Middle Ages Overview

The medieval period, also known as the Middle Ages, was the era between ancient and modern times. Before medieval times, all of Western Europe was part of the Roman Empire. Exact dates for the beginning and end of these eras do not exist. Rather the fall of the Roman Empire happened over a period of several hundred years as the Roman Empire weakened and Germanic tribes from the Scandinavian regions were able to conquer, eventually leading to a new way of life. Compared to the citizenry of Ancient Rome, most Germans were uneducated. They were a rough-looking people clothed in animal skins and coarse linen. Called barbarians, these fierce people lived in tribes governed by a chief. They lived mainly by hunting and employing a crude level of farming. Their laws were based on tribal customs and superstition rather than a strong system of laws. They were fierce and bold warriors, battling with spears, clubs, and shields. The barbarian invasions destroyed most of the European trade. The stone road system that was developed to connect prosperous cities of the Roman Empire was abandoned. Communication slowed; money almost went completely out of use. By the ninth century CE, most of western Europe was carved into large manor estates ruled by landlords. Most people became poor peasants who worked the land. Some towns were completely abandoned and disappeared as the people moved to the countryside. Each manor was supported almost entirely by the production of its inhabitants. Most of the state and city schools closed and education and cultural activities ceased. Few people could read or write and the developments of ancient literature, architecture, painting, and sculpture were forgotten. Medieval life eventually combined the ways of Germanic people with practices of ancient Rome and Greece, but was also influenced by the Muslims of Spain and the Middle East and the Byzantine Empire of southeastern Europe. Some adopted elements of their Roman neighbors, accepting Christianity as their religion, farming the land, and trading with merchants. The church became the single great force that bound Europe together during this feudal period.

Based on this overview, what are your initial impressions about everyday life and survival during the Middle Ages?_________________________________________________________________

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The Middle Ages

Major Eras of European History

• _________________: Greece/Rome• _________________: Everything in between 500 CE – 1500 CE• _________________: 1500’s and on

Periodization of the Middle Ages

• Early Middle Ages: ________ CE – ________ CE• High Middle Ages: ________ CE – ________ CE• Late Middle Ages: ________ CE – ________ CE

A Brief Timeline of the Catholic Church in Western Europe during the Middle Ages

- During the Middle Ages the Catholic Church played an important part in the feudal system. o Many were nobles receiving land and granting land to knights in return for military

service.o This boosted the Catholic Church’s wealth and power.

- By CE 900’s reform was being called for. The reform movement wanted the Church, not the state, to be the final authority in Western society.

- 1000’s CE: A council of church leaders declared that political leaders could no longer choose the church appointments. (Would become known as the Investiture Controversy)

- 1215 CE: Pope Innocent III convened a council that condemned drunkenness, feasting, and dancing among the clergy. Developed stricter rules for stopping the spread of heresy.

- 1232 CE: Church set up a court known as the Inquisition. Goal was to seek out and punish people suspected of heresy.

- 1300-1415 CE: The Avignon Papacyo Around 1300CE the French government needs money and taxes people and Church. o Church disagrees as this “questions” the power of the Church.o Pope dies and a French Pope is elected who moves the head of the Church from Rome

to Avignon in France.o 7 popes and 70 years later the Pope moves back to Rome.

During this time the Church becomes more focused on administration and financing than on spirituality.

o Disagreement between Pope and Cardinals. Cardinals kick out Pope but the Pope stays in Rome while a new Pope starts in Avignon.

o Two Popes exist. This becomes known as the Great Schism.o 1409 CE: Council of Pisa tries to kick out both Popes and elects a new Pope.o There are now three Popes.o 1415 CE: Council of Constance reunites the Church under one Pope.

This causes a lack of prestige in the Church Demonstrates the financial and administrative abilities of the Church (something

that the kings want). Anti-clericalism starts.

Fall of the Roman Empire• Rome was the most _____________

empire the world had ever seen.

Roman Legacy1) _______ & _____________

I. Arches, Domes, VaultsII. AqueductsIII. Roads

2) ________& _____________I. New building materials

3) _________/_____________I. Romance = RomanII. Romantic languages

4) _____________I. Roman Republic

influence USAII. SenatorsIII. ‘Equality’IV. Democracy

Things you need to know:

• Diocletian (51st Emperor 284 to 305 CE__________ the Roman empire in two.• He thought the empire was too ______and it needed a second ruler• Historical significance = _____________ Empire (East)• Byzantium Empire would last about _____ years longer than the

Western Roman Empire• Constantine (Emperor from 306 to 337 CE)

• ___________the Roman Empire under _____________• Built a new _____________ residence at Byzantium (it was named

_____________in his honor after his death and is the _____________ for the Eastern Roman Empire for a thousand years)

• Edict of Milan: 313 CE• Legalizes _____________ in the Roman Empire, _____________ Diocletian’s

policy of persecution.• This has lasting _____________ on Europe.

• Why did Christianity spread so easily?

The Medieval Catholic Church• Filled the power ___________ left from the _____________ of the classical world.• _____________: a religious way of life that involves renouncing worldly pursuits to

fully _________ one's self to spiritual work– St. Benedict – Benedictine Rule of _____________, _____________, and

_____________.– provided _________ for the children of the upper class.– _______, ___________, ___________ in times of war.

– _____________ & _____________ to copy books and illuminate manuscripts– _____________ and _____________ to the barbarians. [St. Patrick, St. Boniface]

Role of Church in Middle Ages• Never was there a time when the Church was so _____________ in Western

Civilization.• The Church was led by _____________. Priests and nuns _____________, gave care to

people• Monks were _____________ leaders• They lived in _____________ that acted like trade schools and YMCAs • They spent years _____________ the Bible since the printing press wasn’t used in

Europe yet.• Since there were no strong ___________ or ___________ the Church was one

organization that had respect and power.• _______ were more powerful than ___________!

Text is _____________ with _____________ (initials, borders, decorations) This actually aided with the _____________ of literature from Greece and Rome It was a way of _____________ ancient documents thus aiding their _____________ in

an era when new ruling classes were no longer _____________

Illuminated Manuscript

s

During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church was the dominant spiritual influence in Western Europe. For most people, the Church was the center of their lives.

Although the Church’s primary mission was spiritual, the decline of Rome in the CE 400’s led the Church to assume many political and social tasks. During the same time, the bishop of Rome, now called the pope, became the strongest political leader in Western Europe. The pope claimed spiritual authority over all Christians, basing this claim on the belief that the Apostle Peter, Rome’s first bishop, had been chosen by Jesus to lead the Church.

The Catholic Church taught that all people were sinners and dependent on God’s grace, or favor. The only way to receive grace was by taking part in the sacraments.

Sacraments: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

To help us understand the Catholic worldview that was present in the Middle Ages, read the following primary and secondary sources and answer the questions below each source.

#1)

Society, like the human body, is made up of different parts. Each member of society serves a purpose, prayer (clergy), defense (knights), merchandise (tradesmen, merchants) or tilling the soil (serfs). Each person should receive the means proper for his or her class. Within classes there must be equality; between classes there must be inequality. Peasants must follow the orders of those above them. Lords must not take unfair advantage of the peasants. Craftsmen and merchants should receive only what they need to remain in business and no more. To seek more is greed, and greed is a deadly sin.SOURCE: R.R. Tawney, Religion and the Rise of Capitalism (London: Harcourt Brace and Company, Inc., 1926).

What is the view of medieval society that is expressed in this document? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

According to this document, what is the deadliest of sins? __________________

#2)

The Creator set up two great lights in the heavens; the greater light to rule the day, the lesser light to rule the night. In the same way, the Church has set up two great lights on earth; the greater light, being the Pope, to rule over souls; the lesser light, being the king, to rule over bodies. Just as the moon’s light comes from the sun, does the power of the king come from the Pope. The more closely a king is willing to follow the Pope's rule, the greater his light will be.

SOURCE: Excerpt from a letter of Pope Innocent III, 1198.

Why does Pope Innocence III believe that the church has more power than kings and other secular rulers?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

#3)

Based on the diagram above, how would you describe life in a medieval monastery? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How is the summer schedule different from the winter one?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

#4)

In the name of God, and by the power of the Holy Ghost, and the authority divinely granted to bishops by Peter, chief of the Apostles, we separate them from the bosom of holy Mother Church, and condemn them with the anathema of the eternal curse, that they may have no help of man nor any converse with Christians. Let them be accursed in the city and accursed in the country. Accursed be their barns and accursed their bones; accursed be the . . . seed of their lands, their flocks of sheep, and their herds of cattle. Accursed be they in their entering and in their outgoing. Be they accursed at home and homeless elsewhere. . . . Upon their heads fall all the curses with which God through His servant Moses threatened the transgressors of the Divine Law. Let them be anathema maranatha [terribly accursed], and let them perish in the second coming of the Lord; and let them moreover endure whatever of evil is provided in the sacred canons and the apostolic decrees for murder and sacrilege. Let the righteous sentence of Divine Condemnation consign them to eternal death. Let no Christian salute them. Let no priest say Mass for them, nor in sickness receive their confession, nor, unless they repent, grant them the sacrosanct communion even on their deathbed. But let them be buried in the grave of an ass, . . . that their shame and malediction may be a warning to present and future generations. And, as these lights which we now cast from our hands are extinguished, so may their light be quenched in eternal darkness.

SOURCE: A decree of excommunication (10c) as quoted in Henry C. Lea, editor, Studies in Church History, Philadelphia: Henry C. Lea, pp. 333-39.

What are the results of being excommunicated from the Catholic Church?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Power of the Medieval Church• _____________ and _____________ played a large part in the _____________ system.• The church _____________ about _______ of the land in _____________ Europe.

– Tried to curb feudal _____________• only _____ days a year for combat.

– Curb _____________• _____________ • _____________

• _____________• 1/10 tax on your _____________ given to the _____________.

• ____________ ______________ 1 penny per person [paid by the _____________].

Feudalism• Feudalism: A _____________ form of _____________ that stressed _____________ of

mutual _____________ between _____________ and _____________• A _____________, _____________, and _____________ system based on _____________ and

_____________ service.

Feudalism (political system)• The kings had lots of _____________; he gave land to _____________ in exchange for

_____________ and _____________• Lords gave their land to _____________ in exchange for _____________, _____• Knights let _____________ work the land and he would _____________ them. • Serfs got _____________ and _____________.• Thus, each person had _____________ and _____________

Manoralism (economic system)• For _____________ and for _____________, people in the Middle Ages formed small

_____________ around a central lord or _____________. Most people lived on a _____________, which consisted of the _____________, the _____________, the _____________, and the surrounding _____________ land. These manors were _____________, with occasional visits from peddlers, pilgrims on their way to the _____________, or soldiers from other _____________.

Why do you think everyone chose to be isolated?

Serfs at Work

Chivalry- Code of Honor

Open any history textbook on the Middle Ages and you are sure to find some text dedicated to the concept of Feudalism. Feudalism helped shape the Middle Ages and had long lasting impacts on western Europe. This worksheet will guide us through an understanding of what Feudalism is and the role it had in Europe.

1) What is Feudalism? Based on the short presentation complete the following definitions.

Fief:

Lord:

Vassal:

Serf:

Feudalism:

2) Why Feudalism? Read the following secondary source and answer the question below.

The night of the ninth century... What is its course? Dimly the records give a glimpse of a people scattered and without guidance. The Barbarians have broken through the ramparts. The Saracen invasions have spread in successive waves over the South. The Hungarians swarm over the Eastern provinces. "These strangers," writes Richer, "gave themselves over to the most cruel outrages; they sacked town and village, and laid waste the fields. They burned down the churches and then departed with a crowd of captives and no one said them nay. The Normans from the north penetrate by way of the rivers to the very center of France, "skimming over the ocean like pirates." Chartres, in the very heart of the realm, was wont to take pride in its name, "the city of stone," ... The Normans appear, and Chartres is sacked. William le Breton boasts the antiquity and wealth of the town of Autun; but the Barbarians have scattered these riches and its site is overgrown with weeds. "The country is laid waste as far as the Lone," says the chronicler of Amboise, so completely that where once were prosperous towns, wild animals now roam

And Paris? "What shall I say of her?" writes Adrevald. "That town once resplendent in her wealth and glory, famed for her fertile lands, is now but a heap of ashes."In the course of the ninth and tenth centuries all the towns of France were destroyed. Can one imagine the slaughter and plunder concentrated in such a statement? In the little country villages the houses crumble to dust. Powerless to resist the invaders, many men-at-arms join them. They plunder together, and as there is no longer any supreme authority, private quarrels, of man against man, family against family, of district against district, break out, are multiplied, and never-ending. "And three men cannot meet two without putting them to death." "The statutes of the sacred canons (laws) . . . have become void," writes Carloman in his palace (March 884). Private wars become common. 'In the absence of a central authority," says Hariulf, "the stronger break out into violence." "Men destroy one another like the fishes of the sea"....There is no longer any trade, only unceasing terror. Fearful men put up buildings of wood only. Architecture is no more...The ties which united the inhabitants of the country have been burst asunder; customary and legal usage have broken down. Society has no longer any governance.

SECONDARY SOURCE: Frantz Funck-Brentano, The Middle Ages. Translated by E. O’Neill. London. Reinemann, 1922, 1-3.

According to his account, why did feudalism, as a political system, prove necessary or useful to European society? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3) The Language of Feudalism Read the following secondary source and answer the questions below.

The term feudal has a curious and complicated history. All the Germanic languages had a word for cattle. As cattle were the only moveable goods of any importance among the early Germans, these words soon took the wider meaning of chattels. The Gallo-Roman language of the West Frankish state adopted such a term from the Franks and made it into "fie" or "fief." In the tenth century we find it used for arms, clothing, horses, and food. The man of wealth who kept a warrior in his household supplied him with these things. Hence when he decided to give the warrior land to support him . . . some called this land a fief. .

"Fief" became "feudum" in Latin. In the seventeenth century "feodale" and "feudal" appear in France and England respectively as legal terms to refer to anything connected with fiefs and fief- holders-the medieval nobles and their lands. In 'the eighteenth century the meaning of these words was extended to cover the relations between the fief-holder and the non-noble peasants who tilled his fief. This usage appears in full force in 1789 in the famous decree of the National Assembly abolishing the "regime feodale."Today feudalism is used in these two senses and at least one other. Medieval historians in both England and the United States remain faithful to its restricted meaning-a system of fiefs and holders of fiefs . . . But continental historians frequently use it in the broader sense to cover all the political and social institutions of rural society. To them feudal society includes both knights and peasants... Finally, many modern writers have an inclination to use "feudal" to describe anything which seems to them backward. I have read in the Baltimore Sun that the Eastern Shore is feudal.

SECONDARY SOURCE: Sidney Painter, Feudalism & Liberty. F. A. Cazel, ed. Baltimore. The John Hopkins Press, 1961, 3-6.

Why is it important to clarify definitions before discussing or debating topics? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

According to this information, why has it been difficult to agree on a definition of “feudalism?”____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3) The Relationships in Feudalism Read the primary sources below and answer the questions below each source.

To that magnificent lord _____ _____ Since it is known . . . to all how little I have whence to feed and clothe myself, I have therefore petitioned your piety, and your good-will had decreed to me that I

should hand myself over or commend myself to your guardianship, which I have thereupon done; that is to say in this way, that you should aid and succor me as well with food as with clothing, according as I shall be able to serve you and deserve it. And so long as I live I ought to provide service and honor to you, suitably to my free condition; and I shall not during the time of my life have the ability to withdraw from your power or guardianship; but must remain during the days of my life under your power or defense. Wherefore it is proper that if either of us shall wish to withdraw himself from these agreements, he shall pay____ shillings to the other party . . . otherwise this agreement shall remain unbroken.

SOURCE: Translation and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History. Univ. of Pennsylvania, 1897, IV, No.3 (E. P. Cheyney, ed.), 3-4.

Why did people look to be vassals to lords such as the one mentioned below? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How did the lord and his vassal depend on one another?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

To William, most illustrious duke of the Aquitanians; Bishop Fulbert, the favor of his prayers:

Requested to write something regarding the character of fealty, I have set down briefly for you, on the authority of the books, the following things. He who takes the oath of fealty [faithfulness] to his lord ought always to keep in mind these six things: what is harmless, safe, honorable, useful, easy, and practicable. Harmless, which means that he ought not to injure his lord in his body; safe, that he should not injure him by betraying his confidence or the defenses upon which he depends for security; honorable, that he should not injure him in his justice, or in other matters that relate ,to his honor; useful, that he should not injure him in his property; easy, that he should not make difficult that which his lord can do easily; and practicable, that he should not make impossible for the lord that which is possible.

However, while it is proper that the faithful vassal avoid these injuries, it is not for doing this alone that he deserves his holding: for it is not enough to refrain from wrongdoing, unless that which is good is done also. It remains, therefore, that in the same six things referred to above he should faithfully advise and aid his lord, if he wishes' to be regarded as worthy of his benefice and to be safe concerning the fealty which he has sworn.

The lord also ought to act toward his faithful vassal in the same manner in all these things. And if he fails to do this, he will be rightfully regarded as guilty of bad faith, just as the former, if he should be found shirking, or willing to shirk, his obligations would be perfidious [treacherous] and perjured.

I should have written to you at greater length had I not been busy with many other matters, including the rebuilding of our city and church, which were recently completely destroyed by a terrible fire. Though for a time we could not think of anything but this disaster, yet now, by the hope of Gods comfort, and of yours also, we breathe more freely again.

SOURCE: F.A. Ogg, ecL, A Source Book of Medieval History (New York: American Book Company, 1907), 220-221. Reprinted in David Herlihy, ed., The History of Feudalism. (New York: Walker and Company, 1970), 97.

What were the six things that a faithful vassal should have always kept in mind? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What was a vassal expected to do besides avoid injurious behavior?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Why might a vassal have more responsibilities and a lord much less?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4) Debating Feudalism: Good or Bad? Read excerpts from a discussion on the impact of feudalism and answer the questions.

The feudal relationship was essentially a contract between lord and vassals which was defined and enforced by mutual agreement . . . It was assumed that lord and vassals had a common interest - the welfare of the fief. No lord was expected to make a serious decision, such as choosing a wife or going to war, without asking counsel of his vassals.

As a political system pure feudalism was little removed from anarchy. It assumed a more-or- less permanent state of war. While it provided machinery for the peaceful settling of most disputes, it did not compel men to settle their disputes peacefully. Thus if two knights quarreled, they could always find a feudal court competent to hear the case, but if they preferred to wage war on each other, and they usually did, feudal custom did not hinder them. France in the eleventh and early twelfth centuries, and parts of Germany in the fourteenth and fifteenth, are prime examples of feudalism uncontrolled by public authority. In England from the beginning, in France after 1150A. D.... royal authority based on the traditions of Germanic monarchy, mingled vaguely with those of Imperial Rome(laws), curbed feudal anarchy to some extent.

SECONDARY SOURCE: Sidney Painter, Feudalism and Liberty, pg. 7.

Why does the author feel that as a political system, feudalism failed to bring order to Western Europe?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It is . . . [the works] of [Carl] Stephenson and Sidney Painter that best describe how feudalism provided a form of government for western Europe. They have shown feudalism as a useful and constructive political system. They believe that feudalism, rather than being a destructive political force breeding particularism [disunity] and anarchy, was a constructive and unifying system that made

possible the political rehabilitation of western Europe in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and that provided the conditions necessary for the formation of the strong centralized states that were England, France, Normandy and Flanders. Feudalism was the only military and political system possible in the eighth century. It provided the Carolingian rulers and their successors with the essential military and political services and was not responsible, as many historians have asserted, for the pulling-apart of the Carolingian Empire. That uncertain structure was doomed to failure by its size. . . Feudalism could operate effectively only within a small area. In a country like Flanders or in a compact kingdom like England the feudal rulers could make feudalism work. They could maintain the personal bond of loyalty inherent in vassalage and could force their vassals to perform feudal obligations .Scholarly opinion, it should be noted, now supports this thesis, that feudalism was a constructive and unifying political force. It is inaccurate to teach feudalism as an anarchical political system that contributed to the darkness of the early Middle Ages.

SECONDARY SOURCE: Bryce Lyon, The Middle Ages in Recent Historical Thought. Center for Teachers of Hist American Historical Association, Washington, D.C. 1959, 15.

How does Bryce Lyon view Painter’s interpretation of feudalism and its effects on European politics?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Why does he disagree with historians that contend that feudalism created political disorder in Europe?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5) Visualizing Feudalism

Use the powerpoint slide to label this diagram.

King

Lords/Vassals

Knights/Vassals

Peasants/Serfs

Why Feudalism?__________ / __________ came from people’s need for __________. Each member had __________ and __________.Cultures __________ through __________, such as the __________, and _________ ideas such as __________ ideas or __________ ideas

Why was Constantinople so Important Geographically?

The Crusades• Thousands of __________ and

“__________” soldiers __________ under Christianity attacked __________ and __________ in Turkey and Jerusalem to gain the land for __________.

Romanesque Architectural Style

• __________ Arches

• Darker, simplistic __________

• Barrel __________

• __________ Walls

• __________ windows

Gothic Architectural Style• Pointed __________• High, narrow __________• __________ walls• __________, airier interiors• __________ -glass windows• __________ buttresses

Medieval Guilds Commercial __________:

Controlled __________ __________ __________ __________ craftsman

Controlled __________ of the product [masterpiece]. Controlled __________

Medieval Universities

Important Middle Ages Technologies• __________ • __________ • __________ • __________ • __________

Eyeglasses

• Invented in __________ 13th century• By 15th century __________ making thousands __________• Eyeglasses encouraged __________ of fine __________

– __________ – __________ – Fine wheel __________– __________ tools

Mechanical Clock• Undermined Church __________

– equal hours for __________ and __________ a new concept

– __________ by the church for a __________• Every __________ wanted one

– __________ clocks installed in __________• __________ seized as __________ of war• Allowed individual __________• Work now measured by __________

– increased __________–

Gunpowder

• Europeans improved gunpowder to __________ castles

• Europeans focused on __________ and __________ of __________: siege __________

• With improved __________ casting, made world’s best __________

Economic and Cultural Revival in the Late Middle Ages

The Crusades accelerated the transformation of western Europe from a society that was crude, backward, and violent – showing little technological or cultural advancement – to a civilization that exhibited some of the early features of modern Western civilization. Towns grew, trade expanded, and learning and the arts thrived.

Economic Expansion

Agricultural Developments

Plows during the Early Middle Ages were light and did not cut much below the surface of the soil. The invention of a new, heavier plow made it possible to cut through the rich, damp soils of western Europe. This plow enabled farmers to produce more food and to cultivate more lands, increasing food production. This contributed greatly to the settlement of new areas and the construction of new towns.

About the same time, the collar harness replaced the yoke. Horses were choked by the ox yoke, but the new harness shifted weight off the neck and onto the shoulders, allowing farmers to replace oxen with horses. Horses pulled the plow faster than the oxen, allowing farmers to plant and plow more crops.

Expansion of Trade

The revival of towns caused a rapid expansion of trade. Soon the sea-lanes and roads were filled with traders carrying goods to market. Important sea and river routes connected western Europe and the Mediterranean, eastern Europe, and Scandinavia. The repaired and rebuilt Roman road system carried international traders to and from Europe.

Italian towns such as Venice, Genoa and Pisa controlled Mediterranean trade after A.D. 1200, bringing skills and spices from Asia to Europe. The town of Flanders, a region that includes present-day northern France and southern Belgium, became the center of trade on Europe’s northern shore. Towns along the Baltic controlled trade between eastern Europe and the North Atlantic.

Banking

Early merchants used the barter system, trading goods without using money. Before long, however, merchants found this system impractical and devised another common medium of exchange.

The rise of a money economy, or an economy based on money, has far reaching consequences. Initially, it led to the growth of banking. Since traders came from different lands, they carried different currencies with different values. Moneychangers determined the value of the various currencies and exchanged them for one another. They also developed procedures for transferring

funds from one place to another, received deposits, and arranged loans, thus becoming the first bankers in Europe.

As the money economy grew, it put the feudal class in an economic squeeze. Kings, clergy, and nobles became dependent on money from banks to pay their expenses. To pay off their loans, they had to raise taxes, sell their lands, or demand money in place of traditional feudal services. As serfs became able to buy their freedom, the feudal system declined.

The Growth of Towns

The number of towns in western Europe grew tremendously in the A.D. 1000s and A.D. 1100s. Many grew up beside well traveled roads or waterways. Although warfare had declined, settlements still faced bandits. To protect themselves, however, townspeople built walls around their towns.

Medieval towns had almost no sanitation, and a constant stench assailed the people from the garbage and sewage tossed into the streets. These conditions caused the rapid spread of diseases as diphtheria, typhoid, influenza and malaria. In crowded towns such diseases often turned into epidemics and took many lives. The worst of these epidemics – the bubonic plague – ravaged Europe between A.D. 1348 and 1350, killing one-third of the population and earning the name Black Death.

Guilds

During the A.D. 1100s, merchants and artisans organized themselves into business organizations called guilds. The primary function of the merchant guild was to maintain a monopoly of the local market for its members. To accomplish this end, merchant guilds severely restricted trading by foreigners in their city and enforced uniform pricing.

Craft guilds, by contrast, regulated the work of artisans: carpenters, blacksmiths, shoe makers. This guild established strict rules concerning prices, wages, and employment. Craft guilds were controlled by masters, or artisans who owned their own shops and tools and employed less-skilled artisans as helpers. To become a master at a particular craft, an artisan served an apprenticeship. Apprentices worked for a master without pay. An apprentice then became a journeyman and received pay. To become a master, a journeyman submitted a special sample of his work – a masterpiece – to the guild for approval. If the sample was approved, the journeyman became a master and set up his own shop.

Rise of the Middle Class

The medieval town, or burg, created the name of a new class of people. In Germany they were burgers; in France the bourgeoisie; in England the burgesses. They were a middle class made of merchants and bankers, and artisans who no longer had to rely on the land to make a living.

The merchant class helped turn towns into organized municipalities. Businessmen created councils to administer town affairs and gained political power for themselves. As the money economy grew, kings began to depend on the middle class for loans and income from taxes they paid. The leading merchants and bankers eventually became advisors to the lords and kings.

Education

During the Early Middle Ages most people were illiterate. Education was controlled by the clergy. In monastery and cathedral schools, students prepared for monastery life or for work as church officials. In addition to religious subjects, students learned grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music.

As towns grew, the need for educated officials stimulated a new interest in learning. The growth of courts and other legal institutions created a need for lawyers. As a result, around A.D. 1150, students and teachers began meeting away from the organized schools. They formed organizations that eventually became universities. By the end of the A.D. 1200s, universities had spread throughout Europe, from Italy to France.

At medieval universities, scholars studied Latin classics and Roman law in depth. They also began studying the ideas of Ancient Greeks, including those of Aristotle, and the Islamic scholarship in the sciences. This interest in the physical world eventually led to the rise of Western science.

Medieval Literature and Art

With the spread of universities and the revival of classic Greece ideas, advances in literature and the arts also developed. Songs and epics of the Early Middle Ages were put in writing for the first time.

Most medieval literature was written in the vernacular, the language of everyday speech, of the writer. Instead of using Latin as a common language, people spoke the language of their own country – English, German, French, Italian, or Spanish. These vernacular languages gave each kingdom of Europe a separate identity. Use of vernacular language in writing made literature accessible to more people.

Outstanding literary works from this period include The Divine Comedy and The Canterbury Tales.

We also find at this time the Gothic style architecture emerged on the scene. It involved construction methods which allowed for the construction of high ceilings, large internal spaces, and thin walls which supported stained glass windows, a commonality in cathedral design.

Video Study: The Middle Ages

Complete the questions in each of the following sections using information contained in the video and our classroom discussions.

Part 1: The Sack of Rome

1. What significant event happened to the Roman Empire in 410 AD?

2. Who were the Visigoths?

3. Who was the leader of the Visigoths?

4. What strategy did he employ to cause the fall of Rome?

5. In addition to the sacking of Rome by the Visigoths, list three other contributing factors to Rome’s downfall by the 5th century AD.

Part II: The Waning Empire

1. In addition to the Visigoths, name some of the other barbarian groups that invaded Rome throughout the 5th century.

2. What were some of the notable characteristics of Western European society for the period covering the seven centuries between the Fall of Rome to the First Crusade, the so-called “Dark Ages?”

3. How did the term ‘Dark Ages’ originate?

4. While there was little government stability to bring unity to Europe during the Dark Ages, what did many people look to during this time as a unifying force?

Part III: The Common Thread of Christianity

1. Why was the year 313 AD an important one for Christianity within the Roman Empire?

2. Who was Clovis?

3. What present-day European country was once known as Gaul?

4. List three significant points reflective of Clovis’ period of rule

5. Why did Clovis have the members of his immediate family killed?

6. Describe the method of punishment used by Clovis known to history as ‘the Ordeal.’

Part IV: The Empire Strikes Back

1. Which group invaded the Western Roman Empire in 533 AD?

2. What was the purpose behind this invasion?

3. Why was the Roman Empire divided between East and West in the late 3rd century AD?

4. Who was the leader of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 530s AD?

5. List three significant points reflective of his rule.

Part V: The Plague

1. What territories had Justinian conquered by 542 AD?

2. Name the pandemic that occurred in Constantinople in the 540s AD.

3. Explain how this disease was spread and the impact that it had on both the Byzantine Empire and the European continent.

4. What happened to the Byzantine Empire following the death of Justinian?

Part VI: Men of Cloth, Men of Letters

1. Write four factors about life in the Dark Ages as provided in this clip

2. Why were monasteries some of the most important institutions in Europe during the Dark Ages?

3. Who was Bead?

4. Who was St. Benedict of Norcia?

5. Name two reasons why men and women entered monasteries during the Dark Ages

Part VII: A Holy War

1. Name the opposing forces at the Battle of Tours

2. Why were the Muslim Moors invading France?

3. Who leader the Frankish army during the Moorish invasion of France?

4. In the Dark Ages, most of the soldiers who were available for fighting belonged to this occupation.

5. How did Martel finance the development of his armies that he would use against the Moors?6. Explain why the October 732 Battle of Tours is one of the most important battles in the History of Western Civilization?

Part VIII: The Greatest King

1. What significant event occurred on Christmas Day in 800AD?

2. What modern day European countries were included in his empire?

3. Explain ‘the Bloody Verdict of Verdun’

4. What evidence in the video suggests that Charlemagne valued the importance of education?

Part IX: The Vikings

1. From where did the Vikings originate?

2. What areas of Europe did the Vikings explore?

3. Describe three notable characteristics of the Viking invasion of Europe

4. Who was Alfred the Great and what defensive tactic did he employ against the Viking invasions?