THE MIDDLE AGES

By: Moko, Eva, Jane, Game

CHAPTER 10

What is the Middle Ages?• The Middle Ages was the period from the fall of

Rome to the Renaissance.• Also known as the “Dark Ages”• It had suffered the loss of two successive empires(Roman & Byzantine) and had not recovered from their losses.

Split into 2 Historical Periods• The Early Middle Ages• The Late Middle Ages

The Holy Roman Empire

• Why was Charlemagne was the greatest medieval king?

• Why did the Pope crowned him as the new emperor?

• Why was the Holy Roman Empire a fake empire?

The Franks• The strongest kingdom to emerge from the fall

of Rome.• Rose to power in the late 15th century under

the ruthless leadership of Clovis (466-511)• Clovis increased the lands of the Roman

Catholic Church• Crushed the Arian heretics, who threatened

the Pope• After Clovis the successors were weak

• Chief minister Charles Martel became the leader of the Franks kingdom

• Defeated the Moors in the Battle of Tours (732 AD)

• Stopped the advancement of Islam into Western Europe by land

• Founded the Carolingian Dynasty• Organized a strong central government

Who is Charlemagne?

• An able general who conquered an empire that reunited large areas of the former Western Roman Empire

• 768-814• Was a part of the Franks kingdom• Grandson of Charles Martel• Made the Franks the most successful former

barbarians and the most loyal Christian of all tribes.

Why was Charlemagne was the greatest medieval king?

• He forced all that he conquered to be baptized into the Roman Catholic Church

• Thus, increased the number of nominal Christians in the West

• He insisted on an orderly and settled life for the people

• Supported the Church to organize parishes or rural districts with each having its own priest

• Required all Christians to pay the tithe ( ten percent of their income) to the Church

• Established schools for the people• Made the language of the Franks (French) to

become the most widely used language among the literate in Europe, apart from Latin

Why did the Pope crowned him as the new emperor? On December 5 800 AD, at St. Peter’s Church in Rome, a large crowd of the most important people in Christendom had just finished the mass led by Pope Leo III himself. To everyone’s surprise the Pope walked over to the kneeling Charlemagne, placed a golden crown on his head and proclaimed him as “Emperor of the Romans”.

• The Pope wanted to establish the idea that popes can grant the power to name kings into office.

• By crowning Charlemagne as “emperor” the Pope really wanted to organize a new empire in Europe to oust the rival empire in Byzantium.

• But Charlemagne was not comfortable with this idea

• After the death of Charlemagne (814 AD), the dynasty broke up

• Split into 3 separate kingdoms France, Germany and Italy• To unite them Otto the Great (912-973) the Duke

of Saxony (Germany) started the Holy Roman Empire

• But it was a fake empire• Lasted for 844 years (962-1806)

Why was the Holy Roman Empire a fake empire? • The “emperor” of the Holy Roman Empire was only a symbolic figurehead,

without real powers

• He was elected for a limited time, and presided over the members, who could ignore him

• None of the “emperors” was a Roman or an absolute ruler

• The main role of the new emperor was really to defend and protect the Roman Catholic Pope against other troublesome Christians especially the ones at the Byzantine empire (Protestants)

• In the 18th century French philosopher Voltaire ridiculed it as “neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire” due to its weakness, lack of unity and unchristian purposes

Age of Feudalism• How did feudalism and the nobles rise to

power?• The importance of feudal contracts, feudal

lord, fiefs, vassals, the manor, knights and word of honor.

• Why did chivalry matter?• How did the feudal life affect women, homes,

health, amusements and law?

Feudalism means a socio-economic system based on land ownership by a few wealthy peopleNot a unified, single systemAge of Feudalism is when Europe broke up into 3 separate kingdoms • France• Germany• ItalyThe most prominent features of feudalism were the nobles, knights, serfs and crusades

The European Feudalism System

• Grew out of barbaric customs• To fight for the leader and the leader shall provide

for their needs• Able to protect and control the common people

who lived in their feudal lands because they had an army of knights under their personal employment

• While remaining loyal to their national king, the feudal lords usually acted independently

• The feudal lords were in charge of their lands not the national king

Rise of Feudalism

How did feudalism and nobles rise to power?

• Because of the lack of a strong central government, the region broke up into small feudal estates, where the nobles lived like small kings

• It grew out of the custom of rewarding military lords for their services.

• In 8th century Charles Martel had no money to pay for his officers. So he gave them land.

• The officers became feudal lords

3 Contributions to the growth of Feudalism

1. The Feudal Lords2. The Stirrup (Horse Saddle)3. The Feudal Contracts

Importance of Feudal Lords

• Provides the knights with armor, horses and training

• Gives the common people and knights land to live on

• Provides the common people with protection

Importance of VassalsVassal means lesser lord• Under the contract of a lord a vassal gets a fief

range depending on the importance of the vassal• The lord still owned the land but the vassal had

the right to use it and pass it on to their heirs• Gives the lord military services for about 40 days

a year• Pays an annual rent like ransom for the lord if he

were kidnapped, or for the marriage of the lord’s daughter or son’s knighting

Importance of Feudal Contracts

Feudal Contracts meaning is an unwritten exchange of rights and duties between nobles and the lower people • Grants the permission of giving lands in

exchange for services

Importance of Fiefs

Fief is an estate of range of land usually a few hectares that can owned by a vassal• Provides space to build homes, farms and

other important building for the people• Where the common people can live

Importance of Manors

A Manor or a Feudal Land is owned by a nobleman or feudal lord, who passed it from generation to generation in the family• It included a castle, other houses, farms and

forests• Provided living space for a feudal lord and had

space for farming

Importance of Knights

• Knights are armed soldiers underemployment of a feudal lord given to by the vassal

• They ride on horses, wear protective armor and carry heavy weapons such as a sword

• They protect the feudal land and its citizens• They go to warfare with other feudal lands• An army of knights destroy crops, seize their

animals and women and burn down homes of other feudal lands

Importance of Word of Honor• Word of Honor

a pledge of one's honor that a specified condition or a bargain will be fulfilled

• Sets boundaries • Provides trust for both people agreeing to a

word of honor• Forms alliances

• Feudal nobles developed a code of conduct called chivalry

• The code of chivalry mattered because it combined Christian values and virtues of being a warrior

• Dictates the rules of fighting• A knight was expected to be brave, loyal, generous and

courteous. He was supposed to protect and respect noblewomen and defends his family’s honor

• The rules were not always followed• Did not apply to peasants and common women• The nobility look down on the poor and the latter

were at the mercy of the rich and powerful

Why did Chivalry matter?

• Chivalry promoted ways of behavior that reduced the brutality of a fighting age

• It gave the impression that the former barbarians who were now Christians that they had left their shameful past behind (but really they didn’t)

• Placed noblewomen on a pedestal as objects to be loved or protected

How did Feudal life affect Women?

• The feudal life was really dull, dirty, cold and short.

• A noble, knight or peasants' life span was short or perhaps no more than 30 or 35 years of age

• Hence, a woman’s first duty was to raise a large family, whether she was a noblewoman or a commoner

• A big family ensured continuity of the family line, especially if she gave birth to boys

How did Feudal life affect Homes?

• Medieval homes had no toilets, running water or heater

• They had feasts that were loud and long for at there was big fireplace in the hall

• They did not have eating implements or porcelain plates

How did Feudal life affect Health?

• Medieval folks had a phobia for taking baths, because it could make them sick

• They had poor hygiene, drink too much and the fighting killed off people young

• So people got sick very often• Their medicine were bizarre and mostly don’t

work• A lot of people die everyday

How did Feudal life affect Amusement?

• The feudal lords and knights loved dueling or friendly tournaments. It gave them a chance to practice and display their fighting skills

• Next to feasting and fighting, the upper class went on hunts for wild boars or deer in vast forests. They even trained falcons to hunt

• They had an occasional medieval fair• There were also important festivals such as

Christmas and Easter

How did Feudal life affect Law?• Trial by combat or ordeal• All free people had the right to be tried by their peers

(trial by jury)• But for serious crimes, the accused had 2 choices• One, he or she chose to prove innocence by an ordeal,

like carrying a burning hot iron without being burned or two swimming a long distance without drowning.

• In trial by combat, two knights face each other, and the accused one had to win to prove his or her innocence

Peasants, Priests and the Decline of Feudalism

• Who suffered most in feudalism?• What improvements in agriculture helped

move the center of Western civilization to northern Europe?

• What problems did the Church face in the Middle Ages?

• How the Church adapted to become an important part of daily life in feudal times?

Who Suffered Most in Feudalism?

• The other people living in the manor were the servants, skilled freemen (artisans, entertainers, etc.) and the peasant serf farmers

• They lived under the lord’s authority and depended on him for their living

• The serf owed their lord certain payments• They were required to work for the lord 3 days a week in the

farm or house• Each peasant paid rent for their small farm, fees for using the

mill for grinding grains and the ovens for baking bread• Serfs often paid their fees with grain, woven cloth, chickens or

eggs• The poor had no hope of escaping poverty

What Improvements in Agriculture Helped Move the Center of Western Civilization to Northern Europe?• New inventions also grew more food• These inventions included the iron plow, the

horseshoe, harness, the use of the horse instead of an oxen, the watermill and windmill

• In northern Europe, miners produced great quantities of iron for farming tools, as well as weapons and plows

• The windmills and watermills provided new sources of energy for grinding grain

• The improvements in agriculture led to food surpluses which supported a growing population

• As the population of Northern Europe increased, the center of Western civilization shifted from Southern Europe(Italy) to Northern Europe (France, England, Germany)

What Problems did the Church Face During the Middle Ages?

In the early Middle Ages, the Church faced 2 problems• Converting Non-Christians• Adapting Church Organization to new

circumstances The barbarian tribes were converted one by one because of the influence of women and missionaries

How the Church Adapted to Become an Important Part of Feudal Life?

The Church influenced every aspect of feudal life. • The Church officials gave blessings at ceremonies for

knighthood, baptisms, weddings or deathsOfficials documents were notarized by a member of the clergyKnights waged war in the name of the Christian idealsFeuds and wars can only be stopped when the Church declared the truce of God or a period of peace

Evil Effects of Feudalism

1. Created an aristocracy or upper class that was selfish, greedy and snobbish

2. It delayed the formation of national states because strong feudal lords had no national consciousness or love of nation

3. It perpetuated the worst kind of economy, without opportunities for the poor

4. The Church grew into absolute power, due to its union with feudal authorities

Decline of Feudalism

1. The Crusades2. The growth of towns and cities3. The rise of kings and a more centralized

government 4. The introduction of new weapons of warfare5. The Renaissance and Reformation which

changed the cultural and religious attitudes of people

The Crusades• What sparked the Crusades?• Why were both sides fighting a holy war?• What important events in the Crusades influenced

world history?• Which two events in the Crusades shocked the

Christendom?• Why the Battle of Lepanto did not stop the Muslim

control of the Mediterranean?• Why were the Crusades a failure?• Who really won the Crusades?

What Sparked the Crusades?

• The capture of the city of Jerusalem by the Seljuk Moors in 1055 was the immediate spark that ignited the first Crusade

• The Moors destroyed sites holy to Christendom, massacred Christians, and closed the Holy Land to pilgrims and trade

What is a Crusade?A Crusade was a holy war declared by the Pope who commanded the kings and nobles into a military expedition The word “crusade” today means a harmless prayer to a Christian but to a Muslim it is the declaration of war• A Christian warrior’s emblem was a red cross on his

armor and on his shield• The Moors also regarded the wars as their jihad (holy

war) against enemies of Islam • Their emblem was a red crescent, the sign of Islam• At least 9 were regular crusades against the Moors in the

Holy Land

Why were both sides Fighting a Holy War?

• The crusaders joined the Crusade because the popes granted them plenary indulgence (total pardon) for their sins and the promise of immediate entry into heaven if they died (avoiding purgatory)

• Thus each side thought he was participating in a holy war for religion and glory

• They had promises of spiritual and material rewards

What Important Events in the Crusades Influenced World History?

1. Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade to the Holy Land (1066-1099). The battle cry of the crusaders to their enemies was “It is the will of God!” It is the only successful crusade. The Christians briefly captured Jerusalem but eventually they lost it and all they gained

2. Two famous organizations originated from the crusades. The St. John’s Knights and the Knights Templar. They became the Masonic Society, a worldwide brotherhood.

3. The Third Crusade (1189-92) was known as the “Crusade of Kings” because it included Richard of Lionhearted of England, Philip Augustus of France and Frederick Barbarossa of Germany. The Syrian folk hero, Saladin, defeated all three kings and leaped into his place in world history

4. The Fourth Crusade (1104) was rerouted to Constantinople, where the Roman Catholic knights burned and looted the city, and massacred the unprepared Byzantine Orthodox knights. The bloody battle between brothers in the faith shocked the Christendom

5. In the Children's Crusade (1212), about 30,000 boys and girls, aged nine to twelve, left home and marched to the Holy Land on foot, thinking they would be protected by their religious signs and relics. Most children were killed or taken into slavery. The tragedy shocked the world

6. In Europe, Catholic Spain won the crusades against the Moors in Andalucía ( 719-1492) Out of these wars came the story of Rodrigo Vivar (El Cid)m the greatest Spanish knight and the joint monarchy of Ferdinand and Isabella, the first kings of Spain

7. In the 16th century, Legazpi and his troops were filled with crusade fever after learning that there were Moorish raiding parties and flourishing kingdoms in the Philippines. Had it not been for their crusading zeal, the Philippines might have become mostly Muslim, like nearby countries. Hence the Spanish-Moro wars in the Philippines were the real “Last Crusades”

What Two Events in the Crusades Shocked the Christendom?

• The Fourth Crusade • The Fifth Crusade (Children’s Crusade)

Battle of Lepanto

• In Europe, the Battle of Lepanto (1571) was the last Crusade

• The Ottoman Turks attempted to invade Europe after the fall of Constantinople and their control of the Mediterranean

• Spain being the defender of Christianity was asked by the Pope to stop the Moorish naval invasion

• Philip II hastily organized a coalition navy made up of Spanish, Austrian and Italian ships and placed it under the command of his stepbrother Don Juan of Austria

Why did the Battle of Lepanto did not Stop the Muslims Control of the Mediterranean?

• The Christian fleet decisively defeated the Turkish navy and stopped their naval invasion of Europe.

• However, the Turks soon rebuilt their navy and closed the Mediterranean to Christian voyages anyways

Why were the Crusades a Failure?

Historians regard the crusades as an overall miserable failure for the Christian popes and nobles, who started them.• The successive failures of the crusades killed

the enthusiasm of European popes and nobles to fight anymore.

• Relations worsened between the two main Christian empires due to the crusaders invading who invaded Byzantine in 1104

Who really won the Crusades?

The Turkish Moors conquered all of the Holy Land and the Mediterranean Sea and closed the land and sea routes to Christians for centuries

Unintended Benefits of the Crusades

1. Europeans came in direct contact with the advanced civilization of the East and developed a knowledge and liking for their innovations of the East

2. The Crusades created a demand for the exotic goods from the more developed world of Asia (spices, medicine, fruits, cloth, weapons)

3. The need arose for a new route to the East by sailing Westwards, thus the Age of Western exploration and discovery

4. The Crusades quite literally killed off feudalism, due to the many deaths of feudal lords and knights in the Crusades.

Other Characteristics of Medieval Civilization

• How did the free cities practice democracy in the medieval ages?

• Why was the money economy better than the land economy?

• Why did merchants and skilled craftsmen prosper?• Why did a learning revival produced new knowledge?• What did universities do during medieval times?• Why was medieval science unable to stop the Black Death?• What were the exceptions to the religious themes in

medieval art and music?

Those who returned home were broke and could not defy their kings, pay their merchant creditors or oppose the people.

This created a new political economy that led to the Age of Kings, the beginning of mercantilism

How the Free Cities Practice Democracy in Medieval Times?

• The crusaders died or came home broke. To wipe off their debts to the bankers and merchants, the nobles transferred the land to them and agreed to a written charter of freedom

• The medieval towns and cities were the cradles of modern democracy and capitalism

• They learned to exercise the right to elections, make laws and to enforce laws

Why was the Money Economy better than the Land Economy?• In the feudal era, goods and services were exchanged

by the barter system• The main source of feudal wealth was the land and

that was not easy to exchange• The money economy was gold or silver coins or credit

notes, very easy to handle and to exchange. • In order to buy or sell goods and services, all you had

to do was “show me the money”• The system invented in Western Europe was more

widespread than the earlier ones in Asia

Why did skilled merchants and craftsmen prosper?

• In the towns were merchant or craft guilds, or associations of businessmen and skilled workers.

• Their main purpose was economic protection of the members

• By uniting their members into a guild, they became strong political group

• They could now stand up to the kings, nobles, or even town leaders

What did Universities do during Medieval times?

• In some towns, scholars set up medieval centers of learning that grew into universities

• The first university was an associations of students and teachers like medieval guilds

• Soon they obtained official charters, just as towns had, which gave them academic freedom

• The teaching language was Latin

The Black Death• The Black Death came from the Mongol invasions in

Asia and the trade and migration routes to Europe• The disease was called the “Black Death” because of the

color of the victims as they died from bubonic plague• It is estimated that the Black Death killed 30% of

Europe’s population • Reduced medieval world population from 450 million to

350 million• The Black Death had a profound effect on the religious,

social and economic life in Europe

Why was Medieval Science unable to stop the Black Death?

• Many believed that illness was due to evil spirits or some punishments from God

• During the first outbreak of the Black Death or the bubonic plague in Europe (1347-51), the victims only said, “It is the will of God!”

• Others prayed for a cure• Some people went on pilgrimages to holy

shrines, and prayed for a miracle

• After it peaked in the mid-14th century, the plague appeared from time to time in lesser epidemics

• Europe did not recover its vitality and strength until the 16th century

What were the Exceptions to the Religious Themes in Medieval Arts and Music?• Medieval art and music also had religious themes• Churches had sculptured figures of saints and

grotesque evil spirits, or scenes from religious history

• Medieval art and music hardly departed from the officially approved religious themes, in order not to offend the all powerful Roman Church

• The only exceptions were the portrait busts, statues and paintings of the rich and famous; the tales of romance and adventure sang by troubadours and the funny court jesters at castle feasts