Medieval Europe

1
Medieval Europe

• Medieval latin for middle ages

• covering A.D. 400-1350

2
The Rise of Christianity

• Roman Catholic Church became a political power in
  Europe.
• By the A.D. 500s, bishops and popes had become
  leaders of the church.
• In eastern Europe, Christianity was known as
  Eastern orthodoxy.
• It was under the leadership of emperors.
• Early popes sent missionaries, teachers of
  Christianity, to every part of Europe.
• Through its schools, the Christian Church greatly
  advanced learning.
• Beginning in the A.D. 1000s, the church
  sponsored a series of holy wars called the
  Crusades.
• What was the Churchs goal in the Crusades?

3
The Holy Roman Empire

• Germans combined their common law, the unwritten
  laws from local customs, with Roman Law and
  founded kingdoms all over Europe.
• One of the most important Germanic kingdoms was
  that of the Franks.
• In 771 Charlemagne was crowned king of the
  Franks.
• On Christmas Day in the year 800, Charlemagne
  was proclaimed the protector of the Christian
  Church in the West and was crowned the head of
  the Roman Empire in the West, which became known
  as the Holy Roman Empire.
• After Charlemagnes death in 814, what do you
  think happened to his empire?

4
Medieval Society

• Most people during the Middle Ages were farmers
  who lived under feudalism.
• Under feudalism, lords would give land to a
  noble or a knight to work, govern, and defend.
• In return, those who received land swore loyalty
  to the lords and became their vassals.
• The feudal estate and basic economic unit was
  called the manor.
• Two types of farmers on the manor were tenants
  and serfs.
• Serfs were not as free and usually poorer than
  tenant farmers.
• What kinds of people might occasionally visit
  the manors?

5
The Growth of Cities

• Towns in the Middle Ages were fairly independent
  and free of the feudal lords control.
• They served as centers of trade and
  manufacturing.
• Manufacturing came under the control of workers
  organizations known as guilds.
• Over time, some towns grew into cities and
  became political and religious centers as well.
• Kings won support of the townspeople by building
  great cathedrals and granting the residents
  privileges and freedoms in written documents
  called charters.
• How did young people in the Middle Ages acquire
  job skills?