Global 13 – Flashcard Test Questions

medieval period of European history that began with the gradual decline of the Roman Empire It had its roots in (1)The classical heritage of Rome (2)The beliefs of RCC (3)The customs of various Germanic tribes

Germanic invaders overran the Western half of the Roman Empire Repeated invasions caused changes in economy, gov't, and culture: Disruption of trade, Downfall of cities, Population shifts to rural Decline of learning - Germanics couldn't read Loss of common language - various languages evolved from Latin

germanic kingdoms replace roman provinces and borders changed constantly the church stayed & provided order and security germans were held together by family ties and personal loyalty small communities with no centralized laws

leader of the Franks in Gaul formed relationship with RCC and converted 3000 of his warriors Church welcomed him and supported his military campaigns to spread Frankish empire Clovis united the Franks into one kingdom and started alliance between Franks and RCC

1st Germanic tribe to convert to christianity

Church and Frankish rulers sent missionaries throughout Germanic Kingdoms RCC began building monasteries for monks throughout Europe st. benedict - wrote a book on guidelines on monastic life

became Pope in 590 expands authority/power of the papacy The papacy became a secular power involved in politics He named himself head of roman govt, raised an army, negotiated peace treaties, gave military support to allies he started trend of popes in middle ages being more than religious leaders

most Germanic tribes were small, franks controlled largest kingdom Clovis died in 511 followed by 20 years of inactivity

"major domo" (mayor of the palace) in control of franks Achievements: (1) extended Frankish empire borders north south and east (2) defeats Muslim invaders in battle of tours where he drove Muslims out of France to preserve Christianity His son took over after death

son of Charles Martel. took over after his death he cooperated with the pope and agreed to fight the lombards that threated Rome. In return Pope named him KING BY THE GRACE OF GOD He started the Carolingian Dynasty - family that ruled the franks Died and left dynasty to 2 sons, Carloman died, Charles took power and became Charlemagne

very tall responsible for building an empire in Europe size not seen since Ancient Rome Defeated Spanish Muslims Defeated other Germanic tribes nd took their land Extended Frankish empire to S & W He spread Christianity Reunited W. Europe for 1st time since Rome fell By 800 empire was larger than byzantine empire (going on at the same time) He traveled to Italy nd put down rebellion against Pope Leo III. Then named Roman Emperor He strengthens his power by decreasing power of nobles (centralized power) He sent out royal agents(counts) to assist him in governing. they were powerful land owners He maintained a presence and visited every corner of his empire He established palace schools for kids of wealthy and surrounded himself with scholars Commanded that monasteries and convents establish schools to teach reading and writing 814 - he was dying and gave crown to his oldest son - Louis the Pious

very religious but ineffective ruler Split the empire between his 3 sons: Lothair, Charles he Bald, Louis the German They fought for control of Charlemagne's Frankish Empire then signed a treaty

signed by Lothair, Charles the Bald, Louis the German after Louis the Pious died and thy fought for control it divided empire into 3 kingdoms Results = Carolingian Kings lost power, central authority broke down, lack of strong leaders led to FEUDALISM As each Kingdom broke down, feudalism prospered in the 3 regions

800 - 1000 invasions destroyed the Carolingian Empire After fall of Rome, Charlemagne brought Europe back until 3 waves of invasions occurred - Vikings, Magyars, Muslims

invaded from north from Scandinavia Germanic tribe, warlike and vicious known for seafaring (ferocious soldiers) attack and then moved out to sea again Warriors, traders, farmers, and explorers Terror faded away, gradually accepted Christianity, warming trend caused them to stay north in Scandinavia, invasions declined

nomadic people attacked from east expert horsemen swept across plains and invaded western Europe took captives to sell as slaves

came from south across Mediterranean expert seafarers that planned to conquer and settle in Europe and plunder

1) caused disorder and suffering 2) central power declined - people turned to local rulers with their own armies that fought invaders 3)Feudalism began

Barbarian Invasions caused fall of Western Roman Empire Rise of new Kingdoms, not united, weak, open to invasion, led to a need for localized protection led to a rise of Feudalism in Europe

system of protection based on rights and obligations. Involved exchange of land for protection and loyalty In exchange for military protection and other services, a lord granted a fief to someone This 2 sided bargain depended on control of land

person receiving land or fief

landowner

1. King 2. Lords and Nobles 3. Knights 4. Serfs

leader of kingdom/state All nobles lords and knights swore to protect the land for him

swore loyalty to the king and protected fiefs most powerful vassals - wealthy landowners

mounted horsemen that protected the land in exchange for fiefs

landless peasants who toiled in the fields bound to the land, received pay, couldn't leave NOT slaves, couldn't be bought or sold

Lord's estate. manor system rested on set of rights and obligations between lord and serfs largely self sufficient community

peasants paid high taxes lord had to approve weddings and taxed them - tithe-church tax. Tithe represented one tenth of their income very crowded for serfs --> terrible living conditions--> many diseases avg. life span - 35 yrs. Serfs believed god determined everyone's place in society

During the Middle Ages nobles and lords feuding caused a violent society that prized combat skills a code of behavior that guided warriors actions began to arise

leather saddles and stirrups for horses - mounted knights became most important part of army lord would raise private army of knights and would give them land Knights became a very wealthy class. Expected to serve in battle& display courage and loyalty

informal code of behavior of how knights are supposed to behave demanded a knight fight bravely in defense of three masters: earthly feudal lord, heavenly lord, and chosen lady also protect weak and poor

themes of medieval literature downplayed brutality of knighthood and warfare Feudal Lords listened to epic poetry about legendary heroes

Traveling poet-musicians at the castles and courts of Europe

could inherit an estate from her husband, send his knights to war, act as military commander and warrior when husband was gone, played a key role in defending castles daughters educated by tutors mostly limited lives, stayed at home, little property, inferior to men

endless labor at home and fields took care of family young girls learned household skills poor and powerless their economic contributions were essential to survival of peasant household

church emerged as a powerful institution amid the weak central governments in feudal Europe as it expanded its political role, rulers questioned popes authority - caused tension between popes and emperors peoples lives revolved around church - they were devoutly catholic Church controlled everything: religious, political, economic, military, social

different ranks of clergy or religious officials 1. Pope headed Church, all clergy followed 2. bishops - supervised priests 3. priests - lowest ranking religious officials that dealt with pubic 4. lay people - uneducated members of the church with no title. obeyed their priests

feudalism and maors divided people, shared belief in RCC brought them together. stable force provided them with security people could follow a path to salvation and receive sacraments

served as a religious and social center unifying people

church authority was religious and political created a system of justice to guide peoples conduct. used excommunication to wield power over political rulers

Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor in 800, he started conflicts between future popes and emperors.

if a king / lord violated canon law, everyone in his kingdom was excommunicated

most effective leader of Medieval Germany followed Charlemagne's policies, formed close alliance with church gained support of clergy, dominated church in Germany Invaded Italy for the Pope and was crowned emperor He created the Roman Empire of the German Nation / Holy Roman Empire caused trouble for future German leaders , popes and Italian nobles hated German power over Italy

Church wasn't happy Kings (Otto) had control over clergy and their offices, and lay investiture - kings and nobles appointed church officials

He banned lay investiture in 1075 Angry German Emperor named Henry IV called meeting of German bishops he appointed and ordered Gregory to step down Gregory then excommunicated Henry. Henry begged for forgiveness and was forgiven

successors of Gregory and Henry continued to fight over lay investiture 1122 - Church reps and Emperor met in German city of Worms and reached a compromise - Church could appoint a bishop, emperor could veto it.

"Barbarossa" strong ruler in Germany, first to call his lands the HRE He dominated German princes and invaded Italy Angered Pope and Italian merchants joined alliance against him called Lombard League. They faced fred's army then made he made peace with the Pope, returned to Germany, 1190 his empire FELL

German Kings after Frederick attempted to revive Charlemagne's empire and alliance with RCC This led to wars with Italy and clashes with the Pope. These conflicts were a reason why the feudal states of Germany didn't unify during the Middle Ages. While French and English Kings were establishing strong central authority, German rulers controlled fewer royal lands