World History:The Earth and its Peoples

Chapter 9

Christian Europe Emerges,

300 - 1200 C.E.

Objectives

• Understand the political and economic development of Western Europe during the medieval period and be able to undertake a critical analysis of the term “feudalism.”

• Be able to explain the development and the significance of Roman Catholic dogma, the hierarchical system of the Roman church, and the monastic movement.

• Be able to compare the medieval Western society, politics, culture, and religion with those of the Byzantine Empire.

• Understand the respective roles of the Varangians, Vladimer I, and the Byzantine Empire in the rise of the Kievan state.

• Be able to discuss the possible causes of the European recovery of 1000-1200.

• Be able to explain the causes of the Crusades and discuss their consequences in Europe and the Middle East.

Early Medieval Europe

Roman Decline - 5th century– legal framework disappears

• rise of Germanic traditions– family-based law

– political fragmentation• loss of allegiance• rise of local strongmen

– weak dependence on strong

Germanic Kingdoms– Franks, Visigoths, Lombards– Saxons and Angles

• competition for bishop of Rome– Latin - priests and monks

• Linguistic zones– Romance, Germanic, Slavic

Early Medieval Europe

Defending Medieval Europe– Arabs / Berbers in Spain - 711– Tours, France - 732

• Charles Martel - Carolingian• Charlemagne - 800

– Roman Emperor

– Vikings - 8th - 9th centuries• Scandinavian• coastal towns• Iceland, Greenland, Vinland

– William the Conqueror • Normandy Invasion - 1066

– Angles-Saxons

Early Medieval Europe

Economy• urban to village base• bartering replaces coin

currency• trade languishes• local self-sufficiency

– manors• primary agricultural centers• lords and serfs• work for protection• varied from region to region

• literacy replaced by ‘small traditions’

Early Medieval Society

Mounted Horsemen– stirrups; body armor– heavy, grain-fed horses– hereditary nobility

• fief• vassals

– knighthood limited to land revenue

• Noblewomen– own and inherit property

• administer husband’s estate– enmeshed in feudal obligations

• valued property– no choice in marriage

The Western Church

European Jurisdiction– West: Pope (papacy)– East: Patriarch of Constantinople

• Challenges– disagreement over regulations– clergy marriage– pagan worship– trained clergy

• Structure– patriarchates - 5

• Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria• appoint bishops; church rules

– penitentials• guide for penance of sins

The Western Church

Holy Trinity– Jesus, God, Holy Trinity

• Mary’s relationship• precise form of sacraments• iconic images

– heresy• schism• Monophysite doctrine - E

– divinity of Jesus Christ• Arianism - W

– Jesus as lesser divinity

– orthopraxy• correct practices

– orthodoxy• correct beliefs

Politics and Church

Holy Roman Empire - 962– confederation of German

princes– represent Christian interests

• Debate– investiture controversy

• who appoints bishops• popes versus emperors

– Emperor’s weapon• deposition

– Pope’s weapon• excommunication

• 3 legal traditions– Germanic custom (feudal law)– Christian (canon law)– Roman law

Monasticism

Monasticism– celibacy and obedience; poverty– living apart from society– devotion to prayer

• Most Important Impact– communal living and prayer

• monks or nuns• regular versus secular clergy• Rule of Benedict

• Separation of church / state• Features

– literacy and silence– reshaping of Roman society

Byzantine Empire

Roman Empire - 300 CE– continued pattern of Roman rule – caesaropapism

• the imperial with the papal• all-powerful Christian monarchs

– prevented breakup of empire

Legacy– Corpus Juris Civilis

• Justinian - 527 - 565 CE• basis for civil law in the West

– Architectural• Hagia Sophia

– Writing• Cyrillic

Byzantine Empire

Decline - 1200 CE– military weakness

• Sasanids, Huns, Goths– 300 years with Persia

• Muslims - 2/3 of empire– 7th century on

– Western Europe• schism between East and West

– formal disagreements over church doctrine

• sack of Constantinople - 1204

Society and Urban Life

Economic Transformation - 700– barter replaces money– decline in population / prosperity– local urban class disappears– family power rivals office holders

• technological development– decreased steadily over time

Women– increasingly confined to home– veils; socialized with family

1204 - 1453– loss in prestige to the West– loss of most valuable provinces

Kievan Russia

Kiev– Kiev and Novgorod– Black Sea trade with Byzantine

• Vladimir I– grand prince in 980– chose Orthodox Christianity

• grandness of Constantinople• Islam banned alcohol

– marriage of convenience

• Trade– key to political power

Western Europe Revives

1000-1200 CE• Technological Improvements

– draft harness• horse as primary draft animal• breeding of larger horses

– coulter blade plow

• shift from subsistence farming– money-based exchange

economy– doubling of population

• Italy and Flanders– manufacturing and trade– freedom for serfs in cities– independent of feudal lords– abundant coinage from trade

The Crusades

Crusades - 1100-1200 CE• Muslim control four centuries

– designed to recapture Jerusalem

• Christian pilgrims protected• Battle of Manzikert - 1071

– religiously motivated• Pope atonement of sins

– increase trade and land• Italian merchants; young

knights

• Council of Clermont - 1095– Pope Urban II– call for First Crusade