Transforming the Roman World

9-1

New Germanic Kingdoms

476 CE – fall of Western Roman Empire

Germanic states set up around Europe:

Spain – Visigoths

Italy – Ostrogoths

Britain – Anglo-Saxons

France/Germany – Franks (longest lasting)

Germanic Society

Importance of family

Germanic law – handled personally (instead of through Roman system)

Crimes settled by blood feuds and savage acts of revenge

Wergild – “money for a man”

Ordeal to determine guilt – physical test

Church Organization

Pope (bishop of Rome)

Archbishop

Bishop

Priest

Monks and their Mission

Pope Gregory I – uses the monastic movement to convert non-Christians

Saint Benedict - regulates monasteries (Benedictine Rule)

Day of prayer and manual labor

7 daily gatherings for group prayer and chanting of Psalms

Strict rule by an abbot (“father”)

The Carolingian Empire

600s-700s – slow decline of the Frankish Kingdom – eventually taken over by one of the king’s officers who establishes hereditary rule, which passes to his son: Charlemagne (Charles the Great)

768-814: rule of Charlemagne

Expanded Frankish territory

Vast administration system (counts, missi diminici)

Intellectual renewal (Carolingian Renaissance)

Charlemagne the Man

Charlemagne the Conqueror

Charlemagne the Administrator

Charlemagne the Patron of Learning

Charlemagne, Emperor of Rome

800 CE - Germanic King crowed Emperor of Rome by the Pope

Symbolic coming together of different European heritages

Feudalism9-2

End of the Carolingian Empire

Death of Charlemagne in 814 – 30 years later the Carolingian Empire was divided amongst his grandsons into three major sections:

West Frankish lands

Eastern Frankish lands

Middle Kingdom

Local nobles gained power

Many areas were invaded

The Invaders

Feudalism

Became increasingly difficult to defend their subjects against invaders as the Carolingian Empire fell apart

People turned to local aristocrats, nobles, for protection > new political and social system called feudalism

Feudal Society

Vassal: man who served a lord in a military capacity (Germanic tradition) – received land (fief) in return for serving in a lord’s army

Knight: heavily armored cavalry – social prestige

The Feudal Contract

System of honor and chivalry made up of unwritten rules

Obligations of vassal:

Military service (approx. 40 days/year)

Give advice in court when summoned

Financial payments for lord’s son’s knighting, daughter’s wedding, or ransom payment

Obligations of lord:

Grant land

Protection

Take vassal’s side in court of law

Nobility of the Middle Ages

Nobility: kings, dukes, counts, barons, bishops and archbishops = aristocracy

Great lords and knights were included as well

Social divisions within the aristocracy based on wealth and landholdings

Tournaments

Contests where knights could show off fighting skills

Chivalry

Code of ethics that knights were supposed to uphold

Treat captives as honored guests

Knights fight for glory, not material reward

Aristocratic Women

Could hold property (most controlled by men)

Men often away at war – women in charge of the estate

Manage household

Take care of financial accounts

Oversaw food supply

Expected to be subservient to husbands

Exception: Eleanor of Aquitaine Heiress – married to King Louis VII of France – annulled

Married King Henry II of England – created her own court – two of her sons (Richard and John) became kings of England