Early middle ages

Question 1

Rise of Christianity in Rome

Answer 1

• people of roman empire christiany had great opportunity
  
  • → in order to be successful in rome: politics and come from wealthy fam
  • low and middle class were closed off from roman high society
  • Christianity was open to anyone
  • being good christian = good values → opportunity to rise social latter for romans

Question 2

fall of western roman empire

Answer 2

• roman empire had lots of opponents that entereted it, over 20 emperor in 50 years → murder, sickness etc. → destruction of roman ruling elite
  
  • → killing of old emporers old people → destoryed political system
  • politics became more concentracted on terrotoreis → instead of saving political system
  • barbarian forces (non romans) were becomieng powerful and organized
  • Odovacar seized Rome by deposing Romulus Augustus → fall of empire
  • legicacy lived on → culture, ppl of roman empire considered themselves roman still
  • Eastern roman empire persisted and considered as the roman empire

Question 3

rise of frankish kindgoms

Answer 3

• new kingdoms were organized, roman influenced, christians in europe
  
  • Clovis of Merovingians dystany as first leader → fisrt leader of new rome
  • → batised in 496
    → 200 years of power struggles in Rome

Question 4

two swords doctrine

Answer 4

• The idea that there are two powers in the world, the secular (king) & spiritual (pope)
  → then: pope gergory 1 the great → founder of medieval papacy → reformed hierarchy in church
  he believed pope should have most power in world → begin of power struggle

Question 5

how Islam rose to power

Answer 5

• became world power in short time
  
  • Muhammed received visions of allah and wrote book → quran
  • Goal: to become best community
  • Muhammed became a secular leader
  • after Muhammed death armies spread islam → capture of large terrotories
  • Expansion → first dynasty established
  • Sunni vs Shia conflict: who should be in power: Muhammeds son in law or established order

Question 6

The rise of Islam: The conquest of Spain

Answer 6

• 711 entered spain and established themselves as ruling party → beat christian Visigoth king
  
  • natives were converted and become dhimmis (non Muslims that lived in Muslim land, pay tax), others fled
  • tried to go into france but were stopped → no attempts anymore in Europe

Question 7

Iconoclasm

Answer 7

• A series of natural disasters hit the Byzantine empire in the 7th Century → ‘’God must be angry at our cult of holy images!’’
  
  • any describtion of god should not show his divinity
  • destruction of religious imagery → even ban on it in 754

Question 8

king Charlamagne

Answer 8

• governed all part of western empire after it fell → powerful
  
  • good relations with pope → ‘protecter of Rome’
  • Pope disliked Lumbars and asked king to defeat them → he did, gave land of them to pope
  • he brought revival to political, legal, religious and cultural unification → easier to govern realm
  • every bishop should set up school for elite children → reestablishing education
  • old texts back to europe from Rome? → rediscoveration and developtments in art and architecture → (inspiration from romans)
  • brought feudalism
  • became Emperor in 800

Question 9

Crowning of King Charlamagne

Answer 9

• why did he not want to become emperor if he knew the future? → by being crowned by pope, established pope as more powerful than him
  
  • why did pope want to crown him? Connection of Christianity to empire → establish a rival power to Constanipole
  • ally to Charlamagne → against rival
  • Charlamagne wanted to become Emperor → religious texts say that 5 empires will be and the fifth will be long living and successful → Charlamagne as 5th emperor and ‘choosen by god’

Question 10

the feudal system

Answer 10

• leader of people, not territory
  
  • The authority and responsibility to protect one’s people and be a just ruler and The power/right to command, punish, imprison, enforce law, etc → oath of fealthy
  • Seignioirial = economic system where serfs work the land given to them as fiefs by the lord
    → consensual and patriarchal system → like an agreement and personal, trust
  • feudal contract: give fief (land), provide lord with counsil and aid → official contract → bound leading member to king → if fief gets broken, contract is broken
  • territory gets split into regions, and territory gets split into vessels and those into more vessels
  • command vessels → rule entire empire, just contact direct vessels (who could contact their own vessels etc.)

Question 11

Invasions of 9th and 10th centutry

Answer 11

• Muslims: developtments in naval technology → targeted france and italian churches
  
  • settled in france cities and started piligin france
  • french christians kicked them out of Europe
  • Vikings: Driven to sea by poor harvests & political instability
  • Raids all across Europe
  • Settling in Ireland, Scotland, England & Normandy
  • Conquest of the small kingdoms of England
  • cultural and religious influence
  • back and forth with conquering of England
  • Edward the confessors kicked out vikings → Willam of normandy conquered for vikings back