Barbarian Tribes

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Barbarian Tribes

• WHO LET THE DOGS OUT??

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By the late 300s, uncivilized people began to
migrate into the Roman Empire

• Long migration great changes
• Middle Ages (Latin Medieval) lie between
  ancient and modern times
• 500-1500 C.E.
• Began when the Roman govt hired German
  mercenaries to fight, and paid them w/land along
  the northern border.

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Germanic Tribes

• Angles and Saxons and Jutes (Oh, my!)
• Vikings
• Franks
• Burgundians
• Bavarians
• Lombards
• Goths Ostrogoths (east), Visigoths (west)
• Vandals

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Barbarian Migrations
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Background

• Neolithic lifestyle (while Mediterranean area was
  more advanced) Why?
• Simple life nomads with no , cities, trade
• Farming left to women
• Hunting, fighting left to men
• Wedge formation used in battle
• Bravest, best armed men in front
• Contempt for cowards

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Germanic Religion

• Showed love of war, animal sacrifices in sacred
  groves
• Valkryies spirits who fly the souls of dead
  warriors to Val Halla
• Val Halla Hall of the Slain, happy hunting
  ground, days for fighting, nights for drinking
• Odin God of the Dead, giver of Victory, suffered
  on a tree for the Runes, gave mead to men
• Thor Odins son, thunderbolts for weapons

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Days of the Week

• Named for Germanic Gods
• Sun
• Moon
• Tiu son of Woden and Frigg (fertility goddess)
• Woden another name for Odin
• Thor
• Frigg
• Saturn Roman agriculture god

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Germanic Writings

• Runes magical inscriptions, another of Odins
  gifts to mankind
• Beowulf most famous epic hero story, valuable
  insights into the Germanic lifestyle

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Germanic Government

• All fighting men had a say in decisions
• This assembly was called the Mall.
• Wergelds laws formed by tradition
• Judges of crimes were the Elders.
• Punishments were harsh right hand or bow fingers
  were severed.
• Families sought revenge clan feuds
• Wolfshed outside the law (anyone could murder
  him w/o punishment)

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Angles and Saxons and Jutes

• Invaded Roman-held Britain in waves from
  Scandinavia and Denmark
• Set up farming communities
• Eventually intermarried, thus Anglo-Saxons
• Britain became Angleland

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Vikings (Danes, Northmen, Norsemen)

• Origin Scandinavia
• Warrior/farming society, worshipped Odin,
  warriors beserker
• Viking technologies boat building, jewelry
  making, carving
• Attacked coastal areas of Angleland, Europe, and
  Russia, sailed up rivers to loot and pillage
• Sent exploration boats to Greenland.
• Discovered the New World in 1003 C.E.
• Were defeated in Italy.

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Lost Wax Method
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Franks

• Established the greatest barbarian state
• Slowly migrated, intermarried as they progressed
• Were heathens (no religion) so religious conflict
  was kept to a minimum.
• Brave warriors, sturdy farmers
• Expanded rapidly under Clovis

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Clovis, the 1st Merovingian

• Clovis was descended from Meroveg, a famous
  Frankish war hero
• Was brutal, cruel, w/o conscience, but was an
  excellent military leader, treated conquered
  people w/consideration
• Conquered other Frankish tribes and united them
• Christmas Day, 496 CE Clovis along with 3,000
  of his men, converted to Christianity to honor
  his vow to his wife
• Became a champion of the Catholic Church

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• Conquered the Burgundians
• Killed the Visigoth king
• Ruled all of Gaul, so is considered the Founder
  of the French Nation
• Died in 511 CE. Divided kingdom among his sons,
  according to Frankish tradition.

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Later Merovingians

• Preoccupied by pleasure and luxury, the
  Do-Nothing Kings left the business of ruling to
  the Mayor of the Palace.
• 700 CE Pepin II, Mayor of the Palace succeeded
  in making the position hereditary, so was king in
  all but the title.
• Son of Pepin Charles Martel became Mayor
• 732 CE Moors (Moslems) from Spain invaded
  France, but were defeated by Charles Martel at
  the battles of Tours and Poitiers. Became a hero
  and a champion of the Catholic Church.

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Pepin III (The Short)

• Son of Charles Martel
• Wanted title of King, so wrote to the Pope
  Stephan, asking for support
• Pope replied He who wields the power, wields the
  title.
• 751 CE Assembly of Frankish lords deposed the
  Do-Nothing Merovingian king and elected Pepin III
  as King of the Franks.

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Ill scratch your back if

• 754 CE Pope Stephan travels to Frankish Kingdom
  and crowns Pepin III as King by the Grace of
  God.
• Sets a Precedent- a standard for future
  actions. Later popes claimed the power to install
  and depose kings.
• Pope asks for help to conquer the Lombards, who
  were threatening his rule on the Italian
  peninsula.

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Gift of Pepin

• Pepin and army marched on the Lombards,
  confiscated their territory around Rome, and gave
  it to the Pope. Gift of Pepin became the
  Papal States, to be ruled by the Popes for
  centuries, and greatly expanded
• Was there an agreement between Pepin and Stephan?
  Good question, but it paved the way for the
  greatest of Frankish kings. Charlemagne

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Charlemagne

• Charles the Great, Karl de Grosse, Carolus
  Magnus Carolingian dynasty
• 68, strong, handsome, dignified, intelligent,
  religious, little formal education
• Ruled Franks for 46 years 768-814 CE.
• Defeated Lombards, Saxons, Avars, Moors
• Fought 54 wars, all on the pretext of converting
  pagans to Christianity
• Song of Roland epic story of Archbishop Roland,
  a loyal, but reckless, vassal of Charlemagne

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Its a deal?

• 799 CE Pope Leo III (the Rake) fled Rome in
  disgrace, turned to Charlemagne for aid.
  Charlemagne reinstated the Pope.
• Christmas Day, 800 CE While Charlemagne knelt
  praying the Pope spontaneously crowned him
  Emperor of the Romans
• This title implied he was the successor to the
  emperors of Rome, with claims to the old Roman
  Empire.
• Caused a split between the Roman Catholic Church
  and the Eastern Orthodox Church. Pope and
  Patriarchs excommunicated each other.
• Rift not closed until 1965 CE.

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Charlemagnes Government

• He organized land holdings into regions governed
  by Counts, who raised armies and enforced laws
• Capital _at_ Aix-la-Chapelle, but he traveled
  constantly to check on the counts
• Missi Dominici Kings messengers heard
  info/complaints from nobles AND
• common
• people.

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Charlemagnes Govt Continued

• Sworn Inquest people were bound by oath to
  tell what they knew of local crimes
• No direct taxes on land or people, since
  Charlemagne met govt expenses with income from
  his own estates
• Wealthy donated cavalry and weapons.
• Freemen served 3 months annually in army.

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Education Under Charlemagne

• Established Palace School at court, for
  children of nobility
• Hired learned men from abroad to teach
• Bishops were ordered to collect libraries and
  organize schools for lower class children
  w/ability

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Division and Fall of the Frankish Empire

• Empire was united only because of Charlemagnes
  energy
• 814 CE son Louis the Pious inherited
• 843 CE Treaty of Verdun divided the empire
  among Louiss 3 incompetent sons, who fought
  instead of uniting (Louis, Charles, Lothair)
• Other barbarian tribes attacked (Vikings, Slavs,
  Moslems, and the Magyars, who were so much like
  the Huns that they earned the name Hungarians)

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Burgundians

• Settled in southern France
• Excelled at vineyards and wine-making

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Lombards

• Migrated from the east
• Settled in the Po River Valley
• Famous leader Alboin made his wife drink a
  wedding toast to him from a cup made from her
  fathers skull. In revenge, she had him killed.
  The Lombards vowed to have many leaders instead
  of one, and called them Dukes.
• Eventually elected a duke as king.

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Ostrogoths

• Were captured by the Huns and forced into
  slavery. Regained freedom when Attila died.
• Famous king Theodoric the Great, ruled Italy as
  sole ruler, but with 2 governmentsone for the
  Ostrogoths, one for the Romans.
• Repaired aqua ducts, encouraged Latin learning
• He tried to preserve Roman culture, tolerate
  various religions, help barbarians and Romans
  co-exist peacefully.

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Visigoths

• Famous leader Alaric, had been an imperial
  commander to Rome
• Attacked Rome in August, 410 CE
• Army occupied Rome for 3 days
• Grain shipments to Rome were halted. St. Jerome
  reported cannabalism.
• Visigoths retreated to settle in Africa, but
  Alaric died suddenly.
• Legend of his tomb in the bedrock beneath the
  Busento River.

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Vandals

• Headquarters were _at_ Carthage, on the north coast
  of Africa
• Built ships to raid Rome in 455 CE
• Famous leader Gaiseric sacked Rome even worse
  than the Visigoths. They killed the last King of
  the Romans, a 14 year old boy named Romulus. This
  began the final slide of Roman power.
• Destroyed for sheer enjoyment, thus the term
  vandalism.

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Essay Questions

• 1) Gregory of Tours recorded that Clovis said
  for I have invoked my own gods, but, as I see,
  they have withdrawn from aiding me. What is the
  significance of this story? What role did Clovis
  play in the rise of Europe?
• 2) The Capitulary de Villis issued by Charlemagne
  in 807 ordered that the weapons, which are
  carried against the enemy, shall be well cared
  for, so as to keep them in good condition. Why
  would Charlemagne make this stipulation? How were
  armies organized in medieval Europe? What were
  the limitations of political organization in the
  middle ages?

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• 3) Examine the role played by Charlemagne in the
  establishment of a powerful Europe. What were his
  main inspirations? What were his policies?
• 4) How did the Viking invasions influence the
  rise of Europe? Besides being powerful warriors,
  what were the main achievements of the Vikings?
• 5) Discuss the significance of Cloviss
  conversion to Christianity? What were the
  political, intellectual, and religious
  implications of this conversion?

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• 6) Discuss the importance of the Franks. How did
  they build an empire? What role did the other
  Germanic tribes play after the fall of Rome?
• 7) What impact did the barbarian invasions as a
  whole, have on the political, social, economic,
  and religious aspects of Europe?