European Middle Ages – Chapter 13, Section 1 – Flashcards

The era in European history that followed the fall of the Roman Empire, lasting from about AD 500 to 1500--also called the Medieval Period

A Germanic people who settled in the Roman providence of Gaul (roughly the area now occupied by France) and established a great empire during the Middle Ages

A religious community of men (called monks) who have given up their possessions to devote themselves to a life of prayer and worship

Concerned with worldly rather than spiritual matters

The reign of Frankish rulers lasting from 751 to 987, starting with Pepin the Short

The son of Pepin the Short. Became king after his father's death in 771

The decline of learning and a loss of a common language

Charlemagne conquered new lands to both the south and east. Through these conquests, he spread Christianity. He reunited western Europe for the first time since the Roman Empire. Charlemagne strengthened his royal power by limiting authority of nobles, encouraged learning, and opened schools taught by monks

I think Charlemagne's greatest achievement was reuniting western Europe because it gave the kingdom more power