Sixth to the Eighth Centuries were
considered the “Dark Ages” when learning
stopped.
Ostrogoth King Theodoric
◦
Promoted learning
◦
Had Boethius translate Greek into Latin
A.
Clovis
– united the Franks and
conquered the Romans and Germanic
people in northern Gaul.
In the year 500 he became the 1
stGermanic leader to convert to
Christianity.
• Germanic Customs
– Germanic people were divided into tribes,
loyalties were to their own tribe.
– Germanic Kingdom was viewed as the personal
property of its ruler.
– Germanic kings divided up their lands and
willed them to their sons.
– Germanic people were rural and did not
• Early Germanic tribes used a “wergild “
amount of money paid by a wrongdoer to the family of the person he/she injured or killed.
• The Germanic people practiced “Trial by
Ordeal”
– People accused of a crime were tied up and thrown into a lake.
– If they sank they were innocent, if they floated they were guilty.
– Branding iron, if there were blisters after 3
I. The Church and Medieval Life
◦ A. The Parish Priest
1. Administered the sacraments – sacred rites of the Church.
People believed that faith in Christ and
participation in the sacraments would lead
them to salvation, or everlasting life with God.
Priests preached the gospels and the teachings of the Church, cared for the sick and needy
Bishops = 4th century a group of parishes selected
one priest to be a Bishop – someone who would have control over a large section of communities.
Pope: later, one Bishop would claim he was the
leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
◦ Jesus had named Peter as the head of the
Church.
◦ From him the position of Papa or Pope emerged.
It is believed that while many think of Peter as the first Pope, credit is given to Gregory I as the first Pope.
B. The village church
◦ 1. served as a social center as well as a place of worship, the villagers took pride in their
churches.
◦ 2. To support the church – Christians were required to pay a tithe or tax equal to a tenth of their income.
C. Women in the Church
◦ 1. The Church taught that men and women were equal before God, but on earth, women were viewed as daughters of Eve, weak and easily led into sin. Therefore they needed the guidance of men.
◦ The Church tried to protect women – set fines for men who abused their wives, and set a
A . The Benedictine Rule
◦ 1. A monk named Benedict organized the monastery of Monte Casino.
◦ He drew up a set of rules to regulate monastic life.
◦ Monks and Nuns took 3 vows – obedience to the Abbott or abbess, poverty and chastity or purity
B. Life of Service
◦ 1. Monks and nuns looked after the poor and sick and set up schools.
.
C. Centers of learning
1. Monasteries and converts preserved the writings of the ancient world.
2. Educated monks and nuns kept learning alive.
3. Venerable Bede wrote the earliest known history of England, and introduced the use of B.C. and A.D. to date historical events.
B. Pepin II – reunited the Frankish lands
C. Charles Martel - Charles the Hammer.
Defeated the Muslims at the Battle of Tours.
D. Pepin the Short – given the title “King of the Franks”. This begins the Carolingian
• Known as Charles the Great, Father of Europe.
• He was 6.4” Married 4 times.
• He loved to read but could not write.
• In 800 Pope Leo III asked Charlemagne to help with
the rebellions in Rome.
• On Christmas day 800, Pope Leo III crowned
Charlemagne Emperor of Romans.
•
The act of crowning Charlemagne
• Government – appointed nobles to rule local lands.
• Revival of learning – set up a new court at Aachen
“second Rome”
• Had a scholar named Alcuin create a curriculum
for schools
• Alcuin also copied ancient manuscripts including
the Bible and Latin works.
• Division of Charlemagne’s Empire
– Grandson Charles II received France.
• Invaders:
– Magyars: People from western Asia moved into
central Europe and settled in Hungary
– Vikings: Norsemen of Scandinavia. They were a
Germanic people. They were warriors and
shipbuilders. They would go down one side of a river, plunder, then go up the other side and
plunder.
– In 911 the ruler of the west Frankish lands gave
A. Feudalism – military agreement
◦ 1. Was a system of rule in which local lords divided their landholdings (called a fief) among lesser lords, called vassals
◦ 2. The Vassal would agree to work the land, and take care of the towns or buildings on the land.
Mutual Agreement
◦ The vassal would do 40 days of military service a year.
◦ 2. If the lord was captured the vassal would pay the ransom.
• A. Knighthood – at age 7 boys went into training
camp where they learned to ride and take care of their armor.
• B. When Feudal warfare decreased the knights
started having tournaments or mock battles.
• C. Noblewomen – ran the castle while their
husbands or fathers were off fighting.
– 1. Eleanor of Aquitaine inherited land in France
and England.
– 2. Women were expected to know how to spin
C. Castles – were built around 900 out of wood.
Strongholds = wooden tower surrounded by a moat.
◦ 1. By the 1100’s they were built of stone.
◦ 2. To attack the castle – dig under, go over the moat, climb the walls.
◦ 3. To defend – put sewage in the moat, drop boiling hot water, hot oil, or melted lead on the enemy.
B. Code of Chivalry – placed women on a pedestal – Troubadours sang the praises of the noblewomen loved by their knights.
◦ 1. A true knight was expected to fight bravely, be loyal to his lord, and treat other knights with respect and courtesy.
◦ 2. They were to protect women, children and the weak.
Gentleman: your poem must be 24-35 lines
in length. You must have at least 4 words on
a line. It does not have to rhyme.
MUST BE CLASSROOM APPROPRIATE!!!!
Gentlewoman: you need to believe that
someone has written you a love poem to you
and write A FULL PAGE letter back to them
MUST BE CLASSROOM APPROPRIATE!!!
I. Strong Monarchs in England. A. Early history of England
1. The early settlers were called Celts.
2, The Romans in 43 A.D. built roads and towns.
3. The Island was invaded by 3 Germanic tribes the Jutes, Angles, and Saxons.
4. The island was now called Angleland – which became England.
B. Alfred the Great
1. defeated the Danish Vikings.
C. William Duke of Normandy:
1. Descendant of the Vikings.
2. Raised an army and won the backing of the Pope.
3. At the Battle of Hastings William and his Normans beat the English.
4. On Christmas Day 1066 William The Conqueror assumed the crown of England.
5. He divided his land among barons - feudal lords.
6. He monitored who built castles, and where and required every vassal to swear first allegiance to him rather than to any other feudal lord.
II. Unified Legal System
Henry II (1154)
Sent out traveling justices to enforce royal laws.
The decision of the royal courts became English Common Law.
Jury system was developed.
The earliest forms of juries was to inform a judge which cases should be heard. From this we get the “grand jury” - a grand jury does not determine guilt - only if there is enough evidence to go to trial.
B. Courts and the Church:
1. Henry claimed the right to try clergy in royal courts.
2. The only person to challenge Henry was Thomas Becket the Archbishop of Canterbury.
3. He was murdered in his own cathedral.
A. Problems with the French –
1. Norman rulers of England had
vast lands in France.
2. Through wars with France - John had
to give up land in Anjou and
1. he refused to recognize the
bishop the Pope Innocent sent
2. The Pope excommunicated him and
issued an interdict - which forbade Church
services in the entire kingdom.
3. To save his crown John had to accept
C. The Rebellious Barons –
1. John had angered his own nobles with oppressive taxes.
2. In 1215 the barons forced him to sign the Magna Carta (Great Charter)
**A). Taxation only with representation
**B). Right to trial - which led to due process of law
1. The Great council evolved into Parliament.
2. In 1295 Edward I summoned Parliament to approve money for his wars in France.
3. He had representatives of the common people join with the Lords and Clergy.
4. The commons included two knights from each county and representatives of the towns.
5. This later became known as the House of
Commons and House of Lords. ****
