EUROPE - The Early Middle Ages

EARLY MIDDLE AGES

501 to 1100 AD

  200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400

200 Decline of Rome 576

476 Byzantine Empire 1473

600

Anglo-Saxon Britain 1066

600 Vikings 1000

751 Carolingian Empire 843

900 The Normans 1200

962 Holy Roman Empire (1806)

1066 Norman Britain 1200 c

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

•165 AD, plague swept through Rome, decimating the population

•it lasted two years, and was followed from 180 AD by rule of mad Emperor Commodus

•there were uprisings in Britain & Africa and a series of poor and short-lived Emperors

•power shifted to the provinces

•the British & the Parthians in east caused trouble, and the barbarians (Franks, Goths, Alemanni & Vandals) were threatening; Rome had to abandon Hungary & Bavaria

•parts of Empire were splitting away: Britain, Gaul, Syria - the economy declined

•in 284, the Empire split into 2: the Greek-speaking east & the latin-speaking west

•the army was reorganized and taxes charged to pay for it

•Constantine ruled from 312 to 337; he favoured Christianity and moved the capital of Empire to Byzantium, renaming it Constantinople; this city became rich, while Rome declined

•Rome was sacked in 410 & 455, & last Emperor deposed by Goths in 476

•various Germanic kingdoms replaced once-proud Rome

The Decline of the Roman Empire – 200 to 476

LINK

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

The Roman Empire – the great division in 284 AD

The western Empire declined and collapsed in 476 AD when the last Emperor was deposed by the

Goths. The eastern part was renamed Byzantiumand survived till taken over by the Ottoman Turks in 1453.

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

The Latin Language

amo I love

amas you love

amat he/she loves

amamus we love

amatis you love

amant they love

AMARE = to loveinsula nominative (subject)

insula you love

insulam accusative (object)

insulae genitive

insulae dative

insula ablative

INSULA = an island

•an amateur photographer(= lover of photography)•an amorous look …•I’m not enamoured of …

•an example of insular thought•I live on a peninsular. (pen = almost)•The machine is poorly insulated.

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

The Latin Language – noun inflections

insula nominative (subject) Insula bella est.

insula you love O insula, te amo

insulam accusative (object) Insulam amo

insulae genitive Insulae dicit.

insulae dative Historiam insulae amo

insula ablative Puer insulae est.

INSULA = an island

.

.

.

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

Language Sources

•The Origin of Western Languages

•some Latin sentences

•the Latin Language

•Latin proverbs

•Latin course for beginners

•Latin expressions used in English

•French words used in English

•the Anglo-Norman language

I love you.

Te amo.

Je t’aime.

Te quiero.

Ti amo.

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

•Christianity has been fundamental to the history of Europe

•around time JC was born, many different sects in Roman Empire

•by 400 AD, Christianity was dominant

•Jews had long believed a Saviour would be born to lead them

•Jesus was born in Nazareth under Roman rule

•little known of early life, but in 27 AD he began preaching

•he told many parables and performed miracles of healing

•the Jewish authorites accused him of blasphemy

•the Romans under Pontius Pilate tried and crucified him

•he is believed to have come to life again after three days (the

Resurrection)

Christianity

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

Jesus Christ - Preacher

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

"The Last Supper" - by Leonardo da Vinci

EUROPE

The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ by the Romans

The adventure of discovery

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery Emperor Constantine

• Christians were persecuted for their faith • many died cruelly in the Romans' amphitheatres • the Emperor Constantine recognized Christianity in 313 AD • he is said to have adopted the Christian symbol by painting it on his

soldiers' shields before a successful battle • thanks to him, Christianity became deeply rooted by the 5th century

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

•in 500 BC, Celts were dominant European power

•they had expanded from southern Germany

•not a nation, more a conferation of tribes with shared culture

•influence stretched from Spain to Britain, Germany and Northern Italy and as far as Anatolia

•they were tribal farmers gathered around their Chiefs’ strongholds

•they were bound together by the Druids; learned priests, lawmakers, bards & sages

•Celts also had artists, musicians & metalworkers

•they traded with Rome, Greece & other countries, but were not much influenced by them

The Celts – 500 BC to 43 AD

Who wereThe Celts?

Neolithic Stones

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

•each Celt was a freeman with individual rights

•Druidic justice was famous and tribal bonds strong

•chiefs were elected by tribespeople, and high-kings by the Chiefs

•both could be deposed if not doing well

•they were fierce warriors; and used iron for weapons and tools

•in 390 BC they sacked Rome & in 280 BC they raided Greece & Anatolia

•they also fought amongst themselves; the Romans exploited this when invading Gaul (France) & Britain

•the British leader (Caractarus) was betrayed by other Celts

•disunited, the Celts lost their independence in 43 to 80 AD

•they later accepted Roman rule and fought for them against Germanic barbarians

•their culture lives on in Ireland, Brittany, Cornwall and parts of Wales & Scotland (The Celts & their languages - the Breton Language)

The Celts – 500 BC to 43 AD

Who wereThe Celts?

the Huns were fearsome warriors

the complex routes of the barbariansin the early part of the first millenium

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

The Celts – Boudicea

CelticPeoplesToday

• cooking & washing took place around the central fire• people slept around the inside of the wall

A Celtic roundhouse

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

•'barbarian' means 'outsider"; they lived in small farming

communities and were ferocious

•Germans in South Sweden & North Germany moved south and

pushed the Celts west

•The Romans tried to control the Germans and were badly beaten in

9 AD; they traded with some friendly tribes and recruited some into

the army

•Franks, Alemanni & Goths raided the Empire in 260 to 270 AD - the

Romans had to make peace and settle them

The Barbarians – 1 AD to 150 BC

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

•the Huns (Xiongnu) were evicted from Mongolia by the Chinese

•they swept into Europe, settling in Hungary

•the German tribes panicked, pushing deeper into the Roman Empire for

safety

•the Romans settled many, but the Vandals in Greece rebelled and sacked

Rome in 410 AD, the year that Rome left Britain

•from 440 to 450 AD, the Huns ravaged Greece, Gaul & Germany, destroying

everything

•an alliance of Germans & Romans finally defeated them, but the Empire was

now weak

•when Attila the Hun attacked Northern Italy, the Western Roman Empire

finally collapsed

The Huns

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

Attila the Hun

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

• Roman withdrawal from Britain in 410 led to revival of original ‘Celts’

• then Angles, Saxons & Jutes arrived in Britain in 5th & 6th centuries

• they gained a foothold in southeast, but were resisted from 500 to 539 by King Arthur & his Knights of the Round Table

• after major battle in 552, Saxons took over south & central England

•following their invading countrymen, others came from the mainland

•British towns, villages & farms were abandoned

• ancient Britons fled to Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Brittany & NW Spain (Galicia)

The Anglo-Saxons – 600 to 1066 AD

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

• this period is often known as "the Dark Ages"

•Byzantine Empire (eastern part of original Roman Empire) acted as a stable focus for hristendom, but its fortunes ebbed and flowed

•in 8th century, Muslims invaded Spain, setting up an advanced culture there that lasted 700 years

•In the north, the Franks established the first European Empire, but it declined in 9th century after Charlemagne's death

•nations everywhere slowly took shape, overseen by Catholic Church in Rome

•this was accelerated by threats from Magyars, Vikings and Muslims in Spain

•by 1100 some European nations were strong and prosperous

•universities were founded, church-building flourished, towns grew in size and importance

•medieval leaders started overseas military adventures, e.g. the Crusades

Europe - 501 to 1100 AD

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

•the Christian church went with the fleeing Britons

•the ‘Germans’ brought new farming and ownership methods

•gradually seven kingdoms emerged, which often fought each other

•eventually England was united under Egbert of Wessex in 829

•789, first Vikings appeared

•by 1850, they had started to settle, but there began battles with the Anglo-Saxons

•for some time England was ruled by the Danes, but in 1066 William the Conqueror arrived with the Normans, and took over the country

The Anglo-Saxons – 600 to 1066 AD

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

The Anglo-Saxons – 600 to 1066 AD

There were three classesin Anglo-Saxon society:

• Thanes (nobles)

• Churls (freemen)

• Serfs (slaves)

Here they are harvesting barley under supervision

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

•Germanic tribe the Franks founded Europe's first rich & powerful Empire

•settled in Belgium & Northern France

•Merovingian leader Clovis (481 - 511) established capital in Paris

•Clovis became a Christian and earned Rome's support

•united the Frankish tribes, defeated the Gauls, the Allemanni and the Visigoths

•created a kingdom resembling today's France

•sons consolidated this, but quarrelled; power came to Charles Martell

•Charles Martell defeated the Muslims at Poitiers in 732

•Charles founded the Carolingian dynasty; in 751 Charles Martell's son, Pépin, replaced Merovingians as first Frankish leader

•Pepin's son, Charlemagne became King

•conquered all of France, then Germany, Italy & the Netherlands

•quelled Saxons & Avars in Central Europe, forcing them to adopt Christianity

The Carolingians - 751 to 843

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

•Charlemagne supported the Catholic Church

•in return, the Pope crowned him "Holy Roman Emperor" in 800

•Charlemagne was a lawmaker and founded schools, cathedrals & monasteries

•he invited scholars, scribes, architects & philosophers to his court

•his capital at Aachen in Germany became chief centre of learning in western Christendom

•he died in 814; on death of his successor, Louis the Pious, the Empire split into three parts,

each going to one of his sons

•the remains of the Empire eventually became France & Germany

•Carolingians ruled Germany until 911 and France until 987

The Carolingians - 751 to 843

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

The Carolingians - 751 to 843

Charlemagne's descendants

ruled France until 987, when

Hugh Capet, Duke of France

and Count of Paris, was

crowned King of France. His

descendants, starting with the

Capetian dynasty, ruled

France until 1792, when the

French Revolution established

a Republic, in a period of

increasingly radical change

that began in 1789.

The Carolingians - 751 to 843

RIGHT: The Carolingian Renaissance inspired this ivory carving of St Gregory & other scholars at work - the Aachen scholars created a new script called minuscule, but Charlemagne never learned to write.

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

The Carolingians - 751 to 843

Pope Leo III crowns Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor in 800 AD

Holy Roman Emperors were crowned in the Palatine Chapel, Aachen

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

• ‘pirates’ from Scandinavia, they ransacked Europe for over 200 years

• made excellent wooden ships with shallow draught

• began in 7th centre to raid coastal towns & monasteries

• later sailed up Rhine, Loire & Seine & took over Baltic Sea

• as Normans, invaded England in 1066

• not all were warriors: some farmers looking for new land

• settled in Iceland, Greenland and many other countries

• by 1000 had settled down: Nordic homelands became Christian

The Vikings – 600 to 1000 AD

BBC

Viking Voyages

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

• enormous impact on northern Europe

• established trading routes & towns

• founded Russia, influenced France, Holland, Poland, Britain & Ireland

• weakened Carolingian Empire

• descendents invaded England in 1066 and changed it forever

• also among leaders of the Crusades

• to protect themselves from Vikings, people had to rely on feudal lords

• they exchanged work and goods for their lords’ protection

The Vikings – 600 to 1000 AD

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

Viking Ship

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

a Viking settlement

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

LINK 2LINK 1

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery LINK

The Holy Roman Empire – 962 to 1440

• founded by Charlemagne in 800; not really Roman or particularly holy

• German "Empire" concerned with power of kings & Popes

• after Charlemage’s death, Carolingian Empire gradually broke up

• Otto 1 crowned King of Germany 936: sought to revive Roman Empire

• crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope in 962

• managed to unite the

feuding nobles

of Germany

•technically, the HRE

lasted till 1806

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

The Normans – 1066

•Normans were Danish overlords living in Normandy from 900 onwards

•they had absorbed Christian and Carolingian ideas; few in number, they were tough warriors

•after a dispute with Harold of England about who should have the English crown, William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066

•Harold was defeated at Battle, near Hastings, and Willam the Conqueror was crowned in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day,

1066

•the Bayeux Tapestry was created to commemorate William’s victory

•many English continued to resist for several years, but rebellions were brutally crushed; William built many castles to subdue the land

•he took land from the English and gave it to foreign nobles who had supported him and to the Church to gain their favour

•the Normans in England kept their lands across the Channel, so English and "French" politics and history were inextricably mixed

The Battleof Hastings

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

The Normans

William’s biography

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery Norman Castles

The Normans

•the Normans built castles, monasteries and great cathedrals; many towns grew up around them

•the nobility spoke French; the natives English spoke old English

•central administration & tax were established

•a list of the country’s wealth was made in the Domesday Book

•Norman rule was harsh; they cared mainly about wealth & power

•they used England as a base for foreign adventures, but nevertheless England developed economically

•William died in 1087; he was succeeded by his two sons, but by 1140 disagreements arose about the succession

•A new Norman dynasty (the Plantagenets) was founded in 1154; their first King, Henry II, ruled England and half of France

•1060, Normans also invaded Sicily & S Italy, supporting the Pope against the Byzantines & Arabs; in 13th century, they were prominent in the

Crusades

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

The feudal chain in the Middle Ages

•the Normans formed a feudal network very

important in 13th century

•in feudalism, a long chain of people

held land in return for services

•nobles & knights doing great service to the Crown were rewarded with large estates

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

The Feudal system in the Middle Ages

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

The Normans – 1066

•the Norman invasion had a major effect on the development of ENGLISH

•In 1204 AD, King John lost the province of Normandy to the King of France; Norman nobles of England became ever more estranged from their French cousins

•England became the chief concern of the nobility, rather than their estates in France, so they adopted a modified English as their native tongue

•150 years later, the Black Death (1349-50) killed over 30% of the English population; the laboUring and merchant classes grew in economic and social

importance, and along with them English increased in importance compared to Anglo-Norman

•this mixture of the two languages came to be known as Middle English; the most famous example of Middle English is Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales"

•Middle English can be read, albeit with difficulty, by English-speaking people

•by 1362, the linguistic division between nobility and the commoners was largely over; in that year, the Statute of Pleading was adopted, making

English the language of the courts and Parliament

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

The Prologue from Geoffrey CHAUCER’s « Pardoner’s Tale » (1387)

WHAN that Aprille with his shoures sote;

The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote

And bathed every veyne in swich licour,

Of which vertu engendred is the flour,

Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth;

Inspired hath in every bolt and heeth

The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne

Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne;

And smale fowles maken melodye

That slepen al the night with open y

(So priketh hem nature in hir corages)

Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages.Chaucer – his life & works

EUROPE - The adventure of discovery

The Prologue from Geoffrey CHAUCER’s « Pardoner’s Tale »

And palmers for to seken straunge strondes

To ferne halwes, couthe in sondry londes";

And specially, from every shires ende is

Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,

The holy blisful martir for to seke

That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seke

Bifel that, in that seson on a day,

In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay,

Redy to wenden on my pilgrimage,

To Caunterbury with ful devout corage.

The development of English after Chaucer, from Middle English to Early Modern English

William Shakespeare

EUROPE - the adventure of discovery

The Crusades – 1095 to 1291

•Palestine, once ruled by Byzantium, conquered by Muslims in 637

•Christians still able to visit Holy Lands till 1095, when Seljuk Turks arrived

•1095, Pope Urban II called on Christians to free Palestine

•many thousands heeded the call

•in all, 8 crusades took place, many complete failures

•saddest was the ‘Children’s Crusade’: 50,000 gathered in Marseille from France & Germany; once they left port, nothing was ever heard of them again; they are supposed to have starved to death or became slaves

•Richard I of England, Richard the Lionheart, led the third Crusade against the great Muslim leader Saladin

LINK

More on "Children's Crusade"

EUROPE - the adventure of discovery

The Crusaders built Norman style castles in Palestine & Syria. Krak des Chevaliers held 2,000 men was besieged by the Muslims in 1271, when they starved the Crusaders into surrender.

LINK

Krak des Chevaliers

in Syria

EUROPE - the adventure of discovery

•Richard led army of Knights to Holy Land in 1191•did not capture Jerusalem, but signed a five-year treaty with Saladin•this allowed European pilgrims to visit the holy sites again•returning to England, RLH was captured by Leopold of Austria and then by Henry IV,

the Holy Roman Emperor, and ramsomed for one year, returning to England in 1194•he is buried at the Abbaye de Fontevrault near Tours, France

LINK

Richard the Lionheart

(1157-1999)

The Myth of Robin Hood

EUROPE - the adventure of discovery

Saladin tricked the Crusaders into climbing a hill on a very hot day. While the Crusaders

roasted in their metal armour, Saladin surrounded and harried them, finally achieving

victory and returning to take Jerusalem.

The decisive Battle of Hattin

against Saladin in 1187

The Crusades

Saladin137-1193a great

Muslim hero