1. Medieval Europe

2. Results of the Fall of Rome
Germanic invasions led to fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 C.E., which also led to:
Breakdown of trade: merchants faced invasions from land and sea; businesses collapse and money becomes scarce
Destruction of cities, abandoned by citizens
Population shift to countryside, out of the “centers” of civilization
Loss of learning & common languages, disunity weakens Europe.

3. Charlemagne (Charles the Great)
King of the Franks, united Europe in 771 C.E.
Spread Christianity and promoted learning, though himself illiterate.
Pope Leo III crowned him Holy Roman Emperor, setting the stage for future power struggles between popes & emperors.

4. After Charlemagne
His empire was divided among his sons, who ruled ineffectively.
Without a strong central body of power keeping peace, people searched for security.
This led to the development of a political system in Europe known as feudalism.

5. Lesser Lords (Vassals)
The Feudal System
King
Military Service
&
Labor
Loyalty
Lords
Lesser Lords (Vassals)
Land
&
Protection
Knights
Peasants (Serfs)

6. Feudalism & The Manor System
The feudal system created political order and stability. Everyone knew their place and what they had to do.
Focus was on: lords, land, and loyalty!
The manor system created an economy that was based on farming and being self-sufficient on the manor.
Land was the basis of wealth
Protection was exchanged for loyalty and land

7. THE MANOR SYSTEM The manor was the lord’s estate.
The manor system was an economic arrangement between a lord and his serfs.
The lord gave serfs housing & farmland, and protection from bandits.
The serfs cared for the lord’s lands & animals, and performed other tasks to maintain his estate.

9. THE 3 FIELD SYSTEM Gray - Woodlands; the building blocks of the manor.
Green - The 3 fields; crops were rotated each season on land owned by the lord and worked by the serfs.
Purple – The lord's house, land and pond.
Orange - The villager's homes.
Yellow - Small plots of land serfs could work themselves for their own benefit.
Blue - the stream used by all.

10. Importance of the Church
Feudalism and the manor system created divisions among people.
Shared beliefs in the teachings of the Church bonded people together.
Priests and religious officials administered the sacraments, or important religious ceremonies.
Kings & peasants alike followed canon law, or the law of the Church, in marriage & religious matters.

11. Spiritual Stability
The church became a pillar of strength & support in local society, showing its effects in:
Behaviors
Common Beliefs
Holiday Observances
This led to great increases in the power & influence of the Roman Catholic Church.

12. The Church in Art & Education
Roman Catholic Church became a source of education for many:
Monasteries and nunneries promoted education as a way to be closer to God.
The Church set up the first universities in the Middle Ages.
The Church acted as patron to many artists who created religious-themed works.

13. The Arts
Gothic Architecture
Flying Buttresses
Stained Glass

14. Medieval Women In feudal society, women had varying degrees of power.
Peasant Women:
Labored in fields and maintained the home
Gave birth to many children to help with the farm labor
Noble Women:
Could inherit land, or join a convent
Managed activities in the home
Gave birth to sons to carry on the family name

15. Rise of the Guild System
Many people without education, especially serfs were unsure of how to better their lives or become more independent. This mutual desire for economic prosperity & the need for economic protection led to the creation of the guild system.

16. Guilds
Guild system – organization of people in the same business working together to improve economic & social conditions.
Guilds set fair prices for labor, demanded quality conditions, and protected the rights of workers.
Early form of labor unions.

17. Beginnings of the Crusades
Muslim Seljuk Turks conquered much of Asia Minor, and took the city of Jerusalem in 1071 C.E.
In 1093, Byzantine emperor asked Western Europe to join his war against the Muslim Turks, so that the Holy Land could be controlled by Christians once again.

18. Beginnings of the Crusades
The pope called for this crusade, or holy war, to help the Byzantines and to show his leadership in the West.
Pope Urban II called for the crusades in a famous speech.
He spoke of the Muslims as wicked and promised forgiveness of sins & heaven to anyone who fought against them.

19. The Crusades
Peasants were drawn to the promise of riches, wanting to escape feudalism.
Criminals were allowed to join Crusades to escape punishments.
Many of the people died on the way from starvation and fights with others along the way.
The first crusade was mostly made up of the poor, who lacked supplies, equipment, and training.

20. Effects of the Crusades
Over the course of almost 200 years, Christians and Muslims battled for control of the Holy Land.
Many soldiers never returned, leaving a social & economic hole in Europe.
Those who did return brought with them exotic tales and goods that stirred imagination about the “Orient”.
Merchants took advantage of increasing trade networks in the aftermath of the Crusades, reviving the economic lag.

21. Spirit of Change
The population loss led to economic downturn following the Crusades.
King John of England ignited revolt of the nobles when he raised taxes in the midst of this.
The nobles forced King John to sign the Magna Carta (Great Charter).
This document guaranteed the nobles certain basic political rights, and put a limit on the king’s powers.

22. Medieval Living Conditions
Small, damp homes with dirt floors.
Cramped, dark apartments.
2-3 baths a year
Garbage + human waste in streets
Dead bodies out in open
Very few had hot water
Rodents & insects everywhere

23. Spread of the Plague Started in Asia
Reached Europe in 1347 via a merchant ship on the island of Sicily
The merchant ship was part of the larger trade networks resulting from the Crusades.

24. Black Plague Also known as the Bubonic Plague.
1/3 of Europe’s population gone
Workers & productivity decrease
Less economic activity leads to decrease in trade activity.
People feared God’s punishment. Seeing the inability of priests to save even themselves led to loss of faith.

25. Popular “Cures” for Plague
Doctors wore strange costumes
Bathing in human waste
Wearing excrement and/or leeches
Placing dead animals in homes
Drinking molten gold and powdered emeralds
Burning incense to get rid of the smell of the dead
At the time, the field of medicine did not understand what caused the Black Death—or how to cure it. Doctors wore strange costumes and used folk cures to deal with the disease. Among the more absurd remedies:
Bathing in human urine
Wearing excrement
Placing dead animals in homes
Wearing leeches
Drinking molten gold and powdered emeralds
Burning incense to get rid of the smell of the dead
Not surprisingly, these “cures” did little to address the real problems of the plague and many even made the disease worse.
A costume worn by doctors to ward off the Plague