THE

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THE MIDDLE AGES
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What happened to Europe after the fall of the
Roman Empire?
The Eastern half of the Roman Empire became the
Byzantine Empire
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The Byzantine Empire became a center for trade
and Greco-Roman culture
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The Western half fell to the various Germanic
tribes, who created their own kingdoms out of the
former Roman territory
Europe was plunged into an era called the Middle
Ages (also known as the Dark Ages or Medieval
era) from 500 to 1300
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Western Europe was plagued by constant warfare
between the Germanic barbarian kingdoms
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The warring between kingdoms disrupted trade,
causing business to collapse
European cities were damaged by war and/or left
in financial ruin
City dwellers fled to the countryside to survive
and Western Europe became mostly rural
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The warfare made life dangerous and difficult for
Europeans as a result, the finer things in life,
such as higher learning, became less important
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Literacy decreased among Western Europeans and
few people could read or write (aside from
priests and rich people) the ruling Germans had
no written language
Greco-Roman culture was mostly forgotten in
Western Europe
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Europe lost its common language Latin mixed with
German dialects and evolved into new languages,
such as Spanish, French, and Italian
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Germanic Tribes in the Middle Ages
Without the unity of the Roman Empire, Europe
became divided into a series of Germanic kingdoms
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Germanic people lived in small communities led by
chiefs and his loyal warriors
Family ties and personal loyalty (face-to-face)
were more important than citizenship to a state
or loyalty to a king that they had never even met
Rather than living by written law (like the
Romans), the Germans were guided by unwritten
laws and tradition
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The Spread of Christianity
During the early Middle Ages, the Germanic
kingdoms were slowly converted to Christianity
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The Spread of Christianity
The Catholic Pope became involved in secular
(non-religious) issues like road repair, aiding
the poor, and helping Christian kings expand
their power
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The Spread of Christianity
The Franks were the largest and most powerful of
the Germanic kingdoms in the early Middle Ages
Frankish kings allied with the Catholic Church
and expanded their power
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In the year 771, Charlemagne (Charles the
Great) became king of the Franks
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Charlemagne was the greatest Medieval king
because he did something no other Medieval king
was able to do create an organized empire
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Charlemagne and the Frankish Empire
Charlemagne expanded the Frankish Empire
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Throughout the Frankish Empire, Charlemagne
spread Christianity
He created schools to train future priests
He valued learning and built schools in his
empire
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After Charlemagnes death in 814, his Frankish
Empire lost power and was divided
This was the last opportunity to provide unity in
Medieval Europe that opportunity died with
Charlemagne
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From 800 to 1000, a second major wave of
invasions struck Europe the first wave of
attacks was by Germanic barbarians that took over
Western Rome
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This second wave of invasions was led by the
Vikings, the Muslims, and the Magyars
These invasions caused widespread fear and
suffering
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People stopped looking to kings for protection
Western Europes kings could not defend against
these invaders
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The way that people got protection from outside
invaders was by turning to local lords and
noblemen instead of the nations king
This began a new political and social system
called feudalism
Feudalism is based on land ownership and loyalty
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Landowning lords offer pieces of land (called a
fief) to knights
In exchange, knights offer lords their loyalty
and a promise to protect the lord and his land
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Feudal Structure
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Lords (also called nobles) were the upper-class
landowners they had inherited titles (such as
Duke, Earl, Sir) and held the most power in
feudal society
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The most powerful lords had lesser lords who
worked for them these less powerful lords were
called vassals
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In the feudal system, kings were the
highest-ranking lords and had wealth and land,
but actually did not hold the ultimate power
In the Middle Ages, power was spread out and
shared among numerous lords, not concentrated
with a single monarch
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Knights were specially trained soldiers and
armored horsemen who protected the lords and
peasants in exchange for land
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Some peasants were serfs they were not slaves
who could be bought and sold, but they were not
free, either
They had to farm, do all types of physical labor
in service to their lords, and could not leave
the land freely
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In return for their service, the serfs could farm
a few acres for themselves and were given
protection from outside invaders (such as Vikings)
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During the Middle Ages, the manorial system was
the way in which people survived
The lords land was called a manor
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The Manorial System
The lord provided peasants with housing,
farmland, and protection
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The Manorial System
In exchange, peasants repaid the lord by working
his land and providing a portion of the food they
produced
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Manors were self-sufficient communities
everything that was needed was produced on the
manor
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However, peasant life was hard the days were
filled by tough physical labor, they paid taxes
to use the lords mill (to make bread for
themselves), and had to get the lords permission
for most things, including getting married
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Peasant life was also short the average life
expectancy of common folk in the Middle Ages was
only 35 years old
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• Lords built castles to protect their territory
  from outside invasions

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Both the attackers and the defenders of a castle
would use the most modern weaponry of the time to
fight each other
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Put this at the end of your guided notes in the
white space.

• 1. City Life- More freedom for peasants
• Overcrowded unsanitary
• 2.Peasants-Work
• 3. Recreation-For the nobility. Jousting feasts,
  etc.
• 4. Music and Art- Limited variety mostly for the
  church
• 5. Women little power. Married off at age 4 or 5.
  
• Property of their husbands
• Minorities- Most significant minority were Jews.
• There was a lot of religious intolerance.
• 6. Science- No achievement
• Alchemy

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Germanic Tribes Flow ChartPut underneath your
guided notes for the Middle Ages