1. UNIT 1 THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES

2. Observe and think After the fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century, three civilizations dominated Europe: the Germanic kingdoms, the Byzantine Empire and Islam.

7. Answer these questions  Which ilustration belongs to each civilization?  What can we see in these pictures?  Who do you think the people are?  Why do you think the face of one person is not shown?

8. Vocabulary  Mosaic : mosaico  Tessera : tesela  Pebbles : piedra pequeña  Goldsmith : orfebre  Silversmith : platero  Craftsman : artesano  Miniature : miniatura  Civilizations  Germanic Kingdoms  Byzantine Empire  Islam

9. 1. What were the Germanic migrations?

10. The decline of the Roman Empire  Germanic tribes lived to the north of the Roman Empire. The Romans called them barbarians (foreigners). The empire´s wealth and military weakness led to a series of Germanic migrations across the frontier. Some of them were violent invasions.

11.  Roman control over its northern territories gradually declined after the third century.  In 395, Emperor Theodosius divided the empire between his two sons, Honorius and Arcadius, to make it easier to defend.  Thus, the western and eastern provinces became the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire.  Romulus Augustulus, the last emperor of the Western Empire, was deposed in 476 a.D.  For some historians, this date marks the begining of the Middle Ages.

12. Theodosius division

13. The Germanic Kingdoms  The centralized government of the Western Empire was replaced by smaller kingdoms:  The Franks, in France  The Visigoths, in Spain  The Ostrogoths, and later the Lombards in Italy  The Angles and the Saxons, in Britain

14. Germanic Kingdoms

15.  It was dangerous to travel. Consequently, there was very little long distance trade, and many industries dissapeared. Cities declined, and people moved to the countryside.  Cultural activity also declined. Some examples of Germanic art have survived, such as small churches and attractive jewellery.  At first, the Romans and Germanics tribes had different laws, customs and religions. But they gradually intermingled, and in some places, the Germanic people spoke Latin and became Christians.

16. Activities

17. Are these statements true or false? Correct the false sentences  The Germanic tribes came from Africa ( )  Germanic tribes invaded Rome when the Romans were weak ( )  New cities and trade routes appeared after the fall of the Roman Empire ( )  Theodosius was the last emperor ( )

18. What do you think?  What was the first meaning of barbarian?  Was it a latin word?  What does it mean today?  Why did the Germanic tribes adopt Latin as their language and Christianity as their religion?