western europe : the middle ages

600 C.E. to 1450 C.E.

Originally created by Ms. Susan M. Pojer Horace Greeley HS Chappaqua, NY

Europe c. 200 CE

PeriodizationEarly Middle Ages: 500 – 1000

High Middle Ages: 1000 – 1250

Late Middle Ages: 1250 - 1500

[Renaissance Dates: 1300-1600]

Europe in the 6c

The Medieval Catholic Church (West)

Filled the power vacuum left from the collapse of the classical world. Monasticism: St. Benedict – Benedictine Rule of

poverty, chastity, and obedience. Provided schools for the children of

the upper class. Inns, hospitals, refuge in times of war. Libraries & scriptoria to copy books

and illuminate manuscripts. Monks missionaries to the

barbarians. [St. Patrick, St. Boniface]

The Power of the Medieval Church

Bishops and abbots played a large part in the feudal system. The church controlled about 1/3 of the land in Western Europe. Tried to curb feudal warfare only 40 days a year for combat. Curb heresies crusades; Inquisition Tithe 1/10 tax on your assets given to the church. Peter’s Pence 1 penny per person [paid by the peasants].

A Medieval Monk’s Day

A Medieval Monastery: The Scriptorium

Illuminated Manuscripts

St. John’s University?

Printed Psaltar

Gregorian Chant

Medieval Embroidery

The Bayeux Tapestry, 11c

Illuminated Manuscripts

Charlemagne: 742 to 814

Charlemagne’s Empire

Pope Crowned CharlemagneHoly Roman Emperor: Dec. 25, 800

Odo of Metz. Interior of the Palatine

(Palace)Chapel of Charlemagne

(Aachen, Germany), 792-805voussoirs

modeled after San Vitale/

Octogon/columns/clear

structural/divisions

The Carolingian Renaissance

Carolingian Miniscule

Carolingian Empire/Equestrian

portrait of Charlemagne (Metz, Germany), early ninth century

Charlemagne’s Empire Collapses:Treaty of Verdun, 843

Main Parts of a Medieval Castle---Why?

Chauvigny Castle, France, 11c

FeudalismA political, economic, and social system based on loyalty and military service.

Carcassonne: A Medieval Castle

Fortified Cities

The Rise of European Monarchies: England

Parts of a Medieval Castle

The Road to Knighthood

KNIGHT

SQUIRE

PAGE

Chivalry: A Code of Honor and Behavior

The Medieval Manor

Life on the Medieval Manor

Serfs at work

RomanesqueCathedralArchitectural Style

Á Rounded Arches.Á Barrel vaults.Á Thick walls.Á Darker, simplistic interiors.Á Small windows, usually at

the top of the wall.

RomanesqueFloor Plans

St. Filibert, France, 10c

Interior of a RomanesqueCathedral

Pope Urban II: Preaching a Crusade

Setting Out on Crusade

Christian Crusades: East and West

Crusades Impact• Recapture “Lost” Knowledge • Books, “Aristotle”• Mathematics –”Arabic Numerals”• Medical and Surgical Procedures• Goods, Trade and Roads Rebuilt• Architectural Ideas and Concepts• “Tourism”

Vikings, Magyars, Mongols…• Many of the Nations or “Ethnicities”

were formed during the Middle Ages• Germanic Tribes merged with

Norsemen, Celts, etc.• Northern Slavs- Modern-day Poles,

Czechs, Russians, etc.• Pagans to Roman Catholics or

Eastern Orthodox

Viking Age• Explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided,

traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.

• These Norsemen (Northmen) used their famed longships to travel as far east as Constantinople and the Volga River in what would become Russia, and as far west as Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland ---- (Minnesota’s Kensington Runestone c.1364?)

• As far south as Al-Andalus Spain• Medieval history of Scandinavia, Great Britain, Ireland and the

rest of Europe in general.• Norsemen-Normans, Russians- Novgorod and Kiev, Anglo-

Saxons, Jutes, Danes, Swedes, etc.

Animal head post, from the Oseberg ship burial (Norway), c. 825, wood

“gripping beasts”Vikings/ fusion of

interlaced pattern and the animal form/

gruesome rituals of human sacrifice/Odin,

Thor, and Freya/ Valhalla/ Valkyries/

Two views of the Oseberg ship (Oslo)

Left: Wood carved portal of the stave church at Urnes,

Norway, c. 1050-1070

Below: drawing of a stave church

English Monarchies• House of Normandy - 1066-1154• House of Plantagenet -1154-1399–Richard the Lionheart – (r. 1189-1199)-Crusades-Saladin– James I – (r. 1199-1216)-Magna Carta

• House of Lancaster – 1399-1461

William I (r. 1066-1087)• Change of rulers creation

of feudal state• Programs of building and

fortification• Changes to the English

language• Shift in the upper levels of

society and the church• Adoption of some aspects

of continental church reform

• Modern Monarchy of England begins

William the Conqueror-Norman: Battle of Hastings, 1066 (Bayeaux Tapestry)

William the Conqueror• To press his claim to the English crown,

William invaded England in 1066, leading an army of Normans, Bretons, Flemings, and Frenchmen

• Victory over the English forces of King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings

• Suppressed subsequent English revolts in what has become known as the Norman Conquest

Text: Here King Harold was slain, and the English fled.

William the Conqueror/ King Harold of England

Battle of Hastings in 1066

Magna Carta, 1215

King John I “Great Charter” Monarchs were not above the law. Kings had to consult a council of advisors. Kings could not tax arbitrarily.*

The Beginnings of 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.

The Rise of European Monarchies: France

All throughout EuropeKingdoms move toward Unification of peoples of The Realm

Recreation of theRoman Empire?

Reconquesta

France in the Middle Ages• From the death of Louis the Pious in 840 to the middle of the 15th century.

The Middle Ages in France– West Francia (843–987) and the Viking invasions and the piecemeal

dismantling of the Carolingian Empire by local powers,– the elaboration of the seigneurial economic system and the feudal

system of rights and obligations between lords and vassals,– the growth of the region controlled by the House of Capet (987–

1328) and their struggles with the expanding Norman and Angevin regions,

– a period of artistic and literary outpouring from the 12th to the early 14th centuries,

– the rise of the House of Valois (1328–1589), the protracted dynastic crisis of the Hundred Years' War with the Kingdom of England (1337–1453) and the catastrophic Black Death epidemic (1348), and

– the expansion of the French nation in the 15th century and the creation of a sense of French identity

“Germans”• The English term Germans has

referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages.

• Holy roman Empire• Later Kingdom of Germany and the

Holy roman empire of the Germanic Nation

Holy Roman

Empire c. 1000

Holy Roman Empire c. 962-1806

• Otto I was crowned King of Germany in 962, but he is nevertheless considered by some to have been the first Holy Roman Emperor

• although the Roman imperial title was first restored to Charlemagne, Otto was the first emperor of the realm who was not a member of the earlier Carolingian dynasty.

Otto I• While Charlemagne had been

crowned Emperor in 800, his empire had been divided amongst his grandsons

• the Imperial title had lain vacant for nearly forty years. On 2 February 962, Otto was crowned Emperor of what later became the Holy Roman Empire

Otto III r. 980-1023• Otto III (980 – 23 January

1002), a King of Germany, was the fourth ruler of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire.

• He was elected King in 983 on the death of his father Otto II and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 996.

• King of Germany and King of Italy

• Aachen and St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome

• Enlightened ruler?• Byzantine Empire issues?

Magyar Migrations

Stephen I of Hungary• first King of Hungary (r. 1000–1038). • He greatly expanded Hungarian control over the Carpathian Basin during his lifetime• Broadly established Christianity (Roman Catholicism) in the region • Considered to be the founder of the Kingdom of Hungary.•1000-1918

Hungarian campaigns in the 10th century. Most European nations were praying for mercy: "Sagittis hungarorum libera nos Domine" - "Lord save us

from the arrows of Hungarians"

Magyars

Stephen I

Saint in bothRoman Catholic and now the Orthodox Faith

The Mongols Invade Russia

Mongols, Tartars, Turks• Migrations end in conquest even

though for some short-lived• In time, many assimilate into the

peoples of Europe• Each ethnic group (nation) creates

fortifications to defend themselves from the “Barbarian Hordes”

Medieval Universities

Oxford University

Late Medieval Town Dwellings

Medieval Trade

Medieval Guilds

Guild Hall

Commercial Monopoly: Controlled membership

apprentice journeyman master craftsman

Controlled quality of the product [masterpiece].

Controlled prices

Medieval Guilds: A Goldsmith’s Shop

Crest of a Cooper’s Guild

Eurasia Timeline

Modern Age?“Dark Ages”

Late Middle Ages• the 14th century was a time of great progress within the arts and sciences.

Following a renewed interest in ancient Greek and Roman texts that took root in the High Middle Ages, the Italian Renaissance began.

• The absorption of Latin texts had started before the 12th Century Renaissance through contact with Arabs during the Crusades, but the availability of important Greek texts accelerated with the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks (1453), when many Byzantine scholars had to seek refuge in the West, particularly Italy

• The changes brought about by these developments have caused many scholars to see it as leading to the end of the Middle Ages, and the beginning of modern history and early modern Europe.

• Some historians, particularly in Italy, prefer not to speak of the late Middle Ages at all, but rather see the high period of the Middle Ages transitioning to the Renaissance and the modern era.

Hanseatic League (c. 13th -17th c)• an economic alliance of trading cities and their

merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe.

• Stretched from the Baltic to the North Sea and inland during the Late Middle Ages and early modern period.

• The League was created to protect commercial interests and privileges granted by foreign rulers in cities and countries the merchants visited.

• The Hanseatic cities had their own legal system and furnished their own protection and mutual aid. Despite this, the organization was not a city-state, nor can it be called a confederation of city-states

Hanseatic League

Gothic Art• Gothic period emerges from France. A.k.a.

modern art• 12th to 14th c. and beyond• Elegant, ornate style- Christian and secular

styles• Guilds and artistic patronage• Black Death 1347-1350• The pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the

flying buttress

The Gothic Cathedral

Gothic Floor Plans

Canterbury Cathedral, England

Gothic CathedralArchitectural Style

Á Began in France in the 12c.Á Pointed arches.Á Flying buttresses. Á Stained glass windows.Á Elaborate, ornate interior.Á Taller, more airy à lots of light.Á Lavish sculpture à larger-than-

life.

Interior of a Gothic Cathedral

St. Etienne, Bourges, late 12c

“Flying” Buttresses

Flying Buttress

Gothic “Filigree” Closeups

Chartres Cathedral, Paris

Royal Portal

Jamb Figures

The “Pillar People”

Cathedral Gargoyles

Stained Glass Windows

Á For the glory of God.

Á For religiousinstructions.

Notre Dame Cathedral 1163-1240

The good, of course, is always beautiful, and the beautiful never lacks proportion. --- Plato

Rose Window Chartres Cathedral, Paris

Sacred Geometry

“Rose” Windows of Various Kinds

Original Design

Buddhist Mandala

Labyrinth, 1200

Chartres CathedralPlan for all Rose Windows

Which Interior Is Which?

Which Vault Is Which?

Which Cathedral Style Is Which?

Cathedral of Mont-Saint Michel:A Fortress & A Church

Spanish Castle, 14c

Relinquary, late 12c

Late Medieval Church Art

Chalice, paten, and straw, mid-13c

Á St. Francis’Rule Approved

Á GiottoÁ 1288-92?Á Tempera on

wood and ground gold.

Late Medieval Art

Á The EpiphanyÁ GiottoÁ 1320Á Tempera on wood and ground gold.

Medieval Religious Themes

Á Giotto

Á 1305

Á Tempera onwood andground gold.

The Crucifixion

The Plague

The Culprits

The Famine of 1315-1317

By 1300 Europeans were farming almost all the land they could cultivate.

A population crisis developed. Climate changes in Europe produced

three years of crop failures between 1315-17 because of excessive rain.

As many as 15% of the peasants in some English villages died.

One consequence ofstarvation & povertywas susceptibility todisease.

1347: Plague Reaches Constantinople

From the Toggenburg Bible, 1411

Lancing a Buboe

The Disease Cycle

Flea drinks rat blood that carries the bacteria.

Flea’s gut cloggedwith bacteria.

Bacteriamultiply inflea’s gut.

Flea bites human and regurgitates blood into human wound.

Human is infected!

Medieval Art & the Plague


Bring out your dead!


An obsession with death.

Attempts to Stop the Plague

A Doctor’s Robe

“Leeching”

Attempts to Stop the Plague

Flagellanti:Self-inflicted “penance” for our sins!

ScapegoatsPograms against the Jews

“Jew” hat

“Golden Circle” obligatory badge

Death Triumphant

The Mortality Rate

35% - 70%

25,000,000 dead !!!

What were thepolitical,economic,and social effectsof the Black Death??

Catholic Church Splits• Western Schism or Papal Schism was a split

within the Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417. • Two men simultaneously claimed to be the true

pope. Driven by politics rather than any theological disagreement, the schism was ended by the Council of Constance (1414–1418).

• The simultaneous claims to the papal chair of two different men hurt the reputation of the office. The Western Schism is occasionally called the Great Schism, though this term is more often applied to the East–West Schism of 1054

Western Schism (1378-1413)

Themes of Conflict

• The French nobility selected Philip of Valois, a cousin of the last king through the male line.

– He founded a new French dynasty that ruled through the 16c.

– He was chosen in preference to King Edward III of England, whose mother was the daughter of the late king, Philip IV.

• In 1340, Edward claimed the title “King of France.”

Controversy Over Succession

Land Belonging to British Kings

• A longer standing issue was the status of lands within France that belonged to English kings.

• Edward was actually a vassal of Philip’s, holding sizable French territories as fiefs from the king of France [it went back to the Norman conquest - 1066].

Conflict Over Flanders

• Wool industry.

• Flanders wants its independence from French control.

• Asks England for help.

The ‘dagger’ pointing at the ‘heart’ of England!

A Struggle for National Identity

• France was NOT a united country before the war began.

• The French king only controlled about half of the country.

Europe c. 1430

• The use of the English defensive position was the use of the longbow.

• Its arrows had more penetrating power than a bolt from a crossbow.– Could pierce an inch of

wood or the armor of a knight at 200 yards

• A longbow could be fired more rapidly.– 6 arrows per minute.

The Longbow as a Weapon

Early English Victories

The Effective Use of the Cannon at Poitiers, 1356

Troubles• Peasant Revolt in 1381 was put

down by King Richard II[r. 1377-1399].

• After charges of tyranny, Richard II was forced to abdicate in 1300.

• Parliament elected Henry IV [r. 1399-1413], the first ruler from the House of Lancaster.– Henry avoided war taxes.– He was careful not to alienate

the nobility.• Therefore, a truce was signed

ending French and British hostilities [for the time being, at least].

A Burgundian Presence

Treaty of Troyes (1420)• Charles VI’s son [the future

Charles VII], was declared illegitimate and disinherited.

• Henry V married Catherine, the daughter of Charles VI.– Henry was declared the

legitimate heir to the French throne!

• A final English victory seemed assured, but both Charles VI and Henry V died in 1422.

• This left Henry’s infant son, Henry VI [r. 1422-1461], to inherit BOTH thrones.

Height of English Dominance

The French “Reconquest”• The two kings’ deaths ushered in the

final stage of the 100 Years’ War [1422-1453].– Even though in 1428 the military

and political power seemed firmly in British hands, the French reversed the situation.

• In 1429, with the aid of the mysterious Joan of Arc, the French king, Charles VII, was able to raise the English siege of Orleans.– This began the reconquest of the

north of France.

Joan of Arc (1412-1432)• The daughter of prosperous

peasants from an area of Burgundy that had suffered under the English.

• Like many medieval mystics, she reported regular visions of divine revelation.– Her “voices” told her to

go to the king and assist him in driving out the English.

• She dressed like a man and was Charles’ most charismatic and feared military leader

The End of the War

• Despite Joan’s capture, the French advance continued.

• By 1450 the English had lost all their major centers except Calais.

• In 1453 the French armies captured an English-held fortress.– This was the last battle of the war.

• There was not a treaty, only a cessation of hostilities.• Here comes the next phase…

France Becomes Unified

France in 1337

France in 1453

600 C.E. to 1450 C.E.

western europe : the middle ages

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