Middle Ages/Dark Ages/Medieval Time Period

Germans After Rome fell 5 changes occurred in Western Europe Disruption of Trade Downfall of Cities Population shifts from the cities to the countryside Decline of learning Loss of common language

Germans Social: Germans lived in small communities under one chief Warriors followed the chief they could see and not a king they never saw Family very important All land divided equally among sons

Germans The Franks took over Gaul and under the great chief Clovis they converted to Christianity He started the Merovingian Dynasty

Germans After Clovis’s death, the major domo or mayor of the palace was more powerful than the king Charles Martel was a major domo and beat the Muslims at the Battle of Tours His son Pepin the Short eventually became king of the Franks and started the Carolingian Dynasty

Charlemagne Charles Martel

Germans Charlemagne or Charles the Great took over after Pepin and built the largest kingdom since Rome He stopped a mob from killing the Pope and in gratitude the Pope crowned him emperor

Germans Charlemagne revived learning and started schools Charlemagne died and he divided his kingdom between his 3 sons The Treaty of Verdun officially divided the empire

Raiders Raiders invaded Europe between AD 700 and AD1000 Vikings invaded from Scandinavia Magyars came from the east on horseback They did not settle, instead they captured people and sold them into slavery

Raiders With all the invasions, people turned to the local lords to protect them This started Feudalism

Feudalism Feudalism is a governing system where a lord, or landowner, gives land called a fief to a vassal in exchange for military protection

Feudalism Serfs or peasants were the bottom of the social order. Serfs were bound to the land, but they were not slaves

Feudalism Serfs rarely traveled 25 miles from their birthplace They rarely ate meat. They mainly ate barley soup Bloodletting was the main cure for illnesses Average life expectancy was 30 years old

Feudalism The economic system of the time was manor system The manor system is the lord gives land and protection to his vassals in exchange for working the land and giving a portion of their work to the lord

Knights To become a knight: At age 7, parents send son to another lord to serve as page. They learn manners, chess, fight skills, and fighting strategies At age 14, page becomes a squire. They take care of a knight and his horse and escorts the knight into battle At age 21, squire becomes a knight

Knights 2 technological advances to make knights more effective Leather saddle (keep knight on horse) Stirrups (to brace knight during collisions

Knights Lords required a knight to fight 40 days a year in exchange for fiefs

Knight To stop violent urges, lords held tournaments or mock battles Jousting Sword fighting

Knight If coward, a knight will have his armor stripped, his shield cracked, spurs cut, sword broken, and knight thrown into a coffin and have a mock funeral service.

Knights Epic poetry was very popular during this time The Song of Roland was the most famous epic poem. It was about French knights fight to the death against Muslims Troubadours were the poet-musicians during this time

Knights To stop brutal fighting, knights follow the code of chivalry which is a complex set of ideals that a knight has to follow when fighting for his 3 masters Lord Lady God

Knights Women are to be protected and their power actually declined in society They only had power in the home and in a convent

Church The Christian Church also became powerful during this time. They opened up monasteries or religious communities with monks and nuns They became centers of learning

Pope Gregory I

Church Pope Gregory I made the church more secular, or involved in nonreligious things and he believed the Christian Church should be first in all lives

Church The Church provided sacraments or important religious ceremonies like: Baptism confirmation

Church The Church also had its own laws called canon laws One law was everyone had to pay a tithe to the Chuch. The tithe was 10% of your income If someone disobeyed a canon law, bishops or the pope could excommunicate them (take them out of the Church)

Church Many Germans thought that the Church was too powerful and tried to fight back Emperor Henry IV tried to appoint his own bishops and he fought the pope over it.

THE STRUGGLE INTENSIFIES Battle between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV Over “Lay Investiture”- a person not of the church appointed bishops. Pope excommunicated Henry

STRUGGLES INTENSIFIES Due to struggles at home Henry IV asked for forgiveness. Pope lifted the excommunication Struggle over investiture dragged on for nearly 50 years It ended with the Concordat of Worms