101 Lecture 8 Feb 19

Question 1

1. Carolingian Renaissance

Planned program

Answer 1

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Question 2

2. Revive Latin
   Classical literature

Done to help the mission of the state: revive Roman Empire, Christian piety and deepen people’s understanding of it.
Restoration of the Church as an intellectual force.

Answer 2

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Question 3

3. Culmination of longer period of trying to save something from the wreckage of classical civilization

Answer 3

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Question 4

4. Charlemagne surrounded himself with intellectuals

Answer 4

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Question 5

Slide

5. Background

Cassiodorus
Rule of St. Benedict

By 6th c., literate population is overwhelmingly made up of clerics and even this number is small

Answer 5

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Question 6

6. Liberal Arts
   Trivium: Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric
   Quadrivium: Arithmetic, Astronomy, Geometry, Music

Answer 6

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Question 7

Slide

7. 550 to 750
   Only 264 surviving manuscripts
   All but 26 on religious subjects

Of those 26:
8 law
8 medicine
6 grammar

Answer 7

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Question 8

8. Most stuff written on papyrus

From 400, beginning to change to writing on parchment

Answer 8

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Question 9

9. Largest library before Charlemagne: 2 associated with Bede. 100 books each

Answer 9

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Question 10

Slide

10. Education reforms
Latin
Spelling
Handwriting 
Basic education (for all?) Definitely for clergy

Slide paleography

Answer 10

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Question 11

Slide

11. Discoveries of the Renaissance thanks to copies made in the carolingian renaissance

9th c. 290 classical manuscripts
10th c. 150 classical manuscripts

Answer 11

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Question 12

Slide

12. Crisis of the Carolingians
    814 Charlemagne dies
    One surviving son: Louis the Pious (814-840)

Answer 12

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Question 13

13. Problems of empire really begin to emerge
Lack of infrastructure
Empire too large
Empire too diverse
Invasions

Answer 13

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Question 14

14. Louis’ problems
15. Invasions and lack of effective response
16. His sons
17. His personality

Answer 14

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Question 15

15. Louis had sophisticated ideas about imperial rule
    More of an intellectual, less of a pragmatist

Emperor must answer to God. Responsible for the spiritual health of the subjects.

Answer 15

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Question 15

16. Believed in imperial rule

Slide

817 divided realm on event of his death
Most of the land goes to Lothar
Rest goes to Pepin, Louis the German, and nephew Bernard

Answer 15

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Question 16

Slide

17. Bernard revolts

Answer 16

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Question 17

18. Took his rulership as a sacred trust.

In 822 he appeared in Church at Attigny covered in ashes and dressed in sackcloth
To ask forgiveness for the way in which the rebellion of his nephew Bernard had been suppressed (captured, blinded, died)
Felt remorse

Answer 17

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Question 18

19. Public penance
    Results in loss of prestige

Increase in power of church

Answer 18

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Question 20

Slide

20. 825 second wife gives birth to a son
    Charles the Bald
    Complicates succession
    Enrages older sons

Answer 20

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Question 21

21. 829 Council at Paris
    Charles the Bald given a share

Bishops declare a right to judge the king and his performance

Answer 21

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Question 22

Slide

22. 831 another rebellion
    Sons allied against Louis
    Louis captured and forced to abdicate both by church and by Lothar

Answer 22

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Question 23

23. Lothar so arrogant that by 834 Louis restored

Answer 23

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Question 24

24. 840 Louis dies and new wars of succession

Slide

843 Partition of the Treaty of Verdun

West to Charles the Bald: Neustria, Aquitaine, Spanish March
East to Louis the German: Saxony, Bavaria, Allemagnia, eastern Austrasia

Lothar gets the middle: Frisia to Spoleto
Most prestigious. Richest.

Answer 24

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Question 25

25. Lothar's territory hard to defend
Western Front
Alsace and Lorraine.
Linguistic and cultural and political ambiguity.
Collapses quickly

Answer 25

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Question 26

26. Immediate consequence: decreasing importance and relevance of imperial title

Louis and Charles divide up Lothar’s realm after his son dies.

Italy left to one of his sons, who takes imperial title

Answer 26

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Question 27

27. Charles the Bald claimed imperial title for 2 years

Rule undermined from within and without

Charles died in 877
Many counties largely autonomous
New dynasties
Weakness of central power and admin

Answer 27

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Question 28

28. Offices becoming property

Answer 28

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Question 29

29. Fortifications proliferate

Answer 29

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Question 30

Slide

30. Not just internal issues: Invasions

Vikings

Slide
Berbers
Magyars

Answer 30

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Question 31

Slide

31. Vikings
    No horned helmets

Slide

Different parts of Scandinavia
Different destinations

Raiding, Trading, Settling

Answer 31

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Question 32

Slide

32. Seaborn raiders
    British Isles and Frankish empire
    Plunder easy targets (monasteries)

Answer 32

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Question 33

Slide

33. Why successful?
    Opportunity of a weak empire
    Tactics: maters of the sea
    Ship technology

Not good at sieges

Knack for creating stable governments

Answer 33

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Question 34

Slide

34. Why do they do it?
Overpopulation?
Land hunger?
Internal feuding and creation of exiles
Climate favorable. (Greenland too cold by 13th c)
Cult of personal valor

Answer 34

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Question 35

Raids begin around 800 on England and Continent

Sack of island monastery of Lindisfarne 797

Answer 35

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Question 36

Slide

Civil wars of Louis the Pious provide opportunity

Monasteries abandoned

Start wintering in 840

Answer 36

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Question 37

870s and 880s figure out how to stop them: fortify bridges

Slide

Lands to settle: Normandy Territory of North Men

Answer 37

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Question 38

Slide

England
860s the height

Slide

Partition: creation of the Danelaw

Answer 38

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Question 39

Causes Anglo-Saxon kingdoms to unify
Wessex, under Alfred, becomes the sole Anglo-Saxon kingdom

Kicks out Vikings 930ish

Answer 39

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Question 40

Slide

East
Attack Constantinople and Baghdad with no luck: so become traders
Walrus ivory, amber, arrows, swords, falcons, wax

Esp Slaves and Furs

Answer 40

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Question 41

Found Russia
Kiev
Called Rus

Answer 41

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Question 42

Slide

Explore to the West
Hunting and Pasturing
Tend not to settle where there are people
Greenland
Newfoundland

Answer 42

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