500-1500

THE MIDDLE AGES

THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES• 476 Fall of Western Roman Empire

• 496 Clovis adopts Roman Christianity

• 511 Clovis unites Franks into one kingdom

• 590 Gregory I, also called Gregory the Great, becomes pope

• 596 Pope Gregory I sends missionaries to convert the Anglo-Saxons

• 732 Charles Martel defeats Muslims at Tours

• 771 Charlemagne becomes emperor of the Franks

• 800 Charlemagne is crowned emperor of the Roman by Pope Leo III

• 843 Treaty of Verdun: Empire divided into 3 kingdoms

EARLY HISTORY• I. Early History of France

• A. By 7th century BC – inhabited by Gauls

• B. 58-50 BC – conquered by Romans under Julius Caesar

• C. Until 5th century AD, ruled by Romans

• D. In the 5th century, France was settled by Germanic tribes

• E. 476 – Marked the end of the Western Roman Empire

THE FRANKISH KINGDOM• II. The Frankish Kingdom (Roman province of Gaul, Germanic

people called the Franks, held power)

• A. Clovis: Leader of the Franks unites the Franks into one kingdom (In 496, he converts to Christianity and gains support of the Pope)

• B. “Do Nothing Kings”: Clovis’ descendants, who nominally ruled for more than two centuries, were incompetent and became known as “Do Nothing” kings. Their reign was marked by recurrent outbreaks of civil war and by sharp power increases by the nobles at the expense of the king. Control of the government eventually passed into the hands of a powerful noble and official called the “Mayor of the Palace”

CAROLINGIAN DYNASTY

• Leadership for Western Europe: During the 8th and 9th centuries the Franks dominated western Europe due to the capable rulers of the Carolingian dynasty (Pepin, Charlemagne, Louis the Pious)

• Carolingian Dynasty

• A. Charles Martel: “Mayor of the Palace” led the Frankish army against the invading Muslims from Spain and defeated them at the Battle of Tours (732) (battle ended the Muslim thrust into Christian Europe) Made Martel “Christian Hero”

CAROLINGIAN DYNASTY

• Pepin the Short (Charles Martel’s son): 741 – became “Mayor of the Palace” upon the death of his father, Charles Martel.

• In 751, with the Pope’s approval, Pepin removed the last “do nothing” king of the Lombards and assumed the Frankish throne. In exchange, pope anointed Pepin “king by the grace of God.”

• Thus began the Carolingian Dynasty – family that would rule the Franks from 751 to 987

CHARLEMAGNE – 768 SUCCEEDED TO THE FRANKISH THRONE UPON THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER, PEPIN

• Charlemagne: Rules over Medieval Empire (768-814)• A. Warfare

• 1. Charlemagne’s Conquests – conquered the Lombards in northern Italy, the Muslims in the Spanish March, a strip of land just south of the Pyrenees Mountains in Spain, the Slavs in Bohemia and the Saxons, a pagan Germanic people in northwestern Germany

• 2. Effects of Charlemagne’s Conquests – Increased the power of the Catholic Church by ending the Lombard threat to the Papal Sates and converting pagan peoples to Catholicism. He also expanded the Frankish realm into an empire that included most of Western Europe

• 3. “Emperor of the Romans” At Rome in 800, Pope Leo III, recognizing Charlemagne’s services to the Church and mastery of Western Europe, crowned him “Emperor of the Romans.” Significant because a pope had claimed political right to confer the title “Roman Emperor” on a European king.

EDUCATION: UNDER CHARLEMAGNE• Charlemagne, unlike most Germanic rulers, valued education. He established schools in

monasteries and cathedrals to instruct both the clergy and the common people. Encouraged the collecting and copying of Latin manuscripts to preserve ancient learning, and maintained a palace school at his capital, Aix-la-Chapelle, to educate the nobles’ children.

• Believed it was his religious duty to raise the educational level of the clergy so that they understood and could properly teach the faith

THE BREAKUP OF CHARLEMAGNE’S EMPIRE

• Charlemagne’s Death: Charlemagne’s son, Louis the Pious inherited the throne, although very religious, Louis was an incompetent ruler.

• Upon Louis’ death, he divided his empire among his three sons.

• In 843, the 3 brothers signed the Treaty of Verdun, which divided the empire into three kingdoms

• As a result, Carolingian kings lost power!!!