Charlemagne

1.Early Carolingians a.Charles Martel (The Hammer) i.Grandfather of Charlemagne ii.Political advisor and war leader to the Frankish kings

b. Pippin II i.Father of Charlemagne ii.Became the 1 st king of the Carolingian dynasty

2. Charlemagne a.Name means “Charles the Great” b.Foundation of success was in his military power i.Would attack an enemy and then incorporate their land into his sphere of influence ii.Formed treaties with local rulers

c. Pope Leo III i.Asked for help when the Papal States were attacked 1.Papal States made up a region in Italy that was under the control of the pope 2.Charlemagne comes and defeats the attackers

ii. Will be run out of Rome and asks Charlemagne for help 1.Charlemagne will restore Leo III to power iii. Will give Charlemagne the title of Emperor of the Roman People 1.Signifies two things a.The title implies that Charlemagne had restored to power b.Also suggests that he had the backing of the Church and God

d. Charlemagne’s Rule i.Changes to Government 1.Were both efficient and effective 2.Established a center for his government a.Capital was Aachen

3. Officials a.Called counts and they ruled in his name b.Counts were bound by oath to obey Charlemagne c.Granted huge tracts of land and considerable authority 4. Inspectors a.Used to keep tabs on the counts b.Would reward or punish counts based on how they did their job

3. A New Society a.Education i.Charlemagne ordered churches and monasteries to start schools staffed by priests 1.Studied religion, grammar, music and other subjects

b. Religion i.Charlemagne worked closely with the Church to create a unified Christian Empire ii.He ordered those conquered to convert to Christianity or face death 1.Monks were sent to live among conquered people to make sure Christianity took hold

c. Law i.Charlemagne honored the traditional law of those conquered ii.Had many of these laws recorded d. Death of Charlemagne i.Died in 814 A.D. ii.Kingdom would not survive 1.Divided among his 3 grandsons in 843 A.D.

THE FEUDAL AND MANORIAL SYSTEMS

1. Feudal System a.Development i.Nobles needed a way to protect their land ii.Built castles b.System i.Nobles need trained soldiers

ii. Knights 1.Highly skilled soldiers who fought on horseback 2.Best defenders a noble could have

3. Demanded payment for services a.Most were paid with land b.Land given to a knight was called a fief i.Anyone who accepted a fief was called a vassal ii.The person who gave the land was his lord

iii. This system of exchanging land for service is called the feudal system or feudalism

c. Obligations i.Knight’s Duties 1.Provide military service to his lord 2.Oath of Fealty (loyalty) a.Promise to remain loyal to the lord 3.Financial Obligations a.Had to pay ransom if his lord was ever captured b.Gave money to his lord on special occasions

ii. Lord’s Duties 1.Treat knights fairly 2.Protect a knight who was attacked by enemies 3.Act as judge in dispute between two knights

d. Complicated System i.Problems 1.A person could be both a lord and a vassal at the same time 2.One knight could serve many lords 3.Rules guiding feudal obligations were specific to a time and place

2. The Manorial System a.Lords, Peasants, Serfs i.Manorial system was built around large estates called manors ii.Manors 1.Usually owned by wealthy lords or knights 2.Peasants farmed the manor’s fields a.Most peasants were serfs- people who were legally tied to the manor on which they worked

b. Serfs were not slaves c. Serfs had to have the lord’s permission to leave the manor or marry d. Serfdom was also hereditary

b. A typical Manor i.Development of the three field crop rotation 1.One field was planted in the spring for fall harvest 2.One field was planted in the winter for spring harvest 3.One remained unplanted for a year