Germanic Kingdoms/Empires/Vikings
Important People
Politics and Government
England
France and England
100
Describe the tiers of European feudalism
King
Church officials and nobles
Knights
Peasants
100
Who was Clovis and what did he do?
Leader of the Frankish kingdom
France and western Germany
Adopted Christianity
Gained ties to the Roman Catholic Church
Sons divide kingdom into three (tradition)
100
What is the Bayeux Tapestry?
The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered cloth nearly 230 ft long
It depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England
The tapestry consists of some fifty scenes with Latin captions.
100
What happened during the battle loses in North Italy?
German lords get more power and create own independent kingdoms
Monarchy loses power, local kingdoms gain power in Germany and Italy
City-states/small kingdoms of Germany and Italy remain until mid-1800s
200
What did life Post-Rome look like?
German, nomadic invasions → no more Western Rome
Decrease of:
Money and trade
Cities
Learning
Lingua franca (common language)
Centralized governments
Increase of:
Small Germanic kingdoms
Dynamic borders
Influence of the Roman Catholic Church
200
Who was Charles Martel the Hammer and what did he do?
Frankish king after Clovis
Starts Carolingian dynasty
Defeats Umayyad Caliphate at Battle of Tours, 732 CE
200
What was the role of women during these times?
Noblewomen managed household, took charge when men were away from castle
Rights:
Limited inheritance
Arranged marriages
Little education
Role of chivalry
200
Describe early England
800s: Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, utilizing feudalism
Decreased feudalism with increased centralized government and towns
King Alfred the Great: Anglo-Saxon
Stops Viking invasions, unites kingdom of Britain under one government
King Canute, 1016: comes from Denmark to conquer England
King Edward the Confessor, 1042-1066
Relative security and prosperity
Supported construction of Westminster Abbey
Alliance with Harold Godwinson
200
What did the rise of democracy look like in France and England?
In order to have a democracy the countries needed:
Centralized government
Common law
Court system
To include commoners in the decision-making process
However, England and France had years of conflict ahead
300
What did the government of Germanic kingdoms look like?
Kin-based societies
Importance of family ties and small communities
Unwritten rules and traditions
Loyalty given to chiefs
Small groups of land owned
Male power
Injury → blood feuds, revenge
Wergild: value of money for person
Guilty? Ordeal → divine intervention
300
Who was Pepin the Short and what did he do?
King after Charles
Appointed himself king with consent of pope
Good relationship with the church
Land in Italy given to Pope → Papal States
300
Describe Manorialism
Economic system that supports feudalism, focusing on land and not money
Estate: town, peasant houses, church, fields
Decrease in trade
300
Describe what happened in England post King Edward
Harold Godwinson takes the throne
William of Normandy believed that Edward promised him the throne
Invades England with heavily armed knights
Battle of Hastings, 1066: William vs. Harold
William wins
300
Describe French royal power
Royal power grows due to control over trade
Especially under Philip II Augustus (1180-1223)
Wins control of Normandy, other French lands
Bailiffs preside over courts, collect taxes
Louis IX (1226-1270)
Religious and saintly
Cared about the common people
Given sainthood
French appeals court
400
Describe the Vikings in detail
From Scandinavia
Travelers, traders, pirates, farmers, warriors
Went to England and France
Later converted to Christianity
Also went to Russia
Ship builders
Alphabet, polytheistic
400
Who was King Henry II and what did he do?
More land conquered in England and France
More centralized power
More cases about land and crime tried in royal court
Common law: law common to the whole kingdom
Judges collected taxes, settled lawsuits, punished crimes
Failed to limit power of Church
Could not try clerics/clergymen in English courts
400
What did farms look like during the Middle Ages?
Use of carruca: plows with iron technology
Used for the whole community/group of farmers
Crop-rotation
Two fields used, one field on break
Increased food production
Rye, wheat planted in fall, harvested in summer
Oats, vegetables planted in spring, harvested in fall
Less risk of invasions → more focus on farming
Located near water sources
400
What did England look like after King Henry II?
King Richard the Lionheart - 3rd Crusade
King John - Magna Carta
“Great Charter of Rights”
Written recognition of rights meant to limit monarch’s power
No taxation without representation
Right to a Jury trial
Protection of the law
King Edward I - Parliament
Representative form of government
Granted taxes, discussed politics, passed laws
Later: House of Commons and House of Lords
2 knights from every county, 2 people from every brown; all nobles and bishops
400
Describe Philip IV and the Estates-General
Philip IV (1285-1314)
More conflict with the pope
Creation of Estates and Estates-General
Church leaders = First Estate
Great Lords = Second Estate
Commoners, wealthy landholders and merchants = Third Estate
Estates: more power of monarch, but could not limit the king’s power
500
Label this Venn diagram with the terms Holy Roman Empire, Latin, Roman, Bureaucracy, Roman Republic, Byzantine Empire, and Roman Empire.
500
Who was Charlemagne and what did he do?
Charles the Great. Pepin’s son
Carolingian Empire: western and central Europe
Germany, Italy, Spain
Beat Saxons, Muslims, Lombards
Pope crowned Charlemagne Emperor of Holy Roman Empire
“Charles, most serene Augustus, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, governing the Roman empire.”
Another reason of church split
Another impact of church in power
Forces conversions of people to Christianity
Importance of education and churches
Scholards copied the Bible
Aix-la-Chapelle school in Aachen
Public works: roads, churches, schools
Use of taxes
Divided empire into regions, controlled by counts
After death: empire divided between incompetent grandsons (Treaty of Verdun)
500
How did the people of the Middle Ages get back to cities?
Raise of other industries: trading
Venice - trading ships
Flanders, Belgium - north European trading
Hanseatic League: alliance of 100 north European cities
Champagne, France: trade fairs to connect Venice and Flanders
Increased demand for gold and silver coins due to trade → return to monetary system → capitalism
Creation of trading companies, banks
500
What did England look like under William the conqueror?
England split up
20% of land owned by William
This land granted to supporting Norman lords (feudalism)
Domesday Book: survey of lands in England
Inspiration for the Census
Land owned in Normandy, France and England
Mixing of language, culture
500
Describe the Holy Roman Empire
Not really an empire - more independent city-states, starting in Germany
Germany first controlled by Otto, a Saxon
Crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 962 AD
Frederick I: wanted Italy to be the center of empire
Unable to conquer North Italy - defeated by pope
Frederick II: centralized state in Italy, again lost in North Italy