TTO1 - History (Bricks) - Early Middle Ages

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• Middelbare school
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• Leerjaar 1

Early Middle Ages (500-1000 AD)

Today

- Rehearse 4.4 & 4.6 (CP)

- Note Charlemagne 

 

Which word fits this picture best?

1. Feudalism
2. Pagans
3. Vassals
4. Liegelords

The dutch word for Feudalism is?

1. Horigheid
2. Monarchie
3. Middeleeusws bestuur
4. Leenstelsel

If tomorrow i make you start to belieeve in the big moose above us, you are a

1. Pagan
2. Convert
3. Heathen
4. Person with excellent taste

Many monks wished to spread their religion and convert …………. Some monks, like the famous …………, travelled to convince people to become Christians and they were called …………. To convert people to Christianity they had to be …………... 

Baptized

Willibrord

Heathens

Missionaries

Troubled times in
Early Middle Ages (500-800)

• After the fall of the (Western) Roman Empire a lot of wars occured in Europe
  
• Travelling was very dangerous so people lived in tiny villages or with wealthy lords.

• Great cities, like Rome, no longer existed.
  Europe went back to an agricultural society.
  

Germanic Tribes

- After the Roman Empire fell, they were rulers of their own local region, no longer ruled by Rome.

- The Franks had a warrior culture.

- Two Germanic Tribes were the Franks and the Frisians.

- Germanic society had a system of lords and vassals.

Frankish Empire

Area of the Frisians
(Does it look familliar?) 

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

- Frankish empire was at its largest during his reign.

- Leader of the Carolingian culture

- He made sure his empire would develop laws, science and education.

Frankish Empire

Charlemagne was a great warrior and war leader. 
He conquered a large territory by 771 AD. He even took down the sturdy Frisians in the north. 

Charlemagne was coronated as emperor in 800 AD

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?

Why would Charlemagne want the rest of his empire to be christian as well?

Converting heathens

In the Early Middle Ages some 
hermits decided to travel across
Europe to convert people to 
christianity. 
--> they had a holy mission to 
convince more people of their 
religion --> missionaries

5.5 - Feudalism and the Manorial system

Manors

• Many Christian lords also gave land to bishops and abbots.
• By the end of the 8th century, landowners started to manage their lands using the manorial system.
• A manor was a large piece of adjoining land made up out of two parts: a part on which the lord or vassal lived and a part on which farmers lived.
• The domain was surrounded by the land of the lord.  Further away were forests and barren lands, used to collect wood and develop into farmland.

Serfs

• Farmers depended entirely on their lord; they were called serfs. 
• Serfs were bound to the manor. They could not leave the manor to settle elsewhere without the permission of their lord.
• Serfs had many obligations. They had to give away a big part of their farming produce to the lord of the manor. Serfs also had to perform services for their lord.
• In return the serfs received protection and the right to farm on the lands, 
• Study source 5.37 in your textbook

Self-sufficient

• In many cases the manor was self-sufficient. This means that farmers produce everything they need themselves
• Many of the products that were needed as necessary were grown or made by the serfs.
• Trade took place on a very small scale; farmers sold their surplus on markets.

Manorial system

The Manorial system did not always consist of only two parts. In reality, there were many variations of the manorial system. 

Sometimes the land was split into many pieces, in that case the serfs depended less on their lords.  Sometimes the distance between the serfs and the domain was too great, it became impossible to work on the land of the lord. 

Besides manors, there were also places were free farmers lived. Free farmers did their work without involvement of a lord and focused mostly on livestock.

Famine

• Heavy weather and war violence led to crop failure.
• Greedy lords still demanded their payment of rent. This could cause a food shortage.
• If there were no reserves from previous harvests it would cause a famine.
• Charlemagne made a law that obliged the vassals to help the poor. 

Key words

Feudal system: medieval government system based on the bond between a lord and his vassal.

Fief: the land a lord lent to his vassal.

Nobles: the most important lords that served under a kind

Pledge fealty: to swear loyalty

Knights: vassals who became milirary specialists

Manorial system: system in which lords provided security to their serfs in return for their services.

Manor: large piece of adjoining land.

Domain: Large farmhouse where the lord lived.

Serfs: servants who depended entirely on their lord and were not allowed to leave the domain.

Self-sufficient: when people are able to produce everything they need themselves.

       Lords

4.6 / 5.6 - Travelling in the Middle-Ages

Was travelling dangerous in that time?
Explain your answer by giving examples!

Why was travelling by horse only meant for the rich?

Pilgrimage

Christians often travelled to far away places. 
Not for holiday or vacation...
To pay their respect to saints and relics.
They believed that paying respect would enhance and increase their relationship/bond with God. 
This was called a pilgrimage.

Pilgrimage

Why would people often take this pilgrimage together with others?
Isn't that a personal thing?

Q1

What do we call these countries together? 

Q2

What characterizes the landscape? 

Q3

What famous people came from these countries in the Early Middle Ages? 

Q4

If you combine Q2 en Q3. What problems were these people facing? 

Q5

What are these people known for? 

Vikings characteristics

- Pillagers and raiders

- Polytheistic

- a.k.a. Norse people

- Probably first Europeans that discovered America

- Different lifestyle than other European people

Norse pantheon / gods

Valhalla - Heaven for vikings

Vikings lived near fjords like these. It's usually a U-shaped dent in the landscape, mostly near coasts

Longhouses

Dragon boats / Drakkar