1. Medieval Europe

2. Changes in Western Europe
Decline of the Roman empire ushered in Medieval period in Europe
Disruption of trade from invasions, which destroyed Europe’s cities
Downfall of cities
Population moves from cities to countryside

3. Decline of learning Germanic invaders illiterate
Shift to rural areas decreased literate Roman citizens
Only priests and other church officials were literature
Knowledge of Greek lost

4. Loss of a Common language
Latin changed with new population and different dialects developed
French, Spanish, etc. Mirrored breakup of unified empire

5. Germanic Kingdoms Emerge
Small Germanic kingdoms replaced provinces
Germanic people lived in small communities and unwritten rules and traditions bound them together
Germanic stress on personal ties made it impossible to establish orderly gov. for large territories
Roman province of Gaul, a Germanic people called the Franks held power
Clovis, their leader, converts them to Christianity
Church in Rome supported Clovis’ conversion and gave him military support, which began the church and state partnership

6. Germanic Peoples Adopt Christianity
By 600 many Germanic peoples had converted
Missionary activity helped
Church built monasteries out in countryside, where monks and nuns lived
Benedict, an Italian monk, wrote a book about the rules of monasteries that was adopted throughout Europe
Monasteries became best educated communities in Europe

7. 590 Gregory the Great became Pope
Increased papal authority
Became more secular- involved in politics
Expanded the idea of a churchly kingdom
This would slowly conflict with secular rulers with their own kingdoms

8. A European Empire Evolves
Clovis’ kingdom of the Franks was the strongest in Europe and he strengthened the Merovingian dynasty
By 700 the mayor of the palace ruled the kingdom
Charles Martel, the mayor in 719, had more power than the king
Defeated the Muslims at the Battle of Tours in 732, which kept Muslims from further advancement into Europe
His son, Pepin the short, came to power
Pope named Pepin “king by the grace of god” thus beginning the Carolingian Dynasty
Charlemagne, one of Pepin’s sons, built a great empire in Europe

9. Charlemagne Takes Center Stage
Charlemagne conquered a lot of territory and spread Christianity
Reunited Western Europe for the first time since the Roman Empire
800 Charlemagne went to Rome to crush a mob who had attacked the Pope
In return, the Pope named him Roman Emperor, signaling the joining of Germanic power, the Church, and the heritage of the Roman Empire

10. Charlemagne’s government
Limited the authority of the nobles
Judged cases
Settled disputes
Made regular visits to kingdom
Encouraged learning

11. Charlemagne’s successors
Charlemagne died in 814 and left only son Louis as emperor
Louis’ three sons fought for the empire and it split apart
Carolingian’s lost power