The Middle Ages

WHH 2010-2011
McCoy
► The "Athens of the West"—the Moorish capital of
Cordoba, in Andalusia, Spain's southernmost region—
had, in the year 900, a library of 400,000 books, miles
of paved streets, and a population of perhaps half a
million. To the north, Paris was a bastioned island and
London was a stockade maintained in defence of Viking
raiders.

► St. Cuthbert's death shroud, in Durham Cathedral,

reads "There is no God but Allah". In the Middle Ages,
much of Europe's silk was imported from Islamic lands,
and Arabic inscriptions on the silk were often ignored.

► One of the most unusual military maneuvers ever was

performed in 1191, during the third Crusade, when
Richard the Lion-Hearted captured the city of Acre. The
inhabitants were barricaded inside, so King Richard had
his soldiers throw 100 beehives over the walls. The
people in the fortress surrendered immediately.

► Relics of saints and holy people were so valued in the

Middle Ages that when Elisabeth of Thuringia, a very
holy woman, died in 1231, a crowd quickly
dismembered her body for holy relics.

► The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Amiens, built in the

Middle Ages, covers 8,500 square yards and took 137
years to complete. When it was completed, the entire
population of the city, around 10,000, could attend the
same service.
► In 1209, in the bloody Crusade against the Albigenses, a French army took the
town of Beziers, near the Mediterranean coast. The town was put to the sack,
but the question arose as to how to tell which of the town's inhabitants were
heretics and which were good Christians. Simon IV de Montfort (or perhaps a
legate of Pope Innocent III) proposed an easy solution. "Kill them all," he said,
"for the Lord will know his own." And so several tens of thousands of men,
women, and children were killed.

► A plague of drunkenness settled over Europe to match the plague of the Black
Death in the mid-1300s, and remained after the disease was gone. The theory
at the time was that strong drink acted as a preventive against contagion. It
didn't, but it made the drinker less concerned, which was something.

► The ancient feudal system of land ownership, which allowed "feudal superiors"
to continue to have rights over "vassals" who own their own houses built on
the land, was not abolished in Scotland until the year 2000.

► In 582, it rained "blood" on Paris. The terrified population believed this to be a

sign of divine displeasure, and responded by indulging in an agony of
repentance. The true cause of this weird event was the sirocco, the wind that
sometimes blows from the Sahara across the Mediterranean into Europe. It is
laden with a fine red dust from the desert interior, and this had dyed the rain
that fell on Paris.
 The Dark Ages (or the Early Middle Ages)

► Coined by Petrarch in 1330 AD

 Criticizing poor Latin Literature after antiquity

► Historians define as…

 Lack of contemporary written lit.
 Population decline (20% in many areas)
 Limited building and cultural achievements

► Economic collapse due…

 Infrastructure cannot be supported
 Merchants/Traders do not feel safe conducting
business between towns
 Becomes dangerous to travel over long
distances
 Trade reaches lowest level since Bronze Age,
known by the very few shipwrecks from the
period
 Reforestation of many areas plus rapid cooling
of Europe (The Little Ice Age)
 Rome’s population declines from 450,00 to
20,000

► German military might takes advantage of

political void
 Frankish Empire, the Lombards in Italy, the
Visigoths in Spain
 Rise of the Church

► Church preserves…
 Writing
 Latin learning
 Administration (bishops)
► Many church officials also advise local rulers

► Early conflict with Arianism (sect. of Christ.)

 Arianism allowed some tribes to keep certain Pagan
beliefs
► Also preached that Jesus was inferior to God
► Elites of German tribes practiced Arianism to
separate from the people they ruled
 Some barbarian kings do convert to Catholicism
(Nicene Christianity)
► Franks were unique in that they entered the
Roman lands pagans and converted directly to
Nicene Christianity

► Monasticism
 Originated in Syria/Egypt from hermit worshippers
 St. Benedict writes rules for monks in 6th century
► Benedictine monks founded in Italy at Monte
Cassino
 The Benedictine Rule establishes abbeys and
monasteries across Europe

► Monasteries become pillars of education, literature, and

spiritual well-being
 The Feudal System

► Developed in Europe ca. 800 AD

 476-800 the “Dark Ages”
 No central governments
 Weak church, still maturing

► Designed to provide protection

 Lord will protect, vassal will provide
resources
 Especially against Viking invaders
 Many Vikings settled and became rulers of
European lands
► Russia, England, Normandy

► Initial attempt to restore political control after

the fall of Rome
 Charlemagne and the Carolingian’s
► Established short lived empire in Western
Europe
 Strong relationship with Church, though
sought to control the popes
 Unification of East under Islam opens trade,
flow of goods, wealth, and ideas begins again

► Unique relationship between king, church,

and god
 Church becomes master of knowledge and the
soul
 The Early Medieval Church

► Conflict with Eastern church

 Iconoclasm v. Iconodule
 Second Council of Nicaea
► 787 A.D., supports Eastern leaders
 Western Church looks for new protector

► Charlemagne and the Holy Roman

empire
 800 A.D. ~ pope crowns Charles emperor
 Beginning of political struggle between
the pope and emperors

► Generally decline in power of Western

Church
 Weakened by split with Byzantine
Emperor
 Emergence of powerful feudal lords who
appoint their own clergy

► 1054- Pope and Patriarch excommunicate

each other
 Separation of Western (Latin speaking)
and Eastern (Greek speaking) churches
 The Later Medieval Church

► Monasticism and Internal Reforms

 Abbeys evolved into economic centers
 Operated as banks and businesses

► Lay Investiture
 Appointment of clergy by secular rulers
 Investiture Controversy
► Pope Greg. VII vs. the HRE
 Pope Wins! Prestige and power of church
confirmed

► Pope Urban II
 Calls for crusade- 1095
 Constantinople sacked by 4th Crusade in 1204,
permanently splitting East and West churches

► First Universities
 Evolve from seminaries, schools devoted to
training priests
 Universities of Oxford, Paris, and Bologna

► Popes become more involved in politics

 Avignon Papacy (Babylonian Captivity)
 Kings back different popes, on in Rome and
one in Avignon, France
 1066, The Norman Conquest

► The Dukes of Normandy

 911, Vikings are allowed by French king to
rule Normandy, they become vassals

► William the Bastard

 b. 1028-d.1087
 Known as the conqueror before Hastings for
military victories

► Invades England in 1066 and defeats Harold

Godwinson at Hastings
 As King of Eng. Spent more time in
Normandy
 Brought French feudalism to England
 Brought together Normandy and English
culture
 The Doomsday Book!

► William established a stable kingdom of

England
 Williams youngest son defeats brothers to
become King of Eng. And Duke of Norm.
 Henry’s daughter marries the Plantagenet's,
royal rivals to the throne of France
 Controversy leads to 100 Years War
 The First Crusade, 1095

► Called by Pope Urban II

 Kill pagans to go to heaven
 Stop fighting each other
 Put God before everything else
 Re-unite Eastern/Western churches

► Began in 1095, ended in 1099

 60,000 knights, peasants, families, and soldiers
 Many return home after victory
 Some stayed…

► Created the “Crusader States”

 Kingdoms of Jerusalem, Antioch, Edessa
 Fusion of European feudalism and Islam
culture
 Debate over how tolerant crusaders were

► Muslim world recovers…

 Saladin recaptures Jerusalem in 1187
 Last Crusader states captured by 1289
 More crusades are launched, last one in 1271-
1272

► Major cause of modern east/west tensions

 Religious, cultural, and political conflicts
The High Middle Ages
apx. 1000-1300

Cathedral of Notre Dame

1167-1345
 Holy Roman Empire

► Charlemagne, 800 A.D.

 Accepted coronation form pope in
exchange for protection

► Otto I first official in 962 A.D.

 Traditional territories…
 Germany, Northern Italy, Burgundy,
and Austria

► Henry IV and the Investiture crisis~

1084-1106 A.D.
How to get elected…
► King of the Romans ► Hohenstaufen dynastry
 Voted by 7 electors  First called “holy” by Frederick I
 4 nobles and 3 bishops (r. 1155-1190)
 Constant struggle with powerful
 Prospective emperor expected to give electors
gifts
► Combination of ancient Roman law
► Crowned by the pope and new feudal structures
 Often took several years  Monarchy attempts to rebuild falling
economic structure (roads, schools, etc.)
 Settle conflicts first
 Architecture

► Gothic architecture
 Flying buttresses
► Reduced need for large/thick walls
► Allowing for thinner, more artistic
walls and larger windows
 Ribbed vaults
► Reflection of advanced skills of
masons and increasing ambitions

 Meant to simulate the church

reaching towards the sky…
 Lighter/thinner designer in
contrast to large/block designs of
the Romans
 Light was an expression of God
► Large windows (later stained glass)
and well lit churches
Bath Abbey
Sainte Chapelle
Cologne Cathedral
Regensburg Cathedral
Carcassonne, France
Crac des chevaliers, Syria
Caernaveron Castle, Wales
 Education

► Limited knowledge retained from

ancient Greek/Latin sources that
survived the collapse of Rome

► Renaissance of the 12th century

 Establishment of medieval universities
 Increased contact with Muslim world
via…
► Crusades, Byzantine Empire,
Reconquista of Spain…
 Brought many lost Latin/Greek texts
and their knowledge back to Europe
 Universities translated the text, lost
knowledge is rediscovered
► Petrach, father of Renaissance begins
translations of Latin/Greek texts into
Italian in 14th c.
► Most major works by ancient authors
known to medieval universities by start
of 14th c.

 Mathematical theories about nature and

the use of the scientific method begin to
emerge
Major Medieval Universities
 Trade/Commer
► Hanseatic League (12th c.) ce ► Marco Polo (13th c.)
 Federation of northern  Venetian trader who traveled
European cities east to China
► Amsterdam, Berlin, Hanover  Established new economic
 Advocated trade by sea connections to eastern goods
 Unique economic/political  Eventually became
motivation to sail west across
union- forerunner to the EU
Atlantic

Territories and cities associated

with the Hanseatic League
Major Trade Routes
Major Events of the High Middle
Ages
 The 100 Years War

► England vs. France

 1337 to 1453 AD
 The Plantagenets of England challenge the House
of Valois (Royal family of France)
 Three major conflicts treated as one large war

► Dynastic Struggle…
 King Edward III of England and his descendants
had claim to French throne
► Father of Henry II founder of family
► Vassals of France as Dukes of Aquitaine
 Mother of Edward III was in direct line to inherit throne
 English kings more French than English
 After war, English kings become closer to their
English subjects

► Innovations…
 Longbow, standing armies, end of the knight on
horse
 Transitions to armies with less cavalry and more
trained infantry
 Armies become cheaper and larger over the next
200 years into the Renaissance

► England dominates most of the war

 English armies devastate French countryside and
win major victories (Crecy, Agincourt, Poitiers)
 Prior to Joan of Arc, England nearly wins
 Joan of Arc reverses French fortunes in last
decades
Possessions of the Plantagenet Family
 The Reconquista

► http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spanish_reconquista.gif

► 711-718 AD: Start and then widest extent of Muslim conquest

 Further advances stopped repeatedly in France by the Franks
 Most notably- Battle of Tours 732 AD

► Franks, under Charlemagne, establish the “Spanish March” to secure southern France
 First step in re-conquest, created area of land controlled by Christian knights in Northern Spain -800
AD

► 1130 AD: Half of Iberia re-taken

 Popes support/fund major wars against Spanish Muslim’s lead by the Kings of Leon and Castile
(also rivals for power)
 Major attempt to repopulate formerly Muslim cities (Leon, Barcelona, Madrid)
 Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa- 1212 AD
► Kingdoms of Aragon, Leon, Navarre, Portugal, Castile unite to defeat Muslim army
► Led to rapid decline in Muslim power, eventually just a few Muslim cities remained as vassals to Castile
centered around the city of Granada

► 1492: Final city of Grenada taken by the combined kingdom of Castile and Leon
 Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile marry and united two most powerful Spanish
kingdoms
 United power plus help from Pope allows them to conquer Granada
 The Black Death

► The Little Ice Age

 Early 1300’s
 Produced famine, weakened general health of
population
 Series of minor outbreaks of disease struck as
precursor to Black Death
► Typhoid, Anthrax, etc.

► 1347-1351
 Italian merchants brought plague back from
Caffa
 First cases reported in Palermo, Sicily
 Brought by rats (one theory)
► Outbreak of cat killings prior, so no predator
for rats
► Pope declared cats to be associated with Satan
in the 1200s

► Killed ~38 million

 Spread from South to North
 Some areas of Southern Europe lost over
80%
 Northern regions not hit as hard

► Total world population drops ~100 million

 The Later Middle Ages

► Emergence of Spain and the end

of the Reconquista
 Spanish Muslims finally defeated
(1492)
 Unification of Castille and Leon

► Strong monarchies in France,

England, Spain
 Development of professional armies
 Creates more internal stability while
also promoting war

► The Black Death

 Fewer workers, higher wages
 Redefine faith in Church

► The Great Schism

 Division within Church leadership
 Further questions authority of church