The Byzantine Empire study guide summary

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The Byzantine Empire study guide summary

Medieval Europe

A. The Byzantine Empire

Roman Empire was divided
- AD 395
- eastern half became known as the Byzantine Empire
height in the AD 500s
- Byzantine Empire included most of the Balkan Peninsula, Italy, southern Spain, Asia Minor, Syria and North Africa

1. Byzantine Foundations

a) A Strategic City

Roman emperor Constantine built Constantinople
- AD 330
- strategic place where Europe and Asia meet
Constantinople reinforced this multicultural character
- Byzantine capital
- located near the centers of early Christianity
- on major trade routes
overlooked the Bosporus
- narrow straight between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea
Dardanelles
- second strait that connects the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean Sea
- leads to the Mediterranean
straits gave the occupiers of the peninsula control over movement between the Mediterranean and the Black Seas
- over the routes leading east to Asia and north to northern Europe
Byzantine capital had become the wealthiest part of the Roman Empire
- By AD 400
offered natural protection from attack
- time when Germanic invaders were assaulting Rome to the west
- Water protected the city on three sides
- triple walls fortified the side open to attack by land.
- huge chain was strung across the narrow mouth of the deep harbor on Constantinople’s north side

b) Cultural Blend

After Rome’s fall
- Byzantine Empire was regarded as heir to Roman power and traditions
Constantinople was known as the New Rome
- emperors were Romans
- spoke Latin
- many of its wealthy families came from Rome
Byzantine Empire was more than a continuation of the old Roman Empire
Lands once part of the Greek world formed the heart of the Byzantine Empire
- Byzantine people spoke Greek
- stressed their Greek heritage
- Byzantine emperor and officials also used Greek rather than Latin
- Religious scholars expressed their ideas in Greek
- developed a distinct form of Christianity known today as Eastern Orthodoxy
cultural influences from eastern civilizations such as Persia

2. Justinian’s Rule

height the Byzantine Empire was ruled by Justinian
- son of prosperous peasants from Macedonia in the western part of the empire
young man in the court of his uncle
- worked late into the night at his studies
- enthusiasm for knowledge and hard work continued after he became emperor
- AD 527 at age 44

a) Theodora’s Support

Theodora
- Justinian’s wife
- beautiful, intelligent, and ambitious
Justinian had married her in spite of court objections to her occupation as an actress
- profession held in low esteem in the empire
Theodora participated actively in government
- rewarding friends with positions
- using dismissals to punish enemies
Theodora was especially concerned with improving the social standing of women
- persuaded Justinian to issue a decree giving a wife the right to own land equal in value to the wealth she brought with her at marriage
- land gave a widow the income she needed to support her children without the assistance of the government
Theodora’s political talents helped save Justinian’s throne
AD 532
- revolt of taxpayers in Constantinople threatened the government
- Justinian’s advisers urged him to leave the city
- Theodora, however, persuaded him to remain in control
- Justinian reasserted his power
- army crushed the rebels
- killing 30,000 people
Justinian ruled without challenge
- death in AD 565

b) Military Campaigns

Byzantines faced a serious military threat from the East.
- The Sassanian Empire of Persian
- under Chosroes (kaz-ROH-eez) I
- threatened to conquer the eastern provinces of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantines rallied their forces and threw back to the Persians
- Justinian gained a brief period of security for the eastern borders
- agreeing to pay tribute in return for peace
Justinian dreamed of restoring the Roman Empire
- began the reconquest of Italy, North Africa, and Spain
- AD 533
- Roman lands that had fallen to Germanic invaders
Byzantine armies were strengthened and reorganized
- general Belisarius
- AD 533 - AD 535
- fought a series of wars
- Vandals in North Africa
- Ostrogoths in Italy
- Visigoths in southern Spain
- Byzantines conquered these Germanic groups and extended Byzantine rule in the west
successful reconquest proved costly fro the empire
- wars exhausted most of the Byzantine resources
- Funds were low for defending the eastern borders
- faced attack by an expanding Persian Empire
empire lost many of its outlying territories
- Within a generation of his death

c) Code of Laws

Justinian’s legal reforms did last
- affecting Western law even today
Justinian appointed a commission to codify, or classify, the empire’s Roman laws
- laws had accumulated without organization or classification
- commission was made up of 10 scholars
- headed by a legal expert named Tribonian
commission collected and organized vast numbers of laws
- 6 years
- threw out the ones that were outdated
- simplified many
- put the remainder into categories
commission’s work was recorded in a collection of books known as the Corpus of Civil Law
- Justinian Code
- massive work preserved Rome’s legal heritage and later became the basis for most European legal systems

d) The Arts

Byzantine art and architecture thrived and achieved their distinct character
emperor ordered the construction of new roads, fortresses, aqueducts, monasteries, and other buildings
most famous project was the church of Hagia Sophia
- ‘Holy Wisdom’
- Constantinople
- largest and most beautiful church in the empire
- stands today as one of the word’s great architectural landmarks

3. Byzantine Religion

Strong ties linked Byzantine emperors and the Church
- emperors were regarded as God’s representatives on earth.
Byzantine emperors and empresses were crowned by the patriarch of Constantinople
- AD 400s
- took an oath to defend the Christian faith

a) Church & State

Byzantine emperors frequently played a major role in church affairs
- appointed church officials
- defined the style of worship
- used the wealth of the Church for government purposes
Justinian strengthened this control over the Church by intervening in disputes over church beliefs
- tried to unify the empire under one Christian faith
- practice that sometimes led to persecution of Jews and non – Greek Christians

b) Religious Controversy

Byzantine clergy – church officials such as priests and bishops – and laity – church members who were not clergy – were intensely interested in religious matters
- Byzantines often engaged in heated religious discussions
Visitors to Constantinople saw shoppers in the marketplaces having lively discussions
- exact relationship of Jesus the Son to God the Father
- arguments often became political issues
- led to fights and riots
dispute broke out over the use of icons, or religious images, in worship
- AD 700s
- Christians had disagreed about this practice since the AD 400s
objected to the use of icons in Christian worship
- Bible, in the Ten Commandments, prohibited such images.
Defenders stressed that icons were symbols of God’s presence in human affairs
- Byzantine theologian John of Damascus wrote many religious articles defending the use of icons
Emperor Leo III ordered all icons removed from the churches
- Believing that icons encouraged superstition and idol – worship
- AD 726
emperor’s supporters became known as iconoclasts, or image breakers
- military leaders, government officials, and many people in Asia Minor
Church leaders and other Byzantines resisted the order
- supported by the Church in Rome
- important a center of Christianity as Constantinople
- Roman pope’s involvement in the controversy strained relations between the Eastern and Western Churches
Leo asserted his power and suppressed demonstrations in favor of icons
- Feeling his authority was being challenged
- several later emperors did the same
- not supported by the people
church council at Nicaea approved the use of icons
- AD 787
Empress Irene allowed the use of icons as long as they were not given the worship due to God
- the first woman to hold the Byzantine throne
Eastern Church allowing the use of pictures, but not statues, in worship
- AD 843

c) Conflict with Rome

Eastern and Western Churches had disagreed on a number of religious and political issues
- AD 300s
- disagreements intensified
most serious issue concerned the source of religious authority
- pope in Rome and the patriarch of Constantinople did not agree on their roles in the Christian Church
- pope stated that he was supreme leader of the Church
- patriarchs of Constantinople opposed this claim
- two church leaders also disagreed over points of doctrine
- challenged each other for control of new churches in the Balkan Peninsula
Relations between Eastern and Western Churches worsened
- AD 700s
- Germanic Lombards invaded central Italy
- Byzantine emperor refused to give the pope in Rome military protection
- pope turned to the Franks, a Germanic Catholic people in western Europe
Franks defeated the Lombards
- pope gave the Frankish leader, Charlemagne, the title of emperor
- title which only the Byzantine ruler could legally grant
- made the Byzantines even more bitter toward the pope and the Western Church
doctrinal, political, and geographical differences finally led to a schism, or separation, of the Church
- AD 1054
- Roman Catholic Church in the West
- Eastern Orthodox Church in the East

4. Byzantine Life

western Europe as in decline
- AD 500 to AD 800
- Byzantine Empire was a brilliant center of civilization
- scholars preserved Greek philosophy and literature, Roman political and legal ideas, and Christian theology, or religious teachings

a) Family Life

family was the center of social life for most Byzantines
- Church and the government supported marriage as a sacred institution
- Divorce was difficult to obtain
- Church generally forbade more than one remarriage
Byzantine women were expected to live partly in seclusion
- rooms in homes and churches were set aside for their sole use
women had gained some rights through Theodora’s efforts
- some women became well educated and influential in the government
- Several governed as regents, or temporary rulers
- few ruled in their own right as empress

b) The Economy

Most Byzantines made a living through farming, herding, or working as laborers
- Farmers paid heavy taxes that supported the government
- base of the Byzantine economy was agricultural
commerce thrived in cities such as Constantinople
- site of a natural crossroads for trade
- Constantinople’s busy harbor, called the Golden Horn
- Byzantine ships loaded with cargo sailed between the Mediterranean and Black Seas by way of the Bosporus and Dardanelles
- eastern shore of the Black Sea, goods could be shipped overland through Asia
- Rivers such as the Dnieper, which flows from the Baltic region south to the Black Sea, provided access to northern Europe
Merchants traded Byzantine agricultural goods and furs and enslaved people from northern Europe
- luxury goods from the East
- ships brought cloves and sandalwood from the East Indies
- pepper, copper, and gems from India and Ceylon (present – day Sri Lanka)
- silk from China
major Byzantine industry was weaving silk
- developed after AD 550
- Justinian sent two monks to China, the center of the silk industry
- monks stole some silkworm egg, hid them in hollow bamboo canes, and smuggled their precious cargo out of China
- silkworms fed on mulberry leaves and spun the silk that made the empire wealthy

5. Byzantine Art & Learning

a) Art

Religious subjects were the sources of most Byzantine art.
- Icons, the most popular art form, portrayed saints and other religious figures
- displayed on the walls of churches, homes, and shrines.
- Magnificent churches embellished with gold and silver, polished and carved marble, ivory and jewels
excelled in the art of mosaic
- pictures made of many tiny pieces of colored glass or flat stone set up in plaster
- most masterly mosaics captured the finest gradations of skin tones and textures of clothing
- a skill even painters found difficult to master
Religious scholars of the Byzantine Empire created another art form
- illuminated manuscript
- books decorated with elaborate designs, beautiful lettering, and miniature paintings
- brilliantly colored paintings portrayed religious themes & scenes of Byzantine daily life
- provided a vivid record of daily life between AD 300 - AD 1200

b) Education

government – supported University of Constantinople
- established in AD 850
- trained scholars and lawyers for government jobs
Eastern Orthodox Church provided religious schools to train priests and theological scholars
- areas of study included medicine, law, philosophy, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, grammar, and music.
Wealthy people sometimes hired tutors to instruct their children
- particularly their daughters
- usually not admitted to schools and universities
Byzantine literature focused on salvation of the soul and obedience to God’s will
- Writers composed hymns and poems in praise of Christ and his mother, Mary
- wrote books about the lives of saints
- provided readers with moral lessons as well as accounts of saints’ miracles and adventures
foremost occupation of Byzantine scholars was copying the writings of the ancient Greeks and Romans
- preserving ancient works on science, medicine, and mathematics
- Byzantines helped spread classical knowledge to the Western world

c) Spread of Christianity

devout Christians throughout the Byzantine Empire formed religious communities called monasteries
- end of the AD 300s
- monks sought to develop a spiritual way of life apart from the temptations of the world
Christian women who did the same were called nuns and lived in quarters of their own known as convents
Monasteries and convents soon helped the poor and ran hospitals and schools for needy children
- spread Byzantine arts and learning
- sent missionaries – people who carry a religious message – to neighboring peoples to convert them to the Christian faith
most successful missionaries were the brothers Cyril and Methodius
- Christianity would be more acceptable to the Slavic peoples who lived north of the empire if it were presented in their own language
Cyril devised an alphabet for the Slavic languages
- AD 863
- Known today as the Cyrillic alphabet in honor of its inventor
- script is still used by Russians, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, and Serbs
- won many converts
- Cyril and Methodius presented the Slavs with Cyrillic translation of the Bible and church ceremonies

6. Decline & Fall

a) Unending Attacks

Justinian died in AD 565
Germanic Lombards took over most of Italy
Avars attacked the northern frontier
Slavic peoples moved into the Balkans
Persians resumed their attacks in the east
Slavs were at the walls of Constantinople
- AD 626
- brilliant counterattack stopped their advance
Arabs from the Middle East entered the scene
- new religion of Islam
- sought to spread their faith and acquire wealth
AD 630s
- Muslims occupied Syria, Palestine, Persia and across North Africa
Byzantines stopped the Arabs at Constantinople
- could not regain the lost territory in the Middle East and North Africa
Byzantine Empire was reduced to the territories that were primarily Greek
- AD 700
- loss of the non – Greek lands actually helped strengthen the empire
- now had one religion, one language, and one culture

b) Christian Conquest

northern European people called Normans seized the Byzantine lands in southern Italy
- AD 1071
- Venice, an Italian trading city on the Adriatic Sea, agreed to help the Byzantines’ effort to regain the lands
- in return for trading privileges in Constantinople
attempt failed and the Byzantines soon lost control failed
- weakening an economy already strained by war
Seljuk Turks had come from central Asia and converted to Islam
- defeated the Byzantines at the town of Manzikert
Byzantine emperor asked the pope’s help in defending Christianity
- Expeditions sent by the pope against the Islamic forces were more interested in taking over Palestine
Christian soldiers agreed to help the Venetians attack Constantinople
- AD 1204
- attack burned and looted the city, stealing and destroying priceless manuscripts and works of art
- actions were so brutal that Pope Innocent III publicly condemned them
western Christians established ‘a Latin empire’ in Constantinople
- Byzantine people resisted this rule successfully
- reestablished their own culture in AD 1261

c) Fall of Constantinople

years of fighting severely weakened the Byzantine Empire.
- Serbs and Bulgars took over Balkan territory
New invaders from central Asia, the Ottoman Turks, attacked the eastern provinces
- late AD 1300s
- Byzantine Empire consisted of only Constantinople and part of Greece
About 100,000 people still lived in the capital
- food was scarce
- wealth was gone
Ottomans laid siege to Constantinople
- AD 1453
- six weeks their huge cannon blasted away at their city’s walls
- Byzantines fought fiercely until their last emperor was killed
Byzantine Empire had protected the Christian lands to its north
- fall of Constantinople
- central Europe lay open to attack by Islamic forces
- Byzantine heritage lived on in the civilization developed by the Eastern Slavs

B. The Eastern Slavs

fall of Constantinople
- AD 1453
- in the Eastern Orthodox world passed from the Byzantines to the Slavs
- among the largest groups living in eastern Europe
- close contact with the Byzantines since the AD 900s

1. The Setting

steppe
- North of the Black Sea
- vast plains, thick forests, and mighty rivers
- rich black soil
- harsh climate makes farming difficult
- crop failures common
- Too inland to be reached by moist ocean breezes
- often has scanty rainfall
- most of the land lies in the same latitudes as Canada
- long, hard winter, blasts of Arctic air roar across the land and bury it deep in snow
seemingly endless forests
- North of the steppe
- evergreens, birch , oak, and other hardwoods
North – south flowing rivers
- Dnieper, Dniester, and Volga
- cross the steppe and penetrate the forests
- providing the easiest means of transportation
roots of early Slavic civilization
- trading posts along the river

2. The People

a) Slavic Groups

West Slavs
- lived in the marshlands, plains, and mountains of east – central Europe
- successfully fought the Germans to the west and the Scandinavians to the north for control of territory
- religious ties came to be with the Roman Catholic Church
- cultural ties were with western Europe
South Slavs
- settled in the Balkan Peninsula
- frequent contacts with the Byzantines
- languages and cultures were shaped by both the Roman Catholic West and the Orthodox East
Eastern Slavs
- lived north of the Black Sea between the Dnieper and Dniester Rivers
- traded with the Byzantine Empire and northern Europe.
- some Eastern Slavs moved eastward toward the Volga River
- AD 500 to AD 800

b) Early Ways of Life

lived in villages made up related families
farmers & hunted wild game and birds
- supplement the wheat, rye, and oats they grew
- cleared forests by cutting and burning trees
- scattering the ash to enrich the soil
- on the steppes they ignited a ‘sea of flame’ to burn off the grass for planting
farm homes were sturdy log houses
- notching them so that they would fit together without nails.
- wooden gables and window frames decorated with painted carvings of flowers and animals
Skilled artisans also used wood to make furniture, cooking utensils, musical instruments, boats, and images of favorite deities

3. Kievan Rus

early Eastern Slavs were not warlike
relied on Vikings to protect their trade routes
- late AD 800s
- also helped to lay the foundations of Slavic government
Vikings’ arrival is recorded in the Primary Chronicle
- collection of Eastern Slavic history and tales written around AD 1100
Slavs called the Vikings and the area they controlled Rus
- word Russia is probably derived from this name

a) Rise of Kiev

Prince Oleg conquered the fortress – village of Kiev
- AD 880
Kiev prospered
- Built high on a bluff where the forest meets the steppe
- lay on the Dnieper River trade route
Control of Kiev enabled Oleg to dominate the water trade route
- Towns along the route were brought together under his leadership
Kiev soon became the major city of a region of Slavic territories
- known as Kievan Rus
Grand Princes
- rulers of Kiev
- conducted raids against Constantinople
- attracted by the wealth and civilization of the Byzantine capital
treaty ended these raids and established trade between the Byzantines and the Eastern Slavs
- AD 911

b) Kievan Government

Kievan Rus had organized into a collection of city – states and principalities
- territories ruled by princes
- AD 900
Each region enjoyed local self – government
- they all paid tribute to the Grand Prince of Kiev
- support his court and army
major duties of these princes were to administer justice and to defend the frontiers
assisted by councils of wealthy merchants and landed nobles, who were known as boyars
Assemblies represented all free adult male citizens
- handled daily affairs
- power to accept or remove princes

4. Arrival of Christianity

Eastern Slavs honored nature spirits and ancestors
- worshiped many deities
- Before the late AD 900s
- Perun, god of thunder and lightening
- Great Mother, goddess of the land and harvest
- Images of the deities were built on the highest ground outside the villages

a) Vladimir’s Conversion

many Eastern Slavs were influenced by Eastern Orthodoxy
- contact with the Byzantine Empire
Olga, a princess of Kiev
- first member of the Kievan nobility to accept the faith
grandson, Prince Vladimir of Kiev, decided to abandon the old beliefs
- adopt a new religion that he thought would help the Eastern Slavs become a more powerful civilization
old Slavic legend states
- Vladimir sent observers abroad to examine Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Islam
- Only the beautiful ceremony in the splendid Byzantine church of Hagia Sophia impressed the observers
Vladimir ordered a mass baptism in the Dnieper River for his people
- AD 988

b) Effects of Conversion

conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy brought Byzantine culture to Kievan Rus
- Byzantine priests and bishops introduced the Eastern Slavs to colorful rituals
- taught them the art of painting icons
Eastern Slavs also learned to write their language in the Cyrillic alphabet
Schools were established in the towns for the sons of boyars, priests, and merchants
Byzantines architects arrived in Kiev to build stone churches with magnificent domes
Monasteries also were founded in the towns and countryside
Acceptance of Eastern Orthodoxy tended to isolate the Eastern Slavs from the outside world
- split between the Eastern and Western Churches
- Kievan Rus was separated from western Europe

5. Kiev’s Golden Age

Vladimir was one of the most important grand princes of Kiev
- ruled from AD 980 to AD 1015
- Known for his skills as a warrior
- successfully defended Kievan Rus’ eastern frontiers against nomadic invaders
- expanded its western borders by capturing lands in Poland and near the Baltic Sea

a) Yaroslav’s Reign

Vladimir’s son Yaroslav became Grand Prince
- AD 1019
- Kievan culture reached its height
encouraged the spread of learning
- establishing the first library in Kiev
organized the Kievan legal system
- drawing from Justinian’s Code
- Written primarily for the princes and merchants
- treated crimes against property as well as against persons
arranged for his daughters and sisters to marry kings in Norway, Hungary, France, and Poland
Europeans who were just arising from the isolation and disorder of the early Middle Ages
- Kiev was a glittering capital whose culture outshone that of any in western Europe

b) Kiev’s Decline

Kiev declined in power and wealth for several reasons.
Yaroslav began the practice of dividing up his lands among all his sons
- instead of willing them to one heir
- no law established a clear line of succession
- heirs battled one another over control of Kiev
Latin Christian state created in Constantinople disrupted trade with the Byzantines
- weakened Kiev’s economy
Mongol invaders from central Asia captured Kiev
- completely destroyed it
- AD 1240

6. Mongol Rule

Mongols defeated the armies of the Eastern Slavic princes
- conquered most of the country except for Novgorod
- sacked towns and villages
- killed thousands
Mongols sought to tax the peoples they conquered
- rather than impose their culture
Slavs were allowed to practice their Christian faith
- Mongols required allegiance to the Mongol ruler
- service in the Mongol army
Mongol rule isolated most of the Eastern Slavs from European civilization
- for two centuries
- occupation helped unify the Eastern Slavs
- further distanced them from ideas and trends of the Western world

7. Rise of Moscow

a) Alexander Nevsky

Mongols had never advanced as far north as Novgorod
- spring thaw turned the land into a swamp they could not cross
city faced attacks in the Baltic Sea area from Swedes and Germans
- wanted to convert the Eastern Slavs to Roman Catholicism.
ferocious battle on the Neva River
- AD 1240
- Alexander, prince of Novgorod, defeated the invading Swedes
- victory earned him the nickname Alexander Nevsky. Alexander ‘of the Neva,’
- victory established Novgorod as a strong, independent principality

b) Moscow’s Beginnings

Daniel became ruler of Moscow
- youngest son of Alexander Nevsky
- small but prosperous town
- near vital land and water routes
Moscow’s importance grew in AD 1325
- metropolitan, or leader of the Orthodoxy Church in the Eastern Slavic lands, was transferred there
Moscow had become the most powerful city
- AD 1350
Cooperation with Mongol policies had kept it free from outside interference
Prince Ivan I
- Daniel’s son
- Mongols even trusted him to collect taxes for them
Muscovite forces defeated the Mongols
- Battle of Kulikovo
- AD 1380
- Eastern Slavs steadily drove out the Mongols
rule of Ivan III
- AD 1480
- Moscow finally refused to pay taxes to the Mongols
- Ivan the Great because he was able to bring many of the Eastern Slavic principalities under his rule

c) The Third Rome

Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks
- AD 1453
Moscow stood alone as the center of the Eastern Orthodox Church
Ivan III married Sophia
- AD 1472
- niece of the last Byzantine emperor
took the title czar, or ‘caesar,’
- title used by the Roman and Byzantine emperors
- made the two – headed Byzantine eagle the symbol of his rule
Ivan added the title Sovereign of All Russia
- AD 1493
- people spoke one language
- princes served one czar
Russian Orthodox Church
- regarded Ivan as both the successor of the Byzantine emperor and protector of the Eastern Orthodox Church

C. Frankish Rulers

Germanic invasions has all but destroyed the urban world of the Roman Empire
- AD 500
- Trade declined
- Cities, bridges, and roads fell into disrepair and disuse
- Law and order vanished
- education almost disappeared
- Money was no longer used
- life did not extend beyond the tiny villages where they were born, lived, and died
Western Europe was so backward because of this decline
- early part of this period was once called ‘the Dark Ages’

1. Merovingian Rulers

Franks settled in what is now France and western Germany
- emerged as the strongest Germanic group
- AD 400s the
Merovingian
- early rulers
- held power until the early AD 700s

a) Clovis

Clovis became king of the Franks
- AD 481
- became the first Germanic ruler to accept Catholicism.
Clovis’ military victories and his religious conversion gave his throne stability
Frankish kingdom began to decline
- Frankish kings had followed the custom of dividing the kingdom among their heirs
- Heirs became rivals and fought each other for land
political power had passed from kings to government officials
- mayors of the palace
- AD 700

b) Charles Martel

Charles the Hammer
Charles Martel became mayor of the palace
- AD 714
Muslim forces threatened Europe
- AD 732
Charles led the successful defense of Tours, in France.
- victory won him great prestige
- victory ensured that Christianity would remain the dominant religion of Europe

c) Pepin the Short

Pepin the Short became king of the Franks
- 752
- backing of nobles and church officials
- son of Charles Martel
pope anointed, or put holy oil on, Pepin
- making him a divinely chosen ruler in the eyes of the people
Pepin was expected to help the pope against his enemies.
Pepin forced the Lombards to withdraw from Rome
- AD 754
- gave the pope a large strip of Lombard land in central Italy.
- pope cut his political ties to the Byzantine Empire and looked to the Franks as his protector
- fortunes of western Europe and Catholicism were bound more closely together

2. Charlemagne’s Empire

Charlemagne became the Frankish king
- AD 768
- Pepin’s son
- Charles the Great
- Latin his name is written Carolus Magnus, which gave the name Carolingian to his dynasty
nearly doubled the borders of his kingdom
- include Germany, France, northern Spain, and most of Italy
- enlarged domain became known as the Frankish Empire
- most western Europeans were ruled by one government
- For the first time since the fall of Rome
few western Europeans could read and write
- Charlemagne wanted to revise learning

a) A Christian Realm

Christian Roman Empire
Charlemagne came to Rome to militarily defend Pope Leo II against the Roman nobles
- AD 800
Leo crowned Charlemagne the new Roman emperor
- Charlemagne wanted the title
- had misgivings about receiving it from the pope
- pope seemed to be saying that church officials were superior to rulers
Charlemagne accepted his duties as emperor
- worked to strengthen the empire
- relied on local officials called counts to assist him
- counts solved local problems, stopped feuds, protected the weak, and raised armies for the emperor
Each year royal messengers, the missi dominici, went on inspections
- informed Charlemagne about the performance of the counts and other local administrators
- emperor also traveled throughout the empire observing the work of his officials

b) Collapse of Charlemagne’s Empire

Charlemagne’s forceful personality held his empire together
death in AD 814
- left a void that his only surviving son, Louis the Pious, could not fill
Louis’ death
- AD 843
- Charlemagne’s three grandsons fought one another for control of the empire
Treaty of Verdun
- divide the Carolingian lands
Charles the Bald
- took the western part,
- covered most of present – day France
Louis the German
- acquired the eastern portion
- Germany
Lothair
- became the Roman emperor
- took a strip of land in the middle of the empire stretching from the North Sea southward to Italy
new wave of raiders overran Europe, plundering and looting
- Muslims, Magyars, and Vikings all attacked the fragmented territories held by Charlemagne’s heirs
- Kings and emperors proved too weak to maintain law and order
people needed to defend their homes and lands
- response to that basic need for protection, a new system, called feudalism, evolved
- rise of feudalism led to new networks linking all levels of European society

D. The Medieval Church

1. The Rise of the Church

Church’s primary mission was spiritual
decline of Rome in the AD 400s led the Church to assume many political and social tasks
bishop of Rome, now called the pope
- strongest political leader in western Europe
- claimed spiritual authority over all Christians
- basing this claim on the belief that Peter the Apostle, Rome’s first bishop, had been chosen by Jesus to lead the Church

a) Religious Role

Catholic Church taught that all people were sinners
- dependent on God’s grace, or favor
- only way to receive grace was by taking part in the sacraments
- church rituals: baptism, penance, Eucharist, confirmation, matrimony, anointing of the sick, and holy orders
- People shared in the Eucharist at a mass, or worship service
- priests and the worshippers received Jesus’ invisible presence in the forms of the bread and the wine
people generally had a limited understanding of church rituals
- Masses were said in Latin
- many priests were poorly educated and did not preach effectively
- few worshippers could read or write
- average person learned about the Christian faith came from the statues, paintings, and later the stained glass windows that adorned most medieval churches

b) Church Organization

church hierarchy remained largely the same during the Middle Ages
- contact most people had with the Church was through parish priests
- conducted services and oversaw the spiritual life of the community
- Occasionally bishops visited a parish to supervise the priests

c) Benedict’s Rule

Roman official named Benedict founded a monastery at Monte Cassino in Italy
- AD 529
- model for monks in other communities
- list of rules that provided for manual work, meditation, and prayer
- monks could not own goods
- must never marry
- bound to obey monastic laws
- life was one of poverty, chastity, and obedience to the directives of an abbot, or monastery head

2. Power of the Church

medieval Catholic Church helped to govern western Europe
- had its own laws and courts that dealt with cases related to the clergy, doctrine, and marriage and morals
Disobedience to church laws resulted in severe penalties for a common person and ruler alike
- lord or king who violated Church law could face an interdict
- banned an entire region or country from receiving the sacraments necessary to salvation
The Church also had feudal ties that boosted its wealth and political power
- often undermined its spiritual vitality
- Many high church officials were nobles
- held land from kings in return for military service
- their religious duties prevented them from fighting
- church leaders gave some of their land to knights who would fight for them
The Church also received donations of land and money from nobles
- wanting to ensure their salvation
- Nobles, however, began to influence church policies
- having relatives appointed to church positions

3. Church Reform

many devout Christians were calling for reform
- AD 900s
monastery at Cluny in eastern France
- whose monks won respect for leading lives of pious simplicity
- sent representatives to other monasteries to help them undertake similar reforms
Other church leaders tried to free the Church from the control of feudal lords
- wanted the Church, not the state, to be the final authority in Western society
church council declared that political leaders could no longer choose the pope
- AD 1059
- pope would be elected by a gathering of cardinals
- high church officials in Rome ranking directly below the pope
- reformers insisted that the pope, not secular rulers such as lords and kings, should be the one to appoint bishops and other officials to church offices
Pope Gregory VII
- AD 1073
- believed that the pope should have complete jurisdiction over all church officials
- criticized the practice of lay investiture
- secular rulers gave the symbols of office, such as a ring and a staff, to the bishops they had appointed

a) Fighting Heresy

Innocent III
- AD 1215
- convened a council that condemned drunkenness, feasting, and dancing among the clergy
laid down strict rules for stopping the spread of heresy
- Heresy had increased as corruption and scandal had rocked the Church
- regarded as seriously as the crime of treason is viewed today
Catholic Church tried to convert heretics
- those who challenged its teaching
- heretics were threatened with excommunication
- expulsion from the Church
- not allowed to take part in the sacraments
- outlawed from any contact with Christian society
- receiving the sacraments was considered to be essential for salvation, banishment was an especially severe penalty

b) The Inquisition

Church set up a court known as the Inquisition
- AD 1232
- Those brought before the court were urged to confess their heresy and to ask forgiveness
Inquisition officials accused people without sufficient proof
even used torture to obtain confessions
Church welcomed back those who repented
- those who did not repent were punished
- Punishment ranged from imprisonment to loss of property and even execution
- punishments were needed to save the souls of heretics

c) Friars Inspire Reform

reformers of the Church during the early AD 1200s were friars
- wandering preachers
- friars depended on gifts of food and shelter to survive
friars followed monastic rules
- did not isolate themselves from the rest of the Christian community
- lived in towns and preached Christianity
- best – known friars were the Franciscans and the Dominicans
Francis of Assisi founded the Franciscan friars
- son of wealthy Italian cloth merchant
- AD 1210
- sought to follow the simple life of Jesus and his disciples
- known for their cheerful trust in God and their respect for nature as a divine gift
Spanish priest named Dominic organized the Dominican friars
- AD 1215
- lived a life of poverty, simplicity and service
- well – educated and persuasive preachers

E. The Crusades

1. The Crusades Begin

Byzantine civilization was a rival to Islam
- Byzantines were Christians
- Muslim Turks invaded the Byzantine empire
- attacked Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land, or Palestine, in the Middle East
- Byzantine emperor asked the pope in Rome for help
- thousands of Christian knights from Europe, as well as armies of ordinary men and women, left for the Holy Land to fight the Muslims
- fought a series of crusades, or holy wars
Jerusalem was a holy city for people of three faiths
Jews
- treasured it as Zion
- God’s own city
- site of Solomon’s temple
Christian
- place where Jesus was crucified and resurrected
Muslims
- regarded Jerusalem as their third holiest city, after Makkah and Madinah
- Muhammad ascended to heaven from Jerusalem
Jerusalem and the entire region of Palestine fell to Arab invaders
- AD 600s
- Arabs tolerated other religions
- Christians and Jews were allowed to live in Jerusalem as long as they paid their taxes and followed certain regulations
- European traders and religious pilgrims traveled to Palestine without interference
Seljuk Turks took Jerusalem
- late AD 1000s
- Muslim people from central Asia
- conquest left Palestine in chaos
- hazards of pilgrimage increased
- Byzantine emperor wrote to the pope in AD 1095 requesting military aid from the West

2. First Crusade

Pope Urban II asking for a volunteer army to take Jerusalem and Palestine from the Seljuks
- AD 1095,
- ‘I exhort you… to strive to expel that wicked race from our Christian lands… Christ commands it. Remission of sins will be granted for those going thither… Let those who are accustomed to wage private war wastefully even against believers go forth against the infidels… Let those who have lived by plundering be soldiers of Christ; let those who formerly contended against brothers and relations rightly fight barbarians; let those who were recently hired for a few pieces of silver win their eternal reward.’
Knights and peasants alike vowed to join the expedition to the Holy Land
- Knights: Crusade was a welcome chance to employ their fighting skills
- Peasants: Crusade meant freedom from feudal bonds while on the Crusade
- promised immediate salvation in heaven if they were killed freeing the Holy Land from non – Christians
- Adventure and the possibility of wealth
red crosses were stitched on clothing as a symbol of service to God
First Crusade heightened already existing hatred of non – Christians
- marked the onset of a long period of Christian persecution of the Jews
First Crusade began in AD 1096
- three armies of Crusader knights and volunteers traveled separately from western Europe to the eastern Mediterranean
- Led by French nobles
- On the way, many of them killed Jews and sometimes massacred entire Jewish communities
three armies finally met in Constantinople in AD 1097
Crusaders made their way to Jerusalem
- enduring the hardships of desert travel as well as quarrels among their leaders
Crusaders finally reached the city
- June AD 1099
- siege of almost two months
- Jerusalem fell
- Crusaders swarmed into the city
- massacred most of its Muslim and Jewish inhabitants
success of the First Crusade reinforced the authority of the Church and strengthened the self confidence of western Europeans
- religious zeal of the Crusades soon cooled
- many knights returned home
- Those who stayed set up feudal states in Syria and Palestine

3. Second Crusade

Seljuks conquered part of the Crusader states in Palestine
- Less than 50 years after the First Crusade
Pope Eugenius IV called for a Second Crusade to regain territory.
- Eloquent sermons by the monk Bernard of Clairvaux persuaded King Louis VII of France and Holy Roman Emperor Conrad III to lead armies to Palestine
Second Crusade lasted form AD 1147 to AD 1149
- Unsuccessful
- Louis VII and Conrad III quarreled constantly and were ineffective militarily
- easily defeated by the Seljuks

4. Third Crusade

Saladin united the Muslim forces
- captured Jerusalem in AD 1187
- people of western Europe were stunned and horrified.
Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of Germany, King Philip Augustus of France, and King Richard I of England assembled warriors for the Third Crusade
- ‘Crusade of Kings’
- AD 1189 to AD 1192
no more successful than the Second Crusade
- Frederick Barbarossa died on the way to Palestine, and his army returned home
- Philip Augustus returned to France before the army reached Jerusalem
- Richard continued the struggle alone
Richard could not win a decisive victory over Saladin’s well – trained and dedicated forces
- His army defeated the Muslims in several battles
Richard signed a truce with the Muslims
- tried to persuade Saladin to return Jerusalem to the Christians

5. Other Crusades

Other Crusades followed in the AD 1200s
- none won permanent Christian control of Palestine
- western Europeans had lost sight of the religious goal of the Crusades
- more concerned about political and economic gain
Fourth Crusade of AD 1204
- Crusaders put aside their goal of marching to Jerusalem
- instead attacked the Christian city of Constantinople
- burned libraries, destroyed churches, and stole valuable treasures.
- left a lasting bitterness between the Eastern Orthodox world and western Europe
- seriously weakened the Byzantine Empire

6. Effects of the Crusades

Crusades failed in their chief goal – the conquest of the Holy Land
- left a bitter legacy of religious hatred behind them
Crusades increased European trade, heightened papal power, and increased the power of feudal monarchs
helped break down feudalism and increase the authority of kings.
- European monarchs levied taxes, raised armies, and cooperated on a large scale
- Some nobles died in battle without leaving heirs
- lands passed to kings
- raise money for weapons and supplies, many lesser nobles sold their estates or allowed their serfs to buy their freedom to become freeholders on the land or artisans in the towns
contact with the more advanced Byzantine and Muslim civilizations broadened European views of the world
- heightened demand at home for Eastern luxury goods: spices, sugar, melons, tapestries, silk and other items
- Commerce increased in the eastern Mediterranean area
- especially benefited Italian trading cities, such as Venice and Genoa

F. Medieval Life

weakening of central government
- new political system known as feudalism developed in western Europe
Feudalism
- highly decentralized form of government
- stressed alliances of mutual protection between monarchs and nobles of varying degrees and power
Feudalism took hold in northern France around AD 900
- spread through the rest of western Europe by the AD mid – 1000s

1. Feudalism and the Manor Economy

a) Feudal Obligations

powerful local lords divided their large landholdings among the lesser lords
- In exchange for land and protection, these lesser lords, or vassals, pledged service and loyalty to the greater lord
Ties between a lord and a vassal were made official in a solemn ceremony known as homage
- Vassal received a fief, land, with the peasants on it
- most important obligation was military service
- vassal agreed to provide his lord with a certain number of knights for battle during a period of 40 to 60 days each year
- vassal agreed to serve in the lord’s court
- provide food and lodging when the lord came visiting
- to contribute funds when the lord’s son became a knight or when his oldest daughter married
- pledged to pay ransom in the event of the lord’s capture in battle
German warrior, Siboto of Falkenstein, was vassal to 20 different lords
- conflicts of loyalty arose if one of a vassal’s lords went to war with another
Feudal lords battled constantly for power
Many nobles trained from boyhood for a future occupation as a knight, or mounted warrior
- knights adopted a code of conduct called chivalry.
- Chivalry required knights to be brave, loyal, and true to their word
- knights had to fight fairly and be generous to their enemies.
warfare often meant seizing lands
- lords fortified their homes to withstand attack
- Medieval strongholds gradually became sprawling stone castles
Charles Martel was fighting the Muslims
- Unlike the Europeans, the Muslim soldiers used saddles with stirrups that enabled them to fight on horseback, using a sword or lance
- Charles wanted to adopt the stirrup and develop a cavalry.
- To support the cavalry, Martel began granting warriors fiefs
- From these fiefs, warriors got the income to buy horses and battle equipment
heart of the medieval economy was the manor, or lord’s estate
- Most manors included one or more villages and surrounding lands
Most of the peasants on a manor were serfs
- bound to the land
- Peasants could not be purchased and sold like enslaved people
- spent their lives working for the lord of the manor
- lord gave them the right to farm some land for themselves, as well as protection from invaders

b) Castles for Defense

lack of a strong central government
- warfare occurred frequently in feudal society
every noble built a castle for defense against enemies
- fortified manor house
first castles
- wooden buildings
- high fences of logs or mounds of hard – packed earth around them
castles were built of stone
- AD 1100s
- thick walls and turrets, or small towers
- built on a hill or mound
- surrounded by a deep moat
Castles had a square tower called a keep
- located in the strongest part of the castle
- contained many rooms, a hall, and a dungeon
- Surrounding the keep was a large open area called a bailey.
- Within the bailey were various buildings, including barracks, storerooms, workshops, and a chapel

2. Life of Nobility

Lords, ladies, and knights made up the nobility of the Middle Ages
- nobles lived much easier lives than the peasants who worked for them
- lives can hardly be called luxurious or glamorous.
- Castles were built for security, not comfort, and were largely cold, dingy, and damp places
lord, or nobleman, had almost total authority
- collected rents in goods from peasants
- settled disputes between his vassals
- Any outside attempt to seize the land or control the inhabitants of his fief was met with violent resistance
lady, or noblewoman, had few, if any, rights
- could be wed as early as her twelfth birthday to a man her father selected
- primary duties were in bringing up children and taking care of the household
- took pride in their needlework, turning out cloth and find embroidery
- learned to make effective medicines from plants and herbs
- Some women shared the supervision of the estate with the lord and took over their husband’s duties while the men were away at war

a) Entertainment

Nobles looked forward to tournaments
- mock battles between knights – as a show of military skills.
loved to hunt
- both men and women learned the art of falconry and archery
dinner featuring several dishes of game and fish and entertainment by minstrels, or singers, might follow

b) Becoming a Knight

nobleman’s son began training for knighthood at age 7.
Beginning as a page, or assistant, in the house of a lord
- learned manners and the use of weapons
page became a squire at 15
- assisted a knight and practiced using weapons
proved himself in battle, the squire was knighted in an elaborate ceremony

3. The Manorial System

wealth of a feudal lord came from the labor of the peasants
- lived on and worked his land
many peasants had worked for large landowners
- could not afford their own land and in part for protection
European economic life centered around a system of agricultural production called manorialism
- provided lords and peasants with food, shelter, and protection
Manors, or estates, varied in size from several hundred to several hundred thousand acres
- included the lord’s house, pastures for livestock, fields for crops, forest areas, and a peasant village
- feudalism describes the political relationships between nobles
- manorialism concerns economic ties between nobles and peasants

a) Work on a Manor

peasants provided various services for the lord
- Chief among these were farming the lord’s land
- making various payments of goods
- each time a peasant ground grain at the lord’s mill, he was obligated to leave a portion for the lord
Peasants were also obligated to set aside a number of days each year to provide labor such as road or bridge repair
Warfare and invasions made trade almost impossible
- manor had to produce nearly everything its residents needed
- Most of the peasants farmed or herded sheep
Few worked as skilled artisans
- blacksmith to make tools
- carpenter for building
- shoemaking
- miller to grind grain
- vintner to make wine
- brewer to make beer
women made candles, sheared sheep, spun wool, and sewed clothing
Peasants rarely left the manor
- Most were serfs
- people who were bound to the manor and could not leave it without permission
- serfs were not slaves & could not be ‘sold’ off of the land they lived on

b) Increased Production

manorial system normally produced only enough food to support the peasants and the lord’s household
- number of improvements gradually boosted productivity
- eased the threat of famine
development of a new, heavier type of plow
- made deeper cuts in the ground
- had a devise called a mould – board that pushed the soil sideways
- meant less time in the fields for peasant farmers
- farmers developed a better method of planting
older way of farming
- dividing plots of land into two fields
- one of which lay fallow, or unsown, each year
farmers in the AD 1000s began to use a three – field system
- One field might be planted with winter wheat
- second with spring wheat and vegetables
- third left fallow
next year
- different crops were planted in the fallow field
- One of the two remaining fields was planted
- other was left fallow
system produced more crops than the old system and helped to preserve the soil
New trade routes and goods also increased wealth
- Traders and their customers first did business at local trade fairs
- markets closed down during the winter
- merchants settled in local towns and attracted artisans who made goods for them to sell
towns became trade and manufacturing centers
- Merchant guilds, or associations, came to dominate life in medieval towns
Western Europe’s economic revival was making momentous changes in medieval life
- By AD1300

4. Peasant Life

Poverty and hardship characterized peasant life
few serfs lived beyond the age of 40
Famine and disease were constant dangers
peasants were the first and hardest hit during war
- Invading knights trampled crops and burned villages
lord might require additional payments of crops or labor
- To support the war
Serfs lived in tiny, one – room houses
- dirt floors
- no chimney
- one or two crude pieces of furniture
- slept huddled together for warmth.
Coarse bread, a few vegetables from their gardens, and grain for porridge made up their usual diet
- Meat was a rarity
entertainment
- peasants were able to relax on Sundays and holy days
- enjoyed dancing, singing, and sports such as wrestling and archery.
- religious plays, pageants, and shows by minstrels
Medieval Europeans believed that every person was equal in the ‘eyes of God.’
- society was viewed as a hierarchy with ranked leaders
- Each person – no matter what his or her place might be in the hierarchy – had certain duties that were attached to his or her position in life
- people did not question their standing or obligations

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