The Middle Ages: Continued

Christianity in Western Europe The Barbarians desired the farmlands, roads and wealth of the Western Roman Empire. The unintended consequence of conquest was that the tribes spread the Christian faith throughout all the peoples of Europe. Rome s official religion since 395 had been Christianity.

Christianity in Western Europe

451 ATTILA THE HUN SCOURGE OF GOD

454 DEATH OF ATTILA THE HUN -ASSASSINATED IN CAMP - WEAK LEADERSHIP - HUNS SCATTER, BACK TO ASIA

ROAMING FINNS CALLED MAGYARS ARE LABELED HUNS BY OBSERVERS OUT OF FEAR SETTLE DOWN IN MODERN HUNGARY NOT ACTUALLY RELATED TO THE HUNS

Merovingian Franks Rebuilt modern-day France and Germany.

Merovingian ruler of the Franks C LOVIS > LOUIS 481-511ce Paris becomes capital in 508 Marries Catholic noble, Clotilde Converts to Christianity after prayers answered in battle Conquered the Visigoths and formed an alliance with the Ostrogoths.

When Clovis died, the Merovingian empire was divided between his four sons the Merovingian Kings soon became figure heads (puppets); and power passed to the aristocracy: cliques of nobles. For the next 200 years, land is disorganized, weakened, disintegrated, and decentralized

Charles the Hammer stops invaders 720s: Charles Martel ( The Hammer ) is mayor of the palace Took his warriors to meet invading Saracens ( easterners ) from Spain Muslims v. Christians Umayyad Arabs 732 - Won the Battle of Tours Retired to a Benedictine monastery in 747, and left the power to his brother, Pepin the Short.

Umayyad Empire

Pepin the Short - King of Franks 751, the Lombards captured the Pope s summer home in Ravenna and threatened the Pope in Rome, who asked for help. Pepin sent in reinforcements and the Lombards went home (Northern Italy / Germany) Pepin the Short asked the Pope: Is it right that a powerless ruler should continue to bear the title of king? Pepin the Short is crowned King of the Franks by the Pope End of Merovingian Kings > Start of Carolingian Empire > Sons of Charles

Charlemagne Charles the Great In return, the grateful Pope crowned Charlemagne the head of the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE on Christmas Day, 800. Charlemagne would Christianize many of the tribes he conquered usually did this through what was known as 'baptism by the sword'.

Charlemagne Charles the Great Determined to unite the different kingdoms of Europe. Starting in 774 he embarked on over 50 military campaigns. In 779 Pope Leo III was driven out of Rome by an angry mob Charlemagne sent an army to protect the Pope. In return, the grateful Pope crowned Charlemagne the head of the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE on Christmas Day, 800.

King and Emperor? What is the difference between a monarch and an emperor?

King and Emperor? Charlemagne was described as warm and talkative on the one hand hard, cruel, and violent on the other admiration and fear (or, hope and fear). a model medieval feudal warrior king.

Holy Roman Empire Charlemagne as supporter of the Church Duty to educate clergy Duty to promote a uniform Bible Hired Alcuin of York (735-804) Invited from England to France Ran palace school for royal family, nobles Expanded schools, libraries throughout empire Increased literacy among clergy Promoted copying of ancient manuscripts

Holy Roman Empire Charlemagne never really attained the economic and social organization of a civilized state before his death After the battles ended, he ran out of land to reward followers Loyalty was everything Local representatives sent messages

Louis the Pious Son Louis the Pius inherits the Kingdom, 814-40 Louis forced to abdicate by a son! 3 sons inherit the Kingdom; Splits Empire into 3

Louis the Pious Son Louis the Pius inherits the Kingdom, 814-40 Sons take over

Treaty of Verdun Territory was divided through the Treaty of Verdun in 843. Treaty of Verdun split the Frankish Kingdom into three separate parts

Results The dissolution of the Frankish kingdom ended any hopes of a unified Europe for now. The empire was weak and could not repel foreign invasions Germanic Kings become the next Holy Roman Emperor and would not return to France until the 990's.

The Aftermath of Charlemagne Invasions in the 9 th & 10 th c Vikings Normans Magyars in Eastern Europe Saracens / Easterners North Africa and Southern Italy (Muslims)]. Kill the Myth! For the first 500 years of the Middle Ages the sight of a man in armour on a horse would be like seeing a Transformer in battle today!

Medieval Europe Threatened from all sides.

The Three Invasions The Vikings The Vikings came from Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Due to overpopulation and the harshness of their rocky and cold environment they set out on a series of raids.

The Three Invasions The Islamic As the Vikings attacked the North and coastal Europe Islamic raids attacked the south. The former Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine) had to deal with repeated raids because it was so close to the Middle East.

The Three Invasions The Magyars The Magyars originally came from Western Russia Excellent horseman and could shoot arrows while riding. They carried out a series of raids and managed to left a path of destruction from Eastern Europe to Southern Germany. Their invasions were stopped in 955 when a German King called Otto the Great defeated them. Odd Facts Part of the reason for Magyar success was that their horsemen used stirrups. This made it easy to ride and fight without falling off a horse. Western Europe had not invented these yet! Hungary is named after the Magyars (who reminded people of the Huns).

Settling Down By the 10 th century, Europe was on the eve of the High Middle Ages. Causes of the recovery -- a series of interrelated causes: (1) the barbarian invasions ended; (2) tribes settled and Christianized; (3) there were no big plagues/famines (4) rise of population (5) arable land extended.