- Germanic kingdoms that succeeded the Roman Empire was reunited under Charlemagne's empire
- Charlemagne spreed Christian civilization throughout northern Europe, which is where many of us came from
- Middle ages= medieval period
- 500- 1500 AD
- medieval Europe is fragmented
A. Invasions trigger changes in Western Europe
- invasions and constant warfare spark new trends
a. Disruption of trade
- Europe's cities are no longer economic centers
- money is scarce
b. Downfall of cities
- cities are no longer economic centers
c. population shifts
- nobles retreat to the rural areas
- cities don't have strong leadership
2. Decline of learning
- Germanic invaders are illiterate, but they communicate through oral tradition
- only priests and church officials could read and write
- knowledge of Greek(and literature, science, philosophy) is almost lost
3. Loss of common language
- dialects develop in different regions
- by the 8005, French, Spanish, other Roman-based languages are evolving from Latin
B. Germanic kingdoms emerge
- the concept of government changes
- Roman society: loyal to public gov't
b. Germanic society: loyal to the family
- Germanic chief led warriors
- during peace, he provided food, weapons, treasure, a place to live (the lord's hall)
- during wartime, warriors fought for the Lord
c. Franks live in the Roman province of Gaul- their leader is Clovis
2. The franks under Clovis
- another battlefield conversion
- Clovis and 3000 of his warriors are baptized by the bishop
- the church in Rome approves of the "alliance"
- Clovis and the church begin to work together
C. Germanic peoples adopt Christianity
- (Pope) Gregory 1 expands papal power
- Papacy= pope's office
- Secular power = worldly power
- Papal Power (power of the Pope) is political power presented from the Pope's palace
d. the church can now use church money to:
- raise armies
- repair roads
- help the poor
e. Gregory the Great began to act as mayor of Rome, and as head of an earthly kingdom (Christendom)
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