The Shape of Medieval Warfare

Question 1

what are cultural features of Barbarians/Germans?

Answer 1

• acceptance of Roman traditions incl. Christianity
• ethnic mix (not just Germans, also Near East & Asia)
• fighting was fundamental
• injury & insult answered w/ blood feuds
• fighting ability est. honour & position in society
• war bands (men attached themselves to a leader w/ high military reputation)
• fragmented leadership w/ fluid boundaries (kings need to talk nicely w/ nobles to maintain war bands)
• personal loyalty
• small-scale raids & skirmishing

Question 2

explain the spread of Islam

Answer 2

• Southern Mediterranean taken over by Arab Muslims 7th c. (newly unified by Mohammed)
• conversion common but not forced
• Byzantium reduced to small Greek speaking core
• cultural, intellectual, & technological influence (Iberia, Sicily)
• piracy b/w Muslims & Christians

Question 3

what was the Treaty of Verdun?

Answer 3

• partition/separation of the Empire
• split between 3 grandsons
• East became Germany (Louis the German)
• West became France (Charles the Bald)
• central became a mix of both (Lothair I)

Question 4

what are the results of the 9th & 10th c. invasions?

Answer 4

• end of Carolingian expansion
• inc. local authority of nobles
• monasteries & churches commonly attacked
• Muslims (south)
• Magyars/Hungarians (east)
• Vikings (north)

Question 5

how did Europe recover from the 9th & 10th c. invasions?

Answer 5

• small patchwork of kingdowm unified under Alfred (r. 871-99) of England (navy, taxation, & centralized government)
• Germany = Roman Empire after 12th c.
• france frequently hit by raids due to coastlines, loses power and stability
• fortifications were inexpensive alternatives to walled towns, became central to warfare by 9th-10th c.
• shift to defensive fighting as a result of newer fortifications
• centralization & bureaucratization among counties

Question 6

what are the High Middle Ages?

Answer 6

• 1050-1300
• Europe more peaceful
• Christianity embraced by other cultures (e.g. Vikings)
• war waged by kings rather than private individuals
• towns & trade produced taxes to fund war, agriculture grew as well.
• trade & better agriculture fed armies → led to larger populations & armies
• schools in towns inc. literacy that allowed kings to grow bureaucracy & kingdoms
• bureaucrats manage taxes, law courts, large armies, etc.
• successful Crusades across Mediterranean but less successful in the East

Question 7

what are the Later Middle Ages & Renaissance?

Answer 7

• 1300-1500
• pop. decline due to famine, climate, & plague (kills ⅔ of Europe)
• constant warfare (Italy, Iberia, Hundred Years War, religious dissent, Hussites, Ottoman Turks)
• external expansion is less viable
• religious descent caused more wars
• The Holy Wars became the focal point of the M.A. by the 15th century
• paid troops, infantry, gunpowder, foreign missionaries, standing armies w/ uniforms, & better training

Question 8

what was Christianization?

Answer 8

• Christianity legalized by Emperor Constantine in 313
• became dominant in Western Europe (largely Christ. by 1000)
• official religion of Roman Empire in 380 (Theodosius)
• barbarian states adopted Christianity ca. 1000 due to missionary campaigns
• reconquest Muslim Iberia (10-15th c.) & Sicily (11th c.)
• crusades to spread Christianity → Muslims & Jews slowly forced out of Iberia
• religious coexistence
• intolerance began in 12th c. (other religions prosecuted)
• inquisition & torture grow in legal popularity
• Paganism and other religions are seen as plagues

Question 9

what was the influence of Christianitiy on war?

Answer 9

• New and Old Testaments have split views
• Late M.A. base views based on the Old Testament (pick & choose which morals to follow)
• God as giver of military victory (Constantine at Milvian Bridge)
• Faith = Victory
• losing meant you were a sinner or not a believer
• peace is optimal yet fighting is necessary
• religious scripts & beliefs used as military justification
• teachings altered to support new viewpoints supporting warfare

Question 10

explain Christian leadership

Answer 10

• Byzantium: Emperor of Constaninople, Eastern Orthodox
• Legalization of Christianity
• West = Church hierarchy, Archbishops, Bishops, Pope (Bishop of Rome), Catholics, Abbots/Abbesses, monasteries
• collapse of the Western Roman Empire left a power vacuum
• Church leaders had land, wealth, & armies that filled the role of the Empire
• Church eventually controlled ⅓ of Europe
• regional rulers, bureaucrats/advisors, & religious figures = important political/ militaristic figures
• spiritual power

Question 11

what are the chuch’s limits on warfare?

Answer 11

• power of church somewhat limited in early M.A.
• church reform called for better literacy & education
• Christianization of Europe spread to almost all peoples besides muslims and pagans
• violence still discouraged

Question 12

what was the Peace & Truce of God?

Answer 12

**Peace of God **(10th c.):

• called for non combatants to be protected (incl. land, women, farmers, etc.)
• fighting limited & only allowed at certain times (no fighting on holidays, Sundays, after dark, etc.)
• total protection impossible but efforts were made

**Truce of God **(11th c.):

• just war waged b/w kings or private individuals
• god gave victory to the side that was ‘just’ (just war theory)
• warriors = sinners, morally ambiguous, needed to atone for sins