1. The Middle Ages
• Also known as the Dark Ages because this was when
Western Europe wasn’t the great learned place it was
under the Romans and wasn’t again until the
Renaissance.
• Also known as the medieval period.
• Approximately 500-1500
• Began with the FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE!
• Europe is FRAGMENTED!
2. You’ll recall that when we last left the Roman Empire, it
was in decline, spurred largely by the barbarian
Germanic tribes that were invading the empire.
• By the beginning of the sixth century, the damage was
pretty much done and the western Roman Empire was
no more.
• The invasions caused the following problems:
3. 1.Disruption of Trade
• Centralized Roman authority broke down and with it
went the protection of trade.
• Recall that during the Pax Romana, the Empire was
relatively safe. This enabled widespread, and long-
distance, trade and commerce. Without that Roman
power, though, roads and trade routes were no
longer safe. Without trade and commerce, the
economy tanked.
4. 2.Downfall of Cities
• Cities got a double-whammy. First, with the trade
disruption, cities were no longer the vital economic
centers they once were.
• Second, with the breakdown of central Roman
authority, cities were no longer needed as centers of
governmental administration.
5. 3.Population Shifts
• With the cities no longer the important places they
once were, people started migrating into the
country.
6. 4.Decline of Learning
• The barbarians weren’t very good with the fancy
reading and writing.
• The Germanic languages started becoming
important, but they lacked a writing system.
• Important stuff was all in Latin, or more likely,
Greek. The science and philosophy of the ancients
started getting ignored. The barbarians didn’t have
much use for it anyway.
7. 5.Loss of a Common Language
• As the old Empire was divided up among the
different barbarian tribes, the Latin language started
evolving differently in the different regions.
• The changes came partly from the separation among
the peoples as well as the influence of the Germanic
peoples living in the particular areas.
• The dialects became the Romance languages.
8. 6.Decline of Infrastructure
• All the great public works fell into disrepair: the
aqueducts, the public baths, libraries, arenas, etc.
• The barbarian overlords didn’t really destroy them,
they just didn’t see the need to maintain them.
• In most cases, due to the lack of centralized
authority and tax collection abilities, they didn’t
have the means or money to maintain them
anyway.
• It didn’t help that these things were mainly located
in cities, which, as we have seen, were largely
abandoned.
9. The Church
• The Roman Catholic Church was the one centralized
institution that remained from the Empire.
• It was also the only literate one.
• Since literacy was necessary for the practice of the
religion, the clergy was able to read.
• Provided some kind of stability in the chaos.
10. The beginnings of feudalism
• Without the centralized government, there was no one
entity responsible for taxing, administering law and
services, fielding a military, etc.
• Instead, these responsibilities started falling to local or
regional nobles. They would give land and/or titles to
people (later known as knights) who would in turn
pledge their allegiance and military skill to the noble.
• In turn, peasants worked the land, often as serfs
who were bound to the land.
• This replaced slavery which also largely
disappeared with the Empire.
12. • Was aided by the fact that the Germanic peoples were
tribal, fiercely independent, but fiercely loyal to their
local tribal leaders. This made small government easy,
but large centralized governments nearly impossible.
13. Various Frankish Kings (Clovis, Charles “The Hammer”
Martel, and Pepin the Short), and Charlemagne
• Pepin’s son Charles (henceforth known as
Charlemagne: Charles the Great) becomes king in 771.
• His contemporary biographer described him thus:
• Charles was large and strong, and of lofty stature, though not
disproportionately tall (his height is well known to have been seven
times the length of his foot); the upper part of his head was round,
his eyes very large and animated, nose a little long, hair fair, and face
laughing and merry. Thus his appearance was always stately and
dignified, whether he was standing or sitting; although his neck was
thick and somewhat short, and his belly rather prominent; but the
symmetry of the rest of his body concealed these defects. His gait was
firm, his whole carriage manly, and his voice clear, but not so strong
as his size led one to expect.
15. • Charlemagne built an empire greater than any that had
existed since the fall of Rome.
• Charlemagne also spread Christianity
• In 800, Pope Leo III crowned him emperor in Rome
(pretty big deal that the pope claimed the right to give
the title “Roman Emperor” to a European King.)
• Limited the authority of the nobles
• Encouraged learning
• Weak sons (3) divided the empire , which led to the
loss of central authority and the beginning of feudalism.
16.
17. • The crown used to coronate Charlemagene
continued to be used in French coronation
ceremonies up until the late 1700’s when it was
destroyed during the French Revolution.
• Interestingly, when Napoleon became emperor of
the French in 1804, he specifically crowned
himself, instead of the pope doing it, in order to
demonstrate the pope was not his overlord.
18. • His body was moved a couple of times, but the remains
now reside in this casket.
20. • Oh, and in the 1700’s, they
measured his bones and found that
he was about 6’4”.
21.
22. Thus we see the beginnings of feudalism
• Western Europe was getting invaded by Vikings from
the north, Magyars from the east, and Muslims from
the south.
• Since there wasn’t a central authority who could take
charge and repel invaders, defense became a more
localized matter.
23. Feudalism
• System based on land-ownership
• Political, Economic (manor) AND Social
system!
• Loyalty = PROTECTION
25. The Church
• A powerful force
among the weak
governments of
Medieval Europe!
• Structure:
• POPE (Rome)
• Cardinals (Rome)
• Bishops-Supervised
priests, helped settle
disputes over
teachings/practices
• Priests-worked
directly with the
people
26. Church Authority
• Religious-provided
spiritual beliefs ands
guidelines
• Political-created system
of justice
• Canon Law-Law of the
Church-applied to kings
and peasants alike in
matters of marriage and
religious practices
• Excommunication/Interdic
tion
• Lay Investiture-Big
Problem (Kings/Nobles
appointing Church
officials)
• Power struggle
