The Early Middle Ages

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The Early Middle Ages 

The age of monks and knights 

Do you remember...
Why did the Western Roman Empire fall?

The fall of the Western Roman Empire

• The Western Roman Empire "falls" when the last emperor abdicates in 476 AD. 

• All throughout the empire, different Germanic tribes had set up their own kingdoms. 

• The consequences of the fall of the Western Roman Empire were so great, that Western historians have decided to start a new period: The Middle Ages

What do you know of the Middle Ages?

The Middle Ages (500-1500)

The Middle Ages can be split up into three periods:

1. The Early Middle Ages (500 - 1000 AD)
2. The High Middle Ages (1000 - 1250 AD)
3. The Late Middle Ages (1250 - 1500 AD)

In this chapter, the Early Middle Ages are discussed, also known as The age of monks and knights

Content

1. The Frankish Empire
2. The rise of a new religion: Islam
3. The spread of Christianity
4. The Feudal System: how was the Frankish kingdom governed?
5. The Manorial System: how did the people in the Frankish kingdom live?

5.1: Lords and vassals, Franks and Frisians

Who is this man?

Charlemagne (Karel de Grote)

Goals

• The student knows when the Middle Ages were and how it is divided into three periods
• The student can explain what two consequences were of the fall of the Western Roman Empire
• The student can describe elements of Frankish culture (Warrior culture / Relationship between lords & vassals)
• The student can explain who Charlemagne was and why he was so important

Move the boxes to the correct time period. 

Before the fall of the W.R.E

After the fall of he W.R.E

Run centrally from Rome

One professional army

Several local rulers

Using money

Bartering

Cities became villages

Villages became cities

Western Roman Empire	After the fall
Run centrally from Rome	Several local rulers
A professional army secured its protection	Cities disappeared or became villages
Local government in the hands of city officials	Bartering replaced money

Consequences of the fall of the W.R.E.

Main consequences:

More wars → the new local rulers wanted to conquer more territory in Europe. So it became less safe for people in Europe

Agricultural society→ Cities were a target for plundering so people moved away. Because of the dangers on the road merchants didn’t want to travel anymore. Roads + bridges had been destroyed → to make sure they had food people used agriculture to produce food again.

The Frankish Kingdom

• Clovis Childeric united the Franks under his rule and throughout the E.M.A. the Frankish Empire became the most powerful empire of Western Europe.
• Warrior culture
• Using the Christian faith
• System between lords and vassals

Homework

Do question 1, 2 and 3 of paragraph 5.1

Lords & Vassals

A system with mutual benefits

• The lord gave his vassals protection, shelter, income and gifts. 
• The vassals gave their lords respect, fought for him and gave advice when needed. 

Charlemagne

The Frankish Empire was at its largest during the rule of Charlemagne (r. 768 - 814). 

Watch the video and answer the following question: "What did Charlemagne accomplish during his life?"

https://schooltv.nl/video/histoclips-karel-de-grote/ 

"What did Charlemagne accomplish during his life?"

• Conquers more territory /defeats different Germanic tribes (Saxons, Pyrenees, Longobarden)
  
• Conquers the Saxon territory and makes the Saxons convert to Christianity
  
• Creates the feudal system to govern his empire
  
• Helps the pope and as a result he is crowned emperor by the pope
  
• Stimulates education and scholarship by creating schools
  
• Introduces a new currency 

800 AD: Charlemagne coronated as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by the Pope, leader of the church

Why would the Pope crown Charlemagne as a Holy Emperor?

5.2 The Arab Empire expands

What do you know of the Islam?

Goals

The student can explain how Islam was founded:

• The role of Muhammad
• Why Muhammad had to flee Mecca
• The beginning of the Islamic calendar
• The role of the caliph
• Where in the world Islam was the main religion in the 7th and 8th century

The student can explain how Christians and Jewish people were treated in Islamic territories.

The Arab empire

• In the 6th century, the Arabs believed in many gods
  
• In Mecca, you had the Ka'aba: the centre of religious life. The Arabs worshipped their gods here. 
• Mecca was located on a crossroad of trade routes. It was an important trading city. 
• Many people, including merchants, travelled to Mecca to visit the Ka'aba and pray to their gods. 

A vision

• Muhammad was a merchant from Mecca
• In a dream, a vision/revelation, an angel told him there was just one god: Allah. People that get messages from God are called a prophet. 
• Muhammad told people in Mecca about his dream, but the managers of the Ka'aba were afraid that the rise of this new religion would be a threat to their wealth -> pilgrims would stop coming if you could only worship one god at the Ka'aba. 
• Result = Muhammad had to flee from the city. He went to Medina in 622 (Hijrah). This is the beginning of the Islamic calendar. 

In what year do we live according to the Islamic calendar? 

1. 2640
2. 1442
3. 622
4. 1854

Back to Mecca 

• With a big group of his followers (Muslims), Mohammed returned to Mecca in 630. They were successful and seized the city. 
• Many citizens in Mecca became Muslims
• The statues at the Ka'aba were removed. Only Allah was allowed to be worshipped in Mecca. 
• Muhammad's revelations are recorded in the Quran 

Relation with Jewish and Christian people

In the newly conquered territories lived Jews and Christians. What happened to them when their land was conquered by the Arabs?

Positive:

• Jewish and Christians were allowed to keep practising their own religions

Negative:

• They had to pay taxes to the Muslim leaders
• They were not allowed to carry weapons
• They were not allowed to marry a Muslim woman
• They were not allowed to carry out certain jobs

Wat hoort bij welk geloof?

christendom

islam

beide

Muhammed

Monotheism

Church

Mosque

Mecca

Bible

Jezus

Quran

Learning from each other

• Through their conquests, the Arabs collected a lot of information. 
• Medicine and health: the Arabs learned you can prevent a lot of illnesses with good hygiene
• Mathematics: the Arabs learned that with the numbers 0 - 9, calculations are much easier than with Roman numerals 
• Geography: Arab scholars collected and combined knowledge of the world and made better maps. 

5.3 Monks and Missionaries 

5.5 Feudalism and the Manorial system