3.1: Barbarian kingdoms

• History
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 1

3. The Time of Monks and Knights

1: Barbarian Kingdoms

What you will learn in 

this lesson

• What the Middle Ages are (+ dates)
• What the first part of the Middle Ages is called (2 different names)
• how the map of Europe had changed after the fall of the Western Roman Empire
• What continuity and discontinuity mean
• 8 examples of discontinuity after the fall of the Western Roman Empire
• 3 examples of continuity after the fall of the Western Roman Empire
• Why historians often refer to this period as "The Dark Ages"

click here for Wrts word list of this lesson

Which question(s) would you like to be discussed in class when we check this lesson?

Middle Ages

For more than 5 centuries all European lands south of the rivers Rhine and Danube had been a part of the Roman Empire.

But now the empire was gone.

Europe had to deal with a new situation. A new Age started.

 

We call the period after the fall of the Western Roman Empire: the Middle Ages.

The Middle Ages lasted from AD 500 until 1500.

 

The Middle Ages are then split up in two:

The Time of Monks and Knights, from AD 500 - 1000 

The Time of Cities and States, from AD 1000 - 1500

symbol of the Time of Monks and Knights. 

1. In Roman times, the rivers Rhine and Danube formed the northern border of the Roman empire,
also known as The Limes

1. true
2. false

2. The Middle Ages lasted from AD 500 till AD 1000

1. true
2. false

Barbarian Kingdoms

First we are going to study the Time of Monks and Knights (500 - 1000)

By the start of the sixth century, the Roman Empire in Western Europe was gone. The barbarian tribes had set up their own kingdoms.

The size of these kingdoms varied, according to how strong each barbarian war leader and his army were. War leaders occasionally still followed some Roman ways, especially when they wanted to look powerful. The Romans had gone, but they were still remembered as strong rulers. When the Franks defeated the Goths in 507, the Frankish ruler, 

Clovis I, held a victory procession in the captured Goth city of Tours. This procession copied Roman victory processions and Clovis dressed like a Roman emperor. 

3. Where does the modern name of "France" come from?

4. Frankish kings copied Roman emperors.
Why did they do that?

discontinuity

Many things changed in the new kingdoms:

 

• People seldom used the Roman road network (too dangerous)
  
• People traded less widely than the Romans. International trade disappeared.
  
• People abandoned the cities. They lived in small villages again.
  
• There was a shift from using money to bartering. 
  
• They valued war skills rather than literacy, so fewer records were written and kept. There was less education.
  

discontinuity

This is a good example of "discontinuity".

The Romans used money to pay for goods in the whole empire.

In the early Middle Ages money was no longer made and used. People returned to the old habit of bartering goods for other goods.

Thus, the use of money was "discontinued" after the end of the Roman Empire.

5. Can you explain why Roman cities were abandoned?

continuity

Not everything changed however:

• Christianity remained an important religion. Some barbarian kings became Christians themselves.
  
• Latin was still spoken, though mainly by church people.
  
• the city of Rome was still a very important city. It was now the capital city of Christianity. This is where the leader of the Church, the Pope, lived.
  

 “Discontinuity” means that something no longer continues. So it ends and something else comes in its place.

“Continuity” means that something continues. It keeps going on despite the fact that many other things end.

Look at the overview in the next slide...

continuity

Christianity is a good example of continuity.

Christianity started in the Age of Greeks and Romans and continued into the Middle Ages.

This is a 13th century Medieval painting from England

Study this overview. In the next question you must drag & drop texts to the correct category: discontinuity of continuity.

500 AD

500 AD

Christianity

International trade

Latin language

use of money

Roman roads

living in cities

Rome: the center of Christianity

literacy and education

6. Can you think of a reason why the pope chose the city of Rome as the capital city of Christianity?

7. The text gives 3 examples of continuity.
Write down 1 word that is the link between these 3 examples.

The Dark Ages

Because the civilization of the Romans was discontinued (literacy, technology, art, science, law all stopped) it looked like Europe was thrown backwards in time, to almost prehistoric times. People needed to learn to live simple, primitive lives again.

Try to imagine that in the near future there would be no more electricity, internet, cars, planes, schools. It would be a giant step backwards in our civilization.

This is how the people in Europe may have felt in the early Middle Ages. They had lost many good Roman things.

Therefore some historians call the first half of the Middle Ages: the Dark Ages.

Not until the 9th century did Europe recover a little bit from the barbarian invasions.

dark ages on TV

The TV series Revolution is one of many fantasy series that deals with the "discontinuity" of our modern civilization. 

The story:

Our entire way of life depends on electricity. So what would happen if it just stopped working? Well, one day, like a switch turned off, the world is suddenly thrust back into the dark ages. Planes fall from the sky, hospitals shut down, and communication is impossible. And without any modern technology, who can tell us why? Now, 15 years later, life is back to what it once was long before the industrial revolution: families living in quiet cul-de-sacs, and when the sun goes down lanterns and candles are lit. Life is slower and sweeter. Or is it? 

8. Suppose that tomorrow all electricity is gone for good.
What would happen to our lives, our civilization?
Write a short story in which you imagine the consequences of such a disaster. Think of matters like food supply, transport, communication, order and safety.
(between 200 - 250 words)

Word Duty

Early Middle Ages 1

• Middle Ages
  
• continuity
• discontinuity
  
• bartering
• literacy
• dark ages

From now on it is no longer mandatory to do "word duty" in your notebook, as long as you realise that these words must be learned for any quiz / test.

Summary

Use the main questions to make your own summary

From now on it is no longer mandatory to write a summary in your notebook, although it is still advised to do so.

It is your own responsibility.

1. What the Middle Ages are (+ dates)
   
2. What the first part of the Middle Ages is called (2 different names)
   
3. How the map of Europe had changed after the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
   
4. What continuity and discontinuity mean
5. Eight examples of discontinuity after the fall of the Western Roman Empire
6. Three examples of continuity after the fall of the Western Roman Empire
   
7. Why historians often refer to this period as "The Dark Ages"
   

congratulations