charlemagne unites germanic kingdoms

Warm-Up (ESOL)FRONT BACK

Charlemagne Powerful Frankish ruler who built a huge empire; was crowned emperor of the “Roman Empire” by Pope Leo III

1. Please copy this onto your FLASH card.2. Take out your HOMEWORK to be

checked and reviewed.

Warm-Up (Honors/Gifted)Imagine all of the schools, colleges,

libraries and computers were destroyed. Now imagine all the teachers and doctors

quit because no one was paying them. What would the world be like? Take 5-10

minutes to write a paragraph about this.

Many Germanic kingdoms that succeeded the Roman Empire were reunited under Charlemagne’s empire.

CHARLEMAGNE UNITES GERMANIC KINGDOMS

Middle AgesMedieval periodA.D. 500-1500New society rooted in:

Classical heritage of RomeBeliefs of the Roman Catholic ChurchCustoms of various Germanic tribes

Invasions of Western EuropeWhat was the immediate cause of the fall

of the Western Roman Empire again?Right! Germanic invasions!!!

Repeated warfare and invasions altered the economy, government, and culture of the people in the Western Roman EmpireEconomy: Disruption of trade led to the

collapse of businesses, breakdown of European cities as economic centers, and scarcity of money.

Government: cities were abandoned as centers of administration

Culture: nobles (wealthy landowners) retreated to the rural areas when cities collapsed; cities no longer had strong leadership; people moved to the rural areas and began farming; population became rural

SURVIVAL MODEWhat do people need for survival?

Food & waterShelter

What do you NOT care about when trying to survive? LanguageCulture Etc…

Decline of LearningGermanic invaders were illiterateRomans who moved into rural areas

became less concerned about educationPriests and other church officials were

literateKnowledge of Greek became lost (but we

still have that knowledge today…SO…bonus point: WHO PRESERVED IT???)

Germanic tribes had a rich oral tradition of songs and legends but no writing

Loss of a Common LanguageMixing of Germanic-speaking peoples with

Romans change in LatinDifferent dialects emerged 800s: French, Spanish, and other Roman-

based languages evolved from LatinVarious languages = continued breakup of

a once unified empire

Germanic Kingdoms emerge400s-600s: small Germanic kingdoms

replaced Roman provincesLet’s think about this…

Which of the five traits of a civilization is necessary to maintain a civilization? In other words, if this trait disappeared, so could a civilization…

INSTITUTIONS!

So…which institution remained in the Western Roman Empire?

A. Political institutionsB. Economic institutionsC. Educational institutionsD. Religious institutions

The ChurchThe Church was the sole surviving

institution of the Roman Empire. During this time of political chaos, the

Church provided order and security.

Concept of Government Changes

Rome: Loyalty to public

government and written laws

Citizenship in a public state

Germanic Kingdoms:

Family ties and personal loyalty

Small communities governed by unwritten rules and tradition

Germanic SocietyBand of warriors pledged their loyalty to a

Germanic chiefFollowers lived in lord’s hall

He gave them food, weapons and treasure.Warriors fought to the death at lord’s side

Outliving him was a disgraceGermanic warriors did not feel obligated to

obey a king they did not know nor did they feel obligated to obey an official sent to collect taxes or administer justice in the name of an emperor they’d never met.

Stress on personal ties made it difficult to establish orderly government for large territories

Clovis & the FranksGaul (present-day France & Switzerland)Franks held powerClovis was the leader; brought Christianity to the

region496: Clovis prayed to the Christian God for help in

battle; they won; they convertedChurch in Rome welcomed his conversion and

supported his campaigns against other Germanic tribes

511: Clovis united the Franks into one kingdomWhy do we care?

Clovis + Roman Church = the beginning of a marriage of political and religious institutions

Religion in the Middle AgesMonasteries were established to adjust to rural ways

of living and became best-educated communities Monks/nuns and their illuminated manuscripts

helped to preserve part of Rome’s intellectual heritage.

Gregory I Became Pope and broadened the authority of the papacy

(pope’s office) beyond its spiritual role Made the Church a secular power Pope’s palace became center of Roman government Used church revenue to raise armies, repair roads, and

help the poor Negotiated treaties with invaders Region from Italy to England and Spain to Germany fell

under his responsibility

Carolingian DynastyRuled from 751-987Started by Pepin the ShortSon, Charles, ruled the kingdom after himCharles became known as Charlemagne

(Charles the Great)

Charlemagne Built an empire larger than any since Rome Conquered lots of land Spread Christianity through his conquests First to reunite Western Europe since the

Roman Empire 800: empire larger than Byzantine Empire Most powerful king in Western Europe Crushed an unruly mob who had attacked

Pope Leo III Pope crowned him emperor

Why do we care? This was the FIRST time a pope had claimed

the political right to confer the title “Roman Emperor” on a European king.

This event signaled the joining of Germanic power, the Church, and the heritage of the Roman Empire.

Warm-Up – Honors/Gifted

Complete QUIZ

Charlemagne leads a revival….

In education!He actually was illiterate but dedicated

himself to learning how to read and write.Surrounded himself with English, German,

Italian, and Spanish scholars.Opened a palace school for his children Ordered monasteries to open schools to

train future monks and priests

Charlemagne’s heirsSon Louis the Pious

succeeded him Devoutly religious but

politically ineffectiveCharlemagne’s three

grandsons fought each other for control and essentially divided it with the signing of the Treaty of Verdun in 843.

Carolingian kings lost power, and central authority broke down

Lack of strong rulers led to new system of governing and landholding: feudalism