WAP Medieval / Western Europe (1200–1450)Overview

AP World History Study Guide: Western Europe (1200–1450)

Overview

• Context: Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE to Visigoths and Ostrogoths (pushed by Attila the Hun’s tribes), Western Europe experienced political and social fragmentation.

• Key Theme: Transition from chaos to centralized monarchies through feudalism, Roman Catholic Church influence, Crusades, and wars like the Hundred Years’ War, with cultural and technological exchanges driving development.

• Regions: Focus on emerging kingdoms (e.g., England, France, Holy Roman Empire) amidst invasions by Muslims, Magyars, Vikings, and Germanic warriors.

Fall of Rome and Early Medieval Chaos (476–1000 CE)

• Impact of Rome’s Fall:

  • Loss of political and social unity led to small regional monarchies and chieftaincies (e.g., three competing kings in England).

  • Decline in cities, trade, and coined money due to invasions by Muslims (south), Magyars (east), Vikings (north), and Germanic warriors (central Europe).

  • Ruralization into small townships (200–400 people) reduced the need for comprehensive legal systems, relying instead on personal loyalty and strength.

• Roman Catholic Church:

  • Survived Rome’s fall as a unifying institution, with the Pope in Rome wielding significant authority due to widespread Christianity.

  • Canon Law: Focused on religious matters (e.g., heresy, correct Christian practices) but provided a legal structure influencing emerging kingdoms.

  • Served as a model for legal systems alongside Justinian’s Code (from the Byzantine Empire) as kingdoms like England, France, and Spain developed.

Feudalism and Political Structure

• Rise of Feudalism (700s–800s):

  • Definition: Decentralized system of land for military service, developed to maintain order without a Roman-style bureaucracy.

  • Structure (Feudal Pyramid):

    • King: Held nominal authority but shared power with lords, often owning less land than powerful nobles (e.g., Eleanor of Aquitaine in France).

    • Lords/Vassals: Received fiefs (land) in exchange for loyalty (homage/fealty) and military support, managing local laws and protection.

    • Knights: Provided military service for lords, compensated with land or payment (e.g., room and board).

    • Serfs: Peasants tied to the land, unable to leave or change jobs without lord’s permission, paying taxes in crops, goods, or coin.

  • Purpose: Protected against invaders (Vikings, rival lords, bandits) in a chaotic period.

• Manorialism:

  • Economic system where manors (estates) were self-sufficient, producing all necessary goods (e.g., food, tools) due to limited trade.

  • Prevalent in early Middle Ages (500–1000 CE) when external threats discouraged regional trade.

• Example: Charlemagne (Frankish King):

  • Expanded power in modern-day Germany, France, and northern Italy, crowned Holy Roman Emperor (800 CE) by the Pope after saving him from attack.

  • Leveraged feudalism to govern a large empire without a centralized bureaucracy, tying his authority to the Church and Roman legacy.

• Eleanor of Aquitaine:

  • Owned more land than the French king, married to both the French king (annulled) and English king Henry II, increasing English control over French territories (Normandy, Anjou, Aquitaine).

  • Demonstrated the decentralized power of lords in feudalism.

Increasing Royal Authority (1000 CE Onward)

• Factors Reducing Chaos:

  • Vikings settled (e.g., Kievan Rus in Russia, Normans in northern France), reducing invasions.

  • Kings used knights as intermediaries to mediate disputes between lords, increasing royal influence.

  • Norman Conquest (1066): William the Conqueror (a Norman descendant of Vikings) centralized power in England, spreading feudalism.

• Magna Carta (1215):

  • Context: King John (“Lackland,” “Softsword”) overtaxed lords, demanded knights without approval, and made unpopular decisions (e.g., failed wars in France, losing territories like Normandy).

  • Outcome: Barons forced John to sign the Magna Carta, limiting royal power by requiring lords’ approval for taxes and prohibiting arbitrary arrests.

  • Significance: Basis for English legal tradition, influencing later documents like the English Bill of Rights (1688) and American Bill of Rights (early 1800s).

Crusades (1095–1300)

• Context:

  • Initiated by the Pope to reclaim Jerusalem from Seljuk Turks (who persecuted Christians/Jews and blocked pilgrims) and aid the Byzantine Empire.

  • Aimed to reunite Christendom post-Great Schism (1054) and bolster papal authority.

• Key Events:

  • First Crusade: Surprisingly successful due to strategy and surprise, capturing Jerusalem.

  • Second and Third Crusades: Failures, with Muslim leader Saladin reclaiming Jerusalem. The Third Crusade (King’s Crusade) ended in a truce allowing European pilgrims access to Jerusalem.

• Impacts:

  • Increased Trade: Europeans accessed Middle Eastern goods (spices, citrus, sugar, silks, stained glass) and knowledge (math, science, philosophy from Aristotle/Plato).

  • Financial Institutions: Banking emerged to fund Crusades, with Jewish money lenders prominent due to Christian usury laws (prohibiting profit from money lending).

  • Cultural Diffusion: Islamic learning and luxury goods entered Europe, increasing literacy among elites (though many kings remained illiterate).

  • Political Impact: Reduced noble power as knights/lords died or remained in the Holy Land, increasing kings’ authority. The Pope’s failed Crusades weakened papal political influence.

Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453)

• Context:

  • Dispute over the French throne after the French king died without a male heir, pitting the English king (a French lord with claims to Normandy, Anjou, Aquitaine) against the French Valois family.

• Key Developments:

  • New Technologies: Introduction of the longbow and cannon (from China via the Middle East), effective against plate armor, diminishing the role of knights.

  • Political Impact: Reduced noble power as knights were killed or became obsolete, allowing kings to rely on mercenary armies (e.g., from Germany) funded by trade and land taxes.

• Social Impact:

  • Fostered early nationalism by defining England and France as distinct entities with a rivalry, rooted in cultural and political differences.

  • This rivalry persisted, influencing later events like French support for American colonists in the American Revolution.

Agricultural Innovations

• Context: Learning in Europe focused on agrarian needs due to ruralization, not a complete decline as often claimed.

• Key Innovations:

  • Three-Field System: Rotated crops to maintain soil fertility, increasing agricultural yields.

  • Moldboard Plow: Improved plowing of rocky European soil, enhancing farming efficiency.

• Significance: Supported population growth and rural stability, laying the groundwork for later economic recovery.

Key Takeaways for AP Exam

• Post-Roman Chaos: Fall of Rome led to fragmentation, ruralization, and decline in trade/cities, with invasions fostering small monarchies reliant on personal loyalty.

• Roman Catholic Church: Survived as a unifying force, with canon law influencing emerging kingdoms alongside Justinian’s Code.

• Feudalism and Manorialism: Decentralized land-based system protected against invaders, with manors as self-sufficient economic units.

• Royal Authority: Increased through Viking settlement, knight mediation, and events like the Magna Carta (limiting king’s power) and Crusades (reducing noble power).

• Crusades: Failed militarily but spurred trade, cultural diffusion (Islamic knowledge, banking), and royal power by weakening nobles and the Pope.

• Hundred Years’ War: Introduced technologies (longbow, cannon), reduced knightly power, and fostered early nationalism between England and France.

• Cultural/Economic Shifts: Agricultural innovations (three-field system, moldboard plow) and trade-driven literacy/finance laid foundations for later European growth.

Study Tips

• Memorize key terms: fall of Rome, Roman Catholic Church, canon law, feudalism, manorialism, Charlemagne, Magna Carta, Crusades, Hundred Years’ War, longbow, cannon, nationalism.

• Understand the transition from chaos to centralized monarchies via feudalism, Church influence, and wars.

• Connect the Magna Carta to limiting royal power and its influence on later legal traditions (e.g., Bill of Rights).

• Link Crusades to cultural diffusion (Islamic knowledge, banking) and increased royal authority.

• Note the Hundred Years’ War’s role in technological advancements and early nationalism.

• Compare Western Europe’s decentralized feudalism with centralized empires like the Byzantine or Abbasid Caliphates.