The document provides an overview of the Middle Ages in Europe from 500-1500 AD. It describes the collapse of the Roman Empire and emergence of feudal systems and nation states. Key events included the spread of Christianity, rise of the Franks and Carolingian Empire, development of feudalism and manorialism, and growth of centralized monarchies in places like England and France in the High Middle Ages. Society was divided into three estates of clergy, nobility, and peasants. Chivalry and the Catholic Church also played important roles during this period.

1. The Middle Ages
500-1500
By Mr. Jack

2.  Book pages 285-300, 314-316

3. Collapse of Classical Europe
 The Roman Empire in the west relied on
slaves, which stifled innovation and social
growth.
 Classical civilization collapsed so totally in
Europe that it never recovered.
 However, the new culture of Europe carried
remnants of the old Roman and Greek world.

4. Early Middle Ages 500-1000
Dark Ages, Age of Faith, city life gone, illiteracy,
constant war with barbarians or with other tribes,
Christianity spread Monasteries
High Middle Ages 1000 – 1250
Rise of Feudalism, supremacy of Pope and
Catholic Church, chivalry, mannerism
Late Middle Ages: 1250 – 1500
Rise of Kings, Nation States, revival of learning

5. Dark Ages 500-1000
Near total anarchy and lawlessness. Education,
town and city life and trade gone.

6. Warriors and Warbands in the West
 Groups by languages and little else
 Celtic: Gauls, Britons, Bretons (Irish, Scotland, Wales, etc
today)
 Germanic: Goths, Frank, Vandals, Saxons (British, Germans,
Netherlands, Czech Rep today)
 Slavic: Wends (Russians, Poland, Latvia, etc today)

8.  Schools, trade, roads, building tech all but
disappeared in western Europe.

9.  The German tribes break down into thousands of
warring states .

10. Life degraded to brutality not seen since the Neolithic Age.

11. Small communities
 Non warrior people fled to anyone who could protect
them. Warriors build up forts to protect people who
become serfs.


12. Germanic tribal traditions
 1. Individualism and equality based on fighting
ability.
 2. Tribes elected their chiefs or kings.
 3. Kings job to lead in raids and plunder and to
divide up plunder.
 4. Remained king until killed in battle, or by
another tribesman.
 5. King divided up conquered lands to sons.

13. Family the crucial social bond
 Extended families worked together and
provided protection.
 Groups of families formed clans and tribes.

14.  The Kingdom of the Franks (France today)
provide some stability under the
 Merovingian 481-751
 Carolingian 751-814 dynasties

16. Merovingians
481-751 Leaders of the Frankish Tribes
 Clovis I united the tribes and expanded territory
 He converted to Christianity
 And the Roman Catholic Church
 Supported him
Baptism of Clovis
Washes away Original Sin of Eve

17. Merovingians
 They founded and
built many
monasteries,
churches and
palaces

18. The Spread of Christianity
Pope Gregory Great
590-640
Rome sends Bishops and
Monks to spread
Christianity.
Sing Gregorian Chants
Gregorian calander
Sends out St Augustine to Angle
land (First Archbishop of
Canterbury) to convert the
Anglo Saxon barbarians.
St Patrick converts the Irish Celtic
tribes of Ireland.

19. Catholic Monks
 Monks swore an oath of celibacy, poverty, and obedience to the Pope

 400 -700 monasteries (abbey) converted people to Christianity.
 Strict codes of monastic conduct called Rule of St. Benedict

22. cloister

23. A Medieval BenedictineMonk’s Day

24. Catholic Nuns
 Nuns, women who devote their lives to the Church,
had a life of chastity, charity, and community work..

25.  They live in a nunnery led by a mother superior
or abbess.

26. A Medieval Monastery: The Scriptorium
Literacy survived at
the monasteries and
nunneries.

28. Illuminated Manuscripts
Books became works of art.

33. Romanesque architecture
Thick walls small or no windows, thick walls.

34. Romanesque Churches - Interiors

35. Church of Saint Sernin, Toulouse

36. France: Saint-Gilles-du-Gard
Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Gilles, 1140 AD

37. Benedictine Abbey Church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine

38. Tympanum and south portal of St.- Pierre, Moissac. c. 1115-
1135

39.  Most structures collapsed as nobody remembered
how to build out of brick or stone.

40.  Most structures made of wood, like this King’s
Hall.

42.  They used old Roman structures for protection.
 S s

43.  He wrote the Salic Law – put a financial
value to everyone and everything; wergild.
Trail by ordeal
Medieval justice held that the
Christian god would not
allow an innocent person to
be hurt.
Clovis I

44. Warriors could demand Trial by battle
 The Christian God would support the innocent side,
“might makes right”.

45. Merovingians
 Kings divided their kingdom
between their sons
 For example Clovis divided the
kingdom between his 4 sons

46. Merovingians
 So by the time of his grandsons
10 small kingdoms fighting
each other .
 They spoke a mixture of
Frankish and Latin, which
became French (Romance
Languages French, Italian,
Spanish)

47. Merovingians
 The top warriors soon had huge fortunes. Those with
the biggest amounts of land called a Duke or Count
 Mayors of the Palace in charge of a King’s dwelling
also increased.
 Theoretically, they had to provide warriors for the
King’s army.
 Eventually, the King’s power declined as that of local
lords expanded

48. Carolingians
 Charles Martel , a count, dominated Frankish
kingdom during the 700’s
 Nicknamed the Hammer
 He invented the knights
 A two Mercedes Benz man
 War horse=1 Benz
 Armor=1 Benz

49. Charles Martel stopped the armies of the Islamic
Umayyad Caliphate from invading further into
Europe
X Tours

50. At the battle of Tours 732

51. Carolingians
Charles Martel expanded
Frankish territory and ruled
without a King after 737. He
supported the reform of
monasteries.
He divided up the empire
between his sons, but his son
Pepin soon became King.

52. Pepin the Short 751-768

Charles's son and mayor of the Palace became King with the
help of the Pope. Pepin continued Church reforms,
expanded Frankish territory and established the
Carolingian dynasty.

53. Pepin the Short 751-768

Pope Steven II (752-757) asked for Pepin’s
military aid against the Langobards, which Pepin
gave.
 Pepin received the title “protector of the Romans”

54. Pepin the Short 751-768
 In addition to military protection, Pepin gave the Pope lands
in Italy “the donation of Pepin”.
 These lands gave the Pope much needed resources, but
would prevent Italy from uniting until the 19th Century.

55. The Pope had forged the
“Donation of Constantine”
 Popes justified temporal power, until Lorenzo
Valla proved it was a forgery in the 15th C.

56. Charlemagne
King of the Franks
and Emperor of the
Holy Roman Empire
742 - 814

57. Let my armies be the
rocks and the trees and
the birds in the sky.
—Charlemagne

59. By the Sword and Cross
 Charlemagne waged war for
30 years in Europe, he
executed tribes that would
not convert to Christianity.
 He became master of
Western Europe.
 He restored some learning
and much order to Europe.

60. •Charlemagne increased the power
of the pope. Peasants and serfs had
to pay a tax be paid annually to the
church (10% of one’s income = a
tithe).
• Charlemagne helped the Pope
• The Pope helped Charlemagne
• Declared Emperor

61. Charlemagne’s Coronation
 Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Holy Roman
Emperor on Christmas day 800.

62. Charlemagne’s Coronation
 Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Holy Roman
Emperor on Christmas day 800.

64. The CarolingianRenaissance

65. Carolingian Renaissance
 His chief advisor and Bishop
Alcuin could read Latin and
some Greek .
 While Charlemagne could not
write, he needed literate men
to run the empire so he
supported literacy.
 He coined money, helped
trade and business, and spread
better farming methods.

66. Alcuin of York
The Carolingian Renaissance
•Charlemagne built churches
and monasteries which will
be centers of learning
•Alcuin of York ran a school
for the children of nobles at
Aachen
•Charlemagne and Aachen.flv

68. Carolingian Miniscule
..Charlemagne and Aachen.flv

69. Agricultural revolution provided
much more food.
 The heavy wheeled plough allowed more
land to be turned into farmland.

70. Agricultural revolution
 Horse collar (6th to 9th centuries) allowed
more horse to pull heavy loads.

71. Agricultural revolution
 Horseshoes (9th century)
 Allowed horse or cattle to adapt to rocky terrain,
mountains) and carry heavier loads.

72. Agricultural revolution
 Two field farming, one area not farmed to
replenish soil.

73. Agricultural revolution
 Most large villages had mills to grind grain for
making bread.

74. Agricultural revolution
 Overall, Northern Europeans grow much
stronger and bigger, than the people of the
Mediterranean.

75. Charlemagne divided the
Empire among his sons.
By the Treaty of Verdun,
the Western part became
France, the Eastern the
Holy Roman Empire
(German States), the
middle fought over as the
neither lands.
Treaty of Verdun 843

76.  These broke down into
smaller states and came
under attack by new
waves of barbarians.

77. The Vikings , Muslims, and Hungarians.
The Vikings , Muslims (Saracens), and Magyars (Hungarians).

79. Homework 290 1-6
 end

80. Feudalism
 Increasing violence and lawless countryside
 Weak turn to the strong for protection, strong
want something from the weak
 Feudalism= relationship between those ranked
in a chain of association (kings, vassals,
lords, knights, serfs)
 Feudalism worked because of the notion of
mutual obligation, or voluntary co-operation
from serf to noble
 A man’s word was the cornerstone of social
life
Key terms
 Fief = land given by a lord in return for a
vassal’s military service and oath of loyalty
 Serfs= aka villeins or common peasants who
worked the lords land
 Tithe = tax that serfs paid (tax or rent)
 Corvee= condition of unpaid labour by serfs
(maintaining roads or ditches on a manor)

83. “Feudalism”
 There really was no “feudal system” if that implies a neat
hierarchy of lords and vassals who collectively took charge of
political and military affairs
 Because the feudal hierarchy arose as a makeshift for defense
against invaders, it always had a provisional, ad hoc, and
flexible character
 There was no “system”
 However, medieval European society was characterized by:
 Fragmentation of political power
 Public power in private hands
 Armed forces secured through private contracts

84. Medieval Society
Early Middle Ages (450-1050)
 The country was not governed by the king but by
individual lords who administered their own estates,
dispensed their own justice, minted their own money,
levied taxes and tolls, and demanded military service
from vassals
 Usually the lords could field greater armies than the
king
 In theory the king was the chief feudal lord, but in reality
the individual lords were supreme in their own territory
 Many kings were little more than figurehead rulers

85. Retainers
 The nobles maintained their armies by offering
grants, usually land, to armed retainers
 In exchange for the grants, the retainers
pledged their loyalty and military service to
their lords
 The retainers gained increased rights over their
land, to include the prerogative to pass on their
rights to the heirs

86. Political-Military Relationship
 A close relationship between political and military
authorities developed
 As a result, political authorities and military specialists
merged into a hereditary noble class which lived off the
surplus agricultural production that it extracted from the
cultivators
 Only by tapping into this surplus could the lords and their
retainers secure the material resources necessary to
maintain their control over military, political, and legal
affairs

87. Serfs
 Free peasants sought protection
from a lord and pledged their
labor and obedience in exchange
for security and land to cultivate
 Beginning in the mid 17th
Century, this category became
recognized as serfs– neither fully
slave nor fully free
 Not chattel slaves subject to sale by
their master
 But still owed obligations to the
lords whose lands they cultivated

88. Serfs’ Obligations
 Had the right to work certain lands and to pass those
lands on to their heirs
 In exchange they had to perform labor services and
pay rents in kind (a portion of the harvest, chickens,
eggs, etc)
 Male serfs typically worked three days a week for
their lords with extra services during planting and
harvesting times
 Women serfs churned butter, spun thread, and sewed
clothes for their lords and their families

89. Serfs’ Obligations
 Since the lord provided
the land, the serfs had
little opportunity to
move and had to get the
lord’s permission to do
so
 Even had to pay fees to
marry someone who
worked for a different
lord

90. Manors
 Manors were large estates
consisting of fields, meadows,
forests, agricultural tools,
domestic animals, and serfs
 The lord of the manor and his
deputies provided government,
administration, police services,
and justice for the manor
 Many lords had the authority to
execute serfs for serious
misconduct
 In the absence of thriving cities in
rural areas, manors became
largely self-sufficient
communities

91. Transition to the High Middle Ages
(1050 to 1400)
 The regional stability of the early middle ages allowed local
rulers to organize powerful regional states
 Holy Roman Empire
 Capetian France
 Norman England
 Papal States
 etc
 The kings of England and France used their relationships with
retainees to build powerful, centralized monarchies
 Still no one could consolidate all of Europe under a single
empire

92. Three Estates of Medieval Society
 Those who pray
 The clergy of the
Roman Catholic
Church
 Those who fight
 Nobles
 Those who work
 Peasants
 The result was a society
marked by political,
social, and economic
inequality

93. Chivalry
 Church officials
originally proposed a
chivalric code to curb
fighting within
Christendom
 By the 12th Century,
the ritual by which a
young man became a
knight commonly
included the candidate
placing his sword upon
an altar and pledging
his service to God

94. Chivalry
 With chivalry, warriors were
encouraged to adopt higher ethical
standards and refined manners and
become cultivated leaders of
society
 The chivalric code called for a
noble to devote himself to the
causes of order, piety, and the
Christian faith rather than seeking
wealth and power

95. The Rise of European Monarchies:
England

96. Feudalism
A political, economic, and social
system based on loyalty and
military service.

97. Carcassonne: A MedievalCastle

98. Parts of a Medieval Castle

99. The Road to Knighthood
KNIGHT
SQUIRE
PAGE

100. Chivalry: A Code of Honor andBehavior

101. The Medieval Manor

102. Life on the Medieval Manor
Serfs at work

104. Williamthe Conqueror:
Battle of Hastings, 1066
(BayeauxTapestry)

105. Evolutionof England’s PoliticalSystem
 Henry I:
 William’s son.
 set up a court system.
 Exchequer  dept. of royal finances.
 Henry II:
 established the principle of common law
throughout the kingdom.
 grand jury.
 trial by jury.

106. Evolutionof England’s PoliticalSystem
 Henry I:
 William’s son.
 set up a court system.
 Exchequer  dept. of royal finances.
 Henry II:
 established the principle of common law
throughout the kingdom.
 grand jury.
 trial by jury.

107. MagnaCarta, 1215
 King John I
 Runnymeade
 “Great Charter”
 monarchs were not
above the law.
 kings had to
consult a council of
advisors.
 kings could not tax
arbitrarily.

108. The Beginningsof the British Parliament
 Great Council:
 middle class merchants, townspeople
[burgesses in Eng., bourgeoisie in Fr.,
burghers in Ger.] were added at the
end of the 13c.
 eventually called Parliament.
 by 1400, two chambers evolved:
o House of Lords  nobles & clergy.
o House of Commons  knights and
burgesses.

109. The Rise of European Monarchies:
France

110. GothicArchitecturalStyle
 Pointed arches.
 High, narrow
vaults.
 Thinner walls.
 Flying buttresses.
 Elaborate, ornate,
airier interiors.
 Stained-glass windows.
“Flying” Buttresses

111. Pope Urban II:Preaching a Crusade

112. Setting Out on Crusade

113. ChristianCrusades: East andWest

114. Medieval Universities

115. Oxford University

116. Late Medieval Town Dwellings

117. Medieval Trade

118. Medieval Guilds
Guild Hall
 Commercial Monopoly:
 Controlled membership
apprentice  journeyman  master craftsman
 Controlled quality of the product [masterpiece].
 Controlled prices

119. Medieval Guilds:A Goldsmith’s Shop

120. Crest of a Cooper’s Guild

123. Charlemagne Brings Order to Europe
 Charlemagne launched a 30-year military
campaign to bring order to Europe.
 By 800, he had conquered most of Western
Europe.
 what are now France, Switzerland, Belgium, and
The Netherlands.
 half of present-day Italy and Germany,
and parts of Austria and Spain.
 His strong central government restored much
of the unity of the old Roman Empire, paving
the way for the development of modern
Europe.