The Middle Ages
From the Roman Empire to 1500
The Early Middle Ages
From 500 - 1000
Europe in Early Middle Ages
768 A.D
Christian Church
•Middle Ages begins after fall of RomanEmpire
•Much disorder in Europe
•Church became stronger and spreadthrough Europe
•Church led by the Pope (father)
Pope St. Gregory the Great
590 A.D.
Role of the Christian Church
•Organized territories
•Governing law
•Settled disputes
•Gained great wealth and land
•Determined Latin as written language
•Some Christians became hermits andjoined together to form monastaries
Monastaries
•Monks
–Committed to God
–Prayed 5 hours a day
–Committed to simple living
–Centre of learning
–Copied books by hand
Monastary
•Church
•Refectory
•Dormitory
•Library
•Scriptorium
•Infirmary
•Guest House
Feudal System
•System of owning land
•Land owned by lords
and worked by serfs
•Serfs had to pay rent
and taxes to the lord.
•Life was short and few
lived past the age of 40.
Manor Life
The Manor
•A world within itself.
•Included several villages and many acres offarmland.
•Things that were needed were grown or madeon the manor.
•This meant that money was not needed to buygoods.
•It also meant that most people seldom left themanor during their entire lives.
Knights
•Sons of lordsPage: Age seven.
•left home to live an train in a knight's household. Therehe learned to behave with courtesy and handle smallweapons.Squire: ages of 15 to 20.
•The squire was blessed by a priest and given a swordand a belt. The young noble began to ride into battlealongside the knight.
•Knight: Becoming a knight marked"graduation." In a special ceremony heknelt before the king who dubbed him aknight by tapping him with a sword threetimes.
Problems with Manor Life
•Infertile Soil
•Crude farming tools
•Shortage of Food
•Famine
•Epidemics
•Decrease in population
Islam in the Arab States
•Religion founded by prophet Muhammedfrom Mecca in early 600 AD
•Means submission to God
•Followers are Muslims
•Faith spread quickly in Arab States
•Wanted to conquer surrounding territoriesto spread religion
What did this cause?
•Tension between the two cultures
The Crusades 1095 - 1200
•Islam and Christian engage in holy warfare
Eight Crusades
•First Crusade in 1095captures Jerusalem
•Led by knights
•Later crusades failed
•Many commonersjoined the latercrusades
Effects of the Crusades
•Trade stimulated
•Soldiers returned to Europe with raregoods, spices and silk fabrics
•New clothing styles emerged
•New technologies brought back to Europefrom more advanced Muslim civilization
•However, great hostility betweenChristians and Islams remained
The Late Middle Ages
From 1000 - 1400
Countries in the Middles Ages
Positive Changes
The Growth of Towns
•Nobles began to spend less time in battle andmore time on the manors.
•Nobles increased their farmlands and cropsurpluses occurred.
•Towns developed to provide a marketplace forthe surpluses.
•The marketplaces flourished with Europeantraders exchanging goods like grains, wool cloth,and wine for spices and silk from Asia andAfrica.
Lifestyle
Church
•Remained powerful
•500 cathedrals built in Europe
•Gothic Style architecture
•Gargoyles
•Religion was the focus of everyday life
Gothic Style
However
The Black Death1347 - 1350
•Caused by a rat flea brought from theorient back to Europe throughtradesmen
•High fever and black spots
•1/3 of Europe’s population died withinthree years
Path of the Plague
Effect on Europe
The Black Plague
Post Plague and Crusades
•Population needed to increase
•Increased trade
•Rise of social classes
•Looking to the future…….
•And rebirth……
Sources
•http://www.bayeuxtapestry.org.uk/images/feudal-system.gif
•www.eiaonline.com/.../medieval-707963-753580.jpg
•east.mesa.k12.co.us/library/images/KIRK6479Cu
•bss.sfsu.edu/jrodriguez/courses/331/331image.jpg