1. Early Middle Ages

2. Middle Ages:
Between the Roman Empire and the Early Modern Period.
: Dark Ages – little cultural or scientific advancement.
: High Middle Ages – social institutions matured; era of greater creativity.
The culture of Western Europe was a blend of classical (Greco-Roman), Christian, and Germanic elements.

3. Feudalism
Through interdependence and mutual responsibilities, feudalism provided people with protection and stability.
A lord (high noble) gave each of his vassals (lesser nobles) a parcel of land called a fief in exchange for military service and payments called relief.
A vassal protected the inhabitants of his fief, collected revenue (taxes) and dispensed justice.

4. Manor System
A great fief was subdivided into smaller estates called manors, which were the basic social and economic units of the Middle Ages.

5. Most were about 1,000 acres and supported 200-300 people.
Peasants were not allowed to leave the manor.
The lord could not evict them from the land.
They were required to do any labor the lord demanded.
They also had to work a plot of land for the church – God’s acre.
The lord of the manor traditionally took half of the produce.

6. Roman Catholic Church
With both spiritual and secular power, the church dominated life and was the primary institution of medieval society.
The church was believed to be the way to salvation and possessed great influence.
Secular clergy were the parish priests.
Regular clergy lived in monasteries and kept literacy alive.

7. Church Corruption Vows of poverty and chastity were ignored.
The offices of Bishops and Archbishops were often sold.

8. Europe in the 9th and 10th Centuries
“The barbarians have broken through the ramparts. The Muslim invasions have spread in successive waves over the south. The Hungarians swarm over the eastern provinces… they sacked town and village, and laid waste the fields. They burned down the churches and then departed with a crowd of captives… There is no longer any trade, only unceasing terror… The peasant has abandoned his ravaged fields to avoid the violence of anarchy. The people have gone to cower in the depths of the forests or in inaccessible regions, or have taken refuge in the high mountains… Society has no longer any government.”