Megan Mallory

 

World History E-Core

 

Period 5

 

7 October 2004

 

 

Chapter 8 Outline

 

1. A Land of Great Potential
1. The Location of Europe is on the western end of Eurasia, and the seas that lie around it allow a great potential for trade.
2. Europe’s many rivers were ideal for trade and exploration while they also provided food and other resources.
3. Europe was covered with rich, black earth and dense forests that provided it with many resources.
2. Germanic Kingdoms
1. The farmers and herders migrated to Germany and they had no cities or written laws.
2. Their first king came to power in 431 (Clovis) and became known as “King of the Franks”.
3. Clovis converted to Christianity, earned support of the Gauls, and gained a powerful ally-the Roman Catholic Church.  
3. Islam: A New Mediterranean Power
1. Islam emerged in Arabia in 632, and within 200 years Muslims created a new civilization.
2. The Muslims overran Christian kingdoms in North Africa, Spain, and France.
3. Fortunately the Muslims never advanced further than Western Europe.
4. The Age of Charlemagne 
1. “Charles the Great” ruled for 46 years
2. He helped defeat the Romans, and in doing so, the pope crowned Charles and proclaimed him “emperor” of Rome
3. He worked closely with the Church, and had the help of nobles to rule local regions.
5. A Revival of Learning
1. Charlemagne himself could read but not write
2. He saw the need for officials who could keep clear records and accurate reports
3. To ensure that there was a supply of educated officials, Charlemagne created a palace school at Alcuin that taught rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy
6. Charlemagne’s Legacy
1. Charlemagne died in 814, and soon afterwards, his empire fell apart
2. In 843 his grandsons drew up the Treaty of Verdun, and split the empire into 3 regions
3.  He did accomplish, however, the blending of German, Roman, and Christian traditions.
7. New Attacks
1. In 896 a new wave of nomadic people from Magyars settled in what is now Hungary and from there they overran all of Europe
2. They were known as the Vikings; they plundered Germany, France, and Italy
3. On top of being fierce warriors and pirates, they created many trade routes that would be used in future years to come
8. A New System of Rule
1. Feudalism was a loosely organized system of rule in which powerful landlords divided their large landholdings among the lesser landlords.
2. This system was evolved from the land that the Vikings had invaded and taken over
3. Muslims, Magyars, and Vikings were too weak to maintain law and order, and so a new system called feudalism developed
9. Lords, Vassals, and Knights
1. Everyone had a place in the Feudal society
2. On top of the chart was the monarch, below them were the lords, below them were the lesser lords, below them were the knights, and below them were the peasants
3. Each of the lords had their own vassals, and many of these vassals had their own vassals, so the social classes can get very complicating
10. The World of Warriors
1. Many nobles trained from boyhood for a future occupation as a knight

                                                               i.      At the age of 7 a boy was sent to the castle of his father’s lord

                                                             ii.      Training finished when the boy was about 21

2. Noblewomen took control of the house and vassals while their sons and husbands were off fighting; some women even got into politics
3. Chivalry was adopted as a code of conduct in the middle ages that required knights to be brave, loyal, and true to their word

                                                               i.      Chivalry applied only to nobles, not to commoners

                                                             ii.      This code called for women to be protected and cherished

11. The Manor
1. Most manors include one or more villages that surrounded it
2. Most medieval manors were self sufficient, and the peasants produced almost everything they needed
3. A typical manor consisted of a few dozen one-room huts, a water mill to grind grain, a tiny church, and the manor house
12. Daily Life
1. Serfs worked according to the seasons

                                                               i.      In spring and autumn, they harvested

                                                             ii.      At other times, they weeded, repaired fences, and performed chores

2. They celebrated marriages or births, Christian holidays, and weeks off of work
3.    On Sabbath, peasants might attend chapel; afterwards they would have parties
12. A Spiritual and Worldly Empire
1. The pope was the spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic church
2. Medieval Christians believed that they could achieve salvation through faith in Christ and through sacraments
3. Anyone who refused to obey the Church law faced a range of penalties that included excommunication (they could not participate in sacraments)
13. The Church and Daily Life
1. For peasants, religion was linked to the routines of their daily life which were attending village churches, baptisms of their children, and marriages
2. To support itself, the Church required that all Christians pay a tithe, and the Church used the tithe to help the poor
3. The Church tried to protect women by setting a minimum age for marriage, and fined men who seriously injured their wives
14. Monks and Nuns
1. In 530 a monk named Benedict founded the monastery of Monte Cassino in Italy
2. As a monk or nun, you must take a vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience to the abbot
3. Some monks and nuns ventured out into the world as missionaries
15. Hildegard of Bingen: Advisor to Popes and Kings
1. Hildegard was sent to a covenant at an early age, and decided to become a nun
2. She had supposedly had a vision when she was very young, and she had more visions while she was head of the covenant
3. Popes, emperors, kings, and queens sought her advice
16. Reform Movements
1. In the early 900s Abbot Berno, a monk from France, set out to end abuses by not allowing nobles to interfere in the running of the monastery.
2. In 1073, a new pope, Gregory VII extended Berno’s reforms throughout the entire Church and outlawed marriage for priests
3. Some women who called themselves the Beguines supported themselves through their weaving and embroidering; they ministered to the poor and set up hospitals and shelters
17. Jews in Western Europe
1. The Mediterranean, or Sephardic, Jews flourished in Spain
2. Most often, Christians persecuted Jews , and as the Christian faith increased, the Jews were increasingly being barred from owning land or occupations
3. The Church blamed the death of Jesus on the Jews, thus creating the foundations for anti-Semitism
18. An Agricultural Revolution
1. By about 800 peasants had started using new iron plows that helped them carve into the heavy soil of northern Europe
2. They also learned how to use a new kind of harness that allowed peasants to use horses rather than oxen to pull their plows
3. Peasants adopted the three-field system where they would plant one field in grain, a second in legumes, and the third unplanted. 
19. Trade Revives
1. There were new trade routes set up from remote place like the middle east and Asia that allowed Europe to exchange their goods for new, exotic goods that they could sell for more money
2. Trade Fairs took place in surrounding villages, and as the peasants ate and drank, the nobles purchased expensive goods and luxurious prizes
3. In newly developed towns, the merchants who set up a town asked the local lord for a charter; while charters would vary from place to place, they almost always granted townspeople the right to choose their own leaders
20. A Commercial Revolution
1. As trade revived, money reappeared
2. To meet the needs of changing economy, many merchants joined together as a partnership

                                                               i.      Some also developed a system of insurance to help reduce business risk

3. By 1000 a new class appeared that included merchants, traders, and artisans
21. Role of Guilds
1. Merchant guilds dominated life in medieval towns; they passed laws, levied taxes, and decided whether to spend funds to pave the streets with cobblestones, etc.
2. To become a member of a guild, one had to become an apprentice by the age of 7
3. A woman could engage in the same trade as her father or husband and might inherit their occupation if they died
22. City Life
1. Medieval cities were surrounded by high, protective walls, and as the city grew, space between the walls grew to be less and less
2. Inside of the walls the city was a jumble of narrow lined streets lines with tall houses.
3. During the day, the streets echoed with noise and energy while at night they were empty
23. Looking Ahead
1. By 1300, Western Europe was a very different place than what it had been in the early middle ages
2. New riches had revived the social structure, and brought Europeans into contact with civilization much more advanced than their own
3. From these lands came products, ideas, and technologies that would spark an even greater transformation in how Europeans thought and lived.