1. Western Europe 500 CE – 1500 CE Edited by Mr. Barkhau
Shamelessly stolen from: powerpoints.html

2. Medieval Europe: Periodization
Early Middle Ages: 500 – 1000 CE
High Middle Ages: – 1250 CE
Late Middle Ages: – 1500 CE

3. Change in Western Europe
By the year 1000 = invasions from outsiders (Vikings, Muslims, Magyars) had stopped
Either stopped or were absorbed into western European society
Result = peace and stability = things took a positive turn in Western Europe
At the same time = general climate change  warmer conditions = better agriculture

4. Political Life in Western Europe
Western Europe = now a series of regional kingdoms instead of one united empire
Many Germanic rulers were influenced by and embraced Roman culture
Many leaders wanted to recreate that unity that existed with the Roman Empire

5. Charlemagne Ruled the Carolingian Empire from 768 to 814 CE
Set up an imperial bureaucracy
Standardized weights and measures
Acted like an old imperial ruler
Christmas Day of 800 CE = he was crowned the “new Roman emperor” by the Pope

6. Charlemagne His empire was divided among his sons after his death
Attempt at unity = unsuccessful

7. Otto I of Saxony
Created the Holy Roman Empire (mostly Germany and its surrounding areas)
Ruled from 936 to 973
Tried to regain unity in Western Europe just like Charlemagne
Also received title of emperor from the Pope
Unsuccessful 

8. A New Political System
These new kingdoms = created a highly fragmented and decentralized society
Europe full of thousands of independent and isolated manors (estates)
Gave rise to a new system in Europe = feudalism = a political, economic, and social system based on loyalty and military service

9. A New Political System
Power = exercised by monarchs and elite landowning lords
Lesser lords and knights swore allegiance to greater lords and kings
Lesser lords = vassals = people who entered into a mutual obligation to a higher lord or monarch
Gave them: military protection and support
In return they got: land or fiefs
Fiefs = estates that came with serfs to work the land

10. Problems with Feudalism
Possible to have allegiances to more than one person
System relied on loyalty of subjects
No strong central government
King must ask his lords for knights in time of war.
King must ask his lords for money to pay for things.
Lords hold most of the power.
Lords constantly fighting among themselves.

12. Life of the Nobility Nobility consisted of lords, ladies, and knights
A lord had almost total authority over his fief
A lady had few, if any, rights
For entertainment, tournaments were held
Mock battles between knights
Other entertainment = archery, big dinners, minstrels, and singers

13. Becoming a Knight… Boys became knights by:
Starting as a page (assistant) to the lord at age 7
At 15, he became a squire who assisted a knight
Once he proved himself in battle, he was knighted in a ceremony

14. Becoming a Knight…
Knights’ behavior was governed by a code of chivalry
This became the basis for good manners in western society

15. The Manorial System Peasants lived on & worked the lord’s land
This agricultural economic system is known as manorialism
In return for the lord’s protection, the peasants provided services for the lord
Farming, herding, weapon making, etc.
Most peasants were serfs = people who couldn’t leave the lord’s manor without permission

16. Serfs vs. Slaves
Serfs = tied to the land; not the personal property of a specific person
Slaves = belong to their master

17. Christianity of Western Europe
Roman Catholicism
How did it spread throughout Western Europe?
Church leaders and missionaries used a “top-down” strategy
Converted people at the top (kings and higher lords) first  then they would persuade those below them to convert as well
Many kings & lords chose to convert because: they liked the Church’s connection to the “civilized” and “grand” Roman Empire

18. Christianity of Western Europe
Church authorities also had a lot of political power
They worked together with kings, nobles, and knights
Rulers gave the Church: protection and support of the religion
The Church gave the rulers: religious legitimacy for their power (“It is the will of the Creator…”)
Sometimes they competed for power as well

19. The Investiture Conflict
Conflict over: who should appoint bishops and the pope himself
The Church? Or kings and emperors?
Compromise = the Church can select its own officials and rulers retain an informal and symbolic role in the process

20. The High Middle Ages

21. Change in Western Europe
Population of Europe more than doubled
Increased agriculture
More agriculture = more trade
Major European centers of trade:
Northern Europe from England to the Baltic coast
Italian towns such as Florence, Genoa, and Venice

22. Change in Western Europe
Large European trading fairs held  merchants from Northern and Southern Europe met to trade products from their respective areas

23. Change in Western Europe
This led to the growth of banking
Moneychangers exchanged one currency for another
Also took deposits and arranged loans
Set up ways to transfer money from one place to another

24. Change in Western Europe
Increased population = increased urbanization
Growth of cities/towns and different groups within them
Merchants
Bankers
Artisans
Lawyers, doctors, and scholars

25. Guilds
Guilds = business associations organized by merchants and artisans in the same line of work
Created rules concerning foreign trading, pricing of goods, wages, etc.
Guilds were controlled by masters = artisans who owned their own shops and tools

26. Guilds
Apprentices worked for masters to learn the craft --> were not paid
Apprentices became journeymen and received pay
To become a master, had to submit a sample of his work to the guild for approval

27. Growth of Towns A number of towns in western Europe grew tremendously
Townspeople built walls around towns for protection
Buildings were mostly made of wood, making fire a constant hazard
Cities were dirty, smelled terribly, and had almost no sanitation
Garbage and sewage tossed into the streets
Caused the rapid spread of diseases such as typhoid, influenza, and malaria
Could become epidemics

28. The Black Death
Worst = Bubonic Plague ( ) --> killed 1/3 of the population = called the Black Death
Ring around the Rosie is a reference to the Black Death

29. The Crusades

30. Pope Urban II calling for the Crusades
The Crusades = a series of 9 “holy wars” led by European Christians to recapture the holy lands and spread Christianity
Lasted several centuries
Authorized by the Pope
Belief that it was “God’s command”
Pope Urban II calling for the Crusades

31. The Crusades

32. The Crusades
Participants = knights, peasants, middle-class, nobles, kings, church authorities  all walks of life!
Participants received:
Indulgences = removed any penalties for their confessed sins
Immunity from lawsuits
Cancellation of debts
Honor and glory

33. The Crusades
Most famous Crusades = those aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and other holy places in the Middle East from the Muslims
Crusaders = very violent
1099 = seizure of Jerusalem  thousands of Muslims and Jewish people slaughtered

34. The Crusades The 1st crusade managed to conquer Jerusalem
The Europeans then created 4 feudal “Crusader States” in the Holy Land, each ruled by a European noble.
The 4th crusade sent Knights back to the Holy Land, however they never made it to Jerusalem.
Instead attacked the city of Constantinople because they were in desperate need of supplies and funds.
The Children's Crusade in 1212
They believed God would protect them because they were children.
When the ships landed in North Africa, some children were slaughtered and others were sold in to slavery.

35. The Crusades Other targets of the Crusaders:
Muslims on the Iberian Peninsula (Spain)
Lands along the Baltic Sea
The Byzantine Empire and Russia
Enemies of the Popes
Opponents of the Catholic Church

36. The Crusades: Results Relatively unsuccessful Little lasting impact
Increased power of the popes
As a result of contact with the Islamic world, Europeans gained:
A demand for Asian goods
Muslim scholarship
Techniques for producing sugar on large-scale plantations

37. The Crusades: Results
Greater rift between Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism
Growth of anti-Semitism
Solidified cultural barriers

38. The Magna Carta
English King John was a bad king so his nobles forced him to sign the Magna Carta
It limited powers of king.
Signed in 1215
Example of Rule of Law

39. Western Europe A comparative Perspective

40. Catching Up
Western Europe was much less developed than: the Byzantine Empire, China, India, and the Islamic world
Smaller cities
Politically weaker
Less international economy
Inferior technology

41. Europe’s Willingness to Borrow
From:
Received:
Arabs
Scientific ideas, business practices, goods like spices and sugar
Pagan Greeks
Philosophical and artistic ideas
India
Mathematical concepts, spices
China
Silks, porcelain, gunpowder, papermaking, compass, iron casting, nautical technology, a public postal service

42. Europe’s Own Breakthroughs
In agriculture = new heavy wheeled plow that could handle the dense soils of Northern Europe
In energy = non-animal sources = windmill, water-driven mill, complex gearing mechanisms, etc.
Revolutionized production in many industries

43. Pluralism in Politics
Political life in Western Europe became a system of competing states
Ex: France, Spain, England, Sweden, etc.
Why no single European empire?
Geographic barriers
Ethnic and linguistic diversity
Shifting balances of power among the many states

44. Pluralism in Politics Result of this type of political system:
Frequent warfare
Enhanced the role and status of military men
Drove the “gunpowder revolution”

45. Pluralism in Politics
3-way struggle for power in western European states between: monarchs, high-ranking nobles, and church leaders
As a result = most cities ended up making their own laws and appointing their own local officials
In many cities  kings granted charters = allowed citizens to have their own courts, laws, and governments

46. Paving the Way for the Future…
Development of capitalism
Development of representative institutions and parliaments
First parliaments represented “estates”
First estate = the clergy
Second estate = the landowning nobility
Third estate = Urban merchants

47. Reason and Faith
Rising tension in Europe between: human reason and faith
Classical Greek philosophy  Does it contradict religion? Or can it be used to help disclose the truths of Christianity

48. Rise of European Universities
Considered “zones of intellectual autonomy”
Professors and students could pursue their studies with some freedom from political and religious authorities
Guild of scholars organized
Major universities in: Paris, Oxford, Cambridge

49. Medieval Universities
University of Paris in France
Cambridge in England

50. Medieval Universities

51. Reason and Faith
At these universities is where scholars and students began to examine faith and religion using reason and logic
Example of a student’s question = Can you prove that God exists based solely on reason, without the Bible or other source of divine revelation?

52. Reason and Faith
However, many scholars and students believed that reason could coexist with faith
Logic, philosophy, and rationality would operate in service to Christ

53. Desire for Ancient Greek Texts
Focus on reason and rationality = led scholars to seek out original Greek texts
Especially those of Aristotle  his writings became the basis for university education
Many translated from Greek and Arabic into Latin

54. Birth of The Renaissance
The Renaissance will be caused by:
An increased interest in acquiring new goods from Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Demand for things such as silks, spices, ivory and pearls. This created a demand for trade with the Middle East.
Increased trade = Increased income for Italian merchants
Sophisticated Muslim culture, arts and philosophy were introduced to the Europeans