I.

Impact of Christianity (480-600)

• Lombard Kingdom – Lombards in Italy convert to Christianity. Consolidation of
power by gaining support of Church, and populace.
• Frankish Kingdom – King Clovis converts to Christianity which boosts French
dominance through increased influence with the Romanized Celts, the largest
constituent group in the former province of Gaul. The Frankish Kingdom then
gained support of the Catholic Church. France maintained closed ties with
Catholic Church throughout remainder of history.
• Visigoth Kingdom – Visigoths in Iberia converted to Christianity and
consolidated their power base by gaining support of church and support of
existing populace that still held on tightly to the Roman ways
o Christian Churches became the new “information highway” by controlling
information, and beliefs/attitudes. The Church became the most influential
force in Medieval Europe. Kings that aligned with the Church gained a
political advantage by allowing the Church to strongly influence geo-
political events. The Church would then in return receive lands, wealth, and
influence in the kingdom. The concept of submitting to absolute authority
also made it more natural for people to accept absolute authority from the
“divinely” appointed king.
II. Reign of Charles Martel and Viking Raids (600-755)
• Viking Raids – Viking Raids became possible through
o Warm weather trend
o Scandinavian belief that did not inhibit a culture or religion that discouraged
pillaging.
o Scandinavia became overpopulated, and farming did not support
population.
 Scandinavian Vikings began raiding unprotected coastal lands of
Britain and northern mainland. Monasteries = common target because
they were typically undefended, and contained valuables. Slaves were
also captured.
• Reign of Charles Martel (718-41) –
o Founder of great Carolingian Dynasty which expanded Frankish Empire to
cover most of Europe
o First Frankish leader to consolidate Frankish power. Resulted in most
powerful kingdom/state of Medieval Europe.
o Grandfather to Charlemagne, greatest European ruler of the Middle Ages.
o Pioneer use of newly advanced stirrups that allowed soldiers to more
effectively wield their sword without falling off. Also introduced concepts
of heavy infantry to permanent army to Medieval Europe
o The Franks achieved overwhelming military advantage throughout Europe,
paving the way for its imminent domination of much of Europe.
III. The Rise of the Franks (755-840)
• King Charlemagne –
o Became king overall of the Frankish Empire and went along to become
Europe’s greatest Medieval king.
o 1st king to be considered protector of Roman Catholic Church
 o Charlemagne is crowned as first Holy Roman Emperor by Pope
o 814 – Charlemagne dies and weakens and fragments Frankish Empire
o Charlemagne created a peaceful environment for Jews in his kingdom. He
fostered a system where Christian majority could procure credit through
Jewish constituents. Christians were forbidden to loan money at an
interest rate, a restriction not shared by Jews. As a result, Jews were
enabled to dominate money lending/banking business, thrusting many into
prominence and wealth throughout Medieval Europe. The flip side of this
was they would suffer persecutions throughout their history in Europe in
part based on perception that they exploited Christian community.
• Lombards (774) – Franks conquer Lombards in Northern Italy, expanding
Empire to the south. Provided additional protection for Papal States in Central
Italy.
• Germania (772-814) – Franks conquer nearly all Germanic lands to east
including Slav lands, modern Slovenia, and Croatia.
• Avar Kingdom (810) – Dissolved when conquered by Franks
IV. Feudalism (840-967)
• Pre-843 Frankish Empire consolidated Frankish Empire unified much of
West/Central Europe. Subdivision of empire in 843 among three songs of Louis I
drove Europe into greater backwardness. Strong, centralized rule devolved into
multitude of petty kingdoms throughout continent.
• Fragmentation discouraged unification and urbanization, as rule of law and
economy became entirely land based.
• Feudalism is a military/economic/social order where a monarch grants feudal
lords large parcels of land in exchange for military service when needed, and
taxes, in exchange for unified military protection.
• Knights and peasants within Lord’s realm = given smaller pieces of land and
protection in exchange for loyalty and military service when needed.
• Feudal lords (counts, nobles, etc.) ruled people on piecemeal basis, holding their
own courts and dealing justice as seen.
• Peasants = property of feudal lords in system within feudalism known as serfdom,
a form of slavery which pervaded western and central Europe in some form until
the French Revolution.
V. Christianity and the High Middle Ages and the Expansion of the Holy Roman
Empire (967-1060)
• Petty kingdoms that were characteristic of Early Middle Ages began to be
consolidated into nation-states in High Middle Ages, a response to continued
barbaric raids throughout Europe.
• Most nations continued to pledge allegiance to papal authority whether Roman
Catholicism or Eastern Orthodox and Christianity still dominated continent.
• In 10th and 11th centuries, since virtually all barbaric peoples in Europe were
Christianized = barbaric peoples denounce such raids and in stronger
defensive capabilities by nation states.
• Christian Crusades = revive interest in Asia (beginning w/ Byzantine conquest of
Middle East, aided by Christian crusaders throughout Europe) which stimulated
 Asian trade and introduced Islamic science/enlightenment into Europe (Golden
Age of Islam was going on).
• Population grew rapidly in Europe during this period of time, expanding
settlements into all corners.
• Crusades = consequence of centuries of invasions that developed professional
soldiers, who were looking for outlet of skill set. Promises of glory, salvation, and
riches = motivation.
• Increase of papal influence with Europe Christianization and sense of
commonality among Christian in Europe, setting stage for crusaders later in 11th
into 12th century.
• Power of religion transcended nationalism/other loyalties. Belief that
individual is serving greater purpose helped large Church-dominated empire such
as Byzantine and Germany Holy Roman Empire to further expand.
VI. Effects of the Crusades, Norman conquest of England and Magna Carta (1050-
1240)
• Effects of the Crusades
o Senseless Violence and Wars –
 Crusader mentality was that Christianity must displace
Islam/Judaism at all costs, even if it were through violence.
Persecution of Jews escalated throughout Europe.
 On Crusader’s march around Mediterranean, death toll was high for
Christians and Muslims. When Jerusalem was captured, Muslim and
Jewish residents in city were slaughtered, including women. The
capture was short-lived and the Christian kingdom in the Middle East
proved to be unsustainable.
o Undermining Church Moral Authority –
 Escapades such as slaughter of Jews and Muslims were later used as
indictment against Roman Catholic Church during Protestant
Reformation beginning in 16th century, convincing many that RCC
was not moral authority it claimed to be throughout Dark Ages.
o Distrust of Christians –
 Christians violently persecuted Jews and destroyed Muslims in their
path to the Middle East. They developed a reputation as ruthless and
exploitive among those people
o Opened Way for Future Muslim Conquests of Europe –
 As animosity between Roman Catholics and Byzantine (Eastern
Orthodox) grew, Crusaders were compelled with papal authority to
conquer Byzantine capital of Constantinople. Byzantine later
recovered capital, but it was damaged. When Ottoman Turks began
advancing into Europe, Byzantine was conquered by Ottoman armies.
o Asian Influence –
 Crusades increased Europe’s knowledge of Asian world, which was
more advanced than Europe in most aspects. Helped bring more
cosmopolitan influence to Europe, which played a small part in the
Renaissance.
o Increased Anti-Semitism –
  Devotion and loyalty to Church rise as membership spread through
Europe. Religious tolerance was low, leaving significant Jewish
population in Europe as oblivious target. Jewish communities =
destroyed in some cases, along with common occurrences of violence.
• Norman Conquest of England –
o Normans from Normandy invaded and conquered England and became
ruling class of England.
• Magna Carta –
o 1st step towards democracy since end of Rome.
o Nobles in England reached breaking point with failures of king and abuse of
power in monarchy. Nobles marched into London, subdued King John and
forced him to agree to document ensuring certain rights.
VII. Why the Golden Horde was able to dominate Europe and the Black Death
Plague (1240-1350)
• Why Golden Horde was able to dominate Europe
o As nomadic people, Mongols = forced west from central Asian home
territory. They were highly dependent upon trade and as agriculture
suffered, they moved to greener pastures.
o Superior horsemanship skills and bows as result to exposure from various
methods because of nomadic lifestyle.
o As they passed through conquered territories, defeated peoples could either
join and fight, or die. A frightening power was claimed as they went through
Europe to Southern Russia.
o Mongols enhanced diplomatic ability as they gathered science and gov’t
philosophies.
o Timing – Black Death severely weakened Europe.
• Black Death Plague
o Great Famine of 1315-1317 –
 Bad weather in mass crop failures created multitude of famines which
caused the death of millions. High numbers of criminal activity,
murders, disease, cannibalism resulted.
o Black Death (Bubonic Plague) –
 75 million = killed, ½ of European population.
 Italy and southern France = killed off by about 80%
 Caused by bacterium found in rats in central Asia; it was introduced by
Arab and European worlds by invading Mongols.
 Eastern Europe = exposed by invasion
 Western Europe = exposed by trade and conflict in coastal areas.
 Europeans vulnerable because of overpopulation and weakened
immune systems. Unsanitary conditions = also typical.
 Black Death continued to reoccur, completely disappeared in 19th
century.
 Social Consequences
• Jews were persecuted, and targeted since people were at loss
to explain the plague. Entire Jewish settlements were
 exterminated in some cases. Ethnic hatred was underlying
factor, flared by frustration of time. Jews perished so it was
viewed as Jew conspiracy or curse by God for allowing Jews
into their lands. In reality, Jews were isolated so they had
better hygiene due to religious practices.
• Peasants revolted due to inability of government to solve
plague.
• Papal authority weakened since Church was powerless and
could not stop the plague. Black Death was seen as curse.
Contributed to philosophical questioning and critical analysis
of life and the world.
• During initial years, common belief was that the world was
coming to an end. Peasants eventually benefited from higher
wages due to labor supply shortage. Played a part in
Renaissance and Enlightenment, as people questioned and
challenged sacred institutions such as Church and King.
People seeked academic knowledge in place of superstition,
which was useless during plague.