Crimean Peninsula Iberian Peninsula Italian Peninsula Balkan Peninsula AnatoleanPeninsula

Europe’s Major Rivers

Europe’s Mountain Ranges Like the rivers, the mountains made it difficult for one group to rule all of Europe and encouraged the development of independent kingdoms. Some of Europe’s mountain ranges include: A) Carpathian Mountains (cut off what is now Ukraine and Russia from southeast Asia) B) Alps (separated Italy from central Europe) C) Pyrenees (isolated Spain and Portugal D) Caucasus Mountains (southwestern part of Russia where Europe meets Asia) E) Ural Mountains (northern border between Asia and Europe)

Elevation Urals Caucasus Pyrenees Carpathians Alps Apennines

II. The Germanic Kingdoms (pgs. 514-519) The kingdoms that emerged after the fall of Rome developed different societies based on their locations. The Visigoths of Spain and the Ostrogoths of Italy adopted many Roman ways because they were close to the center of the old Roman Empire. In Britain, Roman culture declined quickly. The Angles and the Saxons invaded Britain and became known as the Anglo-Saxons.

Who Were the Franks? During the A.D. 400s, a Germanic people called the Franks settled in what is now France. In A.D. 496, King Clovis of the Franks became a Catholic. This won him the support of the Romans living in the area and before long, nearly all of the Franks became Catholic.

By A.D. 700, nobles had taken over many royal duties. After Clovis died, his sons and grandsons divided the kingdom and often fought over land. By A.D. 700, nobles had taken over many royal duties. The most important noble was called the “mayor of the palace.” The most powerful mayor was Charles Martel. Martel was given the name “the hammer” b/c of the way he “hammered” his enemies.

Martel wanted to unite all of the Frankish nobles under his rule. The Catholic Church supported Martel. In A.D. 732, Martel defeated invading Muslim forces at the Battle of Tours. This allowed Christianity to remain Western Europe’s major religion.

When Charles Martel died, his son Pepin (peh When Charles Martel died, his son Pepin (peh*puhn) became “mayor of the palace” and eventually the new king. Pepin and his army defeated an invading Germanic group called the Lombards, who threatened the pope. Pepin donated the land he acquired to the pope - Papal States.

Who Was Charlemagne? After Pepin died, his son Charles became king. Like his father, he aided the pope when the Lombards tried to regain their territory. He also invaded Germany and Spain. By A.D. 800, Charles’s lands covered much of Europe and grew into an empire. His conquests earned him the name Charlemagne (shar*luh* mayne), or Charles the Great.

The pope crowned Charlemagne as the new Roman emperor. He made Aachen (ah*kuhn) the capital to his empire. Charlemagne believed in and promoted education. In A.D. 782, he arranged for several scholars to come to Aachen and create a school in the palace.

Europe Is Invaded Charlemagne died in A.D. 814. Charlemagne’s sons and grandsons were not good leaders and the empire was divided and weakened. A wave of invaders swept across Europe in the A.D. 800s and 900s: A) Muslims from the south B) Magyars from the east C) Vikings from Scandinavia from the north.

Scandinavia is in northern Europe and today includes Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Much of Scandinavia had a long, jagged coastline with many fjords (fee*awrds), or steep-sided valleys. From Scandinavia came the Vikings, whose raids terrified all of Europe.

With little farmland in Scandinavia, the Vikings were forced to rely on the sea. They became skilled sailors and built ships called longboats. In the A.D. 700s and 800s, the Vikings began raiding Europe. The word viking comes from their word for raiding.

The Holy Roman Empire The raids by the Muslims, Magyars, and Vikings helped destroy the Frankish kingdoms. The eastern Frankish kingdom became known as Germany. Otto I, a German king, was declared emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by the pope in A.D. 926.

III. The Rise of the Catholic Church (pgs. 519 – 521) Religion also played an important role in shaping life in Europe. Gregory the Great was pope from A.D. 590 until A.D. 604 and sent monks and missionaries throughout Europe to teach Christianity. Monasteries and monks also helped shape medieval Europe. Leader of a monastery was called an abbot (a*buht).

Why is Gregory VII Important? The church and Europe’s political forces clashed. Gregory VII was elected pope in 1073 and decreed that it was forbidden for kings to appoint high-ranking church officials. Henry IV, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire refused to obey.

Henry IV declared that Gregory was no longer the pope and Gregory excommunicated, excluded from church membership, Henry. German nobles supported the pope and a new king was elected. Henry declared war on Gregory but the dispute was not solved. In 1122, a new emperor and a new pope made an agreement called the Concordat of Worms (kuhn*kawr*dat).

The agreement states that only the pope could choose bishops, but only the emperor could give them jobs in government. By 1198, the Catholic Church was at the height of its power and the new pope, Innocent III, was able to control kings. If a ruler did not obey, Innocent would excommunicate him and issue an interdict (ihn*tuhr*dihkt). An interdict forbids priests from providing Christian rituals to a group of people.