Western Civilization: Unit 8

The Abbasid Dynasty

- 750-1258 - Established by Abu al-Abbas - All Muslims could hold both civil and military offices

Pepin

- 751-768 - Anointed king by a representative of the pope - Created a new form of Frankish kingship - Church reform

Charlemagne

- 768-814 - Charles the Great - The most powerful Christian ruler - Crowned emperor of the Romans on Dec 25th, 800 - Greatly expanded the territory of the Carolingian Empire during his lengthy rule - 54 military campaigns - Granted part of the royal lands as lifetime holdings to nobles who assisted him - Church reform - Revived learning

Micheal III

- 842-867 - The Byzantine Empire began to experience a revival during his reign. - But the empire was still plagued by persistent problems. The Bulgars mounted new attacks, and the Arabs continued to harass the periphery. Moreover, a new religious dispute with political repercussions erupted over differences between the pope as leader of the western Christian church and the patriarch of Constantinople as leader of the eastern Christian church

manor

- An agricultural estate operated by a lord and worked by peasants who performed labor services and paid various rents and fees to the lord in exchange for protection and sustenance. - Lord provided protection; peasants gave up their freedom, became tied to the lord's land, and provided labor services for him.

What was fief-holding, and how was it related to manorialism?

- Fief-holding: To provide/owe military support - Manorialism: Rather than vassals owing and/or providing military service to a lord, peasants/serfs provide services to their lord's land

What were the chief developments in the Byzantine Empire between 750 and 1000?

- Iconoclasm was abolished in 843 - Reforms were made in education, church life, the military, and the peasant economy - Intellectual renewal - Macedonian Dynasty: - Strengthened position of the free farmers - A burst of economic prosperity by expanding trade relations with western Europe, especially by selling silks and metalwork - Byzantine cultural influence expanded due to the active missionary efforts of eastern Byzantine Christians - A strong civil service, talented emperors, and military advances

In what ways did the political, intellectual, and daily life in the Carolingian Empire represent a fusion of Gallo-Roman, Germanic and Christian practices?

- Monogamy - Nuclear family - The church condemned sexual activity outside of marriage, homosexuality, and infanticide - Monasteries and aristocratic households served as a place for weary travelers to stay - Diet consisted of bread, pork, and dairy - Taverns became a regular feature of life - The use of medical herbs

counts

- Officials chosen by Charlemagne to rule parts of his empire in his name - Came to control public services in their own lands and thus acted as judges, military leaders, and agents of the king - Had limited power

What impact did the Vikings have on the history and culture of medieval Europe?

- Shipbuilders and sailors - Expansion - Assimilated into European civilization - The Viking raids and settlements results: The landed aristocrats not only increased their strength and prestige but also assumed even more of the functions of local government that had previously belonged to the kings; over time these developments led to a new political and military order

What was the significance of Charlemagne's coronation as emperor?

- Symbolized the fusion of Roman, Christian, and Germanic elements - First emperor given reign that was not through a bloodline

Cyril and Methodius

- The southern slavic peoples were converted to the Eastern Orthodox Christianity of the Byzantine Empire by two Byzantine missionary brothers, Cyril and Methodius - Began missionary in 863 - Created a Slavonic alphabet, translated the bible into Slavonic, and developed Slavonic church services

What patterns of development occurred in central and eastern Europe as a result of the Slavic peoples?

- Through mass migrations and nomadic invasions were gradually divided into three major groups - The Southern Slavs were converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity. They created the Slavonic alphabet, translated the bible into Slavonic, and developed Slavonic church services. - The Eastern Slavs had problems with the Vikings. Swedish Vikings (Varangians) invaded the Slavs by rivers and became involved with civil wars with them, coming to dominate them. By marrying Slav women, the Viking ruling class started to mesh with the Slav's population; they even accepted Slav names.

What were the main features of the physical environment of the Early Middle Ages?

- Unsustainable agriculture: Against removing forests for religious reasons - Unpredictable weather

nuclear family

A family group consisting only of a father, a mother, and one or more children.

fief

A landed estate granted to a vassal in exchange for military services.

serfs

A peasant who is bound to the land and obliged to provide labor services and pay various rents and fees to the lord; considered unfree but not a slave because serfs could not be bought and sold.

tithe

A portion of one's harvest or income, paid by medieval peasants to the village church.

Abu al-Abbas

Brought an end to the Umayyad dynasty and established the Abbasid dynasty

vassalage

The granting of a fief, or landed estate, in exchange for providing military services to the lord and fulfilling certain other obligations such as appearing at the lord's court when summoned and making a payment on the knighting of the lord's eldest son.

demesne

The part of a manor retained under the direct control of the lord and worked by the serfs as part of their labor services.

monogamy

The practice of being married to one person at a time.

subinfeudation

The practice whereby a lord's greatest vassals subdivided their fiefs and had vassals of their own, who in turn subdivided their fiefs, and so on down to simple knights, whose fiefs were too small to subdivide.

Carolingian Renaissance

The rebirth of learning

The Macedonian Dynasty

This dynastic line managed to hold off the external enemies, go over to the offensive, and reestablish domestic order and produced some truly outstanding emperors skilled in administration and law.

scriptoria

Writing rooms for the copying of manuscripts in medieval monasteries.