Download - Christendom i
Rome had fallen
Lack of Power / Protection / Order…
• Germanic tribes & Magyars expanding
• Caliphate
• Byzantines
• Demons
• Vikings
“In this year fierce, foreboding omens came over the land of the Northumbrians, and the wretched people shook; there were excessive whirlwinds, lightning, and fiery dragons were seen flying in the sky. These signs were followed by great famine, and … on 6th ides of January, the ravaging of wretched heathen people destroyed God's church at Lindisfarne.”
16 mph100 warriors Silent under sail / oarsWolfpacksSea-safe, estuaries, landingSolarsteinn – “sunstone” to navigate /
presence of whales, birds.
80’ x 16’ … 25 mph32 - 100 warriors Silent under sail / oarsFlexible Hull high speed & maneuverabilityMore stable at higher seedWool sails – Elastic, durable, water repellentSea-safe, estuaries, landing at shore
Solarsteinn – “sunstone” to navigate / presence of whales, birds.
Beautifully crafted, Silent, Fast, Shallow-keeled and Flexible: … the highest technology produced in Europe In the Middle Ages!
http://www.history.com/shows/vikings/videos/viking-ships
Viking “Beserkers”
Epic fighters without armor
Day of birth and death chosen for you already…
Valhalla Die a good death in BattleShield Maidens Valkyries chose… RagnarokOdin
Norsemen – Northmen - Normans
”Dark Ages:” 500 -1000
• “Barbarian” Invasions:• Magyars, Huns, Goths,
• Muslims, Mongols…
• VIKINGS!!
• DEMONS!
Fading Impact of Rome:• Institutions, Rule of Law• Roads, Cities• Literature, Learning• Trade
FRANKS• Many different groups of European “barbarians”
• Clovis (481-511)– Frankish chieftain
– Started Carolingian Dynasty
– Military conquest united all Franks
– Converted to Christianity• Strengthened tie to popes
• Pleased Christian wife
• Only clergy were literate…
Charlemagne (768 – 814)
• Started to build a European Christian Empire:– Conquered Spain, Bavaria –
Brought Christianity.
– “Protector of the Pope” • N. Italy – Drove Lombards out of
papal lands.
– Ruled from HORSEBACK!
– Educational Reform – he was illiterate
Service to the King
• Counts (comte) – Counties
– General in each county
• MISSI DOMENICI
– Envoys for the Ruler,
Hand chosen.
– 1 Year appointment
– Traveled in County in pairs
– Personal Character
– Isolated from local
interests so impartial
• Administer justice: court
• Remind religious duty
• Keep records; spies repeated to Principal
• Be the Presence of the King
• Accept Oath of Fealty
Holy Roman Emperor?!• Surprise! Crowned
Christmas Day, 800• Leo III• Why do scholars say he
would not have agreed to accept crown? – There was already an
Emperor of Eastern Rome
– Made him responsible to / for the pope
– Crowning by pope tradition of ruler crowned by cleric/pope.
“Holy Roman Empire”
• Voltaire: “Not holy, not Roman, and not an Empire.”
• Just a “dream” of empire and unity, really…
• Similar to the World of Islam– not an “Empire”
• Meant that Popes LEGITIMIZED/supported /advised Kings… but to what extent???
Other early REGIONAL Medieval Rulers
• Alfred of England (871-899)– Unified England
– Converted to Christianity
• Otto I of Saxony (Germany) – Defeated Magyars
– Extended kingdom into Saxony
– 962 CE – Holy Roman Emperor
– German princes after that!
Monasteries
THE Dominant feature in social & cultural life
Spread ChristianityTeachingRole ModelsSocial ServicesHerbalism, Medicine
ProtectionOrderExpanded AgricultureScriptoria & librariesTrained new monks
Vows: Poverty, Chastity, Obedience
• Benedict of Nursia (480-587)
– Scholastica, for nuns.
• DISCIPLINE & PURPOSE
• Monastic Rules
– NO extreme asceticism
– Absolute direction of Superior
– Manual labor, Prayer, Service to local community, spread of Christianity.
Christianity: 500 – 1000
– Replaced Roman written rule of law, record-keeping, bureaucracy, centralized rule.
– Pope “governed” the “empire” of “Christendom”
– Invaluable connection to Rome legitimacy.
• Latin, and latin-basedlanguages.
– Only educated people were clerics bureaucracy, records.
Pope Gregory I
(The Great)
(590 – 604)
• Monk… may have invented Gregorian Chant • Soldier Pope - Physically
defended Rome from Lombards• “Bishop of Rome = Ultimate
authority in Church”• Sacrament of Penance
– People to confess to priest for absolution
• Missionary campaigns – England. – Converted king of England. By 900,
England had become Catholic. – Successors continued expansion…
Crusades, 1097• Height of Pope’s
Power
• Legitimized Conquest by theHoly Roman Empire
• “Re-take” the Holy Land:WHY?? Reasons & Excuses
• Pope Urban II at dedication ofClermont Cathedral
4. Medieval Power and
Leadership resided in
BOTH
Church and Manor…
Political, Social and Religious organization over lapped.
ECONOMY = AGRICULTURAL
• No cities, towns; RURALwith SELF-SUFFICIENT manors / estates / farms
• NO long distance trade or travel; not much regional trade or travel via rivers
• NO manufacturing, export.
PEASANTS’ / SERFS’ Responsibility Reciprocal Lord Retainer Relationship
Promises: “Implied Social Contract”
Land/Fief/Demesne/Benefice from Lord to Vassal in exchange for service: agricultural, personal, military…
• Rights to land and its produce forever as long as loyal and served lord.
• Lord collected taxes/production.• Peasants/serfs served Lord’s family “first.”• Peasants /serfs provided foot soldiers and
products for warfare.• Peasants / serfs were “good Christians:” went
to Church, received the sacraments, were obedient, moral, truthful, hardworking and looked forward to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Serfdom = Foundation of Manorialism
• NOT CHATTEL; Tied to the land
• Effect of Increased Population?– Foot soldiers– Rise of towns– Conquest for more resources
• Primogeniture– status / right inherited by
ELDEST MALE in LEGITIMATE succession.
– Lords, Vassals – all levels
Lords’ Responsibility• PROTECT peasants / serfs
• Bring ORDER through rules, courts, punishments
• RESOLVE DISPUTES between
peasants / serfs
• Public works projects to benefit all
• Provide and support CHRISTIANITY
• Provide jobs, housing, food as long as the peasant/serf lives, and for his family after him. No one would ever be kicked off the land – instead they left their job for their descendants.
New Agricultural TechnologyIncreased Production
• Increased land under production– Drained swamps, cut forests, removed boulders…
– Monks helped!
• New tools / techniques:– Horse Shoe
– Heavy iron plow
– Horse collar
– Wheel barrow
– Windmill
– Three Field System =
crop rotation
1/10 manor’s \produce for Church
Smith, Weaver,Miller, Baker, Greene, Cook, Farmer, Shoemaker, Wright…
Thomson, Anderson, Wilson, Johnson…
Intellectual Pursuits
• Celtic Monks – Scriptoria
• Beowulf– 700-1000
– Earliest epic poem in English
– Set in Scandinavia
– Grendel the Dragon
Art & Architecture
• Monasteries, Churches
• Manor homes, castles, fortresses… cottages.
• Lettering – Book of Kells
Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts
• Commissioned by very wealthy, or the Church.Took much time to plan & to execute.
• Parchment – skin of old sheep or goats • Artwork usually related to text… • Monks, literate & illiterate transcribed texts• Scribe copied text; “Illuminators”- specialists who could
command high prices• Quills; Black Ink and Paints made from natural materials;
precious metals
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aDHJu9J10o
Bahram Gur Hunting with AzadaFrom the Shahnama (Book of Kings), 1352Metroplitan Museum in New York
Gushtasp Slays the Dragon, from the Shahnama, Sultanate of Delhi, 1450Ink and opaque watercolor on paper.Dimensions: 12 5/8 x 9 13/16 in
Persian Miniatures within Secular Books - Delhi Sultanate
1. Effects of Europe’s Location
Location = BARRIER to: - Trade- Conquest- Profit- Order
Technologies existed to Mitigate Limitations:- Agricultural Technologies- Travel Technologies - Industrial production for export- Financial institutions- Social Control through law,
culture, religion…
What kept Europe from advancementIn the early medieval period?
2. Effect of Environment on History
“The 536-537 Event” Thick, persistent dust veil / dry fog darkened skies. Less sunlight, lower temperatures, drought, food
shortages… Brought raids & migrations … 12-18 month period; affected area for 10 years. Europe, all the way to China and South America Supported by:
written records Dendrochronology (tree ring dating):
Decrease in growth rings world wide for 10 years, including
in Scandinavian pines, European oaks, and several North American species like bristlecone pine and foxtail; similar ring size decreases in Mongolia and Siberia.
Effect of Environment on History“…the sun became dark and its darkness lasted for one and a half years… Each day it shone for about four hours and still this light was only a feeble shadow… the fruits did not ripen and the wine tasted like sour grapes.”
- Michael the Syrian
“For the sun gave forth its light without brightness, like the moon, during this whole year, and it seemed exceedingly like the sun in eclipse…
- John of Ephesos
“…the sun began to be darkened by day and the moon by night, while ocean was tumultous with spray, from the 24th of March in this year till the 24th of June in thefollowing year…” - An anonymous Syrian chronicler
“First of all …a winter will come called Fimbulwinter. Then snow will drift from all directions.There will then be great frosts and keen winds. The sun will do not good. There will be three of these winters and no summer between. “
- From Snorri Sturluson’s Edda including this reference to the “great” or “mighty” winter that is a forewarning of Ragnarok, thedestruction of the world and all of its inhabitants.