Unit 8: Early Medieval History Flashcards
1
Q
the MIddle Ages
A
- medieval period
- 500-1500
- new society emerged
- ROOTS……
1. the classical heritage of Rome
2. the beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church
3. the customs of various Germanic tribes
2
Q
3 ways civilization in western Europe declined after the Roman Empire fell
A
- Disruption of Trade = merchant’s business collapsed beacuse of the invasions from land and sea; the breakdown of trade destroyed Europe’s cities as economic centers (money = scarce)
- Downfall of Cities = the fall of the Roman Empire caused cities to be abandoned as centers of administration
- population shifts from the cities to the countryside
- no central gov (had local personal connections )
- no more Latin
- no more long distance communication
- almost all literacy was lost ( only ppl of the Church were literate)
3
Q
the Decline of Learning
A
- Germanic invaders who invaded Rome were illiterate
- they had a rich oral of songs and legends but no written language
- level of learning shrank as families left for rural areas
- few (priests and other church officials) were literate
- few could read Greek words of literature, science, and philosophy
- knowledge of Greek (long important in Roman culture) was almost lost
4
Q
Loss of a Common Language
A
- Latin changed as German-speaking ppls mixed with the Roman population
- it was still an offical language but no one understood it
- by 800s = French, Spanish, and other Roman-based languages had evolved from Latin
5
Q
How did the concept of government change?
A
- Roman society was unified through loyalty to public government and written law
- Germanic societies were held together by family ties and personal loyalty, rather than citizenship in a public state
- unlike the Romans, Germanic ppls lived in small communities that were governed by unwritten rules and traditions
- every Germanic chief led a band of warriors who pledged their loyalty to him (lived inthe lord’s hall during peacetime)
- he gave them food, weapons, treasure….
- worriors fought to the death at lord’s side (it was a disgrace to to outlive the lord)
- they felt no obligation to obey a king they didn’t know and they didn’t obey officials to collect taxes/administer justice in the name of the emperor they never met
- Germanic stress on personal ties made it impossible to establishorderly gov for large territories
6
Q
the Franks
A
- germanic ppls
- lived in the Roman province of Gaul, where they held power
7
Q
Clovis
A
- frankish leader
- brought Christianity to the Franks
- 496 = led his warriors against another Germanic army
- he feared losing
- he prayed to the Christian God (said “For I have called on my gods but i find they are far from my aid……Now I call on Thee. I Iong to believe in Thee. Only, please deliver me from my enemies”
- he won
- after he, and his 3,000 warriors asked a bishop to baptize them
- The Church in Rome welcomed Clovis and supported his military campaigns against other Germanic ppls
- 511 = clovis united the Franks into one kingdom
- the alliance between the Church and Clovis’s Frankish kingdom marked the start of a partnership between 2 powerful forces
8
Q
Clothilde
A
- Clovis’s wife
- urged him to convert to Christianity
9
Q
monasteries
A
- religious communities built but the Church to help adapt to rural conditions
- became Europe’s best-educated communities
- where monks lived
- monks opened schools, maintained libraries, and copied books
10
Q
monks
A
- Christian men
- gave up their private possessions and devoted their lives to serving God
11
Q
nuns
A
- women who followed the same way of life as the monks
- lived in convents
12
Q
Benedict
A
- Italian monk
- at 15, he left school and hiked up the Sabine Hills, where he lived as a hermit (in a cave)
- wrote a book describing a strict yet practical set of rules for monasteries
- these guidelines became a model for many religious communities in western Europe
13
Q
Scholastica
A
- Benedict’s sister
- headed a convent
- adapted the same rules that Benedict wrote but for women
14
Q
the Venerable Bede
A
- English monk
- 731 = wrote a history of England
- scholars consider it the best historical work of the early Middle Ages
15
Q
Gregory I
A
- aka: Gregory the Great
- 590 = became pope
- broadened the authority of the papacy beyond spiritual control
- the papacy became a secular power involved in politics
- used church revenues to raise armies, repair roads, and help the poor
- negotiated peace treaties with invaders (ex: Lombards)
- the region of Italy to England and from Spain to Germany fell under his responsibility
- he strengthened the vision of Christendom
16
Q
papacy
A
pope’s office
17
Q
secular
A
worldly
18
Q
Christendom
A
- a spiritual kingdom fanning out from Rome to the most distant churches
- this idea of a churchly kingdom, ruled by a pope, would be a central theme of the Middle Ages
19
Q
Charles Martel
A
- aka: Charles the Hammer
- 719 = mayor of the palace
- held more power than the king
- Battle of Tours in 732 = defeated Muslim raiders from Spain (if the Muslims won, western Europe might have become part of the Muslim Empire
- his victory made him a Christian hero
20
Q
major domo
A
- mayor of the palace
- became the most powerful person in the Frankish kingdom
21
Q
Pepin the Short
A
-Charles Martel’s son
-became king
-didn’t cooperate well with the pope
-on behalf of the Church, he agreed to fight the Lombards who invaded Italy and threatened Rome
-in exchange, the pope appointed Pepin “king by the grace of God”
-died in 768
left his kingdom to his sons, Carloman and Charles
22
Q
the Carolingian Dynasty
A
- began when the pope appointed Pepin “king by the grace of God”
- a family that would rule the Franks from 751-987
