The document summarizes the political and social changes in Europe during the Early Middle Ages following the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It describes the decline of stability, infrastructure, and trade. The Catholic Church grew powerful by providing structure, education, and aid where governments could not. The papacy in Rome increased its authority based on the false "Petrine Theory" of papal supremacy. New kingdoms like the Franks emerged, and the Carolingian dynasty came to power with support from the pope.

1. Chapter 8
Part 1

2. Early Middle Ages

 Rome fell to Germanic Barbarian attacks
 With Fall of Roman Empire:
 Stability and order
 Aqueducts, amphitheaters, roads in disrepair
 Productivity and trade declined
 Social classes
 Clergy
 Nobility
 Peasants

3. Growth of Medieval Church

 In the midst of chaos, the church represented stability
and safety
 Order and political leadership
 Authority, power and prestige
 Preserve classical culture (writings & arts)
 Provided inns and hospitals in time of war
 Help poor, sick and needy
 Leading role in education (only place of literacy)
 Good farmers 

4. Roman Catholic Church

 Earthly institution
 It has Biblical truths mixed with human traditions
 Began to give more importance to traditions rather
than Biblical truth
 Concerned with keeping unity NOT inner peace
through a relationship with Jesus Christ
 Wanted more and more people under their control
 People began to look at “the church” for salvation
NOT God

5. Church in Rome

 Grows in power:
 Large and wealthy city
 All other patriarchates are in East
 Antioch- (center for Paul’s missionary journeys)
 Alexandria (center of learning)
 Constantinople (Center of Byzantine empire)
 Jerusalem (beginning of Christian church)
 Leo I (bishop of Rome)
 Convinces Attila the Hun NOT to attack Rome
 People are overjoyed and make him “papa” (pope)

7. “Petrine” Theory

 Rome used this theory to further advance their power
 Based on 2 FALSE assumptions:
 1. Christ appointed Peter as pope over church
 No Biblical evidence
 2. Peter served as bishop of Rome and gave his authority to
followers
 No biblical evidence of Peters importance over other apostles
 Peter = substitute for Jesus
 If this is true, then by Petrine theory ALL POPES of Rome are
substitute for Jesus ( How much power does that give them?)

8. Warriors of the Church

 Church organized like an army
 Clergy = servants of the church
 Joined for many reasons:
 Ambition
 Wealth
 Luxury
 Power
 Get away from personal/family problems
 Organized into different branches of service: secular
and regular

9. Secular (“world”) Regular (renounced world)
• Conducted religious services • Sacrificed personal ambitions
• Administered sacraments • Life of social service
• Took care of business and property of • Retired to life of solitude and study
church • Lived in monastic communities
• Many times mixed personal business • Followed strict regulations
with church business

10.  Benedictine Rule
 Strict regulations on lives of monks
 Manual labor, prayers, study
 Poverty, chastity, obedience
 Missionaries (later made into saints)
 Patrick- Ireland
 Boniface- Germans
 Gregory I
 First great pope
 Expanded power of church
 blinded by superstition and ignorance
 Officially embraced:
 Mass
 Penance
 Purgatory (temporary place of punishment of souls on their way
to heaven)

11. New Western Empire


12. Clovis of the
Franks

 Powerful Germanic People = Franks
 481 AD- Clovis becomes boss
 Takes over most of present day France
 Converts to Christianity (encouraged by
his wife)
 Requires his soldiers to convert too
 Believe God granted him military victory
 Began alliance with Roman Catholic
church
 Benefits for both sides

13. Merovingian House
 Their descendants =
 Clovis dies, leaves land to his sons.
Merovingian House
 Frankish kings became “do nothing kings”
drunkenness, immorality and family strife
 Real power behind the throne was held by MAYOR Of the
PALACE
 Administer palace, military, finances, and government
affairs (Kings just a puppet figure)
 Pepin II mayor of one of great kings in France
 Son- Charles Martel stopped Muslim invasion at Battle of Tours
732 AD

14. Birth of the Carolingian House

 Pepin the Short (son of Charles Martel)
 Mayor of palace & asked pope, “Shouldn't’t I be king since
I am in charge anyways?”
 Pope says yes, and comes to France and crowns Pepin king
 This is the start of the Carolingian House, end of Merovingian
house
 Pope wants Pepin’s help
 Protection against the Lombards in Italy
 Germanic people who invaded Italy and threatened Rome
 Pepin defeats Lombards and gives lands to Pope (become
Papal states

15. 
 Pepin was the first king to be anointed with “holy
oil” by the pope
 This introduced the idea in western thought that
kings have the “divine right” to rule