Notes

476
The Fall of the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire fell after invaders took control of the land. The emperor lost power as the common people began to depend on local lords for protection.

800 — 814
Charlemagne Establishes the Holy Roman Empire
Emperor Charlemagne united western Europe and created the Holy Roman Empire. He helped spread Christianity throughout his empire.

1096 — 1099
The First Crusade
Pope Urban II called for Christians to march to Jerusalem to reclaim the city from Muslims. Along the way, the crusaders killed Jews, Muslims, and sometimes even other Christians.

1202 — 1204
The Fourth Crusade
Pope Innocent III started the Fourth Crusade to liberate Jerusalem. The crusaders sacked the city of Constantinople in what is now Turkey and returned to Europe without ever reaching Jerusalem.

1215
King John Signs the Magna Carta
Powerful barons created an alliance and drew up the Magna Carta for King John of England. The Magna Carta limited the king’s power and protected the people from imprisonment without a trial.



1271 — 1272
Last Medieval Crusade
During the last medieval Crusade, Muslims retook Jerusalem. Europeans lost interest in reconquering the Holy Land and ended the Crusades.



At its peak, the Roman Empire included most of western Europe, as well as parts of the Middle East and Northern Africa.
The Rise of Feudalism
The Middle Ages, also known as the medieval period, began around the fall of the Roman Empire in AD 476 and ended in about 1500. The Roman Empire’s fall shaped the Middle Ages, leading to the feudal system.

The End of an Empire
At its peak, the Roman Empire stretched from the British Isles to modern-day Armenia. But the empire’s size made it difficult to rule.

European tribes, including the Visigoths, Vandals, and Huns, began to attack and invade the empire. In AD 476, the city of Rome fell to the invaders.

Dark Days
When Rome fell, western Europe regressed politically, economically, and socially. Trade stopped, and cities became smaller. People were more isolated and had to depend on themselves for all their needs. They were poor and could barely produce enough food to survive.

Without a central authority, people were under constant threat of attack from barbarians and Vikings. They turned to powerful lords for protection, beginning the system of feudalism. Feudalism had a rigid class structure. Kings were the leaders, followed by nobles and then by knights. Serfs and peasants were at the bottom of the hierarchy. Feudalism lasted throughout the Middle Ages.


Nobles, Knights, and Peasants:
The World of Feudalism
Feudalism was based on a rigid social structure. People knew their place and had to respect the authority of the social class above them.

A person's social class was defined by his or her birth. There was almost no social mobility, or the opportunity to move upward from one social class to another. Loyalty and obedience were the two most important values in feudal society. In return for loyalty, people received protection and gifts such as land and goods from those above them.

The king headed the feudal system. During the Middle Ages, people believed in the divine right of kings. They thought that God chose the king personally to rule them. Below the king were the nobles. Nobles supplied the king with knights to fight wars. In exchange, the king granted nobles large tracts of land called fiefs. A fief included large homes for knights, a church, and many small peasant villages.

Knights were also part of the noble class, but they weren’t as powerful as the nobles. Knights could receive land or goods for service to the nobles and the king.

The peasants and serfs formed the lowest social class. Peasants had few rights. They farmed the land and paid the nobles taxes in the form of food or livestock. In return, the nobles protected the peasants from other knights and nobles, who might attempt to take the land by burning peasants’ homes, driving them away, or even killing them. Unlike serfs, peasants could move from one estate to another. But because they needed their lord’s permission to leave, this didn’t happen often.

The feudal system wasn’t fair by our standards, but it provided people some stability in a world filled with war and uncertainty.



The Power of the Church
There was no religious freedom during the Middle Ages. Christianity was the main religion in Europe, and the Catholic Church was the supreme source of moral authority. In many cases, the church was even more powerful than the king. Monks spread Christianity to pagan Germanic tribes as they traveled throughout the continent.

Small groups of Jews also lived in western Europe, but they were often persecuted and abused. They couldn’t own property and were forbidden from living in certain areas and practicing many trades.

The Church’s Power Structure
Much like the feudal system, the church had its own hierarchy. The pope in Rome was the head of the church. God was the only authority higher than the pope.

Catholics believed God expressed his will through the pope, who was considered infallible. Because God couldn’t make a mistake, neither could the pope. This quality gave the pope authority over even the most powerful monarchs.

Below the pope were the cardinals, archbishops, and bishops. They were considered the nobility of the church.

Parish priests were at the bottom of the hierarchy. A priest oversaw an area called a parish. Each parish had a small church where the priest led church services and performed other services for the peasants.

How the Church Preserved Knowledge
Throughout the Middle Ages, the church encouraged learning and preserved knowledge. Most religious books were written in Latin. Many monks learned to read and write in Latin to study their teachings.

Monasteries became centers of learning. Monks spent hours copying books by hand. These books were mostly religious, but monks also copied the works of classical Greek and Roman writers. Because the printing press had not yet been invented, hand copying was the only method of reproducing books.

Monks also educated the sons of kings and nobles. Convents of nuns sometimes taught girls and women. But learning wasn’t considered important for women.

Learn more about education in the Middle Ages in the following video.

Thomas Aquinas and the Medieval Mind
The monk Thomas Aquinas was born in Italy in 1225. He was part of a movement known as scholasticism. Aquinas believed that all knowledge came from God, but he also believed that people could use their reasoning to see proof of God’s existence in the natural world around them. In this way, he connected the ideas of faith and reason. He made it possible for people to study science without coming into conflict with the Catholic Church.

Aquinas also believed that the laws of religion were natural, or God-given. Therefore, he believed laws made by governments should be based on religious laws. Scholasticism opened many avenues of knowledge, but it could also be rigid. It stressed that all forms of learning, even science, should support religious teachings.



Leadership in the
Early Middle Ages
Two strong hierarchies formed the cornerstones of feudalism. The king was the head of the social hierarchy, and the pope was the head of the church. Sometimes these two figures worked together, but sometimes they clashed.

Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, was king of the Franks. He united western Europe and became the first Holy Roman Emperor. He used his power to spread Christianity to the Germanic and Saxon tribes. He also supported the arts and education. Under his rule, every monastery maintained a school for boys that taught arithmetic, grammar, and religion.

Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne on December 25, 800.
Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire
Charlemagne’s wise leadership and support of education helped him create what historians call the first European culture. Under his rule, most Europeans shared a common religion and developed common values. Charlemagne sponsored the construction of palaces and cathedrals and hired artists to decorate them with tapestries, sculptures, and paintings. These works contributed to the creation of a European art style.

The following video discusses why Charlemagne’s empire was the greatest in Europe since Rome.
Charlemagne died in 814. Within a generation, his empire was torn by war as his heirs fought over who would rule. In 843, his three grandsons made peace under the Treaty of Verdun. This treaty divided western Europe into three parts—West Francia, East Francia, and Middle Francia.

Church Versus State: Pope Gregory VII
and Henry IV
Charlemagne believed in uniting church and state, but popes and kings didn’t always get along. Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV didn’t agree with Pope Gregory VII’s reforms. Before Gregory, kings were able to appoint the bishops in their own countries. This ensured the bishops’ loyalty to the king.

But in 1075, Gregory VII decided that only the church had the power to invest, or appoint, the clergy. Henry disagreed and continued to appoint his own bishops. Gregory responded by excommunicating him from the church. Henry then appointed his own pope, Clement III. The dispute became known as the Investiture Controversy and grew into open warfare. Henry thought the church wanted too much control over national politics. Pope Gregory felt Henry had disrespected the church’s authority.

The controversy continued beyond the lifetimes of both Henry and Gregory. In 1122, Henry’s son, King Henry V, and Pope Calixtus II signed a peace treaty, which ended the conflict.

This treaty helped define the separate powers of church and state. It declared that only the church could appoint bishops, which made the church stronger. In return, the church agreed not to interfere with certain matters of state.

The treaty did not cut all ties between the church and the government. However, it did introduce the idea that the church and state could have different areas of authority.


The Crusades
During the early Middle Ages, the religion of Islam experienced a period of growth. Between 622 and 750, Islam spread from the Middle East to North Africa and parts of Asia. As Islam thrived, Europeans worried about the threat it posed to Christianity.

The main reason for the Crusades was the Muslim occupation of the Holy Land in the Middle East, which included the city of Jerusalem and surrounding regions. Pope Urban II wanted to reclaim the land for Christians. In 1096 he ordered people to join military campaigns to free the Holy Land. These campaigns were called the Crusades.

People joined the Crusades for different reasons. Some wanted to show their devotion to God or have their sins forgiven. Others wanted to gain power. Many sought treasure in foreign lands.

The Crusades weren’t clear-cut wars of Christians against Muslims. The first crusaders began by slaughtering Jews in the Rhineland, which is now part of Germany. In the Middle East, crusaders went on to kill Jews, Muslims, and even other Christians. As the battles progressed, Jews and Muslims sometimes united to defend themselves against the Christian crusaders.

In the following video, you’ll learn more about the role of Jewish people during the Crusades.

1096
First Crusade Begins in Paris
During the First Crusade, crusaders massacred Jews in the Rhineland, which is now part of Germany.



1099
First Crusade Captures the City of Jerusalem
Under Pope Urban II’s orders, Christians set out to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims. The crusaders fought off the Muslims and were able to capture Jerusalem. Along the way, they massacred Muslims, Jews, and Christians living in the Middle East.


1204
Fourth Crusade Sacks the City of Constantinople
The crusaders sacked and looted the city of Constantinople, which was the capital of the Byzantine Empire.

1291 — 1292
Muslim Forces Capture Jerusalem
The crusaders weren’t able to defend Jerusalem, and the Muslims retook the city. The crusaders eventually lost faith in their cause and returned home.



Effects of the Crusades
After Muslims retook Jerusalem in 1292, Europeans lost interest in the crusaders’ cause. Many people had died, and kings had little money left to fund the Crusades.

Although the Crusades were a military failure, they were an economic success. The crusaders returned to Europe with Arabian goods and ideas. They were able to reopen trade with the East.

At that time, Arabian culture was far ahead of European culture, especially in the areas of science, medicine, and math. Here are some Arabian inventions and discoveries:

the magnifying glass
the pendulum, which measures time
numerals and a decimal system
algebra
the existence of the immune system
These ideas contributed to the beginning of the Renaissance period in Europe.

The Magna Carta
King John took the English throne in 1199. He was an unpopular king who increased taxes to fund his wars. He also imprisoned people who opposed him without a trial.

A group of major landowners called barons rebelled against King John in 1215. These low-ranking nobles created a list of reforms that would protect them from the king’s unfair practices. This list became known as the Magna Carta, which is Latin for “great charter.” The barons seized the city of London and forced the king to sign the document on June 15, 1215.

The Magna Carta limited the king’s power. The king couldn’t impose taxes without the barons’ consent. The Magna Carta also established several new rules related to the legal system.

First, it declared that no “free man” could be arrested unless he was charged with a crime under the law. The king couldn’t arrest people simply because he disliked them or wanted to seize their property.

Second, once arrested, every prisoner was entitled to a trial. No one could be left in prison indefinitely. If a prisoner wasn’t tried and convicted, the prisoner would have to be released.

Finally, prisoners were entitled to a trial by a jury of their peers, or people of their social class. Judges could no longer act alone to convict and sentence a prisoner.

The Roots of Democracy
The Magna Carta didn’t create democracy. Ordinary people had no say in the taxes that the king levied. Only the barons had that power. Nor did most people have the right to a trial. That right was granted only to “free men,” or members of the upper class.

But the Magna Carta was a major step toward democracy. The ideas of limited government and trial by jury later became important elements of the US Constitution.



Trial by Jury
In 1791, the Sixth Amendment of the US Constitution gave people the right to a trial by a jury of their peers.

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