Unit 6 Top of Form Bottom of Form Overview The Birth of Europe: The Middle Ages and Italian Renaissance In Unit 6, we will be focusing on the birth of a distinct European culture and its development during the Middle Ages and Italian Renaissance. After the fall of the Roman Empire and the invasion of Germanic tribes, the early Middle Ages witnessed the rise of a patchwork of dynasties in Britain, France, Italy, and Germany, with much of Spain under the control of an Islamic Empire. A unifying force within the diverse European kingdoms was the Catholic Church. In 800 CE, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne, ruler of the Franks, as the Holy Roman Emperor, creating not only a new political entity, but reinforcing the ties between holy and secular authority in Western Europe. During the High Middle Ages (1000 -1300 CE), local dynasties continued to form, with developing nation states in Britain and France, and smaller political entities in Italy and Germany. The economic system that prevailed during the Middle Ages was feudalism, which gave authority to lords, who in turn acted as patrons for vassal knights. The lords and knights provided protection for the peasants and farmers whose labors fueled the feudal system. During these centuries, the papacy became increasingly powerful, leading to the Crusades to retake the Holy Land from the Islamic Empire. The Late Middle Ages (1300-1450) witnessed one of the great crises of world history: the Black Death (1346–53), a plague that swept through Europe, killing over thirty percent of the continent’s population. The Hundred Years War (1337 - 1453) between France and England further changed the political landscape of Europe. Peasant uprisings reshaped the feudal system as did the growth of towns and ultimately urban environments. The fifteenth century Renaissance symbolized Europe’s transition from the Middle Ages to the early modern world, beginning in the city-states of Italy. The Renaissance was a literal rebirth of classical learning, the rediscovery of Greek and Latin texts and ancient art. New philosophical movements, such as humanism, placed mankind, rather than the divine or supernatural, as the central focus of rational thought. The painting and sculpture of the Renaissance embodied these new beliefs as well as the revival of ancient art forms. By the end of this unit, you will be able to: 1. Compare and contrast the political, economic, and social characteristics that define the Middle Ages. 2. Analyze the changing role and relationship between the church and various European states throughout the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance Era. 3. Describe how politics, culture, and art of the Italian Renaissance differed from that of the Middle Ages. The image to the left is linked to an interactive map where you can see the approximate geographical location and learn more information about the civilizations discussed in this unit. If you are accessing this course from the Blackboard mobile application ...