AMSCO 1.6 Developments in Europe

Western Europe entered the Middle Ages, also called Medieval
- Roman Empire declines in power in 5th or 6th century
- trade declined, intellectual life receded, descended into tribal kingdoms that fought for territory
- Europeans worked out agreements for common defense in response to danger

1000-1450 called High Middle Ages
- trade and learning began to flourish once more
- Peter Abelard (1079-1142) studied philosophy and Aristotle, he was critical of Catholic church but remained a part of it

Large continuity of Europe

Church was one institution that was powerful from Roman times to 16th century

Feudalism

Middle Ages had decentralized political organization based on system of land exchanges of land for loyalty
- Monarch gave land called fiefs to lords. Lords became king's vassal, person who owed service to another person of higher status
- Lords gave land to knight, who became vassals of the lord and pledged to fight
- Lords also gave land and protection to peasants. They farmed land and provided crops and livestock
- code of chivalry, an unwritten set of rules for conduct focusing on honor, courtesy, and bravery

manors

Large fiefs or estates

Manorial System

Provided both economic self-sufficiency and defense
- small villages that included church, blacksmith, mill, presses for making cider, wine, or oil, in addition to homes of serfs, who were tied to the land

Serfs

A person who lived on and farmed a lords land in feudal times
- couldn't travel or marry w/o lords permission
- in exchange for protection, they paid tribute with crops and labor
- children born to serfs were serfs

Agriculture more efficient near end of Middle Ages

Windmills, plows (light for Southern Europe, heavy for soil in areas like Alps)
- manor made everything people needed, so need for trade/contact with other places
- many Serfs spent entire lives on same manor

Three-field system

a system of farming developed in medieval Europe, in which farm land was divided into three fields of equal size and each of these was successively planted with a winter crop (wheat, rye, crops for food), planted with a spring crop (legumes like peas, lentils, beans that made soil fertile), and one left unplanted.

Stronger monarchies developed later in the Middle Ages that displayed two common things that increased power of Monarchy at the expense of feudal lords

Hired growing bureaucracy to carry out decisions and hired a small army that was controlled only by the monarch
- didn't work for government or state
- desire for power created tensions as representation and absolutist clashed

France in the Middle Ages

King Phillip II (1180-1223) developed first real bureaucracy but Philip IV (1285-1314) was when first Estates-General Met

Estates-General

Body of three legal classes, or estates: clergy, nobility, commoners
- consulted when necessary, did not exact regular classes on the top two
- with little power, many felt little responsibility to protect a government that they weren't financing, a problem that increased up to the eve of the French Revolution in 1789

estates

three legal classes in Estates-General

Holy Roman Empire

German King Otto I was crowned Holy Royal Emperor in 962
- successors survived power struggle over lay investiture controversy of the 11th and 12th centuries, which was over whether a secular leader rather than the pope could invest bishops with symbols of office
- Resolved in Concordat of Worms in 1122, where Church received autonomy from secular authorities
- Holy Roman Empire remained vibrant until it was virtually destroyed in 30 years war (1618-1648) where it lingered on but with little power
- Empire officially came to end when Napoleon invaded Central Europe in 1806

Otto I

10th century ruler who became emperor of the German states through close ties with the Catholic Church

Lay investiture controversy

A dispute over whether a secular leader, rather than the pope, could invest bishops with the symbols of office.
- resolved in Concordat of Worms in 1122 when Church received autonomy from secular authorities

Norman England

Normans were descendants of Vikings who were settled in northwest corner of France (Normandy)
- 1066 Monarch of Normandy, William the Conquerer, successfully invaded England, which gave him kingdoms on both sides of the English Channel
- presided over tightly organized feudal system, using royal staff as administrators
Many nobles rejected the power of William and succeeding Norman successors.
- Nobles we're responsible for Magna Cart, signed by King John in 1215 under pressure from leading nobles that required king to respect certain rights
- English Parliament

Magna Carta

the royal charter of political rights given to rebellious English barons by King John in 1215
- jury trial before a noble could be sentenced to prison
- nobles had to be consoled in issue of scutage (tax placed on knight who wanted to buy out of military service)

English Parliament

Formed in 1265, these developments increased the rights of the English nobility, but not of the general population.
- House of Lords represented nobles and church and House of Commons was elected representatives of wealthy townspeople
- power of two legislative bodies in England became stronger than that of similar bodies on the European continent

Roman Catholic Church during Middle Ages

1054 split into two branches in a process called Great Schism: Roman-Catholic, who dominated most of Europe, and Orthodox, who was powerful further east into Russia
- Roman Catholic Church extremely influential during Middle Ages, only authority that covered much of Europe
- maintained power because church staff was only people who knew how to read or write, so commoners came to church officials for their needs. Manors has a small church and priest.

Education and Art in Roman Catholic Church

Established 1st universities in Europe, and church led in area of education
- all artists worked for church since most artwork focused on religious themes b/c it educated illiterates serfs on lessons from the Bible

Church and State in Roman Catholic Church

Church held great power in feudal system, and if lord displeased church, it would pressure lord in various ways, such as canceling religious services that angered serfs
Hierarchy of religious leaders:
Regional religious leaders called bishops served allegiance to the Pope, the supreme bishop in Rome. Bishops selected/supervised local priests
- missionaries spread Christianity through Europe, providing a common identity

Western Europe entered the Middle Ages, also called Medieval
- Roman Empire declines in power in 5th or 6th century
- trade declined, intellectual life receded, descended into tribal kingdoms that fought for territory
- Europeans worked out agreements for common defense in response to danger

1000-1450 called High Middle Ages
- trade and learning began to flourish once more
- Peter Abelard (1079-1142) studied philosophy and Aristotle, he was critical of Catholic church but remained a part of it

Large continuity of Europe

Church was one institution that was powerful from Roman times to 16th century

Feudalism

Middle Ages had decentralized political organization based on system of land exchanges of land for loyalty
- Monarch gave land called fiefs to lords. Lords became king's vassal, person who owed service to another person of higher status
- Lords gave land to knight, who became vassals of the lord and pledged to fight
- Lords also gave land and protection to peasants. They farmed land and provided crops and livestock
- code of chivalry, an unwritten set of rules for conduct focusing on honor, courtesy, and bravery

manors

Large fiefs or estates

Manorial System

Provided both economic self-sufficiency and defense
- small villages that included church, blacksmith, mill, presses for making cider, wine, or oil, in addition to homes of serfs, who were tied to the land

Serfs

A person who lived on and farmed a lords land in feudal times
- couldn't travel or marry w/o lords permission
- in exchange for protection, they paid tribute with crops and labor
- children born to serfs were serfs

Agriculture more efficient near end of Middle Ages

Windmills, plows (light for Southern Europe, heavy for soil in areas like Alps)
- manor made everything people needed, so need for trade/contact with other places
- many Serfs spent entire lives on same manor

Three-field system

a system of farming developed in medieval Europe, in which farm land was divided into three fields of equal size and each of these was successively planted with a winter crop (wheat, rye, crops for food), planted with a spring crop (legumes like peas, lentils, beans that made soil fertile), and one left unplanted.

Stronger monarchies developed later in the Middle Ages that displayed two common things that increased power of Monarchy at the expense of feudal lords

Hired growing bureaucracy to carry out decisions and hired a small army that was controlled only by the monarch
- didn't work for government or state
- desire for power created tensions as representation and absolutist clashed

France in the Middle Ages

King Phillip II (1180-1223) developed first real bureaucracy but Philip IV (1285-1314) was when first Estates-General Met

Estates-General

Body of three legal classes, or estates: clergy, nobility, commoners
- consulted when necessary, did not exact regular classes on the top two
- with little power, many felt little responsibility to protect a government that they weren't financing, a problem that increased up to the eve of the French Revolution in 1789

estates

three legal classes in Estates-General

Holy Roman Empire

German King Otto I was crowned Holy Royal Emperor in 962
- successors survived power struggle over lay investiture controversy of the 11th and 12th centuries, which was over whether a secular leader rather than the pope could invest bishops with symbols of office
- Resolved in Concordat of Worms in 1122, where Church received autonomy from secular authorities
- Holy Roman Empire remained vibrant until it was virtually destroyed in 30 years war (1618-1648) where it lingered on but with little power
- Empire officially came to end when Napoleon invaded Central Europe in 1806

Otto I

10th century ruler who became emperor of the German states through close ties with the Catholic Church

Lay investiture controversy

A dispute over whether a secular leader, rather than the pope, could invest bishops with the symbols of office.
- resolved in Concordat of Worms in 1122 when Church received autonomy from secular authorities

Norman England

Normans were descendants of Vikings who were settled in northwest corner of France (Normandy)
- 1066 Monarch of Normandy, William the Conquerer, successfully invaded England, which gave him kingdoms on both sides of the English Channel
- presided over tightly organized feudal system, using royal staff as administrators
Many nobles rejected the power of William and succeeding Norman successors.
- Nobles we're responsible for Magna Cart, signed by King John in 1215 under pressure from leading nobles that required king to respect certain rights
- English Parliament

Magna Carta

the royal charter of political rights given to rebellious English barons by King John in 1215
- jury trial before a noble could be sentenced to prison
- nobles had to be consoled in issue of scutage (tax placed on knight who wanted to buy out of military service)

English Parliament

Formed in 1265, these developments increased the rights of the English nobility, but not of the general population.
- House of Lords represented nobles and church and House of Commons was elected representatives of wealthy townspeople
- power of two legislative bodies in England became stronger than that of similar bodies on the European continent

Roman Catholic Church during Middle Ages

1054 split into two branches in a process called Great Schism: Roman-Catholic, who dominated most of Europe, and Orthodox, who was powerful further east into Russia
- Roman Catholic Church extremely influential during Middle Ages, only authority that covered much of Europe
- maintained power because church staff was only people who knew how to read or write, so commoners came to church officials for their needs. Manors has a small church and priest.

Education and Art in Roman Catholic Church

Established 1st universities in Europe, and church led in area of education
- all artists worked for church since most artwork focused on religious themes b/c it educated illiterates serfs on lessons from the Bible

Church and State in Roman Catholic Church

Church held great power in feudal system, and if lord displeased church, it would pressure lord in various ways, such as canceling religious services that angered serfs
Hierarchy of religious leaders:
Regional religious leaders called bishops served allegiance to the Pope, the supreme bishop in Rome. Bishops selected/supervised local priests
- missionaries spread Christianity through Europe, providing a common identity

Monasticism

Living in a religious community apart from secular society and adhering to a rule stipulating chastity, obedience, and poverty. (Primary Centers of Learning in Medieval Europe)
- some Christian clergy withdrew to monasteries to meditate and pray, but remained part of economies of Western Europe
- contained some economic functions of agriculture and protection as manors

Reform in Roman Catholic Church

Monasteries became wealthy which led to corruption in the 13th and 14th centuries
- corruption and theological disagreements drove reformers like Martin Luther to take stands that shattered the unity of the Roman Catholic Church in 16th century

Christian Crusades

sought to reclaim Holy Land, region of Palestine in the Middle East that contains significance to Jews, Christians, and Muslims
- European Christians accesses lands for centuries even while lands were under control of Muslim forces
Social and economic trends of 11th century added to pressure to invade
- primogeniture, where eldest son gets all, left many younger sons without access to wealth and land
- Nobles made military campaign as a way to divert ambitions of restless nobles and unemployed peasants and merchants wanted unlimited access to trade routes
Combination of pressures led to European Campaign (1095-1200s) called Crusades
- tensions between pope and kings desire to take control. Used spiritual authority to recruit believers, promised early access to Heaven if they joined a Crusade
- support from Orthodox too

First Crusade

only successful crusade which conquered Jerusalem in July 1099. Muslim forces regained control in 1187 under Saladin.

Fourth Crusade

Final Crusade (1202-1204) Venice, a wealthy city-state in Northern Italy, had a contract to transport Crusaders to Middle East to an area known as the Levant. Venice was not paid all that was due, so convinced Crusaders to first sack Zara, an Italian city, and then Constantinople, a major trade competitor. 4th Crusade never made it to holy land, so Islamic forces prevailed in the Levant.

Social Change in Middle Age Europe

Growth in commerce changed social pyramid, making a new middle-class called bourgeoisie, or burghers, which included shopkeepers, merchants, craftspeople, small landowners
- small but took shape as Europe joined Byzantine Empire and Muslim nations in long distance relationships of money and goods
- social structure more fluid w/ emphasis on economics than Christian ideals

Economic and Social Change in Middle Age Europe

Crusades just one part of changes in Europe. Local serf-sufficiency gave way to interest in goods from other European areas and far-flung ports. Late 13th century Marco Polo, Italian native from Venice, visited court of Kublai Khan in Dadu, modern day Beijing
- descriptions of customs from people he met intrigued Europeans, stimulating interest in cartography, or map making

Urban Growth in Middle Age Europe

Change to 3 field system and other advances led to population growth
- surplus encouraged growth of towns and markets
- need for more labor on manors, especially after plagues in 14th century gave Serfs more bargaining power w/ lords
Urban growth hampered after 1300 for 5 centuries from cooling of the climate called Little Ice Age
- lower temperatures reduced agricultural productivity, so there was less to trade so cities few more slowly
- brought diseases and unemployment which made social unrest
- crime rate increased and Jews were victims of scapegoating, which is being blamed for something with no control over

Jews in Middle Age Europe

Small Jewish population in Christian Europe grew. Jews moved northward where places like Amsterdam welcomed them since they had valuable experience in business and trade
Roman Catholic Church policy that couldn't charge interest on loans to other Christians. Jews weren't included in this, so with no economic opportunities, Jews became moneylenders. Increased flow of money contributed to economic growth of Europe.
Anti-Jewish sentiment, called antisemitism, widespread among Christians
- expelled from England in 1290, France in 1394, Spain in 1492, and Portugal in 1497. Moved to Eastern Europe, where numbers increased greatly

Muslims in Middle Age Europe

Faced discrimination
- 1492, Spanish king expelled remaining Muslims in kingdom that wouldn't convert
- many moved southeastern Europe
- 13th century, Muslim Ottoman Empire extended its reach to Balkan countries which developed large Muslim populations
Jews and Muslims helped shape society
- Jews lived in urban areas and served as bridge between Christians and Muslims whose goods they desired in trade
Contract with trade opened up world of trade and ideas for Europeans who had long been self-sufficient and isolated under feudalism

Gender Roles in Middle Age Europe

Rights eroded as wave of patriarchical thinking and writing accompanied movement from agricultural society to move urban. Even fewer women than men received education, even though women often managed manor accounts
- religious orders allowed women to demonstrate skill
Women in Islamic societies enjoyed higher levels of equality, especially in Africa/Southeast Asia

Renaissance

Period characterized by a revival of interest in Classical Greek and Roman literature, art, culture, and civic virtue
- scholars recovered and studied decaying manuscripts that had been written many centuries earlier
Interest in humanism, focus on individuals rather than god
- sought education and reform and wrote secular literature
Cultural changes such as use of vernacular language, propelled rise of powerful monarchies, centralization if governments, birth of nationalism

Northern Renaissance

1400, Renaissance spread to Northern Europe
- many featured piety while others had human concerns
- Geoffrey Chaucer chide vernacular for his works though many of other writing in Latin

Southern Renaissance

Regions of Italy and Spain, where the Church support it. Dante Alighieri was an artist who had support but was still independent from Roman Catholic Church

Origins of Russia

Extensive trade connected people in Scandinavia, Central Asia, and region around Black and Mediterranean Sea. City of Kiev (now Ukraine), city-states and regions involved were known as Kieran Rus.
- Mongols overtook region so history developed separately
- nobles grew wealthy and resisted Mongol Rule
- Under Ivan the Great, region became independent of Mongols, which marked beginning of Russia