1. Early Middle Ages

2. Objectives
Describe how Germanic tribes carved Europe into small kingdoms after the collapse of the western Roman Empire.
Explain how Charlemagne briefly reunited much of Western Europe.
Analyze the impact of Muslim, Magyar, and Viking invasions on medieval Europe.

3. Terms and People
medieval – relating to the culture of Europe during the Middle Ages
Franks – a Germanic tribe that conquered present- day France and neighboring lands in the 400s
Clovis – king of the Franks who established a kingdom in Western Europe after the fall of the Roman empire
Charles Martel – a Frankish leader who rallied warriors to push Muslims out of France
battle of Tours – a battle in which Christians stopped the Muslim advance into Western Europe

4. Terms and People (continued)
Charlemagne – the grandson of Charles Martel; he briefly united Western Europe when he built an empire stretching across France and Germany
Magyars – nomadic people who overran Eastern Europe and parts of Western Europe after A.D. 900
Vikings – farmers and expert sailors from Scandinavia who raided European river towns starting in the late 700s

5. How did Western Europe change after the collapse of the Roman empire?
When the Roman empire disappeared from Western Europe, smaller Germanic kingdoms arose to replace it.
Greco-Roman, Germanic, and Christian traditions blended during the Middle Ages or medieval period (around 500–1500).

6. The unifying force of the Roman empire was gone.
Europe declined during the early Middle Ages, for several reasons.
2. The region was invaded repeatedly.
3. Trade and classical learning decreased.

7. After the fall of Rome, Germanic tribes carved Western Europe into small kingdoms.
These tribes included the Vandals, the Saxons, the Goths, and the Franks.
Unlike the Romans, the Germanic tribes lived in small communities with no written laws.
In 486, the Frankish king Clovis conquered Gaul, modern-day France. He converted to Christianity and won the support of the pope in Rome.

8. Starting in the 600s, Muslims built an empire in the Mediterranean region.
Muslim armies conquered Spain and crossed into France.
Charles Martel led Frankish warriors in the battle of Tours to push them back.

9. He fought Muslims, Saxons, Avars, Slavs, and Lombards.
He aided the pope in Rome. In return, the pope crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Romans.
Charlemagne was a skilled leader who brought scholars to his court and revived Latin learning.
Martel’s grandson Charlemagne briefly united Western Europe.

10. Charlemagne spread Christianity to conquered people throughout his kingdom and set up a strong, efficient government.
However, the pope’s action angered the emperor of the eastern Roman Empire in Constantinople and deepened the split between east and west.
When Pope Leo crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Romans, the idea of a united Christian empire was revived.

11. After Charlemagne died, his empire was divided into three
After Charlemagne died, his empire was divided into three. His heirs faced waves of invasions.

12. Muslim armies conquered Sicily in the late 800s.
Muslim attacks subsided after 900.
Even after their defeat at Tours, Muslim forces posed a threat.
They went on to plunder parts of Western Europe.
After 50 years, the Magyars were pushed back into Hungary.
Around 900, the Magyars overran Eastern Europe.

13. These Scandinavian people were expert sailors.
They opened trade routes linking northern Europe to the Mediterranean.
Vikings settled in England, Ireland, and parts of France and Russia.
Charlemagne’s empire broke apart even more when the Vikings began raiding European coastal and river towns.