1. The Middle Ages and Feudalism
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The Middle Ages and Feudalism

2. The Middle Ages- The Basics
The Roman Catholic Church (based in Rome) became more important as the Roman Empire declined in importance
The church played the role of the government, taking care of their political, social and religious needs
The Pope picked emperors to rule people
Missionaries spread Christianity to Germanic tribes

3. Ends Are New Beginnings
Middle Ages start with the fall of the Western Roman Empire
476 A.D. Rome falls to German invaders
Western Roman Empire doesn’t exist but Roman Catholic Church still survives

4. German Invaders
With the Western Roman Empire done, there was no one to defend people from invaders
Invaders swept into towns and people fled to the countryside
Time period a.k.a. “Dark Ages” because there was little learning or trade

5. Mini-Kingdoms
These Germanic invaders took over lands and set up kingdoms run by kings
Kingdom of Franks had a king, Clovis who took over what used to be Roman Gaul (France)
Converted to Christianity and made friends with the Pope in Rome

6. Angles
Saxons
Germans
Franks
Magyars

7. Battle of Tours Christian vs. Muslim battle
Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer) leads Christian Franks versus Muslims moving into France
Martel and Christians win, Muslims go back to Spain
Christians think it’s a sign that God is on their side

8. Charlemagne
Charles Martel’s grandson, Charles I, eventually becomes King of the Franks
Built empire through France, Italy and Germany
In 799 Pope asks Charles for help dealing with a gang of Romans who were after him

9. Charlemagne
Charles goes to Rome, exiles the gang after the Pope, puts the Pope back in charge
Pope thankful to Charles, on Christmas Day, 800, crowns Charles “Emperor of the Romans” and he’s now called Charlemagne
Important because now Rome is controlled by a Germanic king, protecting Christianity

10. Charlemagne’s Legacy
Charlemagne sent missionaries through Europe to spread Christianity
Those missionaries carried Christianity and the Latin alphabet to other Germanic tribes
Kept fighting off invading Muslims
Fought off Magyars- people from Hungry- invaders

11. Age of Charlemagne
The Franks (Charlemagne’s people) became a major force in Europe, with most of Western Europe in the empire
The power of the church began to seep into political life- the two were connected
Churches, roads, and schools were built to unite this Christian empire
Re-interpretation of Roman culture

12. Monastic Life
Monks spent most of their day either working the land, praying or copying texts. They preserved Greco-Roman cultural achievements by copying the works of Greek and Roman historians and poets. In western Europe most of the classical texts were Roman. Greek texts were preserved by the Byzantine scholars.

13. Work of Monks Illuminated Texts or Illuminated Manuscripts
Monks add some illustrations to their copying

14. Illuminated Manuscripts

15. Who’s the Boss? Pope: head of the Church, noble
Cardinal: advisor of the pope, noble (selected from amongst bishops/archbishops)
Archbishop: head of an archdiocese = very big dioceses (NYC, D.C., LA)
Bishop: head of a smaller diocese (Pittsburgh, Richmond)
Diocese/Archdiocese= geographic area with churches (parishes)
Parish Priest: head of a parish (locality)
How to Become Pope

16. Power of the Church
Catholic church provides for social and religious needs of the people
Priests do sacraments: marriage, last rites
Provided education
Care for the poor
Kept money flowing

17. Feudalism: The Basics
With the end of the Roman Empire, people in Western Europe had no defense against invasion
In order to stay safe, people entered into feudal agreements with landowning lords
The deal between the people and landowners was in exchange for work, the lord would provide protection

18. Feudalism
With no Roman Empire to provide defense of citizens people were constantly getting invaded by Germanic tribes
No government exists to stop them
People created system called Feudalism to protect themselves from invaders

19. How Feudalism Works
An incredibly rigid class structure: everyone has a place and a role and it doesn’t change or vary
Lords= powerful men who are rich and own a lot of land
Lords give out chunks of their land to lesser lords called Vassals
Vassal= Someone who manages a chunk of land (fief) for a lord
Fief= land given to a vassal from a lord
In exchange for the fief and protection, vassals pledge their loyalty and military service to their lord
Deal is called Feudal Contract

20. The Manor Manor was the basic unit of the feudal system
Manor= the lord’s estate
Usually one or more villages and the land around it
Serfs are the backbone of The Manor
Serfs= peasants who are tied to the land but not slaves
Serfs are tied to the land, so if you get the land, you get the serfs
The Manor is a self-sufficient structure- everything you need is there

22. Serfs
Serfs work the land several days a week and do the manual labor around The Manor
Serfs had to ask for permission to leave the estate or marry
Serfs paid the lord several times a year
In exchange for this work, they received protection from the lord

23. The Movement of People
There’s a lot of movement of people around Europe at this time- migration from one area to another.
Angles and Saxons move from Northern Europe into the British Isles (England)
Magyars moved from Central Asia into Hungry
Vikings migrated from Scandinavia
All of this movement and invasion meant that manors were important for safety, and the source of resources because trade wasn’t safe

24. Angles and Saxons

25. Magyars
Magyars settle in pink area after coming from central Asia

26. Vikings
Vikings come from Scandinavia
(Norway and Sweden)