3. The term Middle Ages was coined by the Italian
historian Falvio Biondo in the 15th century
It is literally a middle period in the history of the
world because it is sandwiched in between the
classical period of Greek and Roman civilization
and the Renaissance
Period from 410 (the sacking of Rome) to the
approximately 1500 with the beginning of
Renaissance
THE MIDDLE AGES
4. Early or Low Middle Ages from 500-
1000
Dark Ages because of the social chaos
following the fall of Rome and loss of
Greek and Roman culture
a time when the forces of darkness
(barbarians) overwhelmed the forces of
light (Romans)
Late or High Middle ages from 1000-
1500
Bubonic Plague
Great Schism
Magna Carta
LOW AND HIGH MIDDLE AGES
5. Middle Ages gave us the concept of the nation
Marked beginning of representative government, capitalism,
universities, experimental science, the Catholic and Orthodox
Churches
Characterized by superstition, illiteracy and feudalism
Effects of Crusades – territorial expansion/military order
Guild and communes
Towns, cities and manors
New thinkers (Thomas Aquinas) and writers
Creation of universities
New art and architecture (gothic, castles)
Knighthood and chivalry
Courtly entertainment (fables, playwrights)
IMPORTANCE OF MIDDLE AGES
6. The Early Middle Ages had no clear-cut beginning
The fall of Rome to Visigoths, a Germanic tribe (also called barbarians)
marked the end of the ancient world and start of the medieval
In 476, emperor Romulus Augustulus was deposed and the first
non-Roman kings took place
NOTE: only western half of the Roman Empire collapse, the eastern part
became the Byzantine Empire and lasted another thousand years
THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS AND THE
FALL OF ROME
7.
8. THE RISE OF CHARLAMAGNE (768-814)
Charlamagne was the son and
successor of Pepin, the Short who
began the Carolingian Dynasty
Became one of the greatest military
leaders and an extraordinary
politician to rule medieval Europe
Expanded the kingdom until it was
the largest, most powerful and the
most efficiently run kingdoms in
Europe since the Roman Empire
10. Charlemagne (Charles the Great)
restored Pope Leo III who had been
exiled
In return, Leo placed a crown on
Charlemagne and named him the
“Emperor of the Romans” which
secured the relationship between
Frankish kings and the papacy
Charlemagne became the first ruler
of the Holy Roman Empire, a dynasty
that would last for more than 700
years
Charlemagne- imposed order on
empire through the Church and state
Ordered the standardization of Latin,
textbooks, manuals for preaching,
schools for clergy and people, new
form of handwriting
All these promoted education and
scholars and produced a precise
written language (Latin)
THE HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR
12. HOW FEUDALISM WORKS
• Church gave monarchs the right
to rule over certain lands
• The kings then subdivided
those lands into territories and
granted parts of these lands to
subordinate nobles
• These nobles then gave some
parts of the land to knights who
would then give some land to
their vassals who in turn had
commoners or serfs who
farmed the land
13. Was both a political and economic system of government
Serfs were property of the lords
could be sold as slaves
Contracts between vassal and lords
vassals provided military service in return for land from the ruling
monarchs
Political power held by ruling lords was treated as his
possession
right to rule was a private matter and this power could be divided
among heirs, bought and sold and given as part of marriage contract
Complete fragmentation of political power
central government was absent as large political units such as
kingdoms and empires disappeared
power in the hands of local lords
CHARACTERISTICS OF FEUDALISM
14. One of the most dominant forces in the
religious social and political life of Europe
Clerics were one of the only literate groups in
society and therefore occupied many positions
in civil government
In absence of centralized government, Church
served as united, respected and universal
force in the West
Pope was the supreme head of the church
Had crusading armies to battle infidels and
heretical Christians
Pope could interdict or excommunicate an
entire kingdom
CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE PAPACY
15. MONASTICISM AND SAINTS
• Monks were people who gave up worldly
possessions and devote themselves to
a religious life
• Established between 400 -700
communities called monasteries which
became centers of education, literacy and
learning
• Strict codes of monastic conduct called
Rule of St. Benedict
• Saints- one who performs miracles that are
interpreted as evidence of a special
relationship with God
• St. Augustine- wrote “Confessions” which
discussed ideas of ethics, self knowledge,
and the role of free will which shaped
monastic tradition and the influence of
Church
16. Crusades were holy wars launched by
Christians during the later Middle Ages to
win the Holy Land (Jerusalem) from Muslim
control
Began in 1095 under Pope Urban II and
lasted until 1272 when King Louis IX of
France led the largest and best-equipped of
all the crusading armies into the Middle East
to recapture Jerusalem
Crusades occurred while feudalism was the
dominant political system and papacy
served as the only unifying institution in
Christendom
Crusaders illustrates the power of faith
during the period – most crusaders fought in
hopes of attaining eternal salvation
THE CRUSADERS
19. 11th Century Schism –Church split into two independent
branches Eastern Orthodox (Greek) based in Constantinople
and Roman Catholic in Rome
14th Century Schism – When French Pope Clement V moved
the papacy to Avignon from Rome
Internal struggle lasted over 100 years before papacy
reestablished in Rome
16th Century – Protestant Reformation
SCHISM OF THE CHURCH
20. Refers to the Eastern
Roman Empire after the fall
of the Western Roman
Empire in 476
Emperor Constantine had
transferred the capital from
Rome to Byzantium
Survived because was not
affected by Barbarian
invasions and because of
its efficient bureaucracy
and economic stability
Emperor was Head of State
and Head of Church (unlike
in the Western kingdoms)
BYZANTINE EMPIRE
22. Byzantine Emperor
sought to reunite the Roman
world as a Christian Empire
and suppressed all
paganism
Ordered the codification of
Roman laws in the Justinian
Code or “Body of Civil Law”
that defined civil law in the
Middle Ages and the modern
world
During his reign, Latin was
the official language of the
Byzantine Empire, but was
later changed to Greek
(another difference between
two regions)
JUSTINIAN THE
GREAT
23. Cooperative learning groups – reasons for the fall of the
Roman Empire
Role of Christianity in the fall or survival of the Roman Empire
Compare and contrast Charlamagne’s Empire with Byzantine
Empire
Compare and contrast Roman Catholic Church with Eastern
Orthodox Church
Become part of the medieval life – have students take on
roles of different groups in the feudal system and describe
their daily lives and roles in the Middle Ages
Build a medieval community – have students build
communities using “We Rule Quest” App
LESSON PLAN IDEAS
24. 1215 signed at Runnymede
honored the rights and
privileges of noblemen
Primary Source Document –
Small group (cooperative
learning)
http://faculty.washington.edu/q
taylor/documents_us/magna_ca
rta_1215.htm
Points of Discussion
Significance of the document
The terms of Magna Carta
What issues and rights does the
document address
MAGNA CARTA “GREAT CHARTER”
