Medieval History

Development of Christianity in the late Roman Empire

304: Diocletian ends Christian persecution

312: Battle of Milvian Bridge -> Constantine accepts Christianity

313: Edict of Milan, tolerance of Christianity. Christians now had to identify themselves with the Empire

325: Council of Nicaea -> First ecumenical council: agreement that Jesus Christ was both divine and human

380: Edict of Thessalonica -> declares that the Christianity established at the Council of Nicaea as the Empire's state religion

Beliefs of Arrianism, Monophysites and Manichaeism

Arrianism: The Father was pure Godhead while the Son (Christ) was created

Monophysites: God's form as Jesus was completely divine, not human

Manichaeism: Jesus' human nature was not real; its materiality and suffering were only apparent

The Great Church Fathers

4th century: Christian literature was seen as inferior/primitive until the educated Church Fathers made them presentable to the elites -> Latin rhetoric and literature

- Ambrose of Milan: brought relics of martyrs into the Church

- Augustine of Hippo: city of God vs city of Rome. Understanding of the how sin is passed down through generations (the First Sin)

- Jerome of Stridon: translated the Bible into Latin

- Pope Gregory the Fifth: 5th century. Makes the Italian popedom the richest landowner in Italy + sends out missionaries to England

Characteristics of Europe in the Early Middle Ages

· Rural (few cities)

· Church central to society. Monasteries, bishops

· Royal court + aristocracy (those who have been chosen by the king). Traveling court, not in one place

· No tax system, no professional army

· State based on loyalty

. Plunder economy - the need for the perpetual winning of wars

Characteristics of Byzantium in the Early Middle Ages

. Claimed to be the continuation of the Roman Empire.

· Cities are important

· Had a tax system, professional army and bureaucracy

· Christianity as state religion

· Emperor with central authority

· Agricultural economy

. Generals (strategoi) controlled separate areas/strategiai

Characteristics of the Islamic world in the Early Middle Ages

· From nomads to cities

· Militaristic society

· Islam not made mandatory in places they conquer

· Tax system (non-Muslims pay more)

. Leadership Muslim, with everyone else left as long as they were loyal

How the collapse of the Roman Empire changed cities

- Loss of Rome's centralized tax system means there's no central economy

- The middle class disappeared

- Monasteries became important corporate landowners

- New Christian family values: grounds for divorce, punishments for infidelity

Spread of Catholicism 750-900

- Clovis, king of the Franks, and the Visigoths in Spain convert from Arrianism to Catholicism

- The Church followed the Roman civitates system and had the bishops as the leaders of local administration

- Catholicism and Orthodoxy compete in Moravia and Bulgaria. Bulgaria, Serbia and Russia join Byzantium's Orthodoxy

Benedict of Nursia and the origins of monasticism in Western Europe

Monks lived outside the structure of the Church and were either eremitical (hermits) or cenobitical (living in a community). Were especially prevalent in Italy and Gaul.

In the mid-6th century, the respected abbot Benedict of Nursia stated that monks should live in an ordered community with three rules: obedience, poverty, and stabilitas loci (no leave without the abbot's permission). Benedict is seen as the originator of Western Christian monasticism.

During the 5th/6th centuries, monasteries became corporate landowners.

Spread of Christianity to England and Ireland

Ireland: St Patrick (5th C) brought Christianity to Northumbria. There were no Roman administrative structures, so monasteries played a crucial role. The monks had no Benedictian rule, but followed peregrinatio (pilgrim/living as a stranger)

-- Issues arose between Ireland and the continent: different ways to calculate Easter -> Northumbria agreed on the Roman way in 664 Synod of Whitby

-- Mission to Gaul: Columbanus (590), founds monasteries and maintains close relations with the Merovingians. Brought an Iro-Frankish monasticism explosion 600-700

England: 596 Pope Gregory the Great sends a mission to England

-- Gregory feared the imminent end of the world and wanted everyone to have the chance to follow Christ

-- Augustine becomes first archbishop of Canterbury

-- Christianized from two sides: Ireland and Rome

Role of monks in spreading Christianity in France 750-900

Columbanus (590): Founds monasteries in Gaul and maintains close relations with the Merovingians. Brought an Iro-Frankish monasticism explosion 600-700

Willibrord (658-739): Went to Ireland, inspired by peregrination. Went to Frisia, supported the Pippinids (later Carolingians) under Charles Mantel. Gains support from the Roman pope and thus links the Carolingians with the papacy

Boniface (675-754): Successor of Willibord. Set up more monasteries in Frisia and Germany and increased the cooperation between the Carolingians and the papacy

What the story of Gregory of Tours tells us about church asylum

Church asylum: No violence allowed in the church and the king cannot send soldiers in per law

- Led to issues when those protected by church asylum commit crimes/acts of sin inside the church ie Eberwulf being hunted down by the king

Mohammed and the Rise of Islam

Lived from 570-632.

From 610: saw visions from God and wrote these down in the Quran. Preached a strict monotheistic life. His teachings became highly unpopular in his hometown Mecca.

622: Flees from Mecca to Medina, where he gains great support and an army

630: Captures Mecca

635-711: After Mohammed's death, caliphs take his teachings and army and expand -> take Damascus, Antioch, Alexandria, Kabul, Carthage and Spain

Reason for fast Islamic expansion

· Formidable fighters and enemies were weak

· Expansion attracted other fighters to their cause

· Religious motivation

· Kept taxes at local level

. Tolerant of other religions

The split between Sunni and Shiite Muslims

- The first two caliphs after Mohammed were unproblematic: Abu Bakr and Umar. However there was a split between Umar's son Uthman (who became caliph) and Mohammed's son in law Ali

- Shi'ites (Ali followers) vs Sunnis (Uthman) followers

Caliphs Abd-al-Malik and Umar II

Abd-al-Malik (685-705):

· Starts process of state-building

· Forms bureaucratic organization with a clear ideology

· Reorganization of taxes and army. Arabic becomes language of government

. Built the Dome of the Rock to demonstrate the superiority of the religion

Umar II (715-720):

· Claimed all Muslims are equal: opened the door to conversion

. Christians became second-class citizens, who could no longer publicly express their religion and had to wear special clothing. Many convert to Islam

Situation in Byzantium 750-900

- The bishop of Rome is in the service of the Byzantine emperor

- 6th/7th century: Byzantium wars with the Bulgarian empire

- 8th century: Orthodoxy spreads to Bulgaria, Serbia and Russia. Bulgarian kings adopt Greek customs and the emperor's name. In 864 the Bulgarian Khan changed his name to Boris-Michael in honour of Emperor Michael III. Decision made to pacify Byzantium and the many Greeks that lived in his realm

- 8th-9th centuries: A cult of idols starts in the empire, so as to give believers physical objects with which to connect to saints. However, it got denounced and iconoclasm (destruction of icons) took hold under Irene. This added to the division between Orthodoxy and Catholicism. Iconoclasm ended in 843 and is considered a failure

The Abbasid Dynasty

From 750-1258 this was the 3rd dynasty of the Islamic Caliphate. They built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate.

- Relied on the army for control and tax collection

- 756: Ousted Umayyad prince Abd al-Rahman takes back Al-Andalus (Islamic Spain)

Rise to power of the Carolingian Dynasty

Dynasty lasted from 751-987. Rise:

- The Merovingian Dynasty made a mistake by appointing a "maiordomus" (Mayor of the Palace) who gained more power than the king

- The pope of Rome is under pressure from the Lombards. Byzantine ignores his calls for helps so he looks to the Franks

- Charles Mantel becomes maiordomus. Ends the raids coming from Al-Andalus in 732

- 751: Pippin III takes the throne

- 754-756: The pope annoints Pippin and asks for support against the Lombards. Pippin forces the Lombards to return land to the pope and recognizes the pope as the ruler of ex-Byzantine territories in Italy

Rule of Charlemagne

Ruled from 768-814

- 774: Took the Lombard crown and northern Italy

- 772-804: Annexed the Saxons and converted them to Christianity

- Put a buffer zone between his lands and Al-Andalus

- Secured rule through delegating duties to his co-ruler son and dividing the lands into villae (manors) estates

- Had no standing army but a right to call men to arms from his vassals (fideles)

- Appointed regional governors who received temporary grants of land in return

- 799: Pope Leo III faces a scandal and flees to Charlemagne, who gives him an escort back home. In thanks, Leo crowns Charlemagne emperor in 800 -> Pope becomes "emperor-maker" and downgrades Byzantium

Division of the Carolingian Empire

- Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious (ruled 814-840) had a strong rule but faced much division in the lands. Chief unifying tool was Christianity. Put all Frankish bishops and monasteries under his control

- As his father, put his sons as sub-kings. Had his younger sons, Pippin and Louis agree to be sub-kings to the oldest Lothar.

- Family feud leads to civil war -> Treaty of Verdun 843: empire split in three: West (the future France), East (the future Germany), Middle (split between nations)

No standing army and internal fighting meant they couldn't fight off many invasions

Article: McKitterick on Carolingians loyalty, governance and law

Different titles and positions for regional matters: counts and earls

- Power came from the consensus of the nobles and the military to the king. Loyalty was often bought through land and gifts. Closeness to the king brought status and royal protection

- Carolingians connected power through networks of a count and a bishop working together (missi dominici)

- Assemblies: settled disputes, heard petitions, made decisions/lawmaking. Sources of information about the world for the king.

- Capitulares: direct responses to problems, not policy formation

- Law: based on the Theodosian Code, standard codification of Roman law + ecclesiastical law of the Church + new royal legislation. Based more on customs than written law

Why is it a mistake to see early medieval Europe kingdoms either as messy versions of the late Roman Empire or as rudimentary versions of that which existed in Europe from the eleventh century onwards?

- The Roman system was constantly being adapted. Much of what is written about these areas comes from Romanized and Christian writers who write about what is familiar. Money was still being minted and a gift economy kept the economy going

- However, politics after the Romans had to respond to new challenges and suddenly lacked centralized government (especially taxes), unlike the nations of the 11th century onwards. No local governors and admin

Interpreting feudalism as a mode of exploiting land

- Marx distinguishes between slave economy and capitalism

- Marc Bloch "La Societe Feodale" (Annales School) -> relationship between aristocrats and unfree farmers are the foundations of society. A manorial system (peasants living on the lord's domain)

Criticisms of Bloch: No clear relations between a fief and the economic exploitation of land. Not all aristocrat lands were fiefs

- Too simplistic binary opposition between lords and serfs, ignores free peasants for example

- Manorial system is only found in North France/Belgium

Interpreting feudalism as a way to organize the state

Ganshof: We should look at feudalism in a more technical sense -> the relation between kings and vassals, with two factors:

o Vassalage: armed followers of the lord (commendatio)

o Benefice (fief): form of land tenure

Ganshof said these two factors formed feudalism under the Carolingians and led to the formation of calvary

-- Personal relations between vassals and kings were the most important in politics. Vassals were used to rule the realm in the admin, all public offices were considered fiefs

-- 12th century onwards, feudal law starts. In France/England feudal relations strengthened the monarchy, while in Germany the different lords weakened the emperor

Criticism of Ganshof by Susan Reynolds:

- Too much time on feudal relations, not other social ties

- No evidence that the relationship between king and nobles was just based on vassalage

- Ignores geographic variety of the system

- Evidence is based on 13th century legal documents, which don't reflect reality and cannot be used to describe earlier centuries

- Impossible to see 900-1300 as a single period

- Classical feudalism of the 12/13th centuries came from the emerging state, and was not an alternative

Interpreting feudalism as a state of anarchy and lawlessness

Mostly put forward put George Duby (Annale School)

- Historians speak of a feudal revolution (9th/10th century): kings no longer show up on the local level. Local lords take over royal authority and had no competitors

- No way to keep knights in check

- Lords build castles giving them control over the countryside (incastellamento). Their lordship (seigneurie) controls all public authority with all farmers dependent on them. Distinction between free and unfree fades

Criticisms:

- Is the "feudal revolution" just in France or in all Western Europe?

- Too optimistic about how organized the Carolingians really were on the local level

- Argumentation relies too much on modern conceptions of state

Deditio and public shaming

- Deditio was a ritual of submission: the weaker individual throws themselves on the floor, barefoot and in sackcloth

- Rope round neck in submission. King must accept surrender and give mercy. This is an acceptable loss of face and honour

- Precise forms of the ritual are not fixed ie Frederick Barbarossa asked for three acts of deditio from Milan

- Other rituals: destruction of castles, death penalty (decreed but not carried out), clementia (forgiveness) of the king

Article: Thietmar -> why would kings prostrate themselves on the floor and how does this fit into a system of conflict resolution without a state?

German Emperor Henry II (10th century) wished to establish a bishopric in Bamberg, his favoured region. In a council Henry attempted to convince all the bishops to agree to the new bishopric. Each time the conversation turned detrimental for the king, he would prostrate himself on the floor. This forced the bishops to pick him up as it was embarrassing to have the king, the head of the church, submitting to the bishops. In this way, the king exerted symbolic power

Article: Vollrath on "contumacia" and the importance of rituals

Contumacia: means "contempt of court due to nonappearance". Vollrath argues that historiography on noble court cases too quickly applied contumencia for trials that ended with no clean judgment. The term is only meaningful within a framework in which trials are authoritative pronouncements of the law by judges -> currently, the king holds both executive and judicial power

- Instead, courts were a place of rituals, mediation and negotiation where the perpetrator also had to agree on the judgement

Rituals: actions that were practically a "language" with an agreed meaning

- Example: Henry IV prostrating himself on the ground in humiliation in front of the Pope during the Investiture Conflict 1075-1122

- All medieval rulers had to take into account that they were dealing with "persons", or the concept of persona, meaning the whole status, everything someone had and owned (inheritance, rights, rank, honour, prestige, friendship with other noble families)

The Ottonian Dynasty

A dynasty of German Kings (919-1024), named after its first Emperor Otto I. The Ottonian rulers are regarded as successors of the Frankish Carolingian dynasty

- Henry I: Crowned German king after the last Carolingian ruler dies. Reorganizes the army to defeat the invading Hungarians

- Otto I: Defeats rival families, takes the Lombard crown and ends the Hungarian invasions in 955 (Battle of Lechfeld. Gains him recognition throughout the Christian world. Confirms the Declaration of Pippin and is crowned emperor in 982

- Otto II & III: don't do much

- Henry II: Centralized power and held strong ties with the Catholic Church. Remains childless and his death in 1024 ends the dynasty

The Capetians

Ruling family in France from the late 10th through early 14th centuries. Named after the first king Hugh Capet. Main power centre was the Il-de-France around Paris. Kept a strong line due to every king producing a son. This allowed for institutional continuity and for each subsequent king to become more powerful. Dynasty ended with the onset of the 100-Years War.

Power of the king in 10th century France

- Kings faced many invasions and generally let local lords take the brunt of the attacks. Did not have the German monetary advantages

- Territorialisation of power: The king is not much more powerful/rich than his lords. King can no longer prevent nobles from entrenching themselves locally, many castles set up. Only had power in a small section around Paris (Ile-de-France). Highly dependent on the nobility. No longer "Counts in area X but Counts of area X"

Emperor Basil II of Byzantium

(r. 979-1025)

- Had two aims: to stifle the rebellions of the dynatoi (powerful land owning military/gov officials, bishops, abbots) and to swell the borders of his empire

- Took half of the Bulgarian Empire up to the Danube, east beyond the Euphrates, and south to Antioch, Crete, and Cyprus

- 987: rebellion by the dynatoi. Basil wins with his created Varangian Guard (troops from Rus').

Formation of the Rus'

- 988: Emperor Basil marries his sister off to Vladimir (r. 980-1015) in return for the Varangian Guard and Vladimir converting to Christianity, Vladimir takes Basil as second name

- People originally came from Scandinavia. Trapped animals and captured slaves for trading

- Influenced by the long-distance traders Khazars and adopted their khagan title (khan of khans). Eventually destroys the Khazars with Byzantine help

- Religious conversion meant good relations with Byzantine. Likely chose orthodoxy for the prestige of the empire under Basil

Islamic world in the 10th/11th centuries

- The Abbasid Dynasty loses power due to lack of revenue after governors/generals refuse to pay into the treasury. Economy devastated by the Zanj Rebellion (869-883). Iraqi caliphs cannot pay soldiers, new families take power

- The Fatimid Dynasty: profess Shi'ism. Leader claimed to be the true imam (descendent of Ali) and mahdi (divinely guided messiah). Take Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, south Syria and the Western Arabian Peninsula

- The Umayyad's in Al-Andalus oppose the Fatimids but split into small emirates after civil war

- 1022: al-Mufid and others turn Shi'ism into a partisan ideology that insisted on publicly cursing the first two caliphs, turning the tombs of Ali and his family into objects of veneration, and creating an Alid caliph. The Abbasid caliphs then became Sunni spokesmen

The role of vassalage

- Key: personal dependency -> Society is split into three orders: those who pray (oratores), those who fight (bellatores), those who work (laboratores)

- Vassalage was voluntary and public: poor vassals looking for food, arms, and a house, rich vassals looking to enrich themselves

- Only free people could became vassals as the unfree could not swear

Compare the political importance of private relationships in France, Germany, and England, c.900-c.1050.

France:

- Very important as French kings had no consistent tax income and had to rely of loyalties. They thus gave much land away as fiefs

- Counts and dukes were vassals

Germany:

- Vassalage was not important but marriage alliances and investiture ceremonies were

- Dukes were not vassals but owed loyalty through wealth, land, and offices

England:

- Vassalage not important, but personal loyalty was.

- Landowners often adhered to the king when it fitted their interests

Compare the impact of invasions on France, Germany, and England in the 9th and 10th centuries

France: Weakened the centralized control of the king and local lord took over regional defense who then kept autonomy

Germany: Viking/Slav/Hungarian invaders gave the new kings Henry I and Otto I great renown and power

England: Viking invasions allowed Alfred the Great and his successors to unite the Anglo-Saxons

Peace and Truce of God

Movement of the Catholic Church that applied spiritual sanctions in order to limit the violence of private war in feudal society.

Peace of God (986-): had knights swear to protect the church and monks

Truce of God (1040-): prohibited war on Lent/Easter/holy days

Viking raids and formation of Scandinavian countries

- Pillaged or worked for local kings. Sailed to Iceland and Greenland.

- Sail to the England. Alba unites into Scotland

- Kicked out of the south by Alfred the Great

- C. 1000: Denmark, Norway and Sweden develop: Vikings took home their plunder and Christianity with its royal power and state building

- A Dane takes the English throne. Under Cnut (r. 1016-1035) much stays the same and much of Scandinavia was Christianized

The first Anglo Saxon kings 9th/10th century

Alfred the Great (r. 871-899): King of Wessex with great power from his navy and buhrs (strongholds). Sought to educate all freeborn men in religion, written in Old English. 880/890: written code of laws for all English kingdoms in common. The kingdom was split into shires with sheriffs who oversaw the admin

Alfred's grandson Aethelstan (r. 924-939) was the first king of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and was crowned by religious ceremony. Often toured the lands with nobles, bishops, scholars, foreign dignitaries and servants

The impact of the Cluny monastery on the Catholic Church

- 910: The monastery of Cluny is set up in Aquitaine. Had property but it was put in the hands of Saint Peter and Paul. The Pope was its worldly protector who could not infringe on its freedom

- 10th C: new Papal reforms: removing nicolaitism (clerical marriage) and simony (buying church offices)

--> Married clerics were unpure and buying properties/gifts was like trying to purchase the Holy Spirit.

- 11th century: German emperor Henry III denounced simony and refused gifts when appointing bishops. Appoints Leo IX as pope

- Leo IX: The Roman church becomes the head and mother of all churches -> papal supremacy

- 1050-1060: Leo pushes the Reconquista: reclaiming Al-Andalus. Ends in 1492 with the fall of Grenada

- 1054: Byzantium severely disagrees about papal supremacy, ending dreams of recreating the Roman Empire. Catholic church and Byzantine orthodoxy go their separate ways

The Gregorian Reforms and the Investiture Conflict

(1075-1122)

Pope Gregory VII pushes for the Cluny reforms, cleansing of Christianity and papal supremacy. Greg and the German Emperor Henry IV conflict over who gets to appoint archbishops. Both call for the other side to submit.

- 1076: Greg excommunicates Henry. Allows anyone to rebel vs Henry

- 1077: Greg reinstates Henry after the latter undertakes three days of public humiliation outside the castle of Canossa where Greg was staying.

- However, civil war breaks out until 1122

- 1122 Concordat of Worms: the church and royal court agree to share in the ritual of appointing archbishops

- The papacy has become somewhat a monarchy

The First Crusade

(1096 - 1099)

Long term causes: Gregorian Reforms, Jerusalem in Christian hands when Jesus returns, accepting of violence in defense of Christians, economic opportunities, divisions in the Islamic world

Immediate cause: Byzantine emperor Alexius requested help retaking Anatolia from the Seljuks. Pope Urban II transforms it into a pious pilgrimage to the Holy Land by a 100,000 strong armed militia. Urban says that dying in battle will send you straight to heaven

- 1099: Jerusalem is taken. Crusader states are set up

Article: France on why people went on the First Crusade and the milites

"Mouvance" as a central concept = Princes were the head of mouvances, complex systems of patronage.

- Pope Urban offered an escape from sin. This transcended all social classes

- No one wanted to anger the princes who were often in turn in agreement with the church

- The Crusades offered an escape from the complicated mouvances

Milites: refers to the function, not status, of a "knight". Knights all had widely different social statuses. Modern equivalent: General Manager of ICI vs supermarket manager. Higher knights would distinguish themselves with epithets

Article: Kostick on the role of women in the Crusades

Traditional view: often seen as a single category, not in separate social classes. Misunderstanding of the term "prostitutae", which meant unmarried woman -> often just assumed to be prostitutes + church idea that men and women would not go together as they were holding to abstinence

Kostick:

- Not just camp followers

- Providing supplies, support

- Knights brought their wives, part of the mouvance

- Brought to made families in case the crusade was a success

- Unmarried women became scapegoats

- Women became spiritual leaders -> and thus got a certain level of help and protection (ie a women following a divine goose)

Articles: Fulcher and Robert both claim to know what Pope Urban II said in his speech that prompted the First Crusade. What are the differences?

Fulcher: Was an eyewitness and did not yet know what would happen. He focused on:

- Forgiveness of sin

- Pilgrimage

- The ability to become a better person

- New opportunities

- Heaven and other wealth

Robert: Was maybe an eyewitness but wrote it down 25 years later. He knew what happened next and that the Crusade became a success. Focused on:

- Muslims attacking and torturing Christians

- The need to act

- Descendants of Charlemagne

- Don't be attached to worldly possessions

The Second Crusade

(1147-1149)

Ends after 4 days outside the walls of Damascus as the leaders cannot stop in-fighting

Perception of the Crusades during the Enlightenment

17-18th centuries

- Immoral behaviour, the Christians only did so out of greed and wealth

- Ideas influenced by perceptions of the Ottomans:

1 ) Leave the Turks alone. The Turks took their religion more seriously and lived together peacefully, unlike the Western Christians. If the Christians did the same, then they would eventually win

2) The Ottomans are cruel, heathens, devils incarnate. Do not fall inside ideas of civilization and humanism. Racial inferiority

Perception of the Crusades in Orientalism up to 1980s

- Depictions of "orient" nudity

- Mysticism, their religion is different

- They lack control and are backwards

Perception of the Crusades from the 19th century onwards

- Colonialsim and imperialism

- French and Germans priding themselves in their role in the Crusades -> Romanticism

- Ideas of Christian sacrifice

- Nationalism: erecting statues of Jerusalem's kings

- Modern Islamic leaders seeing Saladin as a heroic icon

Perception of the Crusades after WWII and after 1980

After WWII:

- Western aggression and colonialism. Brought havoc

- The West exploited the Middle East and were backwards and inferior to the actually civilized Muslims

1980:

- Previous views are biased

- We need to look at original sources and study on their own merits, look at original intensions

The Seljuk Turks

- 10th C: Nomads from Kazakhstan, served as mercenaries for rival Muslim rulers

- 11th C: Conquests -> defeat other Turks and through to Anatolia (basically took the former Persian empire)

- Take Byzantine lands in central Anatolia in 1071. The occupation of Jerusalem (1075) inspires the First Crusade

- Sunni Muslims, rolled back on the Shi'ite wave from the Fatimids

- Shifted the cultural and political centres of the Islamic world to Iran and Anatolia

- Formed into two states: Great Seljuk Sultanate in the East and the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum (Rome) in the West

- GSS: did not have enough money to just pay troops so handed out iqta (similar to fiefs): right to collect revenues from a particular set of land. Also used to pay army leaders (emirs) and bureaucrats. Emirs would then take away centralized control

- SSR: could pay troops, yet poorer and less intellectual lifestyle

Al-Andalus in the 10th and 11th centuries

- Berber Sanhaja form a federation (Almoravids) under their strong Sunni beliefs and economic wishes

- Main goal was to control the African salt and gold trade. Eventually take half of Spain, while Christians rule the rest.

- Leo IX pushes for the Reconquista

- Alfonso VI, king of Castile-Leon takes Toledo and Valencia. Connects with the Cluny monasteries. Had the pope call him King of Spain in return for Roman liturgy in the kingdom, removing traditional Visigoth culture

- The Almoravid invasion leads to two new states: Aragon-Catalonia and Portugal, who challenge Castile-Leon.

- 12th century: Portugal rejects Leon's rule and becomes independent. Defeat the Almoravids. 1179: Pope recognizes Portugal as a separate kingdom

The First Commercial Revolution

10th century onwards

- Areas became centred around monasteries -> marketplaces start expanding, first foundations for cities by chartering house lots. Surrounded by walls

- Cities quickly expand and house become narrower

- Commercial centres grow quickest on the Med and its waterways

- Long distance traders from Italy (Genoa and Venice) to Constantiople and the Islamic world

- New enterprises: cloth industry, deep-mining tech, beer brewing

- New guilds: regulated and protected professionals, agreed on common prices, work hour

Describe 6 ways the economy quickened during the 10th/11th centuries

1) a more productive agricultural sector

2) the growth of old urban centers and the establishment of new ones

3) increasing commerce and industry

4) construction of new buildings, roads, bridges

5) the elaboration of new legal and monetary institutions to facilitate trade

6) the development of a large urban population that often demanded its own laws and self-government (communes).

Norman Invasion of England

1066

- William of Normandy invades England to dispute the crown of the childless King Edward the Confessor, opposed by Harald Hardrada, king of Norway, and Harold Godwinson, earl of Essex, crowned king of England. William defeats Harold at Hastings and becomes king

- Kept 20% of the land for himself and divided the rest amongst his elite who in turn had their own vassals. King collected taxes

- Created a survey called the Doomsday Book: extensive inventory of land, livestock, taxes, and people used to collect taxes

The 10th-12th century expansion of wealth and monastic orders

- The Benedictine Rule assumed that each religious community would carry out most of its tasks within an enclosed building complex. This led to large grand buildings and people gave things to the monasteries which makes them incredibly rich, going against the original ideas of poverty

- Not all medieval people agreed that such extravagant decoration pleased or praised God, however. At the end of the eleventh century, the new commercial economy and the profit motive that fueled it led many to reject wealth and to embrace poverty as a key element of religious life.

- The Cistercian Order expanded rapidly in response. Although the Cistercians claimed the Benedictine Rule as the foundation of their customs, they followed a life largely governed by the goal of simplicity. In turn, they receive donations and the same cycle happened

The legal definition of a town

Town has certain liberties and legal, admin, and economic rights (in a written charter). Surrounded by walls

- Own sets of rights with exemption from interference from the former lord

- Self-government: semi-autonomous, raise taxes and militias, write rules

o Disadvantages of this definition:

- No distinction in function, appearance, or importance

- Older cities often lack a written town charter

- Some important places lacked town status

The social geography definition of a town

What are a town's mutual relations, network, dependency -> detection through investigation of dependencies

- Emphasis on function, adopted by social historians

- More functions = more important ie amount of schools, barracks, churches, markets

Understanding towns through Mentality and the Common Good

o Jacques Le Goff

- Towns brought intellectual work (+ strikes, holidays), books, idea of 'time is money'

- Identity and perception of citizens is most important. Types of mentality: Superiority vs the countryside. Civilized vs uncivilized. Safe vs unsafe

o The Common Good (The Tyranny of Merit by Michael J Sandel)

- The modern meritocracy is inherently biased and leaves many behind. Two important aspects of the common good:

--> The greater good: private rights/autonomy is overridden by the authorities to provide order and enact measures for the protection of all

--> Ordered society: well-functioning society where everything is done ethically correctly

- Examples: practical (removing polluting industries, paving streets, fighting gambling), market regulations/securing for the customer (no feelings of fraud and theft, negotiating terms, control of weights)

- Consequences:

· Princes take over this idea and their rule/legitimacy is defined by how they keep the common good

Development of Medieval education 6th-12th centuries

-Education in the Carolingian period: Monasteries, Cathedral school and Court

-11th Century:

· Monasteries more restricted to their own monks, not other laymen

· Cathedral schools grow in importance, due to:

o No monastic restrictions

o Exchange of goods and ideas of towns, translations from Greek/Arabic/Latin

o More freedom -> more money and power

- 12th Century:

. Growing number of Latin school (grammar schools)

. Great focus on the liberal arts, in particular logic

· In some towns cathedral schools become so popular that they transform into universities

o University autonomy -> the professors decide on the courses, the fees etc. Idea of universitas: communal organization

o Grants of privileges by popes and princes to universities. After 1220 new universities only possible via pope or prince

o Funds and foundations for lodging of students who in return had certain obligations

The faculties of Medieval university

Four faculties: arts, medicine, law, theology/philosophy

- Liberal Arts:

o Quadrivium: arithmetic, geometry, astronomy

o Trivium: music, logic, rhetoric, grammar à much discussion about ancient authors ie Aristotle

- Logic -> by dialectics and constant counter-arguments to find the answer

o Scholasticism: the method of discussion with help of logical arguments, the mixing of faith and reason and the systemization of knowledge

Guilds and their characteristics

11th-16th century, vast expansion in the 12th century

- Horizontal organization: most masters have the same rights and obligations

- Vertical organization: below the masters were the journeymen and apprentices

- Protection of guildmasters and consumers: quality and prices are guaranteed

- Dangers: rigid protection and exclusion. From 18th on, guilds had negative views -> seen as a limit to progress as people couldn't invest/compete

Fourth Crusade and the sack of Constantinople

1202-1204

- The organizers had ordered too many ships from the Venetians and the army could not pay for it. Venice convinced the army to attack a Hungarian city and then the army turned to Byzantium -> form the Latin Empire

- Byzantium was weak due to the emperor's overreliance on foreign mercenaries

- After 1204, the Byzantines created 3 new states such as the Empire of Nicaea where the emperor gets crowned

- Reclaim Constantinople in 1261

English kings of the 12th century: Henry II, Richard the Lion Heart and John

Henry II came to power after a civil war as the first Plantagenet/Angevin king. Highly wealthy. Controlled Anjou, Normandy, northern France, Aquitaine, vassal to the French king for these areas. Instituted reforms:

- Imposed and standardized royal justice

- Applied common law for chief crimes with many new justices. All property cases required royal writ

- Thomas Becket and Henry disagreed over the control of the church. Henry had Becket killed which made him a martyr

Richard the Lion-Heart (1189-1199): often subdued France and went on the Third Crusade (1189-1192) taking Cyprus and arranging a 3-year truce with Saladin

John (1199-1216)

- 1204: French king Phillip II confiscates John's French territories which leads to war

- 1215: John defeated, which led to English lords rebelling and forcing John to sign the Magna Carta -> tied the king's decisions to telling barons + maintained that the king had to uphold the rights of his people

Frederick Barbarossa

Frederick Barbarossa (1152-1190) came to power after the Investiture Conflict. His rule relied on personal loyalties, not wealth like Henry II of England

- Agreed to princely power but gave them certain obligations ie giving troops

- Conflicted with the Pope on who had more power Declared Charlemagne a saint and set up an antipope

- Invades Northern Italy ignores the infighting of the communes

- 1167: Most Italian states join the Pope in the Lombard League to defeat Frederick, who then withdraws. Fred then married his son to the southern Norman Kingdom of Sicily

Emperor Frederick II

(r. 1194-1250)

Tried to unite Sicily, Italy and Germany but failed

- The Popes wanted their own strong state and declared war on + excommunicated Frederick -> crusade against him in 1240

- Allowed the princes to have their own states -> led to infighting until they united under Rudolf I and the Holy Roman Empire

The Fourth Lateran Council

1215

Called by Pope Innocent III. Established:

- All Christians had to take Communion and to confess their sins to a priest once a year. Communion (Eucharist) was seen as the true blood and body of Christ

- Jews had to wear visible symbols of their religion and heretics were labeled

- Prohibited the creation of new religious organizations and only a few were accepted

- Albigensian Crusade, Crusades in the Baltic and against heretics who claim they are good Christians

New orders:

- Dominicians: converted heretics, walked barefoot, begged for food, became friars and university men

- Franciscans: preached and ministered to lepers, preached in Latin and opposed preaching in the vernacular

- Beguines: Women who worked as launderers, weavers, and spinners. Devoted to simplicity and piety

Social changes of the 12/13th centuries

- Farmland extension: Labour services and dues were recalculated with services turned into yearly rents. Peasants could now sell plots and put them in wills

- Nobles and knights merged into one class and the importance of knights and lances diminishes: rise of romantic literature

- Expansion of guilds: Statues on dues, working hours, wages and fixed prices for materials/products. Guild were often placed under a stronger guild

- Universities: Specialization at different schools. Masters and students were considered part of the clerics, an outgrowth of the original church-related purposes of schools -> university men were thus tried in church courts

- Rise of Gothic architecture

Article: Lipton on Christian approaches to Jews, Muslims, and pagans

- Because Christianity saw itself as the only pure and 'spiritual' faith Jews, Muslims, and pagans alike were depicted as carnal, materialistic, and corrupt

--> Jews were seen as bestial and sub-human. Hated for their role in the Crucifixion. Caricatured in the 13th century as villians

--> Muslim victories against the Christians were rationalized as Islam being the enemy of Christianity. Displayed Muhammad as hypersexual

--> Pagans were seen as evil idolaters in the thrall of the devil

- Many high medieval authors show a distinct disinterest in distinguishing between and among infidel groups

- Christian thinking about non-Christian peoples, then, worked in manifold and varying ways. Representations of Jews, Muslims, and pagans provided outlets for the expression of fear, suspicion, and hatred; they offered scope for feelings of superiority and pride; they titillated, entertained, and amused

Timeline of Mongol Empire

- 12th century: China split between the Northern and Southern Song, with the powerful Liao Empire above it

- Early 13th century: Western Asia -> Empires of Ghur (parts of Iran/Afghanistan/Pakistan/India) and Chorasmia

- 1250-1350: Chinghis Khan forms an empire from various tribes. Take China, Western Asia, the Rus. Destroy the Seljuks and invade Poland/Hungary

- Expansion halts due to dynastic disputes and insufficient pasturage

- 1350 division into 4 areas: The Golden Horde, the Ilkhanate, the Chagatai Khanate and Yuan Dynasty

The Golden Horde

Based in southern Russia and quickly adopted both the Turkic language and Islam. Demanded troops and tributes from the Rus' princes but allowed them considerable autonomy. The Rus moved to Moscow and started resisting the Horde in the 15th century

Ilkhanate

The part of the Mongol Empire that ruled Persia and kicked out the Seljuks. Was a mix of the major religions until it chose Islam

Reasons for the strength of the Mongols

- Nomadic Warbands: Cohesion of conquering band and their loyalty to their leader (booty, reputation)

- Swift cavalry and use of curved bows

- High level of mobilization and training

- Costs of counter strategies of standing armies and walls

- Mongol terror and deterrence

Reasons for the end of Mongol expansion

- Issues for leaders gathering large coalitions of forces

- Becoming assimilated into sedentary cultures like China and India

- Europe's state formation led to towns, stronger trained infantry and new weaponry like artillery

Articles: Favereau on reasons for the success of the Mongol Empire

· The act of redistribution in the Qubi (shares) system with money and land distribution

· Circulation of wealth. Khan's overpaid at times and provided loans so as to fuel the economy, knowing the money would come back to them -> believed this brought happiness due to the good to society. Bringing circulation to many would bring happiness and prosperity now and in the afterlife.

· The 'yam': Complex relay system for communication with positions of outposts to provide support/goods. Had 300-400 horses for the messagers. Provided unity. Financial reforms and common language

· The 'ortaq': If merchants physically came to the palace they would receive generous prices. The Khans used ortaq where favoured and rich merchants received interpersonal credit with investment from rich elites. Very light taxation. Merchants could use the yams and had safe conduct documents (gerege). Formalised routes made by the Mongols

Article: Frankopan on reasons for the success of the Mongol Empire

· Willingness to cooperate and compromise

· Efficient message service

· Tribes were broken down to reduce local loyalties and create new loyalties to the military and the Khan. Standardized fashion and hair. Those conquered were then spread around the empire to weaken bonds and increase assimilation

· Broad minded and tolerant to religions, often told religious figures what they wanted to hear and played the European off of each other

. Used and manipulated the Italian merchants for their own needs

The Mamluk Sultanate

- A political unit in Egypt established by Mamluks, former converted slaves-turned-warriors of the Ayyubids.

- Defeated the Ayyubid Sultanate and kicked out the Mongols from Syria

- Had no consistent, hereditary line of succession, but a military state

- Failed to adapt to new warfare and were eventually defeated by the Ottomans, who brought guns

Power relations in the Songhai Empire

14-16th centuries

Developed out of Mali. Around the inner Niger delta (West Africa)

- Coercive power from the centre, with tribute, taxation and military conscription

- Legitimization through Islam

- Provincial governors had to report to the political centre

- Important men from the subject provinces had to send their sons to the capital as "sons of vassals"/hostages

- Cities like Timbuktu considered the ruler's personal possessions

- Evolving, hierarchical government

Power relations during the Indian Sanskrit Period

Before the 11th century

- Vast political universe of small kings, bigger kings and emperors, in constantly shifting alliances

- Large patrilineal kin groups: conflicts between brothers, nephews, sons etc

- "Mandala" system circle of states: leader's capital/heartland at centre, surrounded by a 2nd circle of allies and a 3rd one of enemies

- No lasting dominance: great rulers were obliged to give away land to vassals

Power relations during the Indian Persiantate Age in Gurid Punjab & Rajasthan

Late 12th/early 13th century

- Area covering Afghanistan, Pakistan and North India. Around the Ganges and Indus

- Invasions by the Mamluks

- Use of warhorses, connected to semi-nomadic incursions/expansion by the Ghaznavid Sultanate, ending with the Mughals in the 16th century

- Different conception of power compared to the Sanskrit period:

- First plundered wealthy cities/temples. Then assimilated and settled in India: introduction of Persian institutions and practices

- Ranked salaries and bureaucracy, tied to the state's land revenue

- Institution of elite, military slavery

- Sultan as absolute sovereign

- State-run revenue assignments: the iqta's, giving land in return for a fixed number of troops

Athenian democracy vs modern democracy

- Athenian democracy had participation, equality for the law, division of power, short governing terms, popular assemblies. Yet no women, slaves, outsiders, equity

- Modern democracy would seem undemocratic to Athens: executive power independent, no direct control, no direct democracy

- Really two different systems. Athenian democracy was never a template for 18th/19th century democracy

Origins for the ideas of consultation and consent of parliament

1) The Great Council: the formal way kings asked the nobility for their opinion

2) 'Continuity of the Realm': Leave alone what works and ensure continuity. Innovation needs consent those who you are working with

13th century brings more:

3) Influence of Roman law, canon law and the greater good: the ruler can legislate and make new laws. Rulers should innovate for the greater good

4) The ruler is never above the law

5) "Quod omnes tangit": what concerns all, has to be agreed by all

Origins for ideas of representation parliament

- Church and canon law: full authority (plena auctoritas) as a legal category: one person can proxy for a large group

- Church organizations: orders have elected leaders and councils with delegates

Development to parliament in England, France, Germany and Spain

England: Consultative role of barons was established in the Magna Carta. In a civil war, Simon de Montfort became the de facto leader (1265). Held two parliaments: the first stripped the king of unlimited authority, the second included the towns. Under Edward I the parliament met regularly yet only gathered if the king asked them to

France: No representative government, only the "Parlement": professional judges who heard cases instead of the king

Germany: The Golden Bull (1356): freed imperial rule from the papacy, however princes now elected new emperors. Townsmen and ministerials (serfs with great honour/wealth) gained importance and countered territorial princes

Spain: Castile-Leon gives first representation to towns (cortes) in 1188 for war consultations due to their immense wealth

Corpus Christi

- 1264: Corpus Christi becomes a Eucharist feast on June 16 celebrating mass and the body of Christ. New devotion towards to Virgin Mother

- 1274: The idea that masses and verbal prayers could shorten one's time in Purgatory is introduced. This led to private chapels being built and the wealthy insisting that they were buried inside the church walls

Avignon Papacy (Babylonian Captivity)

1309-1377

Pope Boniface VIII and King Philip the Fair of France disagreed over the taxation of the clergy. Boniface claimed papal supremacy and that all people should be under papal control. Phillip sent men to arrest Boniface, leading to the pope's death.

The next pope, Benedict XI absolves Phillip but soon dies. Phillip gets his friend Clement V to become pope. Clement refuses to live in Rome and moves to France in 1305, settling in Avignon in 1309, escaping the infighting of powerful Roman families

Here, with the power of the French monarchy and the Dominican and Franciscan orders, the papacy got more say in the appointment of churchmen and distribution of church finances. The orders became foot soldiers of world evangelization

The Great Famine

A terrible famine in 1315-1322 that hit much of Europe after a period of climate change, overpopulation, constant warfare and the hoarding of grain by the rich

The Ottoman Empire

1299-1922

- Othman, a tribal leader, carved out a principality in Anatolia

- Byzantium, Bulgaria and Serbia all wanted to ally with the Ottomans for their own uses instead of joining together

- 1396: Defeat a Crusader army at Nicopolis

- 1402: Defeated by Tamerlane but after his death they recentre their power in Europe at Adrianople

- Superiority from enemy disunity and gunpower and cannons + use of the elite Janissaries

- 1453: Under Mehmed the Conqueror Constantinople is captured. The Ottoman sultans saw themselves as successors to Rome

- Longevity: the Ottoman rulers acted as the sole guarantors of law and order. Taking the title of caliphs in 1517, they considered even the leaders of the mosques to be their functionaries, soldiers without arms

The Hundred Years War

(1337-1453)

- Edward III, last living heir of French king Philip the Fair claims the French throne. The French nobles give the crown to Philip IV. 1337: Phillip confiscates English possessions in France, leads to war

- England takes much of southern France until a peace treaty is signed in 1396

- Henry V (r. 1413-1422) restarts the war. Took Normandy and was aided by Burgundy, a powerful cluster of principalities (which include English trading partner Flanders), to take Paris. This is made easier by Charles VI's bouts of insanity

- 1420: Henry V made heir to the throne of France, yet he dies in 1422

- Charles VII receives Jeanne d'Arc, a 16-year-old peasant and convinces him that she was divinely sent to defeat the English. 1429: defeat the English at Orleans. 1430: Jeanne is burned at the stake, creating a martyr

- 1453: France wins the war. Helped by gunpowder artillery.

Immediate impacts of the Hundred Years War

France: After ten years of stagnation, French economy grows and the king exercised more power

Burgundy: Power collapses and is bought by the Holy Roman Empire

England: Leads to the War of the Roses (1455-1487) between the Yorkists and Lancastrians. Edward of York deposes Henry VI becoming Edward IV. Then Richard III captures Edward V and murders him. Then Henry VII becomes the first Tudor king

Article: Brown on the two models of violence in the 14th century: royal and the code of arms

Royal: Only the king has the legitimate monopoly on violence and only used in warfare. Many in towns supported this and saw non-royal violence as barbaric as it imposed on their livelihoods.

Code of arms: Set of chivalric rules used by knights concerning ransom, etiquette, loyalty and more importantly reasons for violence (or lack of violence). The role of the knight was inherently violent and they considered violence their God-given right. It transcended politics and borders and thus also kings

Article: Froissart on examples of the code of honour

Froissart was a historian living during the 14th century and he detailed much about the Hundred Years War. During the English siege of Calais, English knights (Sir Walter) mediated with French knights on behalf of King Edward. These knights knew each other and thus agreed to find a good compromise. Edward initially wanted to enslave/kill the population but Sir Walter managed to get the king to agree to 6 citizens to perform public humiliation in front of the king.

Popular revolts of the 14th century

Flanders 1323-1328: Peasants drove out officials and redistributed land. Set up an army, courts, taxes. Crushed by France and a papal declaration of a crusade in 1328

France 1358: The Jacqeurie Movement to counter the Free Companies mercenaries led to an uprising vs the nobles. Eventually put down

England 1381: Wat Tyler's Rebellion demanded an end to serfdom. Tyler was killed but in the wake of the Black Death and wars the people had greater say. The rebels went home and negotiated new deals with their landlords

The Great Western Schism

1378-1417

- Avignon pope Gregory IX returns to Rome in 1377. Dies a year later and Urban VI is elected by cardinals

- French declare Urban's election invalid and elect Clement VII at Avignon

- Urban's successor Boniface IX retakes the papal states and focuses greatly on revenue. Allowed people to buy indulgences to purge them of their sins

- 1409 Council of Pisa: Deposed both Boniface and Clement and elect another pope. However, neither pope was there so there's now three popes: Avignon, Rome and Bologna

- 1414-1418 Council of Constance: deposes the three rivals and elects Martin V

- 1439 Council of Florence: The Pope and the Byzantine emperor heal their rift

The Wyclif Movement

English theologian John Wyclif (1320-1384) said the state alone should concern itself with temporal things, ordinary people should be able to read the Bible themselves, the Pope's decrees should stick to things in the Gospels. Ideas are put down in England

Bohemia: Jan Hus takes Wyclif's writings and says the people could disobey clerics who put pomp ahead of the salvation of souls. Prompted Czech and German translations of the Bible

Why were the 14th/15th centuries a disaster?

- Hunger

- Black Death kills half of Europe

- Hundred Years War

- Rebellion and revolution ie the Wat Tyler Rebellion

- Crisis in the Church: Avignon. Schism and discontent

- Supposed cultural and intellectual stagnation

The Black Death

A deadly plague that swept through Europe between 1346 and 1353

Originated on the Tibetan-Quinghai Plateau (now China)

Kills 50% of Europe's population

Socio-economic consequences of the plague for owners of large estates

- Lower prices of grain due to steep decline in demand

- Higher salaries/costs for materials -> workers can ask for more

- Falling profits

- Reaction:

o Specialisation and Rationalisation: new machines ie water/wind energy, principle of the clock, the printing press, spectacles, weaving loom, blast furnace and cast iron (cannons)

o Extensification: change from extensive use of land for grain to raising cattle (Spain and England)