1. The Early Middle Ages
A. Pope Gregory the Great was thinking about the Lombards which were attacking from the North.
B. Pope Gregory the Great was writing in about AD 600, as waves of invaders swept across Europe.
C. During the early Middle Ages, from about 500 to 1000 AD, Europe was an isolated, backward region largely cut off from the advance civilizations that flourished in the Middle East, South Asia, China and elsewhere.
2. A Land of Great Potential
A. Location- Europe is a relatively small area; it lies on the western end of Eurasia.
B. Resources- At the time of the Middle Ages, dense forests covered much of the north, and the region�s rich black earth was better suited for raising crops than the dry soils around the Mediterranean. Also there were rich minerals underground.
C. Seas that surrounded much of Europe were important because coastal people not only fished; they used the sea as highways of trade and exploration.
3. Germanic Kingdoms
A. The Germanic tribes who migrated across Europe were farmers and herders. Unlike Romans they had no cities and no written law.
B. Between 400 and 700 AD, the Germanic tribes carved up Western Europe into small kingdoms. The strongest and most successful kingdom was that of the Franks.
C. In 481 AD, Clovis, a ruler of great energy and ability, became king of the Franks. Under brilliant but ruthless leadership, the Franks were able to conquer the former Roman province of Gaul.
4. Islam: A New Mediterranean Power
A. Within 200 years Muslims, believers in Islam, had built a great empire and created a major new civilization.
B. The Muslims overran Christian kingdoms in North Africa and Spain, and then headed into France.
C. To European Christians, the Muslim presence caused anxiety and anger, even when Muslim rule was not a threat. Still Europeans did learn a lot from Muslims, especially in science and math.
5. The Age of Charlemagne
A. In 800 the grandson of Charles Martel, Charlemagne, built a great empire reaching across France, Germany, and part of Italy.
B. Late in 800, Pope Leo III called on the Frankish king for help against rebellious nobles in Rome. Charlemagne marched down and crushed the rebellions. To show gratitude, Charlemagne was crowned emperor. This brought unity to the Christians.
C. Charlemagne tried to exercise control over his many lands and create a united Christian Europe. He worked closely with the Church, helping to spread Christianity.
6. A Revival of Learning
A. Charlemagne thought it was important to keep records, and after realizing that even the educated didn�t have great skills he knew he had to do something.
B. To ensure educated officials, Charlemagne set up a palace school at Aachen.
C. Alcuin was a respected scholar who was given the responsibility to run the school. Alcuin set up a curriculum that included the study of grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy.
7. Charlemagne�s Legacy
A. After Charlemagne died in 814, his empire soon fell apart. His heirs battled for power for nearly 30 years.
B. Finally in 843 Charlemagne�s grandson made the treaty of Verdum, which slit the empire into three regions.
C. Even though Charlemagne�s empire crumbled, the great Frankish ruler left a lasting legacy.
8. New Attacks
A. In the 800s the Muslims also conquered Sicily which became a thriving center of Islamic culture.
B. In 896, a new wave of nomadic people, the Magyars settled in what is today Hungary.
C. The most destructive raiders, however, were the Vikings. They crushed the last part of unity in Charlemagne�s empire.
9. Feudalism and the Manor Economy
A. In 1127 Count William had just inherited the rich lands of Flander, in Western Europe.
B. In the Middle Ages ceremonies where a noble pledged oath to new rulers was common.
C. The vows were part of a new political and social system that governed medieval life.
10. A New System of Rule
A. Feudalism is a loosely organized system of rule in which powerful local lords divided their large landholdings among the lesser lords.
B. In exchange for land, theses lesser lords, or vassals, pledged service and loyalty to the greater lord.
C. A lord granted his vassal a fief, or estate. An estate ranged from a few acres to hundreds of square miles and included peasants to work the land, as well as any towns or buildings on the land.
11. Lords, Vassals, and Knights
A. In the feudal system the monarch was the most powerful lord. Also dukes and counts held the largest fiefs.
B. In many cases, the same man was both vassal and lord. He was vassal to a more powerful lord above him and lord to a less powerful vassal below him.
C. A vassal usually had a liege lord to whom he owed his first loyalty. This way, there would be no confusion in having two lords.
12. The World of Warriors
A. At the age of seven a boy was sent to the father�s lord�s castle to be trained and taught to be a knight, or mounted warrior. At the age of about twenty- one, the boy war ready to become a knight.
B. Noblewomen would become the lord of the manor, while her husband or father was off fighting.
C. In the later Middle Ages, knights adopted a code of conduct called chivalry, which required knights to be brave, loyal, and true to their word.
13. The Manor
A. The heart of the medieval economy was the manor, or lord�s estate. Most manors included one or more villages and the surrounding lands.
B. The Peasants and their lords were tied together by mutual rights and responsibilities. Peasants had to work several days a week farming the lord�s domain. They also had to repair the lord�s roads, bridges, and fences. Peasants paid the lord a fee when they married. In return for a lifetime of labor, peasants had the right to farm several acres for themselves. They were also entitled to their lord�s protection from Viking raids or feudal warfare.
C. Peasants produced almost everything they needed, from food and clothing to simple furniture and tools.
