“When the Barbarians met with no opposition they proved the most brutal of mankind. All the cities they took they so destroyed as to leave them unrecognizable… All people that came their way, young and old, they killed.” -Historian, Moses Hadas

 What would it be like if our civilized society shut down tomorrow? What would happen? How would people react?  If something is black, no need to write it down.

 By 500, the Western Roman Empire had been replaced by a number of states ruled by German kings.  Roman influence in German kingdoms became almost non-existent.  Angles and Saxons (Germanic tribes from Denmark and Northern Germany) settled in Britain and became known as Anglo-Saxon  Franks were the only long-lasting Germanic Kingdom on the European continent.

 Frankish kingdom was established by Clovis, a strong military leader who took power at the age of 16 in 482.  Clovis consolidated all Frankish tribes and proceeded to conquer new lands.  Around 500, Clovis listens to his wife, Clotilda, and surprisingly converts to Christianity. Clovis and his followers were previously Pagan. This would prove a curious task to convert “Barbarians” to Christians.  Following his conversion, Clovis gained support of the Roman Catholic Church.  By 510, Clovis had established a powerful new kingdom that took up large parts of modern day France and Germany.  Following his death, Clovis’s sons divided his newly created Kingdom among themselves.

 Clovis had established the Merovingian Dynasty.  the Kingdom was split due to idea of individualism in Germanic tribes.  This empire would be ruled by separate rulers for over a century.  Germanic tribes emphasized family. The concept of family affected the system of law in Germanic kingdoms.  Wergild- “Money for a man” was a system of law set up to resolve issues stemming from murder and wrongdoings against another family. Each person had a value, and those values differed widely.  One popular method of determining Guilt was the “ordeal.” Ordeal was based on the idea of divine intervention. All ordeals involved a physical trial of some sort. It was believed God would not harm an innocent person.

 The Church was the only organization who fully remained following the fall of the W.R.E. Because of this, they played an important role in the growth of these kingdoms.  By the 4 th century, the Church had developed a system of organization. Local Christian communities = Parishes Parishes are headed by a Bishop. Bishop authority was known as bishopric or diocese. Bishoprics of Roman provinces were under the direction of an Archbishop.  Over time, the Archbishop of Rome began to claim the lead of what was now called the Roman Catholic Church.  Catholics believe Jesus gave the the key to the kingdom of Heaven to Peter. Peter was the first bishop of Rome.  Later Bishops of Rome were seen as Peter’s successors, and referred to as Popes. (derived from latin word “papa” or father.)  Western Chrisitans accepted the Pope’s as the head of the church, but did not agree on the pope’s extent of power.

 6 th century, Pope Gregory I (Gregory the Great) strengthened the power of the papacy. (Office of the pope)  Gregory was pope from 590 to 604, he was leader of Rome and its surrounding territories. (later called the papal states) This control gave the papacy a source of political power.  He was active in converting non-Christian peoples of Germanic Europe to Christianity, through the monastic movement.

 monk = man who separates himself from society in order to pursue total dedication to God.  Monasticism = the practice of living the life of a monk.  Saint Benedict wrote a set of rules for a community of monks, this community was the basic form of monasticism in the church.  Monks way of life was made up of manual labor, prayer, and education.  They helped build infrastructure and served as missionaries.  Following men, women decided to dedicate their lives to God, these women are known as Nuns.  Nuns and Monks were seen as the ideals of religion, dedicating their lives to God and to help others.

 During 600’s and 700’s Frankish Kingdom gradually lost power to ‘Mayors of the Palace.’ (chief officers of king’s household)  Pepin the Short took control of his kingdom and unified all other Frankish Kingdoms.  Pepin was son of Charles Martel, Martel had been the leader who defeated Muslims at the Battle of Tours in 732.  In 768, Pepin dies and his son came to the throne of the Frankish Kingdom.  This new ruler is known as Charlemagne. A fierce warrior, strong statesman, and a pious Christian.

 He ruled from 768 to 814. He greatly expanded territroy and created an empire called the Carolingian Empire.  His empire covered much of western and central Europe. It would be the largest empire on Europe until that of Napoleon.  Administration of empire depended on counts (German Nobles) who acted as King’s representatives in certain areas)  Charlemagne’s power grew along with his prestige as the most powerful Christian ruler.  800, Charlemagne is crowned the emperor of Romans. Or the Holy Roman Emperor  His coronation demonstrated the idea of an enduring Roman Empire. This coronation took place 300 years after the fall of the W.R.E.  This coronation symbolized the coming together of Roman, Christian, and Germanic elements.

 Under Charlemagne, his efforts of reviving learning led to the Carolingian Renaissance.  Carolingian monks are responsible for saving most classic Roman works.  The different roles of the King Charles the Man- athletic, well-spoken, charismatic. Married four times, understood Greek and spoke Latin, however was illiterate. He left his empire to his last surviving son. Charles the Administrator- delegated power, retained local laws, kept tabs on those in charge. Charles the Conqueror- Aggressive warrior, expanded and consolidated the Frankish Kingdom. Charles the Patron of Learning- revived classical studies, preserved Latin culture, established monastic and palace schools.