Chapter 13 - European Middle Ages

13.1 - Charlemagne Unites Germanic Kingdoms

• The Germanic barbarians that sacked Rome were illiterate. As more and more families moved to the countryside, the level of learning among Romans plummeted. 

  • Except for priests and other church authorities, few individuals were literate.

• Latin altered as German-speaking peoples interacted with the Roman population. It was no longer understood, despite the fact that it was still an official language.

  •  As new words and phrases became part of ordinary speech, different dialects emerged.

• The entire concept of governance altered as a result of shifting boundaries. Roman civilization was unified through loyalty to the government and written law.

  •  Germanic culture was held together by family ties and personal loyalty rather than citizenship in a public state.

• Gregory I, often known as Gregory the Great, was elected Pope in 590. Gregory expanded the papacy's authority, or pope's office, beyond its spiritual position as head of the Church in Rome. 

  • The papacy became a secular, or worldly, entity involved in politics under Gregory.

• By reducing the power of the nobles, Charlemagne bolstered his royal authority. He dispatched royal agents to manage his empire. 

  • They made certain that the strong landowners, known as counts, ran their counties fairly.

  

13.2 - Feudalism in Europe

• With the collapse of Viking invasions, Europe became the subject of new assaults. The Magyars, a nomadic population from what is now Hungary, attacked from the east.

  •  The Magyars, who were excellent horsemen, surged across the Danube River plains and conquered western Europe in the late 800s.

• Between the years 850 and 950, the invaders' raids were at their peak. Similar agreements were established in various places of Europe during this period by rulers and warriors like Charles and Rollo. 

  • In Europe, a system of governance and landholding known as feudalism had formed. 
  • In China, the Zhou Dynasty governed from roughly the 11th century B.C. through 256 B.C., and had a comparable feudal system. 
  • Japan's feudalism began in 1192 and lasted until the nineteenth century.

• The feudal society had a pyramid-like structure. The king reigned supreme. 

  • The most powerful vassals—wealthy landowners like nobles and bishops—came next.

• Peasants rarely ventured further than 25 miles from their home. They could see their entire universe at a look by standing in the middle of a plowed field. 

  • A manor was usually only a few square kilometers in size.

• Peasants paid a great fee for the privilege of living on the lord's land. All grain ground in the lord's mill was subject to a tax. 

  • Any attempt to avoid paying taxes by baking bread somewhere else was considered a felony. 
  • A marriage tax was also levied on peasants.

  

13.3 - The Age of Chivalry

• During the 700s, leather saddles and stirrups revolutionized the way Europe fought. Both were created circa 200 B.C. in Asia.

• Western Europe had become a battleground of feuding nobility seeking for dominance by the 11th century. 

  • Feudal lords raised private armies of knights to defend their lands.

• Nobles' sons began training for knighthood at a young age and taught the chivalric code. A boy would be taken to another lord's castle at the age of seven. 

  • He began practicing fighting abilities as a page while waiting on his hosts.

• Tournament violence was not comparable to the bloodshed of genuine conflicts, particularly those fought at castles. 

  • Stone castles were enclosed by enormous walls and guard towers by the 1100s.

• Epic poems were treasured by feudal lords and their wives. The acts and adventures of a hero were chronicled in these poems. 

  • Many epics told the stories of renowned heroes like King Arthur and Charlemagne.

• A noblewoman could inherit an estate from her husband under the feudal system. She might also send her lord's knights to war at his request. 

  • The lady of a medieval castle might operate as a military commander and a warrior when her husband was out fighting.

• For generations, life has remained unaltered for the vast majority of lower-class women.

  •  Peasant women produced children and cared for their families while doing ceaseless labor around the house and in the fields.

  

13.4: The Power of the Church

• The Church, like the feudal society, had its own organization. Status determined power. Different ranks of clergy, or religious authorities, made up the church structure. 
  • The Church was led by the Pope in Rome.
• People were divided by feudalism and the manor system. People were brought together by their common convictions in the Church's teachings. 
  • During a period of incessant warfare and political turmoil, the church was a steadfast force.
• The Church had both religious and political power. It established a set of spiritual ideas and rituals that could be shared by everybody. 
  • The Church also established a justice system to govern people's behavior.
• Otto I, sometimes known as Otto the Great, was the most powerful ruler in medieval Germany. Otto, who was crowned king in 936, adopted Charlemagne's ideas. Otto developed a deep relationship with the Church. 
  • He enlisted the aid of the clergy to assist him curb the nobility' power.
• Until 1122, the successors of Gregory and Henry fought over lay investiture. 
  • In Worms, Germany, representatives of the Church and the Emperor met that year.

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