Middle Ages

• Invasions by Vikings, Muslims, and Magyars

Kings are too weak to maintain law and order

• Vikings- Lived in Scandinavia

Warships used in raids

Traders, farmers, and explorers

Journeyed into Russia and North America

• Magyars- Nomadic people from the east (Current-day Hungary)

Superb Horsemen

Attacked, but did not take land; took captives as slaves

• Muslims- Attacked from the south, into Italy and Spain

• People in Western Europe looked to local rulers for protection

Feudalism: Political System

Definition- a political system in which nobles are granted the use of lands that legally belong to their king, in exchange for their loyalty, military service, and protection of the people who live on the land

• Based on rights and obligations

• A lord (landowner) granted land (fief) in exchange for military protection and other services

• A person receiving a fief was called a vassal

Structured Society

•          King

Bishops Nobles

         Knights 

         Peasants

• Social class is usually inherited

• Most peasants were serfs

• Serfs- People who could not lawfully leave the place where they were born, Bound to the land, but not slaves. What their labor produced belonged to the lord

The Manor: Economic System

• Manor- Lord’s estate

• Serfs- Peasants who worked the manor and were bound to the land

• Lord provided serfs with

Housing

Farmland

Protection from Bandits

• Serfs:

Tended the lord’s land

Cared for his animals

Performed other tasks to maintain the estate

• All peasants, free or serf owed the lord certain duties

Few days of labor each week

Certain portions of their grain

• Medieval manor consisted of the lord’s manor house, a church and workshops

15 to 30 families generally lived in the village on a manor

• Manor is largely a self-sufficient community

Serfs and Peasents raised or produced everything needed for daily life

• Peasent Life

Peasents paid a tax on all grain ground in the mill

Peasents paid a tax on marriage

Weddings could take place only with the Lord’s consent

Peasants owed the village priest a tithe (church tax). One-tenth of income

• Serfs lived in crowed cottages, close to neighbors

Diet consisted of vegetables, brown bread, grain, cheese, and soup

• Illness and malnutrition constant afflictions

Average life span: 35 years

Political Development in the West 511-1000

• The Christian church was instrumental in providing order, continuity, and hope to followers in a time of chaos

• In present-day France, the Franks led the way in blending Roman and Germanic customs

• This was through granting those legitimate power who converted to Christianity

• Clovis- Intelligent and shrewd diplomat. United the Franks all the way south as Spain. Was at one time, the only legitimate Christian leader in the west 

• Germanic traditions led to constant civil wars and bickering

• The alliance between the Franks and Papacy affected the course of religions and politics for centuries

• It furthered the separation between the Roman church from the Greek Christian church

Charlemegne

• Led the Franks to their most prosperous times

• His efforts in furthering the arts led to a revival of learning 

• Drove the Muslims almost out of Spain

• Restored the Pope to his position

• His empire was not long lived because his empire was too vast for someone besides him to lead the nation

• Split the empire into three, divvying it up to his three grandson

The Great Schism

• Bishops from the major cities started to have conflicts, which led to the Great Schism

• The West became many, small Germanic kingdoms 

• The East and West had many cultural differences that led to power struggles

The Byzantine Emporer believed that he was a true Roman emperor, but Charlemegne was crowned the Holy Roman Emporrer 

The Pope had different beliefs about their power compared to the bishop of Constantinople

Language in the West was Latin, in the East was Greek

• Iconoclasm- Destruction of images (paintings, images, etc). Used by the Eastern Church

• The Western and Eastern Churchs had many divisions between each other

Beliefs- The Western masses used unleavened bread, while the East used leavened bread

Language- The Western masses spoke Latin, while Eastern Masses spoke Greek

Structure- The Western Church was much more centralized

Authority of the Church

• Church structure based on ranks of clergy

Clergy- Religious officials in the church (Bishops and Priests)

Local priests serve as the main contact with the Church

• Feudalism and the manor system created division among people

Shared belief in the teachings of the Church bonded people together

Church is a stable force during an era of warfare and political turmoil

• Sacraments paved the way to salvation

The idea of everlasting life in Heaven gave peasants hope

• At the local level, the church was the center of religious and social life

People worshipped together and met with other villagers

Law of the Church 

•  Church authority was both religious and political 

Unifying set of spiritual beliefs and rituals

All Christians (kings and peasants) were subject to the canon laws (Church Law)

In matters such as marriage and religious practices

If you violate canon law:

Excommunication and interdict

• Excommunication- Banishment from the Church

Pope used this as a threat to wield power over political rulers

Meant no salvation and vassals free from their duties to him

• Interdict- Sacraments and religious services could not be performed in the king’s lands

Holy Roman Empire

• Church influence and increased power spreads across Europe

Monarchs also increase power

Destructive struggles between popes and emperors

• Otto I becomes emperor in 936 C.E.

Most effective ruler of medieval Germany

Worked closely with the Church

Appointed bishops to top government jobs

Used army to help defeat rebellious nobles near Rome

• Emperors claimed authority over much of central and eastern Europe, including parts of France and Italy

Real rulers were the vassals

Appointment of Church officials should be left to the Church

Emperors could decide who would be a bishop in their realm

Feud Between Pope & Emperor

• 1054 CE Henry the Sixth Vs. Pope Gregory The Seventh

Pope Gregory instituted many of the Church’s reforms

Wanted the Church independent of secular rulers

The banned practice of “lay vestiture”

Emperor or another lay person (not a member of the clergy) could invest or present bishops to their office 

• Henry: Bishops held their land as royal fiefs

Henry was their overlord; he was entitled to give them symbols of the office

Rebellious German princes supported the Pope

• 1076 CE Gregory excommunicated Henry

Henry repents and makes peace with the Pope

Gregory reinstates Henry

Leads an army to Rome and the Pope goes into exile

• The Concordat of Worms- A treaty declared that the Church had the sole power to elect and invest bishops with spiritual authority, but the emperor could veto the appointment. The emperor still invested them with fiefs

Struggle for Italy

• German emperors sought to control Italy; and came into conflict with popes and wealthy cities of northern Italy

• Federick Barbarossa

Dominated German princes by his military skills and forceful personality 

Fought to bring wealthy northern Italian cities under his control

Cities joined forces with the pope to defeat Barbarossa’s armies

• Effects on Germany

German nobles become more independent and assert more power

Holy Roman Empire survived but as a patchwork of feudal states

Church Power Reaches Its Height

• 1200’s Church reaches the peak of its political power

• Pope Innocent III: Excommunicated kings & extended the Papal States