The High Middle Ages1050-1450

•Church Reform and the Crusades

•Changes in Medieval Society

•England and France Develop

•Hundred Years War and The Plague

Medieval Europe 12th Century

Why did the Church Need to Reform?

• Problems in the Church

• Village priests were not keeping their vows of poverty, and chastity

• Simony

• Lay investiture

What was the significance of Gothic Cathedrals?

• They represented “The City of God”

• They were taller, more light, stained glass

• Attracted pilgrims and others to the town or city

The Crusades

• Byzantine Emperor, Alexius I asks for help to fight the Turks

• Council of Clermont 1095, Pope Urban calls for a “holy War”

• By 1096, thousands of knights and others were on their way to Jerusalem

• Pope Urban hoped to increase his power and heal the schism

• Stop Christian knights fighting among themselves and towards Muslims

What were the goals of the Crusades?

• Religious– Gain access to eternal life– Remission of sins

• Get rid of quarrelsome knights

• Increase political power

• Increase wealth

• Adventure

Why did they go on Crusade?

• Religious zeal• Wealth and land• Escape troubles at

home• Forgiveness of sin• Eternal salvation

Were they successful?

• Only the first one• 1099, Christians

captured Jerusalem• Massacred Jewish

and Muslim residents• Continued off and on

for 200 years• Lands were divided

into fours small states

Who was Saladin?

• Great Muslim leader• 1197, he had taken

the control of Jerusalem

• Third Crusade failed again

• Saladin reopened the city to Christian pilgrims

Were there other Crusades?

• Other Muslim lands came under attack especially North Africa

• All ended in defeat• During the Fourth

Crusade, Christians started fighting Christians

• Captured and looted Constantinople

• 1291, Acre is captured by Muslims and Christians are slaughtered.

Effects of the Crusades

• Legacy of Hatred• Increase of trade• Fabrics, spices• Perfumes• Money economy• Serfdom was undermined• Increased power of feudal monarchs• Rulers won new rights to levy taxes

More Effects?

• Papal power grew but then declined

• Increased resentments toward Eastern Orthodox Church

• Widened world view

• 1271, Marco Polo went to China

• By the 1400’s Europeans seek direct trade with the East

• Age of Exploration

Changes in Medieval Society

Changes in Medieval Society: Agriculture

• Switch to Horsepower

• The three Field System

Changes to Medieval Society: The Guilds

• Gain Power and influence

Monarchs, Nobles, and the Church

• Monarchs had limited power

• Nobles and Popes had their own courts, collected their own taxes, and fielded their own armies

• Resisted efforts to weaken their authority

Strong Monarchs in England

• During the Early Middle Ages Angles, Saxons, and Vikings all invaded and gradually settled in England (Anglo-Saxon)

• Feudalism developed but English rulers usually managed to keep kingdoms united

• In 1066, Anglo-Saxon king Edward the Confessor died without an heir– http://www.btinternet.com/%7Emrfield/Conquest/

Comet.htm

Three Claims to the Throne of England

Harold Godwinson (Anglo-Saxon)

• Edward the Confessor’s brother-in law

• Earlier he had been captured and held hostage in Normandy

• Supposedly swore allegiance to William

• After Edward’s death, he was elected king by the nobles

William of Normandy (William the Bastard)

• Duke of Normandy• Descendant of Vikings• Distant cousin of Edward

the Confessor• Claimed Harold violated

his oath of allegiance• When Harold was

crowned King, William was enraged

• Won backing of the Pope• Raised an army and

invaded England in 1066

Harold Hardrada (Viking)

• King of Scandinavia• Distant relation of

Edward the Confessor • Challenges Harold

Godwinson with the help of Harold’s brother, Tostig

• Harold defeats him at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, Sept. 1066

Battle of Stanford Bridge:Harold vs. Harold

Harold Godwinson defeats Harold Hardrada but then immediately has to turn and march south to face William of Normandy

Harold Had to Fight Two Major Battles, 250 miles apart in less than Three Weeks!!!!!

Norman Invasion of England

Battle of Hastings October,1066

• William invaded from Normandy

• Harold Godwinson defeated

• Bayeux Tapestry, documented the events

• Christmas Day, 1066 William crowned King of England and Normandy

The Bayeux Tapestry: Norman Propaganda, Subversive Anglo-Saxon

Narrative, or French Revisionism?

• http://www.bayeuxtapestry.org.uk/BayeuxContents.htm

• http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=1968b6d8ddbf0019e677

Growth of Royal Power

• William was a very strong king

• Gave land to his Norman lords, but kept most for himself

• Required that every vassal swear first allegiance to him rather than to any other feudal lord.

Domesday Book

• Complete census• Listed every castle,

field, and pigpen in England

• Helped build an efficient system of tax collecting

• Led to the exchequer, or treasury, to collect taxes

http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/

Unified Legal System: Henry II

• 1154, inherited the throne• Expanded customs into laws• Sent out traveling justices to

enforce the royal law• Became the foundation of

common law, legal system based on custom and court rulings (precedent)

Unified Legal System: Common Law

• Royal court decisions became the foundation of English common law– legal system based on custom and court rulings

• Common law applied to all of England• Early jury system-jure’ means “sworn on oath”• Decided which cases should be brought to trial

– modern day grand juries

• Later another jury evolved-12 neighbors or peers of an accused– Ancestor of today's trial jury

Conflict with the Church: Henry II and Thomas Becket

• Henry claimed the right to try clergy in royal courts

• Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury and Henry’s longtime friend, opposed the king

• In 1170, nobles murdered him in the Cathedral

Evolving Traditions of English Government

• Kings continued to struggle with both the Church and nobles over taxes and authority

• Traditions of government evolved and influence the modern world

King John & His Troubles

• Henry II’s son• Clever, greedy,

untrustworthy, cruel• Enemies: Phillip II of

France, Pope Innocent III, and his own nobles

• Lost war with Phillip• Had to give up lands in

Anjou and Normandy

King John and Pope Innocent III

• Conflict over the appointment of the New Archbishop of Canterbury

• John was excommunicated

• England placed under interdict

• John capitulated-had to accept that England was a fief of the papacy-pay a yearly fee to Rome

Magna Carta

• John’s nobles were angered by oppressive taxes, etc.

• In 1215, rebellious barons forced him to sign the Magna Carta

• King affirmed rights of nobles mainly but also townspeople & Church

Magna Carta

• Applied to every freeman• No arbitrary arrest,

imprisonment, or other legal actions

• No new taxes without approval from Great Council

• Asserted the rights of nobles, common people

• Monarch must obey the law

Why was Magna Carta so important?

• Formed the basis for “due process of law”

• Great Council evolved into Parliament

• Later, it became a two house body-House of Lords and a House of Commons

• United States used Parliament as a model

• The Senate and the House of Representatives

Development of Parliament

• English rulers call on the Great Council for advice

• During the 1200’s it evolved into Parliament

• Helped to unify England• 1295, Edward I

summoned Parliament to approve money for his wars in France

• “What touches all should be approved by all.”

Monarchs in France

• Monarchs in France did not rule a unified kingdom

• Provinces and territories were ruled by feudal nobles

The Capetians: Hugh Capet

• Count of Paris• In 987, feudal nobles

elected him to fill the vacant throne/believed him weak

• He and his heirs slowly increased royal power

• Increased territory• Began a period of peace

and prosperity• Capetian Dynasty 987-

1328

How did they increase royal power?• Made the throne

hereditary• Lasted for 300 years• Won the support of the

Church• Played rival lords off of

one another• Built an effective

bureaucracy• Collected taxes• Imposed royal law• Established order and

gained the support of the new middle class

The Capetians: Philip Augustus/Philip II

• Shrewd and able leader• Appointed middle-class

officials• Established bailiffs to preside

over court and collect taxes• Charters to new towns• Created a standing army• New national tax• Increased royal lands • Sent his knights to suppress a

threat to the Church• By 1223, the most powerful

ruler in Europe

The Capetians: Louis IX

• Ideal monarch- generous, noble, devoted to justice and chivalry

• Deeply religious• Declared a saint• Persecuted heretics &

Jews• Led knights into two

battles against Muslims

How did Louis improve government in France?

• Sent out roving officials

• Established an appeals court

• Outlawed private wars

• Ended serfdom• Sometimes even

acted as a judge to ensure justice

The Capetains: Philip IV

• Louis’s grandson• Collect taxes from clergy• Conflict with Pope Boniface VII• Philip sent troops to seize

Boniface but he escaped• He was beaten badly and died

soon after• Frenchman elected Pope • Moved the papal court to

Avignon on the border with Southern France

• Gave French kings control over religion

The Estates General

• 1302, to rally support from French people for Philip’s conflict with the Pope

• Represented all three classes: clergy, nobles, townspeople

• Never gained much power; no power of purse

Holy Roman Empire

• In 936,Otto I, is crowned Holy Roman Emperor for protecting the Church

• Begins the Holy Roman Empire

• Close relationship between Church and State

• Tensions arose over who would appoint Church officials-investiture

• Reform corrupt church leaders

• Make the Church independent of secular rulers

• 1075, Banned practice of “lay investiture”-(church official chosen by kings)

Conflict Between Popes & Emperors: Gregory VII

Conflict Between Popes & Emperors: Henry IV

• Holy Roman Emperor• Angered by Pope

Gregory’s actions• Needed church

leaders to support him against powerful German lords

Conflict Between Henry and Gregory

• Henry IV demanded that Gregory VII resign as Pope

• Henry IV was excommunicated by Gregory VII

• Henry realized he could not win so begs for forgiveness

• Countess Matilda, Henry is forgiven

The Concordat of Worms

• Agreement that church officials could appoint church leaders

• Kings could give titles and land grant to church officials

• 1st document outlining separate areas of responsibility for Church and State

Struggle for Italy: Frederick I

• Also known as Barbarossa• Ambitious, wanted to build a

huge empire• Wanted to control wealthy

northern Italian cities but they resisted

• Cities joined with the Pope to create the Lombard League

• Defeated Frederick I • Arranged marriage of his

son, Henry to Sicilian Constance

• increased German influence over Italian affairs

Struggle for Italy: Frederick II

• Child of Henry and Constance

• Raised in Southern Italy

• More Italian than German

• Continued the conflicts with Popes

• Ultimately unsuccessful

Church Power

• 1209, Papacy at it’s height

• Pope Innocent III launched a crusade against the Albigensians in southern France

• They wanted to purify the church

• Thousands were killed

Reconquista of Spain

• Christians had been battling Muslims for centuries in Spain

• By the 700’s, Muslims controlled more of the Iberian peninsula

• Several Christian kingdoms survived in the north

Ferdinand and Isabella

• 1469, Isabella of Castile married Ferdinand of Aragon

• Brought together the two most powerful kingdoms

• Made a final push against the Muslims in Granada in 1492 and won

• The Reconquista was complete

How did they rule?

• Tried to impose unity• Joined forces with townspeople against

nobles• Under the Inquisition, toleration ended• Brutality against both Muslims and Jews• Convert or be burned at the stake• 150,000 people fled• Many were skilled, educated people

Learning, Literature, and the Arts

• By 1100’s, Europe was experiencing dynamic changes

• Steady food supply• Revival of trade• Growth of towns• Some became

wealthy

Universities

• Church needed better educated clergy

• Educated men were needed for government bureaucracies

• Path to opportunity for townspeople

Academic Guilds

• By 1100’s schools were created around the cathedrals to train the clergy

• Evolved into the first universities

• Organized like guilds to protect members and set standards

• Salerno and Bologna had the first universities

• Specialized in topics i.e., medicine, theology

• Students would travel from one to the other

Student Life• Awake at 5:00am for prayers• Class ‘til 10:00am• Breakfast-beef and soup, oatmeal• Afternoon classes ‘til 5:00pm• Light supper, study and then bed• No permanent buildings• Students sat on hard benches• Teacher dictated and then

explained Latin texts• Students memorized• Arithmetic, geometry, astronomy,

music, grammar, rhetoric, logic• Oral exams• Bachelor Degree 3-6 years • Masters- several more years

Women and Education

• Not allowed to attend universities

• Limited their opportunities• Deprived of mental

stimulation• Encouraged to pursue

their “natural gifts”• Raise children, manage

household, needlework

Christine de Pizan

• Italian born, lived at French court

• Married at 15, widowed at 25

• Three children• Became a writer• Wrote The City of

Ladies, examined the achievements of women

The City of Ladies

• “If it were customary to send daughters to school like sons, and if they were then taught the same subject, they would learn as thoroughly and understand the subtleties of all arts and sciences as well as sons.”

Europeans Acquire “New Learning”

• Muslim scholars translated the works of Aristotle and other Greeks into Arabic

• Jewish scholars translated these works into Latin

• By 1100, revolution in new learning

Philosophy

• Aristotle taught that humans should their reason

• Christians believed on the basis of faith

• Church had final authority

• How could they use logic without undermining their faith?

Plato, Seneca, and Aristotle

Scholasticism

• Attempt to resolve the dilemma

• Method used to support Christian beliefs

• Scholastics studied the works of the Muslim philosopher Averroes and the Jewish rabbi Maimonides

Thomas Aquinas

• Christian Scholar who used reason to examine Christian teachings

• Summa Theologica• Faith and reason

existed in harmony• Both led to the same

truth

Science and Math

• Translated works reached Europe from Spain and Byzantine Empire

• Studied Hippocrates and Euclid

• Observation and experimentation used to study the physical world

• Very little progress because most scholars believed that all true knowledge must fit with Church teachings

Song of Roland

• Popular poem• Author unknown• Based on real

event during Charlemagne’s reign

• Praises the courage of one knight against Muslims in Spain

• Roland sacrifices his life for honor

Poem of the Cid

• Spain’s great epic• Battle against Muslim

forces• The Cid was Rodrigo

Diaz, a bold and fiery Christian lord who battle Muslims in Spain

The Divine Comedy

• Written by Dante Alighieri

• Imaginary journey through hell and purgatory, and heaven

• “Abandon all hope, all ye who enter here”

• Talks with people from history

• Humor, tragedy, quest for religious understanding

• Summarizes Christian ethics

Canterbury Tales

• Geoffrey Chaucer• English pilgrims traveling

to Thomas Becket’s tomb• Character sketches that

each tell a story including a knight, a plowman, a merchant, a miller, a nun, the “wife of bath”

• Funny, romantic, bawdy• Gives a vivid picture of

medieval life

Architecture

• Flying buttresses

Gothic Architecture• pointed arches• ribbed vault • flying buttresses  • made church much larger

and brighter • transferred weight of

ceilings to the flying buttresses

• Allowed the use of huge stain glass windows in the walls

• transformed into a very bright and warm   

• reflected increased wealth and influence 

• Some took over a century to build.   

Architecture: Romanesque vs. Gothic

Art• sculptures• stained glass

windows• Illuminated

manuscripts

What Led to the End of Medieval Society?

• Factor 1: The Great Schism

• Factor 2 The Bubonic Plague

• Factor 3: The Hundred Years War

#1The Great Schism:

• When and how did the Great Schism Begin?– 1305– College of Cardinals chose a French pope

who moved Rome to Avignon, France

#1The Great Schism

• When and how was the Great Schism resolved?– 1417– Council of Constance elected a new pope to

replace the 3 popes who had been forced to resign

#1 The Great Schism

• How did the Great Schism affect medieval life?– Weakened the church

The Black Death • Other small plagues had come and gone but one strain survived

• 1200’s Mongol armies took control of China

• 1348, all of Europe decimated (Italy, Spain, France, and England)

• One in three died

• 25 million people died in just under five years

What caused it?

• Bubonic plague came from Infected fleas on rats

• Crowded cities in China spread it

• Rats on clothes, packs, ships, fleas on rats, rats in homes

• India, Mesopotamia, Syria, Armenia, Cairo devastated

Social Upheaval

• Terror, no cure, some turned to magic, some to wild pleasures

• Some thought it was God’s punishment, some blamed the Jews,

• Normal life broke down• The Decameron by

Boccaccio described how people turned against each other in their fear

#2 The Bubonic Plague

• Where did the plague begin and how did it spread?– Asia– Spread to Europe through trade

Economic Effects

• Production declined• Survivors demanded higher

wages• Inflation soared• Landowners and merchants

pushed for laws to limit wages• Landowners converted

cropland to sheep raising-required less labor

• Villages sought work in towns• Guild refused to accept new

members• Explosive revolts• Took 100 years to recover

#2 The Bubonic Plague

• What were some economic effects of the plague?– Severe decline in population and trade– Higher prices– Peasant revolts– Decline in manorial system

How did Black Death affect the Church?

• Spiritual crisis• Scandal• Divisions

– Pope in Avignon reigned lavish & corrupt (Babylonian Captivity)

– 1378, reformers established “their” pope in Rome

– Led to a schism– 1417, Council at

Constance ended the crisis

#2 The Bubonic Plague

• How did the plague affect the Church?– Church lost power and prestige when prayer

and penances failed to stop it.

Hundred Years War1337-1453

• Rivalry between England and France over Norman ancestral lands

• Edward III claimed throne of France

• Economic rivalry and growing national pride

#3: The Hundred Years War

• What was the primary reason for the war?– English claims to the French throne

English Victories

• 1346- Crecy• 1356- Portiers• 1415-Agincourt• Longbow-6 ft. long vs.

cross-bow• 3 arrows to one• Pierced armor

French Cannon

• Helped capture English held castles and defeat England’s armies.

• By 1453, English held only the port of Calais in northwestern France

#3: The Hundred Years War

• What was the outcome of the war?– French eventually won– English left France except for the port city of

Calais

What were the Effects of the Hundred Years War?

• Set England and France on different paths• France-growing sense of national feeling and

allowed French Kings to expand their power• English kings had to ask for money from

Parliament-gave it more power• Loss of French lands meant no continental

empire for England• Longbow and cannon undermined need for

knights and castles• Now, Kings needed large armies, not feudal

vassals

#3: The Hundred Years War

• How did the war affect medieval society?– Age of chivalry died and an emerging sense

of nationalism replaced feudal loyalties

Who was John Wycliffe?

• English preacher who challenged attacked corruption of Church

• Bible not the Church was the source of Christian truth

• Translated the bible into English

• Jan Hus led a similar campaign in Bohemia (Czech Republic)

• Hus was burned at the stake for heresy

Joan of Arc

• 1429, appeared at the court of Charles VII

• God sent her to save France

• Led the French to many victories 1429-1431

• Taken captive by English allies and placed on trial for witchcraft

• Convicted and burned at the stake

• Rallied the French