MIDDLE AGES 500-1500

MIDDLE AGES FEUDALISM ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH & THE CRUSADE KING JOHN & THE MAGNA CARTA

MIDDLE AGES Middle Ages- the period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance. The transition period between the ancient and modern worlds. Europeans began to use a government called feudalism. Feudalism is a new government that provides protection for people. This type of government developed in the Byzantine Empire.

FEUDAL SOCIETY Top- the monarch (all the land belonged to him) He gave land to nobles who were loyal to him. This land was called fiefs because they were gifts from the king (but actually they had to pay yearly on the land). Nobles, also known as lords, owed the monarch loyalty and in time of war, they had to raise an army of knights and soldiers to defend the monarch.

KNIGHTS Below the nobles were knights. Knights received land from the nobles and owed them loyalty in return. The knights also had to defend their lord and his lands against attack, as well as pay yearly for the land.

SERFS Serfs were the lowest class in European society. They owed both loyalty and labor to the nobles, their lords. Serfs also had to pay yearly rent to their lords. Serfs were not slaves, but the lord had absolute control over the serfs. They had to ask permission to leave the land.

Chivalry In the later Middle Ages, knights adopted a code of conduct called chivalry, which required them to be 1. Brave, 2. Loyal, 3. True to their word, 4. Protect the unprotected 5. Fair in warfare, 6. Merciful & generous to enemies.

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Other than the Muslims in Spain and groups of Jews, everyone else in Western Europe was a member of the Roman Catholic Church. Church teachings helped people accept the hardships of their life on Earth. People endured cruel lords, unjust laws, and poor living conditions. They believed that such hardships would earn them entry to heaven. As a result, the Middle Ages was not a time of rebellions and revolutions.

THE CRUSADES Christian rulers of Europe organized crusades to recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims. The Holy Land was the name that Christians gave Jerusalem and the parts of Palestine where Jesus had lived.

CAUSES OF THE CRUSADE At times, the pope was more powerful than the monarch. The pope thought that a crusade, or great campaign, would be a way to stop the constant warfare among Europeans. The pope promised forgiveness of sins and everlasting salvation to those who died fighting the Muslims.

Crusade Video Clip

RESULT OF THE CRUSADE There were 8 Crusades total. The first four was successful and gained lost of territory in the Middle East. The last four resulted in loss of territory that they had gained in the first four. End: the Muslims were again in control of the Holy land.

EFFECTS OF THE CRUSADES Italian trading cities became wealthy from the Crusades because they brought back loads of luxury goods from Southwest Asia = trading increased. Other Europeans gained interest in travel and seeing faraway places. Many wanted to find a sea route to Asia. Persecution of Jews increases, and Muslims were attacked as unbelievers as well. Bubonic Plague

INCREASE IN TRADE

1. INCREASING TRADE Trade started to increase because invasions ended and local warfare among nobles died down. People worked together to build wealth and trading centers, thus more cities were built. In the late Middle Ages, people began the money economy, trading gold or silver coins. People began to borrow money and make loans. Capitalism started, which is system where a person would produce something solely to make a profit.

GUILDS A result of the growth of trade was the growth of cities. Merchants would settle in the new cities, which caused craftworkers to follow. Merchants and craftworkers needed each other to make a profit, which this union was called a guild. Guilds set the quality of the product, working hours, and prices for goods. Guilds trained young people to become masters through an apprenticeship (7 years) and then journeyman, then maybe a master.

RISE OF MIDDLE CLASS Remember: there were two basic feudal classes --> nobles and serfs. The development of towns and cities resulted in the birth of middle class, which was made up of merchants, traders, and craftworkers. The middle class eventually grew in size, wealth, and power.

ORIGIN OF THE ENGLISH First, the England and France developed as nation-states during the medieval period. Nation-state is a large area of land ruled by a single government. William the Conqueror and his forces invaded England in 1066. They were from Normandy France. Their Viking ancestors had invaded France in the 900s and settled in the area that became known as Normandy. Million $ Question: What region did the Vikings originally come from?

POWER OF THE MONARCH Starting from William the Conqueror and many more kings, such as Henry II, they were able to build up a power in the English monarch. Eventually, the English nobles in the 1100s felt they were losing power, and they resented it. The nobles finally rebelled when there was a weak king in place, King John.

KING JOHN Not the most popular, why?: 1. He argued with the Pope on how to run the church, so the Pope banned all church services in England for 5 years. (Many English people thought that they would go to hell.) 2. John went to war twice against the French king and was badly beaten both times. He lost almost all the land that his father had gained in France. 3. Then John raised taxes in England to pay for the wars. (A lot more than the kings before him)

NOBLES STRIKE BACK The furious nobles (Barons) forced King John to sign the Magna Carta, or “Great Charter.” The purpose of the Magna Carta was to give more rights to the nobles, for they originally had these rights in the beginning of the feudal system. Now it was just written on paper. The Magna Carta limited the king’s power and the monarch was no longer absolute, nor above the law.

THE MAGNA CARTA I, King John, accept that I have to govern according to the law. So I agree: 1. Not to imprison nobles without trial 2. That trials must be in courts; not held in secret by me 3. To have fair taxation for the nobles 4. To let freemen travel wherever they like 5. Not to interfere in Church matters 6. Not to seize crops without paying for them …. and lot more things too!!

Magna Cart Video Clip

WHY REMEMBER THIS? When the Magna Carta was first signed, the rights did not apply to all (only nobles, then “free man” which applied to fewer than half of the English population.) The Magna Carta was carried on to the American colonies. When America became a nation, the principles of the Magna Carta became part of the legal system of the United States.

PARLIAMENT BEGAN A Parliament is a representative body of advisers to a king or chief executive. The Parliament had two houses: upper and lower. Nobles and church lords sat in the House of Lords; knights and townspeople formed the House of Commons. Since the Magna Carta, the king turned to the Parliament to make major decisions on taxes, politics, and passing laws. There has been much conflict between the king and Parliament throughout English history, but now the Parliament is the dominant political power today in England.

REVIEW What was so new about Magna Carta for English kings? At the time, Magna Carta was not designed to help everybody. What kind of people were not helped by the charter? How did the Magna Carta help lead the way for Democracy?