Section 4

European Kingdoms and Feudalism

Germanic states emerged in the former Western Roman Empire and created a new European civilization.

Section 4

• By 500 A.D., the Western Roman Empire had been replaced by Germanic kings.

• Clovis established the kingdom of the Franks. He was the first Germanic ruler to convert to Christianity and became an ally of the Roman Catholic Church.

European Kingdoms and Feudalism (cont.)

Figure 12

Section 4

• Organization of the Church

European Kingdoms and Feudalism (cont.)

− Parishes were led by priests.

− A group of parishes, or diocese, was led by a bishop.

− The head of the Catholic Church was the pope.

Section 4

• Monks played an important role in the Church. Saint Benedict wrote a series of rules that became the model for monasticism.

• Monks provided schools, hospitals, and other social assistance to the people of Europe.

European Kingdoms and Feudalism (cont.)

Section 4

• In 768 Charles the Great, or Charlemagne, became the ruler of the Frankish kingdom.

• Charlemagne expanded the Frankish kingdom into the Carolingian Empire, which covered. In 800 Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the Roman Empire by the pope.

European Kingdoms and Feudalism (cont.)

Section 4

• After Charlemagne’s death in 814, Europe was invaded by foreign powers.

• As a result of invasions, the people of Western Europe turned to local lords for protection. This led to a social and political system known as feudalism.

• Vassals swore allegiance to a lord and provided military service. In turn, the vassal was given land, called a fief, and maintained political control of it.

European Kingdoms and Feudalism (cont.)

Section 4

• England

European Kingdoms and Feudalism (cont.)

− In 1066 William of Normandy defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. William was crowned king of England.

− Henry II expanded the power of the king by expanding the royal courts. Common law began to replace the varying codes of the kingdom.

Section 4

− During the reign of King John, English nobles resented the growing power of the king and defeated the king’s forces at Runnymede.

European Kingdoms and Feudalism (cont.)

− King John was forced to put his seal on a document of rights called the Magna Carta, in 1215.

Section 4

• France

European Kingdoms and Feudalism (cont.)

− Following the fall of the Carolingian Empire, France was ruled by the Capetians in the Paris region.

− The reign of Philip II Augustus was a turning point for the French monarchy. He added land and expanded the power and income of the French monarchy.

Section 4

• The Holy Roman Empire

European Kingdoms and Feudalism (cont.)

− Otto I was a Saxon king in Germany who was crowned emperor of the Romans in 962.

− The Germanic kings tried to rule both German and Italian states, which became known as the Holy Roman Empire.

Section 4

• Central and Eastern Europe

European Kingdoms and Feudalism (cont.)

− The Slavic peoples were from central Europe. Gradually, they split into three groups.

• Western Slavs eventually formed the Polish and Bohemian kingdoms. These two groups were converted to Christianity and became part of the Roman Catholic Church.

• Eastern Slavs were converted to Orthodox Christianity by Byzantine missionaries.

Section 4

• Southern Slavs included the Croats, Serbs, and Bulgarians. They were converted to Eastern Orthodoxy, except for the Croats who accepted the Catholic Church.

− Eastern Slavic peoples also settled in present-day Ukraine and Russia.

− Oleg and the Swedish Vikings settled in Kiev and dominated the Slavic peoples who lived in the region.

European Kingdoms and Feudalism (cont.)

Section 4

− The Mongols conquered Russia in the thirteenth century.

− In 1242, the Mongols rewarded the Russian prince Alexander Nevsky with the title of Grand Prince. Nevsky’s descendants became the rulers of Russia.

European Kingdoms and Feudalism (cont.)

Section 4

Byzantine Empire and Crusades

The Crusades had a significant effect on medieval society in both the East and the West.

Section 4

• Despite the fall of Rome, the Eastern Roman Empire continued to exist.

• Justinian became emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire in 527 and sought to reestablish the Roman Empire in the entire Mediterranean.

• Justinian’s most important contribution was The Body of Civil Law, a codification of Roman law.

Byzantine Empire and Crusades (cont.)

Section 4

• The Christian church of the Byzantine Empire came to be known as the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Byzantine Empire and Crusades (cont.)

Section 4

• From the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries, European Christians carried out a series of Crusades to regain the Holy Land from the Muslims.

• Pope Urban II saw the Crusades as an opportunity to free Jerusalem and Palestine from the “infidels.”

Byzantine Empire and Crusades (cont.)

Section 4

• The First Crusade was made up of mostly French warriors, who retook Jerusalem in 1099.

• The Muslims began to fight back. In all, there were four crusades, but only the first one was successful.

Byzantine Empire and Crusades (cont.)

Section 4

• Effects of the Crusades

Byzantine Empire and Crusades (cont.)

− Increased wealth for the Italian port cities

− Feudalism was weakened and kings created stronger central governments.

− Development of strong nation-states in Spain, England, and France

Figure 12

• Wrapping things up.