1. Using the placards you will read the information
with your group members and then complete the
Guided questions on each placard about the Franks and how this group changed history. You will need lined paper – keep these notes for next class.
Please do NOT write on the placards. You will be
Timed-7 mins per placard-work quickly, efficiently
And TOGETHER.
Homework: check answers from Wed. HW online

2. Clovis 1. Where are the Franks located? 2. Who is Clovis?
3. Why is he remembered in history?
4. How did his actions affect Western Civilization?

3. During this period, a Germanic people called Franks, who lived along the Rhine River, began to build a new civilization.
The Franks were divided and without a common ruler until 481, when one Frankish group chose Clovis as king. Clovis brought all the Franks under one rule.
Clovis was the first Germanic king to accept the Catholic religion when, after a battle victory, he and 3,000 of his soldiers converted, or changed religion, to Christianity.

4. Clovis extended his rule over what is now France and western Germany and set up his capital in Paris.
Before long, all the people in Clovis's kingdom practiced the same religion, spoke the same language, and felt united.

5. Charles Martel and Pepin
1.How did Clovis’ Successors affect history?
2. What is “The Mayor of the Palace?”
3. How is the King different from “The Mayor of the Palace’?

6. The Frankish kings who followed Clovis were weak rulers who divided the kingdom among their sons. The sons lost much of their power to local nobles, and the Franks began to accept the leadership of a government official known as the “Mayor of the Palace.” The Mayor of the Palace led the army, while the King held the title.
Charles Martel, known as “The Hammer” because of his victory at Tours, where he defeated the Muslim and stopped their advancement into Europe from the Iberian peninsula. He was the most powerful Mayor, and he had the support of the Church.
When Charles Martel died, his son Pepin became Mayor of the Palace.

7. Pepin was the first Frankish king to be anointed, or blessed with holy oil, by the Pope.
Pepin helped the Pope by leading an army into Italy when he was threatened by a group of Germans known as Lombards.
Pepin defeated the Lombards and gave the land they held in central Italy to the Pope, making him the political ruler of much of the Italian Peninsula.

8. CHARLEMAGNE Charles, second son of Pepin, called “Charles the Great”
Why is he called Great? Give at least 3 reasons with evidence.

9. By the sword and the cross Charlemagne became master of Western Europe
Here is a map of Charlemagne's kingdom. The light-green shows his kingdom holdings after his brother's death in 771. The dark-green shows his kingdom holdings in 800.
By the sword and the cross
Charlemagne became master of Western Europe
Close ties with the Church were important.
Church officials kept records and helped Charlemagne run the country.
Any act against the Church was a sign of disloyalty to Charlemagne

10. Leader of a Christian EmpireU C A T I O N
Charlemagne completes the establishment of his court at Aachen and attempts to gather the best scholars in Europe at his court . Along with Alcuin develops Carlingian Miniscule (lower case)
HELPME HelpMe-see how it is easier to read?
Coronation by Pope Leo as Holy Roman Emperor in 800 BCE
Charlemagne chose counts to run courts throughout his empire.
They:
Took care of local problems
Protected the poor and weak
Alcuin worked with Charlemagne to develop the Palace School, a place where people from all walks of life could receive excellent education.
Raised armies

11. Charlemagne How did he maintain control of his Kingdom?
2. Who were his heirs?
3. How did they affect the Frank’s kingdom?

12. ESTATE LIFE
Lords (also known as nobles) were the most powerful people in the empire.
Lords lived in stone farmhouses. Wooden fences (stockades) were built around the houses. Farmhouses had: banquet hall, sleeping quarters, cellars, stables, storage places and small chapel.
Their wealth comes from goods grown or made on estates.
Farmers lived in simple wooden houses on estate. They worked in the fields, orchards, forests fields owned by the lord 3 days a week
Minstrels traveled throughout the empire singing the praises of Charlemagne.
Farmers practiced crop rotation to help them grow larger crops. They left a field fallow each season.

13. Collapse of the Empire
The Treaty of Verdun divided Charlemagne's empire into three kingdoms, one for each of his grandsons.
Louis II (called the German) received lands east of the Rhine River, most of which later became what is now Germany.
The western part, later called France, went to Charles II (the Bald).
Lothair I received the middle kingdom, a narrow strip that extended from the North Sea to central Italy. He also kept the title of emperor.