Medieval
Medieval
Medieval
500 - 1475)
The Geography of Europe and
Feudalism and the Rise of Towns
During the 400s, Germanic groups invaded the Western
Roman Empire. In a.d. 476, these groups overthrew the last
emperor in Rome and brought the Empire to an end.
Europe then entered a new era called the Middle Ages, or
medieval times. This was a 1,000-year period between
ancient and modern times. During the Middle Ages,
Western Europe was divided into many kingdoms, and
Catholic Christianity strongly influenced society.
Physical geography shaped Europe's development. The
continent of Europe is a huge peninsula, with many smaller
peninsulas branching out from it. As a result, most land in
Europe lies within 300 miles (483 km) of a seacoast. This
encouraged trade and helped the European economy to
grow.
Major rivers are Rhine, Danube, Seine, and Po, flow from inland
mountains into the oceans and seas surrounding the continent.
These rivers are navigable, or wide and deep enough for ships to
use.
Europe's seas and rivers provided protection as well as
possibilities for trade.
Europe also has many mountain ranges. In the southwest, the
Pyrenees isolated what is now Spain and Portugal from the rest
of Europe. In the middle of the continent, the Alps separated
Italy from central Europe. The Carpathians cut off what is now
Ukraine and Russia from southeast Europe.
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RHINE
DANUBE
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SEINE
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After the fall of Charlemagne's empire, strong governments
collapsed in Western Europe. Kings lost much of their
power.
Local land-owning nobles became increasingly important
in political affairs. They raised armies. They also collected
taxes and imposed laws on the people living on their lands.
When invaders swept through Europe, people turned to
the nobles for protection. Nobles governed and protected
the people in return for services, such as fighting in a
noble's army or farming the land. This led to a new political
and social order known as feudalism
Feudalism was based on ties of loyalty and duty
among members of the nobility. Nobles were both
lords and vassals.
A lord was a high-ranking noble who had power over
others.
A vassal (VA • suhl) was a lower-ranking noble who
served a lord. In return, the lord protected the vassal.
Chivalry -These rules stated that a knight was to be
brave and obey his lord. A knight was also required to
respect women of noble birth, honor the Church, and
help people.
Two groups of peasants—freemen and serfs.
Freemen paid the noble for the right to farm the land.
They worked only on their own land and had rights
under the law.
Serfs worked long hours in the fields and did many
services for the nobles. They spent three days of the
week working the noble's land and the rest of the week
farming their own.
By 1100, feudalism had made Europe safer. Nobles
repaired roads, arrested bandits, and enforced the law.
Meanwhile, new technology enabled people to
produce more food and goods. Europe's population
grew for the first time since the fall of Rome.
Peasants began to make cloth and metal products.
Nobles also sought luxury items, such as sugar, spices,
silks, and dyes. These goods came from the East.
Eventually, medieval towns began to set up their own
governments. Only males were considered citizens. In many
cities, the citizens elected the members of a city council.
These elected officials served as lawmakers and judges.
EYEGLASSES
PRINTING WINDMILL
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Charlemagne - He was an Emperor and King who brought most
of Western and Central Europe under his reign by a variety of
means including military conquest. But he is not famous for just
this. He was also a main force in something called the
Carolingian Renaissance which changed much of Europe by
bringing about a new monetary system, educational reform and
a renaissance of the arts including military arts and the art of
siege. He is often considered to be the father of what is now
modern Europe.
Leif Ericson - He was a Norse adventurer and explorer who is
generally credited as being the first European to discover North
America. And this was a full 500 years before Columbus. He was
the son of another famous Norse. (Eric the Red).
Johann Gutenberg - He invented the printing press and the
concept of movable type which revolutionized the book making
process. Up until his time books were copied by hand. His
invention is considered to be among the most important of the
modern period. Books became much easier to make and much
more affordable. And most importantly this changed the
availability and flow of information throughout the world. His
inventions quickly spread across the whole known world.
Leonardo DaVinci - He lived during the overlapping time
between when the Medieval Period ends and the Renaissance
begins. And he is considered to possibly be the archetype of
what a Renaissance man is and possibly the most diversely
skilled human being to have ever lived. He was an architect,
designer, inventor, painter, botanist, writer ... well, you name it
and he excelled at it. He realistically and symbolically represents
humanities transformation from the medieval period into the
rebirth or "renaissance".
The Art and Architecture of Medieval times
encompasses many movements, or eras, in art history.
Medieval art illustrates the passionate interest and
idealistic expression of the Christian and Catholic
faith. Architectural designs and their interior décor
showed avid expressions of the deep religious faith of
the people of the Middle Ages.
Medieval art is generally divided into different types,
each of which was expressed differently in different
regions and at different times. They are:
1. The Byzantine period
2. Early Christian period
3. Romanesque and Norman period
4. Gothic period
At the end of the Roman Empire Era, most of the
educational institutes of Romans ceased to offer their
services.
Bishops and monks started to educate pupils of upper
class while education for Peasants used to engage their
little kids in work as soon as possible. At that time, a
child of 10-12 years was already considered an adult.
Serfs and their kids was a rare chance.
The education system of Middle Ages was highly
influenced by the Church. Basic course of study used to
contain Latin language, grammar, logic, rhetoric,
philosophy, astrology, music and mathematics.
Under the feudal system of The Middle Ages, women
had little or no chance of attaining education. However,
girls of upper class were given benefits of education in a
few cases. The course of education for women was very
limited and it was controlled by the Church.
In the Middle ages society was composed by three orders of
people: the nobles, the clergy, the peasants. They also believed
that it was very important to preserve this division and to remain
in the social class where you were born in order to maintain the
general equilibrium.
The nobles were the higher social class but they included the
people who had a noble title as well as the knights who were the
lowest members of this class.
Another important social class was that of clergy. At that time
only the first child of a noble family could inherit the estates and
the title, so the younger sons often entered religious life without
having a real devotion, but just to continue to lead a luxurious
life typical of the noble class.
At a much lower level there were the members of
the third social class: the peasants. They actually
didn’t have freedom.
It was only in the 14th century that things started to
change. After the terrible plague called Black
Death, there was a transformation: most of the
people of the third social class had died so those
who survived could pretend to be paid for their
work. The urban and merchant life became
fundamental and lots of people of the lower class
became rich and wealthy.
Around 1000 BC the first base metal coins come and
set the tone for money exchange into the future.
Any type of money exchange had to have some power
like silver or gold to back it. In some areas, there were
times when salt, jewels, or even spices were considered
very valuable; all of these could have easily backed up
any note. A note being a sort of promise towards the
valuable thing you really wanted.
Judicial Administration in The Middle Ages:
The law in The Middle Ages was based on old Germanic
ideas and customs but it was also influenced by the ancient
Roman law system.
Types of Courts under law in The Middle Ages
Church courts - In order to take decision about a case
involving bishops, deacons, priests, clerks, monks, nuns
and other clergy men.
Manor courts - Cases of ordinary people and serfs.were
often used to solve out cases of assault, petty theft,
drunkenness, and other petty crimes.
Royal court - Serious cases where the kings used
the common law to offer justice.