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| 297424832 | Germanic Kingdoms | By late 5th century invaders had organized series of Germanic kingdoms as successor states in place of Roman empire. Visigoths conquered Spain by 470s, Ostrogoths dominated Italy until 530s when Byzantine forces reasserted imperial authority. Lombards moved into Italy once Byzantine army left. Mid 5th century Gaul fell under control of the Burgundians&the Franks. Angles, Saxons&other Germanic peoples established regional kingdoms in Britain. They absorbed Roman influence, many converted to Christianity. None of them had economic or military resources, but the Franks built impressive imperial state that temporarily organized half the territories. | |
| 297424833 | The Franks | Franks influenced political, social&cultural development of western Europe. They constructed a society based on agricultural resources of continental Europe. Franks oversaw the development of decentralized political institutions which influenced European politics&society for more than a millennium. Also made a firm alliance w/western Christian church&helped Roman Christianity maintain cultural&religious primacy in western Europe. | |
| 297424834 | Clovis | Ruled the Franks from 481-511, 486 he led Frankish forces on a campaign that wiped out the last vestiges of Roman authority in Gaul, then imposed authority on Franks themselves. He organized campaigns against other Germanic people whose states bordered the Frankish realm in Gaul. By the time of his death, the Franks had become the most powerful&dynamic people building new states in western Europe. | |
| 297424835 | Clovis's Conversion | Originally, all Germanic invaders of the Roman empire were polytheists who honored many warlike gods&other deities representing elements of nature like sun, moon&wind. As they settled in/around Roman empire, many converted to Christianity. Most accepted Arian Christianity(popular in eastern Roman empire), in Rome&Constantinople they believed Arian views as heretical. Franks remained mostly pagan until Clovis, who converted to Roman rather than Arian Christianity. Clovis's conversion reflected influence of his wife Clotilda, a devout Christian who urged him to adopt her faith. | |
| 297424836 | The Carolingians | Carolingians took over Clovis's successors in 8th century. Founder Charles Martel(Charles the Hammer), known for military prowess. 732 at the Battle of Tours, he turned back a Muslim army that had come from Spain in order to reconquer lands north of Pyrenees mountains. His victory helped persuade Muslim rulers of Spain that it was not worthwhile for them to seek further conquests in western Europe. Charles Martel never ruled as king of the Franks but as deputy to the last of Clovis's descendants, by 751 Charles's son claimed empire for himself. | |
| 297424837 | Charlemagne | Frankish realm reached its high point under Martel's grandson, Charlemagne(Charles the Great), reigned from 768-814. Temporarily reestablished centralized imperial rule in a society disrupted by invasion&contests for power between ambitious local rulers. Barely literate, he spoke Latin, understood some Greek&conversed w/theologians&other learned men. Maintained diplomatic relations w/Byzantine empire&Abbasid caliphate. When he inherited Frankish throne his realm included France, Belgium, the Netherlands&southwestern Germany.By his death in 814 his empire included Spain, Bavaria&Italy. He campaigned for 32years to impose rule on Saxons of northern Germany&repress their rebellions. Rulers in eastern Europe&southern Italy paid tribute to Charlemagne as imperial overlord. | |
| 297424838 | Charlemagne's Administration | Charlemagne established court&capital in Aachen but spent most time traveling through his realm in order to maintain authority. He did not have financial resources to maintain elaborate bureaucracy or administrative apparatus that could implement policies. Instead he relied on aristocratic deputies(counts) who held political, military&legal authority in local jurisdictions. Counts often had political ambitions&sometimes pursued policies contrary to interests of central gov't.Charlemagne ordered new group of officials known as missi dominici(envoys of the lord ruler) who traveled every year to all local jurisdictions&reviewed accounts of local authorities. Charlemagne hesitated to call himself emperor b/c imperial title would challenge the authority of Byzantine emperors who regarded themselves as sole&legit successors of Roman emperors. | |
| 297424839 | Charlemagne as Emperor | In 800, Charlemagne accepted title of emperor. While campaigning in Italy, he attended a service on Christmas day conducted by Pope Leo III, who proclaimed Charlemagne as emperor&placed an imperial crown on his head. Charlemagne didn't want to strain relationships w/Byzantine emperors but he had already built an imperial state&his coronation constituted public recognition of his accomplishments. | |
| 297424840 | Louis the Pious | Charlemagne's only surviving son reigned 814-840, succeeded his father&kept the Carolingian empire together. Louis lost control of the counts&other local authorities who increasingly pursued their own interests&ignored the central gov't . Before Louis's death, his three sons disputed the inheritance of the empire&waged war against each other. 843 they decided to divide the empire into 3 equal portions&each took one portion to rule as king, the Carolingian empire dissloved. | |
| 297424841 | Invasions | In 9th century, three groups of invaders pillaged Frankish realm in search of wealth stored in towns&missionaries. From the south came Muslims who raided towns, villages, churches& monasteries in Mediterranean Europe, they seized Sicily&several territories in southern Italy&France. From the east came Magyars, descendants of nomadic people from central Asia who settled in Hungary, they were expert horsemen&raided settlements in Germany, Italy&southern France. From the north came the Vikings, most feared of all invaders who mounted raids in northern France even during Charlemagne's rule. | |
| 297424842 | Norse Expansion | Viking invasions represented part of Norse expansion that began around 800, motives for expansion included population pressure in Scandinavian lands&resistance to Christian missions that sought to abolish pagan gods&beliefs. 8th century,Norse mariners developed remarkable shipbuilding techniques that allowed them to travel safely in open ocean. 1000, a small group established a colony at Newfoundland&explored the Atlantic coast of North America as far as Maine. Colonies in North America survived no more than a few decades&colony in Greenland disappeared around 1500 after a cooling climate made it difficult to cultivate food crops there. Colonies in Greenland&North America demonstrated ability of Norse people to travel safely over large distance of open ocean. Norse cultivators could migrate from their homelands to establish new agricultural communities in north Atlantic basin b/c of great seafaring skills. Most Norse seafarers were merchants seeking commercial opportunities or migrants seeking lands to cultivate. Vikings raided&plundered settlements. | |
| 297424843 | The Vikings | Vikings sailed shallow boats that could cross heavy seas&also navigate rivers offering access to interior regions of Europe. They coordinated ships' movements&timed attacks to take advantage if tides. In 844 CE, more than 150 Viking ships sailed up Garonne River in southern France, plundering settlements along the way. By following Russian rivers to the Black Sea, other Vikings made their way to Constantinople, which they raided at least three times during the 9th&10th centuries. | |
| 297424844 | England | In England, invasions prompted the series of small kingdoms established earlier by Angles, Saxons&other Germanic tribes to merge into a single largert realm. The leader of this effort was King Alfred(871-899), who expanded from his base in southern England to Danish territories farther north. Alfred built a navy to challenge the Vikings at sea&made fortresses on land to secure areas he conquered from invaders. Danish settlers occupied agricultural lands but by mid 10th century, Alfred's successors established themselves as kings of all England. | |
| 297424845 | Germany | In Germany, response to invasion brought the end of Carolingian rule&formation of a more effective state under a new dynasty. When Carolingian authorities were unable to to prevent invasions by the Magyars, local lords took matters into their own hands. Most successful was King Otto I of Saxony(936-973). In 955 he faced a large Magyar army@Lechfeld near Augsburg&inflicted a defeat that ended the Magyar threat. Otto also imposed his authority through Germany&twice he led army to Italy to support papacy against Lombard magnates. 962 pope declared him emperor&bestowed imperial crown on him. Otto's realm was a German kingdom but imperial title survived until 19th century. | |
| 297424846 | France | In France, Carolingian rule led to proliferation of local authorities. Counts&other subordinates of Carolingians withdrew allegiance from the central gov't, ruled their territories in their own interests&usurped royal rights&prerogatives for themselves. They collected taxes, organized armed forces, built castles&provided justice without reference to the Carolingians or other central authorities. Vikings established settlements in northern France where they carved out small independent states. The devolution of political&military responsibility to local authorities in 10th century France encouraged the development of a decentralized political order. | |
| 297424847 | Lords & Retainers | To organize territories, local nobles built military&politcal relationships w/prominent individuals in other territories. They drew on military talent during the later Roman empire&early Frankish kingdom&mobilized small private armies by attracting armed retainers into their services w/grants of land or money. As Carolingian empire dissolved, local authorities revived recruitment practices. Local lords provided grants enabling retainers to support themselves&family. Grants were usually land but could be a mill, right to receive payment from a village or even a payment of money. Grants enabled retainers to to devote their time&energy to the service of their lords rather than cultivating food&providing for families. Grants provided resources that retainers needed to maintain horses&acquire expensive military equipment like armor&weapons. In exchange for grants, retainers owed loyalty, obedience, respect, counsel&military service to their lords. Retainers became responsible for the organizations of local public work projects, the resolutions of disputes&administration of justice. Political authorities&military specialists merged into a hereditary noble class that lived of the surplus agricultural production that it extracted from cultivators. | |
| 297424848 | Potential for Instability | The decentralized political order developed into a complicated&confusing network of relationships between lords&retainers. A lord w/several retainers might be a retainer to a high lord, who in turn might be a retainer to a greater lord who in a web of relationships extending from local communities to a king. Dependence on the relationship between lord&retainer added an element of instability into the political order since retainers sometimes decided to pursue their own interests rather than those of their lords. Unless lords could discipline&control their retainers, this decentralized political order had strong potential to lead to political chaos. It was also possible for high-ranking lords to build powerful states on the foundation of relationships between lords&retainers. | |
| 297424849 | Serfs | Development of decentralized political order accompanied fundamental changes in European society, especially for slaves&free peasants. Roman&Germanic societies had recognized enslaved&free classes&for centuries after the fall of the Roman empire, the population of western Europe consisted mostly of slaves&free peasants. Slaves&free peasants worked at the same kinds of agricultural tasks&frequently intermarried. Free peasants sought protection from a lord&pledged their labor&obedience in exchange for security&land to cultivate. Rulers&administrators recognized intermediate categories of individuals neither fully slave or fully free. Semifree individuals known as serfs, owed obligations to the lords whose lands they cultivated. | |
| 297424850 | Serfs' Obligations | Serfs had the right to work certain lands& to pass rights to those lands along to their heirs as long as they observed obligations to the lords. Obligations included both labor service&payments of rents in kind, such as a portion of a serf's own harvest, a chicken or 12 eggs@specified times during the year. Male serfs worked 3days a week in the fields of their lords&provided additional labor services during harvesting&planting seasons while women made butter, cheese, beer, spun thread, wove cloth/clothes for lords&their families. Women also kept sheep&cattle&obligations to the lords included products from their herds. Serfs had little opportunity to move to different lands, could only do so w/permission from lords&had to pay fees for right to marry serf working for other lord. | |
| 297424851 | Manors | During early middle ages, serfdom encouraged development of the manor as principal form of agricultural organization in western Europe. Manor was a large estate consisting of fields, meadows, forests, agricultural tools, domestic animals&sometimes lakes or rivers as well as serfs bound to the land. Lord of manor was prominent political/military figure, he&his deputies provided gov't, administration, police services&justice for the manor. Many lords had authority to execute serfs for serious crimes like murder. By Carolingian era, manors dominated rural regions in much of France, western Germany&low countries&southern England&northern Italy. In absence of thriving cities, manors became largely self-sufficient communities. Lords of the manor had breweries, bakeries, mills&wineries&serfs produced most of the iron tools, leather goods, domestic utensils&textiles that the manorial community needed. During high middle ages, craft skills developed on manors would help fuel impressive round of economic development in western Europe. | |
| 297424852 | Agriculture | Agricultural tools&techniques inherited from the classical Mediterranean world didn't transfer very well. In light, well-drained Mediterranean soils, cultivators used small wooden plows that basically broke the surface of the soil, created a furrow, and disrupted weeds. This type of plow made little headway in the heavy moist soils of the north. | |
| 297424853 | Heavy Plows | After 8th century, a heavy tool equipped w/iron tips that dug into the earth&w/a mould-board that turned the soil as to aerate it thoroughly&break up the root networks of weeds became available. It was an expensive piece of equipment&required cultivators to harness more energy to pull it through moist soil. Once hitched to oxen or horses, the heavy plow contributed significantly to increased agricultural production. Serfs cleared new lands for cultivation, constructed watermills&developed a horse collar which allowed them to rely less on slow-moving oxen and more on horses. They also experimented w/new methods of rotating crops that enabled them to cultivate land more intensively than before. | |
| 297424854 | A Rural Society | Agricultural surplus of early medieval Europe was sufficient to sustain political elites like lords&their retainers, but not substantial enough to support cities w/large populations of artisans, crafts workers, merchants&professionals. Europe was entirely a rural society that engaged in little commerce. Manors&local communities produced most of the manufactured goods that they needed, including textiles&heavy tools&provided the materials&the labor for construction&other large-scale projects. | |
| 297424855 | Mediterranean Trade | Local markets&fairs offered opportunities for small-scale exchange, while peddlers shopped their wares from one settlement to another. Maritime trade flourished in the Mediterranean despite Muslim conquests in the region. By 100 CE, food crop that in earlier centuries had made their way throughout much of the Islamic world were beginning to take root in Mediterranean Europe. Hard durum, wheat, rice, spinach, artichokes, eggplant, lemons, limes, oranges&melons all made their way to Sicily, southern Italy&Spain b/c of European participation in the larger trading world of the eastern hemisphere. | |
| 297424856 | Norse Merchant-Mariners | Most active among the the early medieval merchants in the northern seas were Norse seafarers, kinsmen of the Vikings who raided lands from eastern Europe to the Mediterranean. Norse traders followed same routes as Viking raiders&many mariners turned from commerce to plunder. Norse merchants went from ports in Russia to Ireland carrying cargoes of fish&fur from Scandinavia, honey from Poland, wheat from England, wine from France, beer from the Low Countries, &swords from Germany. Norse merchants linked western Europe w/the Islamic world. Silver transported from the Abbasid empire by Norse merchants was a principal source of bullion used for minting coins in early medieval Europe&a crucially important element of European economy. | |
| 297424857 | Population | In 200 CE, before the Roman empire began to experience serious difficulties, the European population stood at about 36million, it fell over next 4 centuries to 31million in 400&26million in 600. By the end of the early middle ages, western Europe was poised to experience economic&demographic expansion that vastly increased European influence in the eastern hemisphere. | |
| 297424858 | The Franks & the Church | Deep commitment to Roman Christianity became a hallmark of Frankish policy. Clovis, his successors&the Carolingians viewed themselves as protectors of the papacy. Charlemagne supported the church in Italy&worked to spread Christianity in northern lands. He maintained a school at Aachen where he assembled prominent scholars from all parts of his empire. They corrected texts, made copies of the Bible&classical latin literature&taught Christian doctrine to men preparing for careers as priests or church officials. Charlemagne ordered monasteries in his empire to provide free instruction in reading&writing. These efforts increased literacy in Latin languages&popular understanding of basic Christian doctrine. | |
| 297424859 | The Spread of Christianity | Charlemagne sometimes promoted the spread of Christianity by military force. 722-804 he waged campaign against the Saxons. They resisted both the political&religious dimensions of Charlemagne's campaign. Charlemagne prevailed, Saxons acknowledged him as their political lord&replaced pagan religions w/Christianity. By 1000, Christianity had won the allegiance of most people throughout western Europe&even Nordic lands. By sponsoring the Roman church, Charlemagne helped establish Christianity as the dominant religion&cultural tradition in western Europe. | |
| 297424860 | Pope Gregory I | The person most important for providing the Roman church w/its sense of direction, (590-604 CE), Gregory the Great. During late 6th century the Lombards consolidated their hold on Italian peninsula, menacing Rome&Roman church in the process. Gregory ensured survival of city&church by mobilizing local resources&organizing the defense of Rome. Gregory also asserted papal primacy, a practice that enhanced the influence of the Roman church in the lives of individuals. | |
| 297424861 | The Conversion of England | Gregory strengthened the Roman church further by extending its appeal&winning new converts in western Europe. Most important of his missionary campaigns was one directed at England, recently conquered by Angles, Saxons&other Germanic peoples. He aimed efforts@the kings who ruled various regions of England, hoping that their conversion would induce their subjects to adopt Christianity. Tactic succeeded, by early 7th century Christianity had established a stable foothold in England& by 800 England was securely within the fold of Roman church. | |
| 297424862 | Monastic Rules | During early days of monasticism, each community developed its own rules, procedures&priorities. Some communities demanded that their inhabitants follow extremely austere lifestyles that sapped energy of monks. Other communities didn't establish any clear expectations of their recruits, w/result that monks wasted their time or wandered aimlessly from one monastic house to the other, these haphazard conditions prevented monasteries from mounting effective Christian missions. | |
| 297424863 | St. Benedict | St. Benedict of Nursia(480-547)strengthened the early monastic movement by providing it with discipline&sense of purpose. 529 St. Benedict prepared a set of regulations know as Benedict's Rule for the monastic community that he had founded at Monte Casino. The Rule didn't permit extreme asceticism but required monks to take vows to lead communal, celibate lives under the absolute direction of the abbot who supervised the monastery:poverty, chastity&obedience became prime virtues for Benedictine monks. Rule also called for them to spend time in prayer, meditation&work.At certain hours monks came together for religious services&prayer&they divided the remainder of the day into periods for study, reflection&manual labor. | |
| 297424864 | St. Scholastica | St. Benedict's sister(482-543), made an adaptation of the Rule for religious women living in convents. Within a century most European monasteries&convents observed the Rule. | |
| 297424865 | Monasticism & Society | European monasteries provided a variety of social services. Serves as inns for travelers&places of refuge for individuals suffering from natural or other calamities. Served as orphanages&provided medical treatment for ill&injured. Often set up schools&offered some educational services for local regions&large monasteries provided more advanced instruction for those attaining priesthood. Some monasteries had libraries where monks copied works of classical literature&philosophy. Monasteries served as a source of literate, educated&talented individuals whose secretarial&administrative services were crucial for the organization of effective gov't in early medieval Europe. |
