Developments in Europe: Byzantine Empire, Medieval Society, and the Crusades

Developments in Europe

Early Byzantine Empire

• Location and Significance:

  • Offered convenient access to the rich lands of Anatolia, southwestern Asia, and southeastern Europe.

  • Held significant maritime importance.

• Constantinople:

  • Designated by a Roman emperor as the new imperial capital, recognizing Byzantium's strategic value.

  • Known for its libraries, museums, palaces, and churches.

• Caesaropapism:

  • A policy initiated by Emperor Constantine.

  • The emperor not only ruled as a secular lord but also played an active and prominent role in religious affairs.

• Emperors as Absolute Rulers:

  • Following Constantine's example, Byzantine emperors, such as Justinian, presented themselves as exalted, absolute rulers.

• Justinian's Contributions:

  • Lavished resources on the imperial capital, similar to Constantine.

  • Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom): His most notable construction project.

    • A magnificent domed structure, later transformed into a mosque by Ottoman conquerors in the $15^{th}$ century.

    • The dome rises $197$ feet, and its windows allow abundant light into the massive structure.

  • Justinian's Code: His most significant political contribution.

    • A comprehensive codification (organization) of Roman law.

Western Europe in the Middle Ages

• Decline of Roman Empire:

  • In the $5^{th}$ and $6^{th}$ centuries, the Roman Empire declined in political influence and economic strength in Western Europe.

• The Medieval Period:

  • Western Europe entered the Middle Ages, sometimes called the medieval period, characterized by:

    • Declining trade.

    • Receding intellectual life.

    • The united Roman state being replaced by a collection of tribal kingdoms that frequently fought one another.

• Response to Dangers:

  • Kings, lords, and peasants established agreements for common defense against invading armies and criminals.

• High Middle Ages (Years $1000$ to $1450$):

  • During this later period, European learning and trade began to flourish again.

• Peter Abelard:

  • A French thinker (Letter $17$ to Heloise, $1141$) who studied philosophy and Aristotelian logic.

  • His quote: "I should not wish to be Aristotle if this were to separate me from Christ." illustrates his enduring faithfulness to the Roman Catholic Church despite his critical writings on religion.

• The Church's Enduring Power:

  • The Roman Catholic Church was the single institution that remained powerful across most of Europe from Roman times until the $16^{th}$ century.

Feudalism: Political and Social Systems

• Decentralized Political Organization:

  • European civilization in the Middle Ages was characterized by a decentralized political organization.

• Definition of Feudalism:

  • A system of exchanges of land for loyalty, serving as the basic political organizing system of Medieval Europe.

• Core System of Mutual Obligations:

  • Monarch to Lord: A monarch (usually a king) granted tracts of land, called fiefs, to lords.

  • Lord to Monarch: In return, a lord became a king's vassal, owing service to the monarch.

  • Lord to Knight: Lords provided land to knights.

  • Knight to Lord/King: In return, knights became vassals of the lord and pledged to fight for the lord or king.

  • Lord to Peasant: Lords provided land and protection to peasants.

  • Peasant to Lord: In return, peasants were obligated to farm the lord's land, provide the lord with crops and livestock, and obey the lord's orders.

• Benefits of Feudalism:

  • Sanctioned by oaths of loyalty, it reduced losses to robbers and bandits, offering some security for peasants.

  • Provided equipment for fighters who could hope to become knights.

  • Gave land in return for service to the lord.

• Wealth Measurement:

  • Since the entire system was based on agriculture, wealth was measured in land rather than in cash.

• Code of Chivalry:

  • An unwritten set of rules for conduct incorporated into the feudal system.

  • Focused on honor, courtesy, and bravery as a way to resolve disputes.

  • Placed women on a pedestal (to be protected) but did not grant them significant additional importance or rights in practice.

Manorial System

• Manors:

  • Large fiefs or estates were also called manors.

• Economic Self-Sufficiency:

  • The manorial system was the basic economic organizing system of Medieval Europe.

  • Provided economic self-sufficiency to both peasants and nobles.

• Manor Grounds:

  • Functioned as small villages, often including a church, a blacksmith shop, a mill, presses for making cider, wine, or oil, and homes for peasants.

• Serfs:

  • Peasants living on manors were known as serfs.

  • Not slaves, but were tied to the land.

  • Required permission from their lords to travel or marry.

  • Paid tribute (crops, labor, or rarely coins) in exchange for protection from the lord of the manor.

  • Children born to serfs also became serfs.

• Agricultural Improvements (Late Middle Ages):

  • As climate and technology slowly improved, arable (farmable) land increased.

  • Agriculture became more efficient.

  • Three-field system: Crops were rotated through three fields:

    • Field $1$: Planted with wheat or rye (food crops).

    • Field $2$: Planted with legumes (peas, lentils, beans) to make the soil more fertile by adding nitrogen.

    • Field $3$: Left fallow (unused) each year.

  • Technological Developments: Windmills and new types of plows.

    • Heavier plows with wheels developed for soil north of the Alps.

    • Lighter plows sufficient for southern European soil.

  • These changes promoted population growth.

• Limited External Contact:

  • Manors produced everything required by their inhabitants, limiting the need for trade or contact with outsiders.

  • Many serfs spent their entire lives on a single manor, unaware of events elsewhere in Europe.

Political Trends in the Later Middle Ages

• Stronger Monarchies:

  • Developed in the later Middle Ages, increasing monarchical power at the expense of feudal lords.

  • Characteristics:

    • Growing Bureaucracy: Monarchs hired a bureaucracy to carry out decisions.

    • Monarch-Controlled Army: Organized an army directly controlled by the king or queen.

  • Both the bureaucracy and army worked directly for the monarch, not for the government or people, giving the monarch immense power.

• Conflicts:

  • Desire for popular representation often conflicted with monarchical desire for strong absolutist government.

  • Desire for power also created tension between monarchs and the Pope.

France

• King Phillip II (ruled $1180$ - $1223$):

  • First to develop a real bureaucracy.

• King Phillip IV (ruled $1285$ - $1314$):

  • The first Estates-General met during his reign.

    • A body to advise the king, comprising representatives from France's three legal classes (estates): the clergy, nobility, and commoners.

  • Limited Power of Estates-General:

    • French kings consulted it when necessary but did not collect regular taxes from the upper two estates (clergy and nobility).

    • Consequently, it had little power.

    • Clergy and nobility felt little responsibility to support a government they weren't financing, a problem that escalated up to the eve of the French Revolution of $1789$.

Holy Roman Empire

• Otto I:

  • German King crowned Holy Roman Emperor in $962$, harkening back to Charlemagne.

• Lay Investiture Controversy ( $11^{th}$ and $12^{th}$ centuries):

  • Otto's successors struggled with the papacy over this dispute.

  • Issue: Whether a secular leader (rather than the Pope) could invest bishops with symbols of office.

  • Resolution: The Concordat of Worms of $1122$.

    • The Church achieved autonomy from secular authorities.

• Decline:

  • Remained vibrant until virtually destroyed during the Thirty Years' War ($1618$ - $1648$).

  • Lingered with little power until its formal end in $1806$ when Napoleon invaded central Europe.

Norman England

• Normans:

  • Descendants of Vikings who settled in Normandy, a region in northwest France.

• William the Conqueror (ruled $1066$):

  • Monarch of Normandy who successfully invaded England.

  • Gained kingdoms on both sides of the English Channel.

  • Presided over a tightly organized feudal system, using royal sheriffs as administrative officials.

• Limits on Royal Power:

  • Many nobles objected to the power of William and subsequent Norman monarchs, working to limit it.

  • Magna Carta (signed by King John in $1215$):

    • Signed under pressure from leading nobles.

    • Required the king to respect certain rights, such as the right to a jury trial before a noble could be imprisoned.

    • Nobles won the right to be consulted on scutage (a tax on a knight wanting to "buy out" of military service).

  • English Parliament (first formed in $1265$):

    • These developments increased the rights of the English nobility, but not the general population.

    • First full parliamentary meeting ($1265$):

      • House of Lords: Represented nobles and Church hierarchy.

      • House of Commons: Composed of elected representatives of wealthy townspeople.

    • Eventually, the power of these two legislative bodies in England surpassed that of similar bodies on the European continent.

Roman Catholic Church during the Middle Ages

• The Great Schism ($1054$):

  • The Christian Church in Europe divided into two branches:

    • The Roman Catholic Church (dominated most of Europe for five centuries).

    • The Orthodox Church (powerful farther east, into Russia).

• Influence of the Roman Catholic Church:

  • Extremely influential; it was the only authority covering much of Europe.

  • Reasons for Influence:

    • Church staff were often the only literate people in a community, providing reading/writing services to common folk.

    • Most manors had a small church and a resident priest.

• Education and Art:

  • Universities: The Church established Europe's first universities.

  • Thinkers: Most philosophers, writers, and thinkers of the Middle Ages were religious leaders due to the Church's leadership in education.

  • Artwork: All artists worked for the Church, and most artwork focused on religious themes, serving to educate illiterate serf and peasant classes about Biblical teachings.

• Church and State Power:

  • The Church held great power within the feudal system.

  • Could pressure disobedient lords (e.g., a local bishop could cancel religious services for the lord's serfs, leading serfs to demand the lord comply with the bishop).

• Hierarchy:

  • Similar to the Roman Empire, it had an extensive hierarchy of regional leaders.

  • Bishops: Regional religious leaders who owed allegiance to the Pope (supreme bishop in Rome).

  • Bishops also selected and supervised local priests.

• Spread of Christianity:

  • Missionaries spread Christianity, providing a common identity even as regional monarchies and vernacular languages emerged.

• Monasteries:

  • Some Christian clergy withdrew to monasteries for meditation and prayer.

  • They remained part of Western Europe's economies, performing economic functions like agriculture and protection, similar to other manors.

• Reform and Corruption:

  • Clergy took vows of poverty and supported charities, but also wielded considerable political influence.

  • Some monasteries became very wealthy.

  • Wealth and political power led to corruption during the $13^{th}$ and $14^{th}$ centuries.

  • Corruption and theological disagreements eventually drove reformers like Martin Luther to challenge the Church's unity in the $16^{th}$ century, leading to the Protestant Reformation.

Christian Crusades

• Motivation:

  • Europeans sought to drive Muslims out of Europe and reclaim control of the Holy Land (Palestine, Middle East -- sites significant to Jews, Christians, and Muslims).

  • Christians had access to these lands for centuries, even after Muslim control.

• Social and Economic Pressures ($11^{th}$ century):

  • Primogeniture: Rules where the eldest son inherited the entire estate, leaving younger sons with limited wealth and land.

    • Landed nobles saw military campaigns as a way to divert the ambitions of restless younger nobles and unemployed peasants (who often pillaged neighboring lands).

  • Merchants: Desired unfettered access to trade routes through the Middle East.

• The Crusades:

  • A series of European military campaigns in the Middle East between $1095$ and the $1200$s, resulting from religious, social, and economic pressures.

• Politics and Church's Role:

  • Tensions between popes and kings strengthened the Roman Catholic Church's intention to take control.

  • The Church used its spiritual authority to recruit believers:

    • Granted relief from required acts of atonement and penance.

    • Promised entry into heaven sooner for Crusaders.

• Orthodox Support:

  • Alarmed by persecution of Christian pilgrims by Seljuk Turks, the Orthodox patriarch at Constantinople appealed to Pope Urban II for help to retake the Holy Land.

• The First Crusade:

  • Of the four major Crusades, only the first was a clear victory for Christendom.

  • European army conquered Jerusalem in July $1099$.

  • However, Muslim forces under Saladin regained control of Jerusalem in $1187$.

• The Fourth Crusade ($1202$ - $1204$):

  • Venice, a wealthy northern Italian city-state, contracted to transport Crusaders to the Levant (Middle East).

  • Venice was not fully paid, so Venetians persuaded Crusaders to sack Zara (an Italian city) and then Constantinople (a major trade competitor of Venice).

  • This Crusade never reached the Holy Land.

  • Eventually, Islamic forces prevailed in the Levant.

Economic and Social Change in the Late Middle Ages

• Shift from Local Self-Sufficiency:

  • Local economic self-sufficiency gradually gave way to interest in goods from other European areas and distant ports.

• Marco Polo:

  • An Italian native from Venice.

  • Visited Kublai Khan's court in Dadu (modern-day Beijing) in the late $13^{th}$ century.

  • His descriptions of customs (e.g., Mongol practices of multiple marriages and drinking mare's milk) intrigued Europeans.

  • Sparked increased curiosity about Asia and stimulated interest in cartography (mapmaking).

• Social Change and the Middle Class:

  • Growth in commerce altered Western Europe's social pyramid.

  • Still had a small nobility and clergy at the top, and a large number of serfs and urban poor at the bottom.

  • A growing middle class, also known as the bourgeoisie, emerged between these two groups.

    • Included shopkeepers, merchants, craftspeople, and small landholders.

  • This class took shape as Europe engaged in long-distance exchanges of money and goods with the Byzantine Empire and Muslim nations.

  • Social structures became more fluid, with new emphasis on economies over purely Christian ideals or military defense/conquest.

• Urban Growth:

  • The adoption of the three-field system and other agricultural advances stimulated population growth in the late Middle Ages.

  • Agricultural surplus encouraged the growth of towns and more frequent markets.

  • The need for more labor on manors (especially after severe plagues in the $14^{th}$ century) increased serfs' bargaining power with lords.

• The Little Ice Age (circa $1300$ onwards):

  • A five-century cooling of the climate that hampered urban growth.

  • Lower temperatures reduced agricultural productivity, leading to less trade and slower city growth.

  • Contributed to increased disease and unemployment.

  • These factors led to social unrest and an increase in crime.

  • Jews and other discriminated groups were victims of scapegoating (being blamed for circumstances beyond their control).