1.6 - Developments in Europe
1.6 – Developments in Europe
Feudalism: Political and Social Systems
The Middle Ages political organization was based on feudalism. A system of exchanges of land for loyalty. The monarch granted land to lords, in return the lords became a king’s vassal. Lords provided land to knights, who then became vassals for the lord. Lords also provided land to peasants who would work the land. This system provided protection for peasants, equipment for knights, and land for those who served the lord. The feudal system incorporated a code of chivalry to resolve disputes.
Manorial System
Large fiefs (or estates) were referred to as manors. The manorial system provided economic self-sufficiency and defense. Serfs (peasants) spent their entire lives on a single manor. Serfs were not slaves, but were tied to the land. Serfs could not travel or get married without the lord’s permission. In exchange for protection, they paid tribute in the form of crops, labor, or coins. AS agriculture improved, the three-field system came into use. Technological developments like the windmill and new types of plows improved agriculture and in turn population growth.
Political Trends in the Later Middle Ages
Monarchies gained power at the expense of feudal lords in the later Middle Ages. They began to employ their own bureaucracy and a military. The land that monarchs began to collect resembled the modern countries of Europe.
France
King Phillip II (ruled 1180 – 1223) was the first to develop a real bureaucracy. The Estates-General met for the first time under King Philip (1285 – 1314). The Estates-General was a body to advise the king. There were representatives from each legal class of France: clergy, nobility, and commoners. The top two estates did not have to pay the same taxes as the bottom one. Therefore the top two did not feel necessity in protecting a government they didn’t pay for. This was a problem that only grew up until the French Revolution of 1789.
Holy Roman Empire
Otto I was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 962. Otto’s successors survived the power struggle with the papacy through the lay investiture controversy. This dispute was over whether a secular leader could invest bishops with the symbols of office. This dispute was resolved by the Concordat of Worms of 1122. The Church achieved autonomy from secular authorities. The HRE remained strong until it was virtually destroyed during the Thirty Years’ War (1618 – 1648) and then came to an end when Napoleon invaded central Europe in 1806.
Norman England
The Normans were descendants of Vikings who settled in northwestern France known as Normandy. 1066, Norman King, William the Conqueror invaded England. He presided over kingdoms on either side of the English Channel in which he applied a feudal system to. Many English people objected to the power of William and the other Norman monarchs. Nobles forced limits on power and forced King John to sign the Magna Carta in 1215. This required the king to respect certain rights. English Parliament was formed in 1265. These things increased the rights of the nobles but not the general population. Parliament was split between the House of Lords and House of Commons.
The Hundred Years’ War
1337 – 1453. The monarchies of England and France fought a series of battles. England won several early victories. However, by the end of the conflict, the English retained only the port of Calais in France. Some other results of the war, the soldiers fostered a sense of unity while serving under their monarch. Marked a step towards identifying themselves as “English” or “French” rather than from a particular region. The war also demonstrated the spreading use of gunpowder weapons.
Christians versus Muslims
Normans also conquered Sicily. They took control of it from the Muslims. Since the 8th century, Muslims had control of Spain and Christians had wanted to reconquer it. The Reconquista occurred over many centuries and was finally completed in 1492.
Roman Catholic Church during the Middle Ages
1054 the Christian Church divided into two branches during what is called the Great Schism. The Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. The Roman Catholic Church ruled most of Europe, the Orthodox Church was farther east from Greece to Russia. The Roman Catholic Church was the most powerful institution in Europe. Church staff were typically the only people who could read or write.
Education and Art
The Church established the first universities in Europe. Most philosophers, writers, and other thinkers during the Middle Ages were religious leaders. Most artwork focused on religious themes to help illiterate serfs understand the Bible.
Church and State
The Church held great power in the feudal system. The Church could pressure the lord in various ways if the lord displeased the Church. The Roman Catholic Church had an extensive hierarchy of regional leaders. Bishops, owed allegiance to the pope and could select and supervise local priests.
Monasticism
Some Christian clergy withdrew to monasteries to meditate and pray. They still remained part of the economies of Western Europe. Monasteries had the same economic functions of agriculture and protection as other manors. Women were permitted to become nuns and exerted their influence in the monasteries of the Catholic Church.
Reform
Clergy took vows of poverty, but still were able to wield considerable political influence. Some monasteries became quite wealthy. This wealth and power led to corruption. This corruption and other disagreements led to Martin Luther taking his stance against the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century. He would shatter the unity of the Church.
Christian Crusades
As Christians were taking control of Sicily and Spain, they also sought to reclaim the Holy Land. Social and economic trends added to the pressure of Europeans to invade the Middle East. Primogeniture left a generation of younger sons with little access to wealth and land. Nobles diverted the ambitions of these younger nobles and unemployed peasants. Tension between the king and pope escalated the desire of the Church to take control. The Church also used its authority to recruit believers to its cause. They granted relief from atonement and penance and promise people they would reach heaven sooner if they joined. The Orthodox Church was alarmed by the persecution of Christians by Seljuk Turks so they also urged the Pope to retake the Holy Land from Islamic control.
The First Crusade
Only this Crusade was a clear victory for Christendom. Conquered Jerusalem in 1099. Muslim forces regained it in 1187. This Crusade promoted cultural exchange between Europe and Middle East. It increased demand for Middle Eastern goods in Europe.
The Fourth Crusade
During the last major crusade (1202 – 1204) Venice had a contract to transport Crusaders to the Middle Eastern city of Levant. The Venetians were not fully paid what was due and so they persuaded Crusaders to sack the city of Zara and then Constantinople. Both these cities were trade competitors to Venice. The Fourth Crusade never made it to the Holy Land and Islamic forces prevailed in Levant.
Economic and Social Change
Marco Polo
An Italian from Venice, visited the court of Kublai Khan in modern day Beijing. He told of what he saw there and his stories intrigued the Europeans. Told of their polygamy, drinking mare’s milk, burning coal to heat their homes, bathing frequently. Curiosity about Asia skyrocketed that stimulated interest in cartography and mapmaking.
Social Change
Long-distance commerce changed the social pyramid in Western Europe. The middle class began to grow. This group was known as the bourgeoisie (or burghers) that included shopkeepers, merchants, craftspeople, and small landholders.
Urban Growth
Populations began to grow and large cities became more popular. Demand for more labor increased, with it supply increased as well. 14th century the Black Death killed one-third of the population. This gave serfs more bargaining power with lords due to the demand in labor. Urban growth was slowed thanks to a climate event known as the Little Ice Age. These lower temperatures reduced agricultural productivity. The Ice Age also led to an increase in disease and unemployment. Social unrest increased as well as crime rates went up, Jews and other groups that faced discrimination were victims of scapegoating.
Jews
During the Middle Ages, Jewish communities began to grow in Christian Europe. Many Jews lived in Muslim areas on the Iberian Peninsula and around the Mediterranean. They were welcomed due to their experience in business and trade. Jews were not bound under the restriction of the Catholic Church that Christians could not charge interest on loans to other Christians. However, antisemitism spread. Saw Jews as outsiders and untrustworthy. They were expelled from England, France, Spain, and Portugal as well as other kingdoms and cities. They often had to move to eastern Europe.
Muslims
Muslims also faced discrimination in Europe. 1492 the Spanish king expelled those who would not convert to Christianity. Most moved to Southeastern Europe and eventually became a part of the Ottoman Empire. Despite the persecution facing them both Muslims and Jews helped shape society in Europe. Jews served as a bridge between Christians and Muslims.
Gender Roles
Women’s rights were constantly eroding as patriarchal thinking took over. Fewer women received an education. Women did see opportunities to display their skill in religious roles. Some women became artisans and members of guilds. Women in Islamic societies tended to enjoy higher levels of equality.
Renaissance
Expansion of trade and the rise of the middle class sparked creativity in Europe leading to the Renaissance. A period f revival of interest in classical Greek and Roman literature, art, culture, and civic virtue. 1439, Gutenberg’s movable-type printing press initiated a revolution in print technology. This allowed manuscripts to be mass-produced which fostered a growth in literacy and the rapid spread of ideas. Humanism was one key characteristic of the Renaissance. This was the focus on individuals rather than God. This led to secular literature being written over religious literature.
Southern Renaissance
Church patronage supported the Renaissance in Italy and Spain. The Divine Comedy written by Dante used a religious framework that featured hell, purgatory, and heaven. Wealthy families, such as the Medicis of Florence, used their money to support painters, sculptors, and architects.
Northern Renaissance
1400 the Renaissance made its way to northern Europe. Emphasized piety in their work, while others emphasized human concerns. Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales in the late 1300s that portrayed the microcosm of middle-class occupations in England including several Church positions.
The Origins of Russia
Trade in furs, fish, and grain connected people from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean to Central Asia. Kievan Rus was at the center of this trade. It adopted Orthodox Christianity and thus maintained a close relationship with Byzantium over that of the Roman Catholic Europe. 13th century, Mongols took over this region so that it was even more separated from the rest of Europe. These Mongols required nobles to collect taxes for them. These nobles grew wealthy and began to resist Mongol rule. Late 15th century Ivan the Great, led the region to become independent of the Mongols. This marked the beginning of the modern state of Russia.