Chapter 13 - Europe in the Middle Ages

Key Terms and Names

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Questions

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How did invading armies go about attacking a castle?

1. Engineers inspected the walls for weak points in the stone. 2. Enemy soldiers would try to ram the walls, causing them to collapse. Weapons included the battering ram, trebuchet, Siege Tower, mangonel, tortoise, and mantelet.

What was the feudal pyramid?

1. King 2. Noble's and bishops 3. Knights 4. Peasants

Tithe

A church tax.

What was the Concordat of Worms?

A compromise where the Church alone could appoint a bishop,mouth the emperor could veto the appointment.

Frank's

A germanic people. They were led by Clovis.

Charlemagne

Also known as Charles the Great. He was 6 foot 4 inches. He an empire greater than any known since Ancient Rome.

Excommunication

Banishment from the church.

Frederick I

Became king in 1152. Dominates German princes.

Pope Gregory I

Became pope in 590. Became a secular (worldly) power in politics.

Why do you suppose there was such conflict between longs or emperor and the pope during this period of history?

Because they all wanted to be in power. One wanted to be more powerful than the other.

Clovis

Brought Christianity to the Frank's. Prayed to God during a battle and God helped him. This made him convert. He United the Frank's in 511.

Vikings

Called Northmen/Norsemen. They were Germanic people.

What was the main reason feudalism developed in Europe?

Charles the Simple and Rollo faced each other in a peace ceremony in 911. Charles gave Rollo a lot of French territory. This became known as Normandy, and Rollo pledged loyalty to the king in return. They continued to make similar agreements throughout Europe, and thus, Feudalism was created.

Canon Law

Church law.

Otto I

Crowned in 936. Limited the power of noble's with the help of the clergy.

How did feudal lords in Western Europe in the 11th century defend their territories?

Feudal lords raised private armies of Knights. To get military service, they granted the Knights fiefs.

Explain why the feudal system often resulted in complicated alliances.

Feudalism depended on the control of land. A lot of people needed and wanted land.

What role did Pope Gregory the Great play in spreading the idea of a vast unified kingdom?

Gregory was the head of the Church in Rome. He broadened the authority of the papacy (pope's office) beyond its spiritual role. The papacy also became a secular (worldly) power in politics. The pope's palace was now the center of the Roman Government. Pope Gregory I used the Church revenue to raise armies, repair roads, and help the poor. He negotiated peace treaties with invaders, such as the Lombards. Pope Gregory I also strengthened the vision of the Christendom. This was a spiritual kingdom fanning out from Rome to the most distant churches. This idea of a churchy kingdom became a central theme of the Middle Ages.

What were some of Charlemagne's successes while he was in power?

He built an empire tater than any known since Ancient Rome. He conquered a or of lands to the south and east. He also simultaneously spread Christianity. He reunited Western Europe for the first time since the Roman Empire. By 800, his empire was larger than the Byzantine empire. He became the most powerful king in Western Europe. He also hired many scholars and built schools in his palace. He encouraged learning.

How did Charlemagne govern his unified kingdom?

He sent out royal agents. These agents made sure that the powerful landholders (counts) governed their counties justly. He regularly visited each part of his kingdom. He kept a close watch on the management of his huge estates. These estates were the source of Carolingian wealth and power.

Why did they accept these hardships?

If they didn't, then they wouldn't have anywhere else to live. They had to pay these taxes in order to live in the lords manor.

Explain the mutual obligations of the feudal system.

In exchange for military protection and other services, lord granted fiefs to vassals.

Lay investiture

Kings appointing church officials.

Lord

Landowner.

Manor

Lords estate.

Tournament

Mock battles.

Knights

Mounted horsemen who pledged to defend their lords lands in exchange for fiefs.

How were the lives of noblewomen and peasant women in the Middle Ages different?

Noblewomen - could inherit an estate from her husband. Could send Knights to war upon the lords request. When her husband was fighting, she could act as a military commander and warrior. At times, she played a key role in defending castles. Despite all of this, though, females in noble families generally were confined to activities in the home or convent. They held little land because lords passed fiefs down to their sons, not daughters. Peasant women - performed endless labor around the house and fields. They also had to bore children and raise their families. Young peasant girls learned household skills from their mother at a young age, rather than being educated by a tutor like rich girls. Females in peasant families were poor and powerless.

Serf

People bound to place of birth.

Vassal

People who receive fiefs.

What was the importance of Charlemagnes coronation as emperor?

Pope Leo III crowned him emperor. This was important because a pope claimed the political right to confer the title "Roman Emperor" on a European King. This event signaled the joining of Germanic power, the Church, and the heritage of the Roman Empire.

Monastery

Religious community. Monks gave up their private possessions and devoted their lives to serving God here.

Clergy

Religious officials.

Sacrament

Rites to achieve salvation.

Muslim invaders

Seized Sicily and raided Italy. They sacked Rome in 846.

What were economic hardships of the serfs?

Serfs had to pay a tax on all grain ground in the lords mill. If they were to bake bread so,E where else, it was considered a crime. They also had to pay a tax on marriage and couldn't get married without the lords consent. Finally, peasant families had to pay the village a tithe (church tax).

Code of Chivalry

Set of ideals that de,Andes that a knight fight bravely in defense of 3 masters. His earthly feudal lord, his heavenly lord, and his chosen lady. They also protected the weak and the poor.

How did some of the troubadours song promote a false image of Knights and noblewomen?

Some of the songs conveyed that Knights were more romantic than brutal, which was false. Also, they created an artificial image of women, and troubadours now thought that all women were pure and beautiful.

Magyar invaders

Struck from the east.

Why was the Church so important to the lives of the people?

The Church bonded people together. It was a stable force during an era of constant warfare and political turmoil. It provided Christians with a sense of security and of belonging to a religious community the village church (local level) was a unifying force in the lives of most people. Served as a religious and social center. People worshipped together and met with other villagers. They had festive celebrations on religious holidays.

What role did the Church play in helping Clovis conquer other Germanic people's?

The Church in Rome welcomed Clovis's conversion to Christianity and supported his military campaigns against other Germanic people's. This alliance started a powerful partnership between two strong forces. The church also built monasteries and convents.

Holy Roman Empire

The German-Italian Empire that Otto fated. Remained the strongest state in Europe until about 1100.

Explain the mutual obligations between lords and serfs under the manor system.

The lord provided the serfs with housing, farmland, and protection from bandits. In return, serfs tended the lords lands, cared for his animal, and performed other tasks to maintain the estate. All peasants, whether free or serf, owed the lord tasks.

Middle Ages

The medieval period. Spanned from about 500 to 1500.

How did the role of the Church develop and change during the early Middle Ages?

The role of the Church slowly rose and became a bigger part of everyday life in the Middle Ages. It be a,e a source of safety and religion during a harsh time.

Feudalism

The system of governing and landholding.

Explain why the serfs rarely had to leave their manor.

They rarely traveled more than 25 miles from their manor because they could see their whole world at glance from the manor.

What were the main ideas behind feudalism?

This system was based on rights and obligations. It also depended on the control of land. It was a social structure, too.

Describe feudal social classes.

Those who fought - knights and noble's. Those who prayed - men and women of the church. Those who worked - peasants.

Troubadour

Traveling poet-musician.

Interdict

Under an interdict, many sacraments and religious services could not be performed in the kings land.

How did pope's in the 11th century use excommunication and interdict as political tools?

Used these threats to wield power over political rulers. If the pope excommunicated a king and the king disobeyed, then the pope would use an interdict.

Charles Martel

Was the major Domo (mayor of the palace) in 719. He held more power than the king.

Carolingian Dynasty

When the pope appointed Pepin the Short "king by the grace of God", this dynasty began. This family ruled the Frank's from 751 to 987.

Fief

land granted by a lord to a vassal in exchange for loyalty and service.