5/28/14 Class

Today we took a test on the medevil times.  That was pretty interesting, although i don't think i did very well at all.  After the test we turned in our west-civ books.  That was about all that happened in this class because we only had a short amount of time because of the 2 hour late bell.

Class test review 5/27/14 ( Charlemagne )

TEST REVIEW

• Middle ages = me-devil period
• AD 476 - AD 1453
• beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church

• overrun the western half of the Roman empire
• causing:
• disruption of trade
• downfall of cities
• population shifts to rural areas

Effects of invasion

• decline of learning
• tribes had oral tradition, songs, but couldn't read Greek or Latin
• few besides priests were literate
• romance languages evolve 

Germanic kingdoms emerge

• Germanic warriors loyalty is to the lord of the manor he provides them w/ food, weapons, treasure
• No orderly government
• Small communities rule
• In 496 he has the battlefield conversion - he and 3000 of his warriors become Christians 
• By the 511 the Franks are united into one kingdom, with Clovis and the Church working as the partners. 

Spread of Christianity

• Church + Frankish rulers = rise in Christianity
• In 520, Benedict writes rules for monks
• His sister scholastic writes similar rules for nuns

Pope Gregory and papal power play

1. Theocracy- Church revenues are used to help the poor, build roads, and raise armies
2. Hammer defeats Muslim raiding party from Spain at the Battle of Tours in 732

How do you follow the hammer?

• Charles Martel's son is Pepin the Short

Luis' three sons  - lothair, Charles the bald & and Louis the German - split up the kingdom at the traty of VERDUN in 843 AD

Germanic Kingdoms Unite Under Charlemagne

Germanic Kingdoms Unite Under Charlemagne

Main idea! 
many Germanic kingdoms that succeeded the Roman Empire were reunited under Charlemagne's empire

Why it matters now!
Charlemagne spread christian civilization throughout northern Europe, which is where many of us came from

Setting the stage

• middle ages = medieval period
• 500- 1500 AD
• medieval Europe is fragmented

A. Invasions trigger changes in western Europe

  

    1. Invasions and constant warfare spark new trends

          a. Distribution of trade

              i.  Europe's cities are no longer economic

              ii.  Money is scarce

          b.  Downfall of cities

              i.  cities are no longer centers of administration 

          c.  Population shifts

             i.  nobles retreat to the rural areas

             ii.   cities don't have strong leadership

     2.  Decline of learning

          a.  Germanic invaders are illiterate, but they communicate through oral tradition

 

          b.  Only priests and church officials could read and write

          c.  Knowledge of Greek (and literature, science, philosophy) is almost lost

      3.   Loss of a common language 

          a.  Dialects develop in different regions

          

          b.  By the 800s, French, Spanish, other Roman-based languages are evolving from Latin

B. Germanic kingdoms emerge

    

      1.  The concept of government changes

     

            a.  Roman society: loyal to public gov't

            b. Germanic society

        

                i.  Germanic chief led warriors

                ii.  During peace, he provided food, weapons, treasure, and place to live

                iii.  During wartime, warriors fought for the lord

           c. "The king?" who's that? you want to collect taxes from me? who are you?

           d.  Franks live in the Roman province of Gaul - their leader is Clovis

       2.  The franks under Clovis

           

          a.  Another battlefield conversion (like Constantine)

          b. Clovis and 3000 of his warriors are baptized by the bishop

          c. the church approves of this "alliance"

          d. Clovis and the church begin to work together

   C.  Germanic peoples adopt Christianity

           1.  511 AD - Clovis unites franks into one kingdom

           2.  600 AD -  church + Frankish rulers convert many

           3.  fear of Muslims in southern Europe spur many to become Christians

           4. Monasteries and convents

                 a. 520 AD - Benedict wrote the rules for monks and monasteries 

                            i.  Poverty, chastity, obedience, study

                b.  his sister Scholastica did the same for nuns in convents

                c. 731 AD - the venerable Bede wrote a killer history of England

                d. Monks opened schools, maintained libraries and copied books

     

          5. Pope: Gregory I expands papal power

               a.  Papacy = pope's office

               b.  Secular power = worldly power

               c. So... under Gregory the great

               d. the church can use church money to:

                    raise armies

                    repair roads

                    help the poor

               e.  Gregory the great began to act as mayor or Rome and as head of an earthly kingdom

Middle Ages 5/16/14

Middle Ages

• Feudalism: a political, military and economic system based on land-holding and protective alliances

• In other words: the system is based on personal loyalty to people who can help you
• Rich dude (LORD): "i own land, i need people to help me work it and defend it"
• Tough dude (VASSALS): "there are a lot of us, we can help the rich dudes hold on to their land"

The Feudal Pyramid

• Peasants- landless, powerless, money-less and just working for their lord
• knights- mounted warriors who received FIEFS for defending their lord's land
• the most powerful VASSALS 
• (NOBLES AND BISHOPS)
•               KING

Manors: the Lord's estate house

• The Lord's manor house
• a church
• some workshops
• 15-30 families
• all on a few square miles

• Good news! its a self-sufficient community 
• Bad news... its harsh if your a peasant 

Peasants are poor AND pay high taxes

• tax on grain
• tax on marriage
• church tax (tithe = 10% f=of their income)

Free Mod Class 5/13/14

Today Mr. Schick gave us a free mod to do all of our other work in different classes so we didnt have to do it all later.  It was very nice

Rome Fades Away 5/12/14

2 Emperors

Diocletian

• he rules 284-303
• it's cool to persecute Christians
• Rome needs a big army (400,000 strong)
• Rome needs a big government (20,000 officials)

Constantine

• rules from 306-337
• it's cool to BE a Christian
• conversion to Christianity
• via a cross in the sky (conquer by this!)

• 313- his edict of Milan proclaims freedom of worship
• built a new capital in the East
• Byzantium, soon to be known as Constantinople 

The Edict of Milan - was a declaration issued in 313 by the Emperor Constantine which made all religions legal within the Roman Empire, though it was especially intended to legalize Christianity.

Life in the Fourth Century

• county dwellers are getting bankrupted by endless tax collection
• new farming system: peasants work for elite landlords on large farms
• peasants can avoid paying taxes, but they are getting hit just as hard by the landlords
• paying off debts and being "allowed" to live on the land, in exchange for endless back-breaking work 

End of Era

from the beginnings..

500 B.C- the monarchy is abolished

45- BC- the 12 tables were established

Through the glory days...

44 BC- end of the line for Julius Caesar 

27 BC- 180 AD- Roman Peace (pax romana)

To the bitter end..

constant 5th century invasions by barbarian tribes left the western Roman Empire shattered and crumbling

the last emperor was a teenage boy installed in 475 by his father

barbarians deposed Romulus Ausgustulus without bothering to kill him

Rise of Christianity 5/9/14

Christianity

• Jesus spends three years preaching and is killed by roman leaders
• His followers believe he has risen from the dead and that he is the messiah
• People started believing everywhere by the story of Saul (Paul)  by spreading Jesus' message that he was one true God.
• Christianity evolves from cult status to established, official structure
• Priest, bishops, pope (Bishop of Rome)

Part 2

• Christians and Jews were monotheistic (believing in one God)
• this conflicted with Roman beliefs
• persecution against both was common
• Christianity appealed to the poor, and since there were many poor, their numbers grew
• as it grew, even some Roman leaders embraced it
• Constantine has a battlefield conversion
• He issues the edict of Milan
• Not only no persecution, but actual approval of Christianity, eventually making it the official religion of Rome
• the Roman empire and Christianity are now linked in power and influence