Medieval Europe

Geography of Europe

•Eurasia- large landmass that includes both Europe and Asia

• It stretches from Atlantic Ocean to the Ural Mountains

•Northern European Plain is flat

•Rivers run from north to south• Some run from mountain ranges

Geography of Europe• Southern Europe

• Warm and sunny• People lived in coastal plains or river valleys• People became seafarers and traders• Surrounded by mountains

• Northern Europe• Access to sea through Northern Rivers• Lived among rivers• Perfect farmlands• Easy to be invaded

Middle Ages

• Lasted from 500 CE to 1500 CE

• The Roman Empire fell apart by Germanic tribes.

• Visigoths controlled Spain

•Ostrogoths controlled Italy

• Saxons moved from Germany and Denmark into Britain with the Angles• These peoples became known as the Anglo-Saxons.

Germanic Society• Some Germanic and leftover Romans intermarried in Italian Peninsula

• Family was significant

• Land was passed down hereditarily

• Provided Protection

Roman Law Germanic Law

Crime is seen as offense to societyCourts would hear evidence and decide

Crime is an offense to familyBlood Feuds and revenge

Rise of the Catholic Church

• Popes• Bishop of Rome

• ‘Papa’

• Head of the Church

• Archbishops• Led provinces controlled by Bishops

• Bishops• Controlled Bishoprics- Areas of authority

• Priests• Led parishes

Rise of the Catholic Church

Monks• Man who separates from others to pursue

total dedication to God

• Monasticism• Living the life of a monk

• Monasteries• Communities of Monks

• Nuns• Same role as monks but female

• Lived in convents led by Abbesses• Abbesses- Leader of nuns

Missionaries• People who spread their faith to non-Christian

peoples

• By 1050 CE most of Western Europe converted to Christianity

Rise of the Catholic Church

Saint Benedict

• Formed Benedictine Rule• Prayer and manual labor

• Private and common prayers

• Chanted Psalms• Sacred Songs

Saint Patrick

• Besides being famous for green, beer, and 3 sided clovers; he was a missionary to Ireland

• https://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/who-was-saint-patrick

https://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/who-was-saint-patrick

Kingdom of the Franks

• Established by Clovis

• Converted to Christianity around 500 CE

• Gained support of the Roman Catholic Church

• After his death, sons divided the empire

Charlemagne & Carolingian Empire• Also known as Charles the Great

• Started the Carolingian Empire from 768 to 814 CE• The Empire stretched from Northern Spain, all of Germany, France, Northern Italy, some of

Modern day Austria.

• Became known as the Holy Roman Emperor on 800 CE (300 years after Fall of Rome)

• Learned and wanted citizens to have education on Greek and Latin• Monks worked in scriptorias to copy Latin versions of the Bible and other classical writers

• Scriptoria- Writing rooms

Feudalism in the Middle AgesInvaders threatened the population of Western Europe.

• Magyars (Hungarians) invaded from the area around modern-day Hungary. They raided into Germany, Italy, and other parts of Western Europe.

• Muslim invaders came from the South. They conquered the area of Spain and the island of Sicily.

• Vikings were the greatest and boldest of the invaders. They originated in Scandinavia in Northern Europe. Vikings were ruthless and they targeted monasteries, farms and villages. They chose these targets because they were usually poorly defended.

Feudalism in the Middle Ages

Feudalism in the Middle Ages

Feudalism: Ineffective Kings

•Kings were powerless against these invaders.• The invaders were swift and the kings could not mount a

defense before the invaders had come and gone.•As a result, the responsibility for protection fell to local lords.

These lords promised to protect the people and their homes in their area. • In return the people pledged their service and loyalty to this

lord.• This system of loyalty and protection became known as

feudalism.

Feudalism in the Middle Ages

• The system of organizing people in the Middle Ages through the exchange of land and service• Example: A king gives a noble a piece of land in return for loyalty and military

service.

King – provides money, recruits army on demand,

grants land to his lords.

Lords and Vassals –protect the king and manage the territory.

Knights – protectboth the Kingand lords.

Peasants and Serfs –work the land.

Feudalism in the Middle Ages

• The relationship that created the feudal system is the lord-vassal relationship.

•A king or noble granted land to a noble or lesser noble (less power, less money). They became the lord. The piece of land given was called a fief (feef).

• The person receiving the land became the vassal of the person who gave them the land. A vassal was to promise loyalty, military service, and even a portion of the crops from their land to their lord.

Manorialism

• A manor was a large area of land with farming areas that were built up by nobles during the medieval times.

• The manor system was where the majority of people lived during the Middle Ages.

• Since much of Europe was devastated by war, powerful lords and ladies built fortified castles where they could live, along with their staff. These massive plots of land became known as manors.

• A manor was self-sufficient, meaning that everything needed to survive could be located on the property.

• For example, manors had housing for all the people who worked for the lord and lady, food sources, water sources, and specialty shops. Please look at the following diagram, which depicts a typical medieval manor (next slide).