Unit 8 Lesson 1 The Early Middle Ages

Battle of Tours

(732) A battle in France between Charles Martel and his Frank army and a Muslim invaders. Muslims ruled in Spain, but did not advance farther into Western Europe. Also known as the Battle of Poitiers.

Justinian's Code

A collection of Roman laws organized by the Byzantine emperor Justinian and later serving as a model for the Catholic Church and medieval monarchs

The collapse of the Carolingian empire in the late 9th century CE led to

A fracturing of Western Europe into many kingdoms and duchies.

Charles Martel

A military leader who ruled the Frankish kingdoms as mayor from 719-741. He defeated several rebellions and blocked a Muslim invasion.

How did Justinian work to revive the glory of Rome? Select all that apply.

He conquered Roman territories seized by invaders.

How did the conversion of King Clovis encourage the spread of Christianity in medieval Europe?

He provided an example for other Germanic leaders.

Justinian (483-565)

He was born of peasant stock and adopted by his uncle Justin (emperor from 518). As the Byzantine emperor from 527-565, he continued war with Persia and sought to win back former western Roman provinces from barbarian invaders. After riots and a major fire in 532, he rebuilt much of Constantinople in glorious style. He also instituted reforms to stop imperial corruption and promote justice for his subjects. His most influential achievement is Justinian's Code, a collection, organization, and revision of Roman laws.

What is one explanation for a transition to hired labor by the 14th century?

As populations recovered from wars, famines, and plagues, the cost of labor came down; lords could derive rent from their tenants and pay a low price for hired help.

How did Germanic tribes carve Europe into small kingdoms?

Because Germanic tribes they had no written laws, they were mostly farmers and were governed by kings elected by tribal council. A king for each tribe made it more difficult to unify the tribes.

How did the fall of Rome affect trade in Western Europe?

Frequent wars and invasions caused trade in Western Europe to decline severely.

How did Germanic tribes carve Europe into small kingdoms?

Germanic kings waged wars of conquest.

How did the culture of the Germanic tribes differ from that of the Romans?

Germanic peoples lived in small communities governed by unwritten customs.

Charlemagne

In 768, Charles Martel's grandson, Charles the Great, became king of the Franks, the Lombards, and emperor of the Romans. He built an empire covering what are now France, Germany, and part of Italy. Later, the pope crowned him the new emperor of the Romans. He strove to unite and govern an increasingly diverse collection of conquered peoples as well as cope with threats from new invaders. He conducted a long series of successful military campaigns, made efforts to spread Christianity and implement religious reform, sought to make more effective inherited political institutions and procedures, and supported cultural renewal through a revival of learning.

How did Justinian's Code have an impact beyond the Byzantine empire?

It later guided the development of present-day international law.

Why might a lord require serfs to use his mill and winepress?

It was a convenient way to collect a portion of the serfs' harvest

How did geographical factors influence the success of Constantinople?

It was situated on a strait connecting two major waterways used for trade.

Describe a typical peasant on an estate.

Rough and hardworking

Theodora (497-548)

She was wife to Justinian I, was the Byzantine empress from 527 to her death in 548. Regarded as a powerful leader in her own right, she exercised a great deal of influence over her husband as his advisor, and is known for encouraging her husband to enact key social reforms.

The plague impacted the economy of late medieval by

decreasing the population and making labor more expensive

How did the fall of Rome impact Western Europe?

Trade slowed greatly, and Western Europe became politically divided.

Frank

a Germanic tribe that contributed to the division of Western Europe

Viking

a member of a group of Scandinavian people who attacked the coasts of Europe in the eighth to tenth centuries A.D.

Magyar

a member of the dominant people of Hungary

Formariage or merchet is the practice of

a peasant paying a fee to a lord before receiving permission to marry outside the lord's land

Peasant is a term describing

a small-scale farmer

A revolt is

an uprising or rebellion

Roman legal reforms in the third century CE led to coloni status

becoming hereditary, passed from parent to child

What was a major effect of Pope Leo III crowning Charlemagne emperor of the Romans?

it joined germanic power with the church and the heritage of Rome.

Wage laws were passed after the plague to

keep laborers' wages at pre-plague levels

Clovis (c. 688-741)

king of the Franks, conquered Gaul in 486.

medieval

of or relating to the Middle Ages, the period of European history from about A.D. 500 to about 1500

Which was a major effect of Pope Leo III crowning Charlemagne emperor of the Romans?

revival of the ideal of a unified Christian community

Which geographical factors helped Viking attackers gain access to European settlements?

rivers and coasts

autocrat

ruler who has complete authority

The Jacquerie in France

showed that the elites saw the lower classes as a singular group

A vassal is

someone who pledges allegiance to a superior feudal power, usually in exchange for land

Constantinople

the capital of the eastern Roman empire; capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires; now called Istanbul.

The demesne of a manorial estate is

the farmland of the lord, worked by serf and later hired labor

What best describes the interaction between serf and lord?

the lord did as much as he possibly could to keep the serf on his land

How did Charlemagne most effectively convert many pagans to Christianity?

through missionaries

How did Justinian work to revive the glory of Rome?

•conquered former roman territories (from Germanic tribes) •created new law code based on Roman Law •expanded trade •he held absolute power over church and state