Medieval Europe Study Guide, 5th-15th century

World History

Central Authority

• Controlled by a single person or government

• They have all the power

• EX. Pope or King

Feudalism

a social and economic system in medieval Europe where land was held by lords and vassals in exchange for military service and loyalty.

decentralized power structure with local rulers.

Decentralized Authority

• A system where power is distributed among many local authorities rather than centralized.

• Opposite of central authority

Power Vacuum

A situation where there is no clear authority or leadership, often resulting in chaos and conflict, typically following the collapse of a centralized power.

Holy Roman Empire

• large group of territories in central Europe ruled by an empere

• Charlemagne started it

• 800-1806

Clovis

• First king of the Franks

• United all the Frankish tribes

• Converted to Christianity because of the battle in 496 which compelled the other Franks to do so as well

  • He had thought he won because he prayed to God

Charlemagne

• Was a powerful king who reunited almost all of western Europe

• Then got crowned emperor by Pope Leo III in 800 because he crushed the mob threatening the Pope

  • United Germanic power + Church + Roman Empire into Holy Roman Empire

Treaty of Verdun

• Occurred in 843

• Split Charlemagne’s empire into 3 parts because his grandsons were fighting for power and because his son, Louis the Pious, wasn’t a great ruler either

  • Greatly weakened the empire

  • Weak rulers

  • No central authority

  • Carolingian kings lost power

  • Led to Feudalism

Mutual Obligations

• Lords and vassals and knights and serfs held a compromise

  • Lords gave vassals land, vassals gave military service + armies + loyalty

  • Lords gave serfs land to work and a home + military protection, serfs worked the lands of the lord

Monastery

• Religious communities where Monks lived, prayed and worked (all male)

• Ran by Abbots

• They devoted their lives to serving God

• Were the best educated communities in Europe at the time

• Were greatly respected because they were also centers of health

• People thought that through their prayers they would go to heaven

Convent

• Similar to a monastery but for nuns (all female)

• A way for women to have more independence rather than to be tied down to a man with an arranged marriage

Secular

• Dealing with non-religious + spiritual matters

• Over time, Popes dealt with both secular and religious matters

Tithe

• the 10% of the income villagers living at a lord’s manor needed to give to the Church

Clergy

• Religious officials in the church

  • Pope, Bishop, Priest

Church Hierarchy

• Pope at the top

  • Headed the church

• Bishops after

  • Managed priests

  • Cleared up arguments on religious matters

• Priests were the lowest

  • People’s main contact with the church

St. Benedict

• Wrote down rules for how monks should live in 520

Papal Authority

• Power of the Pope over the Church and sometimes over kings, emperors, and other leaders

Pope Leo III

• Crowned Charlemagne emperor in 800

  • This showed the Church’s power over leaders + papal authority

Pope Gregory I

• Became Pope in 590

• Strengthened the power of the pope

• Spread Christianity

• Acted as a mayor of Rome

  • Helped many people

Lay Investiture Controversy

• Church and Emperors/Kings fought over who picked Church officials, mainly Bishops

• Resulted in Concordat of Worms

  • Only the Church could appoint Bishops and give them power

  • Emperor could veto appointments though

Chivalry

• A knight’s code of honor

  • Bravery+loyalty+respect for women and weak people

  • Code of Chivalry: needed to defend 3 masters

    • Earthly feudal lord

    • Heavenly lord

    • Chosen lady

Lord

• gave fief (land) and protection

• lived on the manor in the manor house

Fief

• land that the lord gave to vassals and knights

Vassal

• received the fief from the lord

• provided military in return

Mutual Obligations

• Lords gave vassals and knights fief, vassals and knights gave loyalty and military protection as well

Knight

• mounted warrior who served a lord in exchange for fief

Franks

• Powerful Germanic tribe that emerged from the collapse of the Roman Empire

• Founded the Holy Roman Empire

Germanic Traditions

• Warrior culture: fighting, military power, etc

• Loyalty to their respective tribes

Vikings

• raiders from Scandinavia

• attacked parts of Europe and settled in other parts

• brutal with warlike names and gods

• fast raiders

• traders, explorers, farmers

Saddle

• helped riders stay on horses during battle

Stirrups

• gave riders more stability and power in combat

Battle of Tours

• Occurred in 732

• Frankish army led by Charles “the Hammer” Martel

• Stopped Muslim raiding party

• Made Martel a Christian hero

Manorialism

• economic aspect of feudalism

• structured around a self-sufficient manor or estate

Manor

• large estate with a village, farmland, maybe a Church, and the lords and nobles’ house (manor house)

Serf

• peasant tied to the land they were born on, couldn’t leave without permission from lord

• could not be sold = were not slaves

Self-sufficient

• Everything needed was made on the manor, there wasn’t much need to leave for the peasants and serfs

Mutual Obligations

• Lord gave the serfs military protection

• In turn, the serfs worked the land and gave the lord labor

Barter

• trading goods and services

• no money involved

Class Structure

• Kings

• Lords

• Nobles + Church officials

• Knights + Vassals

• Peasants/serfs

Women’s social status

• Mostly limited rights

• Church viewed men above women

• As feudalism spread, women’s status went down

• However noblewomen could 

  • Manage estates

  • Get the estate when husband died 

  • Dispatch knights to battle

  • Act as a general or warrior

  • Helped during castle sieges

• Noblewomen could not get fiefs like knights

• Peasant women worked in homes and fields