AP World History POD #9 – Medieval Europe Age of Charlemagne

Class Discussion Questions McKay- The Frankish Kingdom and the Emergence of the Carolingians”, pp. 236-241 McKay- “The Empire of Charlemagne”, pp. 241-244

1. What steps were taken by the Merovingian Dynasty to rise to power? Clovis- Frankish king, defeats the Germanic tribes, acquired wealthy provinces of Roman Gaul Conversion to Christianity garnered the support of the Roman papacy and the Bishops of Gaul Comites (Count)- senior government and administrative official – collected taxes (power of the purse) and enforced justice and raised troops (power of the sword) Mayor of the Palace- governed in the absence of the king- second in power after the king

2. What led to the decline of the Merovingian Dynasty and the start of the “Dark Ages”? Divided the empire between his four sons – land divided based on crop yield – there was conflict and violence between these new kingdoms The violence was so extreme that the term “Dark Age” became synonymous with this time period

3. How did the Carolingian Dynasty become the protector of the Christian world? Pipin I- became the Mayor of the Palace and made it a hereditary position Acquired greater power through a series of marriages Approached Pope Zacharias seeking the title of king – the Pope needing protection from the Lombards in northern Italy shifted loyalty from the Byzantines to the Franks and made Pipin king Charles Martel- defeats the Muslim army at the Battle of Tours making the dynasty the defender of Western Christiandom (732 AD)

4. What was the historical significance of Charlemagne? 768-814 AD – Charles the Great Crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III in 800 AD Became the Christian king responsible for the safety and protection of the Christian people The coronation shows the power of the pope and indicates a decisive break between Rome and Constantinople Charlemagne and his government represented a combination of Frankish practices and Christian ideals – the two basic elements of medieval European society Held his empire together through fierce fighting and harsh justice by distributing land to lesser nobles in exchanges for loyalty and through oaths of loyalty Greatest legacy was to the advancement of learning and scholarship through his encouragement of monastery’s collection of manuscripts

Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Emperor Pope is more powerful 5. What does the coronation of Charlemagne indicate about the power of the king versus the power of the pope? Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Emperor Pope is more powerful This ultimately did not sit well with Charlemagne as he was the protector of the Pope Papal threat to kings that they could be removed from power at the whim of the pope

6. What happened to Charlemagne’s empire after his death? Charlemagne left his empire to Louis the Pious 817 Louis the Pious divided the empire among his three sons Dissatisfied with their land claims and jealous of the imperial title given to Lothar (oldest) the sons fought among themselves

7. What impact did the Treaty of Verdun have on the power, unity, and defense of Europe? 843 AD Ended the violence of Charlemagne’s descendents Officially divides the empire Charles the Bald / Western Kingdom (France) Lothar / Middle Kingdom and Italy (HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR) Louis the German / Eastern Kingdom (Germanic States) By the 9th Century the power of local counts was the cause of most civil war as they attained and held real political power

8. How did the Kievan Principality rise and fall? The Vikings in an effort to protect trade declared themselves rulers of the Eastern Slavs Oleg established residence in Kiev and ruled as a loosely united confederation of Slavic states until 1054 Vikings and Eastern Slavs were converted to Orthodox Christianity by Byzantine missionaries 1054-1237 AD – chaos reigned as Kiev was repeatedly divided between the sons of Great Prince Iaroslav – the empire was further divided by future generations each claiming to be the rightful heir and political leader Boyars (nobles) – descendants of the original Viking warriors who held their land as free private property Primogeniture – the king’s eldest son received the crown and inheritance upon his father’s death

9. What contributions did Venerable Bede make to Feudal Europe? Monk- symbolic of Charlemagne’s Age of Learning Ecclesiastical History of the English People – main source of information about early Britain Began dating events from the birth of Christ (anno domini) rather than from the foundation of the city of Rome Learning was designed to create a greater understanding of the scriptures and Christian thought Modern scholarship has portrayed the “scholar monk” when in reality the “agricultural monk” is more accurate