1. Aim: What was life like in medieval Europe by 1200 CE?
Period 1: 1200 – 1450 CE

2. I What were the Middle Ages?
A) The Middle Ages was the time between the fall of the Western Roman Empire (476 CE) and the beginning of the Renaissance (15th century). This was a time of weak government, and a reduction in trade and literacy. B) At the same time as medieval Western Europe, the Byzantine Empire in the east was continuing the legacy of the Roman Empire.
Early Middle Ages 476 CE – 1000 CE
High Middle Ages CE – 1300 CE
Late Middle Ages CE – Renaissance (14th century)
In the Middle Ages, vulgar (local dialects) of Latin developed into early forms of the Romance languages that we are familiar with today; French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Romanian. Languages that are spoken every day are known as vernacular.
Latin
French
Spanish
Romanian
Italian
Portuguese

3. III The Holy Roman Empire
A) Charlemagne ruled 768 – 814 CE, King of the Franks. He worked to build a “new Rome”. 782 Charlemagne ordered the slaughter of 4,500 Saxons (pagan Germans). He forced the Saxons to convert to Christianity or be put to death. B) Tried to recreate a centralized government. C) Built schools which taught Latin. Scholars copied and preserved ancient Greek and Roman texts. E) Tried to conquer the Moors (Spanish Muslims) but failed. He DID force them across the Pyrenees [mountains between Spain & France], creating a buffer zone between Muslim & Christian Europe. F) Christmas Day 800 CE Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne “Emperor of the Romans”. His Empire became known as the Holy Roman Empire. Pope Leo III did this to form an alliance with Charlemagne against the Byzantine Empire, and as a thank you for Charlemagne’s military & financial support.

4. Holy Roman Empire Continued…
G) Charlemagne died in 814 CE of an unknown illness. His empire passed to his son Louis the Pious. When Louis died in 843, due to Frankish custom, the Treaty of Verdun split the Empire among his 3 sons.
H) Soon after the Empire lost power due to Muslims and Viking invasions.
I) The Holy Roman Empire was revived by Otto I in 962 CE. It lasted until 1806!

5. A vassal was anyone who owed allegiance to a lord or king.
IV What was feudalism?
A) Feudalism was decentralized government based on a system of reciprocity (exchange). A king or lord would allow a vassal to live on his land in exchange for loyalty and protection. The vassal gave an oath of fidelity in order to receive his land. B) Feudalism offered people protection during the Middle Ages.
A vassal was anyone who owed allegiance to a lord or king.

6. Feudalism Continued…
C) Most kings and lords did not follow a law code. Justice often took the form of trials by ordeal (likely Frankish origin). Innocence or guilt was left to god.
1. The accused had to carry a burning hot iron rod. If you developed blisters you were guilty.
2. The accused plunged their hand into boiling water. If you developed blisters you were guilty.
3. The accused was thrown into water. If you floated you were guilty.
4. The accused would battle his accuser. The loser was found guilty.

7. V Medieval Knights
A) Knights were mounted soldiers, and were vassals to their feudal superiors (a lord or king).
B) Knights went through extensive training.
1. At 7 a boy could become a page. He left his family for his lord’s castle to begin his training Combat and weapons skills - How to ride a horse in battle
2. At 15 a page could become a squire. You were assigned to a knight to continue training.
3. Once you proved yourself in battle you became a knight in an elaborate ceremony.
C) Knights followed a code of chivalry (honor).
1. Bravery in battle
2. Loyalty to your lord
3. Defend the church and the helpless
4. Protect women and treat them with courtesy
A family crest was used to identify knights and nobility.

8. D) In the early Middle Ages, knights wore chain armor
D) In the early Middle Ages, knights wore chain armor. By the High Middle Ages, it became replaced by plate armor (harder to penetrate, but much heavier), linked by leather straps. Main weapon was the sword.
E) When not in battle, knights would joust in tournaments (mock battles).

9. Plate Armor, Metropolitan Museum
This is a medieval battle axe. It was curved to enable the user to knock a knight off of his horse, and it was sharp enough to chop off limbs. Medieval weapons were made by blacksmiths.

10. VI Life in a Castle
Castles served as a home and a fortress. Castles had basic lavatories called garderobes (the waste would end up in the moat). Light was provided by candles or oil lamps. Fires were placed in the centre of the Great Hall, until the later middle ages with the invention of the chimney. Soldiers were stationed in gatehouses and guardrooms. If the battle started and the lord was not at home, the lady organized the army. A siege was an army strategy; the attacking army surrounded the castle to stop supplies from coming to the castle. It could last days to months. Castles were noisy and smelly! Livestock roamed inside the stables, blacksmiths banged out ironwork in castle forges, soldiers practiced their skills, and children played when lessons were completed. Leftover food was often thrown to the dogs, the floor, or the moat. Spiral staircases were invented for warfare. If an enemy army invaded the castle, their knights had an extremely difficult time walking up the narrow, curving staircase while fighting.

11. Keep
Outer Gate
Gatehouse
Moat
Inner Gate

12. Ross Castle, Killarney, Ireland
Castle Of Counts, Ghent, Belgium
Ross Castle, Killarney, Ireland

13. VII The Manor System (Manorialism)
A) Manorialism was an economic system in western medieval Europe. It was based on the manor (large farming estate). The manor was mostly self sufficient; almost everything needed for survival could be made on the manor.
Serfs used crop rotation; the farm land was divided into two fields (2 field system). One field would be planted and one left fallow (unplanted) to regain its fertility. By the High Middle Ages, some farms had 3 or more fields (3 field system).

14. Water Mill
The force of the water moves the wheel, which moves a grindstone to grind grain into flour. A donkey attached to a grindstone was equal to 15 men, but a water mill was equal to the power of 30 – 60 men!

15. Manorialism Continued…
B) The lord kept 1/3 of the land (domain) for himself. Serfs had to farm the lord’s domain, turn over crops from their own fields and do any other services the lord asked. Serfs could not leave the manor or hunt without permission.

16. Exceptions to Manorialism
A) Limited trade existed in Western Europe before the High Middle Ages. B) Trade was more common in Southern Europe; Venice created an empire based on trade with the Byzantine Empire and the Arab Middle East. C) As a result of the Crusades, trade increased dramatically.

17. Key Questions What were the middle Ages?
Describe the systems of feudalism and manorialism. What were the benefits and disadvantages of each?
Describe life in a castle. How did this compare to life for the patricians in ancient Rome? Is it similar to castle life as depicted in fairy tales?
Describe feudal justice. How is this similar or different from justice in ancient Rome or the Byzantine Empire? Do you think it was just? If not, why do you think this system was used?

18. Key Vocabulary 2 field system Manor 3 field system Manorialism Castle
Oath of Fidelity
Chain Armor
Page
Chivalry
Plate Armor
Domain
Serf
Fallow
Song of Roland
Feudal Justice
Squire
Feudalism
Tournament
Joust
Trial by Ordeal
Knight
Vassal
Lord
Water mill