Medieval Europe I

I) Western Europe in the Early Middle ages (476-1000 a.d.)
A) Barbarian invasions and the effects
    1) 390 east and west Roman empire divide
      i) by 476 western empire was conquered by Barbarians
      ii) constant threat of invasion leads to weak economy, low literacy, land disrepair, low population
      iii) no great works of art during this time period
B) how church held it all together
    1) Pope Gregory the Great
      i) provides relief for refugees
      ii) gives money for ransoms of those abducted by barbarians
      iii) gives money for fleeing women and children
      iv) sent missionaries to convert Barbarians
        a) tried to convert the barbarians
        b) most groups convert to Christianity - Vikings are an example
    2) Benedictine monks (poverty, chastity, obedience)
      i) installed three values among the monks
      ii) founded many Benedictine monasteries
        a) many men join the monasteries
        b) lack of material possessions made people happy
        c) Benedictine monks followed the orders of the Abbot, who was thought to be speaking from the voice of God
      iii) Monks prayed for the field workers
      iv) Abbots made monks copy books in their spare time
        a) many of the great books of the Greeks and Romans were saved by the monks
C) Dream of a restored Rome
    1) Charlemagne - lived around 800 - king of the franks
      i) crowned emperor of Rome
      ii) won a lot of victories / converted many people
      iii) conquered a large area and created stability - allowed the awakening of Europe - economy = stability = good stuff
D) Feudalism
    1) system of decentralized authority
      i) king has lords who have lesser lords who have knights who are paid to protect the kingdoms
    2) Lesser lords will give men land to become knights
      i) long time to train a knight and a lot of money
      ii) Promises are always kept in this time period, the oath meant a lot to these people
      iii) oaths were rarely broken
II) High Middle Ages (1000-1300)
A) France - Britain - Roman physical security
    1) Centralized governments
    2) Able to call upon everyone for physical security
    3) Physical security leads to rebirth of culture
B) Crusades
    1) new wave of Moslem aggression threatened Eastern Byzantine Empire
    2) Pope Urban II calls a holy war to retake land
      i) People all went to war with crosses on their shields and flags
    3) People who have gripes about the crusades
      i) Jews - they were killed for practice against the Moslems
      ii) 4th crusade decided to attack the city Constantinople
      iii) Peter the Hermit "Children's Crusade" falls apart horribly, many sent into slavery
    4) 1st crusade was successful - held Byzantine areas for 100 years
C) Ag Improvements
    1) more land was irrigated